Freak the Freak Out
Jade and Cat lose a competition at a karaoke club because it was rigged for the club owner's daughter to win. The girls set out to get revenge, and recruit Tori, who's been stuck indoors looking after Trina, for help.
Tropes:
- Adults Are Useless: Tori and Trina's parents take off to Santa Barbara for the weekend, leaving Tori to look after Trina following dental surgery. At the end of the episode, their father comes home after their vacation, sees Hayley and Tara wrestling Trina, and immediately walks back out while calling for his wife to get back in the car.note
- Alpha Bitch: Hayley and Tara. As Cat puts, not just Jade-level mean, but really mean.
- Badly Battered Babysitter: Anyone who babysits Trina ends up looking disheveled after spending a few hours with her. The boys are the only ones who can get her to sit and behave.
- Bait-and-Switch: Tori and Trina's dad stops the former from bludgeoning the latter with a camera tripod...because it belongs to him and is extremely expensive.
- Bait the Dog: Two examples between parts 1 and 2.
- Tara initially comes across as nicer than Hayley, trying to chat nicely with Andre while Hayley is hitting on Beck in front of his girlfriend, and also seeming a bit impressed at the beginning of Jade and Cat's song and a bit awkward during the accusation of a fix after being given the trophy. She seems more genuinely nasty to Jade and Cat in part 2 though when defending the claim that the match wasn't rigged and picking Tori in her disguise as someone who looks unlikely to put up a good challenge.
- The Northridge Girls seem genuinely charmed a bit by Rex (and briefly Robbie) during the date in part 1, are impressed by Jade and Cat's duet, and take part in booing Tara and Hayley's victory as a fix. At the beginning of part 2 though it's revealed that they stole Robbie's wallet and bailed on him before the date was even over.
- Batman Gambit: A pretty brilliant one; Cat and Jade dress up Tori as a hideous Gonk and set her up at a solo table. They then challenge Hayley and Tara that anyone in the room can sing better than them, knowing the girls will choose the least likely candidate. When Hayley and Tara take the bait, Jade and Cat protest Anything but That! to sell it.
- The Bet: Jade and Cat strike a deal with Hayley and Tara. If the latter girls win the karaoke contest, Hayley gets to make out with Beck; if the former girls win, Hayley and Tara have to babysit Trina.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Cat is the one who says that if Hayley and Tara lose the bet, they have to "babysit a girl we know". She doesn't betray that it is more serious than it looks.
- Bound and Gagged: Tori is reduced to doing this to Trina.
- Daddy's Girl: Hayley, to her dad the owner of the karaoke bar, which is why she and Tara keep winning.
- The Dogs Bite Back: Jade, Cat and Tori give Hayley and Tara their just desserts by initiating a bet between the five and having Tori go on sing a karaoke version "Freak the Freak Out", causing the audience to cheer happily for her performance and forcing the latter two (Hayley and Tara) to babysit a bedridden Trina at home.
- The Dentist Episode: Though not seen, Trina had to go to the dentist to get her wisdom teeth taken out, and is in serious pain throughout the episode.
- Extra-Long Episode: The first of the series.
- Flat "What": Tori's reaction to their dad saying he and their mom are taking off for the weekend, so she's been left to look after Trina.
- "Gaining Confidence" Song: Invoked. Playing the role of "Louise Nordoff", Tori first started the song out as if she had no idea what she was doing, only to gradually remove her disguise and get more passionate as the song went on, easily defeating the antagonists and thrilling the audience.
- The Glorious War of Sisterly Rivalry: In this episode, Trina snags a date with a boy Tori was sweet on by claiming her sister had other plans. Tori responds by trying to bludgeon her elder sister with a camera tripod, and that's before getting onto what happens after she's left taking care of a post-surgery, pain addled Trina.
- Gonk: Tori's disguise as "Louise Nordoff".
- Jerkass Has a Point:
- While it's obviously unfair that Hayley and Tara always win the karaoke contests because of nepotism, they and their dad also say that the kids don't have to stay if they don't like it.
- And while on the subject of Hayley and Tara always winning just because the former's father owns the place, Jade points out that the audience should have the right to choose a winner, not the owner.
- Loved by All: Jade and Cat to the crowd at Karaoke Dokey, based on the reaction to their song and when they aren't awarded the prize.
- Not So Harmless Punishment: Cat tells Hayley and Tara that if they lose the bet, they have to "babysit a girl we know." They both snort and say fair enough. The episode ends with them chasing around Trina to give her medicine, while Trina pounces on them.
- Overshadowed by Awesome: Hayley and Tara aren't bad singers but wholly outclassed by the Hollywood Arts singers, and Tara at least seems to recognize this watching their songs.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Tori's ugly disguise when helping Jade and Cat get back at Hayley and Tara.
- Pet the Dog: Jade assists with giving Tori a break from babysitting Trina, albeit by taking Beck's car and forcing them to do it instead.
- Persona Non Grata: When Jade and Cat complain over how the karaoke contests are rigged for Hayley and Tara to always win, Hayley bans them from singing at the club again.
- Rigged Contest: The karaoke contests are rigged so Hayley and Tara will always win, no matter how better the other contestants sound. It's implied that after Tori's performance, Karaoke-Dokie will instead have the audience choose the winner rather than the owner of the place.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Connections! / Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: Initially played straight when Hayley and Tara won the karaoke competition because the former's father owns the place, but "Louise Nordoff" (Tori) managed to avert this when she got the audience to cheer for her and win on her own.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Tori is initially reluctant to leave Trina to help Jade and Cat get revenge, but she takes one look at what's going on in the house (namely, a bound and gagged Trina trying to strangle Robbie while Andre and Beck pull her off him) and quickly decides she wants out.
- Sorry to Interrupt: Tori and Trina's dad walks back into their house after being on vacation, takes one look at Trina, Hayley and Tara struggling, and tells their mom to get back in the car.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Rex disappears from the second half without any explanation.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Beck, Andre and Robbie are less than happy about Tori taking off with Jade and Cat, leaving them to take care of Trina.
- Who's Laughing Now?: Tori is initially gleeful about how her wisdom teeth removal wrecks Trina's plans... Until their dad mentions he and their mom are on vacation for the weekend, Tori has to look after her sister. Trina promptly cackles at her sister's expense, until Tori threatens to remove her wisdom teeth then and there.
- Tara and Hayley are initially smugly overconfident of winning their bet with Cat and Jade...but when Tori casts off her Gonk disguise and starts passionately singing, along with Jade and Cat each giving them a Cheshire Cat Grin, they realise something has gone wrong.
