Joe starts hanging out with a gang of cool older boys, namely Grady Wray's crew. In order to blend in with his new friends, Joe changes his look and shuns his old friends. Meanwhile, Wishbone imagines himself in The American Civil War as told by Stephen Crane in The Red Badge of Courage.
One tie-in book was released — Wishbone Classics #10: The Red Badge of Courage, featuring a less compressed adaptation of the original story with comments by Wishbone rather than the modern-day segments.
Tropes
- Adapted Out: The Red Badge of Courage adaptation doesn't include the scene with the tattered soldier, in which Henry witnesses Jim's death. Jim still dies in this version, but Wishbone as Henry only hears about it after the fact from Wilson.
- Apology Gift: In the end, Joe reconciles with Sam and David by giving them a pizza with a sad face on it.
- Acquired Situational Narcissism: Joe has a spell of this when Grady Wray's crew sees his jump shots and invites him to hang out with them. He ends up ignoring Wishbone, Robin, Sam, and David.
- Ascended Extra: Henry's mother is given a larger role. The original novel starts off with Henry already in the army, his mother only showing up for a brief flashback. The episode begins the story with Henry leaving his mother and later bookends it with him writing home to her at the end.
- Bloodless Carnage: The wound received by Henry is the only time any blood is shown. Of course, they had to show that one since it's the titular "red badge of courage."
- Composite Character: Wilson fills the role of the unnamed cheery soldier who returns Henry to his regiment.
- Don't Celebrate Just Yet: In Henry's first battle, the Confederates retreat after a short period, causing the Union soldiers to cheer, believing that they won an easy victory. Then the Confederates come back.Wishbone as Henry: But it was over! We won!
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Joe seems to be this within Grady Wray's crew. Evidently, they only accepted him into their gang so that they could boss him around, knowing that he would take it because he's so eager for their approval.
- In the Dreaming Stage of Grief: Henry, as he gets overwhelmed by his first battle:Wishbone as Henry: I'm not here, I'm not here. It's a bad dream, a nightmare. I'll just wake up, and it'll disappear.
- In with the In Crowd: The contemporary story is a textbook example of this plot. The episode kicks off with Joe getting accepted into the circle of Grady Wray, a cool older kid. Joe then abandons his old friends, and at one point, he goes along with it when Grady bullies Sam and David. Of course, Joe eventually realizes his mistake and returns to Sam and David, who forgive him.
- Jerk Jock: Grady Wray and his friends are popular basketball players. They are also bullies who boss Joe around and humiliate Sam and David in public.
- Jumped at the Call: As in the novel, Henry jumps at the chance to fight in the bloodiest war in American history. He has no idea what he's getting himself into, despite his mother's attempts to warn him.
- Kick the Morality Pet: Joe does this to Wishbone, Sam, David and Robin when he hangs out with Grady Wray's crew. Ellen even calls him out for this. Grady's crew make fun of Sam and David for doing homework at a pizza parlor, saying their birdsong recordings are "geek mating calls". Joe doesn't laugh, and the next day, he ditches the cool kids to chase after Sam and David to apologize.
- Meaningful Rename: After he joins Grady Wray's gang, Joe starts going by "J.T.", the initials of Joe Talbot.Wishbone: I knew it, he thinks he's someone named J.T.! Ellen, he's got amnesia!
Ellen: "J.T.", huh? [rolls eyes]
Wishbone: What happened to "Joe"? - Sleeves Are for Wimps: Joe starts cutting all the sleeves off his shirts in an ill-considered attempt to fit in with Grady's crew. Wishbone asks "So, exactly why don't we like sleeves anymore?"
- Sure, Let's Go with That: Henry gets wounded when a retreating soldier hits him in the head. Later on, Wilson mistakenly presumes that Henry's head injury was received in battle.Wilson: So, bullet grazed you, huh?
Wishbone as Henry: Uh... yeah. Yeah. That's exactly how it happened.
Wilson: First battle and you've already got the red badge of courage, eh? - War Is Hell: Since this is a Red Badge of Courage adaptation, the episode pounds home the message that war is not a fun time. The scenes portraying the Civil War are as violent as they could ever be on a PBS kids' show.
