Everyone Knows It's Bendy (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends)

Everyone Knows It's Bendy (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends)
Everyone knows who Bendy is alright...but for tons of wrong reasons!
Series: Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends Part of Season: 2 Episode Number: 16 Air Date: February 4, 2005 Writer: Lauren Faust Director: Robert Alvarez Eric Pringle Previous episode: Where There's a Wilt There's a Way (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends)" Next episode: Sight for Sore Eyes (Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends)

Everyone Knows It's Bendy is an episode of Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, it's the second part of the third episode, is the fourth episode of season two, and is overall the sixteenth episode of the series.

Summary

A boy, Gregory's parents, explain that Bendy is misbehaving, which he continues to do at Foster's. However, Frankie and Mr. Herriman accuse Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco, for Bendy's wrongdoings, including breaking a vase, eating chips while leaving the crumbs on the floor, touching a cake, getting Wilt's shoes all muddy and walking on the floor with them, and writing on the wall with a marker. Suddenly, Bloo comes up with a master plan: he has Bendy flood up the house. Unfortunately, he reveals it, and gets the blame. Mac shows up at the end, asking what Bloo did, and he answers, "Bendy did it!", as he and Bloo see Bendy spraying the screen, red, with spray paint, as the episode ends.

Why Everyone Knows This Episode Sucks

1. This episode is infamous for being extremely mean-spirited and unpleasant in an otherwise light-hearted comedy show such as Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, due to how Bendy frames the innocent Imaginary Friends.
   • Speaking of which, Bendy himself is a horrible and unlikable character, due to him framing the main characters for no reason whatsoever.
2. This episode is not only mean-spirited, but it is also a huge waste of potential:
   • On one hand, during the introduction of the episode, the plot does focus on a very timid Bendy after being abandoned by his owners, feeling distraught and being cared for by Frankie and Mr. Herriman as the two side with Bendy, and the mere moment that Bendy meets Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo and Coco, it gives it the potential of the episode being about Bendy getting along with all of the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends cast and befriending them, with lots of hilarious slapstick humor and tons of heartwarming elements that are focused on Bendy's friendship with Bloo and the gang, which the episode itself could have easily been about.
     • Not only that, but what's also worse is the fact that Bendy's motives of becoming a mean-spirited prankster and framing Bloo and the others are somewhat forced, as there was literally no build-up to Bendy wanting to frame them. All that happens is Bendy seeing Bloo and the gang playing video games, he comes in and when all Bloo said was if Bendy wanted to play Four, Bendy just knocks over a vase and runs off, and that's when the major plot of Bendy framing Bloo and the gang happens. This scene in general feels super rushed.
   • On the other hand, an episode in which the idea of a person is, at first, thought to be nice, when in truth, he or she was actually a naughty person was an interesting and a well thought-out idea that has also been done in previous media. The problem was that the episode didn't handle it very well at all.
3. Frankie and Mr. Herriman are completely out of character in this episode, believing Bendy over Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo and Coco, despite knowing the latter characters longer and only meeting Bendy for literally a few seconds. They even believe Bendy over Eduardo and freaking Wilt, the latter of whom is known for being extremely kindhearted and hates lying, and the former of which is an extremely gentle giant who would not even hurt a fly and hates doing bad things.
4. It's an extremely evil Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo, and Coco torture episode, as they are constantly getting framed by Bendy throughout the episode, which is very mean-spirited.
   • Bloo especially gets the most bad luck when it comes to being framed by Bendy, such as getting blamed for drawing on the wall with a marker after he grabs the marker from Bendy's hand just as Frankie and Mr. Herriman walk into the incident, getting the blame for destroying a window when Frankie looks at the pictures of Bloo holding the baseball bat that were accidentally taken by Coco, and perhaps the worst one is the intercom scene, as in this part in particular, not only does Bloo get framed once again after Bendy runs away when Bloo snatches the intercom device and attempts to call in Mr. Herriman and Frankie, he also gets unfairly grounded until further notice by Mr. Herriman. Bendy uses Bloo's toothbrush to clean the toilets and then perceived to rub it in Bloo's face as he walks up to the latter and says with a smirk "by the way, this is your toothbrush!" before running off and laughing like a maniac as Bloo looks at the camera with a VERY distorted looking expression on his face, which is not only cruel as that toothbrush in particular originally belonged to Mac, but it's nothing more than the episode delivering one final blow to Bloo, thus making this episode a very cruel Bloo torture episode mid-way.
5. Many scenes can get SUPER frustrating. One of the most noticeable and most infamous examples is how Bloo unwittingly lets himself get accused, such as:
   • Taking the marker from Bendy's hand that the latter used to scribble on the walls just as Frankie and Mr. Herriman walk into the scene.
   • Picking up the bat after Bendy used it to hit a ball to a window and then runs from the area, only to have Coco accidentally take photos of Bloo holding the bat, which cause Frankie to look at said photos of Bloo holding the bat.
   • Leaving the victims' room to snatch the intercom device from Bendy's hand, and then perceived to call Frankie and Mr. Herriman to come to the foyer by the way of the intercom while Bendy was insulting them, only for Bendy to sneak off, just before Mr. Herriman and Frankie approached the intercom where Bloo is when the latter attempts to call them, resulting in Bloo being framed once again and then gets grounded.
     • To be fair, most of it is due to Bloo trying to stop Bendy's antics and trying to frame the latter, but that doesn't make those scenes less frustrating then they already are.
6. There's a handful of very repetitive scenes, with special mention going to the montage of Bendy framing Eduardo, Wilt, Coco and Bloo in that order somewhat mid-way through the episode, it goes on for 2 minutes straight and it goes as follows:
   • A cast is going about their day.
   • Bendy appears out of nowhere and does something bad while making a grin.
   • Mr. Herriman and/or Frankie appear(s) in that situation and glares at the framed cast.
   • The framed cast tries to accuse Bendy, only for the latter to pretend to cry and points right at the cast.
   • Mr. Herriman and/or Frankie feel(s) sorry for Bendy, then make(s) an angry glare at the cast(minus Eduardo) again as Bendy grins right at said framed cast, which causes them(minus Bloo) to look at the camera with a sad expression.
7. Terrible pacing. Some moments go way too fast, while some others go way too slow.
8. Whenever Bendy is about to do something bad, or more infamously, is about to frame someone and gets off scot-free after framing them, he makes an EXTREMELY nasty, mean and downright cruel grin, and during those moments when he's about to frame someone and gets away with it after doing so, Bendy makes that nasty grin right at the character. This is perhaps the most infamous part about this episode, and is the main reason why fans of the series hate this episode. It's bad enough that an innocent imaginary friend is about to be framed, but to see the troublemaker with no comeuppance make a grin at a scapegoat is even worse. This makes it so frustrating that, much like D.W.'s infamous smile in "Arthur's Big Hit", it will, and we repeat, WILL, make you want to beat Bendy's smirk up to a pulp.
9. All of Bendy's attempts to gain sympathy and frame the group come off as poor and not very convincing, making Frankie and Mr. Herriman come off as complete idiots.
10. There are multiple plot holes throughout the episode that are never explained, which is the result of the episode originally being a 22-minute long episode as opposed to being a 13-minute long episode:
    • Biggest plot hole: Why is Bendy even framing Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo and Coco in the first place? They did nothing wrong to him, nor even interacted with him.
    • Where the heck was Madame Foster during all those times that Bendy's framing Bloo and the others?
    • Why didn't Bloo call Mac to help him out against Bendy?
    • During the intercom scene, how the heck does Mr. Herriman and/or Frankie not realize two completely different voices?
    • When Bloo reveals how he set up Bendy, why did Frankie and Mr. Herriman all of a sudden blame Bloo for "flooding the house" and ignore the part where Bendy ate Frankie's cookies and made a mess with the ink?
11. A platter of mean-spirited and downright cruel scenes, such as the intercom scene where Mr. Herriman bans Bloo from his favorite things until further notice after believing that Bloo was the one who was "insulting them" via an intercom.
12. There are some bad morals taught in this episode. It's like the plot teaches audiences that being a bully to others is okay and that standing up for yourself is wrong. This is shown early on in the episode during the scenes where Bendy frames Eduardo, Wilt, Coco and Bloo when the latter four all try to stand up to Bendy by accusing him, only to get punished for it when Bendy keeps playing the victim card.
13. A pointless scene where Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo and Coco try to get Bendy framed by attempting to take a photo of Bendy breaking a giant window with a baseball. While it is great to see them fight back, not much happens other than showing that Bendy is clever. It's entirely possible to remove this scene and the episode wouldn't be any different.
14. Mean-spirited jokes that comes off as incredibly cruel, such as Bendy using Bloo's toothbrush to unclog the toilets, then preceding to say that to Bloo and then laughing like a maniac after the latter got grounded, as explained in "Why Everyone Knows This Episode Sucks" #4.
    • This scene also leads to another few more plot holes:
      • How does Frankie not realize that Bendy was using Bloo's toothbrush to clean the toilets?
      • How did Bendy even get Bloo's toothbrush, and how does he know that it's Bloo's toothbrush in the first place?
15. Mac makes a very pointless cameo in this episode and doesn't make an appearance until the last few seconds of this episode.
16. Wilt, Eduardo and Coco are treated very poorly in this episode, as in addition to them getting framed by Bendy for no reason whatsoever, they are also carbon cutouts as other than the set-up scene, they didn't do anything for most of the episode other than being confrontations for Bloo. Heck, after the scene where Wilt tries to warn Bloo not to intervene Bendy at the intercom, Wilt, Eduardo and Coco just disappear and are never seen or even mentioned again for the rest of the episode.
17. Bendy never gets any comeuppance for his actions against Bloo, Wilt, Eduardo and Coco, and both Frankie and Mr. Herriman also never got any comeuppance, nor do they apologize for how they acted to the imaginary friends.
18. Horrible ending: Bloo gets framed for "flooding the house" even though it was Bendy that did it. Frankie and Mr. Herriman didn't even yell at Bendy for eating Frankie's cookies or making a mess with the ink, making it feel like they're yelling at Bloo for "flooding the house" is a poor excuse just to have Bloo get in trouble and Bendy get away scot-free once again, granted Bloo did technically set Bendy up that caused the house to get flooded, but it's still very frustrating. The episode also ends with absolutely nothing getting resolved with Bloo on the verge of being severely punished once again, given off the impression that this episode was indeed rushed.

Redeeming Qualities

1. The beginning of the episode is nice and well-handled, much like any other episode of the show.
2. Bloo, Eduardo, Wilt and Coco are the only likable characters in the episode.
3. There are some funny moments in this episode, such as the scene where Bloo and Bendy are having a laughing contest.
4. Bendy only appears in this episode and is to never be seen or heard of again.

Reception

"Everyone Knows It's Bendy" is the first episode in the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends series to be critically panned by fans and critics alike, most of which comes from the episode's mean-spirited nature, Bendy as a character and both Mr. Herriman and Frankie being out of character of believing Bendy. This was widely considered as the worst episode in the entire series, that is until season 3, when "Imposters Home for Um... Make 'Em Up Pals" came around which is now considered the worst episode of the series.

Trivia

• This episode is noticeable for its odd runtime of 13-to-14 minutes, which is two-to-three minutes longer than an original 11-minute long episode. This is because it was originally going be 22-minutes long, with a better explained ending that explains why Bendy was framing every imaginary friend and that he would have gotten his comeuppance once Frankie and Mr. Herriman found out what he was really doing. However for unknown reasons, the writers were forced by Cartoon Network to shorten it to 13-to-14 minutes long, which resulted in forming the major plot holes and a rushed ending.
  • Even so, the writers still say they regret making this episode, so having that extended length would make little to no difference.
• Due to Bendy being the most hated character in the series, he was written out of the show and is never seen or mentioned again ever since, and definitely for the best.
• "Everyone Knows It's Bendy" is the first episode in the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends series to be declared 100% unofficial to the rest of the series, due to the episode's poor reviews by fans and critics alike, with plots of this episode being completely ignored and Bendy making no future appearances or even getting mentioned again, meaning the official timeline goes straight from "Where There’s a Wilt There’s a Way" to "Sight for Sore Eyes".
• Even though Bendy is one of the most hated characters in this episode, some fans think that Frankie and Mr. Herriman should also get just as much hate(though not nearly as much as Bendy) due to their questionable actions throughout the whole episode:
  • The first of which is how out of character both Frankie and Mr. Herriman are by believing Bendy over the other imaginary friends who have lived at Foster's longer than he has. While it's understandable for Frankie and Mr. Herriman to not believe Bloo and(to some lesser extent) Coco, them not believing Eduardo and Wilt is an entirely different story, because Eduardo is a gentle character who hates doing bad things and Wilt is a super kindhearted imaginary friend who hates lying.
  • The second of which is how cruel they are when it comes to punishing Eduardo, Wilt, Coco and Bloo after Bendy frames them for his deeds. While it's understandable for them to be like that with the case when thinking that Wilt and Bloo were the ones that got the walls all muddy and wrote on the walls with a permanent marker respectively, punishing Eduardo and Coco when they are believed to have both left crumbs on the floor and touching a cake respectively, both of which are very minor and in the case with crumbs, can even be fixed is often considered SUPER harsh and very out of character for Frankie and Mr. Herriman to punish them like that.
  • The third of which is how before the climax came where Bendy and Bloo have a laugh-off, Mr. Herriman yells at Bloo to stop laughing and only assume that it's him that was laughing, even though there were clearly two different voices.
  • The fourth of which is during the climax of the episode when Bendy is trying to clean off the ink. They believe that it's Bloo who's in the bathroom and also only assume that it's him. This shows that they overthink too far.
  • The fifth and final of which is that they only blame Bloo for flooding the house... and yet they didn't yell at Bendy for eating Frankie's cookies, as well as make a mess with the ink, even though he is the one who did it!
    • This is especially questionable since before this, Frankie and Mr. Herriman were all wondering about Frankie's cookies and the ink, only to get mad at Bloo for "flooding the house", after the latter tells them that. This hints that, in some ways, Frankie and Mr. Herriman are infamously making EXCUSES to make Bendy look so innocent.
  • Because of the five reasons, coupled with the fact that Frankie and Mr. Herriman just ignore Bendy with the cookie and ink incident, this genially implies that they might secretly know that Bendy is the real troublemaker, and are just saying that to make him look innocent. This shows that Frankie and Mr. Herriman are being very stubborn, which makes them very unlikable.
• Due to Bendy making no future appearances in later episodes, it's likely possible that he was caught by Frankie and/or Mr. Herriman and was kicked out of Foster's off-screen.
• Originally, when "Everyone Knows It's Bendy" first came out, there was going to be another episode in the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends series where Bendy appears(his status of either being an antagonist, ally or cameo character is unknown). However, after seeing the overwhelming negative criticisms that both Bendy and this episode got, the writers have decided to not have him appear in later episodes.