Married is the 7th episode in Season 5 in Hey Arnold!. It is also a special half-hour episode.
| "Married" | ||||||||||||||||
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 Helga at her worst in this episode.
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Plot
Rhonda makes an origami game about what girl you marry. If you get a turn and choose a number answer of a question, then you have to marry a girl. When Arnold gets his turn, Rhonda asks him what is the day of the month he was born in. Arnold then replied the 7th, which chose Helga and has to marry her. Arnold thought it was some mistake and wants to have another turn but to no avail, Rhonda had foolproof that Arnold is going to marry Helga. Arnold tells his friend. Gerald that he doesn't want to marry Helga. But Gerald thought they might live in a happily ever after, but Arnold still doesn't want to marry Helga, so Gerald replied okay.
At night, Arnold thinks it's going to be a nightmare, while Helga thinks it's going to be a dream. In Arnold's nightmare, it takes place at a church. His relative and friends were there and Arnold is 25 years old. Arnold starts worrying that he is going to have a rough life when he marries Helga. When the bride comes, it has a different shape, but when it was revealed, it turns out to be Helga. The minister tells Arnold that will he marry Helga to love, honor, and cherish until death. Arnold then replied it has to be a mistake, but it was too late when the minister said "I now pronounce you, man and wife." Helga then kisses Arnold, causing Arnold to wake up from his nightmare.
Helga's dream first takes place in an elegant, romantic church where she got married with a very handsome Arnold. They both went to Venice for their honeymoon and live a happy life in New York City. Later, Helga decides that she wants to run for president and later wins the elections. Helga then proceeds to deal with presidential duties with an adult Phoebe as her secretary, never hesitating to axe every compromise to let Arnold in to see her or have a pastrami sandwich. As she attempts to come to a compromise with Switzerland over the phone late at night, Phoebe bursts in to tell her Arnold has been kidnapped by a mysterious organization, and is prepared to send out the rescue team when Helga insists on rescuing him herself. With Phoebe guiding her via com-link, Helga breaks into the enemy fortress, battling ninjas and breaking through convoluted security measures until she reaches the control room, where Arnold is tied to a chair. She then briefly battles the masked organization leader, who, once defeated, turns out to be Lila. Failing to win Arnold's heart, Lila concocted the kidnapping to make one last attempt at making him love her again, though she is now profoundly sorry. After Arnold once again says his only love is Helga, the US Secret Service (led by an adult Gerald) arrives to arrest Lila for kidnapping Arnold, and the reunited couple romance on a hot air balloon.
During Arnold's nightmare, Arnold is then dragged to his new home, the Pataki household, where Big Bob informs him of his new job at Big Bob's Beepers to maintain his new wife, who proceeds to spend all day in front of the TV, snacking. He is expected to work as an unloader, a heavy duty job that feels worse when accidents keep stopping him from safely unloading the boxes. As Arnold and his new father-in-law are coming home from a long day at work, Big Bob points out a stork flying over the house, three bratty, misbehaving babies has been delivered to them (after having been married for only two days), all of which are left entirely to Arnold's care, despite the fact that he must also go out to work. After arriving home the next day (as it appears in the dream's continuity) to the babies running amuck all around the living room has an insolent Helga watches TV, Arnold decides he has had enough: he grabs Helga angrily, telling her that if they have to be married to each other, things have to change. He declares that he will quit his jobat the beeper store will move out of the house and find a new place, that she will have to have her share of responsibilities and, most importantly, she will have to show him some respect.
As the Pataki house fades around them, Arnold grabs Helga by her shoulders, telling her that he knows she isn't "that cold, lazy and uncaring", urging her to show her "good" side. Her ruse exposed, Helga breaks down and accepts that her outward aggressiveness hides a softer interior, and that Arnold alone has seen through it. As Helga is about to confess that she does love him, his alarm clock rings, and the dream ends.
The next day, Arnold recalls his dream to Gerald as they take the bus home after school. Arnold doesn't deny that the beginning of his dream was pretty awful, but admits that Helga turned out to be a good person in the end. Arnold also says that even though he's only nine years old and thus has plenty of time to decide if and when he'll ever get married as an adult, but if the person he marries ends up being Helga, it might not actually be that bad. Helga, who's crouched in the seat behind them (unbeknownst to the boys), overhears this and is pleased by it.
At that moment, Rhonda gets on the bus and publicly declares that she has found the marriage predictor to be faulty, making all her predictions false. She apologizes to Arnold for the fright she feels she must have caused him, as it was his marriage prediction which made her think the origami marriage predictor faulty. She comments to Phoebe on the unlikelihood of the couples she'd predicted, asking her if she could ever imagine Arnold and Helga together. Phoebe says nothing, but she imagines an adult Arnold and Helga holding hands atop a lighthouse watching the sunset, wedding rings on their ring fingers.
Why It Doesn't Get Married
Arnold's nightmares
- Helga is selfish towards Arnold and doesn't take responsibility.
- Helga and her babies mess around the house and makes Arnold do all the work without any help at all, which is mean-spirited.
Helga's dreams
- There is also torture to Lila.
- Arnold is very mean-spirited as he breaks up with Lila and sinks her boat, causing Lila to drown then was rescued.
- In her second dream, Helga also randomly becomes president of the United States for some reason.
- Also, Harold and Stinky are security guards for some reason, along with Phoebe becoming the Vice President.
- There is a surprising scene that ruined the mystery when Lila was found to be the kidnapper of Arnold and then gets taken away by the US Secret Service.
Redeeming Qualities
- Helga's dreams were at least better than Arnold's dreams since Helga doesn't torture Arnold despite their rudeness to Lila.
- We never get to see Arnold's children again after this episode.
- Helga's mission to solve the kidnapping of Arnold in Helga's dream was awesome until it was found that Lila was the kidnapper.
- Arnold was better in the real world and his nightmares.
- The ending was great that Helga apologizes to Arnold for what she has done to him then everything goes back to normal.