Straight Illin (Clarence)
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 "Would you, could you, watch this Clarence episode?" "NO!!! I would not, could not, watch this gross out episode!" And yes, it's a Green Eggs and Ham reference.
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"Straight Illin" is the 35th episode of Clarence. It aired on April 16, 2015, and hasn't been aired again since.
Plot
Clarence is playing "Truth or Dare" with his friends. Belson dares him to eat five hundred deviled eggs in one go, and he becomes extremely sick as a result.
Why It's Straightly Ill
- Gross and crude humor that’s done poorly in this episode, unlike "Too Gross for Comfort" which handled the gross-out themes right.
- Throughout the episode, Clarence grows more and more sick, to the point where he begins to look and act like an actual zombie, which is disturbing for a mid-2010's children's cartoon.
- Not to mention that Clarence's voice sounds disturbing when he's sick.
- There are several close-ups of Clarence's sick face, especially one that is highly detailed. It is almost in a detailed manner similar to some close-up scenes in The Ren & Stimpy Show or Seasons 6-7 of SpongeBob SquarePants.
- As a result of its grotesque nature, this episode sticks out like a sore thumb from the other episodes, which features the rather fun and charming yet somewhat realistic nature the show is associated with.
- When Clarence sneezes when he finds Sumo and Jeff in the air vent, his germs and viruses travel through the air conditioner. And as a result, everyone in the entire school becomes sick, with Belson being the only exception.
- Belson is horribly unlikable in this episode. Sure, he was a bully, but he sometimes has a soft side and likable moments as seen in the episode "Zoo". But here, he dared Clarence to eat five-hundred deviled eggs which resulted him to getting Clarence violently ill!
- This also teaches children to play Truth and Dare in sadistic ways that could potentially harm or even kill especially when it comes to dangerous internet challenges such as Tide Pod Challenge or Cinnamon Challenge which is a very serious red flag.
- Almost all of the characters are stupid for the sake of the episode's plot.
- Clarence accepted Belson's dare to eat five hundred eggs, even though Jeff warned him that it would be hazardous to his health.
- Despite Clarence having been violently ill, his parents allowed him to go to school anyways (though knowing Clarence, he may have escaped from his house to attend school even if he was ordered to stay on his home).
- Almost nobody, with Sumo and Jeff being the only exceptions, was bothered to take Clarence to see the nurse despite Ms. Baker advising him to see her. Nobody was even bothered to warn the nurse, either. Instead, they give him space and ignore him.
- Sumo and Jeff try to take him to the nurse in their own ridiculous way, where it is implied that it was by catching him with a net (for some reason, they don't just bring him to the nurse's office?). However, they eventually end up there while trying to run away from Clarence through the air ducts.
- The blender imagination looks very disturbing for young viewers, not helping that it sounds awful.
- The whole episode can be frightening to people with OCD or young audiences as the imagery gets more grotesque as it continues.
- While the ending is decent, Belson does not get a proper comeuppance after he makes a dare to Clarence. However, Mr. Reese punishes Belson for making a dare offscreen.
- Overall, unlike "Body Adventure" from Teen Titans Go!, which got successfully banned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this episode would have made sense if it is banned like the former.
Healthy Qualities
- Alright ending: Belson loses, and he actually deserves that.
- Jeff and Sumo are still likeable in the episode.
- Speaking of them, this episode shows that they can actually work together as good friends despite almost disagreeing with each other.
- Because of the disturbing nature of the episode, it never aired again in several countries after its release.
Reception
This episode was negatively received from a numerous number of reviewers and fans due to the episode depicting a grossing content while outright describing the episode being out of place, criticizing Belson as the reasons. The episode was deemed one of the worst episodes (if not, the worst episode) of the show. The controversy resulted in the episode being banned after its original airing unknowingly from Cartoon Network. Despite this, it can still be watched on VOD, on the internet, on HBO Max, and even on the official Cartoon Network website.
On IMDb, the episode was ranked 5.9 as one of the lowest that is ever graded; user reviews negatively criticized the episode from having much of the gross-out parts of the character getting sick.