"No Escape" is the second segment of the ninetieth episode of Big City Greens.
Synopsis[]
In an inescapable escape room set up by a dangerous enemy from the Greens' past, Cricket must decide between family and freedom.
Plot[]
One evening, the Greens have decided to attend a Croblins Halloween-themed escape room. Cricket is determined to finish it, but is put off by his family's somewhat cheesy song that Bill made up about their family’s philosophy of working together as a team. The tenant, who is dressed as a Croblin, tells the Greens that the fastest team had two minutes to spare and Cricket wants to try and beat the time, and is offended when the tenant calls them "dumb". The group enters the room and Cricket is quick to try and finish the puzzle within the 1-hour time limit or they'll be trapped forever, but Bill becomes frightened by everything in the room, Gramma Alice is too distracted by an off-handed comment on her age and tries to prove she is in her prime, and Tilly tries to mimic a robotic Croblin to solve the room, though she is really just being annoying.
Unbeknownst to the Greens, the Croblin tenant is revealed to be Wholesome Greg who is working for Chip Whistler. The escape room is really another scheme by Chip in an effort to get back at the Greens, by using the Greens' flaws against them.
Cricket manages to solve the room's puzzle by himself, confusing his family who were unaware of what he was doing. They enter the next room which has four doors; Tilly insists they not separate and sings Bill's song for him, but Cricket has had enough of it and thinks otherwise. They split up and are shocked to discover that each room is a simplified version of the rooms in their home, in addition to no actual clues to get out. Chip, as a puppet Croblin with his voice disguised, offers that they can escape by pushing the red button at the entrance, but it will permanently lock the other doors, trapping them forever; in reality, the buttons will secretly release a myriad of snakes into the room when pushed. The Greens refuse to push the buttons because they would never betray one another. However, Cricket appears to push the button to escape, only for it to be a ruse. This act successfully demoralizes the Greens, leaving Cricket filled with guilt over endangering his family due to his selfishness.
With Cricket's spirit fully broken over betraying his own family, Chip encourages Cricket to genuinely escape as he wrestles with the choice between family and freedom. In the process however, he inadvertently triggers Cricket's memory of Bill's song from before; this revelation restores Cricket's confidence, him realizing the Croblin robot was right and he cannot leave his family behind and understands that he can accomplish anything when they work together. Ultimately, Cricket finds a third option: he uses the hammock to destroy the Croblin robot and escapes through the roof into the attic, freeing his family, and helps them conquer their flaws while revealing the truth to them. His plan ruined, Chip becomes so frustrated that he accidentally makes his chipped tooth even wider.
Cricket apologizes to his family for having abandoned them during the escape room challenge, and they end up back in the lobby, where Cricket realizes they managed to complete the escape room just one second faster than their previous attempt. They begin to wonder who organized the escape room, why they would trap them, and how they had so much information about them. Upon entering the employee room, they find it completely empty except for a box of snakes, a broken monitor, a leftover Croblin mask, and the back door wide open. It seems whoever orchestrated the escape room has already fled the scene. Although the Greens are suspicious, they laugh off the situation and head home, completely unaware of a piece of Chip's tooth lying on the floor.
Cast[]
- Chris Houghton as Cricket Green
- Marieve Herington as Tilly Green
- Bob Joles as Bill Green
- Artemis Pebdani as Alice Green
- Paul Scheer as Chip Whistler
- Shane Houghton as Wholesome Greg
Trivia[]
- Morals:
- Things are more accomplished if you work with your family.
- Don't abandon your family in their time of need.
- Try not to get distracted.
- Everyone has flaws, but it's important to conquer them at a time of need.
- This is the third episode set during Halloween, after "Blood Moon" and "Squashed!"
- This is the first Halloween-themed episode to not be implied to take place on Halloween.
- The rooms the Greens get locked in are poorly drawn recreations of rooms back at the Green house, and each is tinted a different color to represent the key flaw of the Green who gets locked in:
- Cricket: The kids' room, red (Selfishness and egocentricity)
- Tilly: The living room, indigo (Role-playing and losing herself in character)
- Bill: His bedroom, green (Fear, anxiety, and cowardice)
- Alice: Her bedroom, violet (Fragileness and feeling her age)
- The Greens almost found out Chip Whistler is still alive.
- They do find out in "Evil Family" after Remy warns them about it.
- When Cricket sees his reflection in a funhouse mirror and shouts, "Evil Cricket!", this foreshadows him almost turning evil like Chip during their final battle in "Chip's Revenge".
- The episode title refers to the escape room and Cricket having no escape from the guilt he brought upon himself for forcing his family to separate.
International premieres[]
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