Bye Bye Bunker

"Bye Bye Bunker" is the second segment of the 7th and final episode of the eighth season, as well as the series finale of Trolls: The Beat Goes On!, and the 103rd and final overall episode in the series. It premiered on November 22, 2019.
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Branch has decided to move out of his bunker permanently, but he proves to every Troll that he's not ready for drastic changes.
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Poppy is scrapbooking in her pod when Biggie and Smidge enter in a hurry. They have invitations to a party which Poppy is surprised that they are reacting too as there is a party every night in Troll Village. Biggie states that they are not like this one as this one is being hosted by Branch. This comes as a shock to her and she opens the invitation to see Branch's invite into his bunker against his better judgement. Poppy is moved by this. Branch is hosting his first party.
At his bunker, Branch is making sure everything is safe while The Snack Pack admire how far he has come from a paranoid hermit to a neurotic stickler. Branch stops the party, as he has an announcement to make. He notes that he has made a lot of effort to go from village grump to full-fledged Troll, and as he speaks even the randomly generated Trolls of the village admire him. Eventually, he gets to the point of the party: he has realized there's one thing stopping him from reaching his goal- this is his bunker, and in order to move on he has to move out of it and live above ground permanently.
Everyone is in synchronized shock at his words. Poppy is especially excited, as this is a huge development for him and she's so proud of him that she's overwhelmed by excitement. She can't even understand why he's not excited. He states it is going to be hard to move out of his bunker because it goes against years of isolationist instincts, and his paranoia dies hard. She asks how she can help, and he tells her that he needs help finding the perfect place to live, or he will lose his resolve and return to the bunker.
Poppy leads a blindfolded Branch to a potential new pod for him to call home. The pod is a high-demanding one with a lot of potential and Branch likes it. She shows him the view of the local rainbow, but the light from the rainbow is so intense it knocks him across the room.
Her next approach is to have him describe to Harper what home he wants and she will design it. However, when she's done he has described his bunker. Branch is horrified and Poppy tells him not to give up; she thinks they'll find him a great place. However, Branch says that deep down no matter how good the place is he'll always want to return to his bunker. Branch then realizes the obvious solution: destroy his bunker. Poppy tries to stop him doing something so drastic. All he has to do is lock up the bunker and give her the key, but Branch points out that all he has to do is look sad enough over a period of time and she'll give in. He puts on a sad face to prove a point, she whimpers and says they'll destroy the bunker. Since this is going to be really hard on Branch, he makes her promise no matter what she will make sure he goes through with it, as this is the only way he'll ever become a full-fledged Troll. She promises, but says she better get help.
That night, Branch and his friends gather at the entrance of the bunker; they're cheering on Branch. Branch only has to hit a single button on Gary to start the countdown, but he is having second thoughts. He realizes he can't go through with this. Poppy knows he's backing out and she gets their friends to start singing with her. They try to make him realize how far his come and how wonderful he is. During the song, they take a wonder so that Branch can think. At the end of the song, Branch has made a decision; he is not detonating up his bunker.
He then runs off with Poppy in pursuit, stating he made her promise. She tries to get the remote from him but he won't give up. They run through Creek's late-night yoga class. They also end up running nowhere on a conveyor belt until Sky points out they're doing that. Next, they swing through the trees, Branch slips and Cloud Guy catches him, then proceeds to drop him into a spider's web. Poppy pulls him out, they both land on the floor with Gary between them. Branch recovers first and grabs Gary, and Poppy realizes he's heading back to the bunker.
As they approach the bunker, Poppy yells that Branch is going to lock himself inside the bunker; his friends are helpless as he leaps over them and opens the hatch to his bunker. Poppy grabs him to stop him entering. As they tug with each other, Branch tells her that he'll never be what they want him to be.
She lets him go and he rolls into the rock outside his bunker, Poppy tries to comprehend what he said. Branch states that becoming a Troll again has made him the happiest he has ever been, but there is a part of him he likes and he doesn't want to change everything about himself.
Poppy and her friends come to terms with this and reconcile. Poppy states the day he came back to the village was the best day ever and everyone feels a lot safer. Branch is then seen wearing a hug-time bracelet, this time for the first time he uses its glow to initiate a hug. The group hugs.
At that moment, they hear the countdown time start on Branch's bunker, even though Cloud Guy already hit the self-destruct button anyway, ending both the episode and the entire series.
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;Trolls
*Amanda Leighton as Queen Poppy
*Skylar Astin as Branch
*David Fynn as Biggie
*Ron Funches as Cooper
*Fryda Wolff as Satin & Chenille and DJ Suki
*Sean T. Krishnan as Guy Diamond
*Kevin Michael Richardson as Smidge
*Matt Lowe as Creek
*Kari Wahlgren as Harper
*Gary Cole as Sky Toronto
;Other
*David Fynn as Mr. Dinkles
*Walt Dohrn as Cloud Guy
*Gary
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*"Shine Like Gold"
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This episode is available on the "Trolls: The Beat Goes On! - Complete Seasons 5-8" DVD.
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*This episode has the second storyline in the franchise about Branch hosting his first party, the other is Branch and the Party Rescue. While the book is official, it's not canon as it wasn't written by DreamWorks.
*The snippet version of the song "Boom Da Party" plays during Branch's party.
*With the exception of Fuzzbert, this is one of the few episodes of Trolls: The Beat Goes On! in which the entire Trolls-era membership of The Snack Pack is present together. Most episodes feature members of the group, but always leave some out. Even former member Creek is briefly seen.
*This episode is the thirteenth and final one in the series to feature the running gag referencing the common classic cartoon logic rule of "gravity does not work until you look down".
*The episode ends on the typical season finale joke that happened throughout the series; the intent wasn't to create a cliffhanger like in previous seasons. Jim Mortensen confirmed that this was done for fun, as they knew the show isn't considered canon by most fans.https://jimmortensen.tumblr.com/post/630785546446307328/was-there-ever-to-be-a-season-9-for-beat-gose-on
*Branch's hug-time bracelet from this episode would be later seen again in Trolls World Tour. This is the only connection made between the series and the movie, even though they're of different canon levels.
*"Neurotic" means "someone with neurosis", "neurosis" being a mild mental disorder. A "stickler" is someone who a insists on a standard or quality, "paranoid" means being mistrusting or afraid of something with no evidence, while a "hermit" is someone who lives on their own and doesn't want to be involved with others. Together, the implied meaning is Branch gone from living on his own because of mistrusting everyone and everything to someone who just has issues with others meeting his often abnormal expectations.
**Compared to the start of the series, Branch did indeed improve and he had the biggest story arc of anyone in the series. With this episode, not only did Trolls: The Beat Goes On! end, but his journey of self improvement from the end of Trolls. In addition, the episode ends with The Snack Pack accepting Branch for who he is, in contrast to Trolls where he was rejected altogether. The series also brought Branch more in-line with his later appearance in Trolls World Tour.
*This episode was the last piece of the Trolls-era media released, as well as the last episode in the entire series to air in 2019 and the last one to air in the 2010's decade, as everything that came after it is dedicated to the Trolls World Tour era.
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Branch's Bunker Party 🧁 Trolls The Beat Goes On! Netflix Jr
Branch Wants to BLOW UP His Bunker?? TROLLS THE BEAT GOES ON!
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Category:Episodes
Category:Trolls: The Beat Goes On! episodes
Category:TBGO Season 8 episodes
Category:2D animation