Goodbye and Good Riddance

Goodbye and Good Riddance is the eleventh episode of the fourth season of Ben 10, and the fiftieth episode overall.
==Synopsis==
Summer's over and Ben is back at school. Unable to tell anyone that's he all these cool aliens that they've heard about all summer, Ben suddenly realizes he's gone from a "hero" to a "zero", that is until Vilgax comes after him with a vengeance. Ben must now reveal his hero side to his parents and to his fellow classmates. In doing so he saves his town and teams up with his dad to destroy Vilgax once and for all. But there is some bad news... Gwen has switched schools and is in Ben's class!
==Plot==
The episode begins with a group of criminals dressed as birds that have hijacked an airship and plan to use it to terrorize a city. One of the birdmen is fighting Wildvine. Wildvine knocks him down a level, where Gwen ties him up. Another one sets a bomb in the engine room, but Max stops him. Wildvine takes out the leader and throws the bomb away. Wildvine asks Max what they're going to do next, and Max says that it's time to get everyone home and ready for school because summer is over, much to his dismay.
Pages of a comic strip appear while a narrator explains there are as many ways a story can begin as there is to end one, and it will be one of those stories for Ben. In the Rustbucket, Ben does not want to go to school as they arrive at Bellwood, Ben's town. Ben wants to quit school and join the police, but Max tells him to keep the Omnitrix a secret from everyone, including his parents. Ben says that the only good thing about school is that Gwen isn't there. 
Max drops Ben off at his house, but he leaves quickly when Ben's mother, Sandra, and father, Carl, arrive. Ben and Gwen say goodbye and the Rustbucket drives away (with Max and Gwen). Ben's parents notice the Omnitrix, but Ben lies about what it is. Sandra takes Ben to his room and instructs him to clean it. Ben transforms XLR8 and does this and several other chores. At dinner, Ben asks for a raise in his allowance, but Carl says that he also has to pick up after his dog. 
The next day, Carl asks Ben if he wants to go to work with him, but Ben says no. At school, Ben overhears kids talking about his aliens. Ben observes as Cash and JT are bullying Jamie and tries to stop them, but he gets a milkshake thrown at him. The bell rings and the bullies leave. 
During gym class, everyone is selected for dodgeball except for Ben. The wall blows up and Vilgax's Mechadroids enter and locate the Omnitrix. As the Mechadroids attack the kids, Ben secretly runs off and transforms into Diamondhead. Diamondhead comes out and Cash and JT state that they recognize him from the Little League World Series. Diamondhead tells the students to leave and continues to battle the Mechadroids. On their way out, Cash and JT notice that Ben is missing, and the Mechadroids chase Diamondhead through the school. He destroys several of the Mechadroids, but more of them arrive. Max comes and blows one up and he says that he picked up a drone signal. Diamondhead reverts back into Ben and the police arrive at the school and Max tells them that Ben told him it was 'Bring Your Grandfather to School Day'. Ben tries to tell JT and Cash that he was Diamondhead, but Max stops him. 
Afterwards, in the Rustbucket, Ben says that Max might get along with Carl if Max had told Carl the truth, but Max drops Ben off at home and gives him his box of souvenirs. Ben sees that someone is home. He invites Max in, but Max declines and drives off. Inside, Ben discovers that his house has been destroyed and Vilgax is holding Carl hostage. Vilgax demands the Omnitrix. Ben moves to give it to him, but he transforms into Cannonbolt. Cannonbolt rescues Carl and says never to trust Vilgax. Carl is confused and Cannonbolt grabs him and rolls away, but Vilgax chases after them. Vilgax says that he sent the Mechadroids out as decoys and that he plans to destroy Bellwood. Mechadroids arrive and attack Cannonbolt. He rolls away and the Mechadroids chase him. The house collapses on Vilgax. Carl blames Max, but Cannonbolt defends him. Carl says that Max never felt proud of him. 
Mechadroids attack downtown Bellwood as Ben and Carl arrive. Max and Gwen are there too. Max gives Carl and Ben guns. They shoot down Mechadroids. Carl enjoys it but tells Max that nothing has changed. The police arrive and Mechadroids blow them up. Vilgax comes and Gwen casts a spell, collapsing the building he is on. Behind a vehicle, Cash and JT observe the battle. Max gives Ben permission to transform, and he transforms into XLR8. Cash and JT are shocked towards their discovery of the fact that Ben can transform into aliens and XLR8 says that he's every alien hero. Max tells Carl to use a nearby float to run into Mechadroids. XLR8 and Gwen destroy Mechadroids as well. When all of the Mechadroids are gone, Vilgax attacks XLR8 and XLR8 fights him, but he is easily defeated. Carl receives an idea of how to defeat Vilgax and the Tennysons run off. XLR8 taunts Vilgax and Vilgax chases him underground. He emerges in the town's pipes. XLR8 drops from the ceiling. Carl opens a gas valve and ignites it and XLR8 takes Carl and runs. Vilgax and the underground blow up, and there are explosions all over town. On the surface, XLR8 sees Cash and JT and he hangs them from a tree, revealing that it was him all along and later on, Carl and Max reconcile. 
At school the next day, the kids finally respect Ben. He sits down and discovers that Gwen is now attending his school. However, just when everything is quiet, Dr. Animo shows up with a mob of mutated animals to attack the school and Ben activates the Omnitrix as the episode ends. The narrator says even though Ben didn't want summer to end at the first, he knew going back to school would be another beginning.
==Noteworthy Events==
===Major Events===
*Ben and Gwen's summer vacation ends, and they head back to Bellwood.
*Ben's secret identity is revealed.
*Vilgax is defeated by Carl and Ben.
====Character Debuts====
*Carl Tennyson
*Bird Villains
*Sandra Tennyson
*Ben's Dog
*Arnold
*Peterson
*Ben's Teacher 
==Characters==
===Main Characters===
*Ben Tennyson
*Gwen Tennyson
*Max Tennyson
===Supporting Characters===
*Carl Tennyson (first appearance)
===Antagonists===
*Bird Villains (first appearance)
*Vilgax
**Mechadroids
*Dr. Animo
===Other Characters===
*Sandra Tennyson (first appearance)
*Ben's Dog (first appearance)
*Ishiyama (photos)
*Kenko (photo)
*Cash Murray
*JT
*Jamie
*Arnold (first appearance)
*Peterson (first appearance)
*Ben's Teacher (first appearance)
==Aliens Used==
*Wildvine (off-screen activation)
*XLR8 (x2)
*Diamondhead
*Cannonbolt
===Aliens on Comic Cover===
*Upgrade
*Stinkfly
*Heatblast
*Ripjaws
*Diamondhead
*Four Arms
*Wildvine
*Cannonbolt
*Grey Matter
*Upchuck
*XLR8
*Wildmutt
*Ditto
==Spells Used==
*Pardicitus Metalliarka
==Quotes==
==Naming and Translations==
==Cast==
==Continuity==
*Many of Ben's alien exploits are mentioned by Ben's classmates, such as:
**Heatblast's burning building rescue from Washington B.C..
**Four Arms' fight with Kevin on top of the Golden Gate Bridge in Framed.
**Wildmutt's battle with Hex in Las Vegas from Tough Luck.
**Wildvine's battle with Sublimino in Midnight Madness.
**Diamondhead at the Little League World Series from The Unnaturals.
*The souvenirs Ben gathered throughout the series reappear in the scene where Max gives Ben the souvenir box. Those include:
**Pictures taken at Sparksville, from Tourist Trap.
**A hat and feather from Merry Christmas.
**The wrestling promotion poster from Ready to Rumble.
==Allusions==
*There is a poster of Optimus Prime from the Transformers franchise on Ben's bedroom wall.
Riddance (426).png|Optimus Prime poster
==Errors==
*On the comic cover, Ditto's fins are white instead of black. 
*In two shots, XLR8's visor is green.
*When Ben talks to Gwen on the drive back to Bellwood, Gwen types something on the keyboard of her laptop, but the laptop displays the home screen.
*In one shot, Sandra's hair lacks shading.
*When Ben eats dinner with Carl and Sandra, the Omnitrix's dial faces the wrong way. This error occurs again when Ben is about to walk into school.
*When Ben's teacher appears to allow Ben to fight Dr. Animo, the lower part of Gwen's shirt is the wrong shade of blue.
*Grey Matter and Ripjaws are listed in the end credits despite not appearing in the episode.
Riddance (148).png|White fins
Riddance (205).png|Laptop on home screen
Riddance (294).png|Missing shading
Riddance (484).png|Omnitrix dial error
Riddance (524).png|Omnitrix dial error
Riddance (1514).png|Green visor
Riddance (1665).png|Green visor
Riddance (1782).png|Shirt error
Riddance (1800).png|Grey Matter and Ripjaws in the end credits
==Trivia==
*This episode takes place after Ben 10 vs. Negative 10: Part 2, despite being produced before it.
*This episode was promoted and aired as the final episode of the Original Series.
*Just like Gwen 10, this episode is a non-canon "what if" episode.
**This episode was meant to show what would happen if Vilgax revealed Ben's identity.
*The robots that attacked Ben at school had an "aggression program" to make them relentless hunters.
==Notes==
==References==
===Production Material===
====Backgrounds====
===Pop-Up Trivia===
===Cartoon Network===
===Merchandise===
====DVDs====
es:De regreso a casa
pl:Do widzenia i nie ma czego żałować
pt-br:Adeus e Já Vai Tarde
ro:La revedere, călătorie sprâncenată
Category:Episodes
Category:Ben 10 Episodes
Category:Ben 10 Season 4 Episodes
Category:Episodes Written by Thomas Pugsley
Category:Episodes Written by Greg Klein
Category:Episodes Directed by Scooter Tidwell
Category:Filler