A Bit of a Light Chop

"A Bit of a Light Chop" is the second episode of season two of the Disney+ streaming television series The Mysterious Benedict Society and the tenth episode of the series overall. It was released on October 26, 2022.
==Synopsis==
The kids stow away on a ship. Benedict and Number Two try to escape Curtain's compound.
==Plot==
The Mysterious Benedict Society successfully board the Shortcut, but know that they are in danger of being caught by authorities for being stowaways. During a safety drill, the four children meet Officer Zhao, who goes by the nickname Cannonball, who explains that he takes his job very seriously and warns everyone to be on their best behavior. Sometime later, Cannonball goes to speak with the captain Noland and informs him that after taking a safety jacket count, he has deduced that the ship has four stowaways. Noland, who has had a long history with Cannonball and knows very well the kind of trouble the two of them could get into, orders him to find the stowaways and have them "walk the plank" metaphorically.
At the compound, Mr. Benedict and Number Two are flustered by Dr. Curtain's hospitality, claiming that he has moved on since their last encounter and that he technically did end the Emergency. He calls upon Jackson and Jillson to show the two around. On the ship, the kids venture around to find the room that they were supposed to get with Sticky having memorized which room keys were available. During the search, Kate comes to the conclusion that the Shortcut is moving slower than what Captain Noland claimed. She and Constance are nearly caught by Cannonball, but deter him. Rhonda, Ms. Perumal and Milligan board a dirigible called the Inverness so that they can meet up with the children at Libson.
Jackson and Jillson show the facilities around the compound, but their peaceful and friendly ways are viewed as off putting to Mr. Benedict and Number Two, especially a man named Sebastian who looks uncomfortably happy. After being shown their living arrangements, the two make plans to escape. After trial and error, they find the room and locate the next clue on the ceiling fan, but before they can claim it, a newlywed couple burst in, having been offered the room due to no one having claimed it. The kids leave, but without the clue. Cannonball confirms his suspicions to Captain Noland.
While at the dining area, Sticky is reunited with fellow Boatwright Academy students Marcus Hoover whose friendliness towards Sticky, makes Reynie feel uncomfortable. Kate decides to go interview a group of water poloists whom she earlier had admired. As Mr. Benedict and Number Two continue to search the compound for an exit, they encounter Sebastian again who explained that he read Dr. Curtain's book and watched his video and that it was enough to convince to be happy. The two ponder if he has taken a drug or has been reprogrammed. Back on the ship, Cannonball once gain confronts the kids, but they manage to avoid him and return to the room when they see the married couple enter the dining hall.
The kids open the envelope and find playing chips with stars on them, along with directions. Using the grid above the bed, they begin to glue the chips with the stars sticking up on one end. On the Inverness, Milligan voices his concern about Kate to Ms. Perumal just as the dirigible flies into a storm. Mr. Benedict and Number Two encounter an electrified fence, angering the former into confronting Dr. Curtain about his hypocrisy. Mr. Benedict realizes that Dr. Curtain is making people happy by using neuron signals and subliminal messaging disguised as delicate speech patterns. Sebastian wanders through the woods with a fixed grin on his face.
After finishing with gluing the stars on the ceiling, Constance turns off the lights to reveal that they glow, revealing the constellation of Apollo's Bird Corvus. Sticky deduces that their next stop is at the train station Santo Pollo in Libson and that the key that they found with the chips is to be used there. Meanwhile, Cannonball tells Captain Noland that he has figured out that the kids are the stowaways and the water poloists that Kate conversed with earlier arrive at their room and kick down the door.
==Cast==
*Tony Hale as Nicholas Benedict/L.D. Curtain
*Kristen Schaal as Number Two
*MaameYaa Boafo as Rhonda Kazembe
*Ryan Hurst as Milligan Wetherall
*Gia Sandhu as Ms. Perumal
*Mystic Inscho as Reynie Muldoon
*Seth Carr as Sticky Washington
*Emmy DeOliveira as Kate Wetherall
*Marta Kessler as Constance Contraire
===Guest starring===
*Katherine Evans as Jillson
*Ben Cockell as Jackson
*Joel de la Fuente as Officer "Cannonball" Zhao
*Reece Noi as Marlon
*Lex King as Ilsa
*Fred Melamed as Captain Phil Noland
*Chris Parnell as Captain of the Inverness
===Co-Starring===
*Rubén Guevara as Sebastian
*Malak Dabcha as Bauer
*Kannon Hicks as Auguste
*Emerson Min as Marcus Hoover
*Josh Zwick as Tove
*Roni Geva as Angry Passenger
*Ali Kinkade as Bride
*Steven Casmillas as Groom
==Trivia==
*This episode does not have a featured song as part of the soundtrack
*The episode's title comes from the Captain of the Inverness telling the passengers about the stormy weather coming.
*This episode loosely covers the latter half of Chapter 7 to Chapter 9 and borrows elements from Chapter 14 of the second book.
==Book comparisons==
*The Shortcut in the book is a cargo ship carrying "bullfrogs" (business people) who are annoyed at the children. In the series, it has become a cruise ship with casual passengers.
*When the children arrive at the docks, they do not have their tickets, forcing them to sneak aboard. In the book, they are met by Jim "Cannonball" Shooter who takes them aboard and introduces them to Captain Noland who is a friend of Mr. Benedict's.
*The talkative and eagerly friendly Officer Jim Shooter is replaced with the stern and proper Officer Zhao. Both characters are nicknamed Cannonball however.
**The name was most likely changed, not just due to casting, but because he shared the same name as the well known, and controversial, comic book editor Jim Shooter.
*Captain Phil Noland is portrayed as being dutiful about his job and has a bigger role in the series than he does in the book.
*In the book, Cannonball eagerly meets the children and takes them on board while showing them around. In the series, he is depicted as a loose antagonist who tries to capture them for being stowaways. Consequently, Captain Noland fulfills a similar purpose.
*The flashback involving Constance asking Mr. Benedict to help her look for her parents and her psychic training are cut from the series.
*The kids all get seasick in the book. This is omitted in the series.
*Constance does not discuss her psychic powers like she does in the book.
*Both the Water Poloists and Marcus Hoover are invented for the series.
*In the book, the next clue is given to them by Captain Noland while in the series, it is placed on a ceiling fan that contains pieces that take them to the next clue.
*The scene where the children go into the stateroom to find the next clue is very reminiscent of a scene that happens later in the book where they go to a hotel in Holland. However, in the series they find the next two clues on the ceiling fan and by placing glow-in-the-dark marks on the ceiling while in the book, they find the clue under a table and then in a pull out sofa that contains money.
*In the book, they learn that their next destination is St. George's Castle while in the series it is changed to Santo Pallo Station.
*All the subplots involving the adults are made up for the show.
==Gallery==
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==External links==
*A Bit of a Light Chop at The Mysterious Benedict Society Wiki
Category:The Mysterious Benedict Society episodes