Depends on the Wagon

"Depends on the Wagon" is the third episode of the Disney+ streaming television series The Mysterious Benedict Society, and the third episode of the series overall. It was released on July 2, 2021.
==Synopsis==
The kids strive for academic success without revealing their investigation to Dr. Curtain.
==Plot==
The kids are confused at the appearance of Dr. Curtain as Constance casually asks if "this [is] a test," and he gives a very vague response. They quickly deduce that he must in fact be a twin of Mr. Benedict and send a message to him via the flashlights off the coast of the island. Mr. Benedict, Number Two, and Rhonda get the message as they learn the name as the kids also leave the word "Gemini". Mr. Benedict immediately realizes what they mean and identifies Dr. Curtain as his twin brother Nathaniel. He tells his associates that they both grew up in an orphanage, but only he was adopted. He attempted to come back for him, but he ran away. He insists on meeting him face to face, but Rhonda and Number Two stop him as it could put the the children in jeopardy.
The children start to question Mr. Benedict's motives, but they quickly conclude that he is good and that they must keep an eye on Dr. Curtain. They continue to take their classes, which are quite ridiculous and consist of strange activities, and are unsure of what to do. Kate, who insists that she climb the tower to see if the transmitter is up there, ends up asking Martina how they become a Messenger and she insultingly tells her that one simply needs to be the best at everything. Reynie realizes that one of school's custodians is Mr. Bloom, an administrator from the orphanage he went to. However, he does not recognize Reynie and he does not know his own name. Constance points out that Milligan has a similar disposition.
Mr. Benedict attempts to leave the base, but Milligan stops him. He relents and asks him to go back to the mansion to retrieve a very special blue envelope. Milligan heads back to the mansion only to discover that Dr. Curtain's men are surveying the area. He sneaks inside to the study and finds the envelope, but ends up having to hide within the walls among the insulation while the grunts are moving about the place. Meanwhile, Mr. Benedict throws a fit about the status of his brother while Number Two and Rhonda watch him.
The kids are drawn to a scoreboard that all the students seem fixated on. Martina is ranked at the top while Reynie and Sticky discover that they are also in the green. Constance and Kate however are in the yellow area while a boy named Charlie Peters is in the red; resulting in him getting kicked off the island. Fearing for their lives, Reynie and Sticky have to try to get Kate and Constance's scores up to stay within the school. Reynie gets called in to see Dr. Curtain where he meets his son, S.Q. Reynie and Dr. Curtain dine on salad where the latter tells the former that he may be the fastest candidate to become messenger, but warns him about making friends; adding that he was "betrayed" by his own brother. Despite the warning, Reynie tells the other kids that he knows that Dr. Curtain is up to something.
The kids send another message to Mr. Benedict who tells them that they need to become "something they are not". They realize that he means that they need to cheat. Kate and Constance sneak out to see where a possible entrance to the lighthouse is. They almost get caught by Jackson and Jillson, but Constance manages to talk their way out of it. Milligan finally returns with the envelope and Mr. Benedict looks at the contents: a photo of himself and his brother when they were younger. Dr. Curtain explains his plans to an associate and asks that they speed it up while also revealing that he is well aware that his brother escaped his attack.
Reynie creates another mental letter to Ms. Perumal while Constance begins to hear voices in her head, which she experienced earlier. Elsewhere, Ms. Perumal discovers that Reynie is not at Boatwright Academy and calls them demanding that she speak to the headmistress.
==Cast==
===Starring===
*Tony Hale as Nicholas Benedict/L.D. Curtain
*Kristen Schaal as Number Two
*MaameYaa Boafo as Rhonda Kazembe
*Ryan Hurst as Milligan
*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===
*Ricardo Ortiz as S.Q.
*Saara Chaudry as Martina Crowe
*Trenna Keating as Dr. Garrison
*Katherine Evans as Jillson
*Ben Cockell as Jackson
*Shannon Kook as Mr. Oshiro
===Co-starring===
*Darren Dolynski as Mr. Bloom
*Anthony Bolognese as Charlie Peters
*Emily Delahunty as Lindsay
*Trevor Hinton as Chef
*John Gillich as McCabe
*Eliza Norbury as Female Grey
*Sossina Shenkute as Ms. De La Torre
*Sara Bynoe as Spoken Word Teacher
*Shawna Clarke as P.E. Teacher
*Asia Au-Yeung as Student #1
*Tysae Grewal as Student #2
*Remi-Gael Panon as Student #3
*Gelareh Ghodrati as Student #4
*Ayden Lim as Student #5
==Song==
*"The Sidewinder" by Quincy Jones
==Trivia==
*The title is what Kate tells Constance when she asks how many clowns fit in one.
*This episode covers the second half of chapter 12 to chapter 17, 19, and 20 and parts of chapter 18 in the first book.
==Book comparisons==
*In the book, it takes a while before the children figure out that Mr. Curtain is Mr. Bendict's twin after he sends a message asking "Beware the Gemini". It is further implied that this revelation is news even Mr. Benedict himself. In the series, the children immediately deduce that they are twins and report "Beware the Gemini" back to Mr. Benedict who is already aware of his twin brother, known to him as Nathaniel.
*The children send a message from the edge of the island, while in the book, they do it from the window of their dorm.
*In the book, he children collectively meet S.Q. as he surveys the halls and warns them to go to bed, before accidentally shutting the door on his foot. In the series, Reynie meets S.Q. when Dr. Curtain invites him to his study to have lunch.
*In the book, S.Q. mentions that he had been demoted and promoted numerous times. Such a thing is never mentioned in the series.
*Two minor characters, Reynie and Sticky's neighbors the thick headed boys, are completely absent from the series.
*In the book, Reynie, Sticky and Kate go through a period where they become irritable before discovering that Mr. Curtain is using the Whisperer. This is also the point where they learn that Constance can actually hear the voice. In the series, Constance still hears the voice, but the other children do not feel anything.
*When the children are told to become something they are not, they deduce that it means that they need to cheat. In the book, they do not immediately figure this out as it takes them a couple more pages to reach this conclusion.
*Reynie's mental letter to Ms. Perumal is actually shown as opposed to explained like in the book.
*Ms. Perumal's subplot is invented for the series. She does not return until the very end of the book.
*In the book, Charlie Peters is a Messenger who "graduates". Reynie and Sticky attempt to ask him a question, but he appears slightly spaced out and admits that his time as one was a blur. In the series, he is made into a young child, who has failing grades and gets kicked off the island.
*Reynie's encounter with Dr. Curtain is abrupt and sudden. Furthermore he is surprised to see that it is for dinner salad. In the book, Mr. Curtain directly confronts Reynie and personally takes him to his office simply to speak. His explanation to how Reynie came with Sticky and were already friends is taken almost verbatim from the book.
*In the book, Mr. Curtain is open about his distrust of Constance. In the series, he completely disacknowledges her.
*Dr. Curtain's office is nice and clean blue room with windows, a modernist fireplace and a mahogany desk. In the book, it is described as white windowless room with no rug, a drain pipe in the middle and a cold steel desk.
*Reynie discovers Mr. Bloom who does not remember anything about Reynie or the Stonetown Orphanage. In the book, Mr. Bloomberg believes his name is Harry Harrison is accompanied by Mary. The book goes into greater detail about his personal life and relationship with Reynie, such as his family and that he gave ginger snaps to the children. The book also deduces that he was inspecting the L.I.V.E. Institute and found something he did not like, resulting in his mind getting wiped.
==External links==
*Depends on the Wagon at The Mysterious Benedict Society Wiki
Category:The Mysterious Benedict Society episodes