Reckoning Ball

"Reckoning Ball" is the first segment of the thirty-fifth episode of Big City Greens.
==Synopsis==
Chip Whistler returns to exact his revenge on Cricket and the Greens, but his father threatens to fire him and he must reluctantly earn their trust that he's sorry, or so they think.
==Plot==
Following the events of "Feud Fight", Wholesome Foods has been quickly losing business with people protesting in the street. The employees all mock their boss, Chip Whistler, who is still upset over having been humiliated by Cricket Green and his family, even though much of the conflict is his own fault. He resolves to "drive [the] Greens out of town, once for all" by purchasing a wrecking ball in an attempt to destroy their house. Officer Keys just so happens to be walking along when he prevents Chip from harming them due to murder being illegal. Chip tried to redirect the ball to avoid hitting the officer, but it swings back after bouncing off the roof and knocks him out of the driver's seat; chipping his tooth once again. Chip meets with his father who reprimands his son for his violent behavior and threatens to kick him out of the company. He gives him a Forgiveness Contract that the Greens must sign to show that they have accepted his legitimate apology which then he will reconsider his future in the company.
The Greens are hard at work rebuilding their roof, which was slightly damaged by the wrecking ball, when Chip shows up. The Greens all begin to attack him, but he calms them down by revealing that he wants to apologize. While Bill and Tilly are willing to accept his attempt, Cricket and Gramma Alice are skeptical, especially when he gives a half-hearted apology to them. Bill then suggests that he apologize by helping out with fixing the roof. It quickly becomes apparent that Chip is incompetent at something simple like hammering a nail and falls off the roof and destroys the garden. Not being able to withstand the "harsh" conditions, Chip tries to mow down the yard, but Alice stops him and he knocks himself out cold.
Chip is nursed back to health by the Greens where he admits that he is unsure of what to think about them as they have been kind to him despite his behavior. They tell him that despite their bad relationship (which they admit is mostly Cricket's fault) they still want to treat him nicely as that is what they do. He gives a legitimate apology and the Greens sign his contract though he still wants to help with the yard. Mr. Whistler finally retires and hands the company over to his son. As Chip steps in as CEO however, his true intentions are revealed: his apology was all but an act and he only tricked the Greens and his dad into thinking he has changed so he can take over the company. He quickly has his hired hands refurbish his office and calls his dentist to fix his teeth with platinum; he then vows to have his full revenge on the Green family now that he has full control of the company, foreshadowing the events of "Friend Con".
==Cast==
*Paul Scheer as Chip Whistler
*Chris Houghton as Cricket Green
*Marieve Herington as Tilly Green, Whitney
*Bob Joles as Bill Green, Nelson
*Artemis Pebdani as Gramma Alice, Protesting woman
*Ed Begley Jr. as John Whistler
*Andy Daly as Officer Keys
*Shane Houghton as Greg
*C.H. Greenblatt as Dentist
==Continuity==
*This episode marks the fourth appearance of Chip Whistler, and he becomes CEO of Wholesome Foods, having big plans to revenge on the Greens, which reflects on his future appearances in the show.
*The events of this episode become important following "Chipocalypse Now", as it was all Cricket's fault for believing Chip changed and signing the contract, which made him CEO and eventually led to the shutdown of Big Coffee.
==Trivia==
*This episode largely focuses on Chip while the Greens are demoted to a side role.
*Chip's father is revealed to be the CEO of Wholesome Foods and retires.
*Cricket is noticeably more mature in this episode, as well as the second segment "Clubbed", as he acts more responsibly and is shown performing yard work which he seems to enjoy, as opposed to previous episodes where he considered yard work to be another boring chore.
*Despite his father's tough working demeanor, Chip is revealed to not having had any work experience prior. Also ironically, he fails to identify a carrot, implying that he most likely does not practice what he preaches.
*The scene when Bill and Cricket are fixing the roof is similar to The Simpsons Movie when Homer and Bart are doing the same.
*The Forgiveness Contract reads as follows:
**Hey, we know we did bad. So we wrote this to prove that we are really, really sorry. We admit it. We goofed up! Hope it's all water under the bridge. Please don't sue us.
*Normally when Chip gets his tooth chipped, he whistles through the chip when he speaks, but in this episode, he does not.
*This is the first episode to end on a cliffhanger.
*When Bill tells Chip he has to work before he gains what he desires and it can be anything he wants in life, he smiles slightly at this comment before he starts the apology. This foreshadows he's only using the Greens' kindness to his advantage to take control of the company so he can run them out of town.
*The final scene has many significant symbols towards Chip's true nature:
**The shades close on the office as it is being remodeled. This represents Chip hiding his true nature to the outside world (including the Greens), and the darkness also represents his true dark self.
**Chip slamming down his baby picture on the desk signifies he's no longer the child his father has known and he's completely defying his father, while the shade closing on it shows he's become a shadow of his old self.
**When the CEO office is being renovated, the portrait of Chip's dad as a young farmer is the only thing that was not taken down. This signifies the distrust he's giving his father and he's done the complete opposite of what he wanted him to do.
*The shot of Chip smiling wickedly in a mirror with a new titanium filling is considered one of the darkest scenes in the show, and managed to scare younger viewers.
*Chip's supposed apology near the end was vaguely foreshadowed during the scene where Cricket attacks him and says, "Chip's here to apologize...supposedly."
*The episode's opening is the same as "Steak Night", with a discarded grocery bag holding the episode title before it flies and reveals Wholesome Foods.
*As shown in "Cricket's Biscuits", Alice makes butter biscuits to cheer up someone hurt or injured; in this episode however, she does not make biscuits for Chip.
*Moral: You can't expect someone to believe your apologies unless you really mean it.
==International Premieres==
*December 15, 2019 (Canada)
*February 11, 2020 (Latin America)
*May 10, 2020 (Japan)
*May 20, 2020 (Southeast Asia)
*September 15, 2020 (Portugal)
==External links==
*Reckoning Ball on Big City Greens Wiki
Category:Big City Greens episodes