Dead Broke

**Dead Broke** is the ninth episode of season 2 of *The Cuphead Show!* and is the twenty-first overall.

## Synopsis

Ms. Chalice and the boys craft a perfect spooky scam: making money as ghost removers, but things get real when they pick a house that's already haunted.

## Plot

Cuphead and Mugman are seen fighting about them touching each other's stuff, when Cuphead asks Mugman to close the window because he hates fighting when it's drifty, only for them to notice the window isn't open. The boys fly in a circle from the wind, and then fall, when they notice something from under their sheets howling. They freak out, but find out it's Ms. Chalice, who comes back to see them. Mugman is surprised to see that she actually is a ghost, when Cuphead tells him to give him some money because it was a bet. Ms. Chalice questions this and does a tapdance, asking them how many ghosts they know can do that. Mugman, seeing this, takes his dollar back and says that she isn't a ghost. Cuphead asks Chalice if she is half a ghost, with her responding that he's half right, and the boys split the dollar in half, with Mugman looking annoyed. She tells them to keep it a secret and Cuphead asks if she has any ghost powers, and she asks what's in it for her. The boys reluctantly give her their split dollar, and she shows them what she can do. She shows them that she can fly, disappear, pick stuff up, pass through stuff, scare people, and possess people as she proceeds to possess Mugman and Cuphead. After all the ghost antics, she asks them if they want ice cream, her treat. The boys say yes and they all go.

The trio go to the Muffin Ice Cream Man, and he gives them all the flavors of the day. As they start to eat it, he holds his hand out, asking for 1 dollar. Cuphead hands him the split dollar, with the Ice Cream Man not accepting it because he doesn't take damaged currency. Cuphead says that's all they have, and as a result he takes their ice creams and leaves. Mugman and Chalice look down, upset, when Cuphead thinks of an idea to earn them some money. The three huddle up and plan it as the camera moves up to a theatre.

Inside is none other than Sally Stageplay, who is about to leave the theatre. Before she walks out, she hears howls from Chalice, who appears and scares her. She hears a knock and sees that it's Cuphead and Mugman as ghost removers. Sally takes them inside and shows the boys her paranormal issue involving Ms. Chalice. With the help of Mugman, Cuphead jumps up and catches Chalice in a net. They all walk out and Sally congratulates them on their successful catch, when they ask for 25 cents, and she gives them her money and happily walks off. After she goes, the three talk about how this is the perfect scam and continue to do it.

They start off by going to the Telephone's house and take care of the scare, doing the same scam they did with Sally. In the form of a montage, they are seen scaring many people and getting a lot of money for it. After what they think to be their last scare, the trio walk out laughing. Mugman says that they have enough for ice cream now, only for Chalice to tell them about getting some extra sprinkles, and they start walking to find another house. They find a haunted house and commence their last scare.

When Ms. Chalice enters, there is not one person to be within the house. Chalice then finds four portraits above the front fireplace, each with the names Belinda, Bedelia, Bonnie, and Boo-Boo, before reading the message on top of the portraits, revealing that saying all four of their names will release their spirits from the portraits. Due to Ms. Chalice already reading all four the sisters' names, their spirits become freed, as they capture Chalice within the portrait offscreen. Cuphead and Mugman walk up to the door and knock, with no response. A second later, the door opens on its own and they walk in without questioning it. Walking in, the boys don't see anyone in the house. A little further in, they see a falling chandelier mer inches from them, and confuse it for being an act from Chalice. They look under the blanket of a chair and a dresser, but don't find Chalice. When they find nothing, the two just shrug it off and walk away, when the dresser gets picked up by one of the Birnbaum Quadruplets. It hits Cuphead, but he just confuses it for another act from Chalice. They pretend to be scared and run away, leading them upstairs to a bathroom. The possessed dresser tries to fit through the door, but just ends up throwing its drawers at the brothers, after confusing it for another Chalice act. The third drawer hit sends them to the wall, then into a bathtub, which falls downstairs.

Mugman then tells Cuphead to look, and they find out that Chalice is trapped in the portrait. They realize that the house must actually be haunted, with a worried look on their faces. The boys hear a cackle, which ends up being from one of the Birnbaum Quadruplet. They start crying in fear as the ghosts surround them, still loudly cackling. As they shiver and sweat, they tell them that they're the ghost removers and ask if they're having any paranormal issues. The ghosts say that are and tell them that they've been trapped in those portraits for 100 years, and asks if they could replace them. Cuphead tells them to let Chalice out of the painting, but they respond no and say it's their turn to go out and have some fun. One of the ghosts ask if they what it's like to always be with your sibling, and the brother look at each other annoyedly responding "yes". They say that that's good and that they should get used to it because whoever's in there at the stroke of midnight is trapped in there for the next 100 years. They look up and realize that midnight is in 4 minutes, so Cuphead angrily walks out of the bathtub and goes to talk to the ghosts, only for him to get trapped in one of the portraits. Mugman, looking worried, screams and tries to get out of the bathtub, but is met with a painting wherever he tries to go, until he jumps out and runs for the Chalice portrait. He smashes it on one of the ghosts, and Ms. Chalice is finally free. The two run away from them chasing the two with portraits, but Chalice just turns into a ghost and frees Cuphead by trapping one in the portrait. An excited Mugman tries to talk to him, only to get trapped in one too. For a bit, they are all chasing each other with the portraits, and one of the ghosts ends up accidentally trapping Bonnie. Mugman is now free again, and goes to hide behind the bathtub. One of the ghosts try to capture him, but she just ends up breaking the portrait. They chase each other down some more and end up breaking 2 more of the portraits, leaving only one left. It is now 11:59, and the Birnbaum Quadruplets, holding the remaining portrait, cackle at the brothers down below. The shiver in fear as they question where Chalice went, only for her to show up behind the ghosts and trap them all in the last portrait. The three then leave the haunted house to use their money to get the ice cream, before Cuphead questions the absence of their piggy bank. That right there, cuts back to the portrait where the piggy bank was also revealed to have gotten trapped inside it as well.

## Cast of Episode

* Cuphead
* Mugman
* Ms. Chalice
* Sally Stageplay
* Muffin Ice Cream Man
* Telephone (cameo)
* The Birnbaum Quadruplets

## Trivia

* In real life, someone who is "dead broke" has no money.
* The characters getting trapped in paintings could be a reference to the GameCube game *Luigi's Mansion* by Nintendo.
* When Chalice is showing Cuphead and Mugman her ghost abilities, she makes snake-like creatures come out of her head. This is a reference to *Beetlejuice,* where the titular character scares the protagonists the same way when asked if he can scare people.
* The episode is very similar to the *Amazing World of Gumball* episode *The Scam*: the protagonists get their ghost friend to haunt people, so that they can remove the ghost for a price. However, unlike money in Dead Broke, in *The Scam*, Gumball and Darwin are getting Halloween candy.
* The climax of the episode could be considered an adaptation of the Mausoleum segments from the game. Both involve Cuphead and Mugman having to defend Ms. Chalice from a number of more malevolent specters until a time limit runs out, although the episode differs in that all three of them are at risk.
* This is one of the Halloween episodes in The Cuphead Show, the other being Sweet Temptation. ￼ As the ghost remover scam may referencing to Trick or Treating, a commonly used activity used on Halloween all of the time. As well as the Birnbaum Quadruplet ghosts, and the Haunted House.