Mute-Eat-Mute World

"**Mute-Eat-Mute World**" is the ninth episode of *Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts*. It premiered on Netflix with the rest of season 1 on January 14, 2020. It was written by Christopher Amick & Ben Mekler and directed by Chase Conley.

## Synopsis

A big secret's out, and Wolf can't deal. Meanwhile, Kipo must resist the urge to pet Mega Bunny babies before escaping from sticky Mod Frog Jamack.

## Plot

***Warning:** the following text contains spoilers about the plot or the series.*
A younger Wolf, dressed in a smart blazer-vest uniform runs from a pack of howling wolves. She stumbles into a ditch, tears streaming down her face.

In the present, Wolf shakes her head and herself out of her flashback when Benson calls out to her. He tries to convince her to come back, but Wolf is adamant about not returning and runs off.

Meanwhile, on the back of a dragonfly driven by Jamack, Kipo tied up with baby-Dave demands to be let go. The two continue to bicker until a Dubstep Bee interrupts them.

Back with Wolf and Benson, Wolf tries to get Benson to leave her alone while he argues that regardless of what Kipo is, she's still Kipo. Benson appears to be making some headway when Scooter Skunks driving past tips them off to the fact that Kipo and her friends are being actively hunted by Scarlemagne. This reaffirms Wolf's decision to part ways with the group, which exasperates Benson.

Mandu bursts through the brush, letting the two know that Kipo and Dave have been captured. When Wolf continues being prejudicial against mutes, Benson angrily calls her out on her treatment of their friends.

>
> **Wolf**: "*I won't be hunted over a couple of mutes.*"
> **Benson**: "*Maybe you've never had a friend before, but this is not how friends treat each other!*"
>

The comment reminds Wolf of when she was younger. As a new member of a wolf pack, she was the only human and didn't fit in. The wolf alphas, a mother and father pair dressed like a suburban couple, might've considered her a failure if not for a girl-wolf cub, named Margot, reaching out a hand to her. Wolf and the Margot share flower bracelets and the two tussle like the other cubs.

Kipo vents to Jamack about her troubles with Wolf, which Jamack responds with his own troubles while mocking her. Kipo offers to listen to him which he shuts down sulkily.

As they subside into silence, Kwat and Harris appear on the back of another firefly. They ridicule Jamack and try to steal Kipo from him, but after an aerial battle where Jamack proves himself to be the better frog, Kipo manages to free herself and baby-Dave. But, not for long as Jamack quickly stops her before all three falls through a sinkhole, straight into a Mega Bunny warren.

Jamack, previously traumatized by Mega Bunnies, freaks out. Dave, now back into an adult body is bemused, but Kipo doesn't have the heart to abandon him and drags Jamack to safety in a sewer pipe before the mother Mega Bunny appears.

Benson and Wolf are nearly caught by Humming Bombers when Benson accidentally activates the music to an old ice cream truck he was climbing through. They manage to hide underneath the highway they were walking on, though a trigger happy hummingbird suggests just dropping some nectar-bombs to smoke them out. Their leader rejects the idea because "One slip and [they're] a Sunday roast." The Bombers leave, but Wolf is angry.

>
> **Wolf**: "*That was stupid! We could have died! Just go away. I can survive on my own.*"
> **Benson**: "*Aren't you tired of just surviving?*"
>

Benson acknowledges that Wolf can take care of herself, but wouldn't she rather see what they can all do together? Wolf's lips tremble briefly, but then she remembers how getting along with her old pack went.

Wolf was by far and ahead the best among the wolf cubs. But even so, she was there willing and waiting for Margot when the two trained in their pack's obstacle course. While Wolf could've easily crossed the finish line first, she wouldn't do it without her best friend. The alpha mother and father approved of her attitude, and Wolf was welcomed to the pack by Margot.

Back with Kipo's group, Jamack begs her not to tell anyone about his little episode. Kipo easily and happily agrees to keep her promise which in turn disgusts Jamack who can't understand her positive and friendly attitude. As they make their way further in the sewers Jamack questions how Kipo seems to have no trouble navigating in the dark. When she turns around, Jamack sees her eyes, which have transformed once again. Kipo tells a startled Jamack that she may be part mute.

“You're a human and a mute? What kind of freak are you?”
— Jamack

Kipo despairs and sits down. Hesitantly, Jamack offers to listen to her which Kipo jumps on immediately. Kipo rants about her body changes before ending forlornly on how the worst part was that her best friend hates her. Surprisingly, Jamack sits beside her and offers the idea that perhaps Wolf is just scared of change. Projecting a little of his own experience and cheers Kipo up.

“When you spend your whole life believing one thing, and then it's ripped away, you can do some pretty drastic stuff. Not always smart stuff. [...] So, what I'm saying is, she's weak right now. Perfect time to use your mute powers to hunt her down and break her! ~Or use your physical supremacy to become queen of the humans and make her your servant. You're welcome.”
— Jamack
After their heart-to-heart Dave points to an exit above them and has Jamack take them up. When they reach the surface, Kipo is under the impression that things are good between them. But, Jamack cheerfully explains he's going to go through with his kidnapping plan anyway. Kipo really had thought they'd become friends, but as it is, she ruthlessly shoves Jamack down into the sewer again and closes the manhole cover before running off to find Wolf.

Benson and Mandu briefly trap Wolf which she simply cuts herself down from. Benson doesn't understand what Wolf's problem is because he's seen her with other mutes and knows she doesn't really hate them all. Wolf says it's because Kipo lied to her. But Benson points out how Kipo forgave her about the map. Wolf, however, thinks there's a difference between lying about who she fundamentally is. Benson argues back that regardless, their relationship isn't a lie. That Kipo and Wolf are practically sisters and you can't fake that.

Unfortunately, this triggers another flashback for Wolf to her old pack's first family hunt. The mother alpha singles Wolf out, finally revealing that Wolf is their prey. Wolf tearfully runs as the other cubs start chasing her unhesitatingly with the exception of Margot. However, when Wolf stumbles over a ditch and gets surrounded, the wounded Wolf looks to Margot unsurely. With her mother right behind her, Margot denies their relationship as anything other than that of predator and prey.

>
> **Wolf**: "*But you said we were a pack.*"
> **Margot**: "*We're wolves. You're a... human.*"
>

With remembered anger, Wolf in the present solemnly disagrees with Benson.

That's when the howling of wolves signals the Newton Wolves surrounding them. Seeing Billions and Billions standing side to side triggers Wolf who has been reminded of her traumatizing past all day. She confuses the past and the present, seeing her former alpha parents in place of the Billions. Wolf drops Stalky, too shaken to do much else when she thinks she sees Margot behind the Billions. Luckily it's actually Kipo, who runs through and picks up Stalky, ready to defend them all.

Kipo offers herself in the stead of her friends, but then the Scooter Skunks, Mod Frogs, and Humming Bombers also join them in the clearing. None of them are working together and they get into a standoff over who will have Kipo. Then Jamack enters the scene.

Jamack casually strolls through, patting several of the other mutes as he passes them by, and ties up Kipo and friends claiming they're his prisoners. The other mute groups laugh at Jamack snidely before they realize the ones he'd patted have Mega Bunny fur on them.

The ground beneath them explodes upwards as the Mega Bunny mother bursts onto the surface. Jamack keeps a hold on Kipo's group with the Humming Bombers close on their tail. The Bombers drop some of their nectar-bombs leading to a massive explosion of epic proportions. Despite the grand destruction, Jamack and his prisoners escape on the back of a dragonfly.

At the edge of the city landfill, Jamack lets Kipo and her friends go.

“There's something you don't understand, Kipo. Up here, you have to be selfish to survive. You don't seem to know how to do that. You insist on helping and talking. One day, it'll be your end.”
— Jamack
Kipo is flabbergasted, but their group leaves quickly before Jamack changes his mind.

As they're running, Wolf stops to apologizes to Kipo. She admits she's still scared. Scared that Kipo will hurt her. But, Wolf's tired of running. Kipo reassures Wolf that no matter what's happening outside, who she is inside isn't going to change; that they're sisters no matter what. Wolf initiates a hug for the first time, which Kipo warmly reciprocates.

They reach the edge of the valley of the Mega Dogs and Kipo has the idea to pop the lid of cat food she previously got from Yumyan.

At Scarlemagne's palace, a Dubstep Bee reports back that Jamack let go of Kipo. At first furious, Scarlemagne smashes the bee but quickly laughs and calls the move genius.

## Credits

* **Written by**
	+ Christopher Amick
	+ Ben Mekler

* **Directed by**
	+ Chase Conley

* **Storyboards by**
	+ Jacob V. Eaton
	+ James P. Gibson
	+ Ben Li

* **Cast**
	+ Karen Fukuhara as Kipo Oak
	+ Sydney Mikayla as Wolf
	+ Deon Cole as Dave
	+ Coy Stewart as Benson
	+ Dee Bradley Baker as Mandu
	+ Faith Graham as Margot
	+ Jake Green as Jamack
	+ Grey Griffin as Kwat / Mrs. Sartori / Alpha Mom / Loretta
	+ GZA as Bad Billions
	+ Ian Harding as Harris
	+ John Hodgman as Good Billions
	+ Matt Lowe as Easy / Alpha Dad
	+ Scott Porter as Francis
	+ Dan Stevens as Scarlemagne
	+ Alanna Ubach as Boom-Boom / Wheels

## Transcript

The transcript can be found here: Mute-Eat-Mute World/Transcript

## Episode notes

### Featured songs

* "Nothing Can Stop Me" by Hydraulix & Oski
* "Magie Noire" by Inigo Montoya

### Trivia

* Radford Sechrist revealed that the wolf pelt Wolf wears is the alpha mother's skin, whom she'd killed.
* Sechrist also said that this episode is his favorite of all the show's episodes.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Season 1E9 · Mute-Eat-Mute World. tunefind.
2. ↑ @RadSechrist (Jan 16, 2020). Rad Schrist casually mentions the story behind Wolf's cloak (tweet). Retrieved on February 16, 2020. “Did they really make a character kill their mom, skin her and wear her? That’s kind of messed up. -fake Ben review”
3. ↑ Rad Sechrist, "9," Sept. 6, 2020