Swamp Itch

**Swamp Itch** is the eleventh episode in Season 1 of *I ♥ Arlo*.

## Synopsis

After Arlo comes down with a bad case of swamp itch, Ansel decides to nurse his son back to health.

## Plot

Ansel is on his yacht one day, reviewing the various private islands he owns and one he wishes to own, when he suddenly senses something is amiss and flies off to investigate. Meanwhile at Tony's Pizzeria, Elena comes out to announce to the Seasiders that they have banished the strong seagulls to the sewers, and can now enjoy a slice of authentic Seaside pizza for herself. Arlo then gives her an update on the final touch-ups of the town prior to its Uncondemning: The plumbing is working everywhere (which Marcellus does not approve of), and the various ghosts have been chased away from places not wanting to be haunted and relocated to places they do want haunted, in particular Alia's bus which she accepts. Arlo then suddenly gives a random comment in delusion, apologizing and revealing he got a homemade sweater from Edmée earlier, and since he put it on, he started feeling increasingly itchy. He soon notices hives on his arm and realizes he caught a disease known as "swamp itch", which cause bad fevers and chills that eventually turn into intense hallucinations, and is highly contagious. Ansel then appears, having sensed Arlo was sick and promises to take care of him. Since the disease is contageous, he asks everyone to stay away from Arlo for the first 24 hours; Alia invites Bertie and Furlecia to spend the night on the bus with her and the ghosts for a girls' night, which Bertie doesn't find fun.

Ansel takes Arlo back to the house where he removes his sweater, just as Thao comes over with another care package which Arlo turns down in a panic. After bringing him to his room and putting him in bed, Ansel begins following the instructions from the book he brought. First, he surrounds Arlo with twigs to make a comfortable environment to rest in which he finds strange; when Arlo starts to get chills, he covers him with a blanket and oven mitts to keep warm; he then reads homemade chicken soup has a calming effect, but seems reluctant against that idea. In the kitchen, Ansel cannot find any of the ingredients needed, so he decides to use substitutions — maple syrup, garlic, and bone juice — based on what happened back in his childhood when he ate rocks. Naturally, Arlo doesn't find that soup tasty and throws is up, Ansel adding he should've used corn starch.

All of a sudden, Arlo hits the hallucination stage of the swamp itch and begins imagining himself as a prospector in search of gold, along with seeing Ansel as his deputy "Canary" who begins disobeying him. Ansel is forced to play along with Arlo's scenario while simultaneously trying to care for him; he calls up Funky Pets Emporium where the owner looks up information on what alligators do when sick, which say a lot about mud. Ansel then has a mud truck come over where they fill up Arlo's room with mud, but when Arlo swims in it, he apparently drowns in it due to his delusions. Ansel takes Arlo out for a night flight where he seemingly calms down, only to struggle and free himself manically, disappearing from his father completely.

When Ansel calls up the pet store once again, he is livid when the owner suggests feeding it mud, complaining that no one told him how to raise an alligator *boy*, and begins reconsidering his parenting status. When he sees he laid various twigs to make a nest, Ansel realizes he needs to use his natural instincts; he lures Arlo back to the house where he dresses up as his imaginary wife "Winifred" and plays along with his scenario, while simultaneously trapping Arlo in various twigs. His guard completely down, Arlo believes "Canary" is making "Winifred" do all this as he cries out in despair.

The next day, a sleep-deprived Bertie emerges from the bus, having experienced an intense girls' night with Furlecia, Alia and the ghosts, and heads home for some sleep. When she enters the house, she finds the twigs Ansel used to trap Arlo have been made into a giant nest in the living room, and Arlo has finally calmed down. Bertie then shows the care package that Arlo rejected, but to Arlo's request, Ansel says they hate packages now, prompting Bertie to drop it before falling asleep on her stairs. Freed from his hallucination, Arlo thanks Ansel for taking care of him; all of a sudden, Ansel contracts Arlo's swamp itch and starts having the same hallucination he had, and Arlo says it's time to take care of his dad now.

## Cast

* Michael J. Woodard as Arlo Beauregard
* Mary Lambert as Bertie
* Jonathan Van Ness as Furlecia
* Haley Tju as Alia
* Brett Gelman as Marcellus
* Tony Hale as Teeny Tiny Tony
* Vincent Rodriguez III as Ansel Beauregard/Child Ansel
* Jessica Williams as Elena
* Cathy Vu as Thao
* Maria Bamford as Ghost
* Phil LaMarr as Mud Guy/Walla
* Michelle McMillan as Walla
* Mark Whitten as Ghost/Pet Store Employee

## Trivia

* This is Ansel's first main role.
* Furlecia and Tony scaring off ghosts in an ally is a call-back to "The Shedding".
* It's revealed Ansel owns at least twenty islands.
* Here are the roles as determined by Arlo's hallucination:
	+ Arlo is the sheriff.
	+ Canary, Arlo's deputy until he disobeys him.
	+ Winifred, Arlo's love interest.
	+ Nightscream, Arlo's loyal steed.
* The music played during the ghosts' dance party on the bus is the same music played at Arlo's housewarming in "Friendship Couch".
* This is the first time Ansel is seen inside Arlo and Bertie's house.
* The author for *How to Nurse Your Toddler Back to Health* is Dr. R. Crego, which is a reference to the show's creator Ryan Crego.
* An instrumental of "In The Blue" plays as Ansel is giving Arlo a flight around Seaside at night.
* Some of the islands on Ansel's map are named Material Wealth Bay, Richman's Isle, Charity Beach, Isle of Power, Handsome Island, and Passive Income Bay.