Fortune and Fib Telling

**"Fortune and Fib Telling"** is the twenty-third episode of the first season of *Sammy & Co*. It premiered on December 25, 2015, on Netflix.

## Synopsis

When Big Boss tries to take control of the reef by pretending that he's clairvoyant, Ella and Annabel reluctantly escort Pipo to his psychic reading.

## Plot

The episode opens at the reef village where Sammy is telling Ricky, Ella, Pipo, and Annabel about his adventures in the Bermuda Triangle. But while Pipo is noticeably bored throughout the story, Ricky and Ella are both very impressed by it and they simultaneously tell Sammy that they want to explore the world like him when they grow up. Annabel even comments that she wants to grow seaweed like her mother when she grows up. But when Pipo wakes up from his nap and notices that his friends are asking what he wants to do when he grows up, he tells them honestly that he didn't know yet.

Later while the kids are swimming to the exit of the reef, Ricky and Annabel both tease Pipo that he'll probably be either a world napping champion or a professional snorer, but Ella tells her friends to stop being silly and tells Pipo that she sees him as a seaweed delivery fish. However, Pipo is upset that he finds that it's important for his friends to know what he's gonna do when he grows up. Just then, Albert swims rapidly towards them and the kids all swim out of the way to avoid getting hit by the shark. Ricky pushes Pipo away, but he accidentally causes the butterfly fish to land on top of a black sea urchin. While Ricky plucks the quills off of Pipo, Albert apologizes to the kids for being in such a hurry and he informs them that Big Boss can apparently predict the future. Albert is heading to the shipwreck so he'll know if Big Boss is able to tell him if his tooth is gonna fall out or not. As soon as Albert exits the reef, the kids can tell something is up for Big Boss since it's impossible to predict the future. But for Pipo, he believes that if Big Boss really can, then he could tell him what he's gonna do when he grows up.

At the shipwreck, a few villagers are waiting in line for Big Boss to tell them their future. While waiting for their turns, Billy swims by and tells them that Big Boss predicted that he'd be the most famous stand-up comic in the whole ocean. Albert also swims by and tells the kids that not only he's not going to lose his last tooth, but all the others are gonna grow back. Leonard then walks by and tells the kids that BIg Boss told him that his garden gnome Norbert is going to talk to him for real. As soon as Leonard leaves the shipwreck, the kids, except Pipo, all laugh at the thought that Big Boss's "prediction" to his clients is nonsense and they can't be true. But when it's Pipo's turn, his friends all get into the ship cabin. Big Boss is behind a large pearl which he uses as a "crystal ball" and tells Pipo's "future" which is that he'll get good grades in school and that he'll have fun with his friends. But when Pipo asks Big Boss what he's going to be when he grows up, Big Boss simply tells him that he'll be the greatest explorer of all the oceans. Pipo believes what Big Boss said and he and his friends all leave the shipwreck to get back to the reef. But unbeknownst to the kids, Big Boss, Marco, Philippe, and Jax all watch them leave and Big Boss orders his henchmen to do their next move for his scheme.

For the next few days, Marco places a fake tooth inside Albert's mouth while he's snoring at night, Philippe pretends that Norbert is "talking" to Leonard at his aquarium, and Jax pretends that he finds Billy's joke while the clownfish is performing his show.

At the playground, Ricky and Pipo are discussing the latter's "future" as the greatest explorer of the ocean. Ricky asks his friend how he could ever become an explorer when he hates exploring anything, but Pipo tells him that he loves exploring and boasts that he could explore the underwater rift valley.

Meanwhile at Big Boss's shipwreck, Big Boss is about to initiate the second phase of his "fortune-telling" plan. When Lulu and Margaret both arrive as his next clients, Big Boss tells them that he "sees" the reef village is going to be ravaged by a terrible seaquake and it will happen if he's designated as chief of the reef. Lulu is about to tell Sammy about the "prophecy", but Big Boss stops him and informs the two that he "sees" that Sammy won't believe in his gift for fortune-telling and he'll carry on as if everything is fine.

At the palaver tree, Leonard is talking to several villagers about his "prophecy" coming true and that Norbert has begun "talking" as well as Albert already has a tooth grown in. Pipo is amazed by it and assumes that once he grows up, he'll be the great explorer of the ocean like Big Boss told him. Ricky tries to tell Pipo if the latter really want to believe what Big Boss said to him, but when he looks up, Pipo isn't next to him and he's gone.

At the same time, Big Boss has ordered Marco and Philippe to go to the shark's den and they promised a frenzy of hammerhead sharks that they have a "super meal" for them. When the shark asks about it, Big Boss tells the sharks that the "super meal" is Jax who tells the frenzy that if they want to eat him, they have to catch him first. Jax deliberately lets the sharks chase after him and when he swims to where the entrance of the reef is, he moves out of the way and makes the sharks bump into the walls near the entrance, causing everyone at the reef to believe that the "seaquake" is happening.

At the reef, Sammy tries to calm down the villagers who are all panicking about the "seaquake", informing them that the tremors are far too weak to destroy the village so there's nothing to be afraid of. However, Sammy unknowingly fulfilled Big Boss's earlier "prediction" about him carrying on as if everything is fine when the "seaquake" is happening and thus, nobody listens to him.

While Pipo is outside the reef to prove to Ricky that he can be a great explorer, Big Boss enters the reef and informs them about the "prophecy" he saw in his pearl that the villagers want him to become their new chief of the reef in order to protect them from the "seaquake". Sammy can tell that Big Boss is only manipulating everyone with his so-called "prophecy", but he tries to tell the seahorse that everybody's on to his game, Big Boss manipulates everyone that he cannot turn away from his "destiny" and he accepts Sammy's "offer" as the new chief of the reef. As everyone cheers for Big Boss as their "savior", Annabel informs Ricky and Ella that Pipo is not in the reef with them. Ricky, knowing that Pipo wants to fulfill his "prophecy" as a great explorer just like what Big Boss said, tells his friends that he knows where he is.

While Big Boss settles into the reef village, the three kids swim out of the reef to search for Pipo and they find him about to swim down to the bottomless hole to bring back something from it. But before Pipo swims down, his friends all grab him and prevent him from doing so. Ricky apologizes to Pipo for believing in him, but Pipo comes to a realization that Ricky is actually right. He remarks that how could he ever become a great explorer when he can't even go down into a bottomless hole which makes him angrily realizes that Big Boss is a fraud clairvoyant who uses his so-called "predictions" to manipulate everyone in the villagers so they could get onto his good sides. And with Big Boss taking over the reef village at the very moment, Pipo and his friends all swim back to the reef to put an end to his conquest.

Once the four kids are back in the reef, Pipo eavesdrops on Big Boss talking to his henchmen from outside the shell school and he hears him whispering to them about his scheme as a fraud clairvoyant has worked like a charm since everyone in the village who came to visit him for his "predictions" all believe everything that he said. But he also warns his henchmen that they shouldn't let their guard down just yet because if one of his predictions ends up being wrong, they could find out that he made everything up. So he figures that once he fully settles in as the chief, he'll just tell the reef inhabitants that his "gift" disappeared as fast as it came. The kids, knowing that Big Boss can't get away with his lies and manipulation, all host a meeting with the other villagers at the palaver tree to warn them about the seahorse's scheme.

During the meeting, two of the villagers didn't believe what the kids were saying and assumes they're only joking. So the kids, remembering what they overheard from three of the villagers while waiting in line at the shipwreck the other day, provides evidence to everyone that they're serious about Big Boss being a lying con artist: Ricky pulls out Albert's false tooth that Marco placed on his jaw which makes Albert realizes that it doesn't really look a shark's tooth; Annabel tells Leonard that he didn't actually see Norbert's mouth moving when he "talks" to him the other day so that means it is Philippe who's doing the talking; and after Billy tells a joke that doesn't make anyone laugh, Ella bluntly tells him that while he is already a great comedian of the reef, it's better if he could stick to just one joke a day since not everyone finds his joke funny. This makes the villagers listen to the kids that they're really telling the truth and it is their fault that they trust Big Boss that leads to him conquering the reef because of his lies. Sammy, however, decides it's time for some payback to Big Boss for taking them for fools.

At the shell school, Big Boss and his henchmen are planning to redecorate the school when they hear a voice outside. Big Boss looks out and sees Norbert "talking" to inform him that Albert wants to see him at his den. When the seahorse swims out of the school, he is unaware that it is Annabel who does the talking to make it seem like Norbert is "talking" for real. When Big Boss arrives at the den, he is surprised to see Albert's "teeth" have grown back just like what Big Boss "predicted" the other day. Feeling a bit scared that everything he said the other day had actually come true despite they're obvious lies, Big Boss swims away from the den. But unbeknownst to him, Albert actually has a deep-water fish inside his mouth to give out an illusion that he has his teeth grow back. On his way back to the shell school, Big Boss sees an audience laughing at Billy's joke which is just like he said the other day.

When he returns to the shell school, he informs his henchmen that everything he said has actually come true and he's starting to feel extraordinary that his "powers" of fortune-telling are actually "real". But when Marco reminds Big Boss that he did mention that there'll be a seaquake that will destroy the village, the school starts to rumble and everyone outside starts screaming that the "seaquake" is happening for real. This traumatizes Big Boss that he and his henchmen all retreat back to their shipwreck in fear when he thought it is his fault that causes the "seaquake" to happen because of his "real prediction". As soon as Big Boss and his henchmen all left, they're unaware that it is actually Sammy, the kids, Lulu, and Leonard all shaking the entire school to make it seem like it's a seaquake to scare them away. Sammy compliments Pipo on how the latter really fooled Big Boss and his henchmen into thinking there's a seaquake by pretending that he's terrified and swims away in fear. This inspires Pipo to realize that when he grows up, he wants to be an actor instead of an explorer and he's happy about his new and better idea.

Meanwhile, at Big Boss's shipwreck, the seahorse is looking through his pearl again to see what his next "prophecy" will be. But when he sees nothing inside the pearl, he screams in fear, still thinking that he really has the power to predict the future based on everything he sees from the pearl when in actuality, his pearl doesn't tell him anything since it's only an inanimate object.

## Characters

### Major characters

* Ricky
* Ella
* Pipo
* Annabel
* Big Boss (antagonist)
* Marco (antagonist)
* Philippe (antagonist)
* Jax (antagonist)

### Minor characters

* Sammy
* Albert
* Leonard
* Billy
* Lulu
* Margaret
* Mika (background)
* Lucille (mentioned)
* Crabs
* Sharks
* Deep-water fish
* Reef inhabitants

## Trivia

* In the French version, the episode is called "Voyance et prévoyance", meaning "Clairvoyance and Forethought".
* Despite this episode is the twenty-third to aired on TiJi like its US airing order, it's the eighteenth episode to aired in France on M6.
* As of this episode, the name of Toots the clownfish who first appeared in *A Turtle's Tale 2: Sammy's Escape from Paradise* has been changed to "Billy".
* Near the end of the episode, when Big Boss retreats back to his shipwreck in fear because he assumes that there's a "seaquake" at the reef village just like he "predicted", he whimpers out, "Mommy!". His mother Lucille will make her first appearance in "Big Mama".
* This episode takes place after the events of "Sweet Scorpfish" since Leonard's aquarium glass pane is shown to still be broken after Leonard smashes it while chasing after Ricky in that episode.
* This is the third episode in which Big Boss managed to temporarily take over the reef village after "The Abominable Seamonster" and "Ricky's Betrayal".
* This episode reveals that because of Leonard's loneliness and anti-social behavior, he has been longing for Norbert to be able to talk to him.
* At the beginning of the episode, Sammy told the children the story of how he and Ray went through the Bermuda Triangle.
* Ricky and his friends have their own idea of what they want to be when they grow up:
	+ Ricky and Ella both want to be brave adventurers like their respective grandfathers.
	+ Annabel wants to be the best seaweed gardener like her mother.
	+ And Pipo wants to be an actor.
* This is the second episode in which Albert uses a deep-water fish to pretend that he has false teeth after "Like a Grownup".
* This is the third episode in which the kids all visit the bottomless hole after "Like a Grownup" and "The Precious Ring".

### Errors

* According to the Netflix synopsis, "Ella and Annabel reluctantly escort Pipo to [Big Boss's] psychic reading". However, it never happened within the episode and it is Pipo's decision to visit Big Boss to know what he's going to be when he grows up based on Big Boss's "prediction".
* The number of sharks that chased after Jax is inconsistent in three different scenes. Before the chase, there were four sharks. During the chase, there're five sharks. And when the sharks all bump into the entrance to the village, there're eight of them.

## References

1. ↑ https://instantwatcher.com/title/80042306
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 https://playtv.fr/programmes-tv/m6/09-10-2014/
3. ↑ https://playtv.fr/programmes-tv/tiji/15-03-2015/
4. ↑ https://www.netflix.com/title/80042177