Saira’s Review: "Little Pink Book"/"Field Trip"

“Little Pink Book”

Helga's obsessive crush

As you guys know, I am a huge Helga/Arnold shipper so I was very excited to watch this episode of Hey Arnold because I knew it would be very Helga/Arnold-centric. I like how it gives more detail to Helga’s crush on him. She bullies him in class by throwing spitballs at him but secretly she’s in love with him. One thing I like is how it subverts the trope that “boys are mean to girls they like” by flipping the script and making Helga be the mean one to Arnold.

"Arnold – what a boob- and yet, what a dream boat. You’re eyes, like two green jelly beans, are pools I want to bathe in. In the classroom my heart doth swoon and yet I want to beat your face in."

I love how Helga thinks Arnold’s eyes are green when they clearly are not. Though her poems may be corny, they are pretty good for a fourth grader.

Helga's corny poetry

When Helga accidentally drops her little pink book into Arnold and Gerald’s vicinity, she immediately freaks out which is to be expected.

"Why? WHY did I sign my name?! I was too bold! Those poems weren’t meant to be seen until I’m dead and buried and worms have consumed my flesh!"

I agree - signing her name was a bold move, and now she must recover the book before Arnold and Gerald get to the last page. Being revealed as the author of the little pink books would be the most embarrassing things to ever happen to her. Her secret crush would be revealed and she’d be mocked relentlessly for it.

Helga proceeds to break into Arnold room, gets trapped, and forced to stay the night in a closet. I loved Helga’s reaction to being in Arnold room. “A place I have often visited in my dreams” – haha. She lays on his bed, sniffs his pillow and says "what is that shampoo." She is so cute. 

I also loved the literal growl Helga mutters every time Arnold shows his affection for Ruth.

Arnold and Gerald get to Helga’s name in the yearbook and burst out laughing at the thought of Helga crushing on Arnold. I mean there’s no way Helga could like Arnold when she’s constantly teasing him, right? They are so blind to it.

Arnold/Helga shipper goggles: 😍 “You know it IS kinda cool - obsessive - but cool” – Arnold accepting the Helga's crush on him. 😍

The episode ends with Helga doing some quick thinking to prevent Arnold from reading the entirety of the last page. I mean, Arnold got through almost half of that page. I was at the edge of my seat, thinking "oh no, Helga was too late, What's going to happen." But then Helga does something genius. She runs in, rips the page out, chews it up and makes a spitball to throw onto his head. Brilliant. And so in character with who she is as a person. "First spitball of the day, Football Head."

“Field Trip”

I remember the episode, “Field Trip,” was a very moving episode for me as a child. There’s just something beautiful about watching that turtle swim away from the city filled with pollutants, litter, and a factory in the background. This episode highlights Arnold’s empathy and maturity in contrast to his classmates. The classmates are super crazy on the school bus while Arnold and Gerald muse that hopefully they get to the aquarium soon. 

Arnold’s classmates hype him up about all the cool creatures in the aquarium – one of which is Lock Jaw.

I have to admit – I was disappointed in the reveal of lock jaw. He did look tiny in the first frame. All of Arnold’s classmates are disappointed and Harold shows his lack of empathy by throwing ice cream at him. Arnold, being a sweet man, puts himself in Lock Jaw’s shoes. He wouldn’t want to be trapped in a cage, graffiti all over him, in a dirty environment, with kids constantly mocking him.

When he comes home he keeps on thinking about the turtle. The Girl Scout selling the chocolate turtles, Grandpa wearing a turtle neck and looking for his tortoise shell glasses – Arnold just looks so sad in these scenes. Arnold tells Grandma about his feelings, and Grandma does some empathetic thinking of her own. She keeps on focusing on how Arnold called the turtle old, and realizes that they must act to break Lock Jaw out of the aquarium.

As a kid, I never noticed how cooky Arnold’s grandma was. “I haven't seen you this down since Von Kluck swept through Belgium back in August '14.” As a person writing this recap in 2016, I was confused. 2014?? Nah, she obviously means 1914. Now I don’t know much about history, but I do know Arnold wasn’t around during that time. Is grandma confusing him with someone else? It can’t be Arnold’s dad, because he probably wasn’t born then. It had to be a peer of Grandma because she was probably Arnold’s age in 1914.

Grandma is VERY cooky. She finds a red sweater for Arnold for the heist? That doesn’t make sense. Red is so easy to see. “From now on, call me, “Chief,” and you’re “Agent Nine.” – Grandma making code names from them. She throws gear at Arnold and it’s just knitting supplies. And of course this gem:

Grandma, do you know how to drive?

Overall, I thought this was both a heart-felt AND funny episode.

Stray Observations:

• It took me a few seconds to get why sushi chefs were banned in the aquarium lol 
• At the end the security guard fell in the aquarium – oh no, he’s gonna die. But then again, he was exhibiting animal abuse by forcing that penguin to throw up cookies for his amusement.
• Grandma using a grappling hook on that tiny wall. I love Grandma.

Arnold/Helga shipper goggles: 😍 When Arnold asks Helga who Lock-Jaw is. It shows that maybe Arnold is a little friendly with her.. 😍