Don’t be fooled by Scott’s efforts at Kristine’s celebration, the second half of the episode reminds viewers of the entire “friends or more?” premise that awaits fans on Hailey’s On It!
Kristine-Ceanera
While Hailey is wrangling Frank in their waterfall water feature at the Banks residence, Beta says that now is the optimal time to complete task #232, Learning to walk in High Heels.
But why is NOW the optimum time? It’s because in just a matter of moments Kristine will be asking Hailey to be part of her Quinceanera celebration and wants to be part of the royal court. It will be a wonderful celebration marking her entry to womanhood, and the theme will be medieval majesty, just like she always wanted. As was expected, Kristine had previously asked Scott to be her “main dude” at the event, but she has a special waltz planned for everyone in her court, which would include Hailey. As such, she’ll need to not only learn to walk in heels, but also dance in them so she can dance with her partner, Kristine’s cousin Mario, who Hailey seems a little too excited to be dancing with. Speculation: maybe it's because he kind of looks like Scott? Adding to the pressure, Hailey will be in the court alongside Kristine’s cousins, who all happen to be runway models.
With a fun montage of Hailey trying to learn to walk in heels, it’s time for the big event. But this celebration has nothing medieval about it. There, we meet Kristine’s dad, who is a mega-successful creator of a very popular hot sauce, and everyone in attendance is not only given a bottle as a party favor, they are also shown the centerpiece of his garden – the Black Scorpion pepper that is his spiciest pepper and one his most prized possessions.
Kristine is sad as she wanted her medieval party, and this party is more for his dad and his friends then her. So much so that it apparently resembles every other party her dad has thrown, changing it last minute from her idea. The reason why really seems to appear when the Castillos and their son Javier show up. Kristine’s dad insists that she dance her waltz with Javier and not Scott, essentially replacing him was what they would refer to as “the main dude.” The vibe really says not just for the dance, but overall.
After this happens, Hailey is comforting a disappointed Scott who is trying to win over Kristine’s dad now, and before getting her heels stuck in the grass, suggests that he find a common interest with him. They do have one. Spicy foods. So, Scott heads and drinks some of his signature hot sauce and compares it to his mom’s Kim-chi, calling it baby stuff. Javier does it too, and soon the boys find themselves in a sauce-off.
The stakes? If Javier wins, Scott has to leave. If Scott wins, he gives the far more lenient Kristine dances with who she wants, and Scott can stay – to watch them dance.
The two begin drinking Kristine’s dad’s private stash, which gets hotter with each sip. Snotty nosed and eyes tearing up, the two get to the last bottle – but Kristine has got to her last straw. She is fed up and snaps, running over to her father’s Black Scorpion pepper and eating it so SHE wins the sauce-off.
While doing this she explains that she is an independent woman capable of making her own decisions, like who to dance with.
After cooling off (mostly from the pepper), its time to waltz, and Kristine dances with Scott before her dad asks to cut in. Together, they have a heartfelt conversation about their relationship where her dad apologizes for all the events of the evening.
Oh, and Hailey completed the whole walking in heels thing. Man, that really was a loose premise for this Kristine-centric episode.
The Puffle Kerfuffle
Next up on Hailey’s list, “attend a live taping of The Puffles.” The Puffles is a kids show that Scott and Hailey have been obsessed with through most of their youth. Consisting of a pair of best friends, one male one female, the two wear inflatable suits and sing songs include their catchy theme which both Hailey and Scott know all the words and dance moves to by heart.
We, the viewer, are treated to their recreation. But how do they get tickets? As a number is shared on screen, Beta tries to warn them not to call, but alas they do anyway – and discovers that The Puffles was canceled five years ago.
How is it possible at this point to complete this list task? Well, they head down to the local television studio that the series was broadcast from and discover that it was owned by Bill Boards, who won the station in a baby shower raffle. Hailey and Scott pitch the idea to host a special reunion show featuring The Puffles and Bill is on board for the idea, but there’s a catch. The Puffles were never canceled, the pair of Puffles – Kylie and Thatcher had some kind of falling out and they quit.
So now, the reunion show is on, but Hailey and Scott now have to get the talent back together. After a bit of investigating, Hailey and Scott track down the performers. Hailey finds Kylie at an elaborate pizza parlor, performing and serving the masses. Scott ends up at a nearby establishment where some aggressive rock is being performed by a band led by Thatcher. After a bit of back and forth between the two stories, we find out that the two best friends shared a kiss, and after that everything got so awkward that they couldn’t work together as Puffles, nor could they continue to be best friends.
Hailey has a personal interest in the story, as it seems to mirror what she knows she has been tasked with. At some point, she has to kiss her friend Scott. Remember, from the first episode? And the theme song? Now, seeing what that can inevitably lead to, she needs to know more of the story and see them reunite.
As Scott is trying to figure out a way to get the two into the same room, Hailey seemingly has already done that – by lying to them. She has told one that the other won’t be there, ensuring that they both show up.
Of course, once at the studio the truth immediately comes out. But Bill is there to remind them that they are contractually obligated to do the show, and if they don’t they’ll all get sued by the sponsors. Worst case scenario, they perform separately.
Scott notices Hailey’s more-than-normal attachment to the situation and Hailey then explains that she thinks that will happen to them. Best Friends who never speak again. Scott has a plan, and Hailey and Scott end up taking the stage, performing the theme song together. It’s touching enough that Kylie and Thatcher both come out in costume and join them, together. Backstage, Hailey shares how happy she was that they were so moved but no, it’s because they were butchering the entire routine. After explaining it was nice to see best friends together again, Thatcher admits that Kylie was never his best friend, and introduces Hailey to Bailey, who has been his neighbor since childhood and they’re getting married soon.
If you thought Thatcher looked kind of like an adult Scott, you’re not too far off. Bailey looks an awful lot like Adult Hailey. Keeping the parallels to the story in line. If you really want to get into it, Kristine, um, er, Kylie also has reddish hair like Scott’s current girlfriend. Just sayin’….
This episode of Hailey’s On It! Is now available on Disney Channel and the DisneyNOW app. You can catch up with earlier episodes of the series streaming now on Disney+.