Something is up with the Destructress in the latest episode of Hamster & Gretel on Disney Channel, and the world must also be saved from the most evil of A.I. crossing guards.
Evil Upheaval
The Destructruss is giving a rather bored update from a local Curtis E. Curds via social media, where they are destroying yet another birthday party just to destroy another kid’s birthday party. I too can see how this is losing any kind of appeal. At least, it is for the Destructress/Lauren. FistPuncher has no qualms in stopping these “evil” activities.
Destructress shares that her affinity for evildoing is waning and becoming quite boring with her brother, and he suggests something bigger – like destroying the local power plant. That might be more fun for her.
Also at the Curtis E. Curds, Hamster and Gretel are mistaken for employees, something nobody has noticed before, as they have nearly identical outfits when compared to the staff of the restaurant, including the large, walk-around rodent that looks remarkably like Hamster. This sets our heroes off on a journey not of stopping crime, but of finding new costumes at Frank’s Discount Costume Center.
Our villains however, get into an argument about destroying the power plant, and in turn end up in therapy. Not with a homage-y Dr. Heinz, but with Dr. Michelle Carter, who will respect the patient-villain relationship and keep their secrets – as long as she gets paid. Beyond that, the good doctor suggests that the sibling duo actually spend some time doing good (which goes against their orders given to them by the aliens early on in the series, but hey I’m not writing this show). The pair even helps some seniors across the street, but you can tell that this is really a chore for FistPuncher. He gets his chance at villainy again though when it comes time to pay their therapist when Lauren only has enough for her half from her babysitting fund (remember, she’s a babysitter and has watched Bailey and Gretel previously). This leads FistPuncher to rob a nearby bank for the funds, sparking another argument between the two.
It’s at this point that the Destructress/Lauren tells FistPuncher that he’s basically on his own now, and she is done doing evil work. This is when Hamster and Gretel show up, now in a Hamburger and Hot Dog costume looking ridiculous since they haven’t picked anything new. Alas, as they apprehend our villain and send him to jail (without his partner as she had no part in the bank robbing), they decide on reverting back to their original costumes.
In jail though, we get a bit of a cliffhanger though when FistPuncher meets his biggest fan in his cell that he forms a new partnership with, the evil villain FootKicker.
Ay Ay A.I.
Leaving school, it’s time for Bailey and Gretel to leave and they have their favorite crossing guard, Mertha. It will never be the same crossing the street on the way home once Mertha decides to leave her job. Oh wait, that day is coming up fast apparently, as the Mayor has decided to replace the crossing guards with new robotic systems, called ACE.
The two kids meet the mayor about changing this, and meet an ACE. They are unsure of these new replacements and offer up a challenge. If Mertha gets more people across the street safely than ACE, then she can keep her job.
Speaking of jobs, Kevin has a new one as a pet sitter, recently launching a pet sitting service. His first assignment? Looking after a small herd of goats. Peep that “Circle of Life” parody as he finally wrangles them (after rescuing a small one from a cliff) and gets them in order, despite their particular taste for his personal devices and technology.
Downtown, the crossing challenge is taking place with ACE getting large swaths of humanity across the street while Mertha has a more personal (dare we say, human) touch getting others across the street safely. Sometimes recommending show tips to a clown, or checking in with favorite people and their new recipes.
The mayor finally gives it over to ACE when it’s clear that the device is the real winner, believing that ACE maxed out the counter at 999, and the robot can get all the people across the street safely.
However, the mayor would be wrong. And ACE itself points it out. While getting others across the street safely, ACE noticed a large number of people who changed direction or jaywalked across the street, and therefore, humanity is not capable of crossing a street safely, and must be stopped.
Because the mayor opted for all the upgrades and the deluxe models of ACE (one on every corner), they all come to life and start walking around, preventing humans from crossing the street if not allowing them to move at all. They launch their arms and start attaching the humans to where they are standing, but Mertha is still free to give direction, and she ushers them all to safety.
Gretel, in the panic and chaos, manages to call Kevin and his goats, who rush to the scene to help with this disaster. Gretel and Hamster are taking the robots down one by one, yet they keep rising to their feet and repairing themselves. It’s Kevin’s goats who save the day who swarm a fallen bot and start chewing through their wiring before they get a chance to repair themselves. Finally, all the bots are defeated and the mayor was wrong. The counter can go past 999, and we see that Mertha, amidst the chaos of the day, has safely gotten 1001 people across the street, winning the challenge and saving her job. Perhaps we’ll see more of Mertha in the future, and maybe ACE too – as the bot told us “I’ll be back” in quite a familiar fashion.
This episode of Hamster & Gretel is now available on Disney Channel, the DisneyNOW website, and Disney+. You can catch up with the first season of the series on Disney+.