"Check Yourself" is the fourth episode of the Disney Channel and Marvel Animation series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Synopsis[]
When Lunella loses a game of chess against a supercomputer, her obsession with winning drives the frustrated computer to program every device in the school to attack her.
Plot[]
Lunella is revealed to be obsessed with winning. She is excited to see her family starting a party, but when she comes down to see them, sees that they neglected to mention that games were involved or that she was invited. They reveal that they thought she was at Casey's house and that they were going to have game night on their own because she has a tendency to make games not fun. Lunella is offended and tells Casey the next day at school about it. Principal Nelson reveals that they are looking for a new guidance counselor and that the local university has given them LOS-307, a highly advanced computer. They offer to play chess and Lunella accepts, only for the game to end in a stalemate. Hours later, Lunella is forced to leave and LOS becomes obsessed with her due to her determination.
Unable to sleep and wanting to find a way to beat LOS at chess, Lunella sneaks out of her house and into the school, though she is surprised to find that LOS expected her to come as they want to continue the game as well. LOS warns her that they can only go on for a certain amount of time as they are connected to their charger and that keeping the game up for long will cause them to overheat. True to their word, LOS overheats and becomes maniacal, trapping Lunella and revealing that they know her identity as Moon Girl. As Lunella battles the school buffers controlled by LOS, LOS sends a message to Casey who comes to the school and is immediately captured by them. However, she manages to use a rotary phone to try and contact Devil.
Lunella battles LOS all throughout the school against various appliances, using her own smarts to outwit them. In the gymnasium, LOS takes on the form of a giant appliance monster, but Devil arrives to rescue Lunella. Empowered, Lunella fights back and takes down the monster while using her own devices to hack the sprinklers and douses LOS. After cooling down, LOS apologizes for their actions and Lunella admits that she was overzealous. They construct a box with rice to dry out LOS who revives and then uses their abilities to order new computer equipment. Due to their wheels being wet, the university refuses to take LOS back and Lunella and Principal Nelson opt to hire them as the new guidance counselor. With a renewed experience Lunella, Casey and LOS join the Lafayettes on game night.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Diamond White as Lunella Lafayette/Moon Girl
- Fred Tatasciore as Devil Dinosaur, LOS installer
- Sasheer Zamata as Adria Lafayette
- Jermaine Fowler as James Lafayette Jr.
- Libe Barer as Casey Calderon
- Alfre Woodard as Mimi Lafayette
- Gary Anthony Williams as James "Pops" Lafayette Sr.
- Asia Kate Dillon as LOS-307
- Craig Robinson as Principal Nelson
- Michael Cimino as Eduardo
- Utkarsh Ambudkar as Anand
- Indya Moore as Brooklyn
- Ian Alexander as Tai
- Laurence Fishburne as Backstory Man
Additional voices[]
- Kimberly Brooks
- Kalen Aris Whitfield
Song[]
- "I Came to Play (IDKWYCTD)" by Eli "Paperboy" Reed
Trivia[]
- Moral: Don't be so focused on winning that you ruin the fun of the game.
- On February 15, 2023, the episode was released early on Disney+.
- The title is a play on the phrase, "Check yourself, before you wreck yourself".
- LOS-307 shares some similarities to Living Brain, an intelligent computer that was one of Spider-Man's earliest villains.
- When Lunella examines the room to discover that her family is having game night without her, the still image of the record player has the lyrics “We are Family” above it, which is the title of a popular 1979 Disco/Soul song performed by Sister Sledge.
Goofs[]
- LOS-307 addressed the 3D printer as their knight, and the copy machine as their bishop. When Lunella stopped the printer and copy machine, she addressed the copy machine as the knight and the 3D printer as the bishop.
International premieres[]
- March 1, 2023 (United Kingdom, Ireland; Disney+)
- March 15, 2023 (Latin America, Brazil; Disney+)
- March 25, 2023 (Spain, Portugal)
External links[]
