"Chipped Off" is the second segment of the eighty-fifth episode of Big City Greens.
Synopsis[]
Chip Whistler, thought to have died, recounts what happened to him since his first defeat and how he almost had a normal life.
Plot[]
The Greens are once again spending the day together, this time at the wax museum. As soon as they enter, Greg, formerly known as Wholesome Greg, come out the same way before getting pulled down a manhole.
In the sewers, Greg is greeted by a mysterious hooded figure, only to quickly realize that it is his former employer, Chip Whistler, whom everyone thought was dead. Chip reveals that when the helicopter was launched far away from Big City, he managed to escape using a parachute; however, he still injured himself by crashing into a tree, hitting every branch, and landing in a thorn bush.
Chip made his way to a diner and caught the news reporting on the aftermath of the Elkins Street battle. Maria Media announced that the wreckage of Chip's helicopter was found with no sign of him, leading her to declare him dead. As he watched everyone celebrating, Chip became depressed. Mayor Hansock claimed that if, for some strange reason, Chip wasn't dead, he would still be banned from Big City forever, much to the joy of the townsfolk, especially Cricket. Realizing that all of Big City thinks he is dead and that no one knows him, Chip vowed to get revenge but feels like a ghost of his former self.
Not long afterward, Chip decides to literally become a "ghost" and sneaks back into Big City disguised as a ghost. One night at the Greens' house, he encounters Gloria, who is watching a horror movie. She gets frightened and hides, not recognizing him. When the ghostly Chip asks her where the Greens are, Gloria tells him that they have left Big City and moved back to their old hometown of Smalton. This news plunges Chip into a deeper depression, prompting an emotional crisis about what to do with his life, now that the Greens are no longer in Big City and he feels powerless to change it.
While at the diner he took refuge in following the crash, the waitress tells Chip she understands how he feels and losing can feel like a fresh start to him, and he should reinvent himself and become a better person, by finding out what makes him happy. Although indecisive with his choices, Chip finds inspiration in the idea of leading a normal life in order to be happy. Chip then sneaks back into Big City while adapting the persona of "Norm Alguy", taking an office job, engaging in various activities, and even finding a girlfriend whom he nicknames Babe, fitting right in with the public almost in an instant. For a time, Chip enjoys his mundane yet happy life.
Eventually, Chip starts to feel uncomfortable with his new life and begins to nitpick at everything around him. One day, he encounters a family resembling the Greens, which pushes him further into his old habits, although Babe remains blissfully unaware of his turmoil. Chip retreats into the basement, where he experiences a meltdown. He struggles with the moral choices he’s made and doesn’t understand why he isn’t happy. In a fit of frustration, he throws boxes and objects off a table and kicks them, which is not the best way to express his anger. He ends up injuring his foot and grimaces in pain. Unfortunately, this outburst causes him to chip his tooth for the first time since his defeat.
In that moment of pain, his inner self speaks to him, reminding him of what he did to conceal his true nature. Trying to make “Norm” happy hasn’t made the real Chip happy at all. He realizes he should accept himself for who he really is. In a desperate act, he knocks out his own tooth and escapes into the sewers, where he gets drenched and fully reverts to his original vengeful self.
Using the alias Norm, he begins to spy on the Greens, hiding in the sewers as his true self. In a moment of clarity, he tells Greg that his desire for revenge extended beyond Cricket and the Greens to all of Big City, who supported them in the Elkins Street battle and "wronged" him. During this time, he inadvertently acquires a scar over his eye from an unrelated incident involving a rat with a knife.
Back in the present, the episode ends with Chip asking Greg to join him and letting out one final villainous laugh, and Greg forced to join in with a nervous freaked out laugh of his own, obviously not liking where this is going. As the laughter continues to ring out, the manhole cover above them closes, and everything goes dark...
Cast[]
- Chris Houghton as Cricket Green, Colin Bean
- Marieve Herington as Tilly Green
- Bob Joles as Bill Green, Skete Bean
- Artemis Pebdani as Alice Green
- Anna Akana as Gloria Sato
- Shane Houghton as Wholesome Greg
- Raven-Symoné as Maria Media
- Andy Richter as Mayor Hansock
- June Diane Raphael as Babe
- Paul Scheer as Chip Whistler (uncredited)
Trivia[]
- Moral: Don't separate yourself from who you truly are on the inside.
- Paul Scheer is not credited in this episode despite his character being the central focus.
- Scheer is once again reunited with his real life wife June Diane Raphael who portrays his girlfriend on the show.
External links[]
Chipped Off on the Big City Greens Wiki
