"Reckoning Ball" is the first segment of the thirty-fifth episode of Big City Greens.
Synopsis
When Chip Whistler returns to exact his revenge convinced that Cricket and the Greens have ruined his life, his father threatens to fire him and he must attempt to earn their trust that he's sorry.
Plot
Following the events of "Feud Fight", Wholesome Foods has been quickly losing business with people protesting in the street. The employees all mock their boss, Chip Whistler, who is still upset over having been humiliated by Cricket Green and his family, even though much of the conflict is his own fault. He resolves to "drive [the] Greens out of town, once for all" by purchasing a wrecking ball in an attempt to destroy their house. Officer Keys just so happens to be walking along when he prevents Chip from harming them, but the ball swings back and knocks him out of the driver's seat; chipping his tooth once again. Chip meets with his father who reprimands his son for his violent behavior and threatens to kick him out of the company. He gives him a Forgiveness Contract that the Greens must sign to show that they have accepted his legitimate apology which then he will reconsider his future in the company.
The Greens are hard at work rebuilding their roof, which was slightly damaged by the wrecking ball, when Chip shows up. The Greens all begin to attack him, but he calms them down by revealing that he wants to apologize. While Bill and Tilly are willing to accept his attempt, Cricket and Gramma Alice are skeptical, especially when he gives a half-hearted apology to them. Bill then suggests that he apologize by helping out with fixing the roof. It quickly becomes apparent that Chip is incompetent at something simple like hammering a nail and falls off the roof and destroys the garden. Not being able to withstand the "harsh" conditions, Chip tries to mow down the yard, but Alice stops him and he knocks himself out cold.
Chip is nursed back to health by the Greens where he admits that he is unsure of what to think about them as they have been kind to him despite his behavior. They tell him that despite their bad relationship (which they admit is mostly Cricket's fault) they still want to treat him nicely as that is what they do. He gives a legitimate apology and the Greens sign his contract though he still wants to help with the yard. Mr. Whistler finally retires and hands the company over to his son. As Chip steps in as CEO, he quickly has his hired hands refurbish his office and calls his dentist to fix his teeth with platinum. He then vows to have his full revenge on the Green family now that he has full control of the company.
Cast
- Chris Houghton as Cricket Green
- Marieve Herington as Tilly Green
- Bob Joles as Bill Green
- Artemis Pebdani as Gramma Alice
- Paul Scheer as Chip Whistler
- Ed Begley Jr. as Mr. Whistler
- Andy Daly as Officer Keys
- C.H. Greenblatt as Dentist
Trivia
- Chip's father is revealed to be the CEO of Wholesome Foods and retires.
- Cricket is noticeably more mature in this episode, as well as the second segment "Clubbed", as he acts more responsibly and is shown performing yard work which he seems to enjoy, as opposed to previous episodes where he considered yard work to be another boring chore.
- Despite his father's tough working demeanor, Chip is revealed to not having had any work experience prior. Also ironically, he fails to identify a carrot, implying that he most likely does not practice what he preaches.
- The Forgiveness Contract reads as follows:
- Hey, we know we did bad. So we wrote this to prove that we are really, really sorry. We admit it. We goofed up! Hope it's all water under the bridge. Please don't sue us.
- Moral: You can't expect someone to believe you unless you really mean it.
- Normally when Chip gets his tooth chipped, he whistles through the chip when he speaks, but in this episode, he does not.
- This is the first episode to end on a cliffhanger.
- When Bill tells Chip he has to work before he gains what he desires and it can be anything he wants in life, he smiles slightly at this comment before he starts the apology. This foreshadows he's only using the Greens' kindness to his advantage to take control of the company so he can run them out of town.
