And now he has an excuse.
He can share that love...
with another man.
Hey everyone, It's Andrew again.
And I'll be honest with you: I haven't watched Arthur in years.
The last time I watched willingly, I was graduating from middle school. Apparently, my tastes in TV cartoons have changed a bit since then, and I lost that taste in Arthur. And at times, I even forgot about it's existence. (And that's even despite watching the PBS Kids channel near religiously since its start-up. ...Yes, this happens.) That's until last week when news hit that the show broke ground yet again. Yep, after the episodes with Buster having asthma;
characters revealed to have Alzheimer's and Asperger's; something like 9/11;
Arthur hitting D.W.; and Mrs. Grady fighting cancer,
the show has it's biggest moment yet -- when a character is revealed to be gay.
That character was revealed to be our favorite aardvark's favorite teacher Mr. Ratburn in the premiere of the show's 22nd(!!) season,
"Mr. Ratburn and The Special Someone".
Of course I've done this before. I've written posts about kids shows breaking ground on featuring gay characters before:
one on Clarence, and two on The Loud House (one about Clyde McBride's male parents, and the other on Loud sister Luna crushing on another girl).
But notice what's going on here -- those are shows for older kids. Arthur is at its core a show for preschoolers and those under 8. That's why I'm writing this here; it's more than probably the biggest leap any kids show has ever done on the topic of homosexuality. Because it's a little kids show, Arthur has to tip-toe around even the tamest of topics outside the usual baby-esque stuff -- but since the series has a brilliant writing staff, they get away with a lot of non-kids stuff easily (and thankfully--cause it's hilarious and/or heartwarming). And only occasionally do they dive into some really heavy stuff to teach its young audience about the harsh realities of real life (several of which I mentioned earlier) and they do this exceptionally -- and this episode is NO exclusion.
TL;DRing the plot, which everyone knows by now,
I'll then skip to my thoughts in the whole matter.
In the episode, Mr. Ratburn reveals to his class that he's getting married. After the usual hi-jinks and goof-ups abound, it was revealed towards the end of the episode that the person Mr. Ratburn is tying the knot with is another man named Patrick, a local proprietor selling chocolate-based confections.
What made it all brilliant here is that whom Mr. Ratburn is marrying isn't revealed until near the end. And it isn't shoehorned in either, it feels natural. Yeah, I knew about it the same way literally almost everyone knew about it, but watching the episode with fresh eyes and forgoing the huge barrage of news hits made it all feel much different ... and more better.
I was honestly shocked that Ratburn came out, but stopped the reaction shortly after because... I love him, not only as a teacher but as a character. He may be stern, but he's also fair and caring, and that's what great teachers are supposed to be. He's also shown to be caring and jovial toward his students which helps them get to know and appreciate him much better as the series progresses, and that made him a much better and likable character down the road. (Plus, despite the weird color clashes, I loved his suit -- even as a kid.) And that's why I'm so happy for him -- not only because he's marrying another guy, but also because he's getting married. He deserves it (and so does Patrick).
And speaking on the other man, Patrick himself is sweet (like the food he sells), charming, a little goofy (at least from his voice, which I kind adore) and the kind of person you'd wish was your friend almost immediately.
I honestly wish someone like him exists in real life.
The wedding scene itself (while brief) was absolutely wonderful. Seeing these two happy men together down the aisle was inspiring and tear-inducing enough, but for Mr. Ratburn to invite his students and their families to the reception was also sweet. Plus, seeing Patrick give Arthur and Francine a wink indicating "Yep, it's me" (they met earlier at his Chocolate Shop, creating a smooth foreshadowing to the person Nigel would spend his life with) To have them (and by extension the viewers) watch first hand that love comes in all forms -- and that not a word was uttered throughout) is a brilliant idea on the part of writer Peter K. Hirsch. All we can do is picture the wedding ourselves from here, and to it's intimately beautiful. Plus, in my mind, they actually kiss (which I don't blame the show for keeping off the episode, seeing as many people already actually angry about the union would find a "legit" reason to fight this cartoon for preschoolers about [seriously, find a new hobby]).
Random Thoughts:
--Yes, this episode features a special appearance from Sue Sylvester herself, Jane Lynch. And her character here is (almost) just as ruthless and cunning. Any man would be lucky to have her. /s
--Lynch's character being Nigel's elder sister was something I picked up on immediately.
--Seeing the kids pondering Mr. Ratburn marrying is funny enough, but seeing what could happen after the ceremony is hilarious; RatHulk? lost my s#it. Flower Child Ratburn? acid, rain down.
--Whatever that dip was the kids are eating at the Sugar Bowl must be made of kale. How else would Buster come up to his weird conclusion about teachers' private lives--or know what kale is?
--Can Flower Child Ratburn audio-booking "Dancing Uni-Penguin!" by my new spirit animal now??
--Nigal Ratburn. (ROTFL on the whole poem scene!)
--The kids may find it awkward and awful, but I find the happy newlyweds' dancing pretty awesome.
--And finally, I'm frankly shocked no one (especially Ratburn himself) brought up his love of cake.
But speaking of shocked, the real shock is that this show is still on the air. While Arthur is showing its age in spots as of later into its run -- it's nearly as old as I am (22 seasons to my 25 years as of posting this), it's still a kids show I hold in high regard, especially when I was a lad. It's episodes are not only educational with some great Aesops for the kids to learn, it also featured some incredible showings involving real-life topics. And this episode will now be in the history books (and back catalogs of many news companies' websites the world over [really they hyped his sexuality more than the episode barely implied it]) as one of them all.
I'm very happy for Nigel -- not only for getting married in general, and marrying his true soul mate, but for also revealing it to all his students and their families -- no secrets, no shock, just pure and overwhelming gratitude and happiness. And these days, that's the way it should be.
Thank you for checking in,
and I'll see you around.
I'm Andrew. Abyssinia!
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