The Perfect Brother

Summary
Arthur is upset that Brain gets more attention than him.

Plot
Jane tells Arthur that Brain will be staying for the weekend because his parents are attending a convention out of town. Arthur is delighted and imagines building cool things with Brain. D.W. instead imagines being teased by two Arthurs, and then says that maybe she'll spend the weekend at her grandmother's house.

When Brain arrives, he and Arthur have fun, but Arthur soon notices that Brain is neater and politer than Arthur is. Brain wants to do his homework before playing, finishes it much quicker than Arthur, and then easily beats Arthur at basketball.

The next day, Brain teaches Pal new tricks, builds a better model plane than Arthur, shows David how to make sandwiches more efficiently, and reprograms the computer for Jane. When Arthur wants to play his favorite board game with Brain, he finds him reading to D.W., who claims that he reads better than Arthur.

Arthur visits Buster, who assures him that Brain would not make him look bad on purpose. Arthur feels that Brain is just more likeable to his family than he is. When Arthur gets home, Pal runs to Brain instead of him. While Arthur does his homework, Brain plays Arthur's board game with the family, which D.W. claims is more fun than when she played with Arthur, because Brain read all the rules.

On Sunday, Arthur is glad to see Brain go. He helps him carry his luggage home, where he discovers that Brain's room is just as messy as his own. Brain admits that he was being extra polite because he was a guest and that it almost killed him.

While Arthur and The Brain make popcorn, Arthur helps his dad carry in his shopping and is praised. Brain looks annoyed for a moment, and throws a piece of popcorn at Arthur, but then both boys smile and eat the popcorn.

Characters

 * Arthur Read
 * The Brain
 * D.W. Read
 * David Read
 * Jane Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Francine Frensky (cameo)
 * Mr. Powers
 * Mrs. Powers

Trivia

 * Brain's dad's appearance changes in this episode.
 * The plane that Brain and Arthur built is a Boeing 747.
 * Baby Kate's first word is "Brain" in this episode.
 * Moral: Try not to make anyone feel left out.

Episode connections

 * Just like Arthur, Pal feels left out due to people giving a guest more attention than him in "Dog's Best Friend."
 * Arthur thinks his family likes Brain better than him. Prunella later feels that her mom Wanda likes her friend Marina more than her in the episode "Three's a Crowd."

Gallery
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