D.W. All Wet (episode)

Summary
The Reads go to Bear Lake to escape from the summer heat and everyone's having a wonderful time, except for D.W. who won't swim because she thinks there are octopuses in the water.

Plot
The episode starts with the Reads, along with Buster, at Bear Lake. David carries D.W., who is crying, screaming, yelling, and kicking at him to put her down. Arthur tells Buster that she has been acting strange and weird after her field trip to the aquarium. The prologue ends with her begging Arthur to save her immediately.

D.W. All Wet

D.W., along with her classmates, are sitting at a bench, being entertained by seals and dolphins at the aquarium. The host says that they will be taking a bathroom break and then will see the sea monsters inside the aquarium. Inside the girls' bathroom, the girls are taking long inside the stall where the toilet flushes by itself. Then, the host announces that they are ready to show the sea monsters. Everyone runs out with excitement.

As the group watches the sea creatures, they get scared, except for D.W. But when a giant octopus shows, D.W. backs away, screaming with fear, while everyone else is amazed. Back at the Reads' house, D.W. tells a made-up story of how she attacked the octopus that she saw back in the aquarium to Arthur and their mother. Jane says that it's getting dark and that it is almost time for bed. Arthur teases D.W. saying that she got scared when she saw the octopus. She denies it, but is startled by Pal licking her leg, who jumps up and panics.

The scene changes to D.W., who is taking a bath in the bathroom. The door opens, which frightens her and when she was not looking, Arthur scares her with a plastic toy spider, hanging by a string on a stick, yelling that it's an octopus. She screams, running out of the tub naked, except for well-placed suds, and hides in her parents' closet. They punish Arthur and send him to his room. D.W. claims that she hopes an octopus eats Arthur, and at night, she dreams he is being attacked by one.

The next morning, the temperature rises up, and Arthur and Buster play soccer in the house, but get in trouble with the Reads when the old air conditioner goes haywire and blows up because it wasn't built to last forever. David says they can't take it anymore and Jane says that they had enough. D.W. says they are in really big trouble, but David says they can't take the heat. So they decide to pack their things and head off to Bear Lake, much to D.W.'s surprise.

D.W. refuses to go because she doesn't want to go in the water since she's afraid that octopuses swim there. Arthur tells her that they live in oceans, not lakes. But she says she is not going. But she is forced to come anyway. David says that he doesn't see any octopuses. D.W. looks and sees everyone turning into octopuses, especially Kate, but this is just her imagination. David says she can just stay.

Jane finds D.W. hiding in a tent, saying that there are no octopuses on the beach, and D.W. says she is bored. Jane says that Buster and Arthur have 10 minutes to play with D.W. They play a game to save the princess, who is D.W., and they are both embarrassed. 10 minutes pass and they go back to the water.

D.W. asks David if they can stay on the beach, but he says it would be easier if she went in the water. But she doesn't want to. Francine finds Buster's bathing cap and pretends to have an octopus attack Arthur. D.W. freaks out and the lifeguard gives her a ride to Arthur and his friends. The lifeguard says there are no octopi here, which makes D.W. feel better. The children get in trouble with the lifeguard, who says it's dangerous to yell for help unless they really need it, and she demands Buster to put on his bathing cap.

In the last scene, D.W. rides on Arthur's back as the sun sets. Jane tells them it's time to go, but D.W. doesn't want to leave because she is having fun, but it is almost dark so they have to. D.W. tells her mother how her day went and she falls asleep in her arms. As they leave, the scene ends with the view of the beach in the evening.

Characters

 * Arthur Read
 * D.W. Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Jane Read
 * David Read
 * Kate Read
 * Francine Frensky
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Ms. Albright
 * Ms. Morgan
 * Emily
 * Marie-Hélène
 * Timmy and Tommy Tibble
 * Pal
 * Kyle
 * Lucy
 * James MacDonald
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Fletcher
 * 4th Grade Male Rabbit
 * 4th Grade Male Dog
 * Kiefer
 * Brian
 * Amanda Hulser
 * Maryann
 * Liam
 * Unknown Male Adult Rabbit (Number 3)
 * Unknown Female Adult Rabbit (Number 4)
 * Edwin
 * Sarah
 * Lisa
 * Lisa's unknown relative

Trivia

 * This episode marks the first appearances of D.W.'s preschool classmates and their teacher, Ms. Morgan.
 * This episode reveals that D.W. is afraid of octopus.
 * The audio of Molly and the other girls laughing at Arthur and Buster is frequently reused throughout the series whenever a group of kids laugh.
 * This is the first episode to use Arthur and Super D.W. as a title card.
 * Although the title card has not been narrated on its initial airing, Binky says the title when this was on the home video, DVD releases and television reruns.
 * Kate's first word is "go" in this episode.
 * Timeline:
 * D.W. is still scared of octopus in "Hic or Treat". She has gotten over this fear by the time of "D.W. and the Beastly Birthday".
 * D.W. is scared of octopus. In "The Shore Thing," she gets her foot tangled in kelp and freaks out because she thinks it's an octopus.
 * Karma: Arthur scared D.W., so he got in trouble and sent to his room.
 * Innuendo:
 * Jane says "What the?"
 * Jane gets shocked when D.W. says an octopus will eat Arthur.
 * Bubbles cover D.W. when she's ran out the bathtub.

Episode connections

 * D.W. throwing a temper tantrum in this episode can be seen as a clip in "Buster's Growing Grudge".

Errors

 * If it was hot, D.W. was supposed to wear summer clothes. Though, at night, she was wearing her nightgown.
 * The master bedroom at the Reads' house has a dormer window in this episode, but it was removed in subsequent episodes for unknown reasons.
 * When Kate grabs D.W.'s leg, she's shirtless. But when Arthur and Buster race into the water, she's wearing a red shirt.
 * After D.W. tells her story about the octopus she saw at the aquarium for her field trip, it wasn't evening due to the fact it was still bright outside.

Differences from the book

 * In this episode, D.W.'s refusal to swim in the lake is due to her fear of octopuses. In the book, the whole story took place at the beach and she refused to get wet, hence the title.
 * Arthur's friends including Buster, Francine, and Muffy, plus Molly and other Lakewood Elementary School students are seen in this episode. Neither one of them nor any other schoolmates appeared in the book, since it focused on D.W.

Home video
VHS: DVD:
 * Arthur Saves The Day
 * Arthur: The Complete Series One
 * Arthur Saves The Day