Wish You Were Here

Summary
Sue Ellen meets her pen pal but he is more interested in fashion than world culture.

Plot
Sue Ellen watches a beautiful sunset and wants to share it with somebody. However, Muffy only cares about Capri di Vapida’s upcoming fashion show, Francine talks about her baseball game, and Fern wants to watch the preview to Zombie Sherlock 2. Sue Ellen eventually writes to her pen pal Tenzin, calling him a good listener and wishing he was there.

Wish You Were Here

The next morning, Sue Ellen gets an E-mail from Tenzin, telling her that he will accompany his dad on a business trip to Crown City and use the opportunity visit her in Elwood City. When Sue Ellen tells her friends, Muffy wants to take Tenzin to the fashion show, Francine wants to take him to her baseball game, and Fern wants to take him to see Zombie Sherlock. Sue Ellen replies that she has Tenzin’s weekend planned, but she invites the girls over for a Saturday night dinner.

At the train station, Sue Ellen is surprised that Tenzin is as tall as she is and wearing modern clothes. He is happy to see her and gives Mrs. Armstrong a Tibetan khata.

On the way from the station, Sue Ellen tells Tenzin that she and her dad will take him up the mountain to see the sunset. Tenzin is more interested in a steel mill and a moving sign.

Sue Ellen takes Tenzin to her karate class at the Community Center. She expects him to be better than the others, but instead, she defeats him without effort. Tenzin has dropped out of karate class, and he believes that he wrote Sue Ellen about it.

Sue Ellen takes Tenzin to a music festival which is features a Tibetan group, but Tenzin cares more about the sports cars parked outside.

On Saturday, Tenzin shows his pictures to Sue Ellen and Fern. Sue Ellen is disappointed that he took only one picture of the festival. When Francine joins them, Tenzin recognizes her, because he took pictures of her playing baseball outside the Community Center. Sue Ellen did not know he liked baseball, though he is certain that he wrote her so. When Muffy arrives, Tenzin mentions that he likes fashion shows, and at dinner he talks with Fern about zombie movies.

Late in the evening, Sue Ellen checks Tenzin’s e-mails to find out what happened to the old Tenzin. She realizes that Tenzin had in fact told her about his interests, but she had cut him short every time and talked about her own interests instead. She feels guilty for not paying more attention to him.

The next day, she apologizes to Tenzin, though he tells her he liked her e-mails anyway since she writes with so much excitement. Sue Ellen takes Tenzin to the fashion show. It is sold out, but Muffy is willing to give him Bailey’s ticket, much to Bailey’s delight. Sue Ellen does not notice Tenzin’s reluctance until he almost shouts at her, telling her to listen. Tenzin tells her that what he really wants to do is spend time with her.

Sue Ellen gets her friends together and they play baseball with Tenzin.

Major

 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Tenzin Wangdu
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Francine Frensky
 * Fern Walters
 * Mrs. Armstrong

Cameo

 * Arthur Read
 * Buster Baxter
 * Binky Barnes
 * The Brain
 * Prunella Deegan
 * George Lundgren
 * Jenna Morgan
 * Catherine Frensky
 * Bailey
 * Wanda Deegan
 * Unknown Male Adult Poodle
 * Molly MacDonald
 * Rattles
 * Ms. Tingley
 * Mr. Barnes
 * Mrs. Barnes
 * Mr. Powers
 * Mr. Armstrong
 * Mrs. Bickles

Trivia

 * Irony: If Sue Ellen listened to Tenzin, this episode wouldn't have happened.
 * Moral: When someone is more interested with something else, instead of what you want, don't overreact.

Errors

 * The first shot of the railroad station shows the only train in it leaving. When Sue Ellen meets Tenzin, there is suddenly another train beside them.

Episode connections

 * Sue Ellen holds the photograph of Tenzin from “Sue Ellen's Little Sister”, though Tenzin’s color has changed from brown to white-and-black.
 * As in “Popular Girls”, almost all third-graders are shown as part of Sue Ellen's karate class. Other episodes never mention any of them being into martial arts.

Cultural references

 * Tenzin presents a to Mrs. Armstrong, which is the traditional Tibetan way to greet a host.