Binky Goes Nuts

Summary
When Binky discovers that he's allergic to peanuts, he has so many questions: Will he be forced to live without Chinese food? Will he ever again be able to eat with his friends? And most importantly, will his Mom ever calm down? Binky learns that the best way not to go nuts is to be well informed, and to understand his allergy.

Plot
At the beginning of the episode, Muffy is suntanning on the grass next to the school, talking about getting stuff for the summer. Then the scene goes to Binky and Molly, who are blowing out spit balls again; then a mysterious butterfly swoops down on Binky's arm. Shortly after, Molly wants to hit it, but Binky stops her, telling her that hitting kids with spitballs is one thing, "but butterflies are harmless, beautiful creatures that-". However, he stops upon seeing red bumps on his arm. Molly suggests going to the nurse to check it out. Brain and Buster hear this, and Buster remarks that he didn't know butterflies could bite; Brain disagrees, and tells him that butterflies cannot bite.

Binky Goes Nuts

In the hospital, the doctor tells Binky that, contrary to what he thinks, the butterfly wasn't the cause of his allergy, and that he isn't allergic to tree pollen or pet dander either, and a relieved Binky replies, "Oh, that's a relief. It'd really stink if I couldn't pet pets or climb trees".

However, the doctor adds that Binky's blood did test positive for an allergy to peanuts; this means that Binky can't eat peanuts anymore. Binky's mom is surprised, but Binky tells her to relax, as he doesn't even like peanuts anyway. His mother replies that peanut allergies can be quite serious; she's a nurse, and has seen anaphylaxis before. When Binky asks what that is (thinking his mother said Anna Phylaxis), the doctor explains that it's a reaction would happen if he ate peanuts again and it can be more dangerous, before giving Binky a brochure on peanut allergies.

At the store, Binky's mom puts away some canned chili because it has peanut oil in it and reminds Binky to read the labels on all the foods because they can have peanut oil in them. Binky then picks out some beef jerkies, but gets disgusted when he sees something on the ingredients list for the jerky called beef lips. At dinner, Binky's mom gives him a chicken cutlet which surprises Binky because they usually get Chinese food every Friday night. His mother explains that most Chinese food has peanut oil in it, and he can't eat it anymore which upsets Binky, but he eats the cutlet anyway. Binky likes it but then gets angry at the fact that his mother made a peanut-free table for him and worried he can't eat with his friends and goes to bed (while taking the cutlet with him).

That night, he has a dream that all the school lunch somehow has peanuts in it, for ridiculous reasons like the chef having once stepped on a peanut. The dream continues, with Mrs MacGrady putting him at a table just for kids with allergies and showing him the other kids there: Adam, who is allergic to air and has to drink homemade spinach juice and wear a space suit, and Ron and Don, who are allergic to their hands and utensils, so they have to eat something from a wooden trough. Then she serves Binky brussel sprouts, saying he will be eating them every day for the rest of his life. Binky, who doesn't like brussels sprouts, screams "No!", and the dream ends. The next day, he is offered his very own phone for emergencies.

At the store, Binky is trying to make up his mind while telling his mother on the phone he won't get peanut-related food. Jenna arrives and suggests Gummy Slugs because there aren't any peanuts in there. Binky doesn't like them because they are "too gummy" and when he is about to ask Jenna about his allergy, Jenna says that his mother sent an email to the school about his allergy, and this embarrasses him. Jenna says that it's not really a big deal, and adds that her mother did the same thing when she found out Jenna is allergic to milk. Binky feels sorry for her because he thinks milk is in everything, but Jenna says she got used to it after a while, and researched a good ice cream made from rice milk. She then offers to help Binky with his allergy while he buys cashews.

At the library, Binky and Jenna are looking at some books when he feels his throat tickle and sees his rashes again. So he gets a shot, which cures him, and his mother says she should've never let Binky eat the cashews. Confused, Binky wonders how he could have gotten the rash from them as he is not even allergic to cashews, and his mother explains that the ones Binky bought were probably processed in a factory that handles peanuts too.

That night, he has a dream that he is rescued from Dr Legume by Bionic Bunny, who says that he knows how he feels because he's allergic to salt. The next day, Binky decides to throw some peanut-related food away and at school, he sits with his friends and some other kids and explains to them his allergy, while Molly checks the kids for peanut-related food. Then, his mom calls him and made sure he's okay and he tells her yes and when she sees a sandwich, she gets scared, asking him if it is peanut butter. Binky reminds her it's the cream cheese and jelly sandwich that she made for him. After he tells her it's delicious, Binky and his mother have a good laugh.

That night, Binky takes his parents to a Chinese restaurant called Golden Panda Chinese Restaurant that cooks dishes for people with peanut allergies and they use special pans and other things. He asks his parents if they can eat there, and his mom says that it is Friday night. With that, Binky says that he's having three egg rolls.

Major Roles

 * Binky Barnes
 * Mrs. Barnes
 * Jenna Morgan

Minor Roles

 * Molly MacDonald
 * Buster Baxter
 * Alan Powers
 * Muffy Crosswire
 * Dr. Kingsbury
 * Leah MacGrady
 * Bionic Bunny
 * Dr. Legume
 * Anna Phylaxis

Background

 * Mr. Barnes
 * Arthur Read
 * Fern Walters
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong
 * Francine Frensky
 * Adam
 * Ron and Don
 * George Lundgren
 * 3rd Grade Female Aardvark
 * 3rd Grade Male Rat

Trivia

 * Jenna doesn't speak again until "Messy Dress Mess".
 * In this episode, it is found out that Jenna is allergic to milk and that Binky dislikes peanuts, brussels sprouts, and gummy slugs.
 * In this episode, Binky says he is almost ten years old.
 * The "dancing peanut in a bowler hat" Mrs MacGrady mentions is probably a reference to, the mascot of . Dr Legume resembles him as well.
 * This is one of the episodes that focus on health, with the others being "Arthur's Chicken Pox", "Buster's Breathless", "Arthur's Knee", "Sick as a Dog", "Germophobia" and "Operation D.W.".

Goofs

 * In "Francine's Bad Hair Day," Binky seems to be allergic to flowers. This isn't discussed in this episode.