D.W., Queen of the Comeback

Summary
The Tibbles tease, D.W. fires back, the Tibbles taunt, D.W. has a snappy comeback, and round and round they go! Will it ever end? Perhaps an ancient Indian fable about a turtle and a wisecracking duck will be enough to teach D.W. to just let it go.

Plot
The episode begins with Arthur talking about happy moments that he and others would like repeat over and over again — such as jumping into a leaf pile with Pal, pulling the sword out of the stone at the Medieval Fair and Buster riding a hot air balloon with his father, to name a few. He also mentions D.W. saving her snowball, only for D.W. to interrupt and talk about the time she got the Tibbles back for teasing her, and says nothing tasted as sweet as revenge. Then she charges into the leaf pile while Arthur smiles.

D.W. is getting her hair cut, yet she is not happy about it one bit, and asks a rude question to her hairstylist, Mr. Pelato. Mom scolds her for being rude but Pelato is unfazed and promises D.W. a sugarless lollipop after he is done. Nadine appears to D.W. with a new look, but this causes D.W. to turn and make Pelato cut off a good chunk of her hair. Horrified by his mistake, Pelato shows her new look in the mirror, causing D.W. to scream.

Because Pelato had to cut her hair very short to remedy his mistake, D.W. has to wear a hat to hide her hair out of embarrassment. The Tibbles find her with her hat off while D.W. talks with Emily, and tease her and call her names, even calling her "Dennis", D.W.'s twin brother. D.W. tries to come up with a good comeback in response, and is immensely frustrated when she fails. She later begs Arthur to teach her how to make comebacks to insults, which he does.

D.W.'s first two tries fail spectacularly, so she consults Rattles and Binky for help. Rattles suggests that D.W. ignore the Tibbles, but D.W. explains she came to them because they're bullies, to which Rattles takes offense. However, Rattles and Binky's suggestions for comebacks have the definitions wrong, causing D.W. to leave in a huff.

Characters

 * D.W. Read
 * Nadine Flumberghast
 * Emily
 * Timmy and Tommy Tibble
 * Arthur Read
 * Signore Pelato
 * Jane Read
 * Binky Barnes
 * Rattles
 * Leah MacGrady
 * Martha
 * Thora Read
 * Buster Baxter (flashback)
 * Francine Frensky (flashback)
 * Muffy Crosswire (flashback)
 * Bo Baxter (flashback)
 * Nigel Ratburn (flashback)
 * Maria Pappas (flashback)
 * Jenna Morgan (flashback)
 * George Lundgren (flashback)
 * Sue Ellen Armstrong (flashback)
 * Bitzi Baxter (cameo)
 * Amanda Hulser (cameo)
 * James MacDonald (cameo)
 * Kyle (cameo)
 * Pal (cameo)
 * Killer (cameo)

Trivia

 * Timeline:
 * At the beginning of the episode, Arthur remembers pulling the sword out of the stone during the season 3 episode "The Return of the King", Arthur would later bring this story up again in "The Best Day Ever."
 * Arthur thinks that Buster's best day might be the day of the hot air balloon ride in the season 4 episode "1001 Dads."
 * Arthur thinks that D.W.'s favorite day might be saving the snowball in the season 7 episode "Return of the Snowball.", Which leads to her mentioning it again.
 * Moral: Ignoring bullies makes the bullying worse, even when other people advice you to go and do it.

Episode connections

 * When D.W. gets bullied by The Tibbles, it is similar to how Molly got bullied when she was a little kid in "The Last Tough Customer."

Errors

 * When the duck is flying off, she flashes red for one frame.

Cultural references

 * Signore Pelato is Italian for Mr. Bald.
 * The is a collection of Indian fables from the 3rd to 6th century. Mrs. MacGrady retells The Tortoise and the Geese.
 * Martha is in in India, which is said to be the place where Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, obtained enlightenment.