Helping Helps

"Helping Helps" is an episode of the Happy Tree Friends internet series, and the third of the first season. This episode introduces Splendid, the superhero who does more harm than good.

HTF's Episode Description
Poor Giggles has a broken leg and is limping along when she's nearly crushed and drowned in a tidal wave caused by a dam breaking. Luckily, Splendid the flying squirrel saves the day, but not without incident! This episode is the only time you meet Giggles' mom, one of the only adults in Happy Tree Friends. Do you know who the other adult character is?

Plot
Giggles, who has a broken leg, happily walks through the forest with the help of a pair of crutches. Suddenly, a dam behind her bursts, and a rush of water barrels down upon her. She screams loudly, which Splendid, the heroic flying squirrel, hears. He abandons his task of collecting acorns to investigate the scream.

Giggles tries, in vain, to out-run the rushing water while Splendid rushes to save her. Realizing the futility of her efforts, a tear rolls down Giggles cheek as certain death is only seconds away. Luckily, Splendid swoops down and saves Giggles from the raging water at the last second.

As Giggles celebrates her rescue, she is suddenly decapitated by a tree branch that Splendid flies too close to. Blood gushes from Giggles' neck and Splendid nervously looks around. He spots an acorn and gets an idea.

Splendid rings the doorbell to Giggles' home and Giggles' mother answers the door, crying at the assumed loss of her daughter to the flood. She dries her eyes and Splendid holds up Giggles body, now with an acorn on her neck and and a crudely drawn face on the acorn. Not realizing something is wrong, Giggles' mother takes and hugs Giggles' dead body. As Splendid flies away, the acorn falls off Giggles body and blood squirts all over her mother's face. Nevertheless, Giggles' mother smiles and thanks Splendid, still oblivious to her daughter's death.

Moral
"Don't forget to stop and smell the roses!"

Deaths

 * Giggles dies when Splendid flies too close to a tree branch, decapitating her.

Goofs

 * 1) Once again, the mark on Giggles' head does not appear in the opening credits, but does appear on her head in the episode.
 * 2) Giggles' bandaged leg changes several times, and disappears when she's being flown away.(Although her other leg may be behind Splendid).
 * 3) Prior to Giggles' death, her pac-man eyes look at different directions while begin held by Splendid.
 * 4) Splendid's tail disappears when he spots the acorn he uses for Giggles' replacement head.
 * 5) When Splendid holds up Giggles, his skin flaps disappear.
 * 6) When the wave is shown there's a picture of Splendid.
 * 7) When Giggles is shown from the back (when the flood finally approached her), her marking isn't visible from the back. This has happened on several HTF characters with markings on their head (like Petunia and Nutty), which only occur in early internet episodes.
 * 8) When Giggles' Mom is shown crying, one part of her arm switched colors for a very short time.
 * 9) When Giggles' "head" falls off, the blood on her mom is red, but the blood on the ground is redish-orange.

Trivia

 * This is the only episode that Giggles' Mom appears in.
 * This is the only episode in which Splendid is seen eating.
 * This is the first episode to show a main character's parent.
 * On the "First Blood" DVD, Splendid appears to be dark blue, but his tail was light blue. On the internet version, he is completely light blue.
 * This is the first episode in which Giggles' diamond marking is shown on her forehead.
 * At the end, Giggles's mom said, "Thank you, bye bye!".
 * In the theme song, Splendid is put in as "Splendid the Flying Squirrel" but in subsequent episodes he is just "Splendid". What was used in this episode was possibly going to be used all the time, but it was shortened probably because it was a bit wordy; just like Russell was called "Russell the Pirate" in the first episode he appeared in.
 * From this episode onwards, all HD remastered episodes of this season have "Mondo Mini Shows" replaced with just "Mondo" in the opening sequence (When the character opos up from the bushes). Also the title card have the entire episode title shown in one line, where possible.