And we're back! I'm going to preface this review with a warning to all of you who have 'coulrophobia' (AKA, a fear of clowns - totally just Google'd that). This episode will, as the title suggests, involve clowns.
DON'T PANIC!
We'll get through this together, fam. I'm not clowning around, we really will. Onwards and upwards!
Booker and Levi are bored. They've just been kicked out of the apartment after having an annoying sound competition. Turns out marbles in a blender sounds prettyyyyy annoying.
My ears are ringing.
They're at a loss on what to do to pass the time, until, that is, what seems to be King Kong is climbing up onto the roof!
WOAH. Although, the voice of the hand doesn't sound like it matches the magnitude of that paw. The... gorilla... asks for help, and the boys help pull this dude up:
Looks like Wally, who just moved in, is here to rescue Booker and Levi from their life threatening boredom! He suggests they create a catapult... for Levi.
Geez Louise. This isn't going to end well. They launch him up into the air, and he flies off the roof and down onto the street! Oh SNAP!
Just kidding. That was a test dummy! Phew!
Meanwhile, Chels is certain she just saw something fly off the roof.
Ray blames kids. And their parents. So, she kind of just played herself. She heads downstairs to do some laundry, but freezes in her tracks when she sees THIS:
... Is anyone else getting It vibes? Uh oh. Seems like Ray is a little freaked out. Her fears aren't calmed when she then spots the culprit.
Ray's out.
She ZOOMS up the stairs, barricading their apartment door and shaken, tells Chels that she saw a clown. We learn that she has a deep fear of them. So much so, that she almost peed. Chels doesn't believe she saw one, and Raven declares that they're moving. Despite her best efforts to keep the door blocked, Chelsea heads into the hallway to examine the scene for herself.
She's in agony.
Chelsea doesn't see anything, but Raven is certain that there was, in fact, a clown. Perhaps it was simply for a child's birthday party! All is well!
Or nah.
Raven tells Chelsea the clown was smiling too much - Chelsea says she also smiles a lot!
... Raven's worried about her, too.
After some back and forth, Chels agrees to do the laundry. In the hallway, Raven has a vision.
The clown is coming for Ray! Okay, the clown is sorta frightening. Hope no kids watching this episode have nightmares!
Right. I'm supposed to be helping you all get through this episode alive... not freak you out even more. My bad. Raven comes out of the vision terrified, rushing upstairs. She's a woman on a mission!
In the apartment, Booker's looking for his mom. He finally declares that he's not asking for money.
That's all she needed to hear. Booker says his new friend Wally is coming over, and Raven wants to meet his pal. Booker tells her she has to come out of the closet when he arrives. She heads back into the closet. Chelsea returns and Booker informs her that his mom is being weird. She opens the door.
Chelsea gets her out of the closet, demanding all of her 'secret bats' be handed over. I didn't realize secret bats were a thing... but I guess they could come in handy in the event of a clownpocalypse. Chels reassures Raven that she'll be fine, and that perhaps she misinterpreted her vision. The vision part... she can't disagree on. Cue almost every episode of That's So Raven. Once Chelsea leaves the room, Raven reverts back to her emergency preparation mode, along with a secret bat Chels didn't seize.
In the hallway, Nia and Tess are relocating their sleepover to Nia's place, as Tess's mom is apparently on a deodorant strike. Ew. Tess drops her pillows by accident, and no one other than Wally is there to help pick them up! The girls are swoon.
After embarrassing themselves complimenting his physical features, they bolt for the Baxter/Daniels residence. There's a knock on the door. The boys think it's Wally. But, the girls weren't planning on ever seeing him again after that... memorable... introduction outside. He walks in, and Nia tells Tess to play it cool.
That turned out peachy. They scurry towards Nia's room. Raven re-emerges from her post in the closet and is introduced to Wally. He's a Leo, just moved here from Colorado... oh, and his mom's a clown!
The spawn of a clown is in her apartment. She's petrified. Booker ushers Wally away while Raven secretly continues her preparation for combat. Or, as she'd put it, self defence.
The boys are building a fort! Well, they had built one.
Wally says they'll build a new one! And, they do. It looks awesome!
Wally sends Booker and Levi in, even going so far as to call Levi "Big Guy". Awwe!
He's flattered. What a dude! The moment ends when Wally smells cookies and goes to investigate.
The girls are fanning the smell of freshly baked cookies from Nia's room to lure Wally in in order to show him how cool they are. They succeed - well, in getting him to Nia's room. They sadly return to their middle-school-crush ways.
Booker walks in and tells them that Wally's his friend. Tess confesses they think he's cute. Booker doesn't want them to creep him out, and they head back to their fort. The girls aren't happy with what just happened - Nia says they have to do the opposite of what they want to do in order to avoid future embarrassment. Tess wants to smell his hair!
Oh heck no!
In the kitchen, Raven tells Chelsea that the boys are friends with the son of a clown, and that they have to move. Chelsea ushers Raven into the living room, declaring that she must face her fear in order to conquer it... and she's figured out exactly how to do it.
Yes. Jack in the Box. Ray, worriedly, holds onto her pal as she turns the crank - stopping every few seconds. Eventually, little Jack pops up!
Raven believes she's cured, as the clown is Just. So. Cute! She's cured, that is, until Chels directs her attention to the inflatable clown behind them.
The inflatable stands no chance! After minutes of beating up the blow-up, Raven announces that she'll pin the deflated clown on the door to ward off future unwanted brightly coloured, face painted, balloon making visitors.
In the boys room, it seems as if we've had an invasion of the robots.
I don't even want to know. Tess walks in, saying she lost her contact lens and needs help finding it. Levi says she doesn't wear contacts. Tess gets flustered, then reverting back to her flirty ways.
I like flirty Tess. She has no shame. I respect that.
Nia wanders in, stating that she, too, has lost her contact lens. The girls get mad when they notice each other there - apparently they didn't stick to their plan. Booker and Levi try to kick the girls out, but Tess guesses their fort password and they're left with no choice but to allow them to stay. Wally says the girls are cool, and they're on Cloud 9. They realize they're not as weird as they believed Wally thought they were, and contemplate hanging out in the fort. The boys start speaking 'robot', and they're out. The fun doesn't last long after they leave - the fort has once again collapsed.
Raven, panicking, says she has to get out of the apartment. Chels suggests a walk, and after checking that the coast is clear, Raven is ready to do just that. When she opens the door, though...
And then...
Yup.
Ray wakes up from passing out, and Wally's mom is in her face. She trips over practically everything in the living room before arriving at a safe distance behind the couch.
She is not okay. The clown's name is Diane, and she apologizes for not getting changed out of her costume before picking Wally up. The kids rush out of Booker and Levi's room, the boys upset that the girls ruined their fort. Raven is a little preoccupied.
Everyone's confused. Especially Diane. Raven calls her a circus freak, and we feel for her - even if she is dressed up like a clown.
Diane and her son leave, and after initially celebrating Diane's departure, Raven realizes her wrongdoings. The kids are upset at how Raven treated Diane. Chelsea tells Raven her behaviour was out of control, and that she disrespected Wally's mom. Raven will, of course, find a way to fix the unfortunate situation.
Later on, the kids and Chelsea are each holding mysterious balloons inviting them to dinner. There's a knock on the door, and turns out Diane and Wally received a balloonvite too. Diane's not thrilled, but Wally convinced her to come. Also, here's Diane sans-clown costume:
PRETTY!
Circus music begins playing, and behold - the most bizarre moment on this show yet:
I am NOT okay!
Chels and the kids are in shock. Diane's... unimpressed.
She thinks this is a joke. Raven... the clown... proceeds to perform a silent musical performance, and ushers Diane to take a seat. I'll be honest, it's hard to narrate the next portion of the scene given it totally confused me too. But, I loved it, along with every other musical performance we've seen on the show.
Oh look, Ray resurrected the inflatable I was sure she destroyed beyond repair! Diane is still lost.
The kids... well, all of them except Booker, realize that she's acting out her fear of clowns in a way she thinks Diane will understand. Her and Chelsea re-enact Raven beating up the inflatable, Chelsea getting too into it and knocking her over. Visibly annoyed, Raven mimes an apology to Diane, and Booker's in tears.
Yay! Diane accepts her apology. Raven's overjoyed, mostly because that's the longest she's ever gone without speaking. This is totally and completely true. Fact.
Diane and Wally stay for dinner and dessert, and Diane thanks Raven for everything. The fam's impressed by her courage in overcoming her fear; not just of clowns, but that she's also tried brussel sprouts for the first time! Raven says she'd do anything for her kids. Even Tess. What a lady.
While everyone's soaking up this beautiful moment, Wally and Booker are attempting to sneak King Kong's hand into the apartment. Raven's onto them, yelling to get it out of their house.
She knows. She always knows.
I liked how in this episode the message conveyed wasn't obvert, yet incredibly important; especially in a time where people are having a hard time accepting others for who they are due to fear and ignorance. The world would, without a doubt, be a more peaceful place if we took a page out of Raven's book. We have to be willing to open our hearts to others and be compassionate. What a powerful message to teach children. Major props to you, Raven Symone.
Down below, let me know if you're afraid of clowns, what you think the King Kong hand will eventually be used for, and your thoughts on our newest character Wally!
Catch Raven's Home Friday Nights on Disney Channel.
