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"The Christmas Special" is the ninth episode in Season 4 (and eighty-eighth episode overall) of Regular Show. This episode is a half-hour Christmas special. It first aired on December 3, 2012.[1]
Synopsis
The groundskeepers must destroy a present built by one of Santa's elves that could mark the end of Christmas forever.
Plot
Things start off inside Santa's building, which explodes as an elf named Quillgin is shown carrying a present box towards Santa's sleigh. Quillgin then flies off to the outer limits of the North Pole and is about to open the present box, but something crashes against the sleigh. Santa Claus comes flying in with a floating snowboard and takes the present away from Quillgin. They fight in the sled for awhile, but Quillgin pushes Santa to the wall and starts to open the box again. Santa yells a command to Rudolph, his lead reindeer. Rudolph shoots Quillgin with a laser coming out from his nose, which knocks the box from Quillgin’ hands. Santa then takes the box and jumps out of the sleigh.
At the park, the park members are busy socializing with each other. Benson tries to flirt with a woman, but she instead laughs at his tacky Christmas sweater. Benson tells Thomas to get soda, but because his horns are stuck on the railing, has Mordecai and Rigby get it instead at Skips's garage. As the two enter the garage to get more soda, they notice the roof has been smashed and see Santa Claus on top of the smashed golf cart. Santa is surprised/annoyed to see them, and proves he is the real Santa Claus by telling them how they used to write letters every year asking him for invisibility cloaks. Too injured to continue, Santa entrusts them with the box, telling them that it is incredibly dangerous. He provides a backstory with how his head developer, Quillgin, created a special gift that allowed anything to be conjured from it. Upon using it with a test family, it corrupted those who looked in it, as it used dark magic. Santa ordered all of the research destroyed, which angered Quillgin and made him want to destroy Christmas.
Mordecai and Rigby get the other park members to show that Santa arrived, but find that he is missing. Benson believes that they made an excuse and wonders what the box they're holding has. He looks into the box, and he becomes enthralled by it. Muscle Man and Pops look in it and also become enthralled and begin to fight with each other. Mordecai snaps them back to their senses. Skips realizes that the box has dark magic and states that it needs to be destroyed in lava. Everyone wonders where they could find it, and Skips tells them that there's an abandoned mineshaft in East Pines Park.
Quillgin arrives with his henchmen and notice that Santa was here, and they begin to follow whoever may have the box.
Sneaking into East Pines, the group tries to get through the park undetected. However, Rigby messes around with a snowman, which causes an alarm to go off, and they are captured by Gene. Gene believes that the group came because they tried to pull another prank on East Pines. Gene wonders what's in the box and asks an East Pines employee to open it. He becomes enthralled by the box, so Gene and another employee look in and also become enthralled. As they fight, the box gets kicked over to Mordecai, who snaps them back to their senses.
The park’s security cameras show Quillgin and his henchmen begin to fight through the East Pines employees. The door begins to shake, and Rigby believes that Quillgin and his henchmen arrived. It is just another East Pines employee who tells them that there's an "elf guy outside screaming about destroying Christmas". Realizing the danger, Gene leads the group to the mineshaft and stays behind to stall the elves.
As the group enters the abandoned area, they reach a doorway with a skeleton impaled by spikes. Skips translates the glyphs and states that one person must follow the directions provided below, or they will be impaled and killed. Mordecai tries using the skeleton, but fails to make much progress. Muscle Man volunteers and finishes the first trial. As he leaps out and states that it was a joke, all the spikes poke out, which makes him state to the group that he almost died.
Going on to the next trial, Skips translates again and states that in order to reach the other side, one must play a pinball game. As they rack more points, the bridge will extend; if a ball gets dropped, the ground below them will collapse. Benson volunteers as no one else has played pinball. As he racks points, one of the balls drops and causes a piece of the bridge to collapse. Muscle Man almost falls to his death but is saved by Skips. Mordecai assures Benson that he can finish the puzzle. Hi Five Ghost informs them that Quillgin has caught up to them. Benson tells the group to run ahead while he keeps playing, completing the bridge. He then lets the three balls drop, causing the bridge to collapse as Quillgin's henchmen chase him. The henchmen fall into the chasm below, and Quillgin is stuck on the other side.
In the last trial, Skips translates and states that someone must wrestle a bear. Being a skilled wrestler, Pops challenges the bear, despite protests from the others. Pops is initially overwhelmed by the bear, but he eventually overpowers him and wins. The bear opens a portal in his stomach to allow the group into the lava pit.
Mordecai prepares to destroy the box, only for Quillgin to suddenly appear. Rigby asks how he got through the trials, and Quillgin states that he didn't; he used the stairs to enter. He demands the box or he will shoot, so Mordecai prepares to give the box to save his friends. Suddenly, Quillgin loses control of his hand and the gun gets knocked into the lava pit. Santa reveals himself, and Rigby wonders why he has invisibility cloaks. Santa reminds him that he can make it; he just can't give them out. Quillgin is surprised that he survived, and Santa reveals he wore body armor. Quillgin throws a grenade to scatter them and grabs the box, and it starts to grant his wish for the destruction of Christmas. Magic explosives appear on Christmas presents and decorations around the world, and a detonator appears in the box.
Mordecai rushes up to Quillgin and knocks him into the lava pit. Rigby chases after Mordecai. In the pit, Mordecai, Rigby and Quillgin fight. Quillgin initially repels Mordecai, though Rigby appears and the two stare into the box, causing it to switch between the detonator and ice cream. Mordecai tells Rigby to let go, which he does, and pulls out a two-person hoverboard before dropping the box. Quillgin chases after the box, while Mordecai grabs Rigby. Quillgin is about to have his wishes become true when he realizes that he is too close to the lava, which incinerates both him and the box.
Santa brings the Park employees back home. When Benson asks what he thinks of his shirt, Santa tells him that he should've thrown it into the lava pit while they were there, so he takes it off and throws it on the ground. The attendees have since gone home and Thomas has fallen asleep. Benson wakes up Thomas and tells Mordecai and Rigby to clean the mess, leaving to get supplies. Mordecai notices a box for him and Rigby with a note on them that says "It's okay to break the rules once in a while." When Benson returns with the cleaning supplies, he cannot find the two and goes to clean the mess himself. Upon leaving, Mordecai and Rigby are revealed to be wearing invisibility cloaks and play games on the television.
Characters
- Mordecai
- Rigby
- Benson
- Pops
- Skips
- Muscle Man
- Hi-Five Ghost
- Santa Claus
- Quillgin
- Thomas
- Gene
- Rival Park Members
- Santa Claus' Reindeer
- Santa Claus' Elves
- Quillgin's servants
- Polar Bear
- Audrey
- Mr. Maellard
- Starla (cameo)
- Margaret (mentioned, voice only)
Trivia
- This is the second episode to use opening titles similar to Exit 9B. It seems that those are the only two episodes that use it.
Pop Culture References
- Two real-life songs play in the special, in Part 1, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee and in Part 2, "Carol of the Bells" by Savatage (then remade with a re-recording with the same arrangement by The Trans-Siberian Orchestra a year later).
- When Mordecai and Rigby tell the others what has happened, Muscle Man says "Well what are we waiting for" and attempts to smash the box. This is a reference to Lord of the Rings when Gimli tries to smash the ring.
- When Quillgin shows Santa Claus his plans for his magic box, they are written in a language similar to Elvish from Lord of the Rings.
- The Box's destruction, as well as Quillgin's death, is a reference to Gollum's fiery demise in Lord of the Rings.
Goofs
- When Benson is talking with Audrey, Thomas is seen walking down the stairs, but in the next shot, he disappears.