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"The Ice Tape" is the twentieth episode in Season Eight (and two hundred and thirty-seventh overall) of Regular Show. The episode first aired on November 3, 2016.
Synopsis[]
The gang must travel to an ancient VCR that will play a VHS tape, made of ice, so that they can learn about Pops' origins.
Plot[]
The episode starts with the park gang walking to a video store. The trio (Joel, Fi, & Kai) ask if the gang are there to rent a movie or for any other reason. Benson tells them that he and the park gang don't know what they are trying to look for. He then pulls out a hologram map (given by Mary Stone) and tells Joel, Fi and Kai that the map might be a clue. As Pops takes off his hood, Kai, Fi, and Joel gasp at the sight of "The chosen one." Pops wonders where the chosen one is, and then notices Kai's Pops tattoo on her sleeve. Fi also shows her Pops tattoo on her leg, and Joel reveals his Pops tattoo under his hat. Joel then opens a door while holding a lamp and reveals a blanket with an image of Pops. Behind the blanket, there's a hole and a wall sliced in half. Kai and Fi grab Pops and take him to the wall. Muscle Man predicts that they are going to put Pops' head in the hole to open a secret door. As Fi and Kai do so, and the door opens horizontally. Everyone is amazed at what they see behind the door. Pops opens the door and walks through it, finding a tape made of ice. Pops grabs the tape and everyone speculates about its contents. Mordecai ask if they can use one of their VCRs upstairs, but Kai tells him that the tape won't work in a normal VCR. Fi tells them that they have to take the tape to the Forbidden Mountain to reveal its contents. Joel and the gang assure the park gang that they will help him get there safely.
The gang and the video store employees travel to the mountain on snowmobiles with the ice tape placed in a cooler. Rigby claims that all this "Chosen One" stuff about Pops is crazy. He always thought Pops was just a nice old guy. Mordecai wonders what Pops really is and imagines what Pops actually could be. They imagine Pops as a robot or a smaller guy piloting a robot. As they approach the mountain, they must cross a frozen lake to get there. Joel mentions the alternative routes through Magma Lake or Lightning Lake, which appear more dangerous than the Frozen Lake. Muscle Man decides to go across the Frozen Lake, and they must make haste. As they move across the Frozen Lake on their snowmobiles, the ice begins to crack. Eileen notices the cracking ice and warns the others. Joel orders everyone to ditch the snowmobiles and run. Everyone hurriedly gets off their snowmobiles and runs across the frozen lake, panting along the way. Much of the ice gives way, taking the snowmobiles with it. Joel tries to make it across the frozen lake with the cooler, only for all of the ice ahead of him to melt into the water. Everyone else made it across the lake safely. Joel says he's not going to make it and throws the cooler to Kai, saying it's too late for him. But Rigby tells him to jump across the frozen lake, with Eileen thinking Joel can make it. However, Joel says he's not much of a jumper. Mordecai asks if he's sure he doesn't want to at least try. Joel attempts to run and jump to the other side of the lake, only to forget to jump, Skips suggests forming a human chain to pull him out. Joel expresses concern about the cold, but Rigby reassures him that it won't be too bad. Joel ultimately agrees to the plan, but unfortunately, he gets eaten by a fish, making him the first casualty of the expedition. The rest of the group is shocked and horrified by what they witness.
The rest of the group continues their journey up the mountain, stopping for rest in a cave. Pops acknowledges how brave it was for Joel to sacrifice himself. Eileen wonders what's on the tape, but Pops has no idea, but he's eager to find out as he know so little about myself and my past, and can't even remember anything from before he was two years old. Eileen reassures Pops that nobody can remember that far back, and Rigby jokes that he can hardly remember anything before he was 22. Pops agrees and has a flashback about noticing a VCR covered in fire at a younger age.
Meanwhile, Skips, Mordecai, Rigby, Benson, and Kai discover some bones that Fi and Kai recognize as belonging to a snow mammoth's den. Suddenly, a snow mammoth appears behind them, and Fi tries to distract it with a flaming stick. Unfortunately, the mammoth grabs Fi by her leg, causing her to scream. She insists that she's not worth saving and urges the others to leave her behind. Hi Five Ghost tells her that she should have more self-respect and deserves to live just as much as anyone else. Fi considers this and realizes it may be too late as the mammoth consumes her, becoming the second fatality, devastating Kai. Skips discovers a hole they can go through, and Benson tries to comfort Kai, urging her not to let Fi's death be in vain. The park gang and Kai enter the hole and slide through rushing, landing near three VCRs: one covered in fire, one made of ice, and a regular-looking one.
They meet the Eggscellent Knight, Mordecai and Rigby are surprised to see him here. The Eggscellent Knight explains that he found his job guarding relics outside the Andromeda Galaxy after posting his resume on a job website. He then tells them about the three VCRs, and that if they choose the wrong one, the information on the ice tape will be lost forever. Benson is unsure which VCR they should pick, but Rigby correctly suspects that the seemingly normal one is a trap. As he suspected, the "normal" VCR opens up to reveal a pair of eyes and a gun. Mordecai considers putting the tape in the ice VCR since both the tape and the VCR are made of ice. Skips agrees, and asks Pops for his opinion. Pops, having a flashback, suddenly realizes that it's the fire VCR that they should use, as he recalls a delivery of a hot VCR to Mr. Maellard.
Benson and Mordecai are confused because the tape is made of ice, which will simply melt in the fire. If they put the tape in the fire VCR, they'll never know what's on it. Hi Five Ghost tells Pops that he won't be able to learn about his destiny, but Pops insists that the others should trust him. Kai hands the ice tape to Pops and wishes him good luck. Just as Pops is about to insert the tape, the snow mammoth from earlier returns. Kai tells the park gang to hold it off so Pops can see the tape. Skips and Eileen start shooting at the mammoth with laser guns, but Eileen complains that the lasers are just making the cave smell like burnt wigs. As the mammoth leaps towards them, Skips urges everyone to keep shooting because it's all they can do. They continue firing, making a hole in the mountain wall. The mammoth strikes the group, causing the ice tape to slip from Pops’s hand and land on a block of ice. Rigby declares that they didn't come this far to not get answers, so he leaps across the ice blocks to retrieve the tape. Skips and Eileen continue to shoot lasers at the mammoth. Rigby grabs the tape just as it is about to flow out of the mountain. The mammoth moves backwards due to the lasers hitting the wall spikes and causing them to fall from above towards Rigby. Rigby leaps away from it. Kai runs towards the mammoth to sacrifice herself. Eileen suggests they could just keep shooting rocks at the mammoth, and Skips says that it was working really well. Realizing her mistake too late, both the mammoth and Kai fall out of the mountain, falling to their eventual deaths. The gang looks on. Mordecai's cell phone rings, and as he picks up his phone, Kai calls him to tell him that she knew her time would come, and it was totally worth it to die for Pops. With this, Kai is the last of the video store employees to die. Mordecai turns to the group and tells them what Kai said to him. Skips adds that Joel, Fi, and Kai had a calling.
The Eggscellent Knight tells Pops that it's time to make his choice. As Pops inserts the ice tape into the fire VCR, the Eggscellent Knight says that he has chosen wisely. Then, a hologram of Mr. Maellard appears in the fire. Mr. Maellard congratulates Pops for finding the tape, confusing everyone. Mr. Maellard says he couldn't be more proud and tells Pops it's high time he explained some things to him.
A long time ago, Mr. Maellard was on an expedition for recently fallen meteorites. People at the time liked their look, so they'd pay a pretty penny. Then, one day, a brand new meteor fell. Mr. Maellard thought it was his lucky day. However, when he and his expedition team went to inspect it, they found something else: Pops when he was a baby. Mr. Maellard revealed he called Pops that because he looked super old. But then, Mr. Maellard found something else. With Pops, he found a scroll. The scroll explained that Pops is special, not of this Earth. It told the tale of two brothers: one, the embodiment of pure good, and the other, filled with pure evil, destined to be at war with one another. Mr. Maellard hoped he'd found the good one. Mr. Maellard hated returning things, so he decided to hide Pops in the most ordinary place he could find. All Mr. Maellard wanted was for Pops to live out the rest of his days safely on Earth. But that wasn't Pops' destiny. The universe is beginning to unravel. And it can only be the work of Anti-Pops, out there somewhere, his instinct only to destroy. Mr. Maellard tells Pops he has the power to stop him, and the only one standing between him and the destruction of the universe. Mr. Maellard tells Pops he's sure by now he's started to notice his body's changing, finding powers where there were no powers before. These are the beginning manifestations of Pops' true form. Mr. Maellard tells Pops he must learn to harness his powers if he is to survive. Towards the end of the tape, Mr. Maellard tells Pops that the scroll speaks of the strongest and most powerful trainer, Earl, who will teach Pops how to use his powers in order to defeat Anti-Pops.
Mr. Maellard admits that it's a lot to take in, but he believes in Pops, and while he may not be Pops' biological father, Pops was always his real son. The holographic message ends and the tape ejects, melting instantly. Later, Earl appears from the shadows and tells the Park Gang who's ready to train, setting up the events of the next episode.
Characters[]
- Pops
- Mordecai
- Rigby
- Benson
- Skips
- Muscle Man
- Hi-Five Ghost
- Eileen
- Joel, Fi, & Kai
- Snow Mammoth
- Earl
- Eggscellent Knight
- Mr. Maellard (video tape)
Trivia[]
- Mr. Maellard reveals that he is not the biological father of Pops.
- He also reveals that Pops is actually an alien being who arrived on Earth and was adopted by Mr. Maellard as a baby.
- It is also revealed that Anti-Pops is Pops' evil brother, and they're both part of a prophecy that deals with the fate of the Universe.
- This is Mr. Maellard's and Eggcellent Knight's last speaking appearances in the series.
- This is also Eggsellent Knight's last appearance in the series.
- This episode is also David Ogden Stiers’ final television appearance before his death in March 2018.
- Muscle Man is correct when he predicts that the Ice Tape contains Pops' origin story.
- Joel predicts his, Fi's, and Kai's deaths at the beginning of the episode by stating that they would "willingly die" to allow Pops to watch the Ice Tape.
Episode Connections[]
- This is the second appearance of Pops' mother and Mr. Maellard's wife, who previously appeared during a flashback montage in "Skips vs. Technology."
- The events of the episode "Alpha Dome" are mentioned by Benson at the beginning of the episode.