“Desmond’s Big Day Out” is the first episode of the first season of Smiling Friends. It premiered on January 9, 2022.
Synopsis
A small company dedicated to bringing happiness to the world receives a simple request to help a woman’s unhappy son smile again, but the job turns out to be more complicated than it seems.
Characters
Conspiracy
Pim and Charlie, currently off duty, watch TV in the main hall. There is simply a dancing alien on the show they are watching. Charlie suggests looking at something else, but Pim assures that the most interesting is yet to come. When his actions are questioned, Alan replies that he suspects a mouse is present in the building because his prized piece of cheese has gone missing. He also suspects Charlie and Pim, Charlie says that’s not the case. Slightly disappointed, Pim says that Charlie missed a piece, Charlie is confused at first, but then Pim explains to him that the alien on the TV made a great turn, but Charlie couldn’t see it. An alarm goes off, meaning Pim and Charlie are ordered to meet the boss.
At a meeting with the boss, the boss breastfeeds his baby, in front of two employees. However, the boss announces that the mother is very interested in her ‘mopey’ son Desmond, so he asks the Smiling Friends to cheer him up. As he says the address, the boss’s child bites his nipple. The boss tells him that biting is not okay. Distraught, Charlie asks if there is anything else that needs to be done. The boss tells him no, and that should make the son smile.
When Pim arrives at the mother’s house, he shouts his desire to (help) the children in the neighborhood. Charlie says he should and shouldn’t shout his passion out loud. Mother opens the door and asks if they are Smiling Friends, which Pim confirms. Smiling friends are allowed to enter the house. Pim and Charlie enter Desmond’s room and meet him with a gun to his head in his hand. When asked about the gun, Desmond said he would probably use it to shoot himself. And when asked what’s going on, Desmond replies that his life isn’t going well because his wife and kids left him and his dog died of a broken heart. Charlie suggests a private interview in which he discovers that Desmond is a ‘lost case’. Determined not to give up, Pim promises Desmond that she will put a smile on his face, even if Desmond commits suicide if the Smiling Friends’ mission fails.
Meanwhile, Alan counts his paper clips. Seeing that one is missing, he asks Glep about it. Glep thinks that Alan is accusing him, but Alan assures him that he is not, which is followed by an argument with Glep. However, as soon as Glep stops talking, a mouse is caught by the mouse trap, which brings Alan joy. The mouse seems to have escaped through the back of the fridge. Alan pushes the fridge away and discovers an opening in the wall. Alan avenges his cheese and vows to catch the mouse. He enters the hole only to see a man busy on his computer. He hides his computer when Alan asks about the direction of the mouse, but the man doesn’t know about it. He suggests Alan keep looking. As Alan wanders after the mouse, the man clarifies that one should first let others notice their appearance before stepping into the person’s place. Though Alan thinks the man shouldn’t be present inside the wall in the first place, to which the man replies that it’s none of his business. However, since he lives behind the walls of the office, Alan tells him that it’s their business. Alan leaves.
Pim and Charlie brought Desmond to his family home to show him quality family time, a major and important part of life. It features Graham Nelly, who has experience with fingerboarding. This is how he shows his amazing tricks. Afterwards, Pim’s sister Amy announces her hatred for Pim. Pim tells Desmond that they love each other despite their broken bond, which Amy reveals and declares that she really hates him. He tells Desmond that his father would have been sitting in the empty chair, but now he is sitting in front of the television watching the same show that Pim was watching. Father demands silence while he watches television, but Pim’s mother orders him to sit down to dinner when Pim returns home. This causes a heavy dispute between them. Alpha, Amy’s boyfriend, unexpectedly barks at the table and immediately takes it as his pity. Desmond wonders how that will make him not want to kill himself, to which Pim replies that he hasn’t been home since Christmas so he’s forgotten about the family tension. But he advises Desmond not to worry because friends are also what makes life worth living.
At the party, Pim shows that making new friends is enough to sustain life. Encouraged to show how, he tries to meet a man talking to another. After his utter disgust at Pim touching him, the man bullyingly suggests that Pim go back to his wife and family because he is ‘old’. The other participants laugh at Pim’s humiliation. Although Charlie thinks he is not old, she assures him that he really is. He claims that it doesn’t matter though, to which Desmond agrees. Desmond announces his death as they begin to fail. However, Pim knows a place that will definitely complete the Smiling Friends mission. They arrive at Dave Land, an amusement park full of joy and happiness with various attractions and stalls, including the chance to meet the one and only Dave. Desmond asks who exactly Dave is, which Pim does not know, except that he is notable for being the creator of Daveland. Pim wants to ride the roller coaster with Desmond and Charlie for fun and also experiences other fun activities at Daveland.
Alan still looks for the mouse, but instead discovers a startled Bliblie. Even though clarification will be in order, Bliblie reaches for the cheese but stabs Alan’s hand with a stolen paper clip. Bliblie returns to his cocoon-like ball of cheese, and Alan demands that he return said food when he stumbles upon the cocoon. However, it explodes, releasing dozens of Bliblies that invade the building. Boss asks to be quiet while playing a game with friends on his gaming laptop.
After having fun at Daveland, Pim questions his emotions if he feels better. Desmond replies that he did it before it ended, like all good things, he says. Pim says that fun and good things don’t really last, which is the whole reason for Desmond’s depression. Charlie asks Pim if there’s anything else that should be shown to Desmond, but Pim is speechless after Desmond’s profound comment about how fun things are as a distraction from everything coming to an end, seeing the past activities as a waste of time. the mind from death and the demise of the universe. Desmond asks if Charlie has anything to present, and it’s an ant. As this doesn’t get Desmond to calm down either, Charlie classifies it as a failed mission, stating that Desmond should sign the paperwork stating said failure and that Desmond can then do his job.
Details
The scene where Bliblie points and yells at the Smiling Friends and Desmond is possibly an homage to the 1976 sci-fi horror film Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
The eyes on the dancing alien aren’t completely black, but normal eyes that are super dark, similar to Drell from Mass Effect.
In an interview, Zach Hadel revealed that one of Pim’s brothers is stationed in Afghanistan, as shown in one of the pictures in Pim’s house. It is not known if he returned to the United States.
This is one of the few episodes where “whore” is censored on the HBOMax version.
According to the commentary for this episode, Mr. Boss was originally supposed to be shown playing the guitar poorly when the bliblies take over and won’t be playing video games.
In the original script for this episode, after the scene in Daveland where Desmond talks about how good things really don’t last, Charlie and Pim take him to other places because Pim would get depressed, with the next shot being an oil spill at the end of the day beach with dead dolphins. The sequence was shortened to have it all take place in Daveland, as the network noted that the original proposed version was a bit repetitive.
Smiling Friends Season 1 Episode 1 Transcript
[play intro]
[The episode begins outside the Smiling Friends Inc. building]
[A dancing alien appears on the TV, singing gibberish. Pim and Charlie watch, the former excited while the latter is not.]
Charlie: Pim, can we look at something else?
Pim: No pst. It’s going to be really good. It’s going to be really good. Believe me.
[Charlie turns his head to look at Alan preparing broccoli for a mousetrap next to the fridge.]
Charlie: Hi Alan. What are you, uh, what are you doing back there, man?
Alan: I think we could have a mouse in the office. My precious piece of cheese disappeared unless one of you took it.
Charlie: I mean, I don’t know. I, uh, didn’t see your piece of cheese. No idea.
Pim: Uh, you missed it.
Charlie: [Turns his head back to Pim.] What?
Pim: Oh, just, um, the figure turned around. It was like a cool spin. That was the whole reason I was showing you this, but yeah. It was – it was kind of cool.
Charlie: Okay.
[A loud alarm then goes off in the building, scaring many people, animals and birds outside. People are heard screaming.]
[The next scene cuts to the boss sitting in an office chair.]
Boss: Hey guys.
Charlie: So we have a job?
Boss: Yeah, but you caught me in the middle of something here. You don’t have a problem watching someone eat, do you?
Charlie: Not really, no. Go for it, man.
Pim: Go ahead.
Boss: [Grabs his boss Baby. He drinks his blurry nipple.] Okay, so my mom called me today. She’s worried about her son, saying he’s been, quote, a little nervous lately. She wonders if you could put a smile on the little rascal’s face. Uh, they’re at 8501 West Tyson… [Boss Baby bites the boss’s blurred nipple.] Ouch! Hey, no biting. Hello! No biting. Good? Do you want me to bite you?
Boss Baby: Yeah.
Boss: You know it hurts dad, I told you, silly. No biting, okay? You are my good baby, huh?
Boss Baby: Yeah.
Boss: Yeah, mm.
Charlie: Uh, yeah, I guess not. We could certainly do that. We could use a smile and all. Ummm. Did you need everything else or is it…
Boss: No. Now get out there and make someone smile. [The boss smiles at them.]
[The next scene cuts to Pim and Charlie at Desmond’s mother’s house.]
[Charlie presses the bell, which rings. The scene cuts to Pim and Charlie as a man waters his lawn with a hose in the background.]
Pim: That’ll be great, Charlie. I like to help children, I love children, Charlie. i love children!
[A man watering his lawn is heard in the background and looks at the screen at Pim and Charlie.]
Charlie: Uh, Pim, I really wouldn’t scream at the top of my lungs.
[Desmond’s mom opens the door.]
Desmond’s Mom: Hi. Are you Smiling Friends?
Pim: It’s us, ma’am, to bring smiles and make the world a better place. Uh, is your son home?
Desmond’s Mom: Yes. Yes. He is. Come on.
[Pim and Charlie head into the house, following Desmond’s mother.]
Desmond’s Mom: I’m so glad you came. Uh, he’s right here. I hope he’s not sleeping. Desmond! Smiling Friends are here.
[Desmond’s mother opens Desmond’s bedroom door to let Pim and Charlie in.]
Pim: Hello, friend. How are you?
[Pim and Charlie enter the room and see their client Desmond holding a revolver to his temple.]
Both: Oh my god!
Charlie: Hey! Hooray, bye, bye, bye! Hooray bye! Hooray, bye, bye!
Desmond: Hello.
Charlie: What’s, uh, what’s going on, man? What’s up big guy? what’s with the gun
Desmond: Oh, nothing. I probably wanted to shoot myself with it or something.
Charlie: Oh, you don’t have to do that, man. Why don’t you just put the gun down, buddy?
Pim: Yeah. do not worry. Things will be fine. What is wrong?
Desmond: Well, life isn’t going very well for me. My wife left me. My children have left me. My dog died of a broken heart last fall, so I don’t know. Yeah. It’s probably all going to end or something.
Charlie: Yeah. Pim, can I, uh, can I talk to you for a second?
[Charlie whispers to Pim.]
Charlie: Look, Pim. I know our job is to help this guy and all, but I think this guy is a lost cause. He obviously made up his mind. Why don’t we just cut our losses and get out of here?
Pim: Come on. That’s nonsense, Charlie. We have never given up yet. Greetings, sir. I know you don’t know who I am, but my name is Pim. I know things seem bleak right now, but I promise you that at the end of this beautiful day, you will have a big, beautiful smile on that beautiful face of yours. Oh, won’t you give us a chance?
Desmond: Okay, but if you can’t help me. [Close-up of Desmond’s face.] Hell [beep] I’m gonna shoot myself and make you two watch.
Pim: Okay, not sure about that, but yay!
[The scene cuts to Smiling Friends Inc, where Alan is counting all his staples.]
Alan: One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. One, two, Hmm, Glepe, did you take the paper clip? Last time I counted 74 and now it’s only 73.
[The scene cuts to Glep watching a video of Lucas the Magnificent on an iPad while sitting in an armchair. He talks gibberish to Alan.]
Alan: I’m not blaming you, I’m just asking.
[Glep continues talking gibberish at him.]
[Alan hears a noise from a mouse trap next to the fridge.]
Alan: Aha! I got you, you damn mouse.
[Alan runs next to the fridge and looks down to find that a piece of broccoli is gone as the mousetrap is covered in blood.]
[Alan sees traces of blood on the wall next to the fridge and pushes on it to reveal a large hole in the wall.]
Alan: I’ll get you. No one takes Alan’s precious piece of cheese and gets away with it.
[Alan enters a large hole in the wall and sees a white creature sitting in a chair using a computer.]
Alan: Hey, sorry to bother you, but did you happen to see a mouse run by?
The Man Living in the Wall: I don’t know.
[Creature has hands covering computer screen.]
The Man Living in the Wall: Yeah. I have no idea, man. Maybe try it down there.
Alan: Thanks. I’ll check it out.
Man Living In Wall: By the way, for the record, you should probably knock or make yourself known the next time you walk into someone’s place.
Alan: Dude, I don’t even think you should be here to begin with.
Man Living In Wall: Yeah, but it’s not really your business, is it?
Alan: When you live within our office walls, yes, it is.
The Man Living in the Wall: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Alan: Well, I don’t – I don’t now. Goodbye.
Man Living In The Wall: Yeah, hi.
Alan: Whatever.
[The scene cuts to the exterior of the Pimling Family Residence as a bird in a tree screams.]
[The scene cuts to the interior of the Pimling Family Residence, where Pim, Charlie and Desmond are sitting at the dining room table with other members of Pim’s family.