Home Alone (The Boondocks)

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The Boondocks episode
“Home Alone”

With their granddad gone, Huey claims "supreme authority" over the house — and Riley
Original airdate December 17, 2007
Season no. 2
Episode no. 25
Production no. 212
Director Dan Fausett
Writer(s) Aaron McGruder
Rodney Barnes
The Boondocks - Season 2
October 8, 2007 – ?
  1. ...Or Die Trying
  2. Tom, Sarah and Usher
  3. Thank You for Not Snitching
  4. Stinkmeaner Strikes Back
  5. The Story of Thugnificent
  6. Attack of the Killer Kung-Fu Wolf Bitch
  7. Shinin'
  8. Ballin'
  9. Invasion of the Katrinians
  10. Home Alone
  11. The S-Word
  12. The Story of Catcher Freeman
  13. The Story of Gangstalicious Part 2
  14. The Hunger Strike †
  15. The Uncle Ruckus Reality Show †
† Canada-only
← Season 1

"Home Alone" is the tenth episode of the second season of the Adult Swim animated television series The Boondocks and the twenty-fifth episode overall. It originally aired on December 17, 2007.

[edit] Plot

The episode starts with Huey and Riley fighting. As they bust through the bathroom door, Granddad, taking a shower at the time, expresses his dissatisfaction with their constant aggression.

Later, Robert is playing cards in his basement with Uncle Ruckus and Tom Dubois. Tom suggests that Robert take a vacation to Costa Rica, telling him he should "do it big" like the rappers. Robert takes the suggestion into extreme consideration and even fantasizes about what might happen. His fantasy includes him popping Cristal with Hispanic girls while going by his alias "Mr. Bitches." Tom, interested in accompanying Robert on this trip, causes Robert to think about what might happen in the same situation were Tom present. In this fantasy, Robert hits it off while Tom is having a conversation about an absurd dream he had. The girls, bored by Tom's musings, leave. As a result, Robert doesn't commit to the trip.

Huey explains Robert's past attempts at hiring a babysitter for him and Riley: the first, a pre-teen to young teenage girl, the second a British Nanny, and the last a guidance counselor for misguided black youths. The young girl misconstrued what playing "cops and robbers" with Riley entailed, and got her money stolen as a result. This landed the brothers on a "do-not-sit" website. The nanny, though extremely effective, was fired after using the telephone for five minutes and leaving the kitchen light on while no one was in the kitchen (Robert had hidden a nannycam). The counselor had taken to a fetal position upon Robert's return.

Robert, going off on the "do it big" trip without Tom, tells Huey that should Tom inquire as to his whereabouts, to tell him that he went to the store. Other than that, he leaves two weeks' worth of food money and hires Uncle Ruckus as their sitter. After Ruckus threatens to use a cattleprod and shock collar as punishment devices, the boys work together and ambush Ruckus with airsoft guns, causing him to evacuate the house.

Huey, presuming himself to be in charge, tells Riley to clean up the living room. Riley suggests that they take turns being in charge, and ultimately refuses to do as told. Later, Riley uses the food money to buy new clothes for himself. Huey, to Riley's surprise and chagrin, doesn't fight Riley, but rather grounds him for his action. Riley's first attempt to leave the house is thwarted when a ready-to-strike Huey nails him with a kick as soon as he opens the front door. In another attempt, Riley tries to climb out of his bedroom window with a makeshift rope, but this goes wrong when Huey lights the rope on fire, causing Riley to scramble back up into the house. As Huey explains, Riley made several more attempts to escape and eventually had to be forcibly restrained with duct-tape handcuffs and barred windows (which Huey installed). Huey locked away Riley's guns, retaining only a couple for himself which he used to enforce his "supreme authority." He also dresses Riley in an orange prisoner-like jumpsuit and keeps a domineering eye on him as he makes him do chores. Huey, always with a gun in hand, never takes his eyes off of his brother, even while his brother slept.

Riley, in prisoners' garb, tries to bite through ducttape.
Riley, in prisoners' garb, tries to bite through ducttape.

Meanwhile, Robert, after having a rough go at the airport, collapses on his bed upon arriving at the hotel. Later, he goes down to the club and tries to play the room, but the women show little interest in him. Retreating to his hotel room, he is shown doing things like watching a Spanish soap opera and doing crossword puzzles while he hears other, younger vacationers having the times of their lives. Eventually he decides to call home to talk to the kids, but the conversation is cut short when Riley bites through his cuffs and tries to get away. Huey hangs up and runs after him, re-binding his wrists and locking him in the closet as punishment.

Huey and Riley stuck in a Mexican standoff.
Huey and Riley stuck in a Mexican standoff.

Huey thrice has to deal with Tom who, as Robert predicted, comes to ask about Robert. Huey obeys his granddad and continues telling Tom that Granddad is out running errands. While he answers the door and maintains this lie for the third and final time, Riley breaks out of the closet (apparently having picked the lock with a wire-hanger). The boys battle with their airsoft guns, each blaming the other for why Granddad left and may never come back. Things come to a head when both are holding a gun point blank at one another. They both shoot, knocking themselves out in the process.

Meanwhile Robert, having had a regrettable experience, returns after only a few days of absence. He is not worried about the wrecked house and doesn't ask about Ruckus. He is just happy to see Huey and Riley, and they, recovering, greet him with a hug, relieved that he decided to return. Robert tells the boys that he "did it big," though he did not, and tells Tom that he didn't go to Costa Rica, though he did. The boys, agreeing for the first time in the episode, immediately decide to clean up the house as their granddad goes up to bed.

[edit] Cultural references

  • While Huey and Riley are fighting in the bathroom while Granddad is taking a shower, he gets out and threatens to fill the bathtub with water and drown them. This is in possible reference to the Andrea Yates case of 2001.[1]
  • Tom and Robert discuss the 'beef' between Jay-Z and Frederic Rouzaud, director of Louis Roederer (maker of Cristal champagne).[2]
  • The scene in which Huey lights the bed sheet rope on fire while Riley is climbing down it may be in reference to a similar stunt shown in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. The title of the episode well-explains the reference.
  • The whole premise behind the events that take place during Grandad's absence directly reflect those of the Stanford prison experiment conducted in 1971 by Philip Zimbardo and the result of the so-called "Lucifer effect". Riley is the "prisoner" - forced to wear an orange fugitive jumpsuit and subject to the whims of his brother - while Huey is the "guard" - wearing a military-style jacket and wielding a MP5K airsoft gun at all times. When Granddad arrives back home, the viewer is told that his entire trip lasted only two days (the trip was supposed to be two weeks). In comparison, the Zimbardo experiment, which was also supposed to last two weeks, lasted only 6 days.[3]
  • The scene in which Riley is shown to be sliding down the stair banister firing his air guns is similar to a scene from John Woo's movie, Hard Boiled.
  • The scene in which Riley and Huey are stuck in a mexican standoff is similar to a scene from John Woo's movie, The Killer.
  • Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" is played frequently in this episode, specifically during scenes which establish Riley as being Huey's prisoner.
  • Throughout many scenes of the episode Huey can be seen wearing a militant-like jacket with a Red star on his sleeves. The star could be a reference that of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, but may also represent socialism in a more general sense.
  • At one point, Riley says, "OK, I'm reloaded!" which may be a reference to a phrase from Carlito's Way. The phrase has also been popularized by rapper Jay-Z in his song entitled "Brooklyn's Finest."
  • Riley's line "Say hello to the bad guy!" is a reference to Scarface, in which Tony Montana says, "Say goodbye to the bad guy."
  • Riley's "Ain't I'm clean" line is borrowed from soul musician/comedian Rufus Thomas, who regularly employed the line in his routines. [4]
  • The music played during Riley's imprisonment is the main theme of the Vietnam film Platoon

[edit] References

  1. ^ Roche, Timothy (2002-3-18). Andrea Yates: More To The Story. Time Inc.. Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
  2. ^ New Beef! Jay-Z and Cristal. MTV UK. Retrieved on 2007-12-21.
  3. ^ Alexander, Meredith (2001-8-22). Thirty years later, Stanford Prison Experiment lives on. Stanford Report. Retrieved on 2007-12-14.
  4. ^ Bowman, Rob and Chuck D (2004). Audio commentary for Wattstax: 30th Anniversary Edition. Burbank, CA: Warner Home Video.


Preceded by
“Invasion of the Katrinians”		 The Boondocks episodes Followed by
“The S-Word”