"Charlie Dies and Doesn't Come Back" is the Christmas episode of Adult Swim's animated show Smiling Friends, aired as the first season finale on January 9, 2022 as part of the first season burnoff debut.
Summary[]
The episode starts with Night Before Christmas-style narration, explaining that everyone is in the holiday spirit except for Charlie, who is playing a game rather than decorating and just wants to knock off work early. The boss enters the room and asks the men to cut down a tree, to Charlie's frustration. As the group wanders into the forest, Charlie remarks how he just wants the job over and done with. Pim asks what's wrong, but Charlie explains he thinks it's reasonable that he doesn't want to work on Christmas Eve, to which Pim says that his sour mood weighs everyone else down (although Alan and Glep don't really seem to care.) Pim points out how Charlie always seems to try and solve the problems they face with little to no effort, regardless of the consequences, using encounter with Desmond as evidence. Charlie says he could also bring up problems Pim has, but fails to do so as Alan points to a tree to cut down. He offers the task to Pim, but before he can accept, Charlie grabs the axe and starts chopping the tree in frustration, sarcastically saying he's helping out for once. As he's snarkily asking the others if they're in a bad mood, the tree crashes on Charlie and causes his head to explode gruesomely, much to the stunned silence of the other three.
A sequence of rapid images segues the scene to Charlie waking up in Hell, where a demon that claims to be Charlie's new master introduces him to his new living space, including Jeremy - his only form of entertainment. Charlie threatens to punch Jeremy if he does his schtick again, before the fire-y background peels off, revealing it was just a sheet of paper. The demon reveals that The Devil is feeling depressed, due to his poor management, Hell has literally frozen over. Charlie remarks how he can help, but the demon threatens to stab him with his pitchfork. Charlie then points out that the pitchfork is just cardboard, to which the demon breaks down and asks him to leave anyway. He then runs into his grandmother, who was sent to hell after yelling "damn" when she saw her husband getting his brains blown out by a burglar in 1958. Remarking how that shouldn't have been enough for her to go to Hell, Charlie asks his grandmother where he can find The Devil, to which she points to the giant hole which leads to the 9th circle. Before he leaves, she offers him a half-eaten sucker, to which Charlie refuses.
A montage of Charlie journeying through Hell is shown as a song describing Christmas in Hell plays. Jeremy tries to do his act again, which leads to Charlie punching him - as he promised - which winds the demon. Walking past a group of threatening men who are half-frozen in ice, he arrives at The Devil's room. Entering, he discovers that he's spending his time playing the same game Charlie was playing at the start of the episode. The Devil explains that he's been putting off filing his paperwork and responding to work emails, mostly due to the fact he doesn't get paid until the end of his job - which lasts for all eternity. Charlie asks if he could be sent back to Earth if he can help cheer him up, to which he agrees. Before Charlie can offer his first suggestion, a food deliveryman arrives and delivers a meal from Salty's to The Devil, although they forgot the straw which annoys him. Charlie continues by saying The Devil's likely not happy because he's stuck in a loop of short-term dopamine rushes, and suggests he starts small like including more healthy food in his diet. However, he responds with offence, saying that the "criticism" put him in a worse mood and takes a smoke from his vape pen. Charlie points out that he's avoiding the problem by doing so, but The Devil, now furious, orders Charlie to be tortured by other demons - including Jeremy, who gets to finally punch him back. The Devil remarks how Charlie's suffering fills him with joy, to which Charlie points out he just made him smile. However, he refuses to let him go due to how he still pissed him off, but is interrupted by Gilbert God-fried, who rescues Charlie as he did fulfil their deal. Gilbert and Charlie escape, as the former explains that the ordeal was so Charlie would be able to see the flaws in his own personality, and he can now live life for the better, before sending him back to Earth.
Meanwhile, Charlie's funeral is being held, with Pim, Alan, Glep, The Boss, Dave (owner of Daveland), a somehow-now-revived Century Egg, as well as the girlfriends of Glep and Charlie in attendance. The Boss goes to speak, delivering slam poetry in Charlie's honour. However, as the coffin is being lowered, Charlie slams back on Earth in a yellow puddle, before coalescing into his normal - albeit nude - form. The Boss remarks that it's a Christmas miracle, and Pim asks how it's even possible, to which Charlie refuses to elaborate due to how traumatising the experience was. Pim hugs him and apologises for having the argument, which makes him uncomfortable due to how he's currently naked. The episode ends with the narrator explaining how the story was how Charlie was able to get his groove back, revealing the narrator to be an elderly Glep who was reading the story of the episode to his grandson. The grandson wonders whether or not the story was real, to which Glep remarks that all of it was true; Hell is real and Christianity was right all along. He apologises to a disappointed grandson, before wishing the audience a Merry Christmas.
Notes[]
- On the March 31, 2022 airing, as Charlie starts walking at the beginning of the song, it was filtered with a glitch theme of Adult Swim's online short Learning with Pibby. At the same shot, Pibby and Bun Bun walked on the snowline.
- On the March 31, 2024 airing, the entire episode was presented in puppet form.
Cast[]
| Voice actor/actress | Character(s) |
|---|---|
| Michael Cusack | Pim Alan Demon Jeremy |
| Zach Hadel | Charlie Glep The Devil Charlie's Grandma |
| Gilbert Gottfried | God |
| Hans Van Harken | Priest Frozen Head |
| Rodrigo Huerta | Devils Food Delivery Guy |
| Marc M. | The Boss |
| James Rolfe | Bimmy |
| Mike Stoklasa | Self |
| Joshua Tomar | Narrator |