Kick the Bucket

"♫ In fact when I think of that life, it isn't really living... at all. ♫"

"Kick the Bucket" is the 11th episode of Inanimate Insanity II, and the 29th episode overall.

It was released as a two-part episode, the first part released on December 23, 2016, and the second part released on February 4, 2017. A combined full version was released on March 25, 2017.

Synopsis
After MePad catches a contestant breaking the rules, tensions begin to overflow. Some are able to plug up the holes in their relationships and are all the better for it! However, others manage to sink further. When they empty themselves of their conflicting emotions, new feelings are filled right in their place, and not all of them are positive! Just as water goes through an infinite cycle, there appears to be no end in sight for some of these perpetually damaged connections. That is, unless someone were to finally break the chain.

Also, there is a crab.

Part 1
Marshmallow is seen walking towards the Purgatory Mansion. but MePad tries to stop her. After a conversation, she runs off. When she gets in the mansion, she calls out for Bow but instead gets greeted by Dough. Bow soon comes over and then complains about Dough after he interrupts her.

Balloon is talking to Suitcase about how he hopes that the contest is shell collecting. MePhone4 comes over, demanding the Bright Lights for elimination to Fan's delight and Test Tube and Paintbrush's confusion. On the way there, Toilet tries to tell MePhone that there isn't supposed to be an elimination. MePhone soon realizes that. He then introduces the challenge, which is Bucket Brigade. MePhone then explains the rules. After seeing Balloon trying to bond with Suitcase, Nickel drags her, along with Baseball, to ask her to stop talking to Balloon. With that, Baseball talks to Nickel privately about how he should let Suitcase choose her own friends. Nickel then tells Suitcase that she can choose the job Balloon gets for this challenge and she choose for him to by the lake and passing the buckets of water to the rest of his team. Nickel reluctantly agrees.

In the forest, Taco realizes that this challenge is a test of Balloon's ability and has a plan to sabotage him. She gives Microphone a taser but she disagrees to this plan. She then takes the taser but as soon she gets to the dock, she drops the taser and lowers her gain so she doesn't need to hear Taco's disappointment. Instead, she goes up and talks to Balloon, saying that she believes that he has a chance of getting eliminated. This lowers Balloon's self-esteem.

MePhone is about to start the challenge, but Paintbrush points out that Marshmallow isn't present. MePad tells MePhone that Marshmallow exited the parameters of the show, and MePhone declares if Marshmallow does not return by the next episode, she will be disqualified. Fan panics and exhales into a bag, which pops. Paintbrush is worried for Marshmallow.

Meanwhile, at the Purgatory Mansion, Bow tells Marshmallow the story of how she got her tail, while Marshmallow starts having flashbacks of her and Apple. When Bow asks her how things had been, Marshmallow tells her that after she discovered a truth, she had been thinking if anything in Inanimate Insanity is in fact real.

Bow tells her Apple is a long-past thing and that the two have to face the real world. However, Marshmallow says that she is still a competitor, and Bow strongly disagrees, saying that the show's quality has declined because she died. Marshmallow is now suspicious about Bow's reactions, eventually leading to Bow admitting she did control Apple. Marshmallow is now shocked at this revelation.

MePhone starts the challenge. Lightbulb and Balloon both fill the buckets with water and pass them to Test Tube and Suitcase, respectively. Suitcase passes the bucket to Nickel and then Baseball, while Test Tube passes the bucket to Fan. Nickel passes the bucket to Baseball, who throws the bucket to Microphone. Both Fan and Microphone empty their buckets into their reservoirs, making Paintbrush and Knife's platforms rise.

Meanwhile, Paintbrush asks Fan where Lightbulb went. Lightbulb resurfaces shortly after with a crab, saying that she's looking for the golden coin. Paintbrush loses it, telling Lightbulb she's an entire season behind and declaring that she has reached new levels of nonsensicality. However, Fan shouts back, saying that anything on the show is possible now. He says that the tie in the maze defied his pattern, so Paintbrush forgives Fan.

Meanwhile. Balloon accidentally drops the bucket, and Nickel orders Suitcase to grab it. Within the depths, she hears distorted voices - and that of Mecintosh's, telling her "Betrayal is inevitable". Now holding the bucket, her leg is grabbed by something.

Suitcase resurfaces and passes Nickel the filled bucket. Balloon, concerned, asks her if she is okay, but she replies with "Never better."

Part 2
Bow reveals that she used possession to control Apple, making Apple say that she used her votes to get farther in the season. Meanwhile, Dough says that he possessed a hamburger once just to get the sensation, but a hamburger has a "more complex and stressful life" than his. Marshmallow is confused, but Bow realizes that contestants like Apple are the only people Marshmallow actually cared about, revealing that she had to even the playing field. She and Marshmallow break into song shortly after. Bow reveals that she liked interaction with friends, and that they have someone upon who they depend.

Bow asks Marshmallow if she wants to live at the mansion. She accepts, but under one condition: she wants to bring someone.

Meanwhile, Paintbrush aces their target, but Test Tube is still dizzy from having no liquid in her. Knife aces his target too, while Microphone walks in. She is glared at and uses her amplification to hit her target. She says that she "didn't want to pull a Balloon", making Baseball laugh.

Lightbulb electrifies a ball and throws it to Fan, who is electrocuted. After some pressure from Paintbrush, Fan throws the ball and hits the target. It is now down to Test Tube and Balloon.

Knife and Microphone tell Balloon that it's all down to his luck, while Fan encourages a dazed Test Tube. Both Test Tube and Balloon throw their ball, Test Tube hitting her target and Balloon missing. The Bright Lights won the challenge, as even with lesser members than the Grand Slams, they pulled through.

Nickel is let down by Balloon. Meanwhile, Microphone talks to Taco, where she congratulates her ability to manage manipulation despite being the parameters of the show, balancing Taco's respect for the competition and "the good old-fashioned messing with people".

Knife talks to Suitcase, who tells her she got set up all this time: the two knew Balloon would fail, using it as a reason to eliminate him. In addition to that, it doesn't make her "look odd". He tells her to "make her presence known".

At elimination, MePhone announces that the voting is now up to the contestants, relying on the relationships the contestants built. Nickel and Knife both vote for Balloon; Suitcase votes for Balloon, but hesitates.

Balloon received a total of 5 votes, while Nickel received one. Being the first contestant eliminated in this new style of voting, and the tenth contestant eliminated from Inanimate Insanity II. Before going, Balloon tells Suitcase she proved her loyalty to her alliance and respects her opinion. Suitcase isn't sure to take Knife's advice of "making her presence known", while Nickel snickers at this. Suitcase reveals that she voted for Nickel instead.

Nickel is shocked, while Baseball is disappointed. Suitcase reveals that she can't forgive the way Nickel treated Balloon, and the fact that Nickel acted like he's trying to protect her, but in reality is trying to eliminate her the first chance he has. Nickel tells Suitcase her relationship with Balloon was slowly tearing their alliance apart, but Suitcase says that it was never anything to do with her and Balloon, declaring that is not what an alliance actually is.

Suitcase calls Baseball out, saying she "knows who he really answers to", and says that he disagrees with Nickel's tactics, but actually never tried to take control himself. Nickel is confused about his one vote, and Suitcase reveals she voted for Nickel, because she had never been a true ally to her.

MePhone announces that because of that confrontation, he holds a double elimination instead, so Nickel is the eleventh contestant eliminated form Inanimate Insanity II. As he walks into the Rejection Portal, Nickel tells Suitcase that "it's nothing personal". Balloon thanks Suitcase for her help, and walks into the portal. Suitcase is in tears, but Microphone breaks the silence following. Knife asks Suitcase "what is an alliance, to her".

Marshmallow returns to Hotel OJ to get Apple to the mansion. After the credits, Lightbulb names her crab "Baxter", who proceeds to pinch Lightbulb's hand as he hops back into the water, as Lightbulb cries.

Challenge Votes
Bucket Brigade:

7,281 (44.5%)

Knitting:

4,573 (27.9%)

Shell Collecting:

4,516 (27.5%)

Bright Lights

 * Lightbulb
 * Test Tube
 * Paintbrush
 * Fan
 * Marshmallow

Grand Slams

 * Microphone
 * Knife
 * Suitcase
 * Baseball
 * Nickel
 * Balloon

Meeple

 * MePhone4
 * MePad

Supporting

 * Toilet
 * Taco
 * Baxter (debut)
 * Bow
 * Apple

Locations

 * Elimination Area
 * Purgatory Mansion

Continuity

 * This is the second time Purgatory Mansion appears since it premiered in "Let 'Er R.I.P".
 * The mansion has also been redesigned and features many new rooms - including the foyer and bar room.
 * This is the second appearance of Bow and Dough since "Let 'Er R.I.P".
 * However, this is the second time we hear Dough speak since his cameo in "A Kick in the Right Direction".
 * Hotel OJ makes a cameo in the background during Toilet's scene.
 * When Dough gets close to Bow and she pushes him away is a reference to "A Kick in the Right Direction".
 * This is the first time since "Breaking the Ice" that Test Tube explains something about the challenge before she participates.
 * This episode makes many ties to "Aquatic Conflict", the 11th episode of Season 1.
 * A crab appears coming out of Lightbulb's mouth. The last animal that appeared was a shark.
 * Lightbulb wears a scuba mask similar to those worn during the Aquatic Conflict challenge.
 * Lightbulb tells Paintbrush she's looking for the golden coin, which was the challenge in the 11th episode of Season 1. Paintbrush notes that Lightbulb is "an entire season behind."
 * Just like the 11th episode of last season, the 11th episode of this season has a double elimination, although this one was a surprise.
 * This is the first appearance of Dr. Fizz since "Tri Your Best".
 * This is the third time Suitcase opened herself. The first two were in "Marsh on Mars" and "Theft and Battery".
 * Suitcase's hallucinations carry over and intensify from the previous episode.
 * While the voices talk to Suitcase underwater, a faint "tick-tock" can be heard repeating, similar to how Mecintosh did in "Theft and Battery".
 * This is the first episode since "The Arena of Death" to have contestants voting to eliminate other contestants. It has since become the standard elimination voting method.
 * Bow's line "I was floating in nothingness, for, like, ever, y'know?" references to her being killed off in Journey Through Memory Lane (Part 2)

Cultural References

 * The painting of objects playing pokers inside the mansion in a reference to Cassius Marcellus Coolidge's 1894 painting Dogs Playing Pokers.
 * The new elimination area is heavily inspired by the ones used in the CBS reality show, Survivor.

Trivia

 * This is technically the longest episode in the entire series so far, being more than half an hour long (which is partly the reason why the episode got split into two parts).
 * This episode's title, "Kick the Bucket", is a double entendre. While it references the bucket brigade challenge, it also is an English idiom or slang term meaning "to die" - referencing Bow's death.
 * The trailer for the episode was uploaded on November 11 (Remembrance Day (Commonwealth)/Veterans Day (United States of America). This may have been on purpose, as November 11th is 11/11, and this is the 11th episode of the second season.
 * This is the third episode of Inanimate Insanity that is split into two parts.
 * The first split being "Journey Through Memory Lane (Part 1)" and "Journey Through Memory Lane (Part 2)", and the second being "Rain On Your Charade" and "Mazed and Confused".
 * However, this episode's split is unique, as the two-parter still accounts as one episode, rather than two separate episodes.
 * As noted by a Tweet from Taylor Grodin, this episode contains the most screaming he has ever done in an episode.
 * This is supported by Paintbrush's, Bow's and Toilet's screaming.
 * This is the third time the number on the thumbnail representing the episode's number is colored other than blue. In "Everything's A-OJ", the color was orange. In "Mazed and Confused", the color was red.
 * Kick the Bucket (Part 1) is the second time since "Mazed and Confused" that Knife plays a minor role in an episode, as he has no on-screen speaking roles, but can be heard off-screen once.
 * This is the first time a contestant (intentionally) leaves outside the perimeter of the show but has not yet been eliminated.
 * Balloon and Nickel are the 2nd and 3rd returning contestants that have been eliminated.
 * This is the first episode in season 2 that has a double elimination. And which makes it similar to the episode in season 1.
 * This is the first time that the contestants vote someone out in season 2.
 * This is due to the creators wanting to focus more on the story than just only the competition.
 * This is the first episode to completely utilize the new budget from the Kickstarter.
 * Despite the episode mostly takes place during the day, the first scene depicts Marshmallow and MePad at dusk.
 * Bow calling Apple "Kumquat" and saying to Marshmallow "I'll be frank with you, Marsh, and I don't even know who Frank is" may have been foreshadowing the appearance of the characters Kumquat and Frank in the following episode, "Alternate Reality Show".
 * It's theorized by fans on the II Discord that what Bow said in her story about her tail is "So, I was floating in utter nothingness for like, ever, you know. So then, one day, suddenly I was inside Meeple, and Cobs sent me here to a dumb old house with tacky old furniture, and no cell reception. And that's how I got my tail!"
 * With Nickel eliminated, Baseball is the highest-placing male armless contestant in Inanimate Insanity II.
 * With Balloon eliminated, there are no longer former members of Team Chickenleg.
 * This is the second episode to not have any deaths.

Errors

 * Due to some small glitches, the episode was temporarily removed to fix them.
 * After Taco listens to the alliance's conversation, her thumb is positioned incorrectly on her headphones.
 * In the original upload, an entire section of audio was missing after Microphone approached Balloon on the dock.
 * This has been fixed by a re-upload.
 * When Paintbrush gets out of the water, their bristles are down, However, in real life, they stand straight up.
 * During the elimination, Microphone is seen crossing her fingers until the 3rd vote for Balloon being called out, However when it cuts to Nickel her arms can be seen down in the background.
 * In the "Part 2 Little 2 Late" announcement video in the sneak peek, the Grand Slam's chest is colored brown, while in the episode it can be seen colored in their team color green.
 * Also in the "Part 2 Little 2 Late" announcement video in the sneak peak, the grand slam's chest has 3 balls while knife threw the ball to the target.