The Episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog That Changed EVERYTHING.

This episode of Courage The Cowardly Dog is one that I have wanted to cover for a long time. It's an episode that really pushed the envelope in a lot of ways and even the shows creator himself said he was surprised that Cartoon Network allowed this episode to be aired. It's an episode that really changed the way that I look at this show in general. Above all though, it's a fantastic episode. That's why on today's nostalgic walk down memory lane, we are looking at the episode of Courage the Cowardly Dog that changed EVERYTHING.

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[ItsJustMutt]

"Courage is not the absence of fear, but the action despite it."

[null]

The fact that courage saw his parents get separated from him by a HUMAN and now he protects his owners who are also HUMANS really says a lot about courage

[nayelyguzman]

I think the fire escape not coming all the way down is a metaphor of how in abusive relationships the partner that wants to leave can sometimes find themselves going back if they don’t see a clear “escape”. In this case courage helped push her to actually escape if he hadn’t been there bunny would of climbed back up.

[eerieeric]

I agree with what the creator of this show once said that life is scary and unpredictable, and the only way to deal with it is to be scarier than life itself

[AshChiCupcak]

As a kid, I never even thought about kitty and bunny being lovers. I just thought they were the best of friends and I was so jealous I didn't have a friend like that 😅

[marcwhitlock]

The darkest for me would be the backstory behind courages parents disappearance. Even Eustace was appalled at what that vet was doing and that's saying a lot.

[Chimeragui]

It is interesting that Eustace, for all his general character flaws (toxicity being the one examined here), is rarely shown to be a toxic partner the way Mad Dog clearly is and unlike Bunny, Muriel is consistently shown to be on equal footing with her husband; just as capable of dishing it out as we see by her having no problem throwing insults right back the second he attempts to use her insecurities about eating against her and it’s implied several times and he _likes_ the fact that she can stand toe to toe with him.

And while Mad Dog was purely motivated by jealousy over how close Kitty and Bunny are, Eustace has more general insecurities over perceived inferiority stemming for his family life before Muriel.

[Trascist]

Courage really proves himself in this episode. He beats tf outta some rottweilers, chases down a whole car and survives a car crash to save an abused victim

[alastor]

You ever realize how much of an uber badass giga chad man killer Courage is? The dude battles gods, gangs, aliens, demons, mummies, protects women and his family. The dude is a Lone Wolf Legend.

[StonedHunter]

I think the broken fire escape is a further representation of how trapped Bunny was without anyone there to help her escape. Hell I could even see it as Mad Dog having removed it himself to keep her from leaving.

[milokonna]

Personally to me, the Freaky Fred episode is the peak of the dark themes of the show. Fred is basically a man that uses others to pleasure himself, no matter their consent. He appears kind and polite, but when he has the perfect opportunity to do his thing with the victim, when they can't escape, nor seek help, he strikes. All while he don't seem to understand the damage be inflicted on others, calling it just "naughty". In his retrospection he starts with animals, then close ones, then strangers, which is something often associated with serial killers. He even found a job that would put him in close contact with what basically is his kink. At the end it's revealed that he escaped from essentially a psychiatric hospital. Also it's interesting that he is Muriel's nephew, so a family and not some stranger, which is something not often seen in media. (I could also say that Muriel and Eustace being ignorant, represents the common inability to notice or believe that someone from their own family could be an offender, but they are always oblivious as hell, even if mask person is beating the hell out of their dog, so yeah).

I love that sucker, perfect villain.

[Mamotherium]

I think Courage's first reaction to realizing that Kitty is a cat is a reflection of how Kitty's view on dogs, seeing one of them forcefully imprison and manipulate her lover and now she views all dogs as evil as a result.

The same way Courage's initial reaction to finding out her identity, after being tormented by Katz for a really long time.

Courage however didn't let his trauma overcome his will to right the wrong, and eventually help the both of them to be together again.

[Grace-kmti]

Props to the writing team for making the exposition of Bunny and Maddog's relationship so real to life. Seems most big budget studios can't write anything with such weight with or without subtext. Yet here's a team in the 90's showing the absolute horror without any glamorizing or romanticizing of the subject in, what, 30 seconds? Has Netflix seen this lol

[christinevanausdall]

This just made me feel sad for courage. I really always just felt sad with this show. No one treated Courage nice.

[davidperezz]

Nobody talks about Kitty beating Courage and Muriel ignoring it completely. That is another representation of abuse that gets neglected.

[ShadowRealmZ]

I also love the choice of animals, bunny and kitty are both pet names used for women, unfortunately many times it’s degrading. Both can also act as euphemism which may be the play when courages sees she’s a “cat”, and with Mad Dog being a dog also works with chasing tail. Cats and Dogs both can hunt rabbits, but Bunny giving Kitty a mouse is something cats do to show affection or loyalty, but doubles as way to show how they love each other even if they are both women and prey and predator. Everything about this episode is done beautifully.

[ravenschippers]

I unfortunately must note that Mad Dog was not only abusing Bunny but also using her. The fact they live in a "Red Light Zone" with bunny being a rabbit- often a figure of fertility and lust- while wearing fancy clothes and pearls points to Mad Dog being a Pimp and selling Bunny. The scene of her being buried in the plant pot in the episode, which is heard but not shown, implies that she was "forcibly used" by Mad Dog, his cronies, or both of them.
Also the reason why the fire escape logically wouldn't work is because for Bunny it was an escape route that wasn't accessible to her without Courage who opened the way for her.
Yeah this was a dark episode with most of it flying over my head as a kid. I only recognize the toxic relationship, Courage's bravery in rescuing Bunny and essentially helping Kitty heal by reuniting her.

[catehowell]

The contrast at the end between Muriel eating an apple and Eustace wearing the mask and continuing to bang on the furnace shows that Muriel wants to change and become a better person while Eustace would rather continue doing what has failed him in the past, refuse to admit he has flaws, and hide from the reality that he refuses to grow and change.

[vivika]

You didn't mention it, but at 12:39 when Bunny is in the pot, it's heavily implied that she was SAed by Mad Dog (and maybe the other 2). When somebody is SAed, they often feel dirty, soiled. Another fitting term is "deflower". I thought that that scene was the darkest in this episode. You typically see some type of violence and sexism in cartoons and shows (whether more light-hearted or not, and with or without a lesson learned at the end), but I don't remember any cartoon referencing SA.

[MasterHappychipmunk]

I always took Eustace taking Kitty’s mask as him finding a new welding mask.