"Woeful Smurfs" is the 1st episode of Season 2 in The Smurfs: Light and Dark. It is set to run between 8 - 10 minutes in length. It is also the twenty-first episode of the overall series.
Synopsis
On the first day of Johan's new evil life, the Smurfs collectively mourn for the loss of his friendship and trust. Papa has made it clear that he is no longer welcome in the village, and Moxette is hurt most by missing Johan when he arrived for their help. Her friends try to cheer her up, but nothing can shake her of her depression -- not even a tea party helps. Fed up by this, Brainy suggests that they go to Gargamel's hovel to relieve Moxette of her crush on Johan, so he and Smurfette take her to the hovel where they can all seek closure.
Will Moxette finally lose her crush on Johan and be able to move on? Would they stand a chance if Gargamel discovered them snooping around?
Story
The episode opens at the mouth of a mineshaft where typical mining noises are heard, such as the clashing of a pickaxe against rock. As the camera zooms in, two Smurfs come into view; they are wearing gloves and have candles on the top of their Smurf hats. As they mine, they start talking.
“I still can’t believe I hadn’t smurfed you until now,” states Moxette. She looks up at her companion, Miner Smurf, who has just collected another piece of iron ore for their wheelbarrow.
“Aye, but it’s good to finally smurf ya,” he replies with a smile in his Irish accent, “Must admit, I hadn’t expected to smurf any good work outta ya, but it’s always a smurf to be surprised.”
She agrees with him and collects a smaller piece of iron ore, and then he states, “We best be smurfin’ back to the village. I’ll smurf that Handy’s waitin’ for our findings.”
She agrees again, so they pack up their tools and leave the mineshaft with Moxette pushing the wheelbarrow along the pathway. They continue to talk and laugh up until they reach the village limits, at which point they begin greeting every Smurf. Miner notices there is something wrong and wonders aloud, “Did somethin’ smurf while we were out?”
It isn’t long before Papa Smurf trudges up to them with a somber frown, stating, “Miner, Moxette, there’s something you need to smurf.” He puts a hand on the Smurfette’s shoulder. “I know this will especially smurf you, my little Smurf,” he adds, which concerns her.
Papa Smurf proceeds to reveal all he knows, starting with Johan having introduced a lady named Falla to the village and her becoming a tenant to the Good King. Moxette and Miner exchange glances, finding that to be good news, but then their leader continues to summarize the events of King Gerard’s Grand Ball.
Brainy quietly interrupts him with, “Not even my brilliant mind and our combined leadership was enough to smurf our friend,” which prompts Moxette to ask for an explanation. Papa Smurf sighs and confesses that Gargamel had used a powerful spell to turn Johan evil, and that every Smurf had done all they could to prevent it, but to no avail.
After a moment of silence, she drops the wheelbarrow handles and a few bolts, pieces of ore, and wood chips disperse around them. She seems completely unaffected, but her fellow Smurfs flinch at the crash.
“Smurfs an’ Begorrà…” Miner mumbles. Moxette falls silent, just staring at Papa Smurf in disbelief, even as he tries to comfort her. Miner looks over and asks, “Are y’alright, Moxie?” but all she does is shake her head and start walking away at a zombie-like pace back to her house. Brainy tries to follow her, but Papa stops him with a hand on his shoulder, and so she disappears with the background music fading out.
The scene changes to view her cream and violet-colored house with the sound of crickets and a faraway owl; night has fallen, and plodding up to her door is Greedy holding a gravy-laden baked potato with a side bowl of chili on a platter. When he knocks on the door, Moxette opens it slightly – just enough to see him, but not be easily seen – and softly asks what he wants. He presents the platter with a warm smile, so she opens the door further.
“You’ve never missed dinner before and I’ll be smurfed in chocolate if I let’cha go without smurfing this delicious meal,” he states, gesturing to the chili. “It’s extra spicy – just how you smurf it, right?” He is encouraged by her lip turning up into a smile, and even more so when she accepts the dish with an almost-inaudible, “Thanks, Greedy.” She withdraws and closes the door as Greedy takes his leave, leading into another scene transition.
In view is Papa Smurf as he tucks the Smurflings into bed and bids them sweet dreams, but they voice their concerns about Johan. Snappy in particular barks, “It isn’t fair! Why didn’t the good smurfs win in the end like they do in the stories?” for which Papa has no supplemental answer. Nat and Slouchy share a sigh, both exchanging their hopes for justice in the future, and then Papa turns to Sassette to tuck her in.
“Pappy, do you think he’ll be our friend again someday?” she asks, holding Smurfy Lou tightly.
“Johan is strong and his heart is smurfy, so I have hope, my little Smurfling,” he replies. His warm smile reassures her.
“Moxette’s gonna smurf up, too, right?” she adds. The elder Smurf nods before patting her head and admits that she may need more time to accept this fate than the other Smurfs. Leaving on that, he wishes all of them goodnight and leaves the playhouse.
As he descends the staircase with his hands behind his back, Greedy approaches to tell him that Moxette accepted his platter, which both believe is a good sign of recovery. He praises his little Smurf before they part ways, each returning to their respective houses for the evening.
Come morning, the camera pans horizontally across the table of the Dining Hall, showing each Smurf in their seats and awaiting breakfast...except for Moxette. Across from the empty seat, Brainy and Clumsy exchange glances and ask the surrounding Smurfs if anyone has seen her since yesterday. Even Reporter can be seen going around asking every Smurf for their thoughts on the situation – about both Johan and Moxette’s changes in behavior. Brainy rests his folded arms on the table just as Somebody Smurf takes the empty seat, so he looks up and greets him.
“We should smurf something nice for her, guys,” Somebody offers. Brainy lifts up and states, “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” and so Somebody continues. “Maybe we could smurf up her house while some Smurf keeps her busy outside.”
“She could help me find a new rock,” Clumsy proposes, but Brainy shakes his head.
“No, no, that’s not a long enough distraction,” he discourages. Then Somebody suggests taking her Smurfberry picking, but again Brainy disapproves, and he also puts down their idea to have her help Smurfette make flower arrangements. Dejected by their disagreement, he asks what Brainy suggests they do, “since obviously you know what’s worth smurfing.”
“Well, if you ask me, there’s only one way to smurf two smurfs with one stone,” he begins, stealing a glance down the table.
He fixes his glasses with a slight smirk, claiming, “Hefty can smurf her on his daily jog, which we all know smurfs at least an hour or two around the village limits. This will not only smurf us time to smurf up her house, but also stimulate her mood because exercise smurfs up one’s heart rate and muscles, leading to a release in dopamine in the brain, which acts as a smurfer-upper. Therefore, by the time they smurf back, she’ll be even happier to see her house once we’ve smurfed it into shape!”
He chuckles to himself as Clumsy advocates for his idea to Somebody, and so they are in agreement at last. Somebody flags down Hefty to clue him in on the plan, and by then, breakfast is served. Just like the night before, Greedy saves one plate to take to Moxette, which he asks Tracker to deliver. As he leaves, the group congregates on their roles in the planned timeframe.
After breakfast as every Smurf clears their dishes and begin dispersing, Smurfette speaks with Tracker while Brainy and Somebody send Clumsy and Hefty out to gather supplies. When Smurfette approaches, Brainy asks what she gathered from Tracker.
“Moxette smurfed the food, but still seems upset,” she states.
“Not to worry, Smurfette, because once we’re done smurfing her house, she’ll be as bright as a bee!” he replies with a light chuckle at his own metaphor. “Bright as a bee – ooh, that’s going in the next Quotations volume for sure.”
“Nevermind it now, Brainy, let’s get smurfing,” Somebody encourages. He leads them out the door and soon they are reunited with Hefty and Clumsy whose arms are full of various cleaning brushes and scrubs. Eagerly, they proceed to Moxette’s house by crossing into the West half of the village, weaving through the crowded Smurf Village Square.
Meanwhile, Moxette is in her bedroom on the upper deck of her house. As the camera zooms in past the open glass hinged door of her rectangular window, she is sitting in the cushioned stool at her Oakwood dresser and brushing her hair in the round vanity mirror. She slowly brushes her ponytail, but stops to look at a handheld portrait of Johan – created by Painter Smurf – in a gold heart-shaped frame.
She puts the brush in the upper left dresser drawer and picks up the portrait, gazing at it fondly until she remembers Papa Smurf’s unfortunate news. With a sigh, she sets it back down, and then she hears a knock on the front door.
“Coming,” she calls as she heads downstairs. When she opens the door, Hefty smiles and invites her to join him on his morning jog. She declines at first, but with some gentle coaxing, she reconsiders and quickly grabs a water canteen and a sweatband.
As they jog away, Brainy, Smurfette, and Somebody appear from around the corner and quickly enter her house with eager smiles on their faces. They close the door and the camera zooms out while the screen fades to black.
After a break, the scene opens on Hefty and Moxette jogging back into the village, stopping briefly to accept Greedy’s latest batch of Smurfberry bread, and resume walking to her house from the Village Square. As they snack, Moxette thanks him for the jog, stating, “At least my body’s smurfed back into shape,” to which he happily obliges.
As they approach, she finds Smurfette at her doorstep who is inviting Moxette to see their renovations. Curious and mildly concerned, she enters.
“Surprise!” The group shouts, revealing a beautifully clean living space: the floors have been swept, cobwebs removed from the corners, windows and table wiped off, everything has been dusted, and even the walls have a fresh coat of paint.
Smurfette especially points out the small flower vases she arranged on the table, bookshelf, and nightstand by her dark blue lounge chair. Brainy gestures to his most previous Quotations volume in her lounge chair, which he is sure she will enjoy reading. Somebody chimes in about having painted the walls and cleared out the cobwebs for her. Clumsy, last but not least, shows her the “perdy-lookin’ rock” he found outside, which he placed as a holder on her bookshelf.
Moxette is at a loss for words when they ask what she thinks of their work. Understanding that she may be overwhelmed (among other things), Brainy suggests they let her be alone with her thoughts – just until she can properly thank them. While miffed by his comment, Smurfette agrees, so all five Smurfs proceed out the door while Moxette wishes them well.
Once they are gone, she takes a deep breath and heads upstairs.
“Sure hope Brainy didn’t smurf my picture,” she mumbles. To her relief, her bedroom is the same, but noticeably cleaner. She returns downstairs while telling herself to cheer up and smile. This leads into another scene, which opens at Smurfette’s house that evening.
As Moxette finds a seat at the table, she comments on Brainy having decided to join the group – a decision he has never made in the past, as far as she knows.
“This little munchkin claims he’s here for the tea,” Nanny explains, being seated beside him. She leans over and whispers to Moxette, “but I’ll bet my smurfs that there’s more to it than he smurfs.”
Moxette agrees, watching Brainy lift a brow at her as he takes ahold of his empty mug. When Smurfette pours hot water into it from her brass kettle, Nanny asks what kind of tea everyone’s having.
“Smurfberry tea,” comes from Moxette and Smurfette in unison.
“Green tea,” is Brainy’s answer. Nanny nods and leans back in her chair as she declares, “And Smurfberry tea for me – it’s tried and true like Greedy Smurf’s stew. Ain’t that right, ladies?”
Smurfette giggles in agreement and pours her tea while Moxette nods, but her smile seems rather forced. Nanny takes notice and asks if she’s still upset over losing their human friend; not surprisingly, she is. Smurfette sympathizes with her as she pours into her mug, knowing how strong her feelings were towards the young knight.
Suddenly, Brainy huffs in frustration.
“Never have I felt like such a useless Smurf before! I was certain that you smurfing some exercise would smurf up your mood – and that coming to a spruced up home would be twice the smurfiness factor. But, oh no, you proved me wrong, Moxie, and I’m not going to rest until I smurf a way to make you happy again,” he insists between sips.
“There’s only one thing I know that could smurf the job, kiddo,” Nanny replies calmly, “and that’s good old-fashioned closure.” Brainy repeats the last word softly and lowers his head in thought as she continues.
“Little Moxie hasn’t seen that boy since the time she turned human and smurfed after him – I did hear you smurfed a little old kiss, didn’t I?” She winks as Moxette blushes and giggles. “So now she needs to see what that nasty wizard’s done to him and smurf ‘erself some closure.”
“Now there’s an idea! If Moxette sees Johan in Gargamel’s hovel and proves he’s no longer our friend, she can seek closure and smurf on with her life like the rest of us!” Brainy exclaims. “It’s brilliant – and the night is young, so by the time we smurf to it, they should be going to bed and won’t smurf us any harm! Let’s go!”
He stands and heads for the door only for Smurfette to stop him by the arm.
“Now just a minute, Brainy, what would Papa Smurf tell us if he knew we were smurfing to Gargamel’s?” she quips unhappily. When he admits to Rule Number One of Smurfdom, she adds, “That’s right, so we need to make sure he won’t find out, right?” To that, everyone in the room perks up.
“I’ll cover for you whippersnappers,” Nanny tells them, “but only if you promise to smurf up my house when you get back.”
Smurfette and Brainy exchange glances, smile as she lets go of his arm, and they both agree to her terms before exiting the house. Moxette briskly catches up with them.
From a bird’s eye view, the trio is seen leaving the village with only one lantern guiding them down the forest path. The camera then zooms ahead of them from eye level, weaving across tree roots and gopher holes alike until reaching the dreary hovel as it is bathed in moonlight.
“Did anyone else feel a chill go down your smurf?” Brainy asks timidly. He shudders as Smurfette steps forward and offers to lead the way, so he quickly reminds them that, as a gentleman, the rule is “ladies first,” but to that, Moxette can be seen rolling her eyes. Cautiously, they approach the hovel window by climbing the chipped and worn down stone wall, and once all three are on the window sill, they douse the lantern.
Inside, they see Gargamel looking through one of his spell books and muttering to himself about which ones he should bookmark for later. Scruple is behind him and pours a ladleful of chicken broth into Azrael’s food bowl, which the old cat begins enjoying. The candelabras on the table and shelves illuminate the room, but Johan is nowhere in sight.
“Maybe he escaped?” Moxette whispers to Smurfette. Just then, Gargamel calls out for the young knight to join them for supper. Smurfette and Brainy both take Moxette’s hands when the cellar door is pushed open from the middle of the room with the sound of Johan’s voice just beyond it. There appears Johan, but upon seeing him, Moxette’s eager smile vanishes; slowly, the realization that he is not the same young knight she so greatly admired crushes her spirits.
Here he stood in a charcoal grey tunic with torn edges and a white collar, a black waist belt with a gold buckle, white leggings, and black heeled boots with torn cuffs. His hair seems a bit messier than before, but what strikes fear into all three of the Smurfs’ hearts are his blood red eyes. He acts as though he is home by petting Azrael and smiling at Scruple for feeding him before they both take a bowl to the stewpot on the table.
With the view back on the Smurfs at the window, it is clear that all three are truly disheartened at the sight of their former friend. Moxette has shed several tears and squeezes their hands before lowering her head. With her eyes closed, she sheds one last tear, allowing her friends to comfort her with a gentle hug.
“Let’s smurf out of here before we’re caught,” Smurfette suggests in a hushed tone. Brainy agrees and they both let go, but he keeps a hand on Moxette’s shoulder and asks, “Are you alright?” She nods before looking at him, wiping at her eye. He hops down the sill after Smurfette and they begin to climb down, but before she follows, she looks back once more.
Johan is sitting at the table with their enemies, plain as day, and with Azrael at his feet, he seems to fit right in with them. With a heavy heart, she sighs and climbs down the side of the wall to join her awaiting friends. Once they are together, Brainy lights the lantern and begins leading them back into the forest. The path is darker now, but moonlight breaking through the trees speckles light across the landscape. They journey in silence.
The screen fades into a transition to show Moxette back home in her bedroom. Once again, she is seated at the dresser and brushing her hair in the vanity mirror, but then she glances down at the portrait due right. She puts the brush away and takes the picture in both hands to gaze upon it. She traces a finger along the outline of Johan’s face – the face of a hero she once knew and loved – and takes a deep breath.
“I can do this,” she tells herself. With no further hesitation, she opens the unoccupied bottom right dresser drawer and carefully places the portrait inside. Once it is closed, she slowly exhales and looks into her mirror.
Then, with determination, she tells her reflection, “This isn’t over – not by a long shot,” and with that, the episode concludes with a sharp cape motion bringing the final black screen.
Trivia
- Originally this episode was called "Crying Smurfs," but it was later changed after being informed of the mainstream episode from Season 6.
- In the Word Document, this story is seven pages long and exactly 3,170 words. It was written between July 5th - September 4th, 2014. Some revisions were made on November 7th, 2015, and final revisions were made on May 24th, 2016.
Gallery
To see the gallery page for this episode, please CLICK HERE.
Continuation
- Season 1 Finale -- The Reluctant Dark Knight
- Episode 02 -- "Somebody's Hidden Talent"