Always Be Ready for Adventure is the first episode of Gremlins: The Wild Batch, and the eleventh episode overall.
Synopsis[]
The Wing family is back in adventure mode after Sam discovers new evidence of Mogwai related problems, and Gizmo starts to act... different.
Plot[]
Almost a year has passed since the Gremlins attacked Shanghai Gizmo and Elle are now both living with the Wing Family. At the same time, Shanghai has recovered from the Gremlin attack, which most people now think was the work of drunk, mutated Komodo dragons. However, two new problems arise for the protagonists. First, Elle begins to have strange dreams in which her disappeared mother, Margot, instructs her to come and find her in America. Elle keeps these dreams to herself. Second, Gizmo suddenly developed a strange condition where his eyes began to glow red, and he displayed the same bad behavior as any new Mogwai spawned from him. These spells usually come when he sleeps; he cannot remember what happened while he was bad after they are over. At the start of the episode, Elle, Sam, Grandpa Wing, and Sam's parents have to chase Gizmo through Shanghai after he breaks out of the house during one of his evil spells and barely manages to keep him from eating after midnight. Sam ultimately catches Gizmo with Elle's help, after which he wakes up.
Back in the Wing Family house, Sam expresses his concerns regarding Gizmo's new behavior, but Gizmo himself has no idea what is happening to him. Sam would like to investigate further, and both Elle and Grandpa are willing to help, but Sam's parents disagree as they have not forgotten the last adventure Sam got dragged into. Sam agrees to deliver medicines instead, much to Elle's chagrin. As they make their deliveries, the two kids overhear a sailor that the same "mutant Komodo dragons" that wrecked Shanghai have been seen in San Francisco. Realizing that there are still Gremlins out there, Sam and Elle hurry back to the Wing Family home and begin to pack for a journey, but they cannot agree where to go; Elle wants to go to America to take these Gremlins head on, though this is secretly an excuse to investigate her dreams, while Sam wants to seek out Nuwa's help in the Valley of Jade. Sam argues that Nuwa is the safest choice, but Elle counters that the Valley of Jade can only be entered through the Bagua room, which is in the Spirit World. That is when Grandpa Wing steps in and reveals he knows an alternative way to the Bagua Room. According to him, there are portals to this room all over the Middle Kingdom, including in the ruins of the old city underneath Shanghai.
Grandpa takes the kids to the Pagoda movie theater (though he makes Sam pay for the tickets), and from there, they go to a secret tunnel under the theater's floor. The tunnel brings them to a large door guarded by two tiny ice dragons: Big Big and Little Big. The two dragons are overjoyed to finally see some guests. However, they have no intention of opening the portal to the Bagua room. When they spot Gizmo, however, they recognize him as a Mogwai, whom they're terrified of. Elle quickly seizes this opportunity to scare the dragons into opening the door for them. The dragons obey and instruct the humans to enter the next room to ask their younger brother, Little Little, the way. Little Little, however, turns out to be a colossal Ice Dragon who is unhappy to see the intruders.
To make matters worse, Gizmo has another one of his evil spells, and he begins to taunt Little Little. As Little Little chases the protagonists, his actions cause tremors that can be sensed in the city above. Fong and Hon sense them, too, and Fong immediately suspects her dad is responsible somehow.
Grandpa Wing finds the door to the Bagua room and manages to open it in time for him, Elle, Gizmo, and Sam to get through, trapping Little Little outside. In the Bagua room, they meet the Celestial Administrator, who is unhappy to see them again. He refuses to send them to the Valley of Jade as Nuwa absolutely does not want to be disturbed for another decade as she heals from the poison Riley Greene gave her. However, when he learns there are Gremlins in San Francisco, he offers to solve this problem himself. His solution, however, is to open a portal to an active volcano above the city and burn the city to cinders. Sam protests that this will kill the people there, too, but the Administrator waves away his concerns, stating that San Francisco is on borrowed time anyway, considering it's built on top of fault lines. He begins by opening a portal to San Francisco, but before executing his plan, Grandpa Wing opens the door to the Ice Dragons' lair again and lets Little Little in. The Celestial Administrator is thus forced to fight off the giant Ice Dragon. With the Celestial Administrator distracted, Grandpa pushes Sam, Elle, and Gizmo through the portal to San Francisco, stating he knows they can solve this. However, he does not come with them as he claims he cannot return to America again.
The Celestial Administrator manages to push Little Little back through the door. Grandpa Wing hastily leaves and barely makes it through the dragon's lair back to the surface, where he finds Fong and Hon waiting for him. Fong demands an explanation and is unhappy that Sam and Elle are in San Francisco now. She is determined to follow her son there. Meanwhile, Sam, Elle, and Gizmo find themselves on the shores of the island of Alcatraz. Then, the kids are found by a Warden and several guards.
Cast[]
- Gabrielle Green as Elle
- James Hong as Grandpa Wing, Wing Medicine Customer
- Izaac Wang as Sam Wing
- Ming-Na Wen as Fong Wing, Wing Medicine Customer
- B.D. Wong as Hon Wing, Police #1
- A.J. LoCascio as Gizmo
- Bowen Yang as Celestial Administrator, Sailor #1
- Will Forte as Alcatraz Warden
- Ronnie Chieng as Big Big
- Jimmy O. Yang as Little Big
- Yael Grobglas as Margot
- Henri Lubatti as Vachel
- Will Forte as Warden
- Eric Bauza as Police #2, Sailor #2
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- It's been almost a year since Gizmo lived with the Wings.
Revelations and significant events[]
- Sam, Elle, Gizmo, and Grandpa know Noggin has survived and gone to America, San Francisco.
- Gizmo is beginning to act more violently and mischievously.
- Grandpa went to America once, but cannot return there for reasons he does not elaborate on.
Continuity[]
References[]
| Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai episodes | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | 1. Never Get Them Wet · 2. Never Feed Them After Midnight · 3. Always Buy a Ticket · 4. Don't Drink the Tea · 5. Always Stab or Run · 6. Always Buy a God a Drink First · 7. Never Squeeze a Fox · 8. Never Hug a Mogwai · 9. Never Give Up · 10. Never Ever Expose Them to Bright Light |
| Season 2 | 1. Always Be Ready for Adventure · 2. Never Take the Tour · 3. Never Use Double Negatives · 4. Always Bring a Toothpick · 5. There's Always a Fortune in the Cookie Factory · 6. Never Get Out of the Truck · 7. Always Ask for Backstory · 8. Never Try the Cider · 9. Always or Never Make Wishes · 10. Always Make the Hard Choice |