Always or Never Make Wishes

Always or Never Make Wishes
Season	2
Episode	9
Overall	19
Broadcast Information
Airdate	April 10, 2025
Episode Guide
Previous	Never Try the Cider
Next	Always Make the Hard Choice

Always or Never Make Wishes is the ninth episode of Gremlins: The Wild Batch, and the nineteenth episode overall.

Synopsis

As they make a treacherous journey into a mysterious desert tomb, Sam and Elle must choose between saving Elle's mother or heeding Grandpa's warning.

Plot

Having jumped off the train between worlds, Gizmo and Noggin end up somewhere in the dessert. Noggin tries to sneak up on Gizmo, but gives himself away when he bumps into a cactus. He blames Gizmo for ruining all his plans and chases after him. When he catches up with Gizmo, the two get into a fight, which triggers another one of Gizmo’s evil episodes. Gizmo gets the upper hand this way and throws both himself and Noggin into a ravine.

Meanwhile, the train between worlds arrives at Kung Kung’s prison. The Wings, Elle and Chang, who is now holding the others hostage, disembark. Chang reveals he has Margot in the enchanted field flask, and briefly lets her out so she can confirm his story; that unlike what Margot claimed earlier, Kung Kung has more than 1 wish to give to whoever frees him. There are 3. Margot also claims Kung Kung is benevolent, and not the threat everyone claims he is. Chang bottles her up again, and offers the others a new deal; he will give Elle one of the wishes to help her mom, as long as he gets a wish for himself, and the third wish they can use for something else. Elle agrees, and to his parents dismay so does Sam. Chang orders Grandpa to lead the way as he has been to Kung Kung’s prison before. Hon and Fong accuse Chang of feeding Sam’s hunger for adventure, but Chang reminds him Sam saved two cities from evil Mogwai already. Sam confides to Elle that he only pretended to go along with Chang and wants to stop him from freeing Kung Kung. He distracts Chang long enough for Elle to disarm him and take the torch. However, when Elle questions Sam how they will save her mom without Kung Kung’s wishes, Sam has no answer. Elle thus sides with Chang to go with the original plan.

The group thus makes their way past the five booby traps that block the entrance to Kung Kung. Things almost go wrong with the fifth trap; a collapsing floor that leaves the Wings stranded on only a small pillar in the middle of a chasm. Elle, Sam and Chang all jump to them, and by working together they push the three skulls that bring the floor back up.

In the dessert, following their fall in to the ravine, Noggin is now hanging from a small branch sticking out of the cliffside while Gizmo, still in his evil mode, is trying to make him fall off. For a moment Noggin accepts his fate as he claims there’s no point to keep living without friends. This remark snaps Gizmo back to his senses. By working together both Gizmo and Noggin escape the branch, but they are no stranded on a small ledge that will soon be exposed to sunlight.

In Kung Kung’s prison, the group reaches Kung Kung. The god is chained with three chains, that can be opened by pouring water on all three of them at the same time. Since Chang and Elle need a third person to pull it off, Chang threatens Sam into being that person. Elle fills two cups with water from Margot, after which she, Chang and Sam take their positions and pour the water onto the chains. Kung Kung is released, and three round stones appear. These are the stones that can grant the promised wishes. Chang grabs the first and makes his wish; his own modern American city that will last forever, indestructible to man, nature or magic. Kung Kung takes the whole group out of the cave and to the surface, where he creates this city. Chang gives Elle the other two stones, but before she can make her wish, Kung Kung emerges from the ground and unleashes a stream of water that floods the city and causes Elle to loose the stones.

On the cliff, Gizmo and Noggin have not much time left before the sunlight reaches them. Gizmo finally offers to be Noggins friend. That is what Noggin needed to hear, and he reveals he stole the whistle for summoning the train between worlds from Grandpa Wing. He summons the train, and he and Gizmo escape the cliff just in time. The train takes them to Chang’s city, where they see Kung Kung has been set free. In the city, Kung Kung summons a rainstorm, while Elle apologizes to her mom for losing the wish stone. Margot in turns admits she was wrong about Kung Kung; he is evil, and will now flood the world.

Cast

• Gabrielle Green as Elle
• Yael Grobglas as Margot
• James Hong as Grandpa
• Simu Liu as Chang
• A. J. LoCascio as Gizmo
• George Takei as Noggin
• Izaac Wang as Sam Wing
• Ming-Na Wen as Fong Wing
• BD Wong as Hon Wing
• SungWon Cho as Kung Kung

Trivia

• While they're hanging from the tree branch, Noggin says to Gizmo "This is another fine mess you've gotten me into". This is a based on the famous quote "Well, here's another nice mess you've gotten me into!" from Laurel and Hardy.
• The only way to free Kung Kung is that three people will pour water to break the chains at the same time.

Revelations and significant events

• Chang reveals to everyone that he plan to make his wish
• Kung Kung can grant the user three wishes.
• Kung Kung is set free, and turns out to be the evil Grandpa Wing predicted he was.
• Chang creates his own indestructible city, as he believes it's the only place big enough for his ambitions.
• Noggin manges to knock sense of Gizmo's evil behavior by mentioning friend.
• Seeing the error of his way, Noggin became good.