The Unfair Pair

The Unfair Pair	Gallery	Transcript

"The Unfair Pair" is a Season 3 episode of Rugrats.

Characters Present[]

Characters Mentioned[]

Synopsis[]

Tired of being left out at Phil and Lil's house, Angelica claims to know which twin is the favorite and which one is the reject. Phil and Lil become suspicious and competitive, and Angelica takes advantage of the situation to become the favorite herself.

- Description from Klasky Csupo

Plot[]

One evening at the Deville house, Betty and Howard are getting Phil and Lil ready for bed. Howard is measuring out equal portions of formula for their bottles. Betty accidentally rips Phil's pajama top and grabs a new one. After the babies get their bottles, Betty and Howard kiss Phil and Lil good night and leave. The twins drink their bottles and wish each other good night before drifting off to sleep.

The following morning, Charlotte drops off Angelica at the Deville house. Angelica goes to find the twins, who are playing on a seesaw. Angelica manages to get their attention and calls them rude for not inviting her to play. She suggests they play something that includes her. The twins decide to play-fight with their Reptar toys. But there are only two toys, so Angelica takes them away. She suggests they all play ball together, but Phil and Lil forget to roll the ball to Angelica after a while. Angelica storms off and tells Cynthia that as long as Phil and Lil are together, there won't be any room for her. She then decides to "pull them apart."

Angelica walks back over to the twins and asks which one of them is the favorite baby. The twins are confused at this. Angelica "explains" that every family has a favorite child; she is the favorite in her house, Tommy is the favorite in his house, etc. Since the Deville house has two kids, one of them is the favorite, and the other is the "reject". The favorite gets better toys and more attention, and the reject is ignored and has to live in the basement. After Angelica leaves again, the twins express doubt that their parents have a favorite child, since they both are treated the same.

Despite this, Phil and Lil begin to wonder which twin is actually their parents' "favorite kid". First, Lil imagines that Phil is being fed all the milk while she is left hungry. Then, Phil imagines that Lil is given a big girl bed while he is shivering in a ramshackle crib. The twins decide to conduct a series of tests to find out who is the favorite and who is the reject. They go to the kitchen, and Howard gives the twins a cookie, split in two even halves. But they ask Angelica to see who got the bigger half. She eats both halves to even things out. Then, Angelica suggests the twins play with the telephone to see who their parents will be madder at. The twins knock the phone over and end up dialing a man who rants in French that he can't understand a word they're saying. As soon as Angelica tells Betty about the twins' playing, Betty hangs up the phone and lets Phil and Lil off the hook. The twins take this to mean that they are both the favorite and head off to play.

As a last resort, Angelica separately tells each twin that the other is the favorite. But as Phil and Lil go down to the basement, they realize that Angelica told them both that they were rejects. Angelica arrives to gloat, declaring herself the favorite, and telling them to hurry into the basement, so she can take their things. The twins open the basement door, but they are overjoyed to see just how messy the basement is, and they play in it. Not wanting to be left out, Angelica joins them.

Later, Angelica reveals that she was just joking to them because she felt left out of their games. The twins thought it was a pretty good joke and are relieved that there are no favorites or rejects. They enter the kitchen and see Charlotte talking to Betty about a sweater. Charlotte mentions that her favorite is always going to be "Angora". Angelica is confused by this, and wonders who Angora is.

Trivia[]

Tommy and Chuckie don't appear in this episode, but they are mentioned once.
This is the second time Tommy is absent after "Cuffed". The next two episodes where Tommy is absent are "Pickles vs. Pickles" and "Tell-Tale Cell Phone".
This is the only episode in the original Rugrats continuity where Betty, Howard, Phil, and Lil appear without Tommy.
Stu, Drew, and Didi don't appear in this episode.
The twins sleep in different cribs, although they slept in the same crib together in "Twins' Pique".
This is the first episode Charlotte appears without Drew.
Twins very often claim to be able to read each other's minds.
Moral: Your parents don't have favoritism, unless you are an only child. You'll be their favorite son if you're their only son, and you'll be their favorite daughter if you're their only daughter. They will treat you the same as your brother or sister with the same respect and kindness.