Arthur Wiki
Register
Advertisement
"Sue Ellen Vegges Out"
Season/Series: 16
Number in season: 9b
Original Airdate: United States May 9, 2013[1]
United Kingdom April 24, 2013[2][3]
Australia December 20, 2012[4]
Credits
Written by: Jacqui Deegan
Storyboard by: Raymond Jafelice
Episodes
Previous
"Fern and the Case of the Stolen Story"
Next
"So Funny I Forgot to Laugh"
Read transcript

"Sue Ellen Vegges Out" is the second half of the ninth episode in the sixteenth season of Arthur.

Summary[]

When Sue Ellen chooses to become a vegetarian (meaning that she is no longer eating meat), Muffy and Francine compete to be the best vegetarian. Can they successfully resist meat? Or was this a missed steak?[5]

Plot[]

Sue Ellen tells the viewers about a pig named Sally that she met while visiting a farm. The two quickly developed a bond and became friends in the time they knew each other. In fact, Sally means so much to Sue Ellen that she helped her make one of the biggest decisions of her life.

Sue Ellen Vegges Out

At school, everyone is celebrating Cinco De Mayo with a Mexican-themed lunch in the cafeteria. Sue Ellen passes on any meat-filled dishes and informs Arthur, Buster, and Francine that she has recently chosen to become a vegetarian. When her friends are surprised by this, Sue Ellen explains that this was something that she has been thinking about doing for a long time (so it is not like it was a sudden decision or anything). Muffy overhears this and claims she has been thinking about becoming a vegetarian as well, ever since Capri di Vapida switched to a vegetarian diet (despite eating a steak for lunch). Sue Ellen tries to warn her that vegetarianism is not a fashion idea while Francine doubts her sincerity. Still, Muffy declares she is a vegetarian from that very moment, after eating one last bite of steak.

However, it quickly becomes clear over the next few hours that Muffy can not handle not having meat in her life; she tries to order food from the mall's Chickin' Lickin', only to find that there are really no vegetarian dishes, and is very nearly tempted to eat her favorite roast at dinner. Sue Ellen does point out nobody is forcing her to be a vegetarian, but Muffy tries to resist in order to prove a point to Francine.

The next day at the playground, Muffy finds out Capri is now on a bologna diet and is thrilled to go back to eating meat. Annoyed, Sue Ellen tries to explain to her that vegetarianism is done for personal reasons, but Francine interrupts and brags that she knew Muffy could not last without meat. When Muffy challenges her to do better, Francine does exactly that by becoming a vegetarian as well. Sue Ellen starts to become concerned about how Francine and Muffy are using vegetarianism for competition.

Throughout the day, Muffy tries various methods to get Francine to slip up on her newfound diet; she deliberately leaves double Bubsy Burgers on Francine's table at the Ice Cream Shop after school and orders meaty Chinese food to be delivered to her apartment that night. However, Francine manages to resist every time, albeit with some difficulty.

After school, Muffy seemingly apologizes to both Francine and Sue Ellen and invites them to a potluck at her home the next day, where everyone will bring a dish. Once again, Sue Ellen is worried for Francine, but the latter insists on sticking to her vegetarianism.

Sure enough, Muffy plans to lure Francine into eating meat — she calls each of her friends in advance, making sure every dish at the potluck is meat-oriented.

Sue Ellen and Francine arrive, bringing sautéed breaded cauliflower and ratatouille to the potluck, respectively, which Muffy takes straight to the kitchen and throws away. When Francine begins to confront Muffy over setting her up, Buster comes in with vegetables from the community garden. Muffy protests that he was supposed to bring pizza with chicken and sausage, to which Buster explains his mom did not have enough time to make it. Francine blows off Muffy's trap and enjoys some of Ladonna’s collard greens. However, Ladonna reveals that she cooked the greens in duck fat before bringing them to the party, so they are not truly "vegetarian."

Muffy declares herself the "winner", causing her and Francine to begin arguing until Sue Ellen finally has had enough. She angrily scolds them after it is clear that neither Francine nor Muffy really care about being vegetarian, and are just using it as an excuse to fight with each other. Sue Ellen reveals the primary reason she gave up meat: she considers animals friends and lost her taste for eating them. Sue Ellen then claims that she considers those animals to be better friends than people like Francine and Muffy before storming off.

After Sue Ellen leaves the party, everyone else does as well, having “lost their appetites”. Realizing that they took it too far, Muffy and Francine apologize to each other and make amends. The two then enjoy the meat-themed potluck together.

On Monday at school during lunch, Muffy and Francine apologize to Sue Ellen for how they acted and admit that while vegetarianism just is not for them, they fully support her. To Sue Ellen's pleasant surprise, the pair worked with Bailey to make more vegetarian options in the school cafeteria and introduced “Meatless Mondays” each week.

Characters[]

Major[]

Minor[]

Cameo[]

Trivia[]

  • Moral: Vegetarianism is a choice, not a fad or a competition or even an obligation. Nobody is making you do it, and if you do choose this lifestyle, do it for your sake, not because it makes you "better" than those who are not vegetarian.
  • Catherine explains to Francine that, as a vegetarian, one of the most important things to do is to make sure you eat plenty of iron and protein (since vegetarians generally cut most — if not all — meats out of their diets), and that foods like nuts and seeds are a good meatless source of it. This is recommended for vegetarians in real life.

Episode connections[]

Cultural references[]

  • The cafeteria has special dishes to celebrate Cinco de Mayo, which is on May 5.

Gallery[]

Main article: Sue Ellen Vegges Out/Gallery

References[]


Advertisement