2.1 "Malcolm in the Middle" - "Traffic Jam Part 2" Quiz

Answer: Chimps

The season 1 finale of "Malcolm in the Middle" ended (as long-time viewers of the show may expect) in total chaos. After Reese and Malcolm spent the entire day teasing each other, their mom Lois explodes and yells at both of them publicly. In the heat of the moment, Malcolm pushes his mom into a water slide, prompting Reese to tell his brother that he is probably going to die. The first episode of season 2 is the second part of this story and picks up after this happened, showing the aftermath of the family's water park outing.

Malcolm says that their family doesn't go on a lot of outings, but when they do, there's a tradition they always seem to observe. We can infer from Hal's conversation with a security officer that such "tradition" is getting kicked out, because Hal was inquiring about the lifetime ban the park would impose on them. Meanwhile, Lois is dragging Reese and Malcom out of the park, telling them that had she given birth to chimps, she would at least know what to expect from their behavior.

Answer: Scarecrow

In the previous episode, Dewey somehow managed to send his babysitter to the hospital. All alone, he decided to wander around town aimlessly following a balloon. The first time we see Dewey in this episode, he is telling the story of how he ended up in this large field to someone or something we can't see. As the camera reveals he is talking to a scarecrow, Dewey says that the thought it could help him because he saw a movie where a scarecrow helped a girl.

Later, he gets a ride from a nice lady who happened to find him. Dewey sings "A, B, C, D" over and over, so the woman indicates that the next letter is "E". Quite humorously, Dewey replies that he knows that and continues to sing the same four letters repeatedly.

Answer: Silver Toyota

On their way back home from the water park, the family is facing extreme heat. Malcolm says it's 95 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside, and 110 inside the car. A silver Toyota car is following them quite closely, something that annoys Hal. When he screams at the driver behind him, Lois reprimands her husband because the driver "could have a gun". Finally, Hal lets the Toyota pass him. Seconds later, the Wilkersons come to a sudden halt.

At the end of the episode, it was revealed that this silver Toyota was the cause of the traffic jam.

Answer: Olive oil

Bored at the military academy, Francis boasts about his odd ability to eat 100 "quacks". He reads off the list of ingredients (sugar, corn syrup, and gelatin) and asks: "how can something so simple be so delicious?" A fellow cadet calls the marshmallow candy "nasty", claiming that the candy would probably harm Francis's stomach. The debate between Francis and the other cadets is whether the quacks would dissolve in the stomach (Francis thinks so) or expand. The discussion ends with Francis accepting the challenge to eat 100 "quacks".

The "quacks" appear to be a reference to Peeps, an American marshmallow candy that many people describe as one you either hate or love. Peeps usually come in yellow or bright purple; the "quacks" Francis ate were orange.

Francis struggled to eat the 100 candies throughout the episode, and at 96 "quacks", the situation didn't look good. Laying on the floor with an orange foam coming out of his mouth, he was about to give up; that is until one of the cadets suggested it wasn't necessary for him to eat the candy as long as they went inside his body somehow. Francis takes no chances and gobbles down the four remaining "quacks".

Answer: It's against the law to sell when stopped on the road

Lois becomes frustrated with the police officers and maintenance crew at the scene, arguing that they are not doing enough to clear the jam as soon as possible. In the meantime, Malcolm and Reese are walking around trying to find something to do. They find an ice cream truck driver desperately yelling at the children surrounding him to go away. Clyde (that's the name displayed in the driver's uniform) claims that the ice cream in the truck is not for sale because it is illegal for him to sell it in the middle of traffic.

He then locks himself inside the truck, while Reese unsuccessfully tries to break the truck's door.

Answer: Grape juice

Dewey keeps asking a barrage of questions to the poor woman, who can barely take it anymore. Some of his non-stop questions include "what time is it in China?", "do you speak Chinese?", and "what does this toe do?" She decides to stop at a store to buy cigarettes "for the first time in 20 years". As she exits the car, Dewey politely asks her to buy him some grape juice. Unfortunately, a robber who was just leaving the store with the money escapes with the car and Dewey in it!

Later in the episode, we see the thief briefly talking to Dewey about why he decided to steal. Being chased by the police, the robber drops off Dewey at a random place. Luckily enough, he gets in a truck with people who appear to be migrant workers and were also waiting for a ride.

Answer: Blue

Clyde has locked himself in the truck and refuses to open the door. Annoyed by the children surrounding his van, he decides to taunt them by eating a blue popsicle right in front of them. There are two or three seconds of complete silence, which makes the scene even more dramatic.

The silence is soon interrupted by music coming from the vehicle, which makes Reese even angrier. When Reese tries to break into the van, another man stops him and chases after him. The distraction appears to be effective though, since when the ice cream man turns around, he finds that all the ice cream in his truck has disappeared. Reese is later seen distributing their loot to everyone who helped get it, including the man who chased after him.

Answer: Pigeon

Throughout the episode, Hal appears to have an existential crisis because he could've been the one who got hurt in the accident. A police officer is not amused by his conversation and even forces Hal to take a sobriety test. Hal spots a pigeon on the floor struggling to move because it is stuck in plastic rings. Hal removes the plastic and releases the bird free.

Unfortunately, his wife Lois had just released a dog from a nearby car thinking it was in danger due to the heat. The dog jumps and catches the pigeon in the air, after which Hal quickly flees the scene.

Answer: Canada

Malcolm starts talking to a girl called Jessica, and they decide to go check out the crash site. Malcolm likes her, admitting she is "cute and smart". He also finds it appealing that she successfully lied to a cop, pretending that one of the crash investigators was her dad. Malcolm keeps complaining about their situation, but Jessica tries to make the best out of it by enjoying the sights (which include Reese jumping on the ice cream truck and Lois maniacally yelling at a roadside assistance phone). Jessica points out that Malcolm has done nothing but complain all day, and notes that but for this traffic jam, they never would've met. She then holds him like she is going to kiss him, but then pushes him into the pricker bushes.

Later, Jessica administers first aid to Malcolm with a kit that was in her car. Malcolm finally gathers the courage to ask her out, but his demeanor instantly changes when he sees her license plates are from Nova Scotia, one of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories. They read "Nova Scotia: Canada's Ocean Playground". Malcolm is upset that Jessica didn't tell him she was only there on vacation. Once the traffic jam is cleared, she manages to slip Malcolm a note with her phone number on it, but the same dog from earlier intercepts it.

By the end of this whole affair, the entire family is exhausted. Malcolm though, who has been complaining for the entire episode, is suddenly cheerful and says they should have another outing soon.

Answer: Santa Claus

The next time we see Dewey is in an INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service, the agency that used to be in charge of immigration matters in the U.S. before Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Dewey also rides in a limo and a party bus, seemingly enjoying himself and not once being worried about his situation. Finally, he is dropped off safely in his home by a group of men in motorcycles. A man with a white beard and wearing a helmet with horns says "see you kid", to which Dewey responds: "bye Santa!" The Wilkerson family makes it back home as well, unaware of the whole ordeal that Dewey went through.

The episode, which is one of my all-time favorite "Malcolm in the Middle" episodes because of the memories from my childhood it brings, was dedicated to the memory of Mike Sforza before the end credits. Sforza was listed as a construction coordinator for the show in a couple of season 1 episodes.