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Invader Zim Episode
Vindicated!
Vindicated (Title Card)
Chronology
Previous: Dibship Rising
Next: The Voting of the Doomed
Information
Episode No: Episode 24a
Production No: 24b
Airdate: Australia: December 21, 2003[1]
United States: July 22, 2006
Credits
Writer(s): Danielle Koenig


"Vindicated!" is the 1st segment in the 4th episode of the second season of Invader Zim. It first premiered on December 21, 2003 in Australia. In the United States, it was first released as part of the Horrible Holiday Cheer DVD on October 12, 2004 and it made its TV debut on Nicktoons on July 22, 2006.

Plot Summary[]

SPOILER WARNING OF DOOM: This section or article may contain spoilers!

Vindicated! 1

One day, during Gym class, Dib and Zim find themselves pitted against each other in a game of Bludgeonball, a sport similar to dodgeball. During the match, one of Zim's contact lenses falls out. All of the Skoolchildren immediately notice, but Zim passes it off as pink-eye, "a normal human illness".

Dib gets upset like he always does whenever people fall for Zim's lies, but this time, it's worse than usual, with Dib basically throwing a temper tantrum in front of everyone. Because of his outburst, the gym teacher, Coach Walrus, sends him to Mr. Dwicky, the new guidance counselor (as something horrible happened to the Old Skool Counselor).

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Mr. Dwicky asks Dib what the problem is, so, he tells the guidance counselor everything about Zim and how nobody believes he's secretly an alien. Surprisingly, Mr. Dwicky believes Dib, and he even wants to work with him. After Skool at Dib's house, Mr. Dwicky and Dib create a plan to expose Zim. Using schematics for an alien identification transmitter stolen from Zim'sComputer, they call Zim's Base claiming to be Plookesians that crash-landed on Earth. Dib, with his voice disguised, makes a deal with Zim. If the alien agrees to fix their ship, he and Mr. Dwicky (his voice also disguised) will give Zim some super-weapons.

All three of them settle on a meeting point somewhere in the woods, and Dib and Mr. Dwicky set up cameras at the site they set for the trick. But after waiting for hours with no sign of Zim showing up, Mr. Dwicky tells Dib to stop pretending and tell him the real problem. Dib gets upset when he realizes Mr. Dwicky was just playing along, but his disappointment fades quickly when Zim shows up. Mr. Dwicky is in shock for the next few minutes, but Dib and Zim start another argument right away. Dib reveals to Zim that the whole thing was a trick that he and Mr. Dwicky had set up, but Zim doesn't believe him.

Vindicated2

Before anything else can happen, two real Plookesians named Mooshy and Spoopty show up. They'd been tracking the Plookesian signal Dwicky and Dib were sending, and they came to check it out. Zim demands the Plookesians give him super-weapons, as he still didn't realize that Dib tricked him. Much to Dib's consternation, the Plookesians readily comply with Zim's demand, and then they leave with Dwicky (and, unfortunately, the video camera), whom they invited to come along with them. Dib is left without an ally or proof, and Zim goes home with a huge pile of super-weapons, but still no clue that Dib had arranged everything.

Dib yells "no" in slow motion, as the screen goes black.

End of Spoilers: There are no further spoilers for this section or article. You can breathe now.

Facts of Doom[]

Cultural References[]

Trivia[]

  • This is the first time that Danielle Koenig wrote an entire episode by herself; she previously co-wrote "Hobo 13" with Eric Trueheart. Had the series not been cancelled, we would have seen her other solo episodes "Mopiness of Doom" and "Return of Keef."
  • This episode never aired in the US until 2006, but had aired in other countries years earlier, such as Australia having it first air in 2003.
  • In this episode, it's revealed Dib is around three and a half feet from the waist up. However, his leg length is unknown, and therefore Dib's full height is also unknown.
  • The scene featuring the Old Skool Counselor's fate was voted the absolute most disturbing scene from Invader Zim.
  • Back in “Hobo 13”, Zim wanted some equipment from the Tallest to assist him in his mission which they refused. In an ironic twist, it was thanks to Dib that Zim got some powerful weaponry from Mooshy and Spoopty here instead.
  • The Plookesian weapons Zim received in this episode would have played a crucial part in "Invader Poonchy", had the series not been cancelled.
  • Although uncredited, Jhonen Vasquez provided the voice and breathing of the Old Skool Counselor.

Things You Might Have Missed[]

  • When Mr. Dwicky tells the adult that he doesn't believe in aliens it says "obey" at the bottom of his coffee mug.
  • Dib says that he finds "worn down rubber piggies" in Zim's trash, a reference to the episode, "Bad, Bad Rubber Piggy".

Animation errors[]

  • Mr. Dwicky mentions that he lost interest in aliens when they didn't save him from an escalator when he was younger. It shows that his leg was twisted up from the incident, but in the scenes before and after, Mr. Dwicky's leg is fine for unknown reasons. It is possible that this was so that he wouldn't have to be drawn and animated walking with crutches or at least an extreme limp, or his leg might've healed afterwards.
  • In the scene where Dib shows Dwicky his proof of aliens, he gets up from the chair and his nose is gone for about a single frame.

Concept Art[]

See Also.[]

References[]

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