Hey Arnold Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Episode
Trivia
Goofs
Quotes
Transcript
Gallery
Credits

"Operation Ruthless" is an episode of Hey Arnold!.

Synopsis[]

Helga finds out about Arnold's crush on Ruth and his plan is to meet her at the Annual Cheese Fair, and Helga makes sure Ruth will never meet him, in a plan known as "Operation Ruthless". But her plan backfires as this only makes Arnold love Ruth more than ever.

Plot[]

The episode begins with Arnold and Gerald visiting the site of the now opening Annual Cheese Fair. Helga and Phoebe are there too. Phoebe is holding a wedge of swiss cheese telling Helga that according to festival tradition, it is a window to the soul. If you hold it, spin three times, hold your breath and look through one of its holes, it will guide you towards your true love.

Helga shrugs this off as nonsense but decides to try for herself and sees Arnold. Arnold meanwhile has seen Ruth and becomes smitten with her. Helga at first thinks Arnold is smitten with her but he walks right past her to try to talk to Ruth, but one of the photo signs gets in the way and Ruth walks away.

Helga is furious when she realizes that Arnold has a crush on Ruth and becomes very jealous. She asks Phoebe what Ruth has that she hasn't. Phoebe has a list of these things, much to Helga's annoyance. Arnold and Gerald and then walking home with Arnold planning to meet Ruth and the Cheese Fair and get to know her. Helga and Phoebe see this and Helga vows to spoil things.

That night at the fair, Arnold is pondering how he is going to introduce himself to Ruth and decides a simple "Hi" will do. Arnold is nervous but Gerald keeps telling him to play it cool.

Helga and Phoebe are once again there too, watching Ruth as she buys a cotton cheese stick. Helga declares that she plans to sabotage Arnold's chances of talking to Ruth calling it "Operation Ruthless".

Phoebe is about to ask Helga one question which Helga panics and asks if the question is about her motive for taking down a girl that is admired by some certain somebody that she may have her own feelings for. But all Phoebe wants to ask is where the bathroom is. Helga gives her the directions and both girls agree that the conversation never happened.

Arnold decides to give Ruth a cheese kebab and then tell her how she feels but Helga and Phoebe proceed to step one by knocking Arnold over. Arnold then sees Ruth going to the Hall of Mirrors and follows her, still wanting to talk to her. Helga follows Arnold again and once again stops him, ridiculing his affections for Ruth. Suddenly Brainy's image appears in all the mirrors and she punches the real Brainy out.

Next the kids play on the dodgems. Sid warns the others not to use dodgem car #4 as the accelerator sticks, which gives Helga another nasty idea. She would put Ruth in car #4 so she'd be unable to stop and presumably wind up injured. However Helga miscounts and puts Ruth in car #3 while she and Phoebe drive in car #4. Helga realizes this too late and she and Phoebe end up getting injured themselves when they crash into the Weiner stand.

Finally they arrive at the Tunnel of Love where the boys line up on one side of a fence and the girls on the other. Arnold is uncertain if he will go on the ride with Ruth but Gerald assure him that they counted the queues correctly. However Helga decides to push in the queue of girls so she will go on the ride with Arnold instead. Harold and Rhonda are the first to go on the ride much to Harold's displeasure.

Arnold overhears Helga pushing her way through and looks over the fence in dread and decides to go to further at the back of the queue to prevent this. This suddenly creates a game of everybody climbing over the fence, switching their places and eventually the fence gets broken.

On the Tunnel of Love ride, Gerald and Phoebe are seen together with Phoebe telling her story about tonight's happenings, Sid rides with Ruth, and a disappointed Arnold rides with his Grandma dressed as a sailor. Helga is the most miserable of all as she is forced to ride with Brainy. She punches Brainy into the water in frustration after he affectionately puts her arm on him.

The fair comes to a close with Arnold and Gerald watching Ruth leaving the fair. Helga is confident that "Operation Ruthless" was a total success. Gerald feels sorry that Arnold never got his chance to speak to Ruth, but Arnold says the challenge just makes him like Ruth even more.

Helga is even more furious when she hears this and watches as Arnold leaves. Gerald and Phoebe link hands and leave too. Helga now feels upset and all alone in the now empty fair with its attractions closing down one by one, leaving her in darkness.

Home Media[]

DVD[]

  • Hey Arnold!: Season 1
  • Hey Arnold!: The Complete Series
  • Hey Arnold!: The Ultimate Collection

iTunes[]

  • Hey Arnold!: Volume 1

External links[]

This article needs expansion. But, with a little cultivation, it could become a virtual paradise. Won't you please help out an article in need? This template will categorize articles that include it into the Article stubs task category.

Advertisement