So, believe it or not, I’m a Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart fan, and I’ve been binge watching episodes again because of Covid and the episode I just recently watched, Scared of Puppets, gave me something really interesting to think about.
This is simply my interpretation of what this episode represents and my opinions on it. All of this is just speculation and again my opinion, so take it all with a grain of salt.
(Before Reading this, go watch the episode please!)
The episode starts out simply enough, Mao Mao wants to clean out the attic and Adorabat is scared of the dark, so our cat hero turns on the lights and says one of my favorite quotes from this episode and possibly this whole series, “If you’re ever scared, just let your friends know. We’ll always be there to help.” He unintentionally gives us the solution to the episode which is kind of nice.
Adorabat asks Mao if he is scared of anything which he immediately denies. At this point in the story we do know the basics of what he is actually afraid of, though these fears are more implied and hinted at then directly shown. These fears include: his father, losing his friends, peoples views, disapproval, rejections, not being good enough and possibly his sisters(I might be missing a few but that isn’t really the point). I actually want you to keep this list in mind for later, because one of these implied fears ties into this episode and speculation.
And then we are introduced the main problem of the episode: Mao Mao’s Pupaphobia (The Fear of Puppets). To be fair to our feline hero, the puppet is actually creepy.
Upon seeing the puppet, Mao Mao becomes visibly uneasy, indicating his fear. We are then thrown into a flashback as to why he fears puppets. Something to note is that every performer in the flashback is doing or handling something dangerous, whether it be chainsaws or a riled up worm-dog-leech thing.
Upon seeing the ventriloquist, Young Mao becomes uncomfortable. It’s not made entirely clear why this is and I honestly don’t know why this was added in entirely since when the puppets head pops off and rolls into Mao’s lap makes more sense as to why this would cause trauma.
We transition back to the house were Mao Mao is clearly scared of the puppet but denying it still, totally disregarding his earlier statement.
Badgerclops tries to point out how pointless trying to hide his fear is, but he keeps insisting that he’s fine and that heroes are fearless. This is where my only real problem in this episode comes from: Badgerclops.
He obviously sees Mao Mao is scared and uncomfortable and yet still tries to get him to admit that he is scared. This inherently isn’t bad, it’s really the way he goes about it that bothers me.
He legit starts pushing Mao to his limit of keeping his cool, pushing him to throw up, just to make Mao admit that he’s scared and then laughing at him. He really shouldn’t be doing this and just paints him in a bad light. He means well, but that’s not displayed very well by the limits he pushes throughout the episode and his reactions to some of his plans.
Adorabat reminds him of the advice he gave her at the beginning of the episode, but he, again, pushes the advice and help away and continues to deny his fear.
The episode continues with some really good jokes and then we get to CPR training, with the puppet of Mao’s fears being the CPR dummy. Again, Badgerclops tried to get Mao Mao to admit his fears, but he, again, does it at a time and place and in a way that is inappropriate and cruel for his friend.
We get another flashback and we see that Shin Mao told his son that he was a wimp for being scared of something. This is when Mao Mao is young and his mind is in a very fragile stage. Due to the impact of the neglect and isolation that he gained throughout his childhood, and the constant need to be approved, it’s safe to say that Mao took these words to heart, and not in a good way. We’ll come back to this in a moment.
After the building they were using as the teaching quarters for the CPR training burns down due to Mao’s fears, the scene cuts to Mao being in bed, upset at his fears, getting angry and tearful because of his irrational fear. This poor boy made me tear up...
After failing to fall asleep, Mao goes into the kitchen where he discovers the puppet discarded on the table, startling him.
Here, he tries to actively get over his fear by picking it up and telling himself that it can’t hurt him and that it is inanimate. This shows us, the audience, that he is trying to get over his fear, even if it isn’t really working, which I appreciate. Some people can overcome their fears by facing the problem head on, while others need to get over it slowly like this scene implies for Mao Mao.
This all turns out to be an elaborate nightmare of his fear coming to life and attacking him, showing us what fear the puppet actually causes. The dream actually raises some questions when Shin Mao makes his appearance. Again, we’ll come back to this point here in a minute.
After waking up to the Monster Alarm, the trio of heroes go to save a market that is conveniently filled with puppets. Mao Mao, continuing to deny his fear, rushes into battle. The monster launches a bunch of the puppets into the air, making them land in a ring around Mao Mao.
This causes Mao Mao to start panicking, not that I really blame him. He drops his sword and starts to hyperventilate. He’s obviously is not thinking clearly and is tripping over himself, causing him to land on one of the toys.
He seems to start having, what I can only guess to be, a panic attack. He sits up and scoots away, hyperventilating. His back slams into a cart, where the face of one of the puppets slides into his view and this is where Shin Mao comes in.
You see, after watching this episode in its entirety, I don’t think Mao Mao is entirely scared of the puppets themselves, more of the memory behind them and the pressure that his father pressed on him. You see, every time Shin Mao is on screen he says one thing, “You scared boy?”
Earlier, I mentioned what implied fears Mao has and the first one was his father. His fear isn’t actually his physical father(though that is also implied, sort of) but disappointing his father and not living up to him. Mao constantly is repeating that a good hero has no fear, so I think the real fear behind the puppet is the fear of actually being afraid of something, if that makes sense.
His real fear is not living up to what a true hero is and being fearless is one of the traits of a true hero, which he doesn’t live up to if he’s afraid of puppets.
This fear is shown through the manifestation of his father, so not explicitly state it, which was a good decision on the writers part(Show not tell).
He finally breaks through his panic attack thanks to Adorabat again repeating his words from the beginning of the episode, reminding him that he is indeed a good hero even with fears.
He finally admits to his fear of puppets and with the help of Badgerclops, defeats the monster with ease.
Another thing I like about this episode is that Mao Mao doesn’t get over his fear. A lot of shows have the protagonist get over their fears after their revelations and that doesn’t happen with Mao Mao. They actually make a joke reguarding that trope.
After teasing the return of the puppets, the episode ends. This episode speaks very much to me since I’m very much a fearful person, but due to my insecurities, like Mao Mao, I don’t admit my fears, making my fears slowly grow to uncontrollable levels.
That’s my speculation and analysis of the episode. What do you think? Did you like the episode? If so let me know, I’ll respond as soon as possible.
If you want me to do more of these, let me know, I would be happy to do them.
Thanks for reading and I hope you have a good day!
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