ICarly/Fridge

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.


Fridge Brilliance

  • In iHate Sams Boyfriend Jonah/Sam are ridiculously lovey-dovey, pet names, hand holding, the works. Out of nowhere, Jonah tries to kiss Carly, and eventually Sam finds out and dumps him. Then in iKiss, no-one mentioned Jonah, and it seems like Fridge Logic that Sam never kissed Jonah at all over the week or two they were inseparable. If you accept Sam revealing she'd never kissed a guy before as truth it means that she never kissed Jonah at all. The Fridge Brilliance is that it now offers a potentially plausible explanation as to why Jonah suddenly turned into a jerk, because despite being into Sam, Sam wouldn't even kiss him, causing him to hit on Carly because he was bored with Sam.
  • Mrs. Benson had a GPS chip implanted on Freddie's brain during his toddler years from a "questionable" doctor in Venezuela. Freddie began his mannerism of talking Gratuitous Spanish when this chip was activated onward since iGo To Japan, making this chip a probable cause of such since Venezuela is inhabited by Spanish-speaking people.
  • Some people viewed the use of Good Charlotte in iGo To Japan as They Just Didn't Care. However, Pop-Punk bands like Good Charlotte are very popular in Japan, to the point that relatively unknown bands in America have a following in Japan. So why use a Japanese band that would be unknown outside of their home country, when you could use a popular American band who are well known in America, worldwide very popular in Japan.
  • Remember how Sam has been stated to have only been suspended from school once? That's not because she's a Karma Houdini. In iMake Sam Girlier, when Sam's bummed that the guy she likes doesn't view her as a girl, a senior is bullying a kid half her size and Carly asks if Sam's going to do anything, implying Sam's usually the person who stops the older kids bullying the younger ones. So the reason Sam's only been suspended once isn't because she's a Karma Houdini, it's because not having Sam in school is the worse option.
    • Not to mention, Sam would probably view a suspension as more of a vacation than a punishment, and the administration knows this.
  • The episode iTake On Dingo is about Carly and co. butting heads with a TV channel called "Dingo" who are stealing ideas from their show for their own productions. Recall that the real company known as Dingo Pictures fills this exact role for the real Walt Disney Company... It's likely pure coincidence as the show's Dingo is portrayed as a Captain Ersatz of the Disney Channel, but still.
  • Freddie's importance to 'iCarly goes far beyond his tech skills - as Valerie, in iWill Date Freddie, knew all too well when she tried to steal him away. Even though Sam berates him constantly and occasionally alludes to the fact that he's not as important to the show as herself and Carly (because his primary job is the production and tech work), the fact is that Freddie actually is the third cast member of 'iCarly' . If iWill Date Freddie, iDon't Want To Fight and iKiss didn't hammer the message home, iStart A Fan War proved it beyond all doubt - otherwise, why would any of the fans care about who Freddie is, what he does on the show, or which of the girls is dating him? Additionally, he's a big part of the tie-in website, which in-universe would mean he's probably got just as much screentime as the other girls.
  • Why does Gibby become a regular cast member on the iCarly web series and start spending more time with Carly, Sam, and Freddie at the beginning of season 4? Because he risked his life to save them from Nora in iPsycho and they owe him their lives, and Gibby proved he's an excellent friend who should be kept around.
  • Carly developing aggressive claustrophobia that comes back in 'iSam's Mom'. Carly never showed anything like this before, the brilliance is that the reason Carly has aggressive claustrophobia is because of the Space Madness in the simulator.
  • The trick Spencer pulled on the Shadowhammer seems to be destined to fail when the guy finds out he was sent to the wrong apartment and comes back. But then you realize even Spencer would be smart enough not to trick a dangerous criminal into attacking an innocent family and probably put the sign on an empty apartment. If the Shadowhammer finds an empty apartment where the one who ratted him out was living, its not a stretch he'd assume they expected he'd come after them and moved somewhere.
  • iMust Have Locker 239: In the scene where Sam and Freddie are at the meeting to reveal who would soon own the namesake locker, Carly's absence at the scene is hand waved in a single line, saying she overslept. This doesn't seem to make much sense, until you remember that the previous scene took place at 2:00 A.M in the morning and featured Carly being woken up by Spencer in a failed attempt to teach her art. Any rightfully normal person would think to get extra sleep after being deprived of it in the middle of the night.
  • People often criticize Carly for being so Oblivious to Love with Freddie, yet if we look at some of her more memorable love interests; a guy who hasn't been single since the second grade, and has multiple chicks crushing on him (Jake Krandle), a guy Sam also wants (Shane), a boy Spencer won't let her date (Griffin), and finally a boy explicitly stated to go to California every other week (Stephen), the fact Freddie makes it so easy may be just what turns her off so much. In other words, Carly wants what she can't have.
  • iCarly This spans over a few seasons, and probably isn't intentional, but I still think it's pretty cool, and it's taken nearly 3 years for anyone to realize this sequence.
    • S 1 Ep 15: iHate Sam's Boyfriend. Sam meets a guy named Jonah, and they get together. They are ridiculously lovey-dovey, pet names, hand holding, the works. Out of nowhere, he mis-interprets Carly as being jealous of Sam, and wanting to be with Jonah instead. Jonah tries to kiss Carly, and eventually Sam finds out and dumps him.
    • S 2, Ep 8: iKiss. Neither Sam nor Freddie have had their First Kiss. Freddie had a girlfriend earlier, but their kiss wasn't counted (for being short/at school/not a real kiss). No-one mentioned Jonah, and it seems like Fridge Logic that Sam never kissed Jonah at all over the week or two they were inseparable.
      • If you accept Sam revealing she'd never kissed a guy before as truth. It means that she never kissed Jonah at all. The Fridge Brilliance is that it now offers a potentially plausible explanation as to why Jonah suddenly turned into a jerk, because despite being into Sam, Sam never 'put out' so to speak, and wouldn't even kiss him, causing him to hit on Carly.
      • There is even a second kind of potential shippy Fridge Brilliance, in that Sam could have been lying about not having had a first kiss, and did so because she wanted to kiss Freddie herself.
      • The first actually says alot about Sam's character: she's brash and rude to people in public, but can't kiss Jonah in private, which means that underneath that tough exterior, she may be just a sad, insecure girl.

Fridge Horror

  • Jeremy was made into a Brother Chuck and vanished from the show. Jeremy was shown to be excessively sick or allergic, and constantly sneezed and coughed. This sickness could have got worse, and Jeremy died.
    • If Jeremy has been sneezing violently since elementary school, its possible that he was allergic to something in the area and moved away from Washington and possibly the Pacific Northwest depending on the allergy.
  • George The Bra's story in the opening of iSaved Your Life. A malfunctioning washing machine may not be scary to us, but to a somewhat flimsy bra, it's probably a terrifying thought.
  • Nevel has despised Carly ever since she shoved tapenade on his face for trying to kiss him. However, his romantic obsession towards her still doesn't dwindle. This is reflected by the screens in his Hacker Cave which show a montage of Carly's close-up shots. That is some Foe Yay and Stalker with a Crush Fridge Horror.
    • Not only that, but think back to his first appearance. He acts all sweet and gentlemanly (in his mind, actually it was rather creepy) the second he and Carly are alone together. Then he kisses her cheek out of nowhere and slyly says he'll kiss her lips next. After Carly rejects him (and shoves tapenade in his face) he instantly changes his personality and becomes angry, shouts at her, and of course says she'll "rue the day." Think about it. A guy acting sweet and nice, but becoming ragey when the girl he's hitting on won't let him kiss her...One almost shudders to think of what kind of adult he'd turn out to be...
  • In iSam's Mom Spencer gets fed up with Freddie and his mom and his bodyguard staying at the Shays to hide from the "Shadow Hammer" robber whom Freddie caught on video. Spencer switches the number plate of Freddie's apartment with another down the hall so their place is now safe and they can move back in. The Bensons are safe but that means the Shadow Hammer will now go after whoever lives in the apartment they switched numbers with!
    • Or come back once he realizes that the apartments had been switched.
    • Actually, this has already been explained in the "Fridge Brilliance" section.
  • In iEnrage Gibby Carly and Sam convince the art critic that he was the reason Spencer (accidentally thought to be dead) died/killed himself because of the mean review about he wrote about Spencer's sculpture make him feel bad. Although it's meant to be played for laughs, the man is obviously feeling horrible thinking that he caused someone to take their own life, and he doesn't come back in the episode. He could become severely depressed before learning that Spencer is alive, or if he gave up art critiquing or moved out of Seattle he may never find out it was a lie.
  • In iPsycho, when Nora fights Gibby, she seems to have no problem with trying to hit him over the head with a fire poker, possibly knocking him unconscious and or killing him. The horror comes in when you realize: If she had killed Gibby, what would she have done with his little brother Guppy?!
    • Again from iPsycho, Freddie is lucky as hell that he didn't end up in that fight in iEnrage Gibby.
    • iStill Psycho adds a bit more to it. Nora's parents are every bit as Ax Crazy as she is. Just how much of her plan in iPsycho where they in on? And on top of that, she really could have kept iCarly prisoner forever! And her mother actually tried to kill Mrs. Benson. The whole family are completely deranged Sociopaths (Nora even lampshades that she is one herself, just to show the viewer how truly screwed up she is) who have no problem killing people!
      • Spencer was on the wheel at around 9:30 PM. When the gang woke up in the morning, Nora showed them that he was still spinning, at 7:30 AM. That means he was stuck, spinning on the wheel for 10 hours straight!
      • Gibby was stuck in the chimney for at least a day. Which leads to even more Fridge Horror, because he could clearly try to communicate with other people on the street at the least, but no one bothered to help him. So that means people were okay with letting a young man be stuck in the chimney!
    • I'm pretty sure that when the first iPsycho aired in Australia, they cut out a lot of the fight (including the bit with the fireplace poker).
  • What happened to that stain stick Spencer ate in iGo Nuclear?
  • If Sam has had 'hidden feelings' for Freddie.. she has fucked up a lot of scenes involving Creddie and constantly put down Freddie and his own feelings for Carly. If Sam has had them since before iSaved Your Life, what she did in that episode goes from a concerned friend trying to make sure her other two friends don't get into a relationship for the wrong reason.. and turns it into Sam stabbing her best friend in the back to keep Carly away from Freddie, consciously or not, even if it appears to be for genuine reasons, she's too biased to get involved in the situation, and no matter how it's justified, that's a horrible thing to do to her best friend, morality chain and one of the only two guys who doesn't push her away.
      • That theory, of course, takes for granted that Sam realized that she had feelings for Freddie. Which based on the way the arc played out, happened sometime just before Brad showed back up, a long time after iSaved Your Life. It stills leaves a 'subconscious' explanation but does stop Sam from directly taking action to break them up herself.
  • In iStart a Fan War, Spencer set off a gas spray in Aspartamay's face (played by Jack Black). When Aspartamay asks what that foul gas was, Spencer admits that it was chlorine. ...Spencer just shot Jack Black in the face with chlorine gas. That's the stuff they used to use to kill people in the trenches.
  • In iStart a Fan War, Carly dates a guy. When she tells her fans that they're dating they attack him and, if I remember correctly, yell something about killing him. We've been shown how crazy and obsessive the fans are, and Sam had tied him up before hand. He's never seen or mentioned again....
    • Fridge Brilliance: The Creddie shippers were the only ones attacking him. The Seddie shippers probably jumped in to keep him safe, so he would date Carly and Freddie could stick with Sam.
    • The Seddie shippers are mostly (and visibly) just standing around barely joining in the mayhem as the trio escapes the room.
  • In the second appearance of Mandy, notice that she's more annoying than usual and says her dad left her mom. We're laughing at a girl who's on a mental breakdown over her parents splitting up and retreating into presumably the last thing that made her happy.
    • In her first appearance, she says she made her aunt get a motel/hotel room, so she could stay in Seattle. Perhaps she was with her aunt because her parents were in the process of divorcing?
  • Freddie is still being beaten up by Sam even after they enter a relationship. Carly calls it sweet. Freddie brushes it off because that's just the way she is. Mrs. Benson doesn't take action to stop her son from being hurt. Spencer lets Sam into their home even though he knows Sam still hurts Freddie. Sam's behaviour will never get better when everyone is enabling it. If they stay together it's just going to get worse and worse, and no-one will do a thing to stop it. Not even Freddie, because he's been conditioned to believe that Domestic Abuse is Sam's version of love.
  • Sam's behaviour in general. As above, she's enabled by everyone. None of her massive character flaws will ever get better until something massively bad happens because of them, because everyone from Principal Franklin to Carly to Pam to Freddie to Spencer to Mrs. Benson let her get away with all of them without consequence. And by then, it might be too late.
  • iCarly: Nevel despised Carly ever since she shoved tapenade on his face. Yet, his obsession towards her still doesn't dwindle, which is reflected by the screens in his Hacker Cave which is a montage of Carly's close-up shots. That is some Foe Yay and Stalker with a Crush creepiness.
    • George The Bra started off telling ghost stories. Eventually he stopped that, and became actually funny. Then one story involved a broken washing machine. To a human that seems trivial. Then think about how a bra might feel in that situation.
    • Sam's home life is generally Played for Laughs, but lines like "well my mother doesn't feed me" can make one feel like Sam might have an excuse for her behavior.
      • An explanation, not an excuse. There's never an excuse for her kind of behavior.

Fridge Logic:

  • iGo To Japan: Employing English-illiterate security guards to man the entrances of a venue holding an international contest of various webshows, most of which speak English, in a country where the vast majority of people know at least a few English words, but they don't even know those.
    • Also, why would they put they put the sign: "I Do Not Speak Spanish" in English? Wouldn't they put it in Spanish? This goes for the "I Do Not Speak French" sign.
  • iStart A Fan War tried to equate the shippers in-universe with the shippers in real life, except that the equivalency was flawed. Firstly, there is a huge difference between internet fandom are how people would act in real life. People don't go crazy at Miranda, Jennette and Nathan in real life at their public appearances, which is what the Webicon panel would have been like. It would have been Carly Shay, Freddie Benson and Sam Puckett, 3 'real-life' teenage kids who host a web show making a public appearance. Just like how Miranda, Jen and Nathan are 3 real life teenage kids who play parts on a TV show do public appearances. People don't go up to them and go crazy like portrayed on the show.
    • Of course, they're not acting, it's their real selves, and the fans are shipping the actual people of Carly, Sam, and Freddie.
    • People in real life simply don't act like that in regards to public/con appearances.
  • iStart A Fanwar: Isn't chlorine gas green, as well as DEADLY? What the hell was Spencer thinking? Might go under Fridge Horror, considering how we don't see Jack Black get back up at the end of the episode...
    • If it was actual chlorine gas, you'd have known long before the end of the scene, as he'd have been coughing up a lung. And the "he" in question is everyone from Spencer to Jack Black to the guys watching them in the audience.
  • iBelieve In Bigfoot and iWant Locker 239: Sam steals Mrs. Briggs bullhorn, and then gives it to Freddie and runs away with Carly. Freddie then gets in trouble when he tells Mrs. Briggs it was Sam, she doesn't believe him. Same thing goes for what happens in Locker 239, with the locker party and Sam's mom destroying the wall. Really? Sam, arguably the most infamous student at the school at least in their age grade, and Freddie, the nerdy Nice Guy, and they ignore him telling them Sam did it?
    • Partly Fridge Brilliance: Considering the teachers mentioned, they probably just look for an excuse to punish anyone (Punishing Gibby for being "too Gibby"?)
  • Carly looks at the Japanese instruction manual in iPromise Not to Tell, and guesses "lamp" in Japanese is "rampu". She's right, but the loanword "rampu" should have been in katakana, so how could she have read it?
    • What if it was in romaji? Perhaps in a multi-language instruction booklet? (I know next to nothing about Japanese beyond some high school lessons, so forgive any ignorance.)
    • It's likely that since the instruction booklet was so cheaply made, they didn't bother to get an actual Japanese input method editor to write in proper Japanese and just wrote it with a regular keyboard. Alternately, Carly could have a very basic knowledge of the writing system, which more and more kids into anime do these days.
    • And in the episode iPie, Carly's wearing a shirt with katakana on it in one scene.
    • Spencer: "Good luck. It's in Japanese."
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