Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Season 1, Episode 8 Recap: Teacher’s Pet

We’re eight episodes into the first season of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, and we finally get one that revolves around the titular dino. However, he is being overshadowed by an adorable hamster and a mutated rat obsessed with alliteration.

Moon Girl and Devil are hanging out when they stumble upon a strange scene. Rats are causing chaos in a pizzeria, stealing all the pizza and terrorizing the customers. Moon Girl puts a stop to the theft by playing a frequency on her cassette player that only the rats can hear. The rats are being controlled by a villainous humanoid rat called the Rat King, who seeks revenge against Moon Girl for foiling his plan.

The next day, Devil is preparing the lab for movie night with Lunella and Casey when he is surprised to see that they have brought the school hamster, Angel (pronounced An-hel). The girls have forgotten about movie night and are showering Angel with attention, much to Devil’s dismay. Oblivious to Devil’s feelings, Lunella asks him to take care of Angel, who is frightened by Devil’s appearance. Later that night, Devil has a nightmare in which Angel replaces him as Lunella’s sidekick. In his sleep, he accidentally knocks over Angel’s cage, allowing the hamster to escape.

The following morning, Devil realizes what has happened and keeps Angel’s escape a secret from Lunella. Using his heightened sense of smell, he tracks Angel down by following his scent to a park where the hamster slips down a sewer drain. When Lunella and Casey return to the lab and find it in disarray, they assume that a villain has abducted Angel and that Devil is pursuing them. Lunella puts on her Moon Girl suit and goes out to search for them. She encounters Devil, who admits to letting Angel escape. Moon Girl is angry that Devil has lied to her and decides to find Angel on her own. Meanwhile, the rats have found Angel and brought him to the Rat King.

Moon Girl eventually finds Angel, but when she tries to free him, she is caught in a trap and drops her cassette player, her only weapon against the rats. The Rat King reveals that he had once been a normal rat that had mutated and offers Angel protection from the Devil since they are technically of the same species. In truth, he actually intends to use Angel as bait to trap Moon Girl. After the Rat King releases Angel, he finds Devil drowning his sorrows in hot dogs. Seeing Devil’s heartbreak causes Angel to see him in a different light, as someone who loves Lunella. Together, they break into the Rat King’s lair and free Lunella. They fight their way through the rats, who are determined to keep Lunella away from her cassette player. Eventually, Moon Girl retrieves her player and plays a frequency that scares the rats away.

Defeated, he tries to escape but falls off a ledge and plunges into the sewer water below. After they leave the sewers, Devil admits to being envious of Angel. Lunella apologizes for neglecting Devil and reassures him that he is still her best friend. The group enjoys movie night together, but Lunella reveals that Angel is only visiting for the weekend, much to Devil’s horror. In the sewers, the Rat King’s arm shoots out of the water.

Highlights and Easter Eggs from season 1, episode 8

• We learn that animals in the MG&DD universe can communicate with each other, regardless of their species. Additionally, Lunella herself has the ability to communicate with animals, as she mentions teaching herself how to speak hamster, although she never explains how.
• Lunella struggles with social awkwardness, and it’s evident in this episode. The entire plot would have been different if Lunella had noticed Devil’s jealousy, or remembered to tell him that the hamster was only staying for the weekend. Adding a different perspective, if she thought about how Angel would feel being left with Devil, a gigantic scary looking stranger.
• During the Rat King’s musical number, there is a stream of binary code in the background at the lyric “lost in the matrix,” a shout-out to The Matrix film series.
• In the series premiere, Pops mentioned that giant lizards lived in the area, which turns out to be true.
• Although it’s a common trope in Disney films, the Rat King’s survival after falling from a great height is predictable. However, exceptions to this rule exist, as seen in The Lion King and Avengers: Endgame.
• The songs of the week are “Look In Your Eyes” by Rat King (voiced by Daveed Diggs) and “Can’t Be Tamed” by Blush, which played during the fight between Moon Girl, Devil, Angel, and the Rat King’s rodents.