User Reviews

Lunch at the Cleavers with a surprise, Eddie Haskell. Beaver has invited a friend over but Eddie says he won't come because the family is stuck up. When Chuey arrives with his mom, June gets a surprise, the family speaks only Spanish. June tries her nonexistent Spanish to get Mrs. Varela to have a seat. June points to a chair and says la mesa which means table and not chair which is la silla, but Mrs. Varela gets the drift and sits. When Ward comes unto the house he says Buenos Dias. Mrs. Varela figures Ward speaks Spanish and says she is so surprised Ward speaks Spanish, her husband is in the diplomatic corps and they had only two weeks to lean English which wasn't enough. Ward doesn't speak Spanish. It has been an awkward meeting but an overall pleasant one.

Wally and Eddie in the garage are working on Wally's bike, but Eddie wants Beaver and Chuey to leave. Wally says Eddie is always bragging about how well he speaks Spanish, so talk to Chuey in Spanish. Eddie hasn't mastered conversational Spanish by a longshot, but Eddie gets an idea to have Beaver say "Usted tiene la cara de un cerdo" which means "You have the face of a pig" in Spanish. Wally doesn't think it's funny and tells Eddie to forget it. Eddie disappears into the house to call his mom, but really to teach Beaver how to insult Chuey in Spanish. Eddie claims the phrase means you are a swell guy. Beaver says it and Chuey gets upset and runs away. Chuey says that Beaver is a bad boy, Wally suspects Eddie but Eddie claims he didn't say anything to Beaver.

Ward and June want to find out why Chuey went home in tears. Wally says Eddie left but says Eddie claims even if you say hello in Spanish wrong you can get in trouble. Beaver is in his room when the doorbell rings; it is Mr. and Mrs. Varela. They are not happy and want to know what Beaver said to their son. Mrs. Varela says Ward has a nice face, he looks friendly. Beaver is called down to repeat what he said and when he does the Varelas leave. Ward asks Beaver what he said. Beaver replies he doesn't know but when you say it everyone leaves.

Ward goes out to the garage to wax his car and take a break from an unpleasant day. Wally enters and explains what Eddie did. Ward can't understand how Wally has Eddie as a best friend. Wally admits Eddie is a rat but he has known him from the second grade. Ward tries using his old high school textbook to write a letter to explain what happened.

After the Varelas must have received Ward's letter, Chuey arrives with flowers for June with a nice note saying we learn from our children. Chuey and Beaver are friends again. Wally says he is going right over to Eddie's and punch him. June says he can't do that and after all, it is Sunday. Wally says he will wait until Monday and punch him when they're in the cafeteria. When asked to do or say something, Ward says isn't that nice the Valeras sent flowers. Ward no doubt Ward wishes he could give Eddie an appropriate punishment.

At days end, Ward checks in with his son. Beaver is happy but can't figure out why Eddie does the things he does. Ward can't either, he can just acknowledge there are people like that.

Too bad Chuey was a one episode character. Well Eddie certainly has cemented his image as a rat, plus we get to hear his catchphrase for the first time, "Don't make a big deal out of it. A real flaw is that anyone serving in the Spanish Diplomatic Corp would not have been sent to the US without being fluent in English.

The "moral" of the story is pretty obvious, but this episode misses the mark. Like another reviewer mentioned, the reason for the Varela family having moved into the Cleaver's neighborhood is not made clear. These characters were portrayed as not understanding English "at all." How did they expect to function in a community where literally nobody else spoke Spanish? You're supposed to think it's "cute" that Beaver and Chuey became friends, even though they were incapable of understanding each other. Didn't make sense. It was also clear that the actor who played Chuey probably could speak and understand English. He wasn't a good enough actor to make his character believable. The basic premise of this episode is pretty stupid. The whole thing comes down to Beaver insulting Chuey, because Beaver had no idea what he was saying. The evil Eddie Haskell taught Beaver a Spanish phrase which translated to "you have a face like a pig." Then, of course, Chuey and his parents are insulted. What a surprise! In contrast to today's world, this story can be hard to take seriously. Today, those of us who speak English are, more and more, being made to feel like we're the ones who "don't belong." Overall, this episode suffers from an impractical premise, and guest stars that were not particularly engaging or effective.

All about Eddie's prank for a full episode. Not much besides that. The communication gap is beat to death. The prank is memorable for how mean it is. Eddie is getting more and more despicable.