Is that the most despicable thing in the series? I just rewatched the parents day episode and I couldn't believe he said that. He was always a bully, though did have a few occasional good moments, but that was completely disgusting. Mocking a 9 year old about his parents being dead is unforgivable.
shareAgreed. He was just an all-around terrible person. I knew some fathers like him growing up.
shareAgree
shareAgreed, he's also annoying by using his children to (Olga included) to brag and come off as impressive.
Notice how competitive he is, he pressures both Helga and Olga to be overachievers. Olga even pointed it out in the episode when Helga changed her grade.
She says that she gets "tired of performing for them like a wind up doll".
I wouldn't say that it was the most dispicable thing on the show.
There were a few other characters, who did worse things than that to Arnold.
Calling him "orphan boy" was really typical though of Big Bob, who never was much more than an insensitive brute.
There's just something really detestable about putting someone down for being an orphan. You just don't do that.
I felt like it was incredibly mean-spirited even for Bob.
It was very cruel, yes
shareI didn't think he was mocking Arnold because his parents were dead. It was just an extremely abrasive expression to his frustration that Arnold was doing well in the game, and finding something to blame; in this case, he was highlighting the fact that Arnold was winning with people that weren't even his parents.
Terribly cruel, but still in line with his character I think. And it actually fits in line with Arnold's character arc with how he relates to his grandparents.