"The Inquisition" is the forty-fourth episode and series finale of the sixth season of the British-American animated sitcom The Amazing World of Gumball, serving as the 240th episode overall. Directed by Mic Graves and written by series creator Ben Bocquelet, Graves, Joe Markham, Richard Overall, Joe Parham, Jess Ransom, and Tobi Wilson, the episode premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on June 24, 2019.
The episode follows Superintendent Evil (played by Garrick Hagon), a live-action human who attempts to transform the animated students of Elmore Junior High into realistic humans. Gumball and Darwin use cartoon logic to restore their classmates, who subsequently unmask the Superintendent as Rob in disguise. Before Rob can explain his actions, the floor opens beneath him and swallows him into the void, ending the original series run on a cliffhanger.
Upon its original broadcast, "The Inquisition" was viewed by 0.51 million viewers in the United States. Critics praised the episode's live-action animation integration and self-aware meta-humor, while its abrupt cliffhanger ending drew criticism. The cliffhanger was initially intended to set up a film adaptation and was eventually revisited in the revival series, The Wonderfully Weird World of Gumball, in 2025.
Plot Principal Brown warns the faculty at Elmore Junior High about an upcoming inspection. During a school assembly, a live-action human calling himself Superintendent Evil announces a plan to eliminate the school's cartoon-like elements by transforming its students into more realistic forms.
Gumball and Darwin find the superintendent's transformation machine in his office. After escaping capture, the brothers perform a song with Banana Joe, causing the transformed students to break character and revert to their animated forms. The students corner the superintendent and unmask him, revealing him to be Rob.
Rob states that he turned the students into humans to help them escape an impending disaster, but Tina Rex knocks him unconscious before he can elaborate further. That night, Rob awakens alone in the school building. The floor collapses beneath him, revealing the Void. Rob falls into it, and the episode cuts to black.
Production "The Inquisition" marked the conclusion of the original series' 240-episode run. The episode stands out for its extensive use of live-action footage integrated into its predominantly animated setting, featuring Garrick Hagon portraying Superintendent Evil in live action.
Caroline Cao of SlashFilm interpreted the narrative—featuring a villain attempting to forcefully "normalize" cartoon characters into real humans—as commentary on the television industry's preference for live-action productions. At the time of production, Bocquelet had confirmed that the sixth season would be his last on the show, and the episode was designed with a cliffhanger intended to lead directly into a feature film adaptation to conclude the series.
Reception and analysis Viewership "The Inquisition" premiered on Cartoon Network in the United States on June 24, 2019. Upon its initial broadcast, the episode was viewed by 0.51 million viewers and received a 0.1 rating in the 18–49 demographic.
Critical response Critics praised the episode's visual gags, meta-humor, and live-action integration, while the abrupt cliffhanger ending drew criticism.
David Kaldor of Bubbleblabber rated the episode 7 out of 10, praising its live-action sequences but criticizing its abrupt cliffhanger. Matt A La Mode awarded the episode an A+, calling it a "master-class in deconstruction" that utilized its meta-humor to subvert the show's visual identity.
Writing for SlashFilm in 2022, Caroline Cao interpreted the episode's premise as a commentary on the removal of animated television series from streaming services and the industry's preference for live-action productions.
Continuation
Following the broadcast of "The Inquisition", series creator Ben Bocquelet discussed plans for a feature film that would resolve the cliffhanger. Bocquelet had previously expressed interest in a film adaptation in a 2016 interview with The Times.
On February 17, 2021, Cartoon Network revealed that a film based on the series was in development. On September 21, 2021, it was announced that a new television series, serving as a follow-up for both the show and the movie, had been greenlit for Cartoon Network and HBO Max alongside the film. On August 22, 2022, it was reported that the film would no longer be heading to HBO Max, but would be shopped to other outlets instead.
On June 15, 2023, it was confirmed at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival that the spin-off series would instead serve as the seventh season of the show, though it was later rebranded as a revival series. The following year, at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was announced that the film was still in development with revisions being made to the story and script.
The revival series premiered in the United States on July 28, 2025. The revival eventually addressed the cliffhanger in its second-season finale, "The Rewrite".
References
External links