Episode Description:
"School bully Dion returns to town after a long absence and seems to have a complete change change of heart. Buddy isn't convinced of his change and tries to find the real reason that Dion is so different." - AIO
Episode Review:
Every so often, an Adventures in Odyssey episode comes along that catches me off guard. I did not expect, after starting the episode and hearing an assortment of fantastical scenes involving CIA agents, Leprechauns, Kermits, and Geico Geckos, that it would all culminate to an ending like this – one of the most emotionally effective scenes on Adventures in Odyssey.
I’m surprised by “Have a Heart”’s overall impact, because I wasn’t very familiar with these characters before the episode started. I tend to enjoy episodes involving the show’s longest-running characters, such as Connie and Eugene, because they’re the ones that keep me tuning into the show. “Have a Heart” reminds us that if the story is intriguing enough, it doesn’t matter who stars in it. In that way, “Have a Heart” is like “A Lesson from Mike”, another Marshall Younger episode that allows its emotionally powerful story overshadow the awkwardness of listening to somewhat unfamiliar characters.
Non-club members are finally introduced to the character of Buddy, a reincarnation of either Lawrence Hodges, Jared DeWhite, or Trent DeWhite, who becomes terrified when he learns that Dion, the school bully, and former-member of Vince’s gang, is returning to school after being gone for several months. Buddy and Zoe react quite differently to his return; Zoe reacts with a healthy curiosity – “What would keep a kid out of school for four months?” – while Buddy’s distrust of Dion carries him, and the listener, into a series of a paranoid hallucinations.
To some, the enjoyment of this episode may rest upon whether they can tolerate the character of Buddy and these so-called hallucinations, which take up the majority of the first half of “Have a Heart”. Regular listeners, who may simply feel as though Buddy’s simply a cheap knock-off of Lawrence Hodges or Jared DeWhite, might struggle with liking this character. But there’s one singular difference between Buddy and his precedents. While Jared DeWhite and Lawrence Hodges viewed their own overactive behavior as perfectly normal, Buddy’s daydreams are, at the core, the result of self-esteem issues, which inadvertently strikes a more morose tone than a lighthearted one. Will this change result in a more lovable character? Probably not. But perhaps his character has potential to feel a little different.
Few writers can properly mix comedy and tragedy and Marshall Younger, here, balances tones in unexpected ways. “Have a Heart” is kept lighthearted enough to keep the most heartless kids entertained, but its lightheartedness works as an effective storytelling method, too; the gradual shift from a Buddy’s overactive imaginings towards a more heartwarming tone continuously keeps listeners surprised and involved. The tenderness of certain moments – the conversation between Whit and Buddy about the meaning of the “new heart”, for instance – are so unexpected and wonderful that we can’t help but remain hooked, and a little moved, too.
(That said, the scene where Buddy and Zoe discover that Dion’s heart belonged to a kid who drowned did not work at all. The subject matter was much too dark given the lighthearted scene that came before it.)
But all these scenes – sad or happy – culminate to an emotionally powerful scene involving the mother of the recently-passed child meeting with Dion and listening to her son’s old heart with a stethoscope. The audience finally believes as Buddy does – Dion has legitimately changed. And, honestly, I’m surprised they redeemed Dion. The temptation would have been to introduce a whole new bully to “redeem”, not wanting to change Dion’s previously established character as the series’ new bully. Aside from Richard Maxwell, and to some extent, Billy MacPherson (Butch), the show has rarely given its villains redemption. Rodney Rathbone, Phillip Glossman, Rusty Gordon, Bennett Charles – the show often gave them their just deserts rather than having them change and recognize the error of their ways.
Some inattentive listeners may listen to "Have a Heart" wondering what the takeaway lesson was. Was the intent of this episode simply to teach us the difference between the physical heart and the metaphorical heart? To some, Buddy’s assumption that Dion was a different person because he had a different heart may seem, well, stupid. And it’s perhaps a question that someone much younger than Buddy – who, honestly, sounds around 14 – should have been struggling with. But, after the final scene, the episode's message had formed and became quite clear to me; “Have a Heart” is less concerned with teaching the difference between the metaphorical heart and a physical heart, but with showing listeners that God can and does change hearts. We live in a world where we are in denial that people can truly change, or that certain people even deserve to change. Perhaps the takeaway, then, is to approach people without the cynicism that Buddy had, without thinking that redemption is impossible or that they’re lost causes.
Overall, “Have a Heart” successfully balances its various tones and provides us with a strong and memorable Adventures in Odyssey episode. Some listeners may struggle with the plurality and craziness of Buddy’s scenes, but those scenes fade from memory as the episode builds towards an emotionally satisfying, tear-jerker ending. Sometimes, all that matters is the ending. And this one – sniff-sniff – is excellent.
"School bully Dion returns to town after a long absence and seems to have a complete change change of heart. Buddy isn't convinced of his change and tries to find the real reason that Dion is so different." - AIO
Episode Review:
Every so often, an Adventures in Odyssey episode comes along that catches me off guard. I did not expect, after starting the episode and hearing an assortment of fantastical scenes involving CIA agents, Leprechauns, Kermits, and Geico Geckos, that it would all culminate to an ending like this – one of the most emotionally effective scenes on Adventures in Odyssey.
I’m surprised by “Have a Heart”’s overall impact, because I wasn’t very familiar with these characters before the episode started. I tend to enjoy episodes involving the show’s longest-running characters, such as Connie and Eugene, because they’re the ones that keep me tuning into the show. “Have a Heart” reminds us that if the story is intriguing enough, it doesn’t matter who stars in it. In that way, “Have a Heart” is like “A Lesson from Mike”, another Marshall Younger episode that allows its emotionally powerful story overshadow the awkwardness of listening to somewhat unfamiliar characters.
Non-club members are finally introduced to the character of Buddy, a reincarnation of either Lawrence Hodges, Jared DeWhite, or Trent DeWhite, who becomes terrified when he learns that Dion, the school bully, and former-member of Vince’s gang, is returning to school after being gone for several months. Buddy and Zoe react quite differently to his return; Zoe reacts with a healthy curiosity – “What would keep a kid out of school for four months?” – while Buddy’s distrust of Dion carries him, and the listener, into a series of a paranoid hallucinations.
To some, the enjoyment of this episode may rest upon whether they can tolerate the character of Buddy and these so-called hallucinations, which take up the majority of the first half of “Have a Heart”. Regular listeners, who may simply feel as though Buddy’s simply a cheap knock-off of Lawrence Hodges or Jared DeWhite, might struggle with liking this character. But there’s one singular difference between Buddy and his precedents. While Jared DeWhite and Lawrence Hodges viewed their own overactive behavior as perfectly normal, Buddy’s daydreams are, at the core, the result of self-esteem issues, which inadvertently strikes a more morose tone than a lighthearted one. Will this change result in a more lovable character? Probably not. But perhaps his character has potential to feel a little different.
Few writers can properly mix comedy and tragedy and Marshall Younger, here, balances tones in unexpected ways. “Have a Heart” is kept lighthearted enough to keep the most heartless kids entertained, but its lightheartedness works as an effective storytelling method, too; the gradual shift from a Buddy’s overactive imaginings towards a more heartwarming tone continuously keeps listeners surprised and involved. The tenderness of certain moments – the conversation between Whit and Buddy about the meaning of the “new heart”, for instance – are so unexpected and wonderful that we can’t help but remain hooked, and a little moved, too.
(That said, the scene where Buddy and Zoe discover that Dion’s heart belonged to a kid who drowned did not work at all. The subject matter was much too dark given the lighthearted scene that came before it.)
But all these scenes – sad or happy – culminate to an emotionally powerful scene involving the mother of the recently-passed child meeting with Dion and listening to her son’s old heart with a stethoscope. The audience finally believes as Buddy does – Dion has legitimately changed. And, honestly, I’m surprised they redeemed Dion. The temptation would have been to introduce a whole new bully to “redeem”, not wanting to change Dion’s previously established character as the series’ new bully. Aside from Richard Maxwell, and to some extent, Billy MacPherson (Butch), the show has rarely given its villains redemption. Rodney Rathbone, Phillip Glossman, Rusty Gordon, Bennett Charles – the show often gave them their just deserts rather than having them change and recognize the error of their ways.
Some inattentive listeners may listen to "Have a Heart" wondering what the takeaway lesson was. Was the intent of this episode simply to teach us the difference between the physical heart and the metaphorical heart? To some, Buddy’s assumption that Dion was a different person because he had a different heart may seem, well, stupid. And it’s perhaps a question that someone much younger than Buddy – who, honestly, sounds around 14 – should have been struggling with. But, after the final scene, the episode's message had formed and became quite clear to me; “Have a Heart” is less concerned with teaching the difference between the metaphorical heart and a physical heart, but with showing listeners that God can and does change hearts. We live in a world where we are in denial that people can truly change, or that certain people even deserve to change. Perhaps the takeaway, then, is to approach people without the cynicism that Buddy had, without thinking that redemption is impossible or that they’re lost causes.
Overall, “Have a Heart” successfully balances its various tones and provides us with a strong and memorable Adventures in Odyssey episode. Some listeners may struggle with the plurality and craziness of Buddy’s scenes, but those scenes fade from memory as the episode builds towards an emotionally satisfying, tear-jerker ending. Sometimes, all that matters is the ending. And this one – sniff-sniff – is excellent.
Writer: Marshal Younger
Director: Phil Lollar
Sound Designer: Jonathan Crowe
Music: John Campbell
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 5:17
Theme: God Changes Hearts
Original Air-Date: 10/28/27