This article is written from a real world point of view and so is not considered part of The Worst Witch universe.
Spelling Bee is the tenth episode of The Worst Witch (2017 TV Series). It was first broadcast on CBBC and CBBC HD on 8 March 2017. It is preceded by The First Witch, and followed by The Mists of Time.
Synopsis[]
Everyone is called for an announcement, but Mildred doesn’t turn up because she’s trying to get Tabby off the roof after he got scared by a mouse. Miss Cackle magics Mildred and Tabby inside, and announces that Cackle’s Academy are competing against Pentangle's Academy in the spelling bee, a competition of spells and potions. Mildred and Ethel are chosen to compete for Cackle’s as they are next in the register, which Ethel is not too pleased about.
Miss Hardbroom starts training Mildred and Ethel for the completion, but Tabby makes a mess in the potions lab, so Miss Hardbroom has Miss Tapioca take Tabby to the kitchens to catch mice. Miss Pentangle arrives, and introduces her students, Sapphire Hailstone and Zac Hawthorn. Maud and Enid see that Mildred is upset over Tabby, and decide to help. They sneak into the kitchens and hear Miss Tapioca complain that Tabby is no good at catching mice because he is scared of them, and if he does not "toughen up" she will send him to the cats' home.
Mildred is studying in her room when Miss Pentangle appears, and offers her a doughnut. When Miss Pentangle refers to Miss Hardbroom by her first name, Mildred asks how they know each other, and Miss Pentangle says they used to be friends, until Hecate failed to show for the broomstick water-skiing display they were supposed to perform together. Miss Pentangle then magics Tabby to Mildred’s room for her.
When Tabby leaves Mildred’s room, Enid casts a spell on him to make him better at ridding the kitchen of pests, but the next morning, Tabby has attacked Miss Tapioca instead. As the Spelling Bee starts in the hall, Maud and Enid go the kitchens and attempt to catch mice for Tabby, to make him look good, but they just end up making a mess of the kitchen.
In the spelling bee, Cackle’s and Pentangle's are tied at three all with one round to go. During the intermission, Miss Pentangle offers Mildred a scholarship to her academy, saying that she has a ‘gift’. Miss Pentangle alerts the teachers to the fact that Mildred must compete in the final round, as she did not participate in the penultimate round. Mildred has to cast a weather spell - which she was studying with Tabby the night before. Meanwhile, Miss Tapioca returns to kitchen to find it in a mess, and blames Tabby, saying she’s going to send him to the cats’ home. In the spelling bee, Mildred successfully makes a weather spell, which rains over Ethel, and wins the competition for Cackle’s.
Afterwards, Mildred tells both Miss Hardbroom and Miss Pentangle that Miss Cackle wants to see them. They find themselves alone together, and make up with each other, hugging and saying they missed each other. Mildred is watching from the door. When Miss Hardbroom and Miss Pentangle ask if Mildred is taking the scholarship to Pentangle’s, she chooses to stay at Cackles. Mildred tells Maud and Enid that she’s staying, and Miss Hardbroom appears and gives Tabby back to Mildred. Maud and Enid tell Mildred she’s no longer the worst witch, and Mildred proceeds to drop her newly won trophy which is made of glass, shattering it.
Quotes[]
Maud: What do you suppose the announcement is?
Enid: I heard that Miss Cackle was kidnapped by an evil wizard.
Maud: And I heard Miss Tapioca was caught putting pond slime in her stew.
Enid: And I heard that Miss Hardbroom was turned into a gargoyle, and her eyes were so scary that they could turn you into stone!
Miss Hardbroom: Why don't we test that theory in tonight's detention?
Hecate: You're looking very... ..pink.
Pippa: Haven't you been keeping up with the latest trends? Black is so last century.
Hecate: Vanity is very unbecoming in a witch.
Pippa: But along with pink, not against the witch's code.
Pippa: Dear old Hecate, she takes things so seriously!
Mildred: How do you know each other?
Pippa: We were friends once.
Mildred: But you're not any more?
Pippa: I'd rather not talk about it. It was a broomstick water-skiing display. We'd been practising all term, and then suddenly on the day of the competition, she didn't show up! Let's just say a doubles display with only one of you doesn't go well.
Miss Hardbroom: Ethel, you must take the lead in each round. Mildred, you must do absolutely nothing.
BOTH: Yes, Miss Hardbroom.
Miss Hardbroom: This is precisely what happens when you let a girl from a non-witching family represent the school.
Pippa: You're the odd one out here, Mildred. Why not come to a school that is more suited to your gift?
Mildred: You think I have a gift?
Pippa: From the first moment I saw you...
Mildred: Miss Hardbroom doesn't think so.
Pippa: That's because she's set in her ways. We're what you call a modern witches' school, and it just so happens we have a scholarship up for grabs.
Pippa: You were my best friend, Hecate. And then suddenly, you stopped talking to me. Why?
Hecate: You were always the popular one, you didn't want me getting in your way.
Pippa: I didn't care about those silly witches. You were the only one I wanted to be friends with.
Hecate: But...I thought...
Pippa: What? Because you were the tall, gangly one I'd rather spend time with them? All this time we've spent hating each other. I've missed you, Hiccup.
Hecate: I've missed you too... Pipsqueak.
Gallery[]
.jpg "Spelling Bee (2).jpg (91 KB)")
.jpg "Spelling Bee (8).jpg (91 KB)")
Errors[]
- In the kitchen scenes, Tabby is clearly a different cat than in his other appearances. Tabby is normally a brown Tabby cat with white on his belly, legs and face, but in the kitchen scenes, the cat used is a different breed, more slender with different markings and no white.