iTwins is the 23rd episode of the second season of iCarly and the 48th episode overall.The episode originally aired on July 11, 2009. Jennette McCurdy portrays a dual role in the episode as both her regular character Sam and as Sam's previously unknown twin sister, Melanie.
Plot
There is an email from a talking foot. After Freddie is teased for being very gullible (he receives an email from Carly and Sam and dresses up as a clown, believing that it's Clown Day at school), he believes the girls are trying to prank him when Sam says her twin sister named Melanie is coming to Seattle since she goes to a boarding school. He is unconvinced that Sam really has a twin sister, and to try to prove it, he asks Melanie out on a date, thinking that Sam would never go on a date with him.
The plan to try to prove that Melanie is really Sam takes an unexpected turn when Melanie accepts his invitation, doesn't act like Sam and then kisses Freddie at the dance club, causing him to believe that Sam kissed him on purpose. He immediately becomes extremely paranoid. In the end, since Freddie refuses to believe it, Sam "admits" to Freddie that there is no Melanie. Satisfied, Freddie departs shortly before Melanie arrives to go to the movies with Carly and Sam, proving her existence once and for all to the audience (although not to Freddie).
Subplot
Carly gets a job tutoring Chuck in math, to which Spencer objects, as Chuck keeps tormenting him. After Spencer shows Carly how awful Chuck really is (with the help of a hidden video camera that Spencer set up that Socko lent him), Carly thinks of a way to get back at Chuck. She makes up the number Derf and teaches it to him, so he can use it on his next math test. When he fails his test, Mr.Chambers says Carly no longer needs to tutor him, and decides to send Chuck to Camp Add- 'em-Up for the whole summer (at Spencer's suggestion).
Trivia
- This is the first iCarly episode to be rated TV-G (previously rated TV-Y7).
- Jennette McCurdy has stated in interviews that her natural speaking voice is "somewhere between Sam and Melanie." She affects a deeper tone when she is playing Sam (to emphasize Sam's tomboyish demeanor) and spoke in a higher pitch as Melanie (to project Melanie's more feminine personality).
- Melanie is the first person to know about Sam and Freddie's kiss (seen in "iKiss") other than themselves. Carly would not find out until iThink They Kissed.
- The dance club that Melanie and Freddie went to was named Quisp (Under 21) DANce Club. The capital letters in "dance" is a reference to iCarly's creator, Dan Schneider.
- In this episode it is discovered that Sam hates stripes on guys, but likes wearing stripes herself according to Dan Schneider.
- It is discovered that Carly and Sam hate the letter Q.
- This is the only appearance of Sam's twin sister Melanie, not counting her appearance in Sam & Cat. Despite this, both Dan Schneider and Jennette McCurdy showed positive reactions to the Twitter trend "iTwins Sequel".
- The actress who appeared as Gibby's cousin Sabrina in the season three episode "iBeat the Heat", first appears here in a non-speaking role as a dancing girl who is responsible for Freddie spilling his drinks.
- At the end of the episode, Freddie still didn't believe Melanie was real, because Carly and Sam never proved it, Sam admitted Melanie isn't real to him, and he never saw Sam and Melanie together. However, in iThink They Kissed, Freddie stated he may have kissed Sam twice, but that he thought it was her twin sister, adding that he was "still fuzzy on the whole Melanie thing." This indicates that he has accepted that Melanie might be real, although he still wasn't sure.
- After iThink They Kissed, Melanie was mentioned in one more episode. In Season 4's iSam's Mom, Sam's mother, Pam Puckett, asks Sam why she can't be more like Melanie. Sam tells her mother to stop comparing her to her sister.
- Sam and Melanie is a reference to Amanda and her twin in True Jackson VP.
- When Freddie told Chuck, "Don't waste your time, kid. I've been barking up that tree since the 6th grade," (In response to Chuck's suggestion that when he's older, he could date Carly), Carly originally replied, "Neutering is always an option." On his blog, Dan Schneider stated that this line got a lot of laughs on the set, but he chose to cut it during editing because he felt it slightly crossed the line in terms of what was appropriate for iCarly's younger viewers.
- After Spencer says, "Good, 'cause you owe me 24 bucks for the pot roast," he starts to "shampoo" (as Dan Schneider described it) Carly's head with his hands, making her laugh. That was not scripted; Before the last take, Dan Schneider instructed Jerry Trainor to do that, without telling Miranda Cosgrove. When she was giggling and saying, "Stop ... stop it," Miranda was not acting. The laughter was her actual, natural reaction, and she was genuinely telling Jerry to stop.
- Jennette McCurdy once told Tiger Beat that "iTwins" was her favorite episode to film. She said "It was so much fun" to play both her own character, Sam, and Sam's twin sister, Melanie.
- At the end, the last "Me either," Melanie's voice is panned hard left and Sam's is panned hard right in the stereo field (i.e. Mel's voice comes out of the left speaker and Sam's comes out of the right).
- This is the second time Nathan and Jennette have had an on-screen kiss thus far for iCarly. The first as Sam and Freddie in iKiss, the second as Freddie and Melanie in this episode. They've also had to kiss twice for iOMG as Sam and Freddie, where Dan revealed they shot the kiss two different ways. Then, the one after that in this episode and following twice in iDate Sam & Freddie and twice for iCan't Take It and three times for iLove You - not counting practice kisses or do-overs. Also it's the first and only kiss for Freddie and Melanie.
- The song that Melanie and Freddie dance to is Tightrope by AnnMarie Montade.
Goofs
- Freddie is supposedly gullible in this episode, but he wasn't fooled by Consuela's Revenge in iStage An Intervention.
- When Chuck sprays Spencer with the brown liquid, he said he didn't want to taste it, although he got it in his mouth. So he had to taste it anyhow.
- When Chuck sprays Spencer with the brown liquid it splashes all over the walls in the kitchen, the door to the fridge is off its hinges and the cupboard door is lying on the counter. While Spencer does call out for Carly, he did not show her this mess or mention the incident to her, which is odd given that he was trying to prove to her that Chuck was evil. By the next scene in the kitchen the mess is no longer there and the fridge and cupboard doors are back in place. This suggests either that the spraying of the walls was unscripted and unintentional, and a member of the crew simply cleaned it up and fixed the fridge and cupboard doors before the next scene was filmed, or (more likely) this scene was filmed afterwards and added later.
- Freddie's date with Melanie was on Saturday (as said by Freddie when he asks her out). Since he later refers to the date as "last night", the final scene should take place on Sunday; however, Mr. Chambers comes by on the same day to tell Carly that Chuck failed his math test, which he is supposed to take on Monday.
- After Freddie asks Melanie out, he drinks some of her smoothie without realizing it.
- In this episode, Sam says she hates stripes though wears them in other episodes. However, she probably just doesn't like stripes on guys.
- Carly tells Chuck that there was a new number, but technically "derfteen" and "derfty-four" would count as different numbers. Though she probably just meant the single digit.
Gallery
View Gallery for this episode here.
Quotes
[during the iCarly webcast]
Sam: I call this video "Gullible Freddie." Check this out.
[In the video, Freddie walks into Ridgeway dressed up as a clown. Everyone laughs]
Freddie: Hey, why aren't you guys dressed like clowns?! [Carly and Sam burst out laughing]
Sam: What do you mean?
Freddie: I got an email from the school saying that today was clown day. Didn't you guys get-- you guys sent me the email.
Carly: [points to Sam] She made me!
Freddie: Wait, is this on camera? GIBBY COME HERE!
[screen goes to static]
[next day in school]
Freddie: [to Sam] I've been in your house. How can I never see a picture of this "sister"?
Sam: You have, you just didn't know it was Melanie 'cause we look identical.
Carly: They're twins.
Freddie: Oh, twins! TWIIIINS!!! Riiiiight, you know I have an uncle who was an avocado, yeah we called him "Uncle Green Mush"...
Carly: We're telling you the truth.
Freddie: I'm not falling for it.
Sam: Who cares what he thinks, let's go.
Freddie: People care what I think!
Mr. Howard: No, they don't.
Freddie: Yes sir.
[Freddie enters Carly's apartment]
Freddie: Hey, can I borrow a scissors?
Carly: Don't you have a scissors?
Freddie: No, my mom says "it's too dangerous to keep them around the house"...
Spencer: We've got a scissors in the kitchen drawer. Can you handle 'em?
Freddie: I think I can.
Spencer: Come with me...
[Freddie and Spencer walk to the kitchen; doorbell rings]
Carly: Yeah?
Melanie: [On intercom] Carly, it's Melanie.
Carly: Oh, hey Melanie! Come on up!
Spencer: That's Sam's sister?
[after Melanie enters from the elevator]
Freddie: OK, this is the stupidest thing ever...
Melanie: Oh my gosh, you're Freddie, I recognize you from iCarly.
Freddie: Oh shut up!
Melanie: Huh? I'm confused...
Freddie: Really... Sam?
T-Bo: Would the gentleman care for a pickle?
Freddie: No, i don't want a pickle.
T-Bo: Why? You afraid of pickles? Scared to take a walk on the pickle side of town?
Freddie: No, I just think that pickles and smoothies don't really go together.
T-Bo: [sarcastically] Oh. Well, pardon me for thinking that all foods and beverages can get along.
Melanie: Hey Freddie. Where's Sam?
Carly: Oh, she had to go back to detention.
Freddie: (sarcastically) Yes, and isn't it interesting how "Sam" had to leave right before "you" showed up here...
Melanie: Is he still on this?
Freddie: Sam would rather chew broken glass then go out on a date with me for a whole Saturday night. No way she's going through with this!
Carly: You asked Melanie.
Freddie: OOOKAYY. You can pretend I'm going on a date with Melanie, but I know I've got a date with Sam.
[chokes on smoothie and coughs it out]
Carly: What?!
Freddie: I'VE GOT A DATE WITH SAM!!!!
T-Bo: You wanna buy a pickle??
Freddie: NO!!!!
Chuck: Hey, when I get older, maybe I could have a date with you...
Carly: Oh, Chuck...
Freddie: Don't waste your time, kid; I've been barkin up that tree since sixth grade...
Freddie: So, Melanie... you look pretty hot tonight.
Melanie: Thanks! I love your shirt!
Freddie: No, you don't. Carly said you hate stripes!
Melanie: Sam hates stripes.
Freddie: How long are you gonna keep this up?! [pushes Melanie on her shoulder] Just admit you're Sam and we can leave!
Melanie: I would, ow...
[rubs her shoulder]
...but I'm not Sam!
Freddie: OK. It you're not Sam, then I guess you wouldn't mind if I hold your hand.
Melanie: I don't mind at all. I think you're really cute.
Freddie: How can you say that without vomiting!?
Melanie: What?
Freddie: All right. If you're not Sam... You suppose you might go dancing... With me.
Melanie: I'd love to.
Freddie: This is a slow dance, you know. We have to dance real close, pressed together.
Melanie: I know.
[Freddie and Melanie are slow-dancing]
Freddie: I can't believe you're doing this.
Melanie: Why? I like you!
Freddie: You hate me; you always have!
Melanie: Maybe Sam hates you.
Freddie: You ARE Sam!
Melanie: Really? Would Sam do this?
[kisses Freddie on the lips]
Freddie: [shocked] You swore we'd never do that again!
Melanie: I didn't swear anything.[tries to kiss him again]
[Freddie becomes extremely paranoid and runs away; Melanie chases him]
Carly: Hi Mr. Chambers, [says plainly] Chuck.
Mr. Chambers: Hey Carly I'm afraid we're gonna have to stop the tutoring. Chuck failed his math test.
Carly: [acts sad] Oh no.
Mr. Chambers: It´s not your fault. He made up some fake number called... Derf.
Carly: [Acts confused] Derf?
Chuck: [Angrily] I learned it from you!
Mr. Chambers: Ok That's it Chuck, if you're gonna blame Carly for your failure, I'm gonna ground you for 3 weeks.
Chuck: Dad!!
Spencer: You know Mr. Chambers, I also had a problem with math as a boy. So my dad sent me to math camp for the whole summer.
Mr. Chambers: [sounds interested] Math camp.?
Chuck: Math camp!!
Spencer: Yeah, here's a brochure. [looks down at Chuck]
Mr Chambers: Ohhh, camp Add-em-up. This looks perfect. Thanks.
Spencer: Enjoy your summer Chuck.
Carly: Yeah, Chuck.
[Chuck walks away with his father shaking his head.]
Sam: You won. We tried to trick you but we couldn't pull it off.
Freddie: Ha, so admit there's no Melanie, and that I am not gullible, and that I'm too smart for you.
Sam: There's no Melanie, you're not gullible, and you're too smart for me.
Freddie: That's right! In your face, Puckett! Bye, ladies.
Sam: How could you make out with Freddie?
Melanie: He's adorable!
Carly: I can't believe you two are sisters.
Sam & Melanie: [shaking their heads] Me neither.
[Then the elevator goes down to an end.]
Related iCarly.com blog posts
Sam's blog: Are You a Sam or a Melanie?