First episode featuring Olga Pataki as a protagonist.
First episode where Miss Slovak is shown with gray hair and wearing eyeglasses, compared to her previous appearances showing her with brown hair and no glasses.
Up to this point, none of the scenes in Arnold's class had ever shown Stinky at any of the desks.
This is the first episode to not have Gerald speak.
One of the photos of Olga in Miss Slovak's class was taken in front of P.S. 193.
It appears that Olga had something to do with its construction, as she appears to be standing in front of a drawing of it.
This is the only time an Olga shrine is seen on 4th grade classroom.
The shrine displays several ribbons and trophies (one of those resembling Olga), a picture of Olga, a baseball bat, an object resembling a soccer ball and a band that reads "Ms. P.S. 118".
The Subjects on Olga's evaluation: History, Intermediate Economics, Atmospheric Science, Advanced French and Elizabethan Poetry.
Helga altered Olga's grade for Elizabethan Poetry.
Some entries on the P.S. 118 lunch menu: "Old-fashioned Hot Dogs", "Vegetarian Fish and Chips", "Oilwell Fries", "Pizza Bar!!!".
Olga, who has gotten straight A's since the third grade, reacts to her forged B+ in a way which bares an even more dramatizing resemblance to how 2nd grader Lisa Simpson reacts towards Ms. Hoover after getting a non-forged B+ in the 1992 Simpsons episode "Kamp Krusty".
In addition to Grandpa Phil voice Dan Castellaneta, another direct connection between Hey Arnold! and The Simpsons is the fact that Hey Arnold! creator Craig Bartlett is Simpsons creator Matt Groening's brother-in-law, having been married to Lisa Groening since 1987.
Cultural References[]
Olga plays her own rendition of "the Brandenburg Concerto". In fact, the Brandenburg Concertos are a series of Baroque era orchestral works by J. S. Bach.
Helga says Olga attends Bennington College. There is a Bennington College located in the state of Vermont, U.S. This college however does not give out letter grades as they use a written evaluation instead.
When Olga's report card arrives with the mail, it says Wellington College.
Helga tells Arnold "catfish are jumpin' and the cotton is high", which is almost a line from the song "Summertime" from the opera Porgy and Bess.
The piece Olga listens to while depressed is Lacrimosa from Mozart's Requiem in D Minor.
The desert scene during Helga's dream is based off on the Salvador Dali painting The Persistence of Memory.
Continuity[]
At the end of this episode, Olga and Helga appear to be on friendly terms. However, by the following episodes involving Olga, Helga is back to feeling jealous of her and Olga resumes treating Helga like a baby.
Story Analysis[]
In "Spelling Bee", Bob tells Helga that when Olga was younger, she won the spelling bee because she spelled the word "qualm," remembering to include the nearly-silent letter "l". This motivates Helga in wanting to win the spelling bee until she finds out that her dad bribed Arnold, whereby she forfeits the contest. Also, when Big Bob shows Helga an old picture of Olga, she has a unibrow just like her father and sister. However, an adult Olga is eyebrow-less like her mother Miriam.
Morals[]
Don't let depression take over.
Depression itself is a normal reaction to sad/negative events and unexpected changes.
People experiencing depression need patience as they may have short-sighted, pessimistic thoughts about themselves and others.
Prolonged, severe depression could require specialized medical treatment and external emotional support to overcome.
