S01E19 - Green Candle

"Green Candle" is the nineteenth episode of Season 1 of We Can Fix Pawbert.

Synopsis

November 26 -- Pawbert's birthday. Through extended flashbacks, the episode reveals Pawbert's childhood: his mother Lillian's love, Milton's abuse, Lillian's death when Pawbert was ten, and the confiscation of his green sweater. In the present, Nick discovers Pawbert secretly baking and organizes an impromptu birthday celebration.

Plot

The cold open finds Pawbert awake before dawn on November 26—his twenty-fifth birthday, a date he learned to make invisible after his mother died. Extended flashback sequences weave through the episode, revealing the arc of Pawbert's childhood and the origin of his deepest wounds.

The first flashback shows Lillian with young Pawbert on his birthday, placing a paper crown on his head and giving him extra pastries because "wishes deserve room to grow." She describes how he came into the world: "Loud and determined." She tells him never to let anyone make him small, never to let anyone teach him that wanting things is wrong. The warmth of this scene establishes what Pawbert lost. A subsequent flashback shows young Pawbert questioning why the household staff cannot share in the extra food at dinner. Milton silences him coldly, but Lillian's eyes show pride in her son's defiance. Another flashback depicts six-year-old Pawbert standing his ground against Cattrick, who demands a stuffed rabbit that Lillian gave him. Pawbert refuses: "It's mine. Mama gave it to me. You can't have it just because you're bigger." Lillian witnesses this and whispers: "Loud and determined. Just like you came into this world."

The central flashback is Lillian's death. Young Pawbert, ten years old, sits beside her bed as illness takes her. She asks him to repeat what she told him. "Loud and determined," he whispers. "Never let them make you small," she replies. Her final words are "My brave boy" before her paw goes slack. Milton stands in the doorway, his expression stone, showing no grief—only disappointment and disgust at his son's tears. He says nothing. He closes the door. Pawbert learns that his father will never see grief as anything but weakness.

Later flashbacks show Milton's systematic destruction of Pawbert's spirit. Six months after Lillian's death, young Pawbert asks again about sharing food with the staff, invoking his mother's memory. Milton cuts him off: "Your mother is dead. And I will not have you disrupting this household with her indulgences." The cruelest flashback shows Milton entering twelve-year-old Pawbert's room and taking the green sweater—the last physical connection to Lillian. When Pawbert begs, Milton delivers the line that shaped Pawbert's entire self-image: "You have nothing. You are nothing. The sooner you learn that, the easier your life will be." A household maid later slips the sweater back into Pawbert's closet—a small rebellion—and Pawbert learns to hide it and everything else. The loud and determined child dies that night, replaced by something quieter that survives by not being seen.

In the present, Pawbert is baking cinnamon rolls from his mother's recipe when Nick catches him and realizes it is his birthday. Nick shouts for Judy and Luther, declaring a "situation." When Judy asks if Pawbert wants to celebrate, he says he does not want to cause trouble. Judy's response becomes a key line: "You being alive isn't trouble." They establish rules for the celebration: Pawbert does not cook alone, no surprises that frighten him, and no earning his birthday. Nick agrees with visible pain, reserving the right to controlled enthusiasm.

The pack returns from a supply run with a modest cake, a single green candle, paper decorations, and fairy lights. Dr. Fuzzby joins via video call and instructs Pawbert to practice receiving without self-flagellation—no "I don't deserve this" today. Gifts are exchanged: Judy gives a leather notebook labeled "BORING CHOICES & RECIPES" for tracking small choices and recipes that work. Nick gives a mug reading "I CHOOSE TO STAY (AND I CHOOSE SOUP)." Luther's gift is the most significant—a photograph of young Pawbert with his mother at a birthday party, retrieved from the Lynxley manor archives where it was filed under "disposable personal effects." The photo shows both of them smiling, both of them happy. Pawbert cannot breathe. Luther tells him: "You were loved, Pawbert. Before he made you forget it."

Gary and Nibbles join via video call, adding chaotic warmth. Gary tells Pawbert he is proud of him for still being here, still trying. Nibbles suggests a podcast episode about "birthday feelings about crime" and makes Pawbert laugh—genuinely, involuntarily.

In the evening, the pack gathers around the cake. Judy places the single green candle and strikes a match. Pawbert stares at the flame, remembering how birthdays under Milton's roof taught him to wish small and invisible. Then he remembers his mother saying wishes deserve room to grow. He remembers his own words: "I choose to stay." He makes his wish aloud: "I want to testify. I want to tell the truth. I want to keep choosing the next right thing, even when it's hard. And I want to remember this. Whatever comes after." He blows out the candle. For one perfect moment, Pawbert feels something he has not felt in years: hope.

The tag finds Pawbert and Luther in bed in the darkness. Pawbert tells Luther he thinks his mother would have liked him—someone steady, someone who would not break. He recounts how she used to call him "loud and determined" like those were good things. Luther affirms: "It's not" weakness. When Pawbert thanks Luther for the photograph and all of it, Luther says he does not have to thank him. "I want to," Pawbert replies. "Let me have that." Then, words before he can stop them: "I'm glad I'm alive." Luther's voice is rough with emotion: "So am I." Pawbert falls asleep looking forward to tomorrow for the first time in as long as he can remember.

Key Moments

• Pawbert's birthday revealed: November 26 (age 25)
• Extended flashbacks show Pawbert's childhood with Lillian and Milton
• Flashback depicts Lillian's fierce love and protective nature
• Flashback shows Milton's escalating abuse after Lillian's death
• Flashback reveals Lillian's death when Pawbert was ten
• Flashback shows Milton confiscating the green sweater; a maid secretly returns it
• Nick discovers Pawbert secretly baking cinnamon rolls and realizes it's his birthday
• Pack mobilizes for impromptu birthday celebration
• Luther gifts a recovered photograph of young Pawbert with Lillian
• Gary and Nibbles join via video call
• Pawbert blows out a single green candle and makes his wish aloud
• Pawbert affirms he is glad to be alive

Key Lines

Characters Introduced

Locations

Items

Notes

• Pawbert's birthday, November 26, is established here and referenced in later seasons.
• The phrase "loud and determined" originates from Lillian describing Pawbert's birth; it becomes the title of the Season 4 finale.
• The birthday photo becomes the only personal item Pawbert is allowed to keep when he enters prison in the finale.
• This is the first episode to depict Lillian Lynxley and the first to show Pawbert's childhood in detail.
• Pawbert's birthday of November 26 is a meta-reference to the release date of Zootopia 2.