Whether welcoming a new baby to the family or welcoming a new Fraggle holiday special, change—and living up to the expectations that change creates—is hard. “The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” tackles this challenge with Back to the Rock’s characteristic heart, humor, music, and a wink to the audience.
First, a brief recap of the special. Spoilers are in effect, so if you haven’t watched “The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” yet, head over to Apple TV and give it a view or two, and then come back here! We’ll be waiting.
As the Fraggles get hyped for the first snow, Gobo is supposed to have written a new song to kick off the holiday season. Unfortunately, the Doozers were only able to make one single snowflake, and Gobo hasn’t written one single word. While Gobo wanders off seeking inspiration, the other Fraggles bemoan the lack of snow, stuck in their expectations of how the holidays should be.
Gobo follows Uncle Matt’s directions to Outer Space, where he shares a magical moment of bonding over vocal stims and musician struggles with some YouTuber none of the ToughPigs staff had ever heard of. (Are we old? Oh no, I think we’re old.) With this new inspiration—but was it all a dream??—Gobo returns to the Rock to help everyone embrace the moment and create something unique together.
Over in the Gorgs’ castle, the much-anticipated baby announced at the end of season 2 finally arrives! (And yes, while it’s very cool that Gorgs appear to be monotremes, I will only accept the headcanon that Gorg eggs are birthed small and then continue to grow outside their mother because otherwise MY GOD POOR MA.) “Princess” Baby-Sinclair-explodes her way into the world and everyone’s hearts, though it takes Junior some time to get over his anxiety around becoming a big brother so suddenly.
Meanwhile, Sprocket is disappointed when they can’t go on their usual snowy mountain trip because Doc apparently has to solve a science problem right now. Doc suggests Sprocket can get the holiday he wants another way, and she rigs up some kind of snow-making machine. This allows not only the delight of Doc and Sprocket dancing together in the snow, a burst tube sends the snow into Fraggle Rock for a truly magical-feeling denouement.
Look, the holidays are really different for a lot of folks this year, and it’s okay to mourn that. Remember, #Justice for the Sad Version, #F*** the highest bough, it’s Muddling Season.
A mantra that’s been making the rounds in the last several years is “It’s going to be okay, but it’s going to be different.” Even Gluey Rudy’s insistence that Boober doesn’t need snow for cooking is a reminder that Fraggle Rock is always looking at our changing environment and how it connects us. That thing you think you need? You don’t. You’ll survive without it until it eventually comes back.
Change can be genuinely terrifying, especially when you have a lot to live up to. “I’m just wondering what kind of song I’m gonna write when I’m in a moment I’ve never been in before.” Fortunately for Gobo, Lele, Junior, and the rest of us, the answer remains the same: Trust the process, practice gratitude for what you already have, and careful of the icy patch.
“The First Snow of Fraggle Rock” fit so easily into my regular Henson Holidays lineup. With the new Gorg baby, we’re perfectly set up for a third season, but whether or not that happens (pours out some eggnog for Muppets Mayhem and Age of Resistance), I feel like the Back to the Rock team has done us proud.
Strongest Moment: Junior finally embracing his baby sister absolutely made me tear up.
Weakest Moment: What the heck is this gender essentialism with Princess? The Gorgs all expect the new baby to be a boy and then get surprised when it’s pink. What year is this?? I think Junior’s fear of change from just the baby arriving early (and walking early, and talking early) was strong enough to carry this arc on its own. Adding the gender aspect feels like it contradicts Junior’s glorious box-stomping scene.
MVF (Most Valuable Fraggle): Obvious answer: Gobo. Runner up: Pogey.
The Grand Return Of…: Gluey Rudey! Little Rago! Uncle Matt’s fear of his own facial hair!
Classic Musical Moment: We get two legacy songs! “Face Facts, Pack Snacks, Make Tracks” gets redone with a slow build that helps Gobo go from scared to excited, and it’s so fun. But of course the musical highlight is the return of “Our Melody”, first between Gobo and Lele Pons, then again with all his Fraggle Rock pals. The lyrics to Lele’s Spanish verse are a pretty close translation:
Ven a cantar nuestra melodía (Come and sing our melody)
Formamos parte de la canción (We form part of the song)
I’ve always interpreted the words “belong to the song” (which appear in both “Our Melody” and “The Rock Goes On”) as being about home and the feeling of belonging somewhere—you cannot leave the magic, after all. But this translation of “we form part of the song” makes it feel like more of a physical thing, like our bodies and souls are made of music, which I absolutely love.
New Musical Moment: “Can You Feel It?” is an instant smile-making, toe-tapping, certified holiday bop.
Special Appearance By…: John Tartaglia! Gobo gets to chat with his own performer, and this is my favorite kind of meta moment, like Jim and Sprocket doing the dishes.
Coolest Puppetry Effect: For me, nothing beats Mokey making a snow angel. (I’m unsure how Fraggles know what angels are, but if Mokey ever met something with a thousand eyes and a thousand wings, she’d probably vibe with it.)
Darkest Moment: Immediately after Matt says he won’t leave Gobo alone in Outer Space, he gets dragged away on someone’s motorized scooter and shouts “You’ll have to do this alooone! Stay strooong!” Alone in a strange new world, Gobo’s self-doubt creeps back in when he remembers the song he didn’t finish.
Fraggle Lore: Yeah yeah, new holiday, new Gorg, cool, whatever—REDMOND. JANE. FRAGGLE. And here I thought they only called her “Red” because she’s Irish.
One More Thing…: A new Fraggle Foodie recipe to try! I wonder if I can combine radish roast from “The Great Radish Caper” (parboiled, stuffed, and roasted en croute) with this one (radish roast + strawberry sauce). And yes, if we get snow this year, I’ll have linguini standing by.
Okay, One More Thing…: Merch I would pay actual dollars for: Architect Doozer’s (Silly Creature-sized) work pajamas and slippers, Junior’s nut-headed Fraggle dolls, and a Moss Faces motivational coffee mug.
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by Beth Cook
