Wallaby Wednesday: Did Heffer encounter Peaches more times than depicted?

“Have you learned nothing?” asks an exasperated Peaches disguised as Rocko, snapping Heffer out of his nightmare within a nightmare.

Besides his request to stop at Chokey Chicken upon waking up, ample evidence confirms he has not. As “To Heck and Back” demonstrates, Heffer’s conscience does its best work when he is asleep. It lends him a clearer memory and stronger moral willpower than it does in his waking hours.

Yet its best does not suffice, let alone carry much resonance into real life. If it did, Heffer might have been more wary during his only waking encounter with Peaches Rocko’s Modern Life depicts.

Based on that appearance and the preceding one in his dream, he has seen the demon before. His memory of that encounter, however, is only good for creating an accurate rendering of Peaches in his “To Heck and Back” nightmare.

Early in the following season, one might detect a continuity error in yet another dream sequence. Really Really Big Man recognizes an enlarged Rocko as “that kid from the comic shop” and reminds him of his successful Heimlich maneuver. Per Heffer’s dream, that is what salvages the steer’s soul after a brief stay in Heck.

But upon further review, the fact that this incident is shown in one person’s dream and referenced in another’s lends it more credibility, not less. It is a momentous development in Rocko and Heffer’s friendship, even if the latter learns little from it.

Regardless, it is hard to imagine it never infiltrating either party’s minds as they sleep. It does just that for the rescuer and the rescued. Moreover, it need not have coincided with any Heffer-Peaches run-ins to do so. Dreams have a way of combining and revising a person’s otherwise unrelated lived experiences.

 

How many times have you dozed off and drifted into a setting from your first job out of college, only to encounter people you have not seen since your preteen days there? Or maybe you had a disbelief-suspending sequence set in your most memorable childhood vacation spot but inexplicably featuring cameos by high-school classmates who never indicated they have traveled there?

When, how and under what circumstances Heffer first meets Peaches may never be known. That notwithstanding, multiple subsequent encounters stop short of unequivocally confirming the first.

The demon makes a few nonspeaking cameos on Earth, most notably in the crowd late in “Rocko’s Modern Christmas.” In each instance, he sports the same full-body black cloak that leave only his eyes and hands visible.

In “Road Rash” and twice in the fourth season, he is shown in his domain again. As a passing clip in “Mama’s Boy” and the crux of “Heff in a Handbasket” establish, the real Heck is not far off the mark from how it appears in Heffer’s nightmare.

The two key differences are that, in the dream, Peaches runs the place and the lakes of fire are “just for the tourists.” Conversely, “Heff in a Handbasket” depicts Peaches as one subordinate devil, and there is no indication of a more pleasant section of the setting.

What Heffer sees is what Heffer gets when he goes to Heck for real. But Peaches’ appearance and two alternating voices in his nightmare are carbon copies of real life. He must have seen it and heard it all before.

But if his choking scare does not induce that introduction to the King of Eternal Torment, what does? Clues from other outings with Rocko may give away the actual circumstances.

We know from “Carnival Knowledge” that Heffer loves carnivals. He says so himself at the start and behaves accordingly when the funfair comes to O-Town. As he and Rocko explore the rides, he contemplates the Elevator to Hell, then passes due to its price.

 

Clips from "To Heck and Back" and "Uniform Behavior" run back-to-back from 1:47 to 2:43 in the video above.

Then again, who is the say the admission to that ride was not more cost-effective at a previous time? Going on without thinking it through would not be the last time Heffer gets himself an unwitting underworld ticket while trying to have fun.

That is, after all, the premise of “Heff in a Handbasket.” It also plays into the creepy, climactic, unraveling stages of “Uniform Behavior.”

The former episode would not have happened if Heffer’s short- and long-term memory were not insufficient for his own good. Ditto his downfall as a security guard late in the latter.

Otherwise, he would not fall (sometimes literally) into old patterns in new settings, namely Conglom-O and Triple 6. In both cases, he swaps his soul, albeit melodramatically in Season 2 and naively in Season 4.

Although Peaches does not manifest himself outright in one instance, “Uniform Behavior” underscores influence from Heffer’s past demonic encounters. This is furthered by the building’s spooky midnight vibe and Heffer’s greed, gluttony and or lust for authority.

Just like his sleeping nightmare the previous season, his waking nightmare stems from his sins and suppressed guilt. That factor is less explicit here, though likely because Heffer’s mind is not at rest.

Unlike “To Heck and Back,” “Uniform Behavior” sees him out and about and working during his conventional sleeping hours. As long as that is inducing hallucinations, “Lloyd” is more likely to differ from the real devil Heffer subconsciously recalls.

In that instance, Heffer is sleep-deprived, but not sleeping. When he later pounces on the opportunity to fulfill his dream as a game-show contestant, he is wide awake, but too energized and caught up in the moment to take pause.

As such, the unique, familiar appearance, voice and name of Peaches fail to ring any bells. Specifically, Heffer’s exuberance drowns out the kind of bells AC/DC once sang about.

For that reason, it is only as if his first run-in with Peaches never happened. It had happened, but as usual, the most important details stick with him like, well, a snowball in Heck.