WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the first two episodes of The Mysterious Benedict Society, streaming now on Disney+.
Disney+'s The Mysterious Benedict Society has presented a whimsical story centered on its child protagonists. While the show is bright and colorful, however, its main characters hide sad backstories that have left them all orphaned. The team may share that particular trauma in common, but each character's story hides its own unique source of grief, perhaps none quite so saddening as Sticky's.
George "Sticky" Washington is one of the four orphans who joins Mr. Benedict in his mission to end The Emergency. Alongside Reynie, the intuitive group leader, Kate, the adventurous one and Constance, the contrarian who keeps everyone on their toes, the Mysterious Benedict Society came together after passing a series of complicated entrance exams. Mr. Benedict then had them learn Morse code in order to communicate on their mission, and as part of a their learning montage, Sticky taps out his backstory for the team in code.
It turns out that Sticky's stoic demeanor and quiet love of knowledge is hiding a traumatic story. Like the rest of the society, he was orphaned at a young age when both of his parents died. Unlike the other children, however, Sticky had extended family and was able to live with his aunt and uncle for a while after his parents' deaths. There, he developed not only a love of reading but an ability to remember all of the information that he read, giving him the nickname "Sticky" for the way information would stick in his brain.
When Sticky demonstrated his ability to easily remember facts, his aunt and uncle decided not to cultivate his gift, but rather to harness it for their own benefit. They had Sticky participate in all sorts of quiz shows and spelling bees, winning thousands of dollars as he took home first place after first place. But Sticky soon learned that his aunt and uncle valued his ability more than they valued him, and only cared for him if he was winning them money.
After seemingly intentionally tanking in one competition by getting the 24th digit of pi incorrect, Sticky decided to run away from home to see how his family would react. He hid away in a cabinet only to see that his aunt and uncle, in their final callous action, didn't even bother to look for him because they didn't mind him being gone, proving that Sticky's only value to them was what he could earn. Sticky then ran away for real, living on his own in the library for a couple of weeks before taking the entrance exams and making his way to Mr. Benedict. Kate stops Sticky from tapping out this part of his story in Morse code, allowing Sticky to tell his friends out loud the last and most lonely part of his journey.
The members of the Mysterious Benedict Society all have sad backstories -- it's part of the reason why they were all available to take the entrance exams and join in Mr. Benedict's wild adventure. Sticky's stands out, however, as being filled not just with tragedy, but also exploitation and betrayal. Sticky arrives on the team full of technical knowledge and obscure facts, but with no familiarity with support, friendship or love. Sharing his story may have been sad, but it was also part of the bonding process that drew him and the rest of the society closer, giving Sticky what he'd so desperately been missing.
The Mysterious Benedict Society stars Tony Hale, Kristen Schaal, Ryan Hurst, MaameYaa Boafo, Gia Sandhu, Seth Carr, Emmy DeOliveira, Mystic Inscho and Marta Kessler. New episodes air Fridays on Disney+.
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