Kermit rediscovers the relaxing powers of the Rainbow Connection on The Muppets

ABC

After an elevator fiasco involving Miss Piggy, poor Kermit faints on the job. Everyone is worried about his spiking stress levels and health, even Miss Piggy, who insists he take a personal day and check himself into a New Age-type spa to learn how to cope with his stress and relax more. Kermit is reluctant to take the day off to get rest. Why is it that the American workplace does that to us? Why do we feel guilty for being sick or needing time off? Why do we feel like the job won’t get done satisfactorily in our absence? If we could only be a little more like our foreign neighbors and embrace our time off, maybe we’d all live just a little bit longer. Stress really is a silent killer.

For most of us, when we call in and use a personal day, business carries on as usual without us (though that’s hard for many of us to believe). However, in the case of The Muppets, all hell breaks loose under Scooter’s passive leadership. The air conditioning system breaks down when he attempts to turn it on (it’s usually turned off because Kermit prefers a swamp-like atmosphere since he’s a frog), the condensation from the broken A/C ruins Miss Piggy’s winter wardrobe, the lights explode and short out, hot coffees are spilled all over Beaker … the list of disasters goes on and on. Don’t tell Kermit Scooter broke his show! Not to worry though. Scooter ends up saving it by making it a show about energy conservation with candlelight and the cameras running off a golf cart battery.

This episode showed Gonzo in a new light. When did he become a voice of reason? He said several things that were observant and wise. He was the first to note that when it comes to a high-pressure job such as show producer, maybe you might not want to go with the guy who gets easily rattled. I’ve been wondering that for weeks now. In another moment of surprising clarity, Gonzo observes that sometimes you just have to ask for help. Kermit would be much better off if he didn’t try to constantly do it all on his own. That’s a lesson that many, myself included, would benefit in learning. Sometimes it’s acceptable to admit that you can’t do it all and ask your coworkers to pitch in on something. After all, that’s what teamwork is all about.

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Meanwhile, Kermit finds the art of relaxation to be much more difficult than he thought. He can’t seem to find his inner chi with yoga or cleanses. And guest star Jason Bateman doesn’t make matters any better. It seems he’s in charge of his daughter’s elementary school production of Wicked and he needs a costume guy, a lighting guy and a program guy who will all basically do the work for free since he doesn’t have much of a production budget. His wife sent him to the spa because he was stressing her out. He guilts Kermit into helping him so his stress level goes down, but poor Kermit gets kicked out of the spa for violating the “no electronics” rule when he’s discovered using Jason’s cell phone to call one of his contacts.

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After much soul-searching, Kermit ultimately decides he will never be like the others in the spa or even like the others in his workplace, but that’s okay. He may have his anxiety issues and he knows the stress is never going to stop, but he also realizes he’s never going to stop loving what he does either. He finally figures out how to relax after a tough day at the office by channeling his roots and going back to a simpler time. He rips out his swimming pool and recreates his old swamp in his backyard. He pulls out a banjo and begins singing “Rainbow Connection.” And a neighbor hilariously heckles him, “Learn a new song!”

It was a beautiful moment to witness Kermit singing “Rainbow Connection” again. For just a moment, everything was right in the world. All of my own workplace stress from the day melted off of me much like the giant ball of butter in The Swedish Chef’s kitchen, as if I were basking in warm sunshine or the vibrant colors of a rainbow. Suddenly, I was a kid watching The Muppet Movie for the first time, recognizing that the song represented something bigger than Kermit and bigger than myself. It’s about hope springing eternal. We’re all dreaming of a better life. A place without stress, poverty, famine, war or disease. And someday we’ll find it … the lovers, the dreamers and me.

Until then, at least we have The Muppets to entertain us and help alleviate some of our stress, even if they will soon be undergoing some massive show format changes. I’m hoping the show doesn’t lose any of its heart or spirit. We need more Kermits marching to the beat of their own banjo in this world. We should all embrace our inner Muppet.