Young and Furry

"Young and Furry" is the third episode in the twenty-second season of the animated sitcom North Springs. It was written by Rob Farlane and directed by Don Grayman, and was originally broadcast on TBS on June 7, 2017. The episode is the first in a three-part story arc, and it follows Philly as he begins exploring the and tricks Ben into joining it, all while Makowski and Tommy both compete to win the heart of Cassie Whitman, a popular new girl at school.

"Young and Furry" was praised by critics for its premise, social commentary, and satire of the furry fandom. The episode is also credited with renewing public interest in the community, although furries themselves criticized it for supposedly stereotyping the fandom. It was followed by "Younger and Furrier" (June 14, 2017) and "Youngest and Furriest" (June 21, 2017).

Plot
After seeing a news report about a raid at a, at school the next day, Philly introduces naive Ben to the concept of furries, simply describing them as "guys who love cute animals". Having little knowledge of such niches, Ben falls for this and wants Philly to show him how to be a furry. Later in the day, Ben begins going around school and telling everybody that he wants to join the furry fandom, which gets disgusted reactions from peers. But before anybody can tell Ben why they are disgusted, Philly begins telling him about methods of obtaining a, as well as. When the school day ends, Philly and Ben go to Conner's Costumes to find a fursuit for Ben, and they settle on a fox costume. Passersby give Ben odd looks, and he begins to regret the decision when he sees a group of furries sexually touching one another. But before he can do anything about it, Philly makes the purchase, and he leaves the store with a somewhat distraught Ben.

The subplot begins in the morning, when Tommy and Makowski find out that there is a new student in Mr. Parkinson's class, a girl named Cassie Whitman. Once they talk to her and find out what she likes and dislikes, the boys realize they have a lot in common with Cassie, and they start fighting each other.After school, Tommy and Makowski both offer to walk Cassie home, and when she rejects their offers, the boys blame each other's perceived unattractiveness for the rejection, and they get into a physical fight. The two finally decide that their friendship is over, and they part ways. Tommy decides to get revenge by videotaping Makowski through the windows of his house, and uses to anonymously release the footage if Makowski does not stop flirting with Cassie Whitman. The part that catches Makowski's attention is the video of him talking to his plushie, as Makowski has a history of ridiculing the. Makowski is left with two options: continue to flirt with Cassie and risk a lifetime of embarrassment and ridicule or stop trying to pick her up and maintain the status quo.

Production
An episode about the furry fandom had been a long-standing concept of both Farlane's and Grayman's, dating as far back as season ten. One of their earliest ideas was Makowski misinforming innocent classmate Ben about the furry fandom and its activities. However, they thought it was too out of character for Makowski, and replaced him with Philly.

It was during this new episode's development that Rob Farlane circled back to the previous episode premise, and decided to add a subplot revolving around Makowski and Tommy attempting to find their first girlfriends, only to fall for one girl. Writing the episode's script was a simple task, and writing both began and ended early.

Critical reception
Bryan Causter of OEN gave "Young and Furry" a 3/5 rating overall. He called the subplot "wonderfully original" and "a great change in pace for the series" but noted that the episode "couldn't balance its A-plot and B-plot in the end, resulting in a very mixed up story". Media Geek writer Spencer Rickton wrote more positively about the main plot, noting that Ben and Philly have "that 'evil older bro'–'naive little bro' type of chemistry", and gave the episode a 4/4 score for "being an entertaining, hilarious, and mildly suspenseful addition to the TBS long runner".

eek.net's Mark Forrest gave the episode a D+ rating, writing that "the funny but volatile nature of Tommy and Makowski's relationship gives 'Young and Furry' some extra, well-deserved spice" but calling the main plot "stupid... even by this show's standards [...] offering little or no commentary on pretty much anything and showing us only one half of the furry fandom".