Tommy Pickles is a character who has an incredible amount of resiliency we would see this in all grown up for his teenage years but even spanning back to his infancy this kid has always stood nose to noose with adversity and fear without backing down for a second since his early childhood he's lived by the saying a baby's got to do what a baby's got to do meanwhile other kids would be hiding in fear over some of the things that he's faced I get so many comments of people saying you know you're not talking about a real person right Sean this is a cartoon character but you're talking about them like they're a real person and I mean yeah in case you're new here we do that sometimes I've psychoanalyzed Helga Pataki for like 3 hours before and you bet that won't be the last time that we do it too the point is in looking back on these characters we can reflect on how we ourselves as adults who grew up watching in this as kids have developed our own Tendencies as it pertains to going through some of the stuff that we witnessed on TV in our own lives sure Tommy might not be a real person but there were times we watched him go through things that real people go through and you as a real person could likely relate to that these tough real life hardships Define a lot of us as people and sometimes they shape us into strong people Tommy is an excellent example of this and today on our nostalgic walk down memory lane we're going to check out a few examples of hardships in Tommy's origin story that would lead to him being the strong baby and teenager that he would end up being before we get into it thank you so much for clicking on this video and for being a part of my YouTube Journey if you aren't yet be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out on any of my future videos also just saying this old jalopy runs on caffeine so if you enjoy this video enough to want to buy me a coffee I'd really appreciate it I'll have a link in the description box below no pressure of course number one being born prematurely throughout the series we would be led to assume that Tommy being the leader of the bunch is a happy and healthy baby who doesn't struggle with anything healthwise really we never see him get hospitalized that I can recall sure a cut here there but no broken bones or anything like that however in the season 4 episode Mother's Day we would see the babies reflecting on their early days which would come with a surprising Revelation for Tommy as a character we would learn that one of his earliest memories was being in an incubator with all sorts of wires and tubes coming out of it however regardless of how terrifying that was he would find solace in a face that he had never seen before yet even then he knew it was his safe place and that would be the face of his mother I don't think I even know she was my mom then but when she held my hand I didn't feel scared anymore as long as I was there she never let go now this right here is a huge one I've talked previously about how inclusive Rugrats was and how mindful they were about representation other than this I don't recall ever in any children's cartoon hearing about a baby being born prematurely Tommy was meant to be a symbol of Hope for babies born prematurely to anyone who saw this it was meant to show that something like being born 2 months early doesn't inherently stop you from being a strong willed person and a natural born leader this right here as an early memory without a doubt had a big effect on Tommy as a person it taught him at a severely young age that in the face of true unexplored fear there can always be something that you can cling on to for Hope number two coming to terms with not being an only child anymore now this one is really interesting because it doesn't necessarily Encompass one specific episode sure we could directly address the first Rugrats movie as the case in point but it's also something that we would see evolving over time throughout a a good portion of the series Tommy would be Dei and Stew's only child then when the Rugrats movie came out we would be introduced to Dill Tommy's baby brother the film would touch a lot on themes of having to adapt to change Tommy's life as an only child would go out the window as he would now have to share a room with his baby brother and share his parents attention the latter would really be the biggest deal in my opinion with Tommy being in only child to a mom like Deee who showers him with constant praise and affection having that severely reduced and splitting that affection with another person would hit Tommy like a ton of bricks that on top of struggling with dill not knowing how to share or be kind yet since he's a newborn would eventually lead to an emotionally gripping scene in the movie where Tommy nearly pours banana baby food all over dill and tosses him to a bunch of monkeys who escaped the cus as the relationship grows over into the show however we would see them get closer with one another as Tommy accepts his role as a leader to dill and acknowledges his responsibility to teach Dill in a sense the ins and outs of being a baby having to come to terms with all of this was without a doubt a huge eye-opening learning moment for Tommy and it certainly led to him being more empathetic as a person number three growing up up with Angelica again like the last point this one doesn't really need to be pointed out with one specific episode there are a myriad of examples that show just how much trauma that Angelica has brought upon Tommy of course the consistent bullying and Brazen treatment towards him and his friends is a given but I mean remember the shock and awe on his face when he realized that Angelica was the one who broke his clown lamp on purpose just because she didn't like it or maybe the time that Angelica came over for a sleepover and she opened the window right above Tommy and let in cold air leading to him getting sick or you know of course there's the numerous times that she's attempted to pit Tommy and his friends against one another like take your pick to be honest Angelica has done so many hurtful things to Tommy and it's messed up because this kid is being raised in a house where he's learning to trust his family like he lives with his grandpa mom dad and brother all of whom care about him and are genuine with him then there's Angelica who comes around seemingly just to let him know that he can't trust his entire family because she will always be there to drag him down now this right here is a tough one because it didn't necessarily make Tommy a better person but it did make him a stronger person and help develop his ability to question someone's intentions of course there isn't much good to take away from Angelica being how she is but it's worth pointing out that in a way she does help Tommy develop a thickened skin early on in life which would result in him being able to handle other bullies better in the future at this point I really want to know though what do you guys think I feel like I could go on for ages about the things that Tommy Pickles has been through that helped shape him into the person that he is maybe I'll make another video about it in the future for now though I want to open the floor please chime on in down in the comments below I always love seeing your guys' feedback really quick I want to give a shout out to the true 9s kids on patreon you guys are the absolute best and I appreciate all of you so much for your unending support if you enjoyed this video please drop a like and give a little praise to the algorithm and hopes that it pushes this one to everyone else and as always thank you all so much for watching and yet again I will see you tomorrow for another video peace