Hey Arnold!, "The Journal"

"The Journal" is the final episode of the "Hey Arnold!" series.  Arnold finds his father's journal, which explains events from when his parents met, to his birth, to the last day he saw his parents.

Arnold's parents, Miles and Stella

Notable background:

• Miles (Arnold's father) was part of an anthropological research party in San Lorenzo, Central America, where he met Stella (Arnold's mother), a botanist/physician studying local plants and hoping to find cures for jungle illnesses.
• One day, they are hiking and fall into a river.  They are saved from falling down the waterfall by the Green Eyed People, the original inhabitants of San Lorenzo.  To thank them, they decide to recover a stolen relic called La Corazón that was stolen by a local pirate and treasure hunter named La Sombra.  They succeed and return it to one of the ancient shrines of the Green Eyes.
• Miles and Stella leave San Lorenzo and get married, but come back after their honeymoon (during which they rescued a group of people from a broken-down cable car) because the Green Eyes have been struck by a disease and only trust Stella and Miles to help them.
• Stella gathers plants to make the cure and drops it off at another shrine.  The Green Eyes recover.
• Months later, Stella goes into labor and she and Miles end up in the jungle while a volcano is erupting.  They come upon a temple of the Green Eyes, where a bed is ready for her and she gives birth to Arnold.

Points to consider:

•  Adventure is everywhere.  Miles and Stella can not escape adventure, even on their honeymoon.
• The local Green Eyed People are made out to be mysterious and primitive, and we know hardly anything about them.  Miles and Stella have a unique relationship with the Green Eyes, who seem to be always watching over them.
• Artifacts are seen as treasure, that is stolen and then recovered by outsiders and returned to the natives.
• Miles hates Spiders, similar to how Indiana Jones hates snakes.
• At one point, Miles tells Stella not to look at La Corazón.  This is a reference to the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones says not to look at the Ark of the Covenant.

What's Right?
Indiana Jones references? Not much.
What's Wrong?
Archaeology as adventure, artifacts as treasure, strange representation of the native people
Grade: D