Knot My Problem

When it gets big and weird, I'll go get Mom.

Candace thinks her day will be easy when the boys actually ask her to get Mom if they get stuck in their gigantic reproduction of the Gordian Knot, but when Jeremy stops by and asks for her help to open his personal mini safe, she finds her day getting a little more complicated. Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz plans to eliminate every all-you-can-eat buffet in the Tri-State Area with his Eat-It-All-Inator.

Episode Summary
Phineas, Ferb, Isabella, Buford and Baljeet are in the backyard and Phineas decides to recreate the Gordian Knot. Buford does not like the way that Phineas jumped to this decision, as there is no intro. Afterwards, the word "knot" comes up and Buford assumes it is the spelling without "k". Phineas reassures Buford that they meant "knot" spelled with a "k", but Buford assumes that "knot" still is not spelled with a "k". Phineas reassures him again, slowly, much to Buford's confusion. Phineas explains to him that they planned to recreate the Gordian Knot. Isabella and Baljeet try to remember about the Gordian Knot, so Buford explains via flashback exposition: Alexander the Great came across the Gordian Knot and cut it with a sword instead of untying it. Phineas decides to recreate it so that they are the first ones to actually untie it. Baljeet worries what will happen if they can't untie the Gordian Knot, but Phineas explains that Linda is good at untying knots. Candace interrupts, reminding Phineas to never state the clothesline incident again. Phineas asks Candace to call their mom if they get stuck in the Gordian Knot, and Candace says until it gets big and weird. The kids start to make the Gordian Knot and wonder where Perry went.

Perry sees a shovel that says "Analog Lair Entrance" and digs his way to his lair. Major Monogram briefs him about Doofenshmirtz going to an all-you-can-eat buffet in town and worries about non-essential payment. He tells Perry to investigate him and ensures him that Carl will clean up the dirt. Carl states that makes him essential and Monogram tells him not to get cocky about it.

Jeremy comes by to see Candace. He shows her his old mini safe and ask for her brothers' help to open it since he forgot the combination. Candace wonders what's inside the safe, and Jeremy says that he doesn't remember it. After Candace speculates what's inside, Jeremy gives her the safe and leaves to go back to work. Stacy comes by and tells Candace to work on their calling to each other, and Candace decides to open the safe herself.

At the backyard, the kids finish tying the Gordian Knot, and Phineas tells them to begin untying it. Buford refuses to do it since it's not fun, but the kids start to untie the knot by retracing their steps, pulling Buford back in.

Perry goes to a all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant and sees Doofenshmirtz eating his food, but gets trapped in a high chair. Doofenshmirtz offers him his food and feeds him until he is full. Doofenshmirtz tells him he couldn't finish his food either, explaining how that is a financial advantage for buffet restaurants. He states that he plans to open his own all-you-can-eat buffet Drusselsteinian restaurant, showing Perry his advertising and food. However, he explains that Drusselsteinian food is terrible, so anyone will eat only one plate and he'll gain profit. He also created the Eat-it-all-inator to eliminate the competition by shooting people with the ray, causing them to eat all the food in every all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant and run them out of business.

Candace and Stacy still wonder what's inside Jeremy's mini-safe, and Candace tries to think like her brothers to figure out what could be inside of it.

Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz plans to shoot his -inator at someone but Perry knocks him over. Doof accidentally shoots himself and starts eating all the food in the restaurant, including that of the customers. As a customer asks him how he is able to eat all the food, Doofenshmirtz explains that the -inator works by speeding up his metabolism so he can eat as much as he wants without gaining any weight. The customer he suggest he should mass-produce it and sell it to make himself a millionaire, but Doofenshmirtz refuses the customer's idea since he has a complicated plan already and goes to another restaurant. Perry, still trapped in the high chair, follows him, hopping out the door.

As the kids continue to untie the Gordian Knot, Candace and Stacy try to unlock Jeremy's mini safe. Candace eventually gets fed up and goes to give the safe to the boys. The kids are almost done untying the Gordian Knot and Buford accidentally ties himself into a knot. Candace comes out to the backyard and asks her brothers to help her unlock the safe. Phineas agrees, but after they finish untying the knot. In order to get the safe open sooner, Candace decides to call Linda now.

Perry continues hopping with the high chair until he finds Doofenshmirtz in another all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. Doofenshmirtz tells him he's finished eating all the food there and plans to go to another restaurant, before firing the Eat-it-all-inator at himself again. Perry jumps at him, breaking the high chair, and Doofenshmirtz inadvertently eats the -inator. Perry punches his stomach to destroy the Eat-it-all-inator, which fires a ray out of Doofenshmirtz's mouth.

The ray hits Candace, causing her to suddenly feel hungry. When Phineas tells her that the ropes for the Gordian Knot are made out of licorice, she starts rapidly eating the knot. Ferb states that this is a solution to the Gordian Knot that even Alexander the Great couldn't come up with. As Linda comes out, Candace tells her that she ate the knot, to her disbelief, and shows them Jeremy's mini safe that she still can't open. Buford opens it by slamming it against his head, finally unlocking the safe. Candace sees there is just a pencil inside, and Jeremy remembers that in grade school, a pretty girl loaned him that pencil and he kept it. Candace wonders who the pretty girl was, and Jeremy says it was her, and the pencil has Candace's teeth marks in it. Linda then offers everyone some pie, and Phineas sees Perry. Jeremy sees that his baby teeth have finally fallen out, and Buford tells him he should keep them in his mini safe. Candace finds it gross yet cute.

Songs

 * Quirky Worky Song (Jazz waltz version)
 * Un-Untieable Knot
 * Let's Go Digital (instrumental, sped up)

End Credits
In Spain, the end credits had part of Un-Untieable Knot.

The "Too Young" Line
None.

Ferb's Line
Sings in Un-Untieable Knot.

What'cha doin'?
None.

Perry's entrance to his lair
Perry stops and digs his way down.

Background Information

 * Second time Balthazar Horowitz sees Perry as an agent. ("I Was a Middle Aged Robot")
 * Fifth time Perry is trapped in something baby-related. ("Unfair Science Fair", "Attack of the 50 Foot Sister", "The Baljeatles" "The Mom Attractor")
 * Second time that Candace gets zapped by an -inator that makes her crave food. ("What'd I Miss?")
 * Isabella has claustrophobia but overcame it.

Production Information
This episode was supposed to air on Disney XD in the UK on May 4, 2013 at 9:30 am. It has later replaced by "Mind Share".

International Premieres

 * June 10, 2013 (Disney Channel Spain, website only)
 * August 13, 2013 (Disney Channel Brazil)
 * August 18, 2013 (Disney Channel Latin America)
 * September 6, 2013 (Family Channel, Canada)

Errors

 * Buford, as Alexander the Great, is shown as right handed, but, in real life, Alexander the Great was left-handed.
 * Jeremy says that he met Candace is grade school, but Candace says she has known him since middle school.
 * As everyone except Candace is headed to have cake, the pencil that Candace has in her left hand disappears.
 * Just before Candace start to sing, Phineas's hand is superimposed over Baljeet's head.

Continuity

 * This is the second time that it was implied that Buford was romantically interested in Candace. (Phineas and Ferb The Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension) Although, the first time it happened, it was Buford from the Second Dimension.
 * Stacy says that Candace and Jeremy need to work on their pet names. ("The Baljeatles")

Allusions

 * Serutan - Doofenshmirtz's motto for his diner is a parody of Serutan, whose motto was "Remember, Serutan spelled backwards is 'Natures'."
 * In-N-Out Burger - The logo for Doofenshmirtz's restaurant bares a great resemblance to the logo of the popular fast food restaurant.
 * The Three Stooges - Buford says, "I'm a victim o' circumstance," which was the catchphrase of comedian Curly Howard.

Cast

 * Vincent Martella as Phineas
 * Ashley Tisdale as Candace
 * Thomas Sangster as Ferb
 * Caroline Rhea as Mom
 * Dan Povenmire as Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Additional Voices
 * Jeff "Swampy" Marsh as Major Monogram
 * Tyler Mann as Carl
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Perry, Additional Voices
 * Maulik Pancholy as Baljeet
 * Bobby Gaylor as Buford
 * Alyson Stoner as Isabella
 * Mitchel Musso as Jeremy
 * Kelly Hu as Stacy
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Morg, Additional Voices
 * John Viener as Red, Additional Voices
 * Jaime Pressly as Rosie
 * Lorenzo Lamas as Meap
 * Additional voices: Jeff Bennett


 *  designates a character that did not appear in this episode