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In Smiling Friends, there are four employees of Smiling Friends Inc.: Charlie, Pim, Allan, and Glep. The fact that there isn't (but could be) a permanent "Fifth Smiling Friend" is a recurring gag throughout the show. Several characters have been referred to as a potential or actual Fifth Smiling Friend.
No Fifth Smiling Friend has appeared in any episode after their introduction.
In "Mole Man," a conversation between Allan and Mr. Boss calls into question who among the cast is "a Smiling Friend." The assumption of Charlie and Allan at different times seems to be that everyone employed by Mr. Boss is a Smiling Friend.
Origins[]
The origins of the "Fifth Smiling Friend" joke likely stemmed from the Blue Janitor Dude; a previously scrapped character who was planned to fulfill that role. However, due to not really serving a major purpose, he was cut from "Desmond's Big Day Out" but was added back in the episode "Curse of the Green Halloween Witch" with no in-universe explanation. His appearance - that being a blue critter with a prominent nose - has been a reoccurring feature among potential "fifth Smiling Friend" candidates.
List of Fifth Smiling Friends[]
Smormu James Carter[]
In the cold opening of "Shrimp's Odyssey," an announcer asks the audience to vote on whether or not they'd like Smormu to be the fifth Smiling Friend. At the end of the episode he appears and does a song and dance routine to cheer Pim up. The announcer explains that "Yes" won the vote, Smormu is the fifth Smiling Friend, and that this cannot be undone. A visual indicated a slim discrepancy between electoral result and popular result (a reference to the United States Electoral College).
After the end credits, the episode "In Loving Memory Card" is dedicated to Smormu's memory. His date of death is 2022, the same year in which the episode aired and presumably took place.
Jombo[]
In "Erm, the Boss Finds Love?" Charlie meets a Critter named Jombo and is smitten with him. Charlie drinks with Jombo and arrives at Mr. Boss's wedding ceremony inebriated. Charlie enthusiastically explains to Pim that Jombo ought to be the new Fifth Smiling Friend, and tries to demonstrate a knife trick Jombo showed him. Later in the episode, Charlie says that Jombo deleted methods for contacting him and moved to New Jersey.
Tyler[]
The episode "The Magical Red Jewel (aka Tyler Gets Fired)" opens with Mr. Boss saying that he has decided to fire one of the Smiling Friends. He has decided to fire Tyler, a previously unseen character. The other Friends, particularly Charlie, are upset and incensed by the firing. Tyler leaves, and is again seen at the end of the episode commiserating with Charlie. He decides to move on from the job to work on his music.
Blue Janitor Dude[]
The Blue Janitor Dude was previously scrapped, but was added into the show in "Curse of the Green Halloween Witch" only to be killed by Pim. However, he may not be real, as the scene containing him was all part of a vision by the Halloween Witch as a way to show what will happen to the Smiling Friends if they do not give her a dime.
Squim[]
In the episode "Squim Returns", it is revealed that when an employee of Smiling Friends Inc. is absent, the boss summons a character called Squim via a whistle, to fill in their place.
Squim was actually the first ever Smiling Friend, back in 2001 and is now retired. In the end of the episode, he and later his soul get shot multiple times by the police. His soul does survive after a 14 hour surgery.