"Ugh, it's like a ceramic cry for help."I have a feeling that this is one of those episodes that a lot of people are going to dismiss immediately, and I get why. It's simple. There's nothing in the episode that carries any weight. It's just what it is: a story of Gumball, Darwin, and Anais trying to destroy a hideous vase and failing miserably. Personally, however, I think that it works entirely through its simplicity.
Realistically, I just explained the whole premise, but there is a bit more to it. The kids try to destroy a vase they got from Granny Jojo, repeatedly failing in spite of every ridiculous effort they make, eventually leading them to take it to the wrecking yard. At the same time, however, Nicole finds out that Granny Jojo sent them the wrong vase, with the one she received containing the ashes of Louie's pet python, so now she has to frantically save the day and retrieve the vase before it gets destroyed... presumably destroyed, of course.
The idea is completely adequate, but it's how the episode manages to take the sheer indestructible power of the vase to ridiculous extremes that makes the whole affair so perfect. It's amazing how much mileage the writers are able to get out of such a simple idea, finding the kids failing at dropping it through the window initially (it instead shatters... the pavement), attempting to crush it with a vice that instead splits their shed in half, and giving it to their clumsy, literally butter-fingered father who somehow manages to not let it go. (Gumball snarkily responds, "Ugh. Why couldn't you have managed that when I was a baby?" When did this show get so delightfully twisted?) Also: special shout-out to the killer joke of the best way of destroying anything: sending it through the mail marked "Fragile"- leading to Gary delivering it to their house by throwing it and kicking it around for a solid 20 seconds before launching it into the door. (The package, it turns out, was a tablet Gumball got as a birthday present. Don't worry- the vase was fine.)I will admit that the climatic ending was fine and enjoyable, if not existing out of obligation. Look, I liked it, and I especially liked that the children took Nicole's attempts to save the vase with as little thought as possible (as she previously told them not to break the vase winkingly), but there wasn't really any other easy way to culminate the episode. Plus, the finishing touch of Nicole being hit by the vase which managed to yet again remain pristine and unscathed was a tad bit predictable.
Then, of course, there's the actual end of the episode, where Nicole gets the right vase and gets the kids to break that one too, which they do immediately, causing ashes to fly everywhere. "Yeah, let's all agree that was dust," remarks Nicole. That, my friends, is a perfect culmination. It reminds me a lot of "The Procrastinators," where Gumball and Darwin are forced to take out the garbage last-minute but accidentally grab the grocery bag instead- they freeze-frame in victory once the bag lands in the garbage truck driving away, but then it cuts to the family eating trash for dinner. I don't know if this was as effective, but bonus points for the delightfully macabre angle.Cantu and Hansley Jr. Updates:
Exceptionally well done, to my surprise. I probably rag on these guys a bit too much, but this was an excellent showcase for them, with the two, Nicolas especially, carrying the weight of almost the entire episode. Some people have called him a dead-ringer for Hopkins (he graduated and deserves the formality), but he just sounds like a much younger version, which is fine - he already has the delivery superbly.
Hansley Jr., on the other hand, is pretty much a dead-ringer for Ransom Jr., so I can't complain too much. At the very least, Darwin is almost always sidelined (rather tragically), so it's hard to know what to expect.
Takeaway:-The summation of all of adulthood, courtesy Nicole: "Sometimes, when you're an adult, you have to lie... all of the time about absolutely everything. And never show your feelings, because it's impolite, sit on them until you die, then bury them with you like the ancient Egyptians did." Put it on my tombstone.
-I love how much Darwin tried to push his stupid catchphrase of "I guess it wasn't orna-meant to be." ("Dude, it didn't work the first time.")
-Continuing in Gumball being excessively dark this episode for no particular reason is the kids' imagining their futures with the vases, with Gumball being forced to take the vase out for prom, Anais having it as her only friend, and Darwin literally dying with it by his side.
-Granny Jojo, regarding the vase: "Beauty is subjective, Nicole. You of all people should know that."
-I'm sure nobody else caught it, but here's the great scrolling text on the "We wreck 'em" commercial:
Cars? We wreck 'em. Trucks? We wreck 'em. Vans? That's smaller than a truck. Try harder. Trains? We wreck 'em - CALL 555 0199 NOW - Wrecking machines? We wreck 'em. (Costs double.) Parties? We wreck 'em. (We can't dance.) Marriages? We wreck 'em. (Please come back Shelly)
Final Grade: A. Is it crazy to give this episode such a high grade? Probably, but it's important for the longevity of the show for it to be able to prove that such simple premises can be used so effectively. This will never be remembered as a classic episode, and I'm sure a lot of people will completely forget about it, but to me, it was a compete, undeniable triumph, and I loved every second of it.
For the last Gumball review of The Outside, CLICK HERE.
For an opinion piece on The Promise, CLICK HERE.
Cars
We wreck 'em
Trucks
We wreck 'em
Printer cartridges
We wreck 'em
Divest yourself
It's good for you.
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