The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Lady

"What's that?" "The bombshell that just got dropped on us." "Huh, always thought that was a metaphor."

Of all of the episodes I'd heard about when Season 6 sat contently on the distant horizon, the plot synopsis of "The Lady" made me do the greatest double-take. Perhaps it was the unbearable fatigue of watching the show flounder around with Season 5 episodes like "The Worst," but I prepared for the worst. Mercifully, though, and with the help of a few too many leaks on CN's part, I began to grasp the picture a lot more; "The Lady" is, simply-put, more of the show that we know and love.

Part of the reason it worked was because we didn't get into any of that murky commentary at all; "The Lady" had a lot of cross-dressing going on, sure, but it relinquished trying to deliver any message in favor of being as silly and Gumballesque as you could hope. There's also the fact that it was a sly genre parody, too, mining explicitly from The Golden Girls, and whereas I thought episodes like "The Test" couldn't quite get the groove with their on-the-nose writing, "The Lady" imitates its horrendously cheesy lines perfectly. More than simply mocking its genre, it becomes it.

Enough of that, though, and back to what the episode is actually about: Richard cross-dresses, and the boys mistake his little secret as a full-on affair. It's a mess of hilarious miscommunication (more comment on that in a second) as Gumball, Darwin, and Richard double-blind each other: at once, Gumball and Darwin think he's in an affair, while Richard thinks they're offended by his double life. That slither of comedic tension leads to some of the episode's funniest visuals, especially the not-actually-metaphorical bomb dropped on them and the plate-shattering sequence where, after running out of plates to dramatically shatter with each revelation, he boredly orders more online for a prolonged beat. (Them ultimately being made of paper, too, is the cherry on top of the insanity.)

It's also worth bringing up that, in my last review of "The Rival" (an episode that is getting a supremely confusing amount of flak), I mentioned that my one large issue with it was how our suspension of disbelief was destroyed in knowing that Anais was never put in harm's way. I should point out, though, that even though "The Lady" has the same amount of dramatic irony, it worked all the better for it. We're just watching the characters get torn down because they don't understand the broader situation, and our understanding that they're both misinterpreting it is crucial to its success. Sure, Gumball and Darwin eventually discover the truth, but they still burned the bridge and their measures to amend the situation are too little, too late, as Richard reveals his true identity.

There's also an equal amount of double-blindness in the climactic reveal that all of the women Richard's been hanging out with aren't women either, but other fellow dudes in the community who need an escape. Sure, the ending is honestly pretty predictable, but it works to tie the whole episode together, and it's not like the show coasts along on that simplicity; it's still firing all-cylinders leading up to that point ("You're a naturist?" "HE'S A MAN, VIOLET!"). And then there's the actual actual ending, where it turns out that everything that happened was actually some strange in-episode meta sequence that doesn't mean anything, and all of the drama is immediately glossed over as the theme song plays - a decidedly odd ending, but hilarious in its abruptness and casual status quo destruction. Call the show indulgent, but you can't knock it when it works.

Quotes and Notes:
-The scene at the beginning with Principal Brown and the rest of the staff going hysterical from eating candles was at once so out-of-nowhere and so utterly delightful.
-I'll probably save the grand facial humor debate for an episode that deserves it a bit more further down the line, but for the record, I'm pretty alright with how things are going right now. Gumball's face of concern, at the expense of some fine leg dancing, made for a nice, quick visual gag, as was the duo's horrific 4k forms.
-"What's that on your lips?" "Oh, I, uh, I was just eating some... what's that awful stuff that's like fruit that people decorate plates with?" "You mean a vegetable?" "Uh, yes. That's what stained my lips. A vergetule." "What kind?" "A r... a red one?"
-Liza Ross had an unexpectedly great Betty White impression, and I feel like I have to point that out.
-"Well, I guess the clue was in the name. SaMANtha. Also, guess what you get if you switch the letters of her name around? 'Thasa man!'" Whoever on the writing staff figured that out is a genius.
-Oh yeah, Maria turns out to be the only actual old lady in the group in an awesome anticlimax.

Final Grade: B+. While I was initially skeptical about the whole thing, "The Lady" turned out to be yet another on-point episode that knows what it's doing and how to do it. As small and inconsequential as it is, seeing episodes like this come out so wonderfully is yet another sign that TAWOG, in its final season, is back in business, shelling out more and more inspired ideas like there's no tomorrow, and I'm optimistic that the spirit will prevail for the next (and last) 41 episodes of the series.

For the last Gumball review of "The Rival," CLICK HERE.