Summer Camp Island Review: Hark the Gerald Sings / Hall of Mooms / Pepper and the Fog

"Bup, bup, bup. Susie, can I read you a poem I wrote for you?"

--

Hey, so it's been a minute since I last wrote about Summer Camp Island, or a lot of other shows for that matter. I've been busy with a lot of endeavors, and sadly, a lot of the shows got pushed to the wayside because of it. With Season 5 of SCI coming tomorrow, though, my completionist brain decided that it would be worth it to at least blast through a couple mini-reviews in preparation! Plus, if this is well-received, I might try to embrace this sort of writing style more—it definitely takes a lot less out of me to write more nonchalantly.

With that out of the way: let's take a look at the last three episodes of Season 4!

Saturday Night Live, Ranked and Reviewed: Season 5

"Goodnight, and goodbye."

--

It's the end of an era, and in some ways, perhaps an ignoble one. John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd have been replaced by Harry Shearer and a rotating cast of writers as the show's mission seemingly becomes to survive and be perceived as afloat. As with Season 4, we've also hit a point where SNL, for all of its counterculture synergy, is an institution, increasingly tasked with upholding its reputation rather than defining itself. Similarly, this season feels like the last ride for many of the greatest hosts of this era—Buck Henry, Eric Idle, Richard Benjamin—and the last chance for others to pal along with this specific cast—Steve Martin, Elliott Gould. With the exception of Bill Murray, and Harry Shearer, much of the cast would also exit the studio on the season finale, never to return save for nostalgic cameos in anniversary shows.

Nevertheless, how does Season 5 fare against that ticking clock? Here's what I thought!

For my reviews of the preceding season, Season 4, CLICK HERE!

Summer Camp Island Review: Shave a Little Off the Wheel / He's Just Not Here Right Now

"I'm feelin' a little heavy-hearted."

--

Ready the mince pies and pack up your toilet paper rolls! Today's SCI reviews are for "Shave a Little Off the Wheel" and "He's Just Not Here Right Now." Let's get on into it!

One of Summer Camp Island's greatest gifts is its ability to imbue even the most fleeting characters with such a deep sense of inner life, and I can't think of an episode to demonstrate that better than "Shave a Little Off the Wheel." It's a strange entry into the show's catalog; set against the backdrop of a wintry holiday called the "Holly Harvest," our focus immediately shifts from Oscar and Hedgehog to Cookiesmell, the mouse living in the wall of Oscar's cabin, making a small-scale adventure to shave a little cheese off of the cheese wheel in the cafeteria kitchen.

Saturday Night Live, Ranked and Reviewed: Season 4

"What [are] we gonna do now?" "What else? We're Greeks. We... dance!"

--

With Season 3 being, by all accounts, the best of the original era—and by accounts that I stand by—I was apprehensive of the season that followed. We've hit critical mass; John Belushi is a bonafide star, and alongside Dan Aykroyd, he's on his way out. At the same time, the show's become more self-satisfied and secure with its place in television, a trait that suggests promise but so often translates to SNL as poison. This season is also one of pronounced experimentation, with its interests shifting more towards slice-of-life sketches, epics, and full ensemble affairs... though that daring spirit doesn't quite translate to its slim rotation of special guests (Father Guido Sarducci, Franken & Davis, Mr. Bill).

Does it persevere through these radical changes, or does it succumb to its fleeting desires? Here's what I thought, episode by episode!

For my reviews of the preceding season, Season 3, CLICK HERE!

Summer Camp Island Review: Jeremiah / Tomorrow's Bananas

"I'm gonna need you to go back to your corner real quick."

--

Today's Summer Camp Island episodes are "Jeremiah" and "Tomorrow's Bananas." Let's dive on in!

By nature of the creative process, not every episode to emerge from a TV show is a winner, and I think it's unreasonable to expect anything less from even the best of shows. It's not like "Jeremiah" is a particularly bad episode, either; it just feels a bit undetailed for a show that excels with its eye for nuance, and while it presents interesting character work for both Oscar and Hedgehog, the narrative ensures that they've realistically accomplished very little by the episode's end.

That's also not to say that I'm not a fan of seeing Oscar's parental instincts crystallize in another episode—I'm always unabashedly down for that. If it isn't teeming with inspiration, there's guaranteed cuteness to come from Oscar's sudden bout of fatherhood over a young tree being he finds outside of Susie's house named Jeremiah. Oscar, as always, is the beating heart of the show, and it's fun to see how his sense of care combines with his naivete as he tirelessly plugs away at his new son to the detriment of his own health. The issue is that the joy of seeing Oscar inhibit a fatherly role for Jeremiah can't really carry the episode, and SCI's only way to expand upon its premise is to take it into another direction entirely, and a direction that ends up feeling particularly labored.

Summer Camp Island Review: Oscar & His Demon / The Emily Ghost Institute for Manners and Magical Etiquette

"Shh!"

--

It's been too long since I've written a review of this show! Let's jump right into it with two more Oscar-centric offerings: "Oscar & His Demon" and "The Emily Ghost Institute for Manners and Magical Etiquette.

"Oscar & His Demon" is, to put it plain and simple, the season's first big home run. That's not a strike against the season at all; there's been an appreciably experimental vibe, with SCI trying out different ideas and shifting its priorities around in curious, thoughtful ways. This feels like the first time that curiosity has crystallized into something truly solid, though, and despite the fact that it frames itself in such a unique way, it manages to highlight the show's greatest qualities, fully unhindered by its theoretical sense of restraint.

What's immediately striking about the episode is that it takes place, almost entirely, in silence. It's a risk that a lot of shows have taken, and it makes sense for SCI to take an interest to that concept; for as integral as its dialogue usually is, I've always felt that it was a show that had an astute ear for sound design and low-key visual humor. We've seen drips and drabs of what magic the show can do when it holds its tongue—both "Time Traveling Quick Pants" and "Radio Silence" establish a strong precedent for the success of an episode like this—so I was naturally excited to hear that the show would be, in "Oscar & His Demon," fully committed to the concept. But what makes the episode so great isn't just that it succeeds at that challenge; it uses the opportunity to tell a compelling, meaningful story about Oscar's character.

Saturday Night Live, Reviewed and Ranked: Season 3

"I never watch television. Never. I don't even own a television. Electricity is evil. It kills the creative mindset."

--

Of the first five seasons of the show, I've been most curious about Season 3. Beyond the fact that it's well-regarded as the finest of the original era, it feels like all of the wonders of the show are coming in at a fevered pitch. There's some legendary episodes here, from Charles Grodin, to the atomic lobsters, to the quintessential Steve Martin gig. There are points of intrigue, like Hugh Hefner, returning alum host Chevy Chase, or Miskel Spillman and the Anyone Can Host competition. Gary Weiss is on the way out, and Tom Schiller's on the way in. And there's also O. J. Simpson. Basically, there's a lot to look forward to, and also O. J. Simpson!

Does Season 3 live up to its mythical status in the pantheon of Saturday Night Live? Scroll down and find out!

For my reviews of the preceding season, Season 2, CLICK HERE!

Summer Camp Island Review: Breakfast Like Gene Kelly / Spirit Balls

"What's the difference between the dream you and the awake you?" "About twenty pounds of lean muscle, hair for days, softer hair."

--

It's been long enough since my last review so let's just dive into this!

"Breakfast Like Gene Kelly" is the sort of quintessentially warm SCI episode I was hoping to kick off this season. While I (of course) appreciate the show's constant broadening of scope, allowing for more characters to step into the spotlight than ever before, there's nothing more comforting than a classic Osc-Hog pairing. After all, those two were created for each other; their dynamic is untouchable, balancing Oscar's charming naivete off with Hedgehog's bookish smarts, and it's always a delight to see.

While this isn't the most perfectly balanced episode for the two, with Oscar taking a more prominent lead, Hedgehog's input is the crucial ingredient that helps send things home. If anything, the episode is a reflection of how nurturing Hedgehog is at every step of the way. Oscar dreams of a perfectly choreographed breakfast ritual, pirouetting around a kitchen and throwing his ingredients in the air with graceful precision, in spite of the fact that it comes in complete contrast to his relatively graceless existence. Hedgehog never treats those dreams as some unattainable fantasy, though, even if all evidence would point towards Oscar's ability to pull it off as suspect; instead, she's determined to help him understand the circumstances that could enable it to happen. 

Saturday Night Live, Ranked and Reviewed: Season 2

"We're just packaging what the kids want, ya know?"

--

I greatly enjoyed watching the first season of the show, especially with how experimental and loose it tended to feel, but I also felt like the show was still frequently unsure of itself and what sort of show it wanted to be. I was greatly looking for to the second season, then, to see how the show would continue to develop and solidify. Did it live up to those expectations? See for yourself!

In case you missed it: for my reviews of Season 1, CLICK HERE! Now... onwards!

Summer Camp Island Review: Sea Bunnies / Mushrumours

 

"A tendency towards self-pity. I get that."

--

Considering the different sorts of routes Summer Camp Island has taken to spice itself up across its various seasons, it'll be interesting to see how the show, now in its fourth season, is set to hone in on itself. It's not like it has to, really—SCI is effusively charming and knows exactly what it wants to be, all while excelling at its singular visions—but the show's always been intent to expand upon itself, whether through extending its focus to more members of its cast or, as with last season, constructing more pointed arcs surrounding them. Season 4 seems to have reverted back to a strictly episodic feel, so it'll be interesting to see what sort of gains it made from past experimentation and how much SCI will continue to push itself.

To their credit, the first two episodes of the young season, "Sea Bunnies" and "Mushrumours," point towards some changes in approach. While Oscar takes leading positions in both of them, Susie appears mildly in the former and Hedgehog doesn't make any appearances at all. There's something perhaps disquieting about the show's central figures being so absent, but it also makes room for SCI to try at new things, even without a guarantee of complete success. It's a bit of a bumpy start, but an intriguing one all the same.

Saturday Night Live, Ranked and Reviewed: Season 1

"Let us begin. Repeat after me. I would like to feed your fingertips to the wolverines."

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I'm Matt. Few people would know this, and indeed, a part of me hopes that nobody does, but I used to write reviews of SNL as it was airing in 2015/2016. They're all bad and have been lost deliberately to the sands of time, but they served to germinate all of my writing endeavors up to this point, and everything that I've accomplished with this blog. So it feels fair to pay back my dues a bit.

I wasn't actually intending on doing anything like this, but I've been watching the show from the start for the first time and commenting on episodes with some buddies I've made working on the "One SNL a Day 2.0" revival project, and they were so eager to hear my takes that it sort of became a whole, big thing... eventually so big that they suggested I find some way of posting them outside of our private groupchat. So I've decided that I'll compile all of my little write-ups for every season here while adding some fun, extra things! I don't think I'll write these all the way up to the show's current season—I'm not very interested in writing long-form about the seasons I saw as they aired, and I'm already writing about some of the modern seasons per the aforementioned "One SNL a Day 2.0"—but I'm looking forward to covering up to at least Season 30, at which point I'll have seen every episode of SNL ever produced.

Also note: I'm transplanting my write-ups over here with minimal changes, except for assisted clarity. They'll get longer and more comprehensive as time goes on; it's a bit of a slow start, but I think especially by the time we get to the final stretch of this season, my write-ups start to get pretty sweet. Hope you enjoy!

Final Space Review: The Devil's Den

 

"Lightfold."

--

(NOTE: Major spoiler alert for this review! Do not read this unless you've seen the episode or are okay with it being ruined for you!)

Gary and his crew stand, immobilized, staring out the window of their ship. They're on the other side of the gate, back in their universe, but it's not a celebratory moment. The fabrics of the universe burst, blinding pink lights shining through the seams, as Invictus stands before them. At a loss for words, all he can say is "My God, what have I done?"

The classic story-telling adage is to always leave them wanting more, and that's certainly a concept that Final Space rides out to the max, especially with its finales. But whereas there has been some assurance in the past that things will be alright, with some persisting glimmer of positivity—the first season was renewed almost immediately, and the second, beyond having something of a happy ending, was renewed pretty quickly thereafter—the startling darkness which Season 3 ends on is compounded by the fear that this could very well be the end of the road.  

Final Space Review: The Leaving

  

"I've left a lot of places called home. Trust me, you get over it."

--

One of the hardest things to pen about a review, for me, is the opening. I have to condense all of my general thoughts about the episode I just watched with tact, nuance, and a certain level of reflection of what preceded it. I have to look smart enough to make the reader think that they'll be in good hands across the paragraphs that follow. But that doesn't mean that I'm any less susceptible to the anxiety of your average Final Space fan when something happens that just rips your heart out and leaves you at a loss for words. When "The Leaving" ended, all I was simply left wondering, nervously, was how the hell will Final Space finish off this season in anywhere close to a comfortable spot?

That underestimation of the amount of risk Final Space allows itself to take with its story-telling is something that enables its more emotionally-scathing moments to cut so deeply. From where the episode ended (which I'll work up to in a moment), there's no time for healing; almost the entire crew sits on the precipice of death while simultaneously having to deal with one of the greatest dangers they will ever face. And to think that we got there with an episode that started out, most cruelly, like everything was going to be alright. (You're a tricky, mean little episode title, aren'tcha?)

Final Space Review: The Dead Speak

 

"Did anyone tape that? Because I could play that over and over and over and over and over."

--

As we enter the final three episodes of the season, there's a daunting revelation about the current state of Final Space as a show. It's not just that the show's future remains uncertain, like many of its animated contemporaries; as Olan made clear, these last three episodes were the victim of budget limitations and intense rewrites culminating in a final stretch that slowly works its way towards an entirely different finale. It's a level of transparency that puts me in an interesting position as a reviewer: do I assess the show differently knowing the sort of circumstances that have heavily factored into what it became, or do I treat the show as if we don't have a pulse on the inner turmoil? Fortunately, that's a question to ponder more intently as we near the finale, and doubly fortunately, "The Dead Speak" delivers in the face of that adversity.

I had a lot of issues with last week's episode. For as much as it surged the show forward, it felt like an overall muddled effort, too tense to allow itself to breathe or most of its moments to land. "The Dead Speak" feels like a nice step back from that mania, swapping out the breakneck pacing of its predecessor for a more foreboding atmosphere. It starts from as startling of a place as Final Space can—the Lord Commander murders and decapitates Bolo in cold blood within the first minute and a half—but the show's quick to assess everything that's happening and to reel it back enough that the dread can simmer. This isn't an episode that'll keep going in and out of conflict by the skin of its teeth again.

Final Space Review: Until the Sky Falls

"Salvation comes in the blink of an eye."

--

As I've spent the last week sitting back and contemplating how to approach this episode, I've found myself increasingly unsure what my stance on it is. "Until the Sky Falls" is the long-delayed punch knocking our cast of characters back as hard as it can, and it ends with the party in the worst position they have ever been in this season... but even in doing so, it doesn't feel like an awe-inspiring distillation of the power of Final Space's story-telling dramatics. Instead, if it's not an actively frustrating episode, it's one that feels strangely out-of-step, not with the season's ambitions so much as the pace that it's been maintaining and thriving off of over this past stretch of episodes.

Perhaps it's important for me to single out what I think the greatest successes of Season 3 has been. Whereas Season 1 was intensely serialized, gelling together outside of its most pivotal moments and feeling perhaps too straight-shooting, Season 2 was more episodic, telling contained stories with a greater narrative diversity, to varying degrees of success and failure. Both seasons were remarkable, but flawed, and yet the greatest strength of Final Space persisted as its ability to burrow so deep into your soul with its dramatics: the betrayal, the sacrifice, the loss, the reconciliation. Season 3 continues to hold true to those most powerful of traits, all while weaving together the first two season's greatest qualities, predominantly through thoughtful, probing character work. Its episodes have all fed into the season's dark atmosphere, but they've also fearlessly dug into its cast, unafraid to make shocking revelations and bear witness to the gritty aftermath. 

Final Space Review: Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge Rising

"And now, I'm going home."

--

With the heavy and involved one-two punch of "Chamber of Doubt" and "Forgiveness," it's nice for Final Space to grant us something more on the fun side. I feel like a lot of Final Space fans can be wary of the series' lighter fare, but I think it's important to recognize the intentionality, balancing the show's moments of intensity with more light-hearted material, and even then, the definition of "light-hearted" for Final Space is one etched in thoughtful character development and personal sacrifice. Silly, silly show!

Interestingly, "Hyper-Transdimensional Bridge Rising" decides to spend most of its runtime pushing attention away from the main cast—who are probably at their tightest that they can be emotionally—and more towards an unexpected place. With Gary and co. meeting up with Kevin van Newton in London in hopes of leaving Final Space, they discover that his revamped bridge needs to be connected from the other side to work properly, and desperate times call for desperate members: Clarence.

Final Space Review: Forgiveness

 

"We can't change the past,
but we can write a new future."

--

Off the heels of one of the most intense episodes of Final Space ever, I had a lot of curiosity for where the show could possibly go from here. Would it delve into an even deeper chamber of darkness, or would it turn its attention towards mending conflict in light of the new status quo? As it turns out, "Forgiveness" delicately does both, digging through darkness to find the good underneath, into the souls of the show's most pained crew members and tying them together closer than ever before.

It's important that, after a moment of emotional destruction, Final Space is able to document, in equal parts, the act of emotional healing. It's a rare sentiment to see the show really dig its heels into, but that makes it all the more impactful for this episode to reel in its circumstances and focus on its characters and their innermost struggles. (The only tasty plot detail really pushing "Forgiveness" forward is a call from Kevin van Newton telling everyone to head to Earth as soon as they can, in hopes of escaping Final Space.) Similarly, it's an episode scant on the show's usual, occasonally-distracting comedic material, a decision that plays greatly to the episode's benefit; we get a nice smattering of well-deserved K.V.N. slams, but there's nothing to pull you out of the moment all of the characters involved are going through. Emotions are raw.

Final Space Review: The Chamber of Doubt

"Us against the world, just like old times."

--

(NOTE: Major spoiler alert for this review! Do not read this unless you've seen the episode or are okay with it being ruined for you!)

If there's one thing I've learned from the past two and a half seasons of watching this show, it's this: never let Final Space lull you into a false sense of security, ever. Only a week after finding its cast sweetly rejoined, "The Chamber of Doubt" shakes Final Space up with the greatest fracture our crew has ever felt, and while I have repeatedly announced that Season 3 has arrived, I waive off all of this false alarms because this... this is that time. We've hit our first true low, and we're yet to see how much the crew will scramble to climb out, or alternatively, how much further they'll fall.

Picking up immediately from last week's episode, "The Chamber of Doubt" opens with Quinn in the midst of a personal crisis; as she ponders her implant, she wonders if she's become Nightfall and if that means she no longer exists, an interesting breakthrough that coincides nicely with Ash's sudden, Invictus-fueled transformation. Indeed, skepticism is abound on the ship in general. Ash, in light of the news that he'll kill her brother, is wary of Gary, and Gary himself is wary of Ash's new powers.

Final Space Review: Change is Gonna Come

  

"Gary, time is not mine to give. Time belongs to none of us."

--

I think it's sort of funny what constitutes in Final Space as a "breather episode"; for however much "Change is Gonna Come" might be a step back from the previous two hard-hitters, it's far from a walk in the park. Nevertheless, it's been labeled that by Olan, and I feel like that also speaks interestingly to his methodology with Final Space in general—always move forward, but take the time, occasionally, to reel things back in and heal up. There's certainly a lot of action that occurs within this latest half-hour, and crucial action at that, but for all of its intensity, "Change is Gonna Come" is also an episode that finds everyone, after the proceedings, in a good and comfortable place, though not without a catch.

The focus of the episode, unsurprisingly, is Quinn, the show's most immediate priority. After she goes comatose from her extensive Final Space poisoning, the crew seeks out rare selenium to absorb it and stabilize her condition. (Fascinatingly, the transplant is also reminiscent of Nightfall's, a brilliant full circle moment.) That journey, as the crew takes a swift detour to a comet possessing the only ounce of selenium in all of Final Space, becomes the episode's main framing mechanism, and while there is a lot at stake—this is literally a life or death situation—the fact that the plot's as self-contained as it is provides that assurance that business will be mercifully finished.

Final Space Review: All The Moments Lost

"Be aware that havoc is about to become our new normal."

--

(NOTE: Due to how late this review is coming in—consult this post for why—I'll be trying to keep discussion short and succinct. Sorry!)

With every passing episode, Season 3 opens up more and more questions. Last episode, Final Space seemed to make the bold announcement that we've hit the point of no return, the point where serious shit starts to happen and hearts begin to break, and "All the Moments Lost" continues its trend with another tantalizing dose of drama and some of the season's most challenging developments yet. 

There are two major components of "All the Moments Lost," but the most immediately striking is Quinn, whom much of the episode is devoted to. She's an interesting character; as I've talked about in the past, for how much Final Space is built around her, she's exercised so little agency due to the stakes of its narrative. Season 1 was all about building trust before cruelly snatching her away, while Season 2 stranded her, forcing her to incubate in Final Space. This season is the first time that we can really see the character coming into her own and getting a truly strong focus, and "All the Moments Lost" is her boldest episode yet, placing the dark undercurrent surrounding her character to the forefront.

Final Space Review: One of Us

"You don't know what danger is until you've read my customer satisfaction survey."

--

It would seem as if, after the past four episodes of patient warm-up, Season 3 is finally ready to let slip the dogs of war. While we've spent much of the past season getting a pulse on the foundational changes to the status quo—the most prominent strands being Quinn and Gary's relationship and the re-entry of the Lord Commander—"One of Us" is an episode centered around the climactic intersection of those two camps, ending with the team squad finally, fully intact once again... sans one. We'll get to that.

There was a lot of things I was worried about with this episode; with how much it has on its plate, it risked being another entry into Final Space that has too much on its list and has to selectively omit certain characters, and those fears only grew more rampant when the episode picked up a fluffy C-plot involving Tribore and Quatro. But against all odds, "One of Us" is most certainly the most balanced episode of Season 3 yet, giving every character a moment of their own that defines their utility in the grand scheme of the show.

IMPORTANT BLOG UPDATE

Hey, Internet!

In case you haven't noticed, my coverage over the past few months has been... a bit iffy. My Amphibia reviews have halted entirely, other shows that I was really looking forward to covering—City of Ghosts, Close Enough Season 2, and Elliott from Earth—have failed to come into fruition, and even reviews of the one show that I'm still on top of episodically, Final Space, have not been coming out as on-time as I would like to hope.

I'm incredibly frustrated that I can't attend to everything that I would like to, but I've been having an incredibly arduous semester of college since January which has made it incredibly difficult to allocate as much time as I would like to writing reviews. I alternate between being consumed by work, or alternatively being too exhausted to devote myself to something this intensive in what free time I get. I only really have one day that I'm able to dedicate to writing my reviews, and I try to put everything into that day, but on long weeks they can end up getting squandered pretty easily. 

I am sorry to everyone who enjoyed my coverage of Amphibia and Close Enough that I have been unable to dedicate time to maintaining those bodies of work; I'm as disappointed as you are. I do hope to do some sort of further write-ups concerning Amphibia, perhaps for the Season 2 finale if nothing else so that I can reflect on the past season. I won't lie, though, in also saying that I have been somewhat ambivalent to the direction of the show as it's continued, which has made writing about it frustrating at points. As for the other shows I listed that I wanted to pick up coverage of, I do hope to write something about Elliott from Earth and City of Ghosts at some point in the future. I just can't right now.

I have spent the last four and a half years pouring my life into this blog, but now that my life has become too much to bear for at least this present point in time, I need to loosen away from it and tend to the other things around me. This website has always been a passion project for me, but if I can't put the passion into it right now, why should I keep plugging away at it? I feel a lot of stress and anxiety, and I need to tend to my mental health. Thank you for your understanding.

Final Space Review: The Ventrexian

"Don't you quit on me."

--

The progression of a season of Final Space is always interesting. Final Space is a show that is methodically organized and structured, keeping its fingers on every fragment of its narrative and deploying them at all the right times to masterful effect... but that also means it's prone to a slow, if steady start. A rollercoaster needs to have an ascent before the crazy can occur, and true to form, "The Ventrexian" is another entry into the season that keeps pushing things up and harnessing that power, though that also means its potential is intrinsically contained—it exists to get Final Space to that point where it can really cut loose and devastate. All three of its plots, likewise, brace for that crescendo, if feeling a bit restricted.

The most obviously-significant proponent of "The Ventrexian" is, as its title points towards, the back-story it unearths within Avocato. Final Space has constantly alluded to his relationship to the Lord Commander, though hesitantly to avoid giving too much information away. That enables this episode to feel particularly exciting, with LC forcing Avocato to recite their personal history before his son and the rest of the imprisoned team squad. While I'm reluctant to say most of what Avocato outlines is much of a bombshell (at least up until the ending), it's easy to appreciate the show indulging in world-building, effectively a chance to flex the sturdiness of its conception.

Final Space Review: The Hidden Light

"A little love coin just deposited into my happiness savings."

--

Right off the bat with our second episode of our fledgling season, it's interesting to compare "The Hidden Light" to the episode that preceded it. "...And Into the Fire" was a flashy spectacle that sought to bring the horror tones of Season 3 to the forefront, but "The Hidden Light" aims to give the overarching narrative a bit more direction. The end result is an episode that doesn't match the former's energy, but it's a crucial stepping stone nonetheless, an enjoyable journey with all the right twists that sets Final Space on the right track for future devastation. 

What I was most interested in, going into the episode, was how "The Hidden Light" would handle its large, fragmented cast. As I mentioned last week, I feel that while Final Space has smart intentionality to how it divides its characters up and uses them across every season, it can be hard-pressed to give them engaging work episodically. While this episode distills what I think this season's priorities are going to be, and while there's still a large portion of the show's cast that feels untapped, it definitely feels a lot smoother than the premiere on that front. 

Final Space Review: ...And Into the Fire

"My danger glands are rock-hard, baby."

--

Final Space has returned! After its long, between-season hiatus, and persevering through a world very different from where we were in 2019, it's back, and its reception has been... rather mixed, to say the least. I get it. Expectations are high, Final Space is a show with very eager fans, and being given this long for anticipation to build encourages a certain unhealthiness. So before I really delve into the episode, I want to dissect that a little bit.

I don't want to spend a significant portion of this review discussing toxic fanbase mentalities, nor do I want to posit this as a sort of defense. I enjoyed "...And Into the Fire" independent of the polarizing response that it's gotten, even though I have some criticisms to make. But I do think there are some things that are important to address within that. There's a back and forth about the sort of entitled opinions a lot of people have been expressing about the show and while I, obviously, have no fears of being honest about the quality I perceive in a piece of content, there's been a seriously unpleasant vibe of lacking faith in what Final Space's game plan is. A lot of "critics" online have clung to Olan's word that the episode deliberately aims to not set anything too drastic up as some sort of admittance that he created an episode of intentionally weaker quality, and that Final Space decided to make bad episodes before getting to good ones.

That's not the case at all, of course. A strong show has ebbs and flows in energy, finds a rhythm between the quiet and the intense, and most of all, it necessitates the patience and enthusiasm of its audience to unravel its story. And this is the first episode, for goodness sake! If Final Space wants to start a bit slowly and immerse us in a more lightweight way, why shouldn't we let it? Truth be told, not only do I think that the idea that "...And Into the Fire" accomplishes little is an understatement, but I think that it accomplishes the most that any other season premiere from the span of the show has been able to accomplish. 

Amphibia Review: Ivy on the Run / After the Rain

"We all have our off-days, I suppose."

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This week's episodes were "Ivy on the Run" and "After the Rain." My editor told me to add more to this part but I feel like that would be stalling, and if you've gone out of your way to read what I write, you don't deserve that! You deserve the best. So I hope your general circumstances are comfortable and good. If they aren't, I hope this review makes them better. I don't know how it could, but I'm not you. Anyway: episodes!

If there's anything that always works in Amphibia's favor, it's shifting the focus out of our core cast of characters and giving peripheral figures more of a chance to shine. Ivy Sundew, especially, has proven herself to be particularly endearing, a rare instance of a romantic foil done right. A lot of that comes down to the fact that she's always felt fleshed out beyond just being half of Sprigivy; she matches her counterpart with a fistful of spunk but the same adventurous, sunny spirit. It's because of the sheer joy of her character that "Ivy on the Run" works, giving its rudimentary plot a fun paint job.

Amphibia Review: Night Drivers / Return to Wartwood

"Oh no! Who could have predicted this?" "Don't overdo it."

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Hi! Due to my current circumstances of being in college during a particularly hectic semester, I'll be experimenting over the next few weeks with trying to find a way to write shorter, quicker, and more succinct reviews. While I'm sure there are some people dismayed by this change, I think this is far more ideal than not being able to push reviews out at all, and the length shouldn't come at the expense of quality. And if you're still upset: pay me! I'll do more if you pay me, and that's only a partial joke.

Anyway, the review! There's a lot of excitement surrounding how Amphibia would choose to kick off the next leg of its season, but perhaps it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise that "Night Drivers" fires everything back up by sticking to its guns, unraveling its narrative, more than less, as you'd expect. I don't intend to sling mud, and to Amphibia's credit, it's a show that's so tightly-written that it's hard for an episode to truly go wrong. That can also serve as a restraint, though, rolling out episodes that are certainly pleasant but, in the long run, unadventurous and indistinct. "Night Drivers" is one such case, an episode that's satisfying in a vacuum, but just another speck in the crowd.

Summer Camp Island Review: Where's the Confetti (Yeti Confetti Chapter 5)

"Uh-oh! Y'all ready for snow?"

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Season 3, up to this point, has been an interesting beast, and despite my enjoyment, a little bit hard to peg down. Whereas the show's second season was a vibrant effort to take everything about the show and recalibrate it to perfection, Summer Camp Island's third season buries those leads in favor of more pointed explorations of its characters and lore. That's difficult to complain about, really—SCI is no less of a workhorse, determined to challenge itself whenever it can—but it's also turned SCI into a moderately different show with about as many things to like as things to take quiet umbrage with, having been able to take a step back and assess its accomplishments over the past half-season.

"Where's the Confetti," curiously enough, does a nice job of epitomizing those overall trends, a strong and compelling episode on its own that feels a bit perplexing under the weight of the season's ambitions. There are certain expectations that come with an episode like this that the conflicts of the past chapter get resolved, and while "Where's the Confetti" succeeds at that, it feels equally motivated to exist in its own space while paying limited dues to what came before.

Summer Camp Island Review: The Sherbet Scoop / Lucy's Instrument (Yeti Confetti Chapters 3 + 4)

"This is so avant-garde."

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Whereas the first two episodes of the Yeti Confetti arc were more about establishing the circumstances, we've finally reached the point in the arc where Summer Camp Island is in a nice spot to both experiment and dig into some more meaningful stories. There's an interesting vibe to "The Sherbert Scoop" and "Lucy's Instrument": while they're no more narratively significant than the arc has been, and no closer to a certain goal, there's something nice about seeing the show work at its own rate, pursuing the stories that it wants to tell in the moment. Sometimes it's the smaller moments that help paint the biggest picture, after all, and it's a thesis that SCI seems intent to explore.

"The Sherbet Scoop," especially, is the most detached episode of the arc thus far, but I feel like that also makes it the most compelling. Season 3 is generally its best when episodes both feed into the unique atmosphere of their respective arcs and exist in a capsule all their own, and "The Sherbet Scoop" is pretty much exactly that, trading in plot specifics for meticulous, rousing character portraiture. Admittedly, it's an episode that spends the bulk of its runtime with Lucy in the back-seat, but I don't think that's a knock against it; the Yeti Confetti arc is as dedicated to her as it is to the yetis at large, and considering how much of a work-out she's gotten already, it's nice to see her slotted into a narrative where she has less control.