A Definitive Ranking of Every Episode of The Amazing World of Gumball, Part IX: 24-16

This is Part IX of my definitive ranking of every episode of The Amazing World of Gumball. For Part VIII, CLICK HERE.

For Your Consideration: Joe Pera Talks With You Season 2 (So Far)

"I've never been bored, not once in my life."

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Even though I've only expounded upon my love of Joe Pera Talks With You on one other occasion that nobody read, my adoration of the show is a rather open secret. There are few shows that I've walked into not knowing what to expect only to be completely floored (which seems to be something Adult Swim has done an increasingly great job at), but Talks With You accomplished that with complete ease.

While I do consider myself a critic, there's something intrinsically hard to assess about Talks With You because it's so original and true to itself. It doesn't trudge in the footsteps of obvious predecessors; it's a one-of-a-kind product that walks to the beat of its own drum and never doubts itself. That's what made Season 1 so amazing to me: the dreamy quality it possesses in waxing on the simplest things in life with earnest. Some people find the show boring for that very reason because there's no dramatic conflict, and arguably very little happens, but that's what makes everything work.

A Definitive Ranking of Every Episode of The Amazing World of Gumball, Part VIII: 49-25

This is Part VIII of my definitive ranking of every episode of The Amazing World of Gumball. For Part VII, CLICK HERE.

Just a quick thing before we start up again: sorry for the list coming to a screeching halt over the past two months! I've been busy with college and this blog is a one-man operation, let alone one that I haven't made a cent off of. Hopefully the list will be complete before 2020, but I don't want to make any promises I can't 100% keep.

Now let's keep this enterprise rollin'.

For Your Consideration: Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal (Episodes 1-5)

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(Note: this review is almost entirely spoiler-free in regards to plot developments.)

I'll admit that Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal, the latest addition to Adult Swim's line-up, almost flew under my radar entirely. I was well aware of the show leading up to its release and liked what I saw from the trailer, but it never really jumped out to me as a must-watch. At best, I assumed, it was just another experimental show for Adult Swim's roster, and my lack of a history watching Tartakovsky's other works (Dexter's Lab, Samurai Jack) meant I didn't really have any frame of reference for what sort of show Primal would even be. It was by a stroke of good luck, then, that I decided to check out the first episode to fill a little bit of spare time, because within 22 minutes, I was utterly blown away.

It's rare to see a television show of any variety, cartoon or not, that gives off an aura of knowing exactly what it wants to be doing by its first episode, but within minutes, it's clear that Primal has fully recognized its ambitions. With such a straightforward premise, too—the miniseries is centered around the unlikely camaraderie between a dinosaur, Fang, on the edge of extinction and a caveman, Spear, at the dawn of evolution—it's astonishing how unique Primal is able to feel, for which Tartakovsky deserves all the credit in the world.

A Definitive Ranking of Every Episode of The Amazing World of Gumball, Part VII: 74-50

This is Part VII of my definitive ranking of every episode of The Amazing World of Gumball. For Part VI, CLICK HERE.

A Definitive Ranking of Every Episode of The Amazing World of Gumball, Part VI: 99-75

This is Part VI of my definitive ranking of every episode of The Amazing World of Gumball. For Part V, CLICK HERE.

Final Space: The Sixth Key

"There's no turning back now. We're going in."

Season 2 has been an interesting beast. Whereas Season 1 was an exclusively linear straight-shot with one character's story arc in mind (Gary's), this season's been intent on branching everything out, incorporating a larger cast with more varied backgrounds and working to do justice to each and every one of them, all with a more episodic format. It's admittedly been more of a mixed bag, creating some of the strongest and weakest entries in the series so far, but with "The Sixth Key" tying everything together, I'm happy to consider the past season to be, by and large, a triumph.

Last season's finale was the peak of Season 1's tragedy, a massive downer that picked through the show's cast and left them, at least by (incorrect) assumption, for dead. With Season 2 being a more optimistic season overall, though, it makes sense that it would end on a more hopeful note. It's a pleasant surprise, and while no doubt filled with some heart-wrenching moments, it's never too cruel; there's a sense of progress, and of all of the past twelve episodes' work gelling into one concentrated effort.