Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Missing Link

"My entire life's work for naught. My friends left, my family abandoned me. Why? All I ever did was spend every moment of my entire life trying to make myself happy." "I know what you mean. My friend left me just because I said he wasn't my friend." "People."

All good things come to an end, but thank all that is holy that Buddy System went out in a blaze of glory. We've seen Rhett and Link's relationship blossom over the course of the series, but "Missing Link" is the final episode that allows us to see just how important it is to them, and more importantly, the consequences of its collapse.

The first act is the show at its most narratively-elaborate; Link, without the partnership of Rhett, finds himself briefly dragged into the sign-spinning business under Maxwell, making his triumphant return as what I can only describe as a sign pimp, and after Rhett accidentally runs over him, he starts hanging out with Roberto. Meanwhile, Rhett goes to a Kenneth Kenneth discussion group at the community center only to meet the man himself. Up until the midpoint of the episode, both characters use these interactions to distract themselves from their true feelings regarding their split-up, and it plays out like tragicomedy. The two try to fill the emptiness that they didn't know they even had by re-inventing their lives, but painfully enough, it's clear that their new friends are nothing if not hollow substitutes (especially Roberto. Because he's Roberto).

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Silent Fight

[Rhett!] [Bagel!] 

"Silent Fight" is interesting because it's a considerably less full-fledged experience, but that's kind of the point. It lacks the outright quirkiness of episodes like "Spa Trip" or "A Frontier Story" because it has to do a very specific job at laying out the foundation of "Missing Link." It can't go for broke if it wants to communicate its message, so it doesn't, and that's why it works.

The basic premise is that Rhett and Link get into a spat and decide to never speak to each other, or anyone else, ever again, and it's a silly idea that slowly drops the harshest reassessment of the duo's friendship yet. To it's credit, though, it's a very meticulously-done episode. It doesn't feel rushed, which is especially surprising coming hot off of a string of light episodes, and it's necessary for it to buckle down on some more essential plot points instead of go full-on crazy. Even when doing so, though, it works surprisingly well.

This is largely in how much it pulls from its supporting characters, all of which shine. Dylan, a vastly underrated character this season, finally gets his due with a large role in the episode's proceedings as the manager in his repackaging of Rhett and Link's nonverbal communication as an avant-garde performance and as Rhett's defendant in the trial, both being golden opportunities for the character (and actor Tobias Jelinek) to shine through - dude was on fire. Ignatius, likewise, was put to better use than ever; upon discovering via news of their new double act that Link was taking residence with Rhett, he takes the two to his own version of court to rule over who's the rightful tenant of the house.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Cage

"I thought you were gonna teach us how to be tough fighter guys." "But if you rearrange the letters of 'tough fighter guy,' you get 'tighter of hug guy.' Coincidence? Yes, but a useful one."

Season 6, y'all. We made it. And already, with "The Cage," things are starting to feel amazingly back in-the-groove. Don't get me wrong, "The Cage" isn't the sort of traditional show-stopper to welcome the show's final season - it's not even the first episode so much as the first released - but it's a delightful, low-key affair to remind us that the show is back and is great as it always was.

No, it's not the most creative - you can pretty much predict the ultimate outcome based off of the first minute and a half of the episode (that is, Mr. Corneille is not actually a wrestler and that he's gonna get pummeled), but there's an important distinction, I should think, between the plot of an episode and the meat of it. At the expense of a surprising narrative - which the show clearly wasn't trying to do in favor of a more simplistic one - "The Cage" was full-on-meat.

The most glaringly smart touch is the use of Mr. Corneille, the school's underused, laid-back geography teacher with a sense of suave, as the subject of our underdog wrestler story, and the beauty of it is the sheer incongruity. I don't think there's a better moment than Corneille breaking down "tough fighter guy" as an anagram for "tighter of hug guy" to demonstrate how hilariously bad he fits the character mold he's assigned. He abides by a pacifist philosophy of tiring the other person out while simultaneously not doing anything at all - not only does he not embrace his forced archetype, he couldn't care less about it.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: A Frontier Story

"I think we passed that tree before." "Nope, new tree. Trees tend to imitate each other, it's a common tree tactic to confuse explorers."

It's always in the middle of a season that shows get their most experimental and play around with novel ideas the most. Sure, that may prompt a misstep here or there, but it's when shows don't have any mandatory exposition to work through and get to experiment that we get to see things at their most ambitious and potentially-rewarding.

Among one of the most popular ideas is that of flashing back to the olden times, and it's also an idea that yields the most iffy results; more often than not, there's just nothing fun about it, and it becomes an episode of the show that just feels deprived. So it was a pleasant surprise that "A Frontier Story" not only pulled through, but executed the idea flawlessly.

Expectedly but still enjoyably, our frontiersmen protagonists Fairweather Linkis and Billiam Rhark are, in fact, stuck in the same character dynamic as Rhett and Link are. They're two explorers bound together by circumstance, in this case Zachary Taylor sending them off to expand downwards, believing the world to be hollow and contain more land to manifest destiny the crap out of. They repeatedly try to outdo each other only for it to be made hilariously clear that they're both equally inept, and it eventually drives them to team up, however briefly.

This finds them on a strangely quixotic adventure to, again, find the center of the earth, filled with three-eyed Natives and bounties to exploit, but it quickly detours into a hilariously microchastic nougat feud almost immediately. Leading up to that point, though, is equally fun.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Virtual Rhettality

"It's almost a certainty that we're already living in a simulation." "How can you know that?" "Well, you know when you tickle yourself it doesn't tickle? That's proof." "But it does tickle!" "Well that's because the technology's getting better all the time."

Well, it seems like, with "Virtual Rhettality," we've officially gotten Buddy System Season 2's first miss. Let me try to defend my position a bit.

As this episode's song, "Family Man," hammers in, Rhett and Link both desire the domesticity of family life, so Link runs off to make amends with Vanessa (and hilariously shove Roberto out of the picture, though it's not like he has feelings anyway) while Rhett doubles down on his new Occular Thrift playing BarnTown as Beth, a virtual farm-lady. Issues arise, however, when Vanessa inevitably becomes tangled with both Link in real-life and Rhett in virtual reality.

For what it's worth, the ultimate reveal was a surprisingly well-executed twist. Sure, there's a few holes in how Rhett and Link somehow never caught on to the coincidence up until Link virtually jams his hand up Rhett's... hmm... but the slow burn is hilarious as our heroes react in horror at the realization. On one level, Link's virtually violating Rhett, but on the other, Rhett's destroyed Link's deep, deep like for Vanessa. And amazingly, in hurts both in equal parts, if not out of their universe's peculiarities wherein both Rhett and Link make equally insane progress with Vanessa within a matter of two days.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Stump Day / Holiday Spellcial

"Tell us the story of Stump Day, Uncle River!" "Ha ha ha, you don't tell me what to do!"

"Hey Matt, didn't you say you were going to stop doing this?" I don't know, man, I just like keeping myself busy...

The holidays are always an interesting time for shows to create episodes because there's a very distinct vibe that they elicit: one of festive cheer to hold over fans for the next year and fill us with warm, fuzzy feelings for all of the characters. In that regards, Star vs. does everything right.

But, because I'm a jerkish reviewer who has to look at the other side of the coin - the merit - I'm going to cite some issues. That's not to say the episodes were bad, because there's plenty to like... but I have a self-important job to do.

"Stump Day" was at its best in making fun of holiday traditions. Think about it: the belief is that there's a gigantic, not-even-anthropomorphic stump that comes and strangles bad children to death. It's criminally absurd and dark as a visual, and then seeing that in practice makes it all the more hilarious. It's a gigantic stump. How utterly menacing of a sight. I hope the bark isn't too prickly. Making Star believe in its existence, too, was delightful in the insanity of her worship, and finding it to be well-reasoned pushed the joke even further when her paranoia checks out. (Having the intense climatic score accompanied by sleigh bells was the icing on the cake.)

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Spa Trip

"Did you know that Dayton has the fewest surprises per capita of any American city?" "I'm not surprised."

Please, please, please make sure you watch "Spa Trip" before reading this review. As an episode, it's a gift that just keeps on giving, slowly but fantastically evolving as it spirals out of control into surrealism. Through it all, it's one of the most captivating episodes of media I've seen all year.

At its initial core, it's about personalities clashing. Rhett is a man of luxury, and as such, he imposes on Link for every minor, self-proclaimed transgression, be it the way he sleeps or the way he cuts his toast. On top of that, too, he's self-serving - note the two tickets to Spa Chula he gets himself, only relinquishing the second and advancing the plot to Link once he feels marginally guilty.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Taste Test

"Actually, this daily food delivery's for me! I keep forgetting that I took your job from you!" 

There's one moment from "Taste Test" that especially stands out. During the taste-training montage, right at the moment where Link breaks his tongue, the two glam rock singers break the fourth wall and flinch in horror. It's a prototypical example of Buddy System's keen eye for capturing the comedy of even the slightest moments, whether or not their presence as a joke is made entirely obvious or not. It's signs like this that show how much thought was put into every slight moment of the show, and going off of that, it's in this amazing hyper-specificity that "Taste Test" is a triumph.

Of course, it's worth noting that, of the past two episodes, "Taste Test" is by far the least elaborate: Link accidentally burns Rhett's tongue, making him unable to perform his job, so at Rhett's insistence, he carries out his duties only to find himself a tasting professional. Likewise, the episode is very linear; every event very obviously affects the other, and there's no real detours within the narrative, but there's nothing wrong with that. Instead, it allows Buddy System proves how great it is at working within the confines it sets for itself.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Sanctuary

"Hello? Uh, I think my roommate's a serial killer?... Yes, I can hold... Sí, I can hold in Spanish."

Whereas "To Kill a Robot" worked fantastically in blazing its own trail and creating a wild yet continuous narrative, "Sanctuary" works incredibly differently - in knowing the predictability of its reveal, it instead exerts all of its effort on all of the beats of the episode. The destination, for the most part, is obvious: the road that we take to get there, graciously, is not.

The plot is simple - Rhett reveals that there is, in fact, a third roommate, a mysterious figure named Glenn that keeps to himself. Link, however, decides to break the lack of communication and meet the fellow, but when the pair stumble into his room, Link finds... a few warning signs. While Rhett, acting naively in the face of Link's concern, suspects nothing of the jars full of insects, the well in the middle of the room - "Maybe he's filling in a well," - or a cryptic ransom note on someone (or, as it turns out, something) named Timmy, Link pieces together that they're sharing rent with a murderer. Obviously, we can presume that Glenn isn't actually a serial killer, but at the same time, I don't think anyone could easily reach the conclusion that he was a turtle-whispering clown, and that's where the episode gets to be the most fun.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: To Kill a Robot

"People with exceptional talents like me will be the confidants of our robot overlords. More average people like yourself will spend their days in hamster wheels helping to power the cybertronic society we all helped create."

Season 2 of Buddy System has to be the most promising second season I've seen in a while. Instead of picking up after the events of its incredible first season, knowing that their little story arc has met its graceful conclusion, Rhett and Link have decided to create an almost completely different product, now finding them in an alternate universe where they were never friends in the first place. Whereas the first season was built on testing their friendship, this season has shifted gears entirely. Now, it's about building one up.

In spite of that massive shake-up, though, one of the most interesting things about their new set-up is that, in spite of missing that crucial bond, Rhett and Link's characters are otherwise unchanged. Even down to their mannerisms, like Rhett snapping his finger at Link while shutting his front door (shown before in "Super Special Secret Bike") are delicately preserved, alongside the broader jokes like Link being obsessed with tedious, mind-numbing occupations (a jab considering the creativity of their oeuvre); the combination of both the obvious and the sly paints a nicely-complete portrait of our protagonists.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Kill the Naughty Boy

"Rhettypoo is being a very naughty boy." "I didn't call him 'Rhettypoo.'" "Don't call the naughty boy Rhettypoo."

(Timing constraints didn't work out too well for me posting these, so if you want to read the last two reviews before diving into this one of "Soul Seachin'" and "Another We," CLICK HERE. It helps support my self-esteem greatly.)

I'm gonna be honest: in deciding to discuss Buddy System, aside from being a way for me to take a breather from more intense shows and support Rhett and Link as a fellow North Carolinian, part of the reason was that I watched the series six months ago, but for some reason failed to watch the finale. With Season 2 returning, I thought this would thus be a nice way to get myself back into the mindset and finally knock it off of the list, and y'know what? It was a delightful idea, iffy reception notwithstanding.

First of all, "Kill the Naughty Boy" shows how well-developed Aimee's character is. We haven't seen her as much more than a comic villain throughout the series, and while she never emerges as particularly sympathetic, we finally get to see her with backbone, and we get to see how her mind is really working. She's not simply heinous so much as she's wildly misguided and infatuated with the fantasy of that thrupple/threeple with Rhett and Link, even being willing to kill off Rhett nonchalantly for refusing to abide. In addition, having her repeatedly find means to show off her products and otherwise discuss them, with the other characters repeatedly praising them (and her excitedly accepting that praise), added a nice wrinkle to keep proceedings from becoming too intense.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Soul Searchin' / Another We

"I belonged to Rhett's grandfather. He rode me like the wind, until he died, right there in front of Rhett." What?" "That's right, I killed him. OKAY, LET'S GO, LINK!"

"Soul Searchin'" is an interesting episode to discuss considering it's the most hated installment in the show's first season, and I can see why - it's Buddy System at its most detached, and nothing that happens in it matters at all or really ties into anything. (That which it does manage to introduce, for the record, is immediately thrown out/murdered in "Another We," at least.) But I think that's why it works - it's just eleven goofy minutes of Rhett and Link and nobody else.

You can tell it's the sort of episode that the duo would be most excited about doing - "Soul Searchin'" is full-length, but doesn't utilize anybody in the supporting cast, or even anybody else at all. It's just them messing around and trying on new characters, and as a result, it feels almost like a return to their comedic sketch roots.

First of all, though, it should go without saying that "Tough Decisions" is easily the most on-point song from the entire season; if anything, the episode might've simply been created to accommodate for the song. The entire premise borders on the nihilistic - regardless of whatever decisions you make in a life, a whale is gonna die (as well as any odd variety of endangered wildlife or yourself), and assisting in the song's message is its presentation - here, Rhett and Link act as teachers in a dingy classroom using a projector, shot through sped-up footage. For such a simple premise, its execution is shockingly elaborate and a spectacle to watch, let alone that the song is as catchy as they come.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Rolling On Turds / The Magic is Real

"Why don't you go smack a ball into someone's net with your little stick?" "And why don't you go skate uphill 'cuz, it's, hard..."

Buddy System is interesting in that, in spite of having an overarching narrative, it never feels like it does. There's only a few episodes that really buckle down on telling the show's story, and even then, it's always second to some zany adventure; the story thus forms a nice undercurrent to connect the duo's adventures together while allowing them to inhibit their own little space.

Basically, Rhett and Link know their strengths, and they know better; that's why episodes like "Rolling On Turds" work so well.

In fact, it's very vaguely rooted in the show's narrative at all. What it boils down to is a display of the direct results of Link's phone being missing and the sheer damage it can cause, in this case with the two being torn apart into separate rollerskating and rollerblading cults and forced against one another through any wide variety of turd analogies.

It's hilariously extreme and absurd, which the episode immediately points out by jump-cutting from Rhett's initial reluctance to him pledging his undying allegiance to the art of rollerskating, getting branded, and drinking the blood of the fallen. Link, meanwhile, can barely stumble through an area code, and the leader of his group gives up on the rest of the ceremony - another fun character dichotomy, mind you.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Super Special Secret Bike / You Ding, I Ding

"Wait, did you have your phone in there?" "Yeah, I took some pictures of your bike." "Ah, send me those. I have a scrapbook... for the bike."

For the record, since Buddy System is coming back incredibly soon, I'll try to double up on reviews leading up to Season 2's release date before covering the final episode in a standalone article. It's not an ideal system, but it'll have to do. Now, at the expense of a segue because it's 2:30 AM and I'm tired:

"Super Special Secret Bike" is incredibly simple but incredibly hilarious. The episode finds Rhett and Link reenacting Link's day to try to figure out the exact moment that Link lost his phone - it's a minimal set-up that finds our two protagonists weeding through a characteristically bizarre day, all while providing commentary throughout on each individual event in recreating every event as quixotically and accurately as the duo can manage.

What makes it so enjoyable is that it's sort of a look at Link's character's day-to-day existence - we get a look at his confused psyche that, among other things, welcomes robed strangers with promises of holistic benefits and shares photos of child actors who look like the national parks they currently work at. In other words, it's an opportunity for Rhett and Link to cram in as many conversational non sequitors as possible with a nice bit of cohesion; all that the episode requires is that each segment offers slightly more insight, and the result is incredibly smooth and simultaneously all over the place in the best way possible.

Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Tucked Up

Alright, so... why am I talking about Buddy System?

Well, the obvious reason is that Season 2 is just around the corner, and while I'm cautiously optimistic, I'm optimistic nonetheless. Plain and simple, there's no better time to be looking back. I think the main reason, though, is the fact that nobody else has really taken it upon themselves to meaningfully discuss it. That's not to say that it's a particularly deep show with complexities that need to be called out or anything, but it at least warrants some level of appraisal as opposed to silence.

Also, to Buddy System's credit, it's a pretty decent show. It's always scary to see Youtubers trying to create something larger (which is why every attempt at making a movie has been a complete, almost insulting failure to the industry), but Rhett and Link are the kind of people who are fully aware of their strongsuits and limitations. The show is basically just them being themselves, however exaggerated, and while that does lead to some issues, it's at least something distinctive and fresh.

If anything, Buddy System feels almost like an extended version of their more respectable, non-GMM content. They're inventive people, which is something I feel is wasted so frequently on GMM in favor of streamlined content - Buddy System is at least an optimistic little glimmer that shows that they've still got it. Youtube's a monster as the most successful begin to play it safe in favor of making more money, but Buddy System was never too glaring as to show that. It felt more like a passion project which, in a sense, it was. This is essentially the culmination of the duo's work on Youtube, and it works.

That being said, the show's not all perfect, and we will get to some of the problematic areas soon enough. "Tucked Up," on the other hand, is a well-crafted little narrative, however light, with a lot of delightful quirks.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Monster Bash

"It was a great party! I mean yeah, sure, some monsters got trapped in a closet, and Mina probably traumatized some people, and we got busted by the cops and I... am not helping at all, right now."

What a way to leave the audience grasping for more, Star vs. Even in terms of the standards of a midseason finale, "Monster Bash" was a mass deposit of so much new information, yet at the same time, as based on revelations as it was, this was an episode deeply invested in the characters. Not just Miss Heinous, henceforth to be known as Meteora, but everyone, to varying degrees.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Night Life / Deep Dive

"Now focus on my watch." "Hey, that's my watch!" "Dude, this is about Star, get over yourself."
Well, the last two episodes made for a nice break, because now we're back into full-blown narrative mode, and we haven't been going this strong through it since "Battle for Mewni."

There's a lot to try to extrapolate from "Night Life" and "Deep Dive" - they expertly fill in all of the questions left by "Sweet Dreams" while simultaneously allowing us to advance further as we're approaching the  midseason finale.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Death Peck / Ponymonium

"STOP YELLING!" "YELLING FEELS GOOD RIGHT NOW!"
Here's a fair warning for today's pair of reviews: "Ponymonium" is gon' get thrown around a bit. But first (flawless segue):

The premise of "Death Peck" defies easy explanation as to really do it justice, but I'll try anyway. Star, Marco, and Pony Head are off trying to get one final signature for their Petition of Friendship between Mewmins and monsters from Rich Pigeon, but problems arise in the fact that, uh, he's a pigeon. Marco thus tries to grab his talon and force a signature out, but accidentally breaks it in the process, launching an episode-long chase sequence against a flock of thousands of incensed birds.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Sweet Dreams / Lava Lake Beach

"Leave her alone, man! She's going through some stuff!" "We all are! Everyone's in a constant state of falling apart! EXISTENTIAL WAR CRYYYY!"
"Sweet Dreams" and "Lava Lake Beach," however drastically different in their focus, both take the interesting position of showing Star's increasing independence, and consequently, the effect that plays on Marco - the former explores it more on Star's end, while the latter explores it on Marco's. Honestly, I'm in full support of this advancement - after Season 2 went down so hard on Star, I'm happy to see the show mirroring that with Marco - but the means with which it explores the hardship on Marco's end are a bit... less than perfect.

First of all, though: "Sweet Dreams" is one of those episodes that relishes in its ambiguity. We're both subjected to so much and given so little to fully comprehend, but the episode wields that to its advantage.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Princess Turdina / Starfari

"HOW'D YOU KNOW ABOUT RODRIGO?!"
So... this was quite the interesting set of episode in tackling two relatively heavier themes - one, the overarching Princess Marco sub-plot, and the other the constant conflict between Mewnians' perceptions of monsters - but neither episode quite sticks the landing. That's not to say there's nothing to like about either episode, because they expand greatly upon that which the show has been consistently vague in addressing, but neither episode feels as satisfactory as they should because neither truly finds a resolution.

Considering, further, that the common theme the two episodes share (I'd argue) is a sense of hypocrisy, the show's inability to truly redeem upon the pratfalls it examines is a bit frustrating.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Lint Catcher / Trial by Squire

"'Ooooh, hey Star, I just showed up out of NOWHERE. Why don't you give me a job to do?' Okay, Marco, here's a job. 'NooOOo, not that job, another job.'"

After all of the narrative-driven heaviness of the past few episodes, perhaps it's a nice blessing that "Lint Catcher" and "Trial by Squire," despite bearing some significance, felt straight out of Season 1. People can rag on that season all they want, but it bore an enjoyable lightness while establishing the role of Star and Marco within the show, allowing us to slowly familiarize ourselves with them and how they bounce off of one another.

This set of episodes works in the same way; just as Star and Marco's introduction in Season 1 meant they needed ample room to slowly figure themselves out, their current reunion means that the show will have to do the same thing again. Things are a-changing on Star vs., and with romantic investment seeming far more repressed here, the show's clearly trying to build a new framework for the pair's dynamic.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Demoncism / Sophomore Slump

"Wow, he didn't even say goodbye. Not even a little claw wave or something." "Dude. It's a lobster." "Oh."

What I'm trying to emphasize the most in these reviews, beyond just the episodes themselves, is their interconnectivity and how the two play off of some common theme; of all shows, Star vs. would know to pair them up for a reason. The connection between "Demoncism" and "Sophomore Slump," though, is a bit less obvious and gearing towards the long run; on one hand, Star's practically moving on, and on the other, Marco's coming back around.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Club Snubbed / Stranger Danger

"Sunglasses at night. Classy."
Oh boy, two episodes that operate under the pretenses that I'm able to read into the least: the art of assumption and reading into what we're presented. Both episodes banked on leaving the audience to read into whatever subtext it gives us, and thus, the show leans on us to form some resolving conjecture. It's an interesting tactic, and an effective one for telling a gripping narrative, but the pairing of "Club Snubbed" and "Stranger Danger" serves to remind us that sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil Review: Scent of a Hoodie / Rest in Pudding

"No, this is me. Totes nor-mal."
Hey. It's been a minute.

I doubt any of y'all remember me, but a while back, I wrote up a little review of the entirety of Season 1 per that "Community Watching" event that happened a few months back. Everybody over at the subreddit liked it, so I thought, great! I'll just write one for Season 2 while I'm at it! That... didn't quite work out; turns out it's a bit hard to condense all of that into something that wasn't a complete eyesore to read.

But I'm back, and I'm trying it over again. But episodically. I don't know how long I'll actually be doing this - as of right now, I'm pretty much just cracking down on my weaknesses as a reviewer by exploring a show more driven by an ongoing narrative. (I usually stick to The Amazing World of Gumball, but I might as well expand a bit.)

First, though, a little disclaimer: on top of, y'know, being new to reviewing this type of show, I'm also very much known for being a bit meticulous when it comes to the show's mechanics. With that being said, I value the underlying notions of the show's plot and the ease with which the show conducts itself more than the plots, so don't come here expecting a synopsis so much as just... a mess of thoughts. What a selling point.

That was a long intro, let's just get to the episodes.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The List

"I always thought I would go to college. Instead, I majored in shopping with coupons with a minor in tension headaches."
The last episode of Season 5... not one by choice, mind you, so much as a mistake on CN's part in regards to the episodes leaking, though their airing schedule isn't particularly great either... but still. It's like how "The Ollie" got leaked; we can't let that affect how we perceive the episode, even if it is a little tempting.

That doesn't mean "The List" is a disappointment by any means; it's probably one of the most straightforward and enjoyable episodes in the backhalf of the show's fifth season.

What makes it such a successful episode is its sheer simplicity, and how that allows for the show to contain, in 11 minutes, a near-all-encompassing array of great gags. Episodes like "The Compilation" exist wholly to do the same general idea, but the narrative tying into the jokes itself is crucial to such an episode's execution, and "The List" was such a creatively-freeing idea that it allowed the show to make whatever jokes it wanted - among them being holistic medicine, the illogic of charity marathons, and a journey across the world online - without ever interrupting the flow of the episode.

"Waiting for Gumball" Review

"We've run out of marzipan!"

For some reason, cartoon shorts are always hard for shows to pull off.

And generally speaking, it's easy to see why. Cartoons already have to work within the limitations of an 11-21 minute block to tell a cohesive narrative with a start, middle, and end, and they have to relish every second they can get. Rob them of a huge chunk of that time, and the chance for meaningful storytelling often ends up painfully incapacitated.

The extent to which "Waiting for Gumball" suffers, though, far exceeds that, thanks to a few more frustrating variables thrown into the mix. First and foremost, the entirety of "Waiting for Gumball" was the creation of Joe and Becky, the folks behind "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared" whom you probably recognize from "The Puppets." As you probably know - assuming you read my stuff - one of my largest issues with the episode was its inability to bridge the gap properly between TAWOG's and DHMIS' sensibilities, with both ultimately being woefully watered down, trapping the episode in a mediocre in-between that teetered on the unnerving but without the ability to truly commit. "Waiting for Gumball" is that, but even more watered down; rid of the show's appeal, we only get that subdued DHMIS half, but without anything to really justify how dull it was, and the result was a weirdly unnecessary compromise.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The News

"News news news news, blah, blah, blah, filler, filler, filler. Which leads us to the most important question: what was the point of all that?"
First of all, "The News" is, by no means, a flawless episode. I know some people have said it is, that it's the pinnacle of the series, blah blah blah... but it's not. Even with the inevitable hits and misses, though, "The News" offered up something genuinely exciting, especially so late into this season: risk-taking. This is (or rather, was, but I'm trying not to let that frustrate me too much - save it for the "Quotes and Notes") a live-action fake news program masquerading as an episode of a children's cartoon. That's one of the most ambitious things the show's managed to pull off, throwing all caution in the wind at the chance to try something different. And, in all fairness, the show did a pretty great job at it.

Also, apologies in advance, this review will be a mess. Trying to cohesively discuss an episode centered around incorporating as many premises as possible is frustratingly difficult.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Puppets

"Is it me or was that kinda... underwhelming?"
Here's a quick disclaimer: I'm not all that invested in the abstract ambiguity that "The Puppets" dwells in, and that's a huge issue considering the fact that the excitement of the episode lies squarely in that aspect. I do think, though, that the episode's reliance on chasing the ambiguity was at the cost of the episode's overall enjoyment. In trying to bridge the gap between Don't Hug Me I'm Scared's off-the-hinge, sinister tones and TAWOG's delicate subtleties and overall energy, both sides took a compromise.

And yes, I'm fully aware that taking that stance is a bit mean to the episode, considering TAWOG willingly gave itself up to the creative brain forces of DHMIS - Becky Sloan and Joe Pelling, who were credited as head writers - but for all the work they do, the episode never quite feels comfortable with itself, and putting the two creative forces together wasn't quite a match made in heaven, if I may be so bold. Just... ride along for a second.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Petals

"Look, don't worry. True beauty is found on the inside - your personality." "Good-looking people don't need a personality! Personalities were invented by ugly people to make up for what they lack on the outside!"

Of all the episodes to come out of this batch, perhaps it's a bit odd to label the filler episode as the best, especially next to a controversy-hound, a reference fest, and a style-swapper, but "The Petals" succeeds in its incisiveness yet utter simplicity. Part social commentary, part gardening show, part psychological horror... it's got everything you could want. The best part, though, is how unassumingly the whole episode starts out before quickly gathering momentum and hitting as many ridiculous high notes as you could imagine.

The episode starts out with a simple idea: Leslie's beauty is fading, so Gumball and Darwin decide to do everything in their power to return the poor guy to his former glory. What we get, at least leading up to the tonal shift midway through the episode, is exactly that: a series of consistently successful and creative gags running the gamut from botany to social psychology. And it all makes sense, too. Leslie is designed to be a vain character, and being a flower is a major proponent of that. The idea of his eventual wilting is thus the perfect opportunity to play around with the character more while exploring how his mind operates, something we hadn't really gotten a proper glimpse of prior.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Nuisance

"Bet you guys feel really big, don't ya? Picking on the poor, defenseless billionaires."

"The Nuisance" is an incredibly difficult episode to talk about when it really, really shouldn't be, and I think everybody knows why. But to sum up the extent of the episode's issues with a singular sentence, the extent of which this review will simply hammer in very angrily:

I really wish they stuck to a less loud design choice because the sheer amount of unnecessary, misconstrued attention the episode is getting was inevitable when it really shouldn't have been.

In the same way that "The Best" will forever be immortalized for making fun of SJWs, "The Nuisance" will henceforth, for the rest of time, be the "Oh my God, they made a joke about Trump deporting the Wattersons :3" episode. The issue is that pigeonholing "The Nuisance" as some cold-blooded jab is both blatantly wrong and obstructs the point of the whole episode. For Christ's sake, this one is about freaking economics more than anything else.

Further, the angle the show is going for isn't guided by some political agenda, even if a bit of knife-twisting finds its way in. The whole message behind the episode is that the Wattersons are the Wattersons, and they play on their own terms. First, they're faced with pressures to conform or else face being moved across the country, the result of which is a horrific homogenization of their family as a poster 1960s suburban family with a few too many "How-dee-doodle-a-doos" in their lexicon.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Line

"Uh, I'll have you know that I am the president of the Stellar Odyssey Fan Club... Elmore chapter." "Really? I thought you'd be into, like... tea and stuff."
"The Line" is that it's basically just "The Uncle" but for Star Wars. I have never seen Star Wars. Thus, I am blatantly unqualified to be discussing this episode. Tune in tomorrow where we'll be disc- fine, I'll talk about it, but this is my choice.

But at the same time, my lack of an ability to grasp everything is a bit of a broader issue with the episode. There's nothing wrong with making a sly reference here and there, but just like, again, "The Uncle," "The Line" takes the position of jabbing at us and asking "Huh, did you get that one?! The Holiday Special?! The Cabornite?! Ooooh, Trash Compactor, that's a pun AND a gag!" There's nothing organic to the delivery, nor do enough of the jokes stand on their own two feet in the case that anybody in the audience (me) is left in the dark.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Deal

"You won't last five minutes in there."
Well, that was something. I don't know if I'm sufficiently able to objectively break down the episode, so I apologize for that in advance.

Before we get into all of that, though, the first half of the episode was great. It's nothing more than setting up the events of the second half - which I'll pedantically nitpick in a moment - but it goes all out in making the central joke, that Nicole doesn't give Richard enough credit for the work he does, a lot of fun. I mean, starting off with Nicole launching an aggressive rap about getting the small raise of "three cents on the dollar" and employee of the month is always promising. It's what the show does best - take something terribly mundane and turn it into something hilarious.

It's upon seeing her on top of the world that Richard gets set off, feeling all of his hard work is being neglected. He then goes on to try to prove that point in the typical Richard fashion which, by the way, doesn't make it any less great. (Among the highlights are Richard using the kids to mow his lawn by eating the grass and drying them off post-bath to heavy metal/Irish music.) Nicole shakes it off nonetheless, so Richard goes on strike.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Best

"She's just trying to help you be a better person." "Exactly, she's raising the bar! Which is totally unfair for someone like me who liked the bar exactly where it was."
"The Best" was an interesting episode, to say the least. It hit all the high notes, with some smart jokes and visual gags, but for some reason, it never really triumphed as a whole. That's not a bad thing, per se, and to call "The Best" bad is a huge overstatement, but it never became anything truly memorable, played out as you'd imagine, and was pleasing if not revelatory.

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Worst

"What's happening?" "It's the glass ceiling Mom was talking about!" "What's that?" "The invisible barrier that stops anyone who's not an old, rich dude from getting the best jobs!"
There are three possible reactions I can imagine to come out of this line. You could laugh. You could "mmhmm." Or you could cringe internally. I took the third option.

No no no, I'm not sexist, don't you play that crap on me. But I think that quote pretty much sums up how you're going to perceive this episode - you're either gonna really dig it, see it as defiant to the expectations of society or something, or hate it.

I... hated it, I guess. Hate's a strong word. Basically, the episode's getting a C-. For "confused." "The Worst" is an episode where the show is trying to make a statement, but it just can't.

Update: "A Second Opinion" and Abroad

Well, it's finally my summer, and you know what that means: the guy that writes things that you read every once in a while's gonna write something you'll never read. At the very least, this is sort of relevant to the aim of the blog: diversifying.

Cartoon Splurge: Star vs. the Forces of Evil: Season 1

Hey. If you're new here, let me do a quick introduction: I'm Matt, and I write bits of analysis that are so pedantic that all fun is lost. (Riveting, I know.) I'm not a massive cartoon fan, though I'm currently infatuated with The Amazing World of Gumball; it is for that reason that I'm doing this right now, indebted to Mr. Anonim. So, uh... hello. Hope everybody's doing okay.

As you probably know, his grand idea was to hop between communities and spread word of other cartoons to establish a sort of "Community Watching" and give some shows some new fans. Since so few people seemed to be playing along with it, I decided I had nothing to lose and that I was diving straight in. Though he planned out a few episodes of Star vs. the Forces of Evil, I saw the first episode, recognized its potential, and decided to stick around for the whole first season. That's what this is: a so-called "Cartoon Splurge," where I go all in on a cartoon and review a season of it at a time. At the very least, I can offer an outsider's opinion, and that's good, right?

Oh, and as a disclaimer: I apologize for any anachronisms or technically incorrect assumptions: I haven't seen Season 2 and know basically nothing about it, so my views of the show might be slightly incorrect as I lack the complete image.

First things first, though: one of the things that Anonim repeatedly tried to warn me of was that Star was an insanely plot-heavy cartoon, but it's really not, at least not yet. (I've endured HIMYM - this isn't that, thankfully.) Yes, there's some chronology to it all, but it's still light. You can tell that the show is slowly building up, what with Toffee and the Headmistress (?) of the Reform School, but the show doesn't ever let that detract from simple character interplay and quirky ideas. It's a lot like Wander Over Yonder's approach in Season 2, where four, plot-heavy, 22-minute episodes were punctuated by interludes of 12, lighter, 11-minute ones; through it, the story could build up without compromising on any light fun. For Season 1, at least, Star seems to be following a similar course of action. (The two's similarities may or may not be intentional as per Craig McCracken's post discussing Disney's more rigid views towards serialization.)

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Heist (and the Gumbomb)

"Kapoosh?"
Okay, so yesterday was rough. I'm going to move right along, ignore that, and say that I really enjoyed this episode. (Also, I'll be talking about the Gumbomb in general at the bottom- double feature, yo.)

Realistically, "The Heist" is very similar to "The Box" in trying to take the same general format as "The Check," and while it once again falls short of that level of excellence, that doesn't mean this episode was bad. In fact, this is probably my favorite episode to come out of this week, believe that or not. For all of its complexities, it was probably one of the simpler episodes this week- it didn't try to push at anything new, instead offering more delightful takes on the Watterson family and how they think.

First of all, I'm going to say that I honestly didn't mind Richard's ignorance of the situation as a catalyst, at least partially because his helmet was the real issue. Even if he made some poor decisions, it wasn't out of his stupidity alone so much as a series of honest mistakes. The plot is set up so that it makes sense why Richard would use the sign to confuse the bank for a Joyful Burger and, with Larry at the helm of the bank, it makes sense that he wouldn't assume anything was wrong. Admittedly, there were some stupid twists, like Richard telling everybody to put their hands in the air because he believes it to be someone's birthday, but I at least like that Richard retains that joyous, loving character. It's just that the message is misconstrued.