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."

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(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."

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(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."

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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.