The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Uncle

"How did this situation escalate so quickly?! I was literally two steps behind you!"
I'm going to preface this article by saying that, above all, I'm really just excited to see Ocho get another role in the spotlight. I always thought he was one of the more interesting characters, both in design and demeanor (however one-note he can be at times), and considering that he hasn't had a main role since Season 2 and only two speaking roles since then, this episode was long overdue.

The premise is that Gumball finds out that Ocho's uncle may or may not be Mario and he sets out to befriend Ocho and prove his worth for the sake of meeting him, though along the way, he endures trauma after trauma. That's what was most exciting about the episode- it was almost a reverse-Saint. Ocho keeps forcing Gumball to do terrible things or otherwise traumatizes him (as in the hazing prank, which literally gave Gumball PTSD), with Gumball nevertheless determined just to meet Mario, but when he finally does, it's the not exactly who Gumball envisioned. Whomp freaking whomp.

As much as I enjoyed the episode, though, I still found a few issues.

I think the main hindrance was that, despite being a swell video game episode, we just had "The Console," which managed to knock everything out of the park. Yes, I get that the format is incredibly different, but thinking simply on the basis in which they employ their referential humor, this episode pales in comparison. That's not to say that I didn't appreciate some of the episode's subtlety- I especially liked Gumball briefly whistling the Route 1 theme from Pokemon- but a lot of the jokes felt a bit too on-the-nose for me. The show was acting like it was being clever, but for once, I don't think it was. It felt as if the show was being like, "See what we did there?! See it?!" which the show shouldn't feel the urge to do.

I get the fact that Ocho's uncle allegedly being Mario (in Gumball's mind) isn't supposed to be subtle at all, but it's just that the premise feels kind of forced. That would be like if in "The Console," Gumball was like "Wow! This must me a fantasy world! And a final one! 7!" Less is more. The show spilled a bit too much in the beginning in straight-up calling Mario out, and that kind of hindered the episode. Plus, the ultimate ending of Gumball's revelation that Ocho does actually have a famous relative in the form of "the blue hedgehog that goes really fast," felt especially shoehorned. I guess it's kind of cute? Either way, not the best ending.

Ultimately, what saved the episode was just the sheer amount of unexpected twists it took. Probably the best throwaway joke was Gumball's "MARRY ME!" to Ocho, followed by Teri saying, "Called it," and Masami saying "I guess I owe you twenty bucks," in passing. It works because of how unexpected the joke is: it's not like the behavior is specifically out of character for Gumball so much as the fact that his intensity is so glaringly recognized and mocked by other characters. There's not some deep subtext to the joke (as I'm sure a lot of shippers are trying to knit together)- it's just a devastatingly simple but perfect aside.

Less subtle and even more funny is the song at the end of the episode, with Gumball singing a power ballad/R&B type song about trying to say goodbye to Ocho, though, in having to factor in Ocho's insanity, the only proper way is to take intensive measures to force him out of Gumball's life. The juxtaposition of the type of song in which a wistful goodbye would be proposed with, on the other hand, Gumball's meticulous ideas on how to get rid of Ocho including, among other things, turning him into schwarma or shipping him to "somewhere-Stan" as a bride, is phenomenal. Further, this is really the first song Nicolas Cantu had to sing for the show, and he nailed it in all of its cheesy undertones (even if Autotune was contestable). Even if it might not be the greatest song done on the show, it is still infectiously catchy, and the scene afterwards, with Gumball illustrating how stressed out Ocho makes him by raising his hand through the floor of an airplane was a brilliant touch.

So... yeah. While I don't think that this episode was as strong as the last Ocho-centric episode ("The Phone"), I don't think it was a complete miss. That being said, though, I probably liked it just a nudge less than most others.

Takeaway:
-I thought the whole music change bit with Ocho and Tobias wasn't anything too special. It felt like a rehash of the same idea from "The Potato," but in that episode, it actually delivered some kind of social message about the flimsy nature of advertising. Here, it's just a kind of awkward gay joke that only partially works. (Tobias still looks terrified, guys, the music change didn't really do too much of a favor.)
-Apparently, Ocho uses his childhood blanket to suffocate other people's pets. Because that's... cheerful. I'm not entirely sure about the joke, but the long uncomfortable pause afterwards pretty much sealed the deal.
-About the "Friendship ended with Mudasir" joke: brilliant. People always say that Gumball is one of the only shows to get pop culture references right, and I honestly agree for the most part. Their greatest success is their ability to make the references funny even without the context of the original joke, so understanding the source material is more of an added treat than a true necessity. I don't think that the principle rings especially true for the rest of the episode, which was more upfront in its referential humor (as I probably stated hundreds of times already), but as it stands, it was a clever integration of a joke.
-You gotta love the potshot at Mario Golf, "probably the most boring game you can play with Mario."
-"Good job, you really sold it." "Please... call an ambulance..." "Okay, now you're just being hammy."

Final Grade: B+. Despite an abundance of wise decisions in the episode's creative direction, it was harmed by a flimsy central focus. That doesn't mean that the episode wasn't enjoyable, because it was certainly an above-average outing. It just could've been a bit better with some added subtlety.

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