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 problem? Unbeknownst to Nicole, the kids can't function without him, and the house turns to shambles, their three kids turned into goblins that destroy everything and everyone in their path.The idea is sound - it's perfect for the show, and it should've demonstrated what makes TAWOG as great as it is: unrivaled creativity. But I think one of the principal issues in the way of that was how bland everything else was.
My largest complaint is with the characters, namely everybody but Richard. Nicole started the episode strong, but upon entering the house mid-strike, the whole braggadocious, ego-laden attitude diminishes, and she runs around it like the patron of a haunted house screaming and disciplining. She's put into the position of a stereotypical mom whose only power is punishing her children with words, something that Nicole's character otherwise openly defies by kicking some serious butt. Richard's already playing the role of good cop/animal tamer, so Nicole being more aggressive wouldn't defy the episode's main point, and it instead feels like a missed opportunity.
Obviously, I'm nitpicking, but everything just made the episode feel weirdly lifeless, like it had a different energy than it should've had, the result of which borders on generic.
Notes and Quotes
-"Hi, my name is Nicole Watterson and I kick butt."
-That "A Trip to the Moon" reference was great and this show's reference game never ceases to amaze me. Combined with the mirror scene from "The Sorcerer," TAWOG's amassing quite the impressive list of old cinema gags.
-"What's with the banner?" "It was all they had in the store. They didn't have anything that said, 'Fight for your efforts to be recognized by some heartless she-beast.'" "Maybe they were sold out."
-How did I used to fill this section with observations?
Final Grade: B-. I admire "The Deal" for finding a way to reevaluate Richard's character and the Wattersons' dynamic instead of playing it straight, I really do, but the episode felt a bit too by-the-numbers for me, if not in the idea so much as in the execution. This is the show taking high risks in hopes of receiving high rewards, but something about the episode doesn't work, if not largely out of how slowly the episode made its point without being enjoyable enough in the meantime, nor having enough charm. It's the show going through the motions.I assume this is just an issue with myself exclusively, but there's always going to be those episodes that I can't get into for whatever reason. Still, it's been a while since one left me with so little to say, and I'm hoping the past few episodes aren't setting the tone of the quality of the rest of the season.
For the last Gumball review of "The Best," CLICK HERE.
THREE CENTS ON THE DOLLAR.
I actually liked the episode, but not everything in it. Richard's banner was the funniest thing to me and the whole deal with children being goblins actually scared me. Especially when Gumball spit out a part of Donut Cop. I felt like that scene wasn't appropriate for a kids show. Also, the scene with Darwin and Carrie disturbed me for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was particularly scary, but the whole eerie vibe going on didn't land because everything felt super cheesy to me. I didn't talk about it in the review because that's way more preferential on my part, but the episode lacked the sort of distinctness with its humor that TAWOG is usually great at showing off.
DeleteI think it should've been more dark, not just "spooky carnival ride" dark.
I dunno, I liked the episode. It felt like it was going to go the route of "The Hero" actually (an aside, I loved that ep), but I was pleasantly surprised (well, more or less) to see that they didn't make Richard totally useless. His unorthodox methods were pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteAs for retaining the 'TAWoG feel' I think I'm either just incompetent and therefore can't recognize it (or lack of it), or I'm just biased and only focus on the good stuff. Maybe both. It remains to be seen.
Richard's definitely the best part of the whole episode, no doubt, and I don't think there's been another episode short of "The Hero" that's portrayed him as well. But the rest of the episode just didn't bode well for me because it felt almost tacky - there wasn't any bite. It felt like any other show could've pulled it off, which isn't a good sign considering how impeccably the show's been able to carve out its own comedic identity.
DeleteIt's an episode that pulls at two extremes, successful at one and unsuccessful at the other, and the result ends up a bit difficult to properly evaluate.