The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The One

"Do you ever get that tingly feeling in your stomach when someone tragically misinterprets something you said in a dangerously fundamental way?" "Hmm... nope."

Hmm. Here's the thing: "The One" is not a bad episode. But it's also not the greatest thing ever, either; it simply is what it is. I know that sounds nondescript and critical, but let me put forth my best efforts to explain what I mean, because these evaluations are always the peskiest.

I think the most meaningful evaluation I can give "The One" is that it feels like it's comprised of two particularly inspired ideas for episodes: on one hand, there's Gumball's relationship with Tobias, and on the other hand, there's Tobias' sort-of-a-relationship with Gumball. I know those sound ungodly similar, and that probably makes my complaints sound woefully baseless, but what I'm trying to get at is that the focus of the episode never truly commits.

That's not to say that there's too many weak beats in the episode, because every component works. The issue is the fact that not every component contributes, and the end result is that there's some loose ends that ultimately detract from the final product.

For instance, if the focus is supposed to be on Gumball and his relationship, the episode had a bit of a kerfuffle in turning it entirely into a vehicle for Tobias throughout the middle portion. But on the contrary, if the focus is supposed to be on Tobias and his relationship, a lot of the beginning portion feels fairly redundant. Looking specifically at the scene where Darwin deconstructs Gumball's personality, or the scene where they discuss the degree of their friendship, how does that contribute to the rest of the narrative? It sets the course for an examination of the episode from Gumball's perspective, so the swap in where attention is placed makes it seem like it's elaborating on something that didn't need elaboration. It's fun and enjoyable, but the more you think about it, the weirder it is that the episode would hone in on that at all.

The strength of the episode, after all, lay entirely in Tobias. Of all of the Tobias-centric episodes of the past six seasons, none have really honed in on his delusional ego as crazily as "The One," casting him as someone who can't understand that he isn't wanted and who decides that the most rational means of becoming Gumball's best friend is literally to kill all of his other friends. If he can't climb the ladder, he's burning it down.

This, naturally, is the best part of the episode. Not only are the means that Tobias takes to crush every character particularly inspired—he infects Bobert with malware, for instance, and uses the ghost of a stick to knock Carrie out when a normal stick doesn't work—but there's also the added bonus of each kill giving him some special attribute which he unleashes in the final, climactic face-off against Darwin. (This leads to some of the episode's funniest moments, like an impressive evasiveness thanks to Leslie's sweet dance moves and some very slow irradiation powers.) His sequences, too, are complimented nicely by some gorgeous animation and a killer score, so as far as I'm concerned, the episode was pure Tobias nirvana.

It's weird for me to say it of all people, too, but I actually sort of liked the reveal that everything that occurred was entirely his imagination; it's a lazy out, sure, but if there's ever any time for it, now's the best. Sure, it's underwhelming, but it just serves to amplify how utterly pathetic Tobias is as a character that he'd be so blinded by the situation that he fails to pick up on the fact that none of it really transpired. That's a massive ego. The ending, too, is surprisingly poignant, with Tobias finally learning where his place is (to some extent).

When you phrase it like that, the episode's actually quite good! The issue is simply the fact that there's a little too much going on outside of the main conflict, and it deters from the meat of the episode. Everything on paper is great! It's the execution, though, that comes across as a little wobbly.

This is going to be the weirdest, most difficult-to-defend assertion I've ever made (not necessarily by unpopular opinion, but just its relative unsoundness), but it's almost as if "The One," in its brief timeframe, was too fleshed-out for its own good.

Quotes and Notes:
-"I got so little muscle definition I need a muscle dictionary." Gumball and Darwin joshing around wasn't the funniest part of the whole episode by any means, but I appreciated the nice candid nature of the writing. It just looks like the two characters tossing jokes at one another and it's kinda sweet.
-Poor Gumball's optimism.
-Tobias' long, almost-thirty second roll across Elmore, onto an airplane, and over a mountain was absolutely delightful. Season 6 is definitely hammering in on those gags that threaten to overstay their welcome but just keep going, and personally, I'm a massive fan.
-The flashback to "The Phone" was a nice touch. Really harkens back to my love of Season 2, even if it's a silly little nod.
-I greatly enjoyed, too, the visual of Tobias pulling a sword out of his jacket for five straight seconds. It's just ever-so-slightly off.
-I hated how this originally turned out, so I ended up rewriting the entire review and actually bumping up the grade one point. So I guess there's the power of trying to work with a weird thesis, huh?

Final Grade: B. "The One," as an episode, was not outright bad, and it wasn't like I had too many expectations either as to severely bias my opinion on the episode. If anything, it's an incredibly enjoyable experience. This is just one of those episodes where being excessively-analytical causes interference. At the risk of repeating over and over, though, let's just leave it at that.

for the last Gumball review of "The Vegging," CLICK HERE.