Saturday, June 16, 2018

The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Parents

"I don't want to hear your excuses. I just want you guys back."

Here's a fun fact for everybody out there: in my entire time writing for the show, I haven't covered a single episode that I would describe as "monumental." In fact, the first episode I wrote about was "The Code," coming directly after "The Choices" very intentionally. At the time I was ill-equipped to try to discuss the episode and decided the best option would be to dodge it altogether, but now, a little over a season later, I have to write about a heavy episode. And it won't be the most fun thing ever.

There's a lot of issues with "The Parents." And sure, while it ultimately remains likeable, something entirely by design for what it is, it's marred by its own unique set of issues that prevent it from being what it should theoretically be. I mean... this is Nicole reuniting with her parents. That's a big deal! But marred with emotional contrivances and a self-congratulatory amount of self-awareness, "The Parents" finds itself significantly damaged.

But before we dive into that, it's important to address what the episode did right. Despite using a fair amount of comic exaggeration—this is Gumball after all—I appreciated how raw the relationship was between Nicole and her parents. The show, naturally, explores this to very silly degrees in how they demonstrate their refusal to reconcile, but that which they verbally express registers perfectly. It's a grudge that feels realized and engraved with trauma and heartbreak, and that the show is able to handle concepts with that level of maturity without compromising its humor is one of the show's greatest strengths. (The back-and-forth between Nicole and her parents trying to trace the root of their feuding was a particular highlight.)

At the same time, though... that's where the episode stumbles around the most, with the ending demonstrating one of the show's greatest challenges—sometimes, the show, in embracing its cynicism and being winkingly self-aware, ends up hurting itself. That "The Parents" is so obsessed with trying to both convey emotion and refute that emotion as manufactured causes the entire piece to end up feeling severely conflicted.

All of this, of course, is directly pinned to Gumball. While planting a cynical undercurrent to pulse throughout the episode isn't the worst idea, the inability of the show to subdue that makes the episode's big moment—Nicole and her parents forgiving one another—feel insincere, which is the last thing the episode needs. I was fine with Gumball declaring his song the cheapest trick in the book, even if that's been received with quite a bit of contention, but that Gumball manipulates the situation through ignorant self-motivation just feels... gross.

And here's the thing: I'll usually defend the show playing dirty. "The Promise" is one of the bleakest episodes in the series, and one that paints Gumball and Darwin as unfavorably as possible, and that's why I love it. But while "The Promise" is upfront about itself coyfully pulling on the audience's heartstrings, using Banana Joe as a means of conducting sympathy to trample on, the tension between Nicole and her parents is too deeply cut to be played with in the same manner. Even if Gumball, granted, can be an exploitative little buttwipe, that he'd repeat that pattern of behavior over a situation he can recognize the tenseness of—and the suggestion that he's much more invested in reaping the material benefits of having grandparents than rekindling his family—reflects on his character horrifically.

I can see why people writing for the show would dig the idea; they know that the emotions are fake, and having Gumball point it out should be self-aware hilarity. But the issue is that we, as an audience, want to be under the spell of disbelief, and it's the show's obligation to be receptive to that, and slamming Gumball's head against the window isn't functional catharsis enough to mend the degree that the show disillusions the viewer. Self-awareness is a difficult creature to balance, but while the show has generally found ways to use it and rise to great success, here, it sunk.

If there's a silver lining, though, it's this: the way I see it, "The Parents" is less focused on burying the hatchet with Nicole's parents so much as reintroducing the characters into the series. While Nicole ultimately forgives them, the wound is still very much open on both ends, and I'd be interested in future episodes exploring their relationship further down the line. (That the voice actors for the characters have begun regularly appearing in the show's credits seems to affirm that as well.) As such, I can't evaluate the episode on the basis of its finality.

Either way, though, "The Parents" wound up causing a whole lot of unnecessary destruction to itself.

Quotes and Notes:
-While watching the episodes through the CN website, I was bombarded with a series of ads and general means of stalling the show. One of them was of Craig of the Creek, with Craig picking up the CN logo out of a dump yard and saying, "It's perfect!" Aside from the admittedly on-point location usage, CN, if this episode schedule has come to reflect anything at all, you shouldn't lie to yourself.
-"This can can be opened by women of reasonable intelligence with limited male supervision."
-I appreciate how almost precisely seven years later, Gumball is still very much obsessed with the idea of lump presents. (See: "The End.")
-"I like my coffee the way I like jokes about the way I like my coffee: I don't." I'm sure one of the writers was really proud of that one.
-"My first name is Doctor. It's all very funny until someone shouts, 'Is there a doctor in the house,' and your parents say yes. Turns out people choking on a chicken wing rarely stay conscious long enough to enjoy the punchline!"

FINAL GRADE: B. Listen, show. You do great things. You've given me a heck of a lot of appreciation for everything that you do right, and I dream of being able to do what you've been able to do so many times over. But it's because of that that I feel the need to say this: don't let your head go too far up your own ass. What happened here led to an episode that was shot down by a series of unnecessarily smug affectations that didn't need to exist at all. "The Parents," ultimately, while not a bomb outright, drags itself down so knowingly that it leaves a lot to be desired.

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

16 comments:

  1. Weakest episode of the batch IMO. Rushed resolution and I didn't like the song (if it wasn't for the final song I would've almost thought that it was a parody of itself).

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    1. I thought the song was fine, but acknowledging how cheap it was ruined it. "The Parents," underneath its weirdly cynical undertones, is a legitimately good episode, but it bogs itself down and holds itself back.

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    2. Considrring what kind of show this is, it probably was. Plus, I get the feeling that the writers only did this because they kept getting viewer requests for it ever since The Choices.

      At least I know now that Nicole's parents didnt come to the wedding because they were so stupid, they thought RSVP was where the wedding was held and, not, as I assumed, because they still hated Nicole for running away from home to be with Richard.

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    3. I disagree; I think the show came into the episode with a clear vision that just makes sense as something to tackle in the show's final season, but the show's penchant desire to just not take things seriously brought everything down. Even if some episodes feel vapid, I never get the idea that it's out of appeasing requests from their audience.

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  2. I want to fully like this episode—I really do. All the pieces were set in the place to make something magical, but the clash in tone just killed it for me.

    I'm not going to pretend this episode was a total bomb because it definitely was not. I laughed throughout the episode as I felt a lot of the jokes were genuinely hilarious. What I took issue with is how the jokes came at the expense of the characters and the conflict surrounding them.

    Although the jokes at the beginning of their argument were great and helped illustrate their points in an animated and comedic way, I felt as if the jokes started to undercut the integrity of their argument toward the climax of it. Do not be mistaken, I found them perfectly sound jokes, but the absurdity came at the cost of their grounded and serious stances. The jokes felt ridiculous for the sake of being ridiculous, and not ridiculous to emphasize their emotions with the levity the series is known for.

    Of course, there is also Gumball and his needless self-indulgence. Again, I found Gumball to actually be humorous throughout the episode; it just simply felt like the wrong time to bust out these jokes. There is a time and place for everything, and the time to make cynical and self-aware jokes is not when an episode is trying to have a serious and down-to-earth moment to resolve a conflict with emotional weight. I just could not shake of the feeling of insincerity throughout the song because of this, only making Nicole's resolution with her parents feel somewhat fake. The ending is certainly not helping matters, ending the episode on such a sour note.

    "The Parents" wants to have its cake and eat it to, but sacrifices have to be made in the show's usual comedic styling if the writers want to create the grandiose emotional piece they were trying to nail.

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    1. Hey, a reasonable, non-hateful explanation for why the episode was flawed (my opinion: good episode, finally got the answer to why Nicole's parents didn't come to the wedding, suffered a bit from the ending, but Gumball did get dope-slapped for it, so it's not all bad). You don't see a lot of those online (seriously. Go to Reddit's Gumball forum).

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    2. I didn't really have any issues with the show's use of humor until its closing remarks; even if the means through which they illustrate the parental strife is particularly zany, it still, in its exaggeration, has reflections to reality in the generational sense of parental obligations, and how traditional perceptions conflict with the modernity; I see this especially in Mr. and Ms. Senicourt's self-imposed need to marry Nicole to a successful man. I can get that the episode might over-describe the degree of both sides' separation, but I didn't mind the amplification because it never, in my opinion, muffled the impact (except, obviously, the ending).

      Other than that, though, we're pretty much on the same page for once, which is honestly worthy of a celebration. And I'm the one with the less passionate opinion, to boot! How did that happen?

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    3. Time for me to fill your inbox again.

      I originally thought that The Parents was pretty great for its use of humor (barring Gumball himself, of course). However, seeing your and That Guy's opinions made me reconsider whether it was as great as, say, The Father. Spoiler alert: I still think the episode is definitely solid and enjoyable, but I now feel that some of the jokes did start to undercut the integrity of the situation. They are definitely good jokes, but instances like Richard unintentionally giving Nicole support and her parents trying to blame her for her temper when Daniel and likely Mary are volatile themselves did undercut the emotions and serious character explorations the product tried to convey. I still liked it, but I'm hoping that Nicole will have to deal with her parents in a darker light later on. (My theory being that they'll be the first people to call her out for her abusive actions as well as her awful parenting throughout the series)

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    4. That's an interesting theory, and seeing how "The Parents" seems to want to reintroduce the characters, I'd actually be really interested in seeing them play that type of role. Other than that, it's hard to call "The Parents" bad, because there's a lot it does right, but the episode refuses to just let itself be poignant, which is a big no-no. For an episode where the situation isn't as monumental, the show could probably make that sort of material work, but "The Parents" is such a horrible outing for that type of interpretation.

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  3. My favorite part of this episode was the beginning in the grocery store. Brings back memories of my own mother complaining about how little money we had and how it was all better in the 60s. Oh, what am I saying, she still does that! We eat so much oatmeal. At least it gave me a good sense of frugality-based humor. I'd love an episode that's entirely about the family competing to stay under a budget when Nicole gets fed up with their expensive shenanigans.

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    1. I agree, I completely forgot to bring up that segment! I always enjoy the show taking a look at the Watterson's financial situation, like in "The Treasure." There's just something interesting about how the show draws it out and finds a way to put a comedic spin on something that pulls so closely to life in the lower-middle class; it comes from legitimate understanding, which is so nice to see television 'get.'

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    2. The "The Little Panda Fighter" reference was pure gold.

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    3. I like to think about how much more of a budget they put in to make something that hilariously crappy.

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  4. I have nothing intelligent to say, for I am not intelligent, so I'll just post something that I think is relevant.

    I hardly ever meet people who can apologize without excuses, or who can handle rebuke with a level head, or who don’t immediately lash out and get defensive when they’re corrected. I only know this because I’m that guy, too.

    We do everything possible to avoid the consequences of our actions, to hold on to some tiny frayed rope of self-righteousness, to desperately grab for some centimeter of posture in a tug-of-war. We run to “What-about-you?” as if that cancels out the hurt we’ve caused. Such a sloppy mirror-defense uses someone else’s “tone” or past grievance to wiggle out of being wrong, like some kind of insane free-styling Walter White to proclaim up is left and purple is sky. Every suggestion is shot down by a sniper’s rocket launcher in a walled-up tower of self-pity, without considering the other point of view, the other human being, even for a fraction of a second.

    All that energy could be used to hold up the mirror to yourself, to own your part of the problem. But I never see that anymore. I only see the irresponsibility of regurgitating excuses, a rehearsal of Sisyphus in an isolated hell. I only see the comfort zone of yes-men, never stretched or challenged, choking in a bizarre backwards world of fawning and flattery to protect a precious egg-shell ego.

    If you think I’m talking about your neighbor or your parents or your boss or that church down the street, I’m not. I’m talking about you. About me. That’s part of the problem. No one wants to think, “I’m part of the problem.” I’m talking directly to you.

    I’m just jaded. In the last month alone, I’ve seen even the best kinds of people respond to criticism by throwing f-bombs, fake-crying their way out, and shifting blame to a billion other people, no matter how gentle I am, no matter how soft or loving or coddling. In fact, it appears that grace is hijacked as a permission slip, or a loophole to play dumb, when grace was meant to be a surgical, sculpting love that has to say everything: that must stop you from driving off the cliff at all costs.

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    1. Of course, you have a right to defend yourself. Yes, sometimes it’s really not your fault. No, not every rebuke is right, and it can be abused: but if it’s coming from someone who cares, or from someone you decided to hurt, then it’s worth exploring before you throw it out with the rest of your logic and empathy. To at least find where you could’ve handled it differently.

      And half an apology is worse than no apology. “I’m sorry that I hurt you, but—” is a squirmy, selfish counterattack to retain the flag of your fortress. You don’t get to say, “I didn’t mean to.” That’s not the same as saying, “I’m wrong and I’m sorry,” with no buts, no scrambling for your self-justifying, pre-programmed semantics.

      The sad thing is, the wrong that we each do was not done in a day. It came by a series of small rationalizations, the exact ones we use when people try to stretch our perspective, and the more we reinforce our pride, the less likely we are to grow and to truly know who we are. Reality will dim until we’re out of touch and alone.

      I’m not an alarmist, but I’m convinced this is why our culture is often seen as going down the toilet. No one is willing to examine their own motives and see where they might improve. No one is going after mentors, after elders, after the truth. We’d rather drown in our blind spots than breathe in the light.

      Total honesty with yourself is terrifying, and it will threaten your safe little shrink-wrapped kingdom. But it’s just as agonizing as it is liberating. It will set you free. It will make you see. It takes courage to get there: and no, not everyone will step out of the slumber of status quo into awakening. We live in a generation of pampered cowards who are allergic to what’s real.

      I told you: you won’t like this. And if you’re mad by now, then it might already be too late for you. Unless, by such daring courage, you are mad at yourself.

      So here’s a note to myself. I need this first before anyone else.

      Apologize quickly. Make amends. Do better next time. Being wrong ain’t the end of the world. You can’t get it right every time. Don’t say, “Well-what-about-you?” until you first ask, “Well-what-about-me?”

      And thank God for people who will speak up with a shaking voice, with tears in their eyes, with full passion for your wholeness.

      They won’t say the truth perfectly, and never the way that you’d like to hear. But if you have a friend like that, consider yourself blessed. They’re going all the way on love. They respect you enough that they think you’ll hear them, and they’re risking comfort to say, “You’re better than this.”

      -- J. S.

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  5. I think certain jokes didn't function too for the desired effect, Gumball self-awareness breaking the disbelief distance us from the affair, and how they did make it a big deal it's another problem, I think they could handle it with less seriousness and more jokes would've clicked.

    Also I think while Nicole parents are generally portrayed as stern there could be certain issues Nicole had also contributed to the conflict -like his anger- I think if we were show flaws from both sides there could be a message about recognizing our own mistakes and forgive those of the others but I think the weight was in Nicole's Parents.

    I sort of enjoyed the episode but it didn't move me or conveyed any deeper meaning of an adecuate reconciliaton.

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