The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Brain

"Now is probably the time to drain ourselves." "What do you mean?" "Well, I feel like a giant udder of stupidity, bloated and bursting, waiting for someone, anyone, to milk me." "I agree with Gumball... on the content rather than the form."

We did it, guys: we survived yet another two month long hiatus, and for now, we have five new episodes, followed by another month-long hiatus! I'll be running down each episode over the next five days, so be sure to come back every day as much as possible because I'm desperate for attention. Anyway:

I want to say upfront that, perhaps due to the complete absence of episodes, I appreciated "The Brain" far more than I probably should have; for what it is, it does a good job. That's not to say, though, that it's without its own set of flaws, and it struggles with a lot of issues concurrent with Season 6's more breezy episodes, namely a lack of focus.

First of all, though, it's worth noting that "The Brain," for the most part, plays out precisely as you would expect, for better or for worse. It's another premise bent around the Wattersons attempting to fix up their general stupidity, so we know what we're gonna get: a mish-mash of sight gags and character moments that undermine their effort to wane off of it. It's certainly fun to watch, but throughout the first few minutes, "The Brain" doesn't take many interesting angles.

To put it simply, this is an episode at its most successful when it toys with the element of surprise, though the plot of the episode—with the Wattersons trying to stop doing dumb things at the risk of Anais performing a potentially fatal facepalm—exists to butt heads with that, at least initially. The montage of the Wattersons trying to drain themselves without Anais watching, for instance, is simply ancillary; for a sequence like it to truly stand out, it has to have fresh ideas on display, but the whole thing plays out too cozily. When "The Brain" deviates from the formula or adds an extra dimension to its jokes, though, the episode soars. Seeing Richard try to order fast food from the barrier gate operator of a parking garage is fine, for example. Seeing Principal Brown attempt the same thing immediately afterwards, though, is priceless.

Likewise, while the scene with Nicole taking Anais out to the grocery store is simply a means of wasting time, the checkout clerk breaking into an aggressively tedious rap about dill pickles was delightful. It's the sort of joke that dies halfway through but, through brute force, loops back around to becoming hilarious. You could call it shoehorned, but it's so beautifully contrived that it's practically self-aware, and if this is the show's idea of filler, I'm not opposed at all. (The quick reaction shots of Nicole and Anais were also greatly appreciated, and Nicole turning Anais' facepalm into a hand-hold was almost kind of sweet.)

It's only once the show's final act starts up, though, that "The Brain" truly takes off, initiating a chase sequence as Anais goes from one dangerous location to the next in a dream-like stupor. It's a spectacular sequence in how it unfolds, leaving the audience confused but engaged, all while taking advantage of some fun nonlinearity. (It brings to mind another Anais-centered episode, "The Detective," in its use of engaging visuals to complement its narrative.) The smooth transitions based on the words the characters say echoing, and the hypnotic use of medical imagery throughout the whole thing, help make for a compelling little adventure.

Ultimately, it turns out to have all been a dream, with something dumb uttered by Gumball at the episode's beginning causing her to facepalm into a 36-hour, 12-bedpan coma. While I'm quick to call out how lazy of an ending the whole "It was all a dream" shtick tends to be ("The Apprentice" is a perfect example of that), "The Brain" makes it work. It never comes across as some cheap out so much as an ending that just makes sense because it isn't stuck on; it's integrated in a way that's both rational, effective, and honestly, pretty smart. And for all of you deep-cut analyzers out there, it's perhaps even a fascinating look into Anais' psyche and how she views her family, but that's for somebody else to gush over.

It's an ending that serves to salvage "The Brain" from becoming completely forgettable, but at the same time, it leaves you wondering why the episode couldn't have worked that hard on everything else.

Notes and Quotes:
-I appreciated the slight fake-out of the brain chart having Richard's brain size concerningly far off of the chart itself. I will not appreciate the level of controversy I assume will arise out of Darwin's brain size being considerably smaller from the same group of people who got pissed when he was turned into a dog.
-"Well, I think we've found something even more infinite than the universe." "Your eternal love for us?" "Alright, two things: your ability to emotionally manipulate me, and this family's stupidity."
-Richard struggling to hang up the phone after bleaching the house was a nice, underplayed moment.
-"Ten years from now, Anais might be the only difference between you too being in Penn State or state pen!"
-I was under the impression that "The Brain" would take a far different route, perhaps showing the Wattersons rising to their challenge and becoming a functional family, only to create some sort of power struggle or create an even more bleak reality.

FINAL GRADE: B. Despite a phenomenal ending, "The Brain" meanders for too long without finding an interesting or productive way to construct itself. There's never anything wrong with more of the same, but in the show's final season, it feels like a safe way to wring out some laughs, on the cusp of becoming something truly great but not pushing far enough to get to that point. I'll still say it's a success, if not just because of how the episode wrapped itself up, but otherwise, this was a pedestrian effort.

Now, in the spirit of filling up space,

I am a dill
And I'm working at the till
We're supposed to call it checkout
But I'm gonna stick my neck out and say
Till till, till dill, dill and till so dill with it
I am a dill, I'm still working at the till
Earn a dime and earn a nickel with my fickle ickle pickle
Say till dill, dill till
Dill and till so dill with it
I had a little spill with my friendly little dill
Put you back into the jar with your herby vine-gar
Say fickle pickle, jar can
I work and jerk and stand and bag a dill pickle
Dill pickle
D-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-deal with it, lady.

The Internet will ruin this. Enjoy it while you can.

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