The Amazing World of Gumball Review: The Inquisition

"It's better this way."

You know an episode is a bit of a head-scratcher when you just sit back and don't know how to really comprehend what just happened, so I'll just start with a basic, two-word sentence. Cliffhangers, right?

Cliffhanger endings are scary, especially when you compound that with them being an unequivocal downer. Everything about "The Inquisition" throws the future of Gumball, not just as a series but as a franchise (if movie rumors turn out to be true), into doubt, and whether or not the finale yields anything else determines how much its ballsiness pays off. Before we really get into the nitty-gritty of all of that, though, and of all the abstract questions raised by the episode, by the show, and by the people behind the show itself, let's just talk about the episode for a minute, because finale or not... this is still a review. "The Inquisition" is fantastic.

Warning: major spoilers. You knew this.

It's hard to know just how much of the past six seasons of Gumball were really building to this exact point, but everything about the premise, and how it becomes increasingly dark and twisted, is perfect. Not only is the show tackling untapped territory which, at this point in the show, is sort of an intrinsically exciting rarity, but it's a master-class in deconstruction, with its humor more meta than ever before. This time, Gumball subverts its own visual identity, with its vibrant cartoon characters existing in a photorealistically-rendered world, by acknowledging that its characters are an anomaly. While their irregularity and individuality makes them charming and who they are, it also means that, as their world comes to a screeching halt, none of them will survive.

The premise, thus, is that the character of School Superintendent Evil—depicted as a real, live-action person (Garrick Hagon) bent on transforming everyone into normal, live-action people—is a front put on by Rob in a last-ditch effort to fix the student body of Elmore. Leading up to that reveal, though, Gumball continues to make its end-goal deliberately obscured: there's a sense that something elaborate will happen which becomes especially clear the moment the gear shifts and Masami walks into Miss Simian's classroom as a human caricature.

For the first half, though, "The Inquisition" eschews a lot of the deeper questions in favor of comedy, attempting to steam-roll the increasingly harsh reality of the situation with a veil of optimism as Gumball and Darwin run down the hallways correcting all of their transformed classmates. It's a great opportunity to pull off some good old-fashioned cartoonish antics to keep everything joyful, the highlights obviously being Darwin Scooby-Doo hallway-ing those lockers and Gumball accidentally kissing human Sarah instead of Penny, reverting both back into their old selves with the gesture.

Of course, once Rob re-enters the equation, the good vibes come to a screeching halt. While "The Future" left an air of mystery about what Rob's intentions were, "The Inquisition" finally answers them: Elmore isn't right, and the universe is catching on, and as the final shot of the series freezes, we're left with the visual of Rob being sucked into the Void as the world collapses around him, and in a matter of moments, everyone else will follow. It's a difficult and painful turn for the show to take, and it's the series at its most brutally cynical ever: no amount of optimism in all of the characters being themselves will save the day, and although Gumball, Darwin, and their classmates may celebrate their successful foiling of Rob's attempt to save them with blissful ignorance, none of that will matter: they made the wrong choice, and holy fucking shit, that's dark.

Substance-wise, there really was no better way I could possibly think of for Gumball to end, but that it leaves itself as open-ended as it does leaves me, personally... somewhat uneasy. Further complicating that is a statement from Ben Bocquelet himself, who made it clear that it was not his choice to end the series as it ultimately ended, and vagueness aside, it's heartbreaking to hear that all of his work over the past six seasons never really concluded as he had planned. (Perhaps most unfortunately, that infamous scene at the end of "The Oracle" which set forth the logical path leading to the show's ultimate conclusion never happens, at least not on-camera.)

We can all hold out hope for a movie, or CN might even announce a seventh season (the show's staff, Ben included, have been very hands-off about the matter), but removed from that slither of hope, how does "The Inquisition" hold up as a finale? Well... it's sort of hard to say, because it takes those risks. If nothing ever follows, it'll go down as one of the most appreciably weird ways a cartoon has ever ended, however divisive the reception. While I would've wished that the ending would leave room open for future exploration of the Gumball universe as opposed to dismantling it in its entirety, you can't say that "The Inquisition" plays it safe.

In that sense, it really is sort of the perfect way to end the series, going for broke no matter what you're gonna think of it. While everyone would've been perfectly content with an episode full of musical numbers, and sunshine, and general sweetness, this is Gumball, and that was never going to happen in the first place. All the way to the final episode, to the literal last five seconds, this is a show that never lost the ability to surprise. It was an arduous, eight-year journey from "The DVD" to "The Inquisition," and even if worst comes to worst and this is the end of the line, we should all embrace that.

Notes and Quotes:
-"The vegetarian option is less ham?!" "Yeah, but to be honest, that was because we were running low on ham."
-"You worked in a prison?" "Well, I did eight years hard labor, which I guess is technically work."
-"Pull yourself together, Nigel! You sound like a winded Chinese opera singer!"
-Regarding most of the episode's more comedic moments that I never really got to tackle in the main portion of the review for obvious, overshadowed reasons, I just wanted to mention the perfection that was William's attempt to open a door. It's devastatingly hilarious, with other characters looking onwards as he flails and pummels himself against the door with tears in their eyes: it's sobering. The kicker, too, that he ended up going in the broom closet by mistake, is the brutal cherry on top.
-I really liked all of the character design work here! I especially loved Masami, Rocky, and Leslie's human variants, though it's great how much the artists were able to come up with recognizable designs true to their Gumball counterparts.
-Gen Z Reality Check: Y'know what, Gumball writers? I'll let you have your flossing. You put in a good eight years of work. Kids were literally born when it started and grew old enough to watch it and legitimately appreciate it... that's a long time, so sure, just indulge.

FINAL GRADE: A+. I went back and forth on what to give "The Inquisition," whether or not it deserved a perfect score, and the thing is, it's not a flawless episode. But the spirit of the show in ending on a note as melodramatic, and the fact that this depressing ending somehow fits the show like a glove is a testament to Gumball and all of the care and devotion put into it. Even if it pandered sometimes, it was never a show that cared what anyone thought of it, and it was never afraid to push at the boundaries of its genre. And yes, you can hate all those Twitter like-mongers and their stupid Gumball posts all you want (I know I do), but they have a point: it's hard to believe, at times, that Gumball's a show for kids, never talking down to its audience and always giving a damn about what it was doing, even when it didn't work out. That's rare to see in a television show that's survived as long as Gumball, and for that, it has my undying respect.

For my last Gumball review of "The BFFS," CLICK HERE.

For a list of every Gumball review I've written (starting from Season 5's "The Code"), CLICK HERE.

For updates every time I post new content, follow me on Twitter @Matt_a_la_mode.

Oh, and also, I'm not done with Gumball yet. You'll see me back around here soon enough, and it'll be lit.