Tuca And Bertie: Nighttime Friend

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Bertie deals with her TV induced narcolepsy and Tuca tries to find something to do at night as she can’t sleep.

Man, I watched this back to back with the recent Rick and Morty episode and that was a bad choice. Both episodes are incredibly sad, and I came away from the viewing wanting a cry.

Considering this series is a comedy I was expecting a few laughs, however there is nothing even remotely funny about this episode. The show doesn’t have to be silly or cracking out a joke a minute, but it also shouldn’t be depressing.

I enjoyed finally getting to see Tuca have the spotlight for the episode. Often Bertie gets the focus, so it is nice to see Tuca have the limelight for once. I thought exploring the idea of Tuca and responsibility was interesting, usually the character tries to remain breezy and actively avoids intense situations, but you can’t always escape them and sometimes you have to do the grown up thing. Moreover, I thought the relationship between Tuca, and her user Aunt was heart-breaking. Seeing her Aunt use her and then turn on her when she refuses to bring her anymore alcohol is powerful and shows the uncomfortable positions of being trapped in a toxic familial relationship.

I thought Bertie’s B storyline was fine, clearly it was set up as comedic relief, but I didn’t really find it funny: though I did appreciate the break.

Overall, I don’t think this series is a comedy anymore, and that is both a good and a bad thing.

Pros.

Seeing Tuca have to deal with adult responsibility

Bertie’s B story provided a nice break

Cons.

It is sad

It is not funny

It is hard to get through

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Rick And Morty: A Rickconvenient Mort

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Morty falls in love with an elemental being, and Rick and Summer go on an end of the world sex binge.

Man this episode bummed me out. This might be the most depressing episode of Rick and Morty yet, forget the ending of season four, or when Rick gets arrested, this episode is heart breaking. Both the A and B plots are just sad, I hope you have something happy lined up after this.

I enjoy the episodes of Rick and Morty that explore the duo as people and as individuals, and this does that but proves that I need to be careful what I wish for. The character work is strong but honestly it is hard to watch. Morty seems to be all over the place in this episode, murdering people like they are nothing maybe he has been spending too much time with Rick. I thought his relationship with Plaentina was icky and twisted as it implies the two sleep together and he is below the age of consent. It was nice having Alison Brie provide her voice to the episode, she certainly brings a memorable performance and hopefully the character will return in the future.

The Rick and Summer storyline is odd, and the emotion of it doesn’t land in the way they would like it to. Straight off the bat it is a little strange how cool Rick is with going on a sex rampage with his granddaughter. Secondly the jealously angle with Summer preventing an apocalypse to prove that Rick’s happy relationship is false also feels somewhat jarring and maybe even a bit creepy. Widely this storyline is forgettable.

The stuff with Beth was probably the highpoint of the episode and it was nice to see her as a concerned and nurturing parent even if the episode takes its sweet time getting to it.

Overall, a depressing and maybe even upsetting episode of Rick and Morty and one I might skip on my next rewatch.

Pros.

Summer has a few funny lines

Alison Brie is a good guest star, and her character is interesting

Cons.

It is depressing

The Rick and Summer storyline has no point

Morty just flips out and kills a bunch of people and other than one throw away line it is never mentioned or reacted to

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Tuca And Bertie: Kyle

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Bertie manifests Kyle her inner bro in order to help her combat obnoxious men at work.

This episode certainly feels the most angry of the Tuca and Bertie series so far, and that is a great thing. Red on its surface this episode takes on toxic bro culture and also treads into MeToo and sexual harassment culture as well. I thought this was a powerful episode and one that was needed to address what Bertie went through with Pastry Pete.

I think this episode has a lot to say about society and our approach to powerful people who abuse those around them. It is right to point out how often all these figures need to do is say they are sorry or say they have changed, and then certain parts of the population will forgive them leaving the victims out in the cold. It is wrong, and I am glad this show has the balls to say it.

We get more emotional development for Tuca as well here, considering she was fairly side-lined in the last episode. We further the idea of loneliness and aimlessness that has come to encapsulate her character, as she drifts around trying to make a connection and achieve something, but even when she does she still isn’t happy.

I think this show is communicating a lot of hard and often uncomfortable topics through the means of animation, these things need talking about and that is why this show is so important as no one else is.

Overall, a strong episode and one that furthers the emotional growth of our leads.

Pros

Talking about difficult subjects

Bertie’s inner bro

Strong character development

Bringing back the Pastry Pete storyline

Cons.

It is not funny

It is quite saddening

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iCarly: iRobot Wedding

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Carly and co head to the wedding of her nemesis. Whilst there Carly becomes convinced that the bride to be is a robot.

I would say barring the first this is the best episode of the revival so far. That is mainly because this episode moves away from mocking internet culture, whilst also in some ways embodying everything it is poking fun at, and instead decides to just tell new stories involving these characters- with only a slight amount of nostalgia baiting.

I enjoyed the robot storyline and the absurdity of it, for a minute I genuinely believed Carly was right and that the bride was in fact a robot. Moreover, I thought Carly was at her most human and most likeable here and the romance they are trying to set up between her and Freddie seems like it will take the show in a wholesome positive direction.

My main complaint of the episode would be all the jokes from Laci Mosley’s Harper, that basically boiled down to ‘straight people are weird right’, not only did they feel out of place and weirdly jarring but if flipped the internet would break out in a huge outcry. As I have said previously you don’t solve issues such as racism, sexism, homophobia etc by just flipping it so its now the other way round. What made these series of jokes worse was that though they were not funny at al the first time around, they are repeated over and over again, which can only make them more funny right?

Overall, a close second best episode of the series so far.

Pros.

Carly, and her robot theory

Carly and Freddie

A few nice human moments

Enough nostalgia to be fondly remembered but not used as a crutch

Cons.

Harper’s straight people are weird jokes

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The Bad Batch: Bounty Lost

2.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

The episode starts out by ditching Crosshair once again and instead focusing entirely on Omega, a very bad decision. The reason why this is bad is because it loses all the tension and excitement from the previous episode and immediately makes the situation easier for the heroes as now they are just free to track Omega down no bother- which makes it less interesting.

We spend most of the episode with Omega as we find out more about her origins and watch her try and escape from Cad Bane. None of this makes you warm any further to the character, and the point still stands that without Omega the Bad Batch as a show would be much more interesting.

The best thing that comes out of the kidnapped Omega storyline is the bounty hunter fight between Bane and Fennec Shand, which is entertaining to watch as each tries to out do the other with some nice set pieces thrown in for good measure.

The series still seems directionless, yes we know that Omega is wanted and is valuable as she is a perfect clone of Jango Fett, but other than that we have no idea where the series is heading. Are we going back to more villain of the week episodes now that Crosshair has been sent back into the ignored void? Or are we going to get more origin story for Omega? Both prospects seem equally bleak.

Overall, Omega has easily become the worst part of the show and it needs to ditch her as soon as it can- she is no Grogu.

Pros.

The bounty hunter fight

The ending tease of intrigue

Cons.

Omega is a weak character and worse still annoying

They forget about Crosshair once again

The tension and build up from the previous episode is lost almost immediately

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Loki: The Nexus Event

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

Summary

Loki and Sylvie come face to face with the Time Keepers and Mobius slips into an existential crisis regarding who he is.

This was a big episode of Loki. I think this is a strong episode for sure, though again much like with the previous episode I would say it could have done with being about ten minutes longer. A lot happens in this episode, and a slightly longer run time would have really given these reveals proper time to set themselves up and be impactful- as they are they feel rushed.

That aside, this episode has a lot going for it. Owen Wilson’s Mobius is back and better than ever, some of the scenes between Mobius and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki are incredibly well done and the performances from both men are simply terrific. There is a lot unspoken between the two, but the bond does feel real, and they are easily my favourite duo in the MCU. The ending of the episode broke my heart with regard’s to Wilson’s character, I can only hope he will come back at some point in the future as the mid credits scene seems to imply.

Moreover, Sophia DiMartino’s Sylvie really comes into her own this week as we learn more about her origin. As strange as it might be to say I quite like the relationship between the two versions of Loki in the MCU and I would like to see them get a chance to be together in the MCU. I think the end of the episode really leaves Sylvie in a very interesting position and it will be fascinating to see where she goes next.

The Time Keepers reveal, which I won’t spoil here, feels somewhat of an anticlimactic cop out but it also works for the show and points to an even bigger game/mystery afoot. The mid credits scene is definitely worth sitting through the credits for as it changes how you see the whole show once again and flips it on its head.

Overall, fun and exciting but it could have been longer and better set up.

Pros.

Loki and Sylvie

Loki and Mobius

The return of Lady Sif

The mid credits scene

Cons.

It is too short

The Time Keepers reveal is a little underwhelming

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Rick And Morty: Mortyplicity

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This episode was a big step back from last weeks’.

Though this episode had a few highlights, it certainly had the most on-screen deaths of the Smith family, it also reflected what I would say is the worst sensibility of the show, the gimmicky intellectual. A few of the weaker episodes of Rick and Morty across its run are not so much bothered about telling a fun story as they are with exploring a deep scientific concept and showing their audience just how intelligent their writers think they are. This is one of those episodes to a tee.

The concept of duplicates and clones of the family being killed off, and then later killing each other off, could work on paper, but as the episode progresses it quickly becomes apparent that their simply isn’t legs to the idea. It is vaguely intriguing for about the first five minutes then it becomes increasingly annoying as it continues.

Though that is not to say the idea is entirely flawed, it did show some imagination and I enjoyed seeing all the various different duplicates, some of which look noticeably different, that was a fun little distraction within the episode itself.

Furthermore, something else I noticed increasingly throughout the episode was how hostile Beth was towards Rick. Now, for the sake of series context, yes I can see why Beth would be upset in this situation as it mirrors something she went through last season and the point of the episode is to have the characters work through these issues seemingly. However, it makes no sense to have this episode be the second episode of the series considering Clone Beth was the previous season finale, it should have been the first. As it stands now, you have the Clone Beth episode, then an episode where Beth is fine to Rick and everything is forgotten about, and then an episode where it is all brought back up and clearly is a festering point of tension between the two, it is out of sequence.

Overall, Rick and Morty is better when it is trying to entertain us rather than prove how smart it’s writers are, sadly that lesson is ignored here.

Pros.

It is nice to see Rick get called out

Jerry has a few funny lines; my favourite was the one about his lemon bars

The imaginative duplicates

Cons.

It is trying too hard to prove how smart it is

The premise becomes tiresome very early on

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Tuca And Bertie: Planteau

3/5

Written by Luke Barnes

At this point I am starting to question whether the writers of Tuca And Bertie are deliberately drawing from my own life experiences. It is just too specific.

I am of course talking about the depiction of Bertie’s social anxiety and her need to drink on a night out to be able to feel comfortable and accepted. Many, many people feel this way, not just me, but it is nice to see this form of social anxiety be represented and shown on screen. I really do think that this is the biggest pro the show has going for it, it is not afraid to cover and highlight mental illness and in doing so it normalises it and helps to ease the stigma and for that I will always be grateful.

The episode itself takes the duo outside of their usual haunts and to a plant land, yes we see far more plant people in this episode and are also treated to a beautifully animated trip sequence that really works not just in a character arc sense but also visually too.

I would not say I found this episode funny at all, it almost feels more like an animated dramady, in a similar vein to something like F Is For Family, where the goal of the show is to make you feel rather than just to bombard you with jokes. This is nice to see as it shows that adult animation is moving away from simply being edgy humour for teens and is trying to be something more.

Tuca is very much pushed to the side this episode, so there is not much to talk about with her.

Overall, effecting and nicely representation but not funny and also a little uncomfortable to watch at times.

Pros.

The mental health representation

It is very effecting

I enjoyed seeing a new local explored

Cons.

It is not funny

It is hard to watch at times

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Tuca And Bertie: Bird Mechanics

3.5/5

Written by Luke Barnes

I am glad to see that Tuca And Bertie survived being cancelled and has found new life elsewhere. I appreciated this show when it was on Netflix, as though it was not another Bojack as many had expected it to be it was deep and funny in its own way.

I enjoy that the characters in the show feel true, yes in one respect they are larger than life cartoon characters but in another they are deeply flawed individuals just trying to get through. I always found this show to be very relatable when it came to its depiction of anxiety and other mental health conditions. I think it is important for the medium to talk about this topic and to analyse it both to spread awareness as well as to take apart harmful or misguided stereotypes.

In this particular episode I found the scenes with Bertie being unable to cope with and then having a panic attack at the romantic meal with her boyfriend particularly powerful. As someone with anxiety disorder myself I can see how it would get to that level.

Moreover, the Tuca storyline has her surround herself with people in a dating show format, but then just ends up with her pushing them all away because she can’t commit, yet fundamentally she is lonely. The show is as deep if not deeper than anything Bojack ever was, not to belabor the comparison. The nuance of the characters and the emotions really speak to the level of the writing. Additionally it is also quite funny, so it is firing on both barrels.

Overall, it is nice to see the series back.

Pros.

The mental health representation

Bertie’s panic attack storyline

The emotional nuance

A few funny jokes.

Cons.

Not all the jokes land

Tuca needs more exploration

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The Bad Batch: Reunion

4/5

Written by Luke Barnes

This episode finally brought back Crosshair. Finally.

I thought this was easily the best of the recent batch of Bad Batch episodes, we finally got the tense standoff between the inhibitor chip free clones and the possessed evil Crosshair that the series has been building towards. Luckily for all, this confrontation feels meaty and well-paced, neither can truly best the other and both sides are hurt. The only way I think this could have been made better is if Crosshair killed one of the Bad Batch or at least gravely wounded them, this would have added to the impact of the episode.

I thought the re-emergence of Cad Bane was both a pro and a con to the episode. It is a pro in that the character is cool and it is nice to see him return and carry on his storyline, but at the same time it is a con as it feels very random and there was little to no build up to him returning. With him taking Omega at the end of the episode I hope she stays out of commission for a while so the Bad Batch can properly deal with their defeat and really rally to the cause.

Overall, a high point for the series so far I can only hope the next lot of episodes keep the same pace and tone.

Pros.

Finally bringing back Crosshair in a meaningful way

The tense cat and mouse elements

The action

The ending

Cons.

Cad Bane’s return feels a little random and unplanned

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