kleenexwoman | (no subject)

drworm pointed out while we were having our weekly viewing party that the show has changed a lot. I was thinking about this at work. It really has. At first I thought it was mainly that it had gone from a joke show to a show with serious storylines, characters, and mythos that happens to have jokes, but that's not necessarily it--a lot of the storylines are still complete parody. I think what's happened is that a lot of the episodes have gotten too busy and too mired down under an increasingly complex plot--I can just about keep on top of it at this point, and I hope it's going to settle down.

The show really is best when it's taking a single ridiculous premise and expanding on it. "Blood of the Father" and "Perchance to Dean" were impressive in their own ways, but "Handsome Ransom" and "Self-Medication" have been my favorite episodes of this season so far, mostly because they do what the show used to do--take an aspect of retro kiddie pulp and make weird fun of it or expand it to its "real-life" consequences. Not saying the show should be limited to that, but I'd like it to be the focus of the show instead of something that's become a sideline.

I'm still annoyed that Hunter's transness was a cover-up, because it would have been exactly as cool if he'd stayed a woman and still been the leader of SPHINX. First/second-season VBros would have had that happen, I think. Although Shore Leave is excellent and I think he may be a new favorite. And I like the concept behind SPHINX--deciding to take a vanquished enemy's stuff and do your own thing with it is funny, clever, and a lot simpler than I was expecting.

I'm kind of wondering if the show is really going to take a different direction, though. It's all about an aesthetic of failure, and that's...not happening as much. Rusty is still a horrible failure and Hatred is amazingly pathetic as his bodyguard, and that's awesome, but SPHINX has so far been pretty competent, and a whole cohort made up of competent people in this universe is kind of a scary idea. And I was going to say that 21 has become weirdly competent, but that's all window dressing--he's still a nerdy, sex-starved failure underneath the new badassery.

And I'm really starting to like Hank and Dean a lot more than I had before. The first few seasons, they were pretty much walking Hardy Boys jokes without even a cursory amount of depth. Now they seem a lot more real, and I like it. I'm actually feeling genuinely sorry for Dean, and, um, Hank is sort of cute. In that teenaged-animated-character way. And I actually want to see what happens to them now.

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I pretty much agree with you on all points AS USUALLLLL Self Medication might be my favorite episode ever, there's just SO MUCH YES, i even love the creepy astroboy parody <3.

Everything about that episode was GREAT. I loved Lance and Dale, that was equally creepy. although I've never seen Astroboy so that might have been a little lost on me but I feel like I should!

It felt a little weird just because Astroboy doesn't seem to fit the boy adventurer/sidekick pattern going in the group, but that a parody of astroboy touched on the creepy semi-erotic nature of the character(nipples, black lipstick, reset button in an unusual place.. you know astroboy refuels in his butt, right?) ...that was just awesome.

I kind of want Shore Leave and Brock to be BFFs until the end of time and do super spy stuff together forever. They play so well off each other.

I'm also starting to feel a lot more for Hank and Dean too. Dean is just so sad and will probably never be anything more than he is now, and Hank's missing Brock had me like, genuinely upset for him. I got so excited for him at the end of this last episode. :')

oh man your icon :D Brock and Shore Leave are definitely an awesome team. I loved Shore Leave trying to squirt him in the sulfur bath. And Brock just loling over his ripping-pants-off thing.

I definitely don't think Dean will ever be much on purpose. I think the most he can hope for is a life that's not a shambling disappointment. and I am definitely excited for Hank now that Brock is back :D

"Self-Medication" and "Handsome Ransom" have been my favorites of the season so far for pretty much the reasons you gave. Normally I like the show's overarching mythology, but I'm not a fan of "everything you know is wrong" retcons like the ones they've been doling out lately. The ending with Hank really got me, though. And we need more Shore Leave! <3

I genuinely like the mythology, and I like the moments when it's made clear that even the history and mythology of the show is completely ridiculous. I do feel like they're being uneven and giving us too much at once in the mythos-heavy episodes--it's too much to take in at once, a lot of the time.

I did tear up a little at the end. Just a little!

So fucking pissed off about Hunter and totally late to the party BUT I AM STILL PISSED, HOLLA.

It's never too late to be mad at a cartoon show!