User blog:ThatGuy456/A Guy's Thoughts: A Look Back at Gumbomb

Introduction
You guys remember February's Gumbomb, right? During that mess of an event, I tasked myself with reviewing all twenty episodes in a series of blog posts titled "A Guy's Thoughts: "New Amazing World of Gumball in February!". Every week for five weeks, I would review the four episodes that aired during the week. Some time has passed since the event, and some opinions have changed. I have since taken another look at the episodes, and decided that my opinions on some of them have changed. I'm writing this post as a sort of "looking back" sort of thing. I establish my new thoughts on the episode while simultaneously taking a look at my previous thoughts. Specifically, I'll re-assessing my views on "The Vase", "The Stars", and "The Sorcerer".

"The Vase"
Original Review: Read here "...Sometimes, it's good for the show to just take a step back and do these simplistic episodes; it adds a sense of variety. "The Vase" was that simple episode, but it was a simple episode that worked with its premise to the fullest..." Now, in my first review, I don't feel like I gave this episode much justice. Unlike my other reviews, my Gumbomb review for "The Vase" felt rushed and not as insightful. Basically, this section is to redeem my failures. "The Vase" is an episode much like "The Flakers" or "The Misunderstandings"; it's not trying to be grandiose. It's a simple premise: the Watterson children are tasked to destroy a hideous vase their grandmother gave them. Despite its simplistic nature, "The Vase" is eleven minutes of pristine entertainment. One of stronger aspects of "The Vase" is its sharp character personalities and interactions. This is especially apparent with the arguable stars of the episode, the Watterson children; the dynamic between the trio is near spot-on as all of their personalities mesh well together. Gumball is the strong-headed leader, Anais is the cunning underdog, and Darwin is the kind-hearted spacey guy. Some of the episode's best lines comes from these characters' seamless ability to bounce off of one another; Anais calling Darwin out for being distracted isn't groundbreaking comedy by any means, but it's sure to garner a few chuckles. Gumball's constant display of determination despite the odds being against him is quite endearing. All three of the children get a chance to shine here, with my favorite scene including them being the montage of them trying to break the vase with their own flair. Nicole also proves to be an enticing character in this episode, having some great lines and a good climax attached to her. Every line Nicole utters in the introduction is comedy gold, with my personal being her comparison of being polite to the burying of ancient Egyptians. It also helps that Jojo is in this episode, which is character Nicole plays off of nicely. Jojo's nonchalant insults toward Nicole always get an amusing reaction out of her given her more short-temper; it's especially chucklesome when we see Nicole scrabbling to keep her fury within. The internal moral dilemma of Nicole on whether or not to break the vase is also quite diverting. It's always nice to know that even a super woman such as Nicole has her moments of weaknesses, and seeing her pass the dirty work off to her children without batting an eye was ever so delightful. Top "The Vase" of with a well-animated climax that emphasizes the series' expertise in creating action-paced moments out of the simplest of premises, and you're in for a great episode. "The Vase" is an overlooked episode that deserves more attention from the community. Also, "Why couldn't you maintain that when I was baby?" is one of the darkest yet funniest lines in the series to-date.

"The Stars"
Original Review: Read here "...I would be able to move on from it had it been a one-off gag, but the fact that his baldness is the resolution to the episode just irritates me to no end...." "The Stars" was an episode that I disliked on my first viewing. However, I decided to give it another chance, and to my surprise, I found it more enjoyable the second time around despite the flaws I still found in it. The basic plot of "The Stars" is that the Watterson brothers manipulate Larry via the use of online reviews, but things end up spiraling out of control, resulting in the entire town reviewing each other. Now, for anybody that paid any mind to me when the episode first aired is aware that one of my biggest gripes with the episode was the selfishness of Gumball, Darwin, and (to a lesser degree) Richard. During my first viewing, I found the selfish and general whiny nature of the characters to go past humorous and into annoying territory. I somewhat rectify that complaint. The premise behind "The Stars" hinges on having a self-centered protagonist. How are you supposed to showcase the damage online reviews can cause if you don't have anyone causing said damage? Having Gumball serve this role makes sense; it's not completely out of character for him to be on board with these kind of activities ("The Scam" comes to mind), and to the writers' credit, they do tell some great jokes with Gumball's spoiled attitude. The final minutes of the episode showcase Gumball's elitist mindset as deliciously over-the-top ("Only our opinions matter! That's why we made the website!), and the mindset catalyst for those all those great jokes in the final minutes. However, I do still have my problems with that the way the characters are written. I mentioned this in my post about Darwin, but the episode is sorely lacking a straight man to Gumball's tomfoolery. The episode lacks a different perspective; a perspective that would not only make Gumball's stuck-up attitude easier to bare with, but a perspective that would have strengthen the commentary. Having a character that points out the flaws in Gumball's logic (in a non-preachy way, of course) really would have driven the point home. Sadly, Darwin not only enables Gumball, but he participates in his jerk-like behavior, which not only makes Gumball a tad bit harder to watch, but it also slightly soils the message. That aside, "The Stars" still has some great jokes. I said it once and I will say it again: Mr. Robinson attempting to murder his wife via the use of termites is the best joke in the entire episode; dark and straight to the point. The termites' refusal to not even touch Mrs. Robinson only adds to the hilarity; even crazed insects have their limits. Another personal favorite gag of mine is Larry's cheaply made film. Everything from the hokey acting to the film-grain sits right with me. Accompanied by a cheesy song, this joke does not fail to miss the mark, hitting all the right notes because of how ridiculously bad it is. It only gets better when the entire credit sequence is dominated by Larry's name. One joke that still doesn't sit right with me is the "bald Richard" joke. I am fully aware I'm being irrational with this and that I shouldn't take this seriously, but the fact that this isn't a throwaway gag and how it solves the conflict just irks me. I know I'm alone on this, but something about a furless Richard just throws me off. Overall, "The Stars" has some great jokes going for it, but the lack of a straight man really does dampen my enjoyment of the episode quite a bit, making it an average episode for me, personally.

"The Sorcerer"
Original Review: Read here "...Looking back, it's much harder to remember scenes from this episode than for other episodes, and that's because it isn't too memorable...." Okay, I feel as if I was not in the right mindset when I watched "The Sorcerer" the first time. I had my expectations way too high and was naturally disappointed by it. Going in a second time with a better idea of what to expect did a lot for my opinion of the episode. "The Sorcerer" is a fairly basic episode: Gumball wants to learn magic from the one-and-only Mrs. Jötunheim, but his rash behavior makes the task much more difficult than it's worth. "The Sorcerer" thrives on delivering jokes; this is the case with most episode, but this episode in particular is not trying to wow anyone, but rather provide a humorous eleven minutes, and the episode benefits because of it. From the get-go, the episode introduces the conflict in good humor; as Gumball gripes to his brother about he is magically challenged, the episode utilizes Gumball's classmates in amusing ways. Clayton's transformation into a hunk is priceless; the pacing is perfect, and the facial expressions of not just, Clayton, but everyone around him really helps to drive the point home. The comedy does not stop there, however. The episode is one giant metaphor for internet trolling, and thus, it's expected that internet-culture will be poked fun at. Initially, I criticized this element as a weakness of the episode. With a fresh mind, though, the internet-based humor is quite enjoyable. What makes it so great is how all the cyberspace gags are synthesized with the more magical components of fairy tales and middle-ages superstition. It's an odd combination executed so well that the sheer absurdity of it all is sure to garner a few chuckles. The episode's musical number is catchy and comical at the same time. The song isn't as crucial to the plot as say, I'm On My Way, but akin to the rest of the episode, A Sorcerer's Apprentice is filled to the brim with all sorts of small visual gags. A personal favorite of mine is when Gumball stuffs his hat with a bunch of junk; in the context of the song, the moment is not all too funny. The punchline comes in a few minutes later when Gumball attempts to don the hat; all the garbage he previously stuffed in the hat falls out. It's not gut-bustingly hilarious, but it's a witty moment nonetheless, having a decent payoff for such an underplayed moment. I will say the climax of the episode is a tad weak. By no means is it bad, but it does feel rather strange that Gumball is able to defeat the troll by "trolling" him. In the context of the whole trolling joke, would it have not made more sense if Gumball defeated the troll by doing nothing? Gumball is essentially feeding the troll by feeding him all sorts of useless questions. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but it's noticeable. "The Sorcerer" is a great episode that fulfills exactly what it sets out to do: delivering jokes. It's not an episode for the records, but still a good one worth giving a shot.

Summarized Season 5 Thoughts
For those curious, these are my current thoughts on the season. Loved: "The Rerun", "The Stories", "The Vision", "The Choices", "The Test", "The Loophole", "The Fuss", "The Copycats", "The Vase", "The Matchmaker", "The Console", "The Ollie", "The Grades", "The Uncle", "The Weirdo" Liked: "The Guy", "The Code", "The Slide", "The Potato", "The Outside", "The Box", "The Catfish", "The Cycle", "The Sorcerer", "The Menu", "The Heist" Okay: "The Boredom", "The Stars", "The Ex" Disliked: "The Diet"

Conclusion
That should wrap it for this blog post. Some users requested that I take a look at other characters in a similar manner to how I analyzed Darwin. I do plan on getting to some of those requests soon enough. Just give it some time. I still intend on doing my special analysis on Gumball and I still have that special project up ahead. That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

Other Blog Posts

 * A Second Opinion: The Hero (feat. ThatGuy456) - My first collaborative effort with Mattalamode; he and I debate on whether or not "The Hero" is a good episode. It's still something I take pride in, so give it a shot if you have the time.
 * A Guy's Thoughts: Darwin, The Good Goody-Two-Shoes - My first character-analysis. In this post, I analyze Darwin's moral compass and how its utilized throughout the series.