User blog:Mattalamode/A Second Opinion: The Oracle

Introduction
Let's start this off with a little discussion on nudity. This'll draw in the masses, right? No? Nobody cares at all? Wrong website? I try.

Nudity as a punchline is a consistent problem in so many cartoons and it's at least easy to see why: it's simple, effective, and gets the job done in lieu of any actual thought. The pants go down, the laughs go up. The issue is, of course, that it's insanely difficult to hide how lazy of a punchline nudity is, a problem that Gumball seemed to have a lot of trouble with in its early years.



I will at least say that the way the show addresses it - with the characters heavily pixelated - is pretty smart, but Christ, did Season 1 take every possible opportunity to make Gumball naked for no good reason, with "The Picnic" being perhaps the most pitiful instance.

Season 2 at least sought to refine the joke and give it some comedic weight, most clearly by making it the subject of a quick visual rather than some extended joke in and of itself. It was quick, flashy, and worked by virtue of the shock having value. That being said, it wasn't until deep into Season 3 that the show was able to wield the joke to its maximum potential - that point in question being, naturally, "The Oracle."

Admittedly, that whole build-up was a bit superfluous, especially considering that Gumball being naked was the sole punchline, but it worked because the show was creating a proper climax. It wasn't some pointless aside for a quick laugh, nor was the actual reveal of Gumball being naked particularly funny - it was all about watching the world collapse as Gumball became more and more helpless against his unsavory fate.

While the final joke was, by virtue of the subject matter, juvenile, the build-up was ingenious. It's a masterful juxtaposition, and although the episode doesn't take itself seriously by any means, it plays out the scenario like a miniature, almost-apocalyptic drama.

The Actual Start of the Article
The main crux of the episode starts with Gumball attempting to avoid his fate as simply as possible, with very little pressure - he clearly feels in control of the situation, though it quickly becomes clear that he can't even control himself (he can neither sit still nor even knock himself out). Then, it becomes obvious that he can't halt the world around him either - his attempts to stall going to the mall by messing with the family car engine, for instance, only causes it to rev up and go even faster than before, let alone that, upon trying to leave the mall later, his tampering literally leaves them stranded there.

Perhaps even more interestingly, it's out of his intense precautions that the problem aggravates, with every frantic attempt to avert the crisis only entangling them further. The world begins to fall apart to a point where the sequence of events is hardly even explainable, all while Gumball, Darwin, and Anais stand baffled, trying to rationalize an impossible situation.

Either Gumball accepts his fate or refuses it, but recognizing both options to lead to the same outcome, he decides to go out with glory. The episode is both a win and a lose for the character - for once, he doesn't run away from the problem, but at the same time, the dude's still naked on live television. Still, in spite of his rock-and-a-hard-place misadventure, it's an interesting change in trajectory for the character.

Analysis
I know I've said it before, but one of the greatest successes of Season 3 was making Gumball respectable (and arguably, for most people, more likable). He's always been a fine character, but Season 3 was when he actually started to show some moral compass, however flimsy for the sake of his being a cartoon character, and a sense of responsibility. Here, he was willing to actually understand the situation, whereas his previous variants would've continued to either remain stubborn and smug or run away from his issues. (As a side note, it's the same reason why I think "The Society" is so loathed - it seems regressive of his then-current iteration, and even if it isn't that bad of an episode, it left a bad taste in a lot of peoples' mouths.) It's a change that the show desparately needed for the sake of keeping Gumball's Season 2 schtick from becoming tiredsome, however enjoyable it might have been.

Great, that's all said and done, now back to Gumball's pocket rocket.

Again, this episode doesn't really trample on new territory in delivering the expected naked joke, but it doesn't need to. For once, it embraces the simplicity of the joke while giving it ample structure. That's not to say there's anything wrong with Gumball's nudity popping up as a non sequitur - it just needs direction. (For proof, see his junks' finest outing in "The Safety," where it delivered a nice jab at merciless censorship.)



What makes the episode work so effectively, in my opinion, is that the show is able to get over the lameness of its conceit and express its humor as intelligently as possible. Save for the outcome, nothing about "The Oracle's" approach to nudity was in line with expectations, instead playing out the joke as any other with caution to keep it from going too broad. This, as far as I'm concerned, is the show showing off how far it's come and proving that it could take such a flimsy, prone-to-failure idea and create a compelling narrative, and thankfully, that spirit of going all in on even the most questionable premises is one to stay.

Next week we'll be returning to Season 2 with "The Pony," a personal favorite.