User blog comment:Mattalamode/A Second Opinion: Individual Appeals: Part I/@comment-30307603-20170309230228

Alright; looks like this post is long than usual, so it my comment may be longer than usual. Let's begin!

The Laziest: Putting aside the fact that I really, really, really dislike Richard in this episode (and Richard's Season 1 incarnation in general), this episode is just boring. The plot is fairly one note; this would be fine if the episode was filled to the brim with great jokes, but outside of the "Summer or '83", nothing really makes me laugh. It doesn't help that its just the Watterson guys being hopelessly dumb for 11 minutes.

The Skull and The Move: Now, I don't think Clayton's the worst of the supporting characters, but he's definitely one of the weaker ones. That being said, while I found the first half of "The Skull" to be quite dull, save for the shock collar scene (that was sadly censored in all American airings), I really enjoy the second half. The fight scene had some nice pacing to it, and it was visually interesting to watch. I 100% agree with you on "The Move"; it's not a godball, but it's still a great episode.

The Ape: I legitimately think that "The Ape" is one of Season 1's best offerings. A lot of things in the episode just work for me; I loved the high-five gag, I thought the conflict between Nicole and Ms. Simian was nice, and the car chase was awesome. "The Ape" honestly felt more like an early Season 2 episode, with everything it did right.

<The Bros: I'm in a very weird spot with "The Bros"; on one hand, it makes sense that Darwin is very jealous towards Penny and very possessive of Gumball, but on the other hand, some of the measures Darwin takes in this episode to become closer to Gumball just rub me the wrong way, and kind of come across as "creepy", for a lack of better term. That being said, I still found some enjoyment in this episode; some of the jokes told are pretty funny, and the climax is pretty entertaining.

The Boss: I actually really like this episode. I agree with all of your points; the only thing I disliked about the episode was the ending. I really wish the crew went for a genuine and heartfelt ending instead of cramming that last minute joke.

The Saint: You already know my thoughts on "The Saint", so I'll just leave it at this: even though I'm not a fan of Gumball's character derailment in this episode, they went about it in the funniest way that its hard not to like some aspects of the episode. Though, I do wish the forces of karma went a little harder on Gumball and that Gumball actually learned his lesson in the end.

The Triangle: This is another episode I really like. Gumball gets some mice character development, a lot of the jokes in this episode work (my favorite being the not-a-training-montage), and Leslie makes for a decent antagonist. I do kind of wish the ending wasn't as cold, though.