User blog comment:Mattalamode/A Season 5 Retrospective Review: The Problem Child/@comment-26215750-20171111113859/@comment-31194372-20171112184223

Alright. Here we go.

The Characters:

I actually think that Season 5 was a bit daring in some of its choices with the supporting cast. I mean, consider that Leslie has never been used in anything with too much depth before, and now he's front and center in one of the season's better episodes, or how Ocho was re-conjured after three years of complete ignorance and, even if "The Uncle" was merely okay, was a driving force in where the episode succeeded. You seem to be suggesting that Season 5 is simply licking off the boots of Season 2; I think it's more a thoughtful continuation of that spirit.

I'm also not arguing that the whole season sucked or something simply because of the characters, but when one aspect is weak, it generally affects other areas of the show, too, though that the show takes advantage of having such a wide assortment means a weakness within them causes a general domino effect across the rest of the show - that's how we end up with episodes like "The Stars."

And yes, I agree with everything regarding the main cast, and it's odd to note how their utilization seemingly deteriorated as the season kept going. I think a lot of it also comes down to how the show focused much more on its plots and was willing to modify the characters to be able to sustain that; the result is that neither feels as strong as you'd hope.

The Storytelling:

Yeah, Season 5 had a very specific way of creating its narratives; even if I can't accurately pinpoint what makes them so specific, there's an overarching tone the show is going for that other seasons didn't explore as much. It's distinctive, sure, though I don't know if it works all that much better than the precedent other seasons set up.

I think what bothers me most about Season 5's storytelling is how little they ceased upon it; episodes like "The Ex," like it or not, and "The Matchmaker" barely hold any relevance in the season when they're inherently designed to be milestones, and the show's refusal to supplement them is really frustrating. It's good to try new things, but completely disregarding them just doesn't work.

The Humor:

Ugh, the extra "u."

To briefly delve in "The Line," I don't really think the referential humor coalesced so much as it floated at the top of the whole thing and distracted from the stronger elements at play, but that's a bridge to cross some other time.

I think that epitomizes the issue with a lot of Season 5's later episodes, though: the humor never really gelled with how the spirit of the show. Episodes like "The Worst" were too focused to delivering their message that the show's nuance was sidelined completely. Since the Americanization phrase has been thrown into question, this might be a more definitive explanation of the stranger quality persisting; it's simply the low-ball qualities of American humor that makes the claim seem to bear more truth.

Other than that, I agree with everything else you're saying. Social commentary isn't bad, per se, but when you do it like this... it's not.

Conclusions and Concessions:

The back-half of Season 5 was frustratingly destructive, but more in how it overshadowed everything that Season 5 did right; looking back, it made me feel bad how harsh I've been, because for everything that didn't work, something else did, and it worked amazingly.

Ultimately, though, Season 5 is, by definition, a mixed bag, but a good one at that.

Thanks for commenting! Keep doing what you're doing.