User blog comment:Mattalamode/A Second Opinion: The Others/@comment-30307603-20170323205851/@comment-31194372-20170324041725

Ehhh.

One of the reasons that I really enjoy the show is that they always find some interesting way of introducing the episode's core concept. It never dives head-on, instead making the progression feel natural. For instance, in "The Slap," the whole handshake discussion was light and relatively meaningless, but it segued smoothly into the episode's conceit and helped frame the situation. (On the other hand, the idea of Gumball walking up to Tobias and proclaiming, "SLAP MY BUTT BOI" just... doesn't work.) Episodes need that little boost to make everything feel less forced or else they end up being completely aimless and derivative a la "The Compilation" or "The Boredom" - episodes that, in spite of strong ideas, suffer from feeling too loose and low-effort.