User blog:ThatGuy456/A Guy's Thoughts: Season 5 Review

Welp. This has to be the longest blog post I have ever written (save collabs). I will probably never produce something this long ever again, but Season 5 let a lot to talk about.

Now, I am aware that I am late to the party and that several people have discussed Season 5 at this point and preparing a write-up at this point seems somewhat redundant. Well, I have made an effort to tackle some new topics not often seen in discussion, or at the very least, discuss the same topics from a different angle. Whether I did a good job at that is up to your discretion.

Because of the length, I figured that it would be courteous of me to leave links to points in the article in which I summarize key points for those who do not wish to read the whole thing. Please click [insert here], [insert here], and [insert here].

Without further hesitation, welcome to a long spurge of thoughts about Season 5.

The Dark Comedy
The Amazing World of Gumball has a unique component to its humor. The series takes advantage of the fact it has a cast of non-human characters and uses it as an opportunity to incorporate black comedy. Season 5 has been excellent in reveling in that regard.

What makes this type of humor work in this show is its ability to maintain its atmosphere of fun and frolic while poking fun at some grave subject manner. It can be a difficult task to make dark humor mesh well with a series, especially in a child-friendly cartoon as Gumball because it can come across as either inconsistent and edgy with the rest of the tone or uncomfortable and unnerving to watch. Season 5 explores some interesting subject manner in a humorous manner while still feeling lighthearted and joyous. "The Vision" is one of the season's most popular episodes, and for good reasons: it is explores a seemingly altruistic character's sociopathic tendencies, it is an effective satire of the brutal and cold nature of politics, and it has a nice soundtrack. However, this episode also tackles some dark topics in the most comical of ways. Alan's proposed "Happy Camps" suggest a grim fate for those who refuse to smile: miserable people are to be held captive and forced to endure visual subliminal messaging. Afterwards, captives are to be whipped and beaten until they participate in "fun activities" lest they face the "correctional center". Alan's sadistic desires are juxtaposed by the cheery imagery, the relaxing music piece, and Alan's warm and inviting voice. It makes for a hilarious combination that downplays a dark subject matter and adds a level of absurdity to it all.

Likewise, the assassination attempts by the Watterson brothers are another excellent example of dark comedy within the episode. The sheer insanity of their admittedly good intentions is enough to elevate it into comedic gold territory— they intend to murder a fellow classmate in fear of a future of "happy camps". The mock serious tone to their endeavors only furthers the comedic value; the blend of the boys' serious facial expressions, orchestrated music, and the wacky assassination methods compliment grave yet ridiculous implications of the brothers' scheme very well. "The Uncle" is another high point for Season 5's dark comedy endeavors. The majority of the episode involves Ocho trying to psychologically break Gumball with the feline's sheer determination to meet Mario being the only thing keeping him from suffering a mental breakdown. Ocho takes some drastic measures to ensure torment on Gumball, including faking a kidnapping and writing it off as a "joke" and suggesting that Gumball kills his own brother in a test of loyalty to him. What should be horrific concepts are made humorous with the nonchalance the episode treats the subject matter and the strong mental resolve of the protagonist. Gumball's ability to handle everything that comes his way with relative ease makes all the horror funny and enjoyable.

Gumball eventually has enough of Ocho's mental bullying, so he indulges in some dark thoughts and composes a ballad listing off ways to get rid of the 8-bit-menace, dead or alive. "Goodbye" is one of my favorite songs in the series to-date because of the way it cheerfully celebrates the abandoning of a person with a nice melody and good lyrics. The song is a pinnacle for the show and its black comedy styling. My favorite episode of both Season 5 and the entire series, "The Choices", is worth a mention in regards to its black humor. The larger part of the episode consists of Nicole contemplating what life would have been like had she chose a different husband (or even no husband at all, for that matter). What prevents this episode from being depressing given the multiple fates Nicole (power-hungry dictator, driven to insanity, verbally and mentally abused, and killed on three occasions) is that the episode leaves it ambiguous as to whether or not these are accurate portrayals or simply Nicole's projections. This ambiguity takes the saddening nature out and replaces it with a comical tone for how far the episode goes with its realities.

The rising action to "The Copycats" leaves viewers the dark impression that the Wattersons are content with living their lives in constant fear of peril if it means there is a chance that the Miracle Star cast will kill themselves in the process. The severity of that thought process in addition to the exaggerated cartoonish nature to their antics makes the episode nothing short of hilarious. Instances of the series's mastery of dark comedy can be seen constantly throughout the season, and Season 5's ability to subtly provide these dark scenarios in the most amusing and fun ways makes returning to it a blast.

The Visuals
(Note: I am not an art nor animation expert. I desire to make this clear so people do not take my word as fact. I also want to ensure people I am not a poser trying to pretend I am more knowledgeable about a subject than I really am. I am simply a guy who appreciates the visuals.) Visuals have always been a huge part of the Gumball experience. Gumball is a cartoon that embraces animation and integrates its visual nature seamlessly into its humor, characters, and storytelling. Much of the show's components are inseparable from the animated nature of the show's medium.

With that said, Season 5 has been a blast in terms of its visuals. A new component introduced to the production cycle starting with "The Stories" has been an episode director. Admittedly, I am still somewhat unsure as to the concrete role the episode director plays in the production process, but I do remember reading that the episode director is responsible for accounting much of the episode's visual nuances and animation choices, much like a second storyboarder. (Please do correct me if I am wrong). Regardless of whether or not the episode director is as involved in the art direction as my primitive research suggests, something has changed about the way the series visually conducts itself, and it is for the better. Perhaps its my eyes deceiving me, but it seems as if the lighting has improved. Seasons 2 through 4 already utilized realistic and stunning lighting effects, but Season 5 takes it one step further. Take "The Box" for instance. Despite the mixed opinions surrounding the episode, this episode is amazing at taking advantage of the lighting. The scenes involving the living room and the rainy outdoors make use of a subdued lighting with a gray tint to convey that it is a rainy and drab day. The environment used in the climax of Nicole's intense fantasy sequence uses a combination of the "subdued gray tint" and a pink-orangish color to give the idea that it is the wee hours of the morning, further pushing the idea of Nicole's insanity in forcing her family to endure the madness. Moments of fabulous lighting can be seen all throughout the season ("The Stories", "The Loophole", and "The Petals" to name a few), and it makes for some captivating moments. The crew has also made use of a more dynamic camera this season. Gumball already made use of interesting camera angles in the past with how visual dependent it is, but this season seems more elaborate in what it does. Darwin's "Without You" in "The Matchmaker" is a brief yet effective use of these intricate camera techniques. There are some close-ups of Darwin's scattered love poems, close-ups of Darwin's face, and shots taken at a distance to admire the beauty of the water. A more extensive example of admirable camera work would be "The Sorcerer"; for as nondescript the episode is, the climax involving the troll reeking havoc on Elmore is awesome for how dynamic it is. A variety of different angles and distances are used throughout the scene to keep the viewers with the action. One shot will visually showcase how small Gumball and Mrs. Jötunheim are to the troll while the next will display the speed and power of an airline through the distance of the camera. Of course, the season takes delight in fun little visual nuances that only the most dedicated of eyes will notice. The water this season is now animated with 3D CGI as opposed to the 2D animation used in previous seasons, and this makes sequences such as Darwin's song in "The Matchmaker" a blast to watch. Episodes such as "The Choices" and "The Box" have a puase in a character's thoughts accompanied by VCR-esque pause screen, complete with static and grainy visual filter. "The Test" and "The Uncle" complete their homage to the media of old by using a 4:3 aspect ratio for their climaxes. Deliberate choppy and robotic animation is used whenever the Miracle Star characters are uploading videos to the internet in "The Copycats", and "The Console" has all the fun video game touches such as stilted and looped character animation. "The Singing" pays homage to genres such as rap and J-Pop by using the appropriate camera dynamics and visual filters. "The Ollie", "The Weirdo", and "The Puppets" are appreciated for exploring new things with the animated medium, as per usual with the show. What can I say? Season 5 is fun to look at and the crew deserves respect and praise for the work put into the animation!

The Variety
Season 5 has been about exploring some different angles and creating a robust season. Sure, the premises are not as interesting as a sizable chunk of Season 4's, but that does not change that the season leaves the viewer unsure what to expect next, which has always been a strong point of the show.

Season 5 brought focus to some of its supporting cast with interesting character studies. "The Grades" is an excellent piece expanding on the dynamic between Gumball Watterson and his teacher Miss Simian and giving proper closure to Miss Simian's "arc" (using that term very loosely). "The Weirdo" delves into the mind of Sussie and gives reason for her behavior in a simple yet poignant manner. "The Uncle" is amazing at exploring Ocho's more sadistic tendencies, and "The Vision" elevates Alan's compulsive altruism to a darkly comedic level. The Wattersons themselves have always been at their best when their family dynamic is being explored. "The Fuss" presents the Wattersons in all of their glorious chaotic harmony and how they lovingly bounce off each other. "The Outside" is an even more insane version of the already amazing "The Roots" (though not as great; still good, though), acting as both a parody of prison movies and a study of Frankie's role in the family. "The Nuisance" plays around with how society views the family as well as their fundamentally good nature. "The Choices", an all-time favorite of mine, gives depth to Nicole's and Richard's relationship and provides a moral applicable to anybody. Season 5 is not afraid to go off-the-wall. "The Petals" turns into a mash-up of a gardening show and horror flick by the climax, and it all works surprisingly well. "The Singing" simply revels in paying homage to different styles of music in fun and catchy way, and "The News" is something unlike anything on Cartoon Network, acting as a satirical mockery of modern news. "The Puppets" combines the minds behind Gumball with those of Don't Hug Me, I'm Scared, and while a bit underwhelming for a season finale, the episode is still a blast and is unlike anything else in the show.

The season presents some more "chill" episodes such as "The Vase" and "The List" that simply do their own thing and let the characters behave in a nonchalant manner with no insanity or tension to it.

The versatility of the show is one of the reasons I admire it so much, and the continuation of this i Season 5 is definitely a plus.

The Summary (Praise)
To sum it up, Season 5 takes some of the best aspects of the show's identity and elevates. The dark humor tackles darker and darker subject matter while never crossing into uncomfortable or unnerving territory. The visuals are improved once more with fresh lighting and camera techniques alongside the constantly improving animation and fun visual nuances. Each episode leaves fans wondering as to what is next with the unpredictable and fluid nature of the show, maintaining its creativity. When Season 5 does something right, it does it to the highest of quality.

The Cast
Season 5 has been great in developing its supporting cast and building the show's world. Excellent character pieces such as "The Grades" and "The Weirdo" continue to remain amazing watches while episodes such as "The Singing" and "The News" utilize different characters in very different ways to great success.

Despite the season's valiant efforts to build upon its supporting characters, the latter half of the season has seen in a slight decline in how certain members of the cast are treated, and sadly, it has been to the determent of the show. I suppose one could chalk up my irritation with the issue with the supposed over-importance I put on character consistency and integrity, but given that characters has always been a strong point for the show, Season 5's latter half has been a mixed bag. Starting off with the titular character, although the first half of the season had Gumball's characterization aligned with his Season 3/4 self— a quick-witted and mischievous dork, the latter half of Season 5 has the character go through some inconsistency, none of them all too fun. Now, Gumball is the most flexible character in the show, being the protagonist and whatnot. Gumball's pivotal role requires him to have a personality that can adept to numerous situations without much issue. There is no issue with a slight modification here and there to meet those demands, but to the extent Season 5 goes is just jarring. Take "The Stars", for instance; the scenario demands that a portion of its central cast are jerks. Fine enough; Gumball has had his fair share of selfish and cold behavioral issues. "The Stars", however, makes him a manipulative twit without much else. The motivation is flimsy even for a comedy show and he has no real "bite" to his jerkish antics. He is an unfunny and unlikable jerk.

"The Sorcerer" takes things in the complete opposite direction. Gumball comes across as naive and dim-witted solely for a gag about combating internet trolling with more stupidity and irritation. This characterization of him lapses close into Season 1 territory, and this point in the show's run, I do expect better. There is nothing wrong with Gumball exhibiting childish tendencies and indulging in a bit of childhood innocence, but to completely strip the character of the aspects that make him such a unique protagonist for a kids' show (his deadpan, his wit, his realist viewpoint and philosophies) comes across as lame. Gumball seems to flip-flop between an unlikable twit, a naive child, and his Season 3/4 persona throughout the season's second half, and it is not doing much for giving the character a sense of identity.

Sadly, my favorite character Darwin has also taken a hit this season. The problem is not that he is inconsistent per say, but rather he feels "there to be there" in certain episodes. Episodes such as "The Box" and "The Heist" present Darwin as being simply "there" with him having no real bearing on the plot. It is not as big as an issue as Gumball's but still noticeable nonetheless. The Watterson family as a whole have been perfectly fine for the most part, however a couple episodes late into the season strips either most or the entire family of distinctiveness, namely "The Deal" and "The Worst". In the former episode, everyone sans Richard fails to make an impression and inject any personality into the episode. As a result, the episode while nowhere near bad, lacks any real charm to make it memorable. I will give Nicole credit by saying she started off the episode strong, but she sort of just fades after the first act. "The Worst" strips everybody of any personality and makes them nothing more than mere puppets in delivering a message that the show failed to treat with any respect.

"The Ex" is probably my least favorite episode from this season as of this writing because of how it is the pinnacle of Season 5's latter half character problems and how it creates a product that spits on the legitimacy of the characters involved, mainly Gumball and Rob. Rob was arguably one of the series's most intricate characters, and any development and depth the character had it completely tossed away for some bromance and innuendo-based humor that pales in comparison to the much superior "The Slap" and "The Hug". Gumball is made into an annoying and idiotic brat for the sake of conveying the supposed chemistry between Rob and Gumball. Penny fails to make a lasting impression making her inclusion seem somewhat unnecessary, and Darwin is made into the generic comic relief. Banana Joe is the only character that comes out looking good in the end. I completely understand it is a comedy show and the primary objectives are to make the audience laugh and be lighthearted, but the characters are an important component in the show's writing. Once the characters are poorly utilized, the episode suffers quite a bit. The failure of a handful of episodes ability reason to recognize this has only hurt the quality.

The Topical Humor
Alright. It is time to discuss the elephant in the room: the topical humor. Several have already discussed this in great detail, and I do find myself leaning toward the more negative view toward Season 5's utilization of social commentary and pop cultural references: a decent chunk of the latter half comes across as an attempt to be "relevant" and "cool". However, instead of supplementing my thesis with evidence and analysis, I intend to do something different since the topic has already been heavily discussed. I will write about why poor topical humor hurts the episode quality rather than the problems itself. Closely associated angles to discuss the topic from, but it is hopefully a somewhat different perspective.

I must first establish that there is nothing inherently wrong with topical humor itself. One of my favorite episodes in the entire series is "The Money", which is a social commentary juxtaposing the pros and cons to a life of commercialization and a life of principles. However, topical humor that exists to exists is serves as nothing more than a distraction to the show's core values. When handled incorrectly, topical humor can rob the characters of any personality and turn them into puppets made to deliver message. As mentioned in the previous section, there exists a sizable number of episodes in which the characters undergo some drastic personality changes or lack unique characteristics at all, and part of it (not all of it) can be chalked up to the focus on delivering "cutting edge" satire. When there is genuinely a story to be told that deals with social issues, there is a conception of how the story is going to fit with the universe's context. When an episode is solely made to capitalize on trends, however, the universe is being modified to fit the subject manner regardless if it gels with the rest of the show. This is especially evident in both "The Stars" and "The Worst", both episodes that make an effort to tackle social issues but show little regard to how it works with the established universe. When taken to a certain extent, social satire can rob a show of its identity. Topical humor extends into pop cultural references, and the latter half of Season 5 proves to be shaky in that regard and showcases how too much pop cultural references drag down the show. Again, there is nothing wrong with pop cultural references when used correctly. "The Blame" is one of my favorite episodes from the ever-so-amazing fourth season, and it is littered with video game references. Heck, even Season 5's "The Console" and "The Line" use their respective shout-outs to Final Fantasy and Star Wars to the episodes' successes. However, as great as "The Uncle" is, it is the epitome of shallow pop cultural references dragging down the rest of the episode's humor. When not focusing on the more interesting psychological torment, the episode consists of Gumball making awkward Super Mario references that do not gel with the rest of the episode and at times, slows the episode a tad to make sure the viewers understand it's-a-Mario-time (save the gag in which Gumball travels to the golf course as an 8-bit Mario. That works). A smaller instance of the humor and pacing suffering from poor pop cultural references would be "The Sorcerer". The Watterson brothers stand in front of the school for what seems like ages awkwardly make a joke that boils down to "Harry Potter. It exists." In a show that is renowned for its fast-paced humor, slowing down to make clumsy references can come across as bizarre and wince-inducing and gives the impression the show is not confident enough in its own comedic styling and that it needs to resort to outside material to get a laugh.

However, the fundamental reason as to why topical humor hurts the show is the fact that it gets praise by outsiders. Do not misconstrue my words; I would love for more people to see the show and there is nothing wrong with finding new ways to reach out to a vaster audience. Keep in mind, however, that tackling subject matter with which people are already familiar without transforming it into its own is poor way to showcase the show to outsiders and does not do it much justice. (Note reactions to "The Best" and "The Nuisance".) Unaware as to the fact the show can do better, people will continue to praise it, encouraging the crew to dabble in such humor more often, further hurting other aspects.

The Summary (Critique)
Whether it be a decline in character integrity or an over-dependency on topical humor, the latter half Season 5 has been sacrificing core parts of the shows identity for the sake of contrived attention or a day of fame. Admittedly, it is nowhere near seasonal rot levels, but the new direction is concerning and has potential to hurt the show if not properly cared for in the final season.

The Conclusion
Although Season 5 did have its flaws, I would still consider it an enjoyable season of Gumball and definitely a great season when compared to other cartoons. Did I enjoy it as much as Season 4? Nope. Did I enjoy it as much as Season 3? Nah. That does not change the fact it stayed strong and was fun to watch, which at the end of the day, all that matters. As long as the viewers and the writers are having fun, I remain hopeful for what is in store for the next season!

Seasonal Rankings
1. Season 4 2. Season 3 3. Season 5 4. Season 2 5. Season 1

Noteworthy Episodes

 * -|Favorites=

Other Notes that Did not Warrant a Section of its Own

 * It's been disappointing to see that the Darwin/Carrie pairing was neglected after "The Matchmaker" given that the characters have an interesting dichotomy that could make for fun interactions. I hope to see this rectified in Season 6.
 * It feels as if Richard has far too many episodes focusing on him and little is left for Nicole. Richard is a perfectly fine character, but it would be nice to see that fleshed out a bit.
 * There was less Anais this season. A bummer as I find her one of the show's most unique and interesting characters as well as the fact she is a personal favorite of mine.
 * Still no revival of the scrapped "The Rex" I see. Still on season left. Let's see Tina get one more starring role. chnage.org, guys. let's go
 * Yes, I am aware the image I used for "The News" is of the never released live-action version. Let a guy live in denial.

The Closing Notes
Thank you all for taking the time to read that. With that out of the way, I can rest once more.

Also, for those curious, the date of publishing marks the anniversary of my first blog on this wiki. Cheers.

I will now leave while I have that obligation of finishing that Nicole article hanging over me. Take care.