[7.3/10] This is definitely one of those “like the idea, don’t love the execution” episodes. It definitely had the “it’s the season finale, shit is about to go down” feel, and I appreciate this as the culmination of Doc Ock’s revenge and Norman turning into the Green Goblin. Hell, I like the fact that rather than his normal, cackling baddie routine, Goblin is a monster not unlike The Hulk here. It’s different and unique, and Spidey trying to get to the man inside rather than just attacking the bad guy feels true to his character and moral compass.
Sure, there’s some sci-fi hand-waving here, but I appreciate the way the show is playing with the Spider-Man mythos here, making his blood the cause of Norman’s transformation. I always appreciate it when villains concoct elaborate plans with one another, but ultimately end up turning on one another or having things backfire. And hell, even the Shield cadets using one of Doc Ock’s octo-bots to trace him back to his lair and make the save was a good detail.
But this episode had problems. For one, this show just doesn't know how to balance comedy and drama when it wants to get serious. I generally enjoy the jokes in this series, but there’s a time and a place, even for Peter’s trademark wisecracks, and it felt like too often, “Revealed” screwed up its own tone or ability to create a heightened atmosphere by going for the squeeze-horn and seltzer at inopportune times.
I’m also pretty skeptical of the whole “we have shared DNA so we’re family” angle the show is playing with the Osborns and Spidey here. It’s a barely-established reach, and while I like the show aiming to go for a family drama with Osborns, it just doesn't do enough to earn that. Last but certainly not least, the show tacks on a “I should never have tried to become Ultimate Spider-Man and just done things on my own” bit from Spidey at the end that feels really unmotivated.
His friends freaking saved him when he was trapped, and neither they nor Shield were in any way a part of what went wrong in Doc Ock’s hideout, nor was anything in particular he’d learned from Fury or Coulson. You can kind of twist things and say that maybe he just doesn't want people being in harm’s way because of him, or chalk it up to the usual teenage tempestuousness, but even that just feels like regular Spidey stuff rather than an “Ultimate Spider-Man” issue. At the end of the day, it feels like the show just wants to created false drama in the guise of a rift between Spider-Man and Shield without doing anything to set up or develop it.
Overall, there’s plenty of entertaining stuff here, particularly the villain-on-villain clash with Spidey caught in the middle that forms the core of the episode. But a miscalibrated balance of drama and comedy, and some weak attempts to develop the themes of the episode keep it from greatness.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2018-11-30T04:45:56Z
[7.3/10] This is definitely one of those “like the idea, don’t love the execution” episodes. It definitely had the “it’s the season finale, shit is about to go down” feel, and I appreciate this as the culmination of Doc Ock’s revenge and Norman turning into the Green Goblin. Hell, I like the fact that rather than his normal, cackling baddie routine, Goblin is a monster not unlike The Hulk here. It’s different and unique, and Spidey trying to get to the man inside rather than just attacking the bad guy feels true to his character and moral compass.
Sure, there’s some sci-fi hand-waving here, but I appreciate the way the show is playing with the Spider-Man mythos here, making his blood the cause of Norman’s transformation. I always appreciate it when villains concoct elaborate plans with one another, but ultimately end up turning on one another or having things backfire. And hell, even the Shield cadets using one of Doc Ock’s octo-bots to trace him back to his lair and make the save was a good detail.
But this episode had problems. For one, this show just doesn't know how to balance comedy and drama when it wants to get serious. I generally enjoy the jokes in this series, but there’s a time and a place, even for Peter’s trademark wisecracks, and it felt like too often, “Revealed” screwed up its own tone or ability to create a heightened atmosphere by going for the squeeze-horn and seltzer at inopportune times.
I’m also pretty skeptical of the whole “we have shared DNA so we’re family” angle the show is playing with the Osborns and Spidey here. It’s a barely-established reach, and while I like the show aiming to go for a family drama with Osborns, it just doesn't do enough to earn that. Last but certainly not least, the show tacks on a “I should never have tried to become Ultimate Spider-Man and just done things on my own” bit from Spidey at the end that feels really unmotivated.
His friends freaking saved him when he was trapped, and neither they nor Shield were in any way a part of what went wrong in Doc Ock’s hideout, nor was anything in particular he’d learned from Fury or Coulson. You can kind of twist things and say that maybe he just doesn't want people being in harm’s way because of him, or chalk it up to the usual teenage tempestuousness, but even that just feels like regular Spidey stuff rather than an “Ultimate Spider-Man” issue. At the end of the day, it feels like the show just wants to created false drama in the guise of a rift between Spider-Man and Shield without doing anything to set up or develop it.
Overall, there’s plenty of entertaining stuff here, particularly the villain-on-villain clash with Spidey caught in the middle that forms the core of the episode. But a miscalibrated balance of drama and comedy, and some weak attempts to develop the themes of the episode keep it from greatness.