[7.8/10] Great follow-up to the season premiere, which sets the course of the season off right.
I love the fact that they pay off the “stealing a truck full of chips” bit from the very first episode of the series. The driver getting to keep his job, and not putting Bear in jail because there’s too many young people there already, is such an uplifting place to take this loose thread in the series. But it comes at a cost -- the driver cautioning, practically commanding, Bear to take this as a second chance and build things rather than tear them down. There’s something wholesome, even inspiring about that idea, particularly how an otherwise despondent Bear takes his good fortune and better advice to heart.
I also laughed my ass off at Brownie and Bucky using their prayer to the creator to lift the curse on the kids as a means to settle their decades-old beef over a girl in comically grandiose fashion. Willie Jack wondering what the hell just happened and Cheese explaining that older folks’ business is complicated was quite laugh-worthy. And the fact that they resort to singing Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” to seal the deal, replete with the spirit guide singing along in his way, was brilliant and side-splitting.
The other glimpses we get of Elora and Jackie’s star-crossed road trip are good too. Them getting away from the shotgun-wielding bumpkins is a bit of a cheat. But their scenes with Megan Mullaly as a newly-liberated divorcee have that awkward observational humor that the show does really well.
It compliments the heavy stuff in the episode. Elora is still mourning Daniel in all the running away, and feels guilt over not taking Bear with her, leading to her tears. You feel for the poor girl, who had her reasons for leaving the Rez Dogs behind, but is also still tied to that place and these people. Likewise, Jackie comes this close to bailing on her own, but eventually takes Elora with her as they steal their benefactor’s truck, an act that is both contemptible and a little sweet. We see a glimpse of Jackie’s home life before the reservation, and her own devotion to building things back up as they tow Elora’s grandmother’s car back home.
I’m glad that the show devoted two episodes to the California trip that had so consumed the kids’ dreams last season, but also that they spend the time justifying why Elora and Jackie would come back -- personally and spiritually.
Overall, a promising start to the new season which brings laughs, pathos, and heart in equal measure.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-08-10T05:14:39Z
[7.8/10] Great follow-up to the season premiere, which sets the course of the season off right.
I love the fact that they pay off the “stealing a truck full of chips” bit from the very first episode of the series. The driver getting to keep his job, and not putting Bear in jail because there’s too many young people there already, is such an uplifting place to take this loose thread in the series. But it comes at a cost -- the driver cautioning, practically commanding, Bear to take this as a second chance and build things rather than tear them down. There’s something wholesome, even inspiring about that idea, particularly how an otherwise despondent Bear takes his good fortune and better advice to heart.
I also laughed my ass off at Brownie and Bucky using their prayer to the creator to lift the curse on the kids as a means to settle their decades-old beef over a girl in comically grandiose fashion. Willie Jack wondering what the hell just happened and Cheese explaining that older folks’ business is complicated was quite laugh-worthy. And the fact that they resort to singing Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’” to seal the deal, replete with the spirit guide singing along in his way, was brilliant and side-splitting.
The other glimpses we get of Elora and Jackie’s star-crossed road trip are good too. Them getting away from the shotgun-wielding bumpkins is a bit of a cheat. But their scenes with Megan Mullaly as a newly-liberated divorcee have that awkward observational humor that the show does really well.
It compliments the heavy stuff in the episode. Elora is still mourning Daniel in all the running away, and feels guilt over not taking Bear with her, leading to her tears. You feel for the poor girl, who had her reasons for leaving the Rez Dogs behind, but is also still tied to that place and these people. Likewise, Jackie comes this close to bailing on her own, but eventually takes Elora with her as they steal their benefactor’s truck, an act that is both contemptible and a little sweet. We see a glimpse of Jackie’s home life before the reservation, and her own devotion to building things back up as they tow Elora’s grandmother’s car back home.
I’m glad that the show devoted two episodes to the California trip that had so consumed the kids’ dreams last season, but also that they spend the time justifying why Elora and Jackie would come back -- personally and spiritually.
Overall, a promising start to the new season which brings laughs, pathos, and heart in equal measure.