I mean it's good to see that the show has its moments. The pacing is horrible (really awful), but there are a few moments making it worthwile.
[7.4/10] The idea of processing your feelings through making art is a trite idea, but also a fun one. Bean having nightmares and doing her best to work through the negative feelings by expressing herself creatively may not be the most novel premise in the world, but it’s one that puts the focus on character and which lets the show have lots of Shakespeare-adjacent fun.
That is, honestly, my favorite part of the episode. There’s some nice character work with both Bean and King Zog, but the frankly aimless riffs on anything and everything involving playwriting were what tickled my fancy. The jokes about Luci as a “writer’s demon” are a little easy, but still tons of fun. The rules against women being able to be involved in theater and the clergy railing against the production are funny nods to actual Elizabethan history. And everything from our piggy friend taking the lead role, to Elfo’s hypercriticalness, to the jeering audience got a laugh out of me.
But the character stuff is good too. I appreciate the contrast between Zog trying to just bury his feelings and history with Dagmar at the same time his daughter is trying to dredge them up and channel them. Zog getting rid of the tulips because he can’t stand to be reminded of his love’s betrayal is a good visual touch. And Bean’s one-woman show about what she’s been through, and how it makes her appreciate her dad, is a good note for father and daughter to play, even if her monologue itself is a little cheesy.
Overall, this one delivers well enough on its main idea of Bean dealing with her mom’s turn through writing, and bolsters it considerably with a grab bag of fun stage-play tropes and parodies.
Shout by dewdropvelvetBlockedParent2019-09-24T16:39:35Z
"Closed...?.But I have feelings to suppress!" -Bean
"So writers have demons? And the demons help with writing?" -Bean
"Why are they ripping out all the tulips?" -Bean
"This is so frustrating. I've got to be the only writer in the world who has to sit around helplessly while idiots ruin all my hard work." -Bean
"I hate how when it's the end of the night, and you're completely drunk, and you gotta stagger home, it's uphill all the way." -Bean
"You never appreciate your lizard stepmom until she becomes a sexy pirate, am I right?" -Bean
Finally, we get a Bean-centric character development episode. But they should have devoted the entire season to Bean's character.