Spawn's third season is the quintessential depiction of both Spawn the character and Spawn the show, for better and worse. On one hand, the animation is at its very best, especially when it comes to the titular character. The shifting of the mask conveys his agony as much as his voice acting, also at its peak, does. The flowing of the cape brings home his etherality, and help Spawn be more than the sum of his parts. His scenes with Granny show him at his most soft, sympathetic, and human. And even side characters like Twitch and Sam get more to do. It’s not much, but the care and worry the two are allowed to express for each other is a nice change of pace for the show. In particular, Cog and his dynamic with Spawn finally coalesces after two seasons of him just being exposition. The first episode of this season may be the single best episode of this run because of how it utilizes not only Spawn and Cog but the human drama, finally finding a way to tie it all together.
The problem is that outside of that episode it still doesn't reach its ambition. It's not as smart as it wants to be, succumbing to a rushed romance that ends with the love interest dying for Spawn's development. Jason Wynn never becomes much of anything. And Spawn sleeps with poor Wanda by disguising himself as her husband, and Spawn is called out more for how this enacts an evil prophecy than it being. You know. Sexual assault. Wanda is left deeply unhappy by the end, just as Spawn truly begins his path to redemption, another woman sacrificed for his growth.
The Spawn series won't make a believer out of everyone. Heck, it didn't even make a believer out of me. Spawn is far from an all time favorite character. But what it did do was help me understand his appeal. And the all too fleeting moments where the voice acting, animation, and writing combined to become more than the sum of their parts are worth it. If you want to see why Spawn is so enduring, this series is your best bet.
Review by JCVIP 4BlockedParent2020-05-01T23:05:35Z
Spawn's third season is the quintessential depiction of both Spawn the character and Spawn the show, for better and worse. On one hand, the animation is at its very best, especially when it comes to the titular character. The shifting of the mask conveys his agony as much as his voice acting, also at its peak, does. The flowing of the cape brings home his etherality, and help Spawn be more than the sum of his parts. His scenes with Granny show him at his most soft, sympathetic, and human. And even side characters like Twitch and Sam get more to do. It’s not much, but the care and worry the two are allowed to express for each other is a nice change of pace for the show. In particular, Cog and his dynamic with Spawn finally coalesces after two seasons of him just being exposition. The first episode of this season may be the single best episode of this run because of how it utilizes not only Spawn and Cog but the human drama, finally finding a way to tie it all together.
The problem is that outside of that episode it still doesn't reach its ambition. It's not as smart as it wants to be, succumbing to a rushed romance that ends with the love interest dying for Spawn's development. Jason Wynn never becomes much of anything. And Spawn sleeps with poor Wanda by disguising himself as her husband, and Spawn is called out more for how this enacts an evil prophecy than it being. You know. Sexual assault. Wanda is left deeply unhappy by the end, just as Spawn truly begins his path to redemption, another woman sacrificed for his growth.
The Spawn series won't make a believer out of everyone. Heck, it didn't even make a believer out of me. Spawn is far from an all time favorite character. But what it did do was help me understand his appeal. And the all too fleeting moments where the voice acting, animation, and writing combined to become more than the sum of their parts are worth it. If you want to see why Spawn is so enduring, this series is your best bet.