You know, as time passes, the more I fall in love with... INVINCIBLE. Maybe my rating is too harsh because my feelings for it are immense. I love this show, it's one of my favourite pieces of media already, and I'm pumped for Seasons 2 and 3.
I hope the animation improves! It's great already, but if it gets better, I can't imagine what kind of images we might be getting! More frames, maybe? More detail or shading? Who knows?!
Aw man, that final episode is crazy, and I really want to see more from this universe. Not only does it flesh out Mark and Omni-Man, but they introduce and follow characters that leave their orbit. I want to see more of the new Guardians of the Globe! I want to see more of Atom Eve! But most importantly, I want episodes that focus on individual characters other than Mark.
Anyway, that's my ramble. Again, maybe my rating is too harsh, but it's an arbitrary number anyway, so who cares?! What I care about is how much I enjoyed it. Hopefully, these feelings will stay with me for a while. Also, after looking at the show's IMDB page, I can't believe who's in this cast! J.K. Simmons, Walton Goggins, Zachary Quinto and Mark Hamill are in this series! How did I not notice!?
SCORE: 8/10
Might be a minority opinion in thinking that Season 6’s first batch is only second to Season 1’s in being the show’s “least” good first half, and also that while Season 5 retains a baseline of high quality, Bojack’s arc started to get near meandering and repetitive. That’s why, forced or not, I was glad to learn Season 6 is the last one because it just seemed like proper time, and finding Season 6.1 comparatively rather unimpressive only confirmed that stance for me too.
That said, Season 6.2 might rank up there with the tail end of Season 3 in having the show’s best closing stretch of episodes ever. The show miraculously pulls of a most difficult high-wire act, having all of Bojack’s past transgressions come home to roost while being clear-eyed, unsparing, non-miserablist, and also still with its own trademark entertaining, witty, and compassionate storytelling. It has me from the third episode “Sunk Cost and All That”, where Bojack and his friends learned that his past house of cards would come crumble down, then the episode paused for a long shot of him leaving to give a speech while Princess Caroline and Diane remained contemplating and worrying in the room. It’s such a remarkable, poignant sequence in depicting a last agonizing bit of normalcy the characters and we clung onto, before tearing it all down in subsequent episodes.
Contrary to many, I didn’t find the series finale a come-down or rushed at all. After the brilliant, form-bending, gut-twisting “The View From Halfway Down”, it’s a refreshing change of pace from other “resolute” series finales. That clear sense of resolution will go against the show’s whole ethos, which is all about dealing in the difficult but necessary consequences of your own lives and actions. The show already gives us that sense of normal-show finality in its penultimate episode, but the finale offers us something uniquely its own, while being no less brilliant and moving than what comes before: A new status quo in which all these characters have to navigate forwards now, whether together or apart, in the business of living. It’s both tediously bleak and beautifully hopeful, which succinctly captures all the brilliance that is Bojack Horseman over its past six seasons. I’m going to miss these guys.
I have heard from more than a few people liking season 2 over 3, and I can see 3 being a bit bumpier (I really like the resolution to Boiling Rock two-parter, but didn't feel too much for the whole thing overall). Still, Zuko's arc alone helps propel the series to higher complexity, and 3 is just ambitious and constantly inventive throughout that I can't help but feel it's a step above.
The first half alone is so jam-packed: from the show's own version of Buffy's The Zeppo in "Sokka's Master", self-knowing (superpower-)teen angst of "The Beach", "The Avatar and the Firelord"'s past-present parallel of epic sweep, to the horror film-tinged atmosphere of "The Puppet's Master". Show's best standalone episode ever happens just before the finale though; "The Ember Island Players" is one great meta-fiction palate cleanser, so hilarious.
Speaking of finale, I have been trying and failing since I completed it to think of a show that saves its very best for its very last, like Avatar did with "Sozin's Comet". Such a spectacular, rousing, pour-all-in finish. Its Part 3 "Into the Inferno", especially, instantly becomes one of my all-time favorite episodes ever. I still get thrills and chills from many music cues and visuals from this finale (Ozai first noticing Aang and zooming towards him; the melancholic orchestra that accompanies that deeply tragic sibling duel). If not for the fact that this has a sequel series, I might be tempted to rewatch the whole thing right now again.
Season Review
Well, I just finished Season 1 of Marvel's "Loki," and it's good!
Guess what? This show scared my MCU fatigue away! So I won't be grumpy like I was in my "WandaVision" and "Falcon and Winty" reviews, but I'm going to be positive!
"Loki" began with a solid start, giving the titular character a little character arc as he looks inward at his "glorious purpose". When you realise you have no free will and that your life goals are worthless, why not make your life meaningful? It was a lot of exposition, maybe more than some would've liked, but I loved it, and I had a good feeling from here on out!
The next episode rolled around, and the action kicked off! We meet (who we first thought was going to be) the villain (Sylvie), and Loki gets to go into the field. After that, Loki has a little heart-to-heart with her, and they slowly let their guards down. My faith wavered after the last scene, but thankfully, it never faltered afterwards.
After that, the two challenge the bureaucracy, and the TVA banishes Loki to meet Richard E. Grant (who stole the show for a moment?)! Then we met Alligator Loki (oh my goodness :O), President Loki, kid Loki and another who conquered Asgard.
Soon after, we get a villain who isn't terrible or one-dimensionally evil! He's good fun! We get a bunch of exposition (which is a bit tiring) and a twist that makes the season finale somewhat unsatisfying, but still works for me.
Tom Hiddleston is a treat. Although he's nothing like "The Avengers" Loki, he still plays the character with cunning charm. Owen Wilson steals the show for me, and his dynamic with Hiddleston is such a treat. Despite my apprehension, Sophia Di Martino left her mark her, too.
Overall, "Loki" works for me; it's a fun time and doesn't have any of WandaVision and Falcon and Winty's issues. It's my favourite out of the three MCU series we've gotten so far, and I can't wait for Season 2!
SCORE: 7/10
"Back in the '90s, I was in a very famous TV show."
Let me just say that the intro and outro are so captivating. Alright, now let's get into the review.
This season had a rough start. The first few episodes felt like nothing was happening. But after Episode 7, things changed. We gave characters, other than BoJack, more development and a massive encounter went down. Revelations, betrayals, it all happened here. It was this episode that finally got me invested in these characters. But then came Episode 8. From this episode forward, I couldn't predict what was going to happen next. I was consistently surprised by this show, and I can't wait to watch the next season.
When I first looked at this show, I thought it was just going to be an offensive comedy. But no, instead we got a deep and depressing cast of characters with dark humour to keep it from being unbearable. This show is so thoughtful. When I finished the final episode, I got into such a reflective mood. This season has left an impact on me.
I can't wait to see what's going to happen in the next five seasons.
IT'S GREAT.
TECHNICAL SCORE: 8/10
ENJOYMENT SCORE: 9/10
