People really don't know what they got with this episode I feel.
Just from a purely stylistic point of view -- the pool of 2010s energy this series draws from never ever ever crystallized in such a cohesive way and it might never again. Just Tessyn took a year to model and months and months to animate & VA, and it's all done with such sincere swagger. If you grew up before 2016 you SAW the pieces of this stuff pop up all over, individual writers, animators, musicians, voice actors with their separate projects that never coalesced but suggested that something like this could happen, and it did, with more competency and passion than we'd ever imagined a story of this type could get back then.
We'll have forever to vulture over the specifics of where arcs go and don't but it's worth it to take a moment, think, and realize that this stuff was monumentally ambitious and pulled off what it set out to magnificently (namely the protag trio) while balancing discordant tonal extremes.
Earlier episodes weren't as good as these things but by 7 and 8 you can see and appreciate the way the tone flows from end to end of the emotional spectrum, scene to scene of the episode, in such a way that it looks effortless, all the while keeping a solid thematic throughline. And criticize as we may the excesses of subtlety, if you sit down and consider the pacing constraints it'll click that the show's handle on the flow of information can be exceptional.
This is stuff you'll never see again in your lives. It's a type of creative energy that doesn't exist anymore put in service of an extraordinarily competent production that never loses its sincerity. Think what you may of the writing, you should appreciate this, because this is the kind of earnest creative project the world needs so badly.
This will probably be my last post about Murder Drones ever, but I really do love that the message of the finale is basically just…we should do more cringe things.
Liam Vickers is out here making a silly little robot show with no particularly deep or existential message (which half the fandom was expecting) and is instead smashing his characters together like dolls, making them anime fight with nightcore music in the background, and giving them fucked up to the point of ridiculousness character development/trauma, with the message that this is fun and lighthearted and that we should kill cringe culture and instead do more of what he’s doing.
And honestly? Go off king, that is a GREAT message to spread and a delightful subversion to what everyone was expecting for the finale. We SHOULD spend more time doing cringe things and making fanart and pop culture references and edgy OCs. You’re so correct that not everything needs to be deep or meaningful.
I know a lot of people are going to hate the finale for the lack of story, but honestly this show is just here to have fun and I’m rolling with that. Go be cringe and weird and free.
If any of y'all are disappointed with the Murder Drones finale, this might help you (not guaranteed, this is just how I view it)
Try to think of ep 7 AND 8 as the finale. I believe they were supposed to come out around the same time but those delays caused issues with that. If you view the finale like that then maybe you'll feel better about it.
Sorry if you're still disappointed, I wish y'all got what you wanted :(
MD Ep. 8 has convinced me that V/N/Uzi works extremely well. Was on the fence about it for awhile but i see it now >:D also love the v/lizzy stuff and of course:
NUZI!
Whooop! Fast finale at times but overall i'm in LOVE.
Gotta make a list of things to draw now!
Sad that J didn't get a redemption arc but it also would've been wayyyyy too quick.
N/Uzi are CANON YA'LL
I WILL NEVER GET OVER HOW SOME OF YOU DIDN'T SEE THIS COMING FROM EPISODE ONE!?!? I know the pilot had N having a crush on V but it seemed super clear to me that N/uzi were gonna be the focus. HOWEVER-----
I am someone who is used to their ships NEVER being canon.
If envy had been canon (which honestly?? that would've been fine w/ me. i'd happily draw envy if ya'll commissioned it) -----------Still, if envy were canon (which in MANY ways you can argue it's still alive from ep. 8 for sure!) i'd still ship nuzi but with ZERO hate to envy.
Cause like? Let's ALL have fun you know??? Plus, V/N in Uzi's classroom alone already shows that they're fellow teens lmao.
Regardless, this ep has made me see N/Uzi/V in a new light >_> like wow. I guess I should make something about this one day. Though first I have some V/Lizzy stuff to draw and Lizzy and Doll confrontation cause i love them and was also happy to see some interaction in ep. 8.
LASTLY: I LOVED IT! I CRIED! IT ENDED TOO SOON! I WANT TO MAKE ART WITHOUT KILLING MY ARM AGAIN!
It is the same pickaxe... how in the hell could have UZI FOUND IT!?! if nori was thrown into the pit to space... and even if she left the pickaxe in cabin fever labs... how is it that Uzi and not N has it?!?! i'm crazy and it is fun. 🗿