#it's a callback to the previous episode

[itswhatyougive]

Steve's breathy little "Easy, easy...." said whilst Eddie is climbing up the blanket rope lives rent-free in my head

[egg-node]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

[thelaughingmerman]

Everyone was exasperated with Eugene by the end of episode 4 but in episode 6 when they find the discarded fish net Hildas like " Well I don't think fish appreciate being caught 😠" and that's nice.

[les-pompiers118]

I’m watching Full Moon (Creepy AF) from S1 again, the scene where Buck pulls the tapeworm out of the sushi-loving guy in the ambulance...

And he says to the guy...

He says...

“Congratulations, Connor. It’s a boy.”

🤣🤣🤣

[infizero]

its funny how before i started rewatching adventure time i was under the impression in my head that it was mostly just episodic stuff with the occasional overarching things thrown in there, but it actually has some of the best continuity i've ever seen 😭😭

[justanotherhyperfixation]

obviously: chapter 10

Wille has taken to sleeping with his phone tucked under the edge of his pillow so that if Simon calls him in the middle of the night again, he will feel it vibrate but won’t disturb Evy. This is why, when he wakes to it vibrating in the deep darkness of a January night, he doesn’t even open his eyes, just grabs it blindly, answers the call and says hoarsely, “Simon?”

“Wille, it’s Mamma.”

He props himself up slightly on one elbow and hears Evy shift in bed behind him. “What time is it?” he asks groggily.

He will remember, afterwards, another call that had come at two or three in the morning, when he was much younger, a call from one of his mother’s brothers. They’d still had a house phone, and its ringing had woken Wille up. He had sat at the top of the stairs listening to his mother cry until his father had carried him back to bed.

“Wille, älskling,” his mother says, his question ignored. “It’s - it’s Erik.”

Read the chapter on AO3.

[caldella]

MASTERMIND SPOILERS

When Blitzø puts together what Stolas is doing in the song, right before they duet, it was bugging me why this particular pose looked familiar.

Then I realized...

Blitzø has seen that pose once before, and he recognizes it:

"Goodbye, Blitzø."

This is the face Stolas makes when he's about to send Blitzø away. In Full Moon, and here.

Stolas is saying goodbye again, but this time permanently, as he believes he's sacrificing himself for Blitzø. The fact that it happens on the Just Look My Way space motif, with Blitzø at ground level and seeing Stolas as the bright object to try and reach?

Blitzø has finally reached the same emotional point as Stolas and understands how deeply Stolas cares for him. It's the 'I could never move on and forget you,' deep, not the 'I have feelings but will be able to move on,' like he had thought.

It took disproving his fear that Stolas would eventually leave him, to the extent of Stolas taking Blitzø's place in death. With the one 'Goodbye Blitzø' look, Blitzø realizes the condescending villain act Stolas is putting on is to save him, and he knows Stolas doesn't expect to survive it.

I am never going to recover from the way this show does symbolic callbacks to previous episodes.

[in-the-multiverse]

Also, secret life has the most references to past seasons especially to limited life. It’s almost like the clocker family never quite left, they still called each other mom, dad, son- Bdubs held on to the gripe about not being the favourite son. Cleo gave him the title, and they all laughed knowing that Scar would be upset. Almost every episode, they acknowledged the family in one way or another

The bad boys still helped each other out. The exchange of hearts and Joel calling it in the name of bad boys. He got tricked into completing Grian’s task in the beginning, but when the entire server was red later on- he didn’t hesitate to help Grian one last time. Even death didn’t separate them. Jimmy stuck around as a guardian angel, guiding one of his boys, laughing as they did ridiculous things- just like the old days. Every now and then, they remembered

The nosy neighbours didn’t forget each other. Although their interactions were rare, when they brought it up was special. Pearl tried apologizing to him (I can’t remember for what), Bigb says he doesn’t forgive her. Just like that, Pearl brings out her big sad wet eyes “but…nosy neighbours?” and Bigb immediately softens his voice and says he was joking. All is good between them. In the finale, Pearl sees him peeking out behind a wall. A fond, familiar sight. “Always watching?” Bigb shifts away and says it back “Always watching” they go their separate ways

I’m not sure if there were references to mean gills or team ties, but those other teams stood out strongly. And there were plenty more to double life, last life, 3rd life. It’s sorta strange, but in a welcoming way, to see more and more callbacks to previous teams. In a season where a huge part of the game mechanic is keeping a secret, in a series where past alliances are usually brushed aside, people leaned over to each other and went “hey, remember when…”

[madlori]

7x06 thoughts

That was the best episode of the season and it's not even close

Kenneth Choi is Amazing, send tweet

Tim really coming in hot with the previous seasons callbacks and I LOVE IT

I'm GLAD they cut down the bachelor party nonsense because if it had been more it would have been totally out of step with the rest of the episode which was WRENCHING

Chimney Han the man that you are. You have encephalitis and you snap into paramedic mode immediately, probably saved some lives without even knowing who you are. WE ARE NOT WORTHY.

She's awful but Madge Buckley looked phenomenal in that MOB dress.

When Chimney wanted to go home he went to the Lees' house I AM NOT OKAY

I'm gonna guess it's been a few weeks since the end of 7x05 based on Buck and Tommy's comfort level with each other. They've been on other dates in the meantime.

A lot of predicted Chimney might fall victim to some kind of crime but nobody that I heard predicted this and I LOVE IT it was so...appropriate? somehow?

Okay so That Kiss

holy fuck

um

Buck is super horny for his hot firefighter boyfriend who he just called a beast and mauled in a hospital corridor and if they haven't already they are having a bunch of sex tonight

I loooooooove putting in this lighthearted moment at the end of such a wrenching and tearjerking episode.

Having Buck come out with that goofy rom com trick was somehow perfect? Eddie's smug little smirk (ha ha ha I knew already!) Hen saying "it's about time" and just ALL OF IT yes thank you

I'm somehow really happy we got some firefighting calls during the flashbacks? I've missed them, the season's been a little light on them.

10/10 NO NOTES

[teds-asso]

Honestly, I was so confused by this show in the second half. It was like no one knew which way anything was going to go. That late in the season, they shouldn't have been pulling the rug out from all of our feet in every episode, especially with this allegedly being the last season. When Ted walked into Rebecca's kitchen, I was honestly relieved because fucking finally we had an actual conclusion to one of the plotlines they'd set up and I was only marginally rooting for the ship.

I guess all the hints and insistence on the “romcom” aspect of the show and talks of soulmates and signs and t/r’s parallel past lives were all accidental

This is such a nonanswer to a perfectly valid question. Do they see how they fucked up when someone completely lays out why tedbecca was set up as romantic? In what sense was any of it *platonic*???? They’re barely even friends in season 2 and 3

[sepublic]

The Gus sequence of Luz’s nightmare in the finale messes me up because it hearkens back to Enchanting Grom Fright and how Luz didn’t conquer her fears about her mother there… And this reminder comes just after doing so with Camila no less?

Plus all of that happened in front of the school, whose reactions to Gromila weren’t shown for Luz’s narrative privacy, and they didn’t make fun of her for it thankfully; Luz did do the job none of them would’ve, and still technically succeeded!

But it does call back to Luz’s ostracizing and bullying, and this fear of public shame by her peers and even teachers who maliciously fail her (hence that art teacher from Thanks to Them and even scrapped character Caduceia), leading to moments like Luz worrying about the Tunnel of Love being too cheesy for Amity; That moment spells out that Luz was bullied directly, and still questions because of it whether she should be herself. And it’s not enough that Luz’s friends hate her in this illusion, so does all of Hexside, which DID accept her, and whom Luz just helped in the previous episode; Undermining another development from FtF!

This moment is meant to make Luz doubt her decisions and believe she’s just hurting people again, just as Grometheus did; This nightmare as a whole is a callback to Grom! Except…

Luz does conquer her fears and face them while they wear the faces of loved ones, and does realize they would never say that to her, with said loved ones and everyone else confirming it afterwards; They love her! Hell yeah.

(I appreciate String Bean’s very helpful input and advice during this moment; Specifically, existing. Funky lil thang.)

[j00d]

Octavia, Azathoth's Tears, and What It May Mean for Sinsmas

So... I'll admit, I might've been left in the oven for too long, but I have to ask:

This still of Octavia:

Doesn't this remind anyone else of Azathoth's Tears?

And how the colours in both previous pictures are similar to the colour of Octavia's power?

Granted the colors aren't all 1:1 and could be coincidental, but I can't help but think that if this is, in fact, supposed to be one of Azathoth's Tears, it means that she's holding a symbolic manifestation of, as Stolas said, "tears made of the hopes and dreams of every living thing that never came to be." Specifically... her own.

(But let me cook just a little bit more. I promise I turned the oven on broil and I'm just trying to get some nice kwispy browning on top.)

Based on the (admittedly limited) animation this clip of Octavia provides, I also believe she's singing. Here's the list of why I think that:

The framing of the animation

Octavia's mouth animations are slower than normal talking speed (speculative)

The second half of season 2 focuses on parallels and theme callbacks to the first half

Octavia's mental state last we saw her in Mastermind

The show's emphasis on incorporating musical theater language into the narrative (when emotions run too high to talk, you sing, and when emotions are too high to sing, you dance)

Viv's confirmation there's at least one song (diegetic or nondiegetic) included in every Helluva episode

I'm not 100% saying this is true, just that I think it's a decent argument to make, given what context we have.

Okay, let's assume there is an Octavia song in Sinsmas. What does singing have to do with the connection I made between the clip and Azathoth's Tears and the color of Octavia's powers?

If Octavia does get a song, it'll be about how her hopes and dreams concerning her own family are never going to exist and how she needs to let that go.

"You never loved Mother, and you don't love me. You love him."

If this quote is real and not a fabrication, then it also supports this idea due to how definitive it is. Compare it to her previous speculative tone in S2E2 when asking Loona, "Why does [Stolas] hate her more than he loves me?" The definitive nature makes me believe that she doesn't need to speculate anymore.

Regardless of whether she's actually correct or not, whether Stolas hates Stella, loves Octavia, and/or loves Blitz, she's already made up her mind about what's going on. Her letting go of this familial hope manifests as this definitive statement.

It's up in the air about how sympathetic or unsympathetic she'll be towards her father by the end of season 2, but if my theory crafting is true, we gonna get a pretty fucking huge character moment for Octavia one way or the other.

Or I need to get tf out of the oven.

Idk.

Maybe Stolas' brain is being a bitch and hurting our already hurting birdie babe.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's past 4AM, and if I don't get to bed in the next 10 seconds my fiancee will absolutely slaughter me worse than a goddamn D.H.O.R.K.S. agent.

[iinryer]

i made a post about s7 and s4 parallels… so obviously we have to do a s8 and s5 spreadsheet too :)

i’ll update this post as i update my list!

[ID under the cut for easier legibility than alt]

DISCLAIMER: this is for FUN. please don’t take this as anything other than me goofing around <3

—

[a three column spreadsheet with the labels "PLOT POINT", "SEASON 5", and "SEASON 8"]

An opening emergency that has Athena confronting something traumatic from her past and dealing with someone she arrested years ago, culminating in gunshots in a parking garage (?) with Bobby there (an antagonist gets their dick obliterated somewhere in this plot)

- S5: Jeffrey Hudson

- S8: Dennis Jenkins

Creatures are loose in LA where they are not supposed to be, and causing havoc

- S5: Zoo animals

- S8: Bees

Buck, Eddie, & Chris scene in the Diaz house where someone with the initials TK (that Buck met in relation to a helicopter, who kissed Buck in his kitchen after Eddie got hurt and then had to leave) who Buck is now dating is a guest. Eddie is having a bad time

- S5: Eddie cooks dinner, Taylor is a guest

- S8: Eddie throws a Zoom birthday party, Tommy is a guest

Hen and Eddie treat a cheerleader who gets hurt in an episode 4 with the word "home" in the title

- S5: 504 Home and Away

- S8: 804 No Place Like Home

The 118 team is fractured due to core team members leaving

- S5: Chim leaves, Eddie leaves, the 118 feels off

- Bobby is still out, the 118 under Gerrard feels wrong

A family member of the 118 has left the state to heal

- S5: Maddie runs to Boston

- S8: Chris is still in El Paso

Antagonist on the 118

- S5: Jonah

- S8: Gerrard

Characters from air control make an appearance due to a plane-related system failure

- S5: Blackout opening emergency causes air control to lose contact with a plane. 118 called in for panic/heart attacks

- S8: Plane collision opening emergency has air control on call helping Athena and Jem land the plane

People helping each other in the opening emergency with assistance from dispatch

- S5: Neighborhood getting power to the ventilator

- S8: Passengers on the flight keeping each other alive

The cause of the opening emergency disappears and isn't addressed or followed up on

- S5: The hacker group goes dark and is never identified

- S8: The bees? fly away?

Eddie connects with a father he meets because of a call, goes beyond the job description to try to help him do something good for his son

- S5: Mitchell and his son

- S8: The cheerleader and his dad

Discussions of postpartum and Madney parenthood

- S5: Jee

- S8: New Han baby

Buck asks his partner to move in after he has a strong emotional reaction and is battling over revealing something to them

- S5: Taylor

- S8: Tommy

Buck's relationship with someone who has the initialsTK who he met in relation to a helicopter and kissed him in his kitchen after Eddie got injured, ends while in Buck's loft

- S5: Taylor

- S8: Tommy

Eddie goes to someone for help after a period of being miserable and not letting himself heal

- S5: Therapy

- S8: Confession

Eddie lets himself feel joy

- S5: Returning to firefighting

- S8: Dancing for the sake of dancing

Eddie decides to leave the 118 after a period of internal turmoil in an effort to do right by Chris without consulting anyone in his support system in the midseason cliffhanger

- S5: Quitting Firefighting

- S8: Going to Texas

Unaddressed callbacks to previous NDEs

- S5: Man shot and buried alive, Buck and Eddie held at gunpoint

- S8: Hotshots stunt double hanging from the ladder, kid in a well

A parent is heartbroken about missing their kid's big milestones

- S5: Maddie and Jee

- S8: Eddie and Chris

[midnight1nk]

So, this week's episode...

[spoilers below cut]

I KNEW IT!!! I knew that one of the two episodes left of the year had to be a holiday one aha!! *LE GASP* does that mean the last one will be sonic 3?

*nods* respect 👏

A Christmas special with TARI, oooh! and noticeably a shorter one too, huh. alright, let's-a GOOOOOOOO

(the following is my live reaction:)

aww, look at Tari being adorable (see that's how you get me, have my favorite characters do cute little hops and my life is yours)

bringing back the side characters LET'S GOOOO

CLENCH omg you're back I hope you can stay for the whole episode

ooooh tari's christmas list just dropped. hmmm let's see...

Saiko = KFC Theme Guitar (honestly slay) Mario = Spaghetti Necklace (whether he's going to wear or eat it, he'll enjoy it regardless) Kaizo = Scythe Polish Luigi = Gardening Kit SMG4 = Body Oder Spray (my man can't catch a break, "he stinks" canon) Belle = Nintendo Switch Case SMG3 = Dog Grooming Kit (for Eggdog awwww) Melony = How to draw Manga book (nice callback to "SMG4 and SMG3 Shop For Cursed Items" episode for Christmas shopping) Whimpu = Glasses Repair Kit Boopkins = Body Pillow Cleaning Kit (...) Bob = Karaoke Machine (that's actually sweet considering he is a rapper and the obvious choice would be a gun or smth, tari's a good friend) Rob = Corn Keychain

the cliche superhero transition *wheeze*

can I just say I love the fit Mario has on

1920's spaghetti?

i did not expect to see Sonic 06 (foreshadowing, eh?) and as a sonic fan, i gotta respect the hustle

now, i know it's supposed to be disgusting and you obviously have to put gross things here to convey that but... there's that eye imagery again.... *flashbacks ensue*

oooh Christmas party! I wanna see that!

aww tari did get clench a glove, maybe she didn't want to spoil the surprise too soon

also let's take a moment for that board in the bg:

"Random Text Here Shameless Advertising Happy Birthday smg4!" then something signed by a "Fan"

gotta love the small details

gonna be using this as a reaction pic for now on

Mario, don't you guys have a basement? pretty sure no one will grab the bag in there

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA OMG OMG THERE'S NO WAY THIS IS REAL THEY ACTUALLY USED CANTRO'S OUTFIT DESIGN FOR THIS EPISODE THAT'S AWESOME DUDE (am aware that the Team used the model before in a previous ep but it was only shown for a few seconds, this is BIG)

new merch, eh?

...i'll take your entire stock

Oh Tari, it's okay to say no. Four did ask if you had time

beautiful commercial....wha? Bob, da hell are you doing? oh the usual

charity? understandable, have a good day

PFFT HAHAHAHA that grenade bit somehow got me

oh Four somehow teleported outside, chair and all

*wheeze* the way they just latch on the back of the cop car like that

BOOPKINS? ...yeah I should've seen that coming. and he's on a toddler seat too

question for the people: is UNO a board game? if not, then boopkins, you got it wrong buddy

RIGHT NOW?! boopkins she's got her hands full

GEEZ even I'm getting stressed

gonna be real here: it was actually a good choice to have the plot at a faster pace just so we could feel Tari's stress rapidly building up

oh hey Meggy's matching with Mario (love that for the M&M siblings) but Saiko, girl, please get yourself a coat :( you're gonna freeze

OH GOD Tari, i need you to breathe please! all of this is stressing you out, it's okay to say no

...oh no

i can't look dude, i know Tari's technically fulfilling everyone's wishes but this isn't the way to go :(

C'MON TARI, HOPE YOU CAN MAKE IT IN TIME PLEASE

NO NO NO *flips table* oh poor Tari

OH NO CAN I GIVE HER A HUG PLEASE? *shakes my laptop screen* LET ME INNNNNNN

WTF NO SHE DOESN'T DESERVE THIS

TARI DON'T LISTEN TO THOSE VOICES IN YOUR MIND, YOU ARE A GOOD FRIEND

...three? let me turn the brightness up

yeah that's Four's model but for some reason has Three's voice and line.... huh... (I'll come back to this later)

dude, i literally had to pause and leave the room

fuck you got me tearing up. Team, is that what you wanted from me?

no tari, it wasn't your fault :( you didn't ruin anything

YES TELL HER, SAIKO

STAWP I'M THIS 🤏 CLOSE TO FULL-ON SOBBING WTF

FAMILY IS FOUND 👏👏👏

...wha? Three?

wait, this whole episode was you were retelling what happened to Tari, to Eggdog?

...that actually puts things in a whole new context (I'll talk about it later)

*gets hit by the book*

AY Congrats to Mango for your art being featured in the end credits! 🎉 what an awesome Christmas gift from the Team honestly

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

This was a fantastic Christmas special! This really punched me in the gut (but in a good way). Everything, as always, was amazing. Excellent job, Team!!! Too bad Clench couldn't be in the whole episode.

Oh Tari, my girl :( I felt the emotional rollercoaster along with her and I just wanted to give her a giant hug.

Me 🤝 Tari → people pleasers with a dose of abandonment issues

Tari, I've been there and I promise your friends aren't gonna leave you. What you can offer, what you're able to, that is worth something. It doesn't need to be material, just being a part of their lives is enough. No matter how big, because to them, it could mean a lot more than what you think.

It's what I've been struggling too, that the people who have approached me only wanted what I could offer, but not as a person. And it takes time to heal and open up again to people who are worth opening up to, but you'll get there.

So, to remind you (yes, the one behind the screen): you are enough. We are enough. What you do, means a lot more to other people than what you think. You'd be surprised how much a second of your presence means to people, and they value that. It's why it's okay to say no when you aren't able to, they'll understand if they truly do care for you. I promise, time will come around for you to find the good ones.

That's why I love this show. It isn't just a "silly meme show", it's so much more than that. Yes, it does have its funny moments but it can be emotional, dramatic, exciting. And even relatable. That's the point of stories. Like I said countless times before:

Every story, no matter how outlandish it seems, is grounded in reality.

That's why I'm glad this was one of the last episodes of the year, to bring it all back that it's a story that we all can relate to in some way. That we aren't alone. Grab each other by the hand and take one day at a time.

Oh boy, sorry for that emotional stuff. Just wanted to bring some comfort 💙 With that, I'm gonna bring back what was the most interesting of this episode: SMG3

It wasn't until the very end that we realized this whole episode was Three retelling Tari's story not only to Eggdog but also to Terrance.

(If I remember the layout correctly, right in the same nook above the fireplace is where Terrance's photo is placed)

So, yes, he is reading a bedtime story to both of his sons. (just gonna cry in the corner for a second) He's such a dad 🥺

Anyway, i shall put my theorist goggles on:

Back in the part when Tari was too late to buy the Crew presents and the voices in her head were bashing her for failing, we have SMG3 for some reason come in:

To be clear, that's Four's model (notice the lack of chip of the cap) but Three is the one saying: "And I thought I was evil..." Other than being the narrator, Three wasn't in the story, so the question is why?

The obvious would be that the Team simply made a mistake and forgot that they placed this in. Ok, sure, that's if it was on accident. But what if they did it on purpose?

As Three stated in the episode "Trash Friends", he truly believes he's "the worst version of SMG4"

Think about it: the basic roles for them are Four as the hero and Three as a villain.

If Three was ever in an episode all of a sudden is because he is the negative force of the story. Recall back to the episode "Meme Hunters" when Three was forced to be "the conflict" of the episode.

Now, it may seem harmless but to him, he was afraid to be perceived as nothing more than "SMG4's cheap and worst copy"

And also in "You Used to Be Cool", people have noticed when he does lay back a bit from the usual villain/rival role and bash him saying, "This isn't you."

Hero or villain, you're seen differently by everybody

Then there was the whole "moral of the story" part:

Ofc, it's a whole thing that Three refuses time after time that he's not friends with the Crew

Now with the context that we have, we just got a peek into Three's fears/insecurities. Basically: if he opens up and accepts that he has friends, they might try and take advantage of him. So, what should he do? Close himself off, be an asshole, and deny, deny, deny.

Despite risking literally everything, INCLUDING HIS OWN LIFE, for them, he's doing this to protect himself from emotional harm when he's the most vulnerable.

There's indeed a trope that villains, especially redeemed ones, would have a sense of empathy of some kind. They know what's like to hit rock bottom, it's why they can empathize with the people who least deserve it, like Tari. (Even with Four back in IGBP.) So yes, as much as this is a story about Tari, it also relates to Three.

How can you have what you want when you're the one holding yourself back?

Three: "I also need love, understanding, and tenderness." [IGBP movie, Spanish dub] Three: " I just want the USB in that spaghetti in your stomach so I can use it to gain fame and love that SMG4 has too much of, okay?!" Mario: "...Is that it? Silly SMG3, you could of just told Mario instead of suppressing your inner emotions and your fear of being forever forgotten." [Trash Friends]

I mean, look at the last episode, he was so happy to know he got fanart.

The pressure he has, the role he has to play, what he's perceived as. It all affects him. Sure, he doesn't care that he's not perceived as the standard definition of a villain but he is really as human as he can be, with fears and desires.

Another way to see the "failure" part of the episode is that Three could never see Four in a negative light. Sure, Four has made terrible mistakes but past the YouTube Arc, Three has never seen Four as a villain (again, the role of the hero thing). Four is flawed just as he is, but since he's the one telling Tari's story, he replaces Four with himself in the narrative.

It's not confirmed it's because he cares about Four in this instant but it's obvious he has done it on purpose. All because that's the role he plays, one he absolutely fears, "an evil and worst copy of Four".

(For all we know, he might've altered some other things in the story we haven't even known about.)

AND the fact that he's telling it like a bedtime story to his son(s) as a warning, so they don't go through what he went through when he was younger (his whole parenting of reminding them that they're loved and appreciated for even the smallest things)

So, long story short: me 🤝 Tari 🤝 SMG3 → underlining abandonment issues

I've been noticing that a lot of points from past episodes are starting to resurface again (like IGBP) and I do hope we get to bring back what's going on with Three. Then, we might get Three having the same conclusion that Tari went through: as much as he wants to deny it to protect himself, he'll realize that it's okay to be vulnerable and have friends.

And he'd be surprised how much of what he did was valuable to them. That what he seeks is already right in front of him. After all, he's already part of the Crew :)

He would just have to let himself avert his view and see the truth.

[kaythefloppa]

Wild Kratts - Chimpanzee and Me - Thoughts

The last of this week's new episode premiere, released online today alongside Salamander Streaming and Bumblezzzz. Will air on TV this coming Wednesday so as always, spoilers ahead!

K, so huge confession but Zooboomafo was the only other show by the Kratt Brothers I distinctively remember watching. I watched a few clips of Kratts' Creatures, but mistook them for WK as a kid. This is most definitely a callback to some Chimpanzee adventure episode in KC that I did not happen to pick up. So it's totally lost on me.

That being said, my prediction of references to previous Kratt Brothers' works reigns supreme (and for those who view all four Kratt Brother shows in one hollistic "canon" here's some ammo for your fan-theories).

Look at those delicious yummy grapes... wonder if they're being saved for later.

I will still never forget when the synopsis for this episode came out about Chris spraining his ankle, as well as when a synopsis for the clip came of him tripping on grapes. The constant memes and reactions omfg /silly

But seriously this man is in PAIN. This season for what it's worth, does a lot of angst and in ways you'd never expect.

I've never sprained or broken a limb, so I'm probably in no place to talk, but from the looks of that frame, Chris bent his ankle pretty damn good. He's definitely gonna be on hiatus for the next few weeks (which could ironically be taken metacontextually since after this episode we'll be on another hiatus until next year when the live show comes)

Ok let's talk about the villain's plan here. He wants to replace his Zachbots with a Chimpanzee he can roboticize to do his work. Here are my many thoughts and takeaways from this, some of which, definitely are just me reaching.

A step up from his dumbass plan in the last episode. Not threatening, but motivations that are actually sensible (but still evil though).

More than once have I seen the theory floating aound where Zach programmed his bots to be smart enough to obey his commands, but dumb enough to where they won't turn against him. I assumed that this episode was going to end with the cliche of Zach's creations turning on him as laser guided karma (hint it doesn't) so it really puts things into perspective.

Considering how we are getting two Zach-related episodes in a row, coming just off the heels of Our Blue and Green World, I like to headcanon that Zach's overall character in this batch of episodes is some form of response or byproduct of the events of that special. Because between Paisley's sudden betrayal, Donita's callous threat of physical violence in the previous episode, and his henchmen's limited intellect, he realizes how much he is fundamentally losing control, both in the villain team, and in his own endeavors as a villain. He's slowly, yet consistently and constantly being knocked down from the pedestal that he views himself on, and by trying to change the status quo with a new animal assistant, he thinks he can keep himself up at the top where he thinks he belongs, completely oblivious to how he's his own worst enemy. Yes, I'm overanalyzing all 3 episodes and I love it.

This is another moment where I HAVE to use my one-video-only-free-card to convey the point across because a certain scene is that good. This is only a 34 second action sequence where the chimpanzees are running from the Zachbots, but holy hell the background music. I had to isolate the background noises just to share it with y'all so you can see my point as to how the music absolutely carries this scene. Pure West has always gone so hard with the scores in this show, but they were absolutely on fire for this brief chase scene. I actually tensed up seeing the Chimp's mother getting torn away from her baby as the music swole up. Yet another reason why PBS should release an official soundtrack for the series, it's so fucking good.

Ok so Chris doesn't activate Chimpanzee Powers, nor does he invent the disc but goddamnit! This entire plot is so cute, and dare I say, the episode actually works better with Chris not being the one to activate the suit.

Now I can use my allotted time to point out how much I love this scene and why it makes this episode very well-liked for most people, myself included. This isn't the first PBS Kids show to educate viewers on non-verbal communication such as facial expressions and sign language, and it's definitely far from the last, but it's a really sweet and sincere moment that's both educational, and really good rep for people who use sign language. It gets its point across efficiently and could very well reach out to any children at home who use ASL. It's magnificent.

Also, Leah is fun, I hope we see her more in future eps.

THE CHIMPANZEE POWER SUIT

Ok I take it back: This is definitely the best designed Creature Power Suit of S7. I remember dreading it because of how alike Chimpanzees and Humans are physically, but oh my god I am so glad to be wrong. It's giving full Season 1 vibes (looks a lot like the Orangutan Suit, total sense), and I am all FOR IT.

And again, I feel like I would/should be angry or disappointed that Chris didn't activate the suit, but again, the plot actually works better without him using the suit, and the design of the Chimpanzee Suit itself is so good, everything just comes together neatly.

Bro is in his peak.

I mean, still peak.

Joss pointed this out better than I could, but there are a lot of varied facial expressions for Zach in this episode. As mentioned earlier, during the hiatus in between Season 6 and 7, new builders and riggers were hired on the animation team for Wild Kratts, many of them likely fans of the show themselves. And again, seeing as there's a 2 year gap between S6 and S7 in terms of development, there's bound to be some slight differences in rigs or models. Which is definitely why we get a lot of moments like this in the episode.

My two cents. I can definitely see why people would be caught off guard, and yeah, at such a high frequency it can get off-putting and requires some getting used to. But at the same time, I kinda dig it, just for the camp factor. It also somewhat reminds me of some of the facial expressions used in the pilot episode, (which has the stronger excuse of different animation + art-style to back it up), but yeah, definitely something that catches the eye.

Zach's hair is defnitely giving Kovu from Lion King 2 and I mean this in the worst. Possible. Way.

This entire scene can be seen as an allegory for two different types of parenting. Zach takes harsh, demanding approaches, speaking without listening for the sake of control, all out of a place of emotional unintelligence and immaturity, which alienates + drives away the child; Whilst Chris takes a more constructive, compassionate, understanding, yet still direct approach to get through to the child/chimp, allowing for a proper solution to the issue at hand. Yes, I'm pointlessly over analyzing even more but in an episode where communication is the main focus & moral of the episode as well as the resolution to the climax, I have to wonder if someone, whether it'd be the writers, animators, or even network execs did it on purpose. Because once again, you could takeaway a really good lesson for kids, and even adults with this interpretation in mind.

Oh yeah, once we get past that stuff, the climax of this episode is like, really fucking hilarious. And Zach getting mind-controlled by his own helmet is still a good dose of laser guided karma.

CONCLUSION:

Cons:

A few of the facial expressions can be a bit jarring. Again, Joss pointed it out perfectly how this episode could've been earlier in S7's development so these adjusted rigs probably can and will get better. I wouldn't even say it as a con, it's just some little thing of the episode that doesn't really lower my overall opinions.

This is a personal nitpick of mine; Not a critique. I think we could've seen more of the chimpanzees in action. I'm talking about face-offs with gorillas (which I think we might get an episode on that in the future, idk), hunting monkeys, leopard attacks! But I do get why it wasn't in the episode, it would've just bogged down time. Frankly, the only reason why I'm putting the cons first is because there is so much I have to say otherwise.

Pros:

The animation overall

The backgrounds

The Chimpanzee Power Suit

The Chimpanzees themselves.

The Background Music

Chris angst!!!!!!

The A plot and B plot perfectly complementing each other, which makes certain writing decisions that could've fallen short, work so much better as a result in execution!

Zach not being a dumb POS like he was in the last epiosde!

The chimpanzee designs!!!!

The very well-handled representation and depiction of sign-language and lessons of communications to its young audiences!

Final Ranking: 9.2/10. Our Blue and Green World and No Name Dream subverted expectations (mainly through Paisley's redemption and the S1 callbacks + the return of the Draco Power Suit). This is the first episode of Season 7 that exceeded my expectations. It is far better than how I thought it would be, and the experimental writing that this season has been hinged upon thus far hit the mark entirely when it came to this episode. So much so that it actually raised the already-high expectations I had for the new season. It is that. Fucking. Good. I'd easily call it a contender for one of the best episodes of the season, but again, we'll have to wait and see.

[stedes-tarty-pink-robe]

I like how many callbacks to previous episodes showed up in this episode. It helps a show that plays fast and loose with continuity feel more complete. Guillermo wearing a "Yas, Sean" shirt. Laszlo's dad saying rotten soldier. Many references to the ghost episode, including Colin's grandma. Laszlo's car returning. And of course, finally acknowledging again that Laszlo raised Colin and hinting at the emotional toil the loss of their parent-child relationship took on Laszlo. The only thing that caught me off guard is that Nandor's shape-shifting girlfriend was a opossum girl and not Gail, the werewolf. All in all, this was a great episode that helped the wwdits universe feel more lived in.