#though I too wonder what Chuddle Dollops are))

[thevalicemultiverse]

Hare: Guess what I just found in the pantry.

Gryphon: What?

Hare: No, you have to guess! I’ll give you three guesses.

Gryphon: Ummm….it is….A tin of soup?

Mock: Ooo. Good guess.

Hare: Heh. Wrong.

Gryphon: Well maybe it’s aaaaaa….packet of Chuddle Dollops.

Hare: That’s right!

Gryphon: Yes!

Hare: It’s a packet of Chuddle Dollops. *puts the packet of Chuddle Dollops on the table*

Mock: Yay.

Gryphon: Now let’s crack into these Dollops then. Let me at them!

Hare: Hold on! You still have one guess left.

Gryphon: But I got it right.

Hare: So? I said Three Guesses, not two.

Gryphon: You want me to do another guess? What’s the point?

Hare: People are dying to know what your final guess would have been.

Mock: What people?

Gryphon: Fine. is it…ummm…..Some Rice?

Hare: Wrong!

Mock: Bad luck.

Hare: I win!

Alice: [shaking her head fondly] I really expect no less from you lot. . .though I do have to ask what on earth "Chuddle Dollops" are.

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

DHMIS Review: TV Episode 3, Family

This review has admittedly taken a while, just because I will fully admit this is not an episode I tend to rewatch much. It’s still entertaining, but something about it just makes it a little hard to come back to, personally.

But, I’m happy to be back and talk about another episode of one of my favorite shows, so let’s get to it:

I think the variant verse of this episode’s opening amuses me a little too much with the way they avoid the more obvious rhyme scheme of tall-bald-small, in favor of having Yellow Guy just claim that he’s going bald as well after Duck claims that he’s going bald. Especially with the way that Yellow’s hair literally looks like two halves of his hair split up and went on separate sides of his head just to give him a stereotypical balding look. 

A small detail I never noticed until now: there’s a picture of the trio  - the same one as their “Missing” poster in the “Love” short, from the looks of it, on the back of a milk carton as Red and Yellow are watching TV. Apparently nobody ever bothered to report them as found. 

I can’t deny loving how Duck takes the whole “three guesses” thing so seriously, though I imagine he mostly did it as an ego thing? Like, he wanted to prove he could outsmart his friends, so when Red guessed the answer with only his second guess, Duck just acted like he “won” because his friend didn’t get the answer in the “correct” number of guesses. Also, the ‘warm lasagna” flavor for the Chuddle Dollops isn’t really as odd as I initially thought, considering there’s pizza-flavored chips and the flavor profiles would be similar in what’s basically chip form. 

I also just realized that the lasagna flavor is probably a nod to the first episode, since they were having lasagna for lunch during the work day break.

The way Yellow Guy actually questions when Duck mentions that “People are dying to know what your third guess would have been” is really interesting to me, especially in light of the sixth episode. Maybe even when he’s not fully charged he’s a little more...aware of things than he normally seems to be? At least enough to question when his friends say something that seems to be hinting at something more. 

Kind of wondering if it could also be a slight nod to theories that the original web series was a show within a show of sorts, with the characters being actors. Duck just kind of broke the fourth wall...and his friends either ignore what he said or just question what he’s talking about. Because whatever’s going on in that house, it doesn’t seem to be just something happening for an in-universe show.  

So, what happened to the Apple teacher was basically just like, a more violent version of when Colin interrupted what was apparently going to be Gilbert’s lesson, right? 

Roy getting thrown in the trash is correct, but not because he’s “just a dad” and not a family; but because of the whole reveal that he’s apparently been horrible to Yellow and wanted to punish him for apparently being ignorant and rude - things we’ve never really seen. Unless Roy’s somehow mixed up his actual son with Duck, who apparently does have quite an ego. 

Please tell me I’m not the only one who wonders if the Lillie and Todney puppets having...lazy eyes is an intentional design choice, or if the puppets broke as they were filming and they decided to keep it in because, honestly, it just adds to the unsettling nature of the characters?

I love Todney’s outburst when Duck says family is “just a word” - both because he just says his family “likes” him, and his epic jump and flail in anger. Still not a fan of the pee jokes, which is probably another reason why I don’t particularly like this episode, since it’s got two - though one is pretty subtle, during the song. 

Speaking of the song, I do like it - not one of the best, but still pretty good. Even if the funniest part is just when Duck lampshades the fact that after a certain point, they just gave up spelling “Family” and just made up a word. I honestly didn’t even notice when first watching, because I was distracted by the imagery. Also, apparently almost nobody has a family anymore, if landline phones are a requirement. 

Love how when the twins do their little “on the count of fifteen” bit, Lillie actually is shown moving like she’s walking, while apparently whoever was puppeting Todney decided the boy was just skipping leg day and made it look like he was just like, gliding across the floor.

The way they have the twins try to talk in unison but have them be just slightly off so it ends up being like one is the other’s echo is just so unsettling, but obviously it works perfectly for the series? Really, these two are just the classic “Creepy Twins” trope turned up to eleven. 

Man, Red Guy just really hates the other two in this episode, doesn’t he? He’s very quick to say he wants to get away from them because they’re not his family, and dismisses any sort of suggestion that they’re even friends. It really does seem like the only reason he hangs around them is because something prevents him from actually leaving for good. 

I do wonder if there’s any particular reason why Duck didn’t seem to be at all effected by whatever it was that Lillie and Todney were doing to the others? It’s especially strange since, in the shorts, Red Guy was usually the one who didn’t want to go along with anything, while Duck was usually pretty much up for anything. But here, Red Guy seems the most eager to learn about families while Duck just wants to leave almost immediately.

Only now did I notice the possible foreshadowing with the plan to force Yellow into the role of the Mother of the family, with the way he was allowed to use the mother’s game piece despite the grandmother later freaking out when Duck touches it, and the twins saying that the mother’s game piece could only be used by “Mother”.

I really do wonder what’s up with the Twins and their family. The ending makes it clear they’re some kind of monster, and stuff like them being able to send Duck back to the House indicates they have some kind of powers that might be comparable to the Teachers. But are they actually Teachers? I don’t actually know if I’m supposed to count them or not. 

The whole thing with Red Guy noticing that the pictures were all framed feels like it was supposed to be treated as a bait and switch...but what were we supposed to assume he was noticing before the punchline? Honestly, my biggest issue with the episode so far is it does feel like it’s got too few jokes that really land for how creepy the horror aspects are? And they’re not even like “fun-creepy” like the best shorts and episodes tend to be.

The whole “Uncle Terry died”, “He went on fire” joke might be one of the best examples of comedic timing. Like, they had just a long enough pause after Yellow’s innocent question and Lillie and Todney’s response to genuinely make me laugh a little.

Gotta love Duck just casually burning a child alive in front of their parent and then just walking away and singing a song about how much he’s in denial about wanting a family. No, literally, that’s basically what happened - he put the Bread Slice, a child of the Bread Loaf into the toaster, and while the mother was screaming in horror, he just walks away and starts his song? That’s dark but might be one of the funniest moments in this whole episode. 

I have to admit, I don’t feel like there’s much to say about the episode for a while after Red Guy leaves the Twins’ house? It’s kind of just...creepy stuff happening with the Twins and Yellow Guy, and another reminder that, despite Red Guy’s instance that he wants to be with his family that looks like him....he really doesn’t fit in with other Red Guys, both in terms of personality and just him apparently being a nudist. 

This really is the most convoluted and creepy solution to a problem like this I’ve ever seen, them forcing Yellow to be the “Mother” so they can get a “Family Pack” meal. I do wonder if they actually couldn’t order the meal or if they were just so focused on what they thought a “family” was that they never bothered trying? 

Okay, the actual funniest moment in the episode is Yellow learning who the Father of the Family is....but I don’t know if the reason why it’s so funny is intentional? Because the humor doesn’t just come from his reaction....It comes from the fact that his voice actor completely drops his usual way of speaking for Yellow, where he’s obviously meant to sound....not super bright. Making it sound like the voice actor was also unaware of the reveal and got so surprised they messed up the delivery slightly and Becky and Joe just kept it. 

Or maybe Yellow was just so shocked by what he learned that his batteries got enough charge to have his voice start to “sound smart” for a moment. Who knows?

I like how Roy showing up at the end can either be seen as solely him wanting a meal....or possibly a bit of hypocritical heartwarming, with him shoving Yellow away and letting him leave before he starts eating. Obviously Roy is a horrible father, but I think it is plausible to view this as him kind of being like “I’m the only one allowed to mess with my son”. Again, still horrible, but kind of hard to say what the idea is supposed to be. 

Okay, the joke at the end of them finally being able to open the Family Pack of Dollaps because I guess now they realize they basically are a family...only for there to only be two pieces in the whole bag, and Duck immediately screaming he wants both when Red even starts to suggest they share...That got a chuckle of out me.

Yeah, overall, not my favorite episode. A couple jokes/moments made me chuckle, but a lot of it was just....disturbing and not in an entertaining way.