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Disenchantment - That other (other) Groening series

SpoonyBard

SpoonyBard

Threat Rhyme
(He/Him)
So season 3 (or part three, which is actually the first part of season 2 since each season is divided into two parts and this is dumb so I'm calling it season 3) dropped on Netflix a little bit ago and I recently finished it and

Ennnhhhh?

Probably the weakest bunch of episodes thus far, honestly, so it probably won't change anyone's minds about it who already bounced off the show. It's a shame because there are definitely good elements I like about the series and I'll keep watching it when season/part 4 comes out but overall season 3 was kind of a mess.

I still dig the main cast. Except Elfo I guess, I'm just totally over him. Luci is absolutely the best part of every season and that's still the case here. Bean can be a bit one-note at times (she likes to drink GET IT) but whenever she gets to do anything else besides be drunk this season she was actually kind of great. Even Zøg losing his mind this season, while it did get kinda repetitive, was entertaining and it's clear DiMaggio was enjoying it.

But season 3 falls flat in how much it tries to cram into it, which ends up leaving every new plot point feeling unexplored and undeveloped. It simultaneously feels like there's too much and not enough going on. The last episode especially just keeps throwing things at you, to the detriment of the episode itself. If you're watching this series much later, after it's finished, and you can just jump right into the next part this might not be quite as bad, but honestly I don't think it would help that much.

As for the very end of the finale: I was far more broken up about Luci dying than I was about Elfo being elfnapped by Ogres (seriously, let them take him) but we've already established bringing cast members back to life so it fell kinda flat. The revelation that Luci winds up in heaven is interesting, though. Dagmar taking Bean down to hell (I guess) to marry probably-Satan (though his silhouette reminded me of that Steamland CEO guy) was another swerve on top of swerves. Also in the finale: Zøg is taken to the asylum, the Troggs hiding something under Dreamland, the Elf King, Rule-o, discovers the old throne of the elves under the castle, and Odval is still scheming against the throne and hasn't just been executed somehow.

It's a lot of stuff. Yet it feels so inconsequential.

So yeah, I still like it enough to keep watching. But the show is a mess.
 
Octopus Prime

Octopus Prime

Mysterious Contraption
(He/Him)
I made it a point to binge the show again before season 3 started.

And, yeah... it's... fine. I liked the added focus on the Arch Druidess, but she was more fun when she was the highest member of a church she was obviously making up on the spot.
 
WisteriaHysteria

WisteriaHysteria

Watched this when it came out a few days ago. Binging remains convenient, but also makes everything slip off the brain as soon as it's over.

Agreed that it was a middling season. Plenty of good points here and there, but as a whole lackluster. I spent most of the season though being uncomfortable. Because I felt like the show was asking me to laugh at Zog getting brain damage repetitively and I'm like, "that's... not really funny tho??" But it kept doing it. See? He honks now like a loon! Soooo funny! 👀
 
madhair60

madhair60

Video games
I'm surprised this is still going.

I watched the first season, I think? Basically no laughs so I didn't watch any more...
 
ThricebornPhoenix

ThricebornPhoenix

target for faraway laughter
(he/him)
I feel like this show isn't trying to be an endless series of jokes like Futurama (or even The Simpsons), but the drama doesn't exactly pick up the slack most of the time, so a lot of it falls flat.

Honestly couldn't tell if the brain damage bits were even meant to be funny, except the one with Shocko. If they were, the writers failed at a thing they shouldn't have been doing. These guys can't tell the difference between culture and anatomy, so who knows.

The show is already getting self-referential to an annoying degree and hasn't even begun to wrap up most of the mysteries from the first season, let alone the second, even as it introduces more. Just give me an answer that isn't five more questions in a trench coat, please. And try being better instead of joking about how bad you are while you're at it.

Best episode of S3 is probably Last Splash. Elfo shipping aside, you get Bean forming a genuine (non-alcohol/violence) bond with someone, and some gorgeous backdrops.

Best character is still Oona. Or is?
 
R

Rufferto

(anh/他/él/он)
Man, I keep watching this show. I want to like it. Like, everything else about I like, except the crucial issue, which is that it's not funny. Even though this show hasn't given me anything to make me think it'll improve, I want to believe.
 
SpoonyBard

SpoonyBard

Threat Rhyme
(He/Him)
Just finished Part 4 and..... it's just kinda there? There's a few chuckle-worthy moments but no real stand-out jokes, as to be expected. But the story is just getting really unwieldy. There were already too many balls in the air at the end of Part 3, and by the end of Part 4 we ALSO have the looming Elf/Trogg conflict and queen of hell Dagmar to deal with on top of everything else.

The rather light joke density would be fine if the overall story were interesting enough, I'm not against a less jokey more story focused Groening show, but Disenchantment just seems to throw more things into the plot in lieu of developing anything.

Oh and not one appearance of Merkimer. Not one. What is even the point of this show if we don't periodically see a pompous pig go "Saaaaaaaaaaaaaaad."
 
gogglebob

gogglebob

The Goggles Do Nothing
(he/him)
This is a weird complaint about a show that is being produced by such veterans, but... I feel like a lot of the jokes just land poorly because... I don't know... pacing? The writers don't get it? Some kind of... something... that, like, it feels like there are jokes that are meant to put a stinger on the plot or right before a commercial break or... something? And they... just don't land. Like it's something that might work in a 22 minute show that airs after a football game, but it doesn't so much work for "appointment" streaming viewing, left alone binge watching. I personally feel like that is the greatest problem here: it is not being written as a comedy for the format at all, so the jokes that are there get swallowed up by the constant continuity setups and references. Honestly, I feel like this is a problem with a lot of streaming shows, where the overarching tone tries to be heavy on the drama, so the jokes come off more like bon mots than actual joke-jokes, which sucks in a world where the setting itself can (and should) be a joke.

That said, mid Part 4 spoilers, the bit with Bean drowning and just being lifeless underwater while everyone says she is going to survive? What was that? Like it felt affecting and "wow they're actually doing this" with the lack of music and the sort of finality of death there... and then they just pulled back, as is kind of expected of a show that is not going to kill its main character (who is also a rolling ball of plot hooks). Was the intention there to trick the audience? Confirm how deadly Bean's life has become? In a show with multiple cast members that have been resurrected, like, repeatedly? It's weird, ya'all.
 
Rascally Badger

Rascally Badger

El Capitan de la outro espacio
(He/Him)
I think its largely funny, but I'll be honest that at this point I've bought into the plot enough that I'm not really focusing on the jokes as much as I would while watching Futurama. If the plot stuff is not working for someone, I can see them getting a lot less out of the show.
 
SpoonyBard

SpoonyBard

Threat Rhyme
(He/Him)
So hey remember this? Part 5 recently dropped and it's the last part of the series so we're headed to the end.

It's really weird to watch this at the same time as the new Futurama because there's this uncanny... sameyness between the two of them. This is probably mostly due to the very similar voices, not just the actors but the sorts of characters they're doing are very similar in each show.

But Disenchantment, at least, is finishing its own narrative rather than chasing after recent trends or news events to do one-off episodes about like Futurama has been doing.

Thus far biggest chuckle I've had is Bean following up Uuna's mannerisms.

"Is girlfriend?"
"Or is."
 
Rascally Badger

Rascally Badger

El Capitan de la outro espacio
(He/Him)
I thought I posted about this show a few months ago when the release date for part 5 was announced and I rewatched the series.

Now that it's finished, I really liked the show and think they made something that was overall very satisfying. Not in the smallest part because it is complete.
 
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