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WARNINGS:
NAVIGATION
Hey folks! It’s been a while. I'm currently swamped with work and my partner and I just got into Metalocalypse, so my rewatch of The Venture Bros. slowed down. Plus, this is the longest season of the show, so it was gonna take a little longer anyway.
This season had some troubled development, hence (at least partly) why it was broken into two halves. Intentionally or not, the season's tone does reflect this. It feels bleaker than the rest of the show, somehow. It digs into the tragedy and trauma, watching the characters make horrible decision after horrible decision. I don't think the season is always successful, but it's bold, and its tonal shifts lead to some of the most outstanding storytelling in the series. When I first watched the show this was my favourite season, and it might still be! We’ll see when we get to the end of this retrospective.
Season 4 is, first and foremost, a low-key season. The laughs are darker, more bitter. This is not a season of action-packed multi-parters. For most of it, we’re living in the breathing space between the action. It’s almost like an entire ‘Doc Hammer’ season, in the sense that Hammer is generally the writer of the more dialogue- and pathos-heavy plots. Many Season 4 episodes aren’t individually fantastic or stand-out, but they have a lingering sadness to them that resonates. The subsequent seasons keep a better balance between sadness and silliness, but I’d say that this season laid the groundwork for the show's biggest emotional punches. And this season absolutely delivers on the heartwrenching moments, especially between Rusty and his sons.
( Read more... )
- Venture Bros. spoilers, discussions of abuse as per what's in the show.
NAVIGATION
Hey folks! It’s been a while. I'm currently swamped with work and my partner and I just got into Metalocalypse, so my rewatch of The Venture Bros. slowed down. Plus, this is the longest season of the show, so it was gonna take a little longer anyway.
This season had some troubled development, hence (at least partly) why it was broken into two halves. Intentionally or not, the season's tone does reflect this. It feels bleaker than the rest of the show, somehow. It digs into the tragedy and trauma, watching the characters make horrible decision after horrible decision. I don't think the season is always successful, but it's bold, and its tonal shifts lead to some of the most outstanding storytelling in the series. When I first watched the show this was my favourite season, and it might still be! We’ll see when we get to the end of this retrospective.
Season 4 is, first and foremost, a low-key season. The laughs are darker, more bitter. This is not a season of action-packed multi-parters. For most of it, we’re living in the breathing space between the action. It’s almost like an entire ‘Doc Hammer’ season, in the sense that Hammer is generally the writer of the more dialogue- and pathos-heavy plots. Many Season 4 episodes aren’t individually fantastic or stand-out, but they have a lingering sadness to them that resonates. The subsequent seasons keep a better balance between sadness and silliness, but I’d say that this season laid the groundwork for the show's biggest emotional punches. And this season absolutely delivers on the heartwrenching moments, especially between Rusty and his sons.
( Read more... )
