Disenchantment Part 5

Okay, now I ship Elfo and Mopgirl.

That scene between Luci and Satan was sublime. Beautifully played by Maurice La Marche, and I'll extend a rare compliment to Eric Andre for it too. Man, Satan is really in over his head.

I love the bit of the guy in the window taking a shot over the fact that it's kind of a big ask for the audience to remember big events on the show that occur about a year apart due to when the different seasons air. I totally knew what he meant.

Bean and Mora is the best love story ever.

I loved it. 4 stars.

It's amazing how much genuine pathos this show has decided to give Zog.

Bean and Mora continue to be both adorable and sexy.

Solid. 4 stars.

You know what? I think the writing on this show is a LOT smarter than the writing on Futurama. Not only is the dialogue better and more realistic, but it posits ridiculous ideas as a matter of course, instead of as a punchline. Like the idea that Mora can't read is funny enough, until Bean pokes holes in it, and she talks about the ludicrous rules behind it, ending with it not working in soup. With the exception of Bean herself and Mona, I don't find the characters on the show as likable as the Futurama cast. But man, there is a HELL of a lot more subtleties in both the humor and dialogue.

Take the awkward fight between Bean and Mora over her calling her half a woman. She's referring to her outward appearance, but Mora sees it as a deeply offensive thing against her as a woman. And Bean tries to explain that she sees her as a woman in the most cringe manner possible, while still having to point out the logistics of how they would need to hide Mora's fish half. The dialogue is both painful and realistic in a way Futurama never is. I was very impressed.

I don't know yet how the season will end. But if it ends right, I'll say this show is probably more solid qualitywise than Futurama and possibly The Simpsons because it did not overstay its welcome. Frankly, I am skeptical there will be a satisfying series finale, because that's not how Matt Groening's stuff operates, but if there is, this show will be one of animation's most underrated gems. 4 1/2 stars.

It wasn't an especially long episode, but it felt too long anyways because it felt padded in places. The escape from the freak show should have taken 5 minutes instead of half the episode.

Not great but the occasional underwhelming episode is to be expected. 2 1/2 stars.

Man, that ending montage was great. And Mopgirl is an elf? No way!

The animation on Satan attempting to hypnotize Luci is great.

I love that Satan is Dagmar's beta.

It is a bit predictable Elfo shot himself, but only in the context of this episode. The predestination thing totally was NOT telegraphed in the episode he died.

This feels like a final season episode for sure. 4 stars.

As a fantasy show, part of it needs to be about the journey. And yet part of me is anxious for all the characters to get back to Dreamland, unite, and stop the bad guys.

It felt like nice wrap-up for the Kingdom of Maru though. 3 1/2 stars.

Bean's group therapy session was pretty amazing.

Chaz is equal parts funny and horrible too.

We are in the Endgame now. 4 stars.

Oh, God! That ending! Mora's "Why?" absolutely killed me.

You knew this was gonna be a great episode when Jerry yells at God "You are the God of wimps!" at the beginning, and God replies, "I am many things." The mythology lesson He gave about the true nature of magic truly felt like a last season thing.

Luci dunking on Satan was great. And the cat he saved being Scruffles is genius. Also amazingly clever was the Aliveo / Deado / Whocareso runner. That wasn't just funny. It was nuts.

I'm guessing the brief shot of the penises were the thing to get the entire damn season an undeserved TV-MA rating. Even for that, the season didn't deserve that rating. I'd argue even for that the EPISODE didn't either.

Evil Bean is not just evil, she's kind of stupid. She actually thinks her "cool" death is something for Bean to envy. I almost pity that level of toxicity, but after Mora, I actually don't. Abbi Jacobson played the moment perfectly though. I'll give her that.

Man, I really hope Bean and Mora's story doesn't end here. But whether it does or not this episode proves the show has legit gravitas. 4 1/2 stars.

With the death of Mora, then Luci, and then God, I suspected Bean's death was next. In a show with an actual afterlife, how else is she gonna reunite with Mora? It's not the end. One episode left. But that kickass final battle put things into a sharper focus.

This show kicks ass too. 4 stars.

The most unexpected finale imaginable. I did not see this coming. Also should point out for the record, this amazing finale means Disenchantment is a better show than Futurama. Full stop.

I knew something was up immediately and I'm betting every other fan sensed it too. Matt Groening himself came down from on-high to write the series finale. He NEVER writes episodes. At least not anymore. That's not his role in the TV series he creates. He comes up with the premise and lets the showrunners take it from there. Him having that writing credit on the final episode made an immediate statement. The statement it said is that unlike Futurama's various satisfying but open-ended finales, Groening intended to end Disenchantment on its own terms. Not bouncing from network to network upon various cancelations. When Netflix did the huge amount of cancelations it did, and when it closed its animation department, Groening probably saw the writing on the wall and decided to instead of making Disenchantment an Evergreen series that he would produce as long as the network wanted him to, for the first time ever to give fans of his stuff a satisfying wrap-up.

What kills me is that as a script-writer, although he doesn't do many, Groening has definitely matured since the series premiere. The whole thing with Bean kissing Mora's body and declaring that it wasn't a fairytale was storytelling genius that gave a better wink and a nod to the entire franchise than the nitpicking guy at the window ever could.

But it IS a fairytale with magic. Luci is allowed to wish Mora back to life and the entire cast is allowed a satisfying wrap-up (although truthfully I didn't need to see Mopgirl and Elfo in bed). The tag is frustrating and ambiguous and raises questions about how we should view the entire series' reality, especially in relationship to The Simpsons and Futurama. I'll let other nerds debate what the castle disappearing ultimately means. It's a bittersweet place to end things.

Let me be clear: This is not the best series finale in television history, or even the most satisfying one. I guess it impressed me so much because I'm been tolerating The Simpsons and Futurama's unending natures for so long I had no idea Team Groening had this in them. And God willing, the current Futurama run on Hulu gets the exact same thing in its 20th episode, although for THAT I won't hold my breath.

I was very impressed, and I wound up loving this show, and the remarkable and very unique character of Bean. People complaining that it was too unlike Futurama or The Simpsons were slamming it for the exact reason it had value. I am honored to have witnessed a rare cartoon deliver a wonderful series finale. Most cartoons, kiddie or adult, are not granted those. And I have to say it being as definite and satisfying as it was was the most impressive and unexpected thing about it. The show did right by its characters (especially Bean) and right by the viewers and fans. Kudos, Disenchantment. You will be missed. 5 stars.