Monsters At Work: Season 2

So Pixar is not involved with this at all? I could have sworn they were involved with Season 1.

Bad Tylor at the end.

I loved Sulley's reactions to Mike on the phone.

Decent premiere. 3 1/2 stars.

I thought it was refreshing that Tylor's awful mistake didn't wind up destroying Monsters Inc's reputation. I'm not saying a lesser show would have done it. But it would have been the more predictable outcome. I'm glad they decided not to go there. 4 stars.

Well, at least Bob Peterson is still voicing Roze.

Have to say Tylor makes a poor viewpoint character. He's bad at his job and not very likable. I would rather the show focused on Mike and Sulley.

All right though. 3 stars.

Val might be onto something. Instead of comedy routines, maybe laugher can be gained through play and fun. That would probably make things a LOT easier for many of the workers.

It was a cute episode. 3 1/2 stars.

It's a cute show but it's interesting that I have not felt the need to do an in-depth review for any of the episodes this season. I can't tell if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

But Val is super cute. 3 1/2 stars.

So yeah, my main problem with the show still stands. Tylor is an extremely unlikable focal point character. No part of me sympathizes with him or is rooting for him. They would have done better centering the show around Val. At least she's cute.

Speaking of, I love that Mike loves that his head got autographed and that the stolen glove is clammy. Totally on-brand.

But I've just about had it with Tylor. 2 1/2 stars.

Tylor apologizing to Val for the wrong thing is a good reminder of why I dislike him so much. It's not just that it was the wrong thing. Him thinking that she expected him to go easy on her in the softball game is an extremely INSULTING thing.

If the cliffhanger is someday expanded upon, it's cool. If it's not, and it was just a narrative flourish, it's annoying.

I am really having a hard time enjoying this series while Tylor is the lead. 2 1/2 stars.

The reason nobody has your back Tylor? Because you've never had anybody else's. Van nailed it when she said that this was supposed to be HER day and HER victory, and he turned it into all about himself. Maybe I've been too harsh on the show for making Tylor such an unlikable character. Maybe that's been the entire point. Maybe I'm not reading the character wrong. But maybe I'm reading his role on the show wrong.

I'm not saying I expect a heel-turn. But this is not like "A Goofy Movie" where the protagonist is an unlikable asshole all throughout it and is rewarded for his unlikable assholery. It seems there are consequences to Tylor's actions and he must learn from them instead. I don't object to that at all.

Wanna turn Sulley against you? Mess with the Boo drawing. I wouldn't recommend it.

Mike has to do another spontaneous routine. Nowhere NEAR as good as the one from the film.

I'm guessing this is the episode where the season finally turned itself around. 4 stars.

I think what I like most about the Randall reveal is that they saved it for season 2. It's nice the show was able to do a good callback because they didn't blow their entire wad in the first season. But him being both the Monster in the basement and the Inside Man makes a lot of sense. Eager to hear how he was rescued from banishment.

I guess I want to complain a LITTLE at the show making Johnny the "surprise" villain, but really, it's not. Because we have the context of the first film how immoral scaring is. And Tylor having to do it to a kid he liked and who liked him brings home how disgusting a city literally powered on children's tears actually is.

I don't feel TOO bad for Tylor. Because this was his life's dream. And I think anybody who's life dream is THAT is probably a morally questionable person to begin with. Tylor is not completely worthless because he questions it once he's been in the field, and understands it. But he has so little actual worth to begin with because despite being employed at Monsters Inc, a company dedicated essentially to protecting innocent children, he didn't understand it until now. And it's only because it was with a kid he already knew.

The eye-drop bit with Mike was hysterical. Billy Crystal was killing it this episode.

One complaint is the 15 minute lunch break hints that working conditions at FearCo are secretly dire. I wish that had been further explored, and that we got further context to that. It feels very unsatisfying to hint that workers that don't measure up get killed and not get back to it.

Still, I'm liking this season after all. 4 1/2 stars.

Very satisfying ending. Unfortunately, I cannot give it five stars. Four is the best I can do. There is a HUGE plot nit that just doesn't sit right with me. And I guess my problem is I'm having a hard time thinking of an alternate route. And the bad plotting most likely occurred only because there wasn't one. We'll get to that.

About the best I can say is that I can probably do an in-depth review for the first time this season! Yay!

I wish Mike and Sulley had a bigger role in the finale, especially with Randall back. Season 3 (I hope).

Tylor isn't actually funny, but I like the idea that he can make a kid laugh with Val if they have a connection and talk about silly things. And you don't have to be a comedian to do that. I hate Tylor. No lie. But he does have a relatively easygoing demeanor, especially compared to his appearance. And making a friend is the first part to making a kid laugh. He can't tell jokes. But maybe he can learn to make friends.

The climax was bit overly complicated and long, but the plug situation reminded me of Doc Brown at clock tower. Here is some additional context for me saying that. Whenever I compare a climax to Doc Brown, it got the job done and did things right. There is no reason to EVER bring up Doc Brown if it doesn't.

I complimented the show for not using the second episode to make the combined scream / laugh container put Monsters Inc in an immediate public crisis. Them saving the idea for THIS, says I was completely right to be impressed by that. A lesser show would have been milking this crisis instead of building up to it. Well done.

I love the little adorable one-eyed girl watching Val and Tylor perform their magic with Ben on TV. We are reminded of the fact that scary-looking monster kids used to look up at scarers as role models. For the next generation CUTE monsters will finally be able to see their own worth and value as jokesters. And that's cool.

Okay. Time to discuss the problem with the plot. Johnny making Tylor VP and SO crucial to his plan's success is something a dumb bad guy would do. I think Tylor could be useful as a patsy (and he was) but although I LOVED Randall putting everything together for the audience at the beginning, I was like, "Tylor should NOT be hearing this." And then Johnny makes him VP, and puts him in his inner circle? What is he thinking? Even though the audience is aware Tylor, although flawed, possesses a conscience, even though Johnny doesn't really know or understand it, he is dumb for putting that level of trust in a guy he barely knows, especially for such an earnest and well-meaning kid as Tylor.

I guess the thing that makes me unhappy is if he didn't do that, the heroes couldn't win. And they needed to. And as of me writing this review I can't think of a better alternative way for them to do that besides Tylor going to them with the truth. But it strikes me as VERY shoddy storytelling, but I can't for the life of me figure out what I'd do better. I guess I might have structured the arc differently. I probably would not have made Johnny's heel-turn a "surprise" or had Tylor go under his sway. I tend to think very simply about things like that. In doing so the arc would have lost a LOT of its intricacies, so I probably would have made the season more standalone (As season 1 was). And since I suck at writing filler, that's where a writers' room comes in handy.

But I respect the show for doing its own thing, even if I couldn't readily believe Johnny would make an error that unforced. It was a good finale to a good season otherwise. 4 stars.