Scott Pilgrim is back and if ever there was a title you wanted an episode to follow through on it’s this. Spoilers follow.
1. Maverick and Goose
The freedom for this show to explore new and unlikely character pairings has arguably been its greatest strength so far, and we start off the episode with one of the best. Having Lucas and Gideon/Goose bro-ing it up is the best sort of diversion, especially with one of the show’s best needle drops so far in the form of Vampire Weekend’s A-Punk. Their powwow is fun from its opening montage to the last skateboard off into the sunset.
Overall, Jason Schwartzman’s Goose has a lot of great material this episode. I really love the idea of him drafting an apology for creating a league of angry men conspiring against their mutual ex, it’s so formal of him and so insufficient. Still, hopefully things are going better than before with him and Julie, she has a great sort of angry pet talk reserved for him. It’s really all just pretty charming for a megalomaniac.
2. Scott Pilgrim’s Precious Little Subtext
I didn’t make it much of a secret that I found the last two episodes essentially ruined by their movie set framing device, so I really started this episode with a sigh of relief. I can acknowledge that the Goose/Lucas sequence is equally schlocky in parts, but there’s an authenticity to it that fits the tone of Scott Pilgrim so much more snuggly than a meta-parody look at comic adaptations.
We also saw what should be our final ex-history origin sequence, which again I’m weirdly relieved to see over. I know I’ve said in the past they’re a good way to bring in some different looks and styles from across eras, but as the show has progressed they feel more and more superfluous, showing various uninspired portraits of jilted and selfish partners.
It was around the midpoint of the episode however, when I realized I hadn’t escaped my nightmare. We left behind the movie set, just to get a musical. I’m not going to whine seeing as we haven’t actually seen anything from it, but I just don’t get this as a gimmick for the show. It’s the absolute epitome of a hat on a hat, doing a reboot that is actually an original story but then has a film-within-a-show that also gets a reboot. I’m tired just thinking about it.
3. We are (a majority share of) Sex Bob-Omb
Even if the core crew from Sex Bob-Omb are tied to the musical plotline, I really can’t deny how charming they are. Knives especially has a great performance to show in this episode and it mines out another side of her persona really effectively. We’ve consistently see her have so much more to do through this show. In the same way Ramona has been prized out of her stereotype, Knives, while still being quite defined by it, has got to reflect on Scott’s inappropriate role in her life as a partner through a range of different contexts.
That aside, I really just love Sex Bob-Omb all having a role together in the ep. Any time spent with Stephen Stills is time well spent.
4. Curiouser and curiouser
It’s hard to think of a show with a central mystery as unabashedly fun as the one in Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I challenge you to think of a reveal better than ‘a robot vegan did it’ (and a robot vegan who found a place in my heart by clunkily running from danger and smashing an entire window to escape). I’m putting on my tinfoil hat, but the only thing that would make it better is if Wallace had somehow puppetmastered this whole thing, the man has built some clout up in this series.
I also feel like I deserve a bit of credit, among my mountain of incorrect predictions, I correctly guessed that it was Scott who kidnapped Scott. I mean it was always going to have to be somebody that could move the blame off the exes, seeing as they’re all broadly being redeemed through the series. If there are any winners or losers in this production though, Michael Cera is definitely the most triumphant. He got to record for half as many episodes as the rest of the cast at most, and gets top billing for a couple days’ work. You just have to respect the hustle.
Continued below5. Living life like Young Neil
As a final note, nothing can stop this show from being delightfully meticulous and charming. There are a swathe of great design choices, like Patel’s office, which looks like he swiped it straight from EVA headquarters and the world of Neon Genesis Evangelion. I also loved the big DBZ-esque introduction to the Julie vs Gordon and Lucas fight that Ramona breaks up. I’m happy to see she’s willing to beat up hollywood heartthrob Lucas Lee in her living room.
I also though Ramona and Julie had very cool outdoor jackets, I shoulda spent more time talking about costuming in this show, seeing as it’s such a preoccupation of O’Malley’s. Hopefully one day we get a “Snotgirl” animated series.
We’ll be back next week as we inch closer and closer to the finish line of this precious little series.