This was a big turning point episode for the show, dovetailing all of the principal plot points together finally under the shade of a- well, a giant set of pixelated male junk. We find out the true nature of The Terror’s plot, Superian’s ultimate weakness, what’s going on with the Very Large Man, and Dr. Karamazov’s regrettable involvement. And you’ve found all this out too, because surely you’ve watched the episode before reading this, right? If you haven’t, be warned that there are spoilers ahead. Let’s dive in.
1. Overkill’s over killing
This was a big growth episode for Overkill, with the most substantial evidence yet that he’s warming up to his new friends (especially Dot). As she gets too close, he begins to steel himself and grabs her arm in anger in a way that Dot isn’t cool with. He later apologizes for his behavior, and whether it is or it isn’t a good enough apology, there’s no doubt that this is something Overkill would not have apologized for even a couple of episodes ago. If the Tick is currently embroiled in a journey of self-discovery, Overkill may just almost be completing his. It’s an age-old story of the anti-hero, but he’s now at the point where he’s putting his life on the line for people other than himself and making promises not to kill. I hope he gets a happy ending.
2. Big Bismuth, After the Shakeup
It appears that The Tick’s Superman facsimile has a kryptonite of his own in the form of an element of sorts called “Big Bismuth”, a product of mad science that has Dr. Karamazov seeming ever the more like Dr. Hubert Farnsworth with every new revelation. While the Dr. Karamazov subplot seemed to be spinning its wheels in the early part of the season, I liked the way this episode tied everything together. Superian’s current state of disrepair? Well, it’s all part of The Terror’s plan. That warehouse the Tick blew up in the pilot episode? Crates of Big Bismuth. The Very Large Man? Well you better believe he’s full of Big Bismuth. The episode spends a good bit of time explaining that the bismuth is being grown in the VLM, and that by growing him to a large size, the bismuth grows with him. Of course, this being a cape comic show there’s no real science behind it, but Tinfoil Kevin lets us know that it makes perfect sense anyway.
3. The Terror, The Un-Cola
With the Dr. Karamazov plot paying off, it seems like it’s time for The Terror to spin his wheels for a bit. I don’t mean this negatively, but his role in this episode seems to be one of pure comedy. Having muscled his way into the CEO chair of a soda company in the last episode, The Terror is planning his return (reboot? Relaunch?) into a public life of supervillainy. This provides some very funny scenes with a pair of brown-nosing executive types trying to “sell” The Terror on a television commercial pitch meant to bring him back to the public consciousness. They’re no Don Draper, however, relying far too heavily on offering up villain clichés like “maniacal laughs” and “stroking a pet kitten.” With the Terror’s plan to kill Superian coming to fruition, it’ll be no time before he’s back in the driver’s seat again, but for a single episode it was fun to see him play the pompous soda executive, especially as Miss Lint was running around doing all the real grunt work while her boss kicked his feet back.
4. They have the Tick on computers now!
The Tick continues his ponderous soul-searching in this episode, going so far as to behave and speak as a stereotypical science fiction robot would. Because we can’t be sure how self-aware the Tick’s sense of humor really is, one wonders whether this is earnest behavior that he feels he needs to attempt to belong somewhere or whether it’s some sort of melancholy acceptance that even if he doesn’t know his true origin he could perhaps make himself happy as a robot. After all, he seems to be happy enough performing menial tasks for Arthur and the occasional bit of superheroism. I really began to appreciate Peter Serafinowicz’s performance considerably more with this episode, watching him process things as a robot would and employ deadpan obstinacy against the idea that he may not have himself figured out just yet. Another layer is that, when faced with the realization that he does in fact have the free will that a human would, there’s a sense of wonder and appreciation that he finds in his ability to “choose.” It’s (comparatively) deep stuff for the Tick, a property that’s never really been about giving the main character layers to his persona. That Amazon’s iteration chooses to go in this direction is providing some fascinating payoff.
Continued below5. “Spoon!” watch
Arthur: “If the Terror catches wind of the fact that we’re hiding Superian, then who knows what he’ll send to finish the job.”
The Tick: “I’m guessing mummies. No. Yeah, I’m gonna stick with mummies.”
The Tick: “Well I’ll be! Doctor Doll Parts is a robot too!”
Overkill: “You’re lucky I made a promise not to kill. You get the 48-hour coma punch.”
