So, Disenchantment Season 2?

[Eldan]

Anyone remember Disenchantment? Matt Groening's new work, mostly landed with a wet splat, uninteresting characters, meandering plot, painfully unfunny gags, bad comedic timing? And then it had a really intriguing last episode that seemed to set up a lot of stuff.

Well. Season two is out.

And they absolutely blew it. Every consequence is reversed over the course of 2-3 episodes. The dead are back to life, the kingdom is unfrozen, Bean is back in Dreamland, the bad guys are just boringly bad, the jokes are bad and no characters get developed. Luci almost seemed to do something interesting for a bit in betraying his friends for promotion (you know, like a demon) but no, that was a ploy. He's helping them for... reasons. He has no motivation. He just does stuff. IT's boring. And now, three episodes in, they seem to be entirely back to bad slapstick and monster of the week episodes. I'm not watching more than that.

[Peelee]

Anyone remember Disenchantment? Matt Groening's new work, mostly landed with a wet splat, uninteresting characters, meandering plot, painfully unfunny gags, bad comedic timing?

Eh, you're allowed to be wrong.:smalltongue:

Sure, some of the jokes were misses, but it found its footing pretty quickly. Frankly, for those who didn't like Part 1, I'm not sure why they would bother with Part 2; I was certainly pretty happy with it, with the weakest part IMO being
that the ending wasn't nearly as big a spectacle as the Part 1 ending, but that's hardly unexpected.

[BeerMug Paladin]

I thought the first season was okay. Nothing special. I wouldn't have considered watching more until I saw the final two episodes of season 1. That made me think that the show had potential.

I've only watched a few episodes of season 2 so far, but I'm rather happy with them. A great comedic, fantasy adventure so far.

[Peelee]

I think the biggest issue Disenchantment has is that some people are seeing it as cartoon-Game-of-Thrones, in that everything is in service to the larger story, but this is by the same people who did The Simpsons and Futurama. Futurama, in particular, had most episodes be standalone adventures but the occasional episode that featured as part of a continuing story. Disenchantment is much more continuing-story-based, but they're clearly reluctant to completely abandon the standalone adventures in service to that, which I'm perfectly fine with.

[False God]

Well, I gotta say I didn't really like the first season, but a lot of 1st seasons of shows I really like are absolutely horrid, only really coming into their own in their 2nd or 3rd seasons.. So, short of a first season making me wanting to claw my eyes out with live rats and rinse my wounds in salted lemons, I'll always give a second season a go.

And, without spoilers, it was good.

[JadedDM]

I binged all 10 episodes on the day they were released. I liked it. I think my favorite part was:

Jerry's scenes with God. Priceless. "About time someone finally brought you down a notch!"

I noticed this season had several big plot lines that were left dangling at the end. I guess they are pretty confident there will be a season 3 then? Namely:

We learn there's a kingdom we've never heard of before, Steamland, and for some reason they want to assassinate Zog. Also, the whole musicbox thing is never resolved, nor what it is the elves are looking for in Dreamland.

[Peelee]

First off, this is pretty much a distinction without a difference, but this is still Season 1. It's in two parts, Part 2 just dropped. Season 2 was confirmed by Netflix, and will be 20 episodes, just like Season 1 (and will likely also be in two parts, which kind of annoys me).

Second... I think the castle of Dreamland is what many of the players are after. The castle looks like a giant ship, and I'm wondering if it can be a naval superiority vessel in the right hands, which could explain why Maru, Steamland, and others are so eager to see Zøg off the throne.

[BeerMug Paladin]

First off, this is pretty much a distinction without a difference, but this is still Season 1. It's in two parts, Part 2 just dropped.
I was also a bit reluctant to refer to part 2 of the first production season as season 2 of the show, but it's how Netflix chose to label the show. So I think for the sake of clarity it's a concession that makes sense. (Seasons are kind of a meaningless metric for watching media via streaming service anyway.)

[factotum]

Eh, you're allowed to be wrong.:smalltongue:

Unless he's right, which he was in this case--Disenchanted was dreadful, I didn't make it past the first episode. And, unlike False God, I don't give second chances on the assumption the second season (or second half of the first season) might improve--there are plenty of shows out there that are good from the get-go, I don't need to waste time on stuff I plain don't like.

[Lemmy]

The first season wasn't terrible... But it was completely forgettable. If it wasn't a Matt Groening production, I wouldn't even remember its title (Hell! Until the announcement for the new season showed up, I had completely forgotten about it).

There are maybe 4 truly GOOD jokes in the 1st season... The rest of the time it's "crack a half-smile in silence" levels of humor at best. Calling it "mediocre" is being generous.

I only watched three episodes of the new season and it's just more of the same. So I removed it from my "continue watching" list.

[The Fury]

I guess sign me up for the Season 1 Was OK Club. I thought it was decent story with a few good jokes, and in fairness I probably would have found it more memorable if there hadn't been as many good animated shows coming out on Netflix alone.

Season 2 of Disenchantment was similarly... OK. Not particularly great or memorable though. That said Season 2 did sort of tip me off that the show was actually slightly more forgettable than I thought. I admit that I went in to Season 2 without really remembering Season 1 all that well. This made watching the first few episodes sort of weird for me, constantly thinking "Oh yeah, that happened," and "Oh yeah, that's a character in this show." Then again it could just be a product of being not all that excited about a show.


I liked the forest selkie episode. It's a neat twist on a classic myth-- Normally a selkie is a seal that becomes human when they remove their skin and in one of the more famous stories about them involves a fisherman that falls in love with a selkie, steals her skin and coerces her to marry him. In some versions the selkie dies from sadness at never being able to return to the sea. (But I'm guessing most of you knew that already!)

The Disenchantment episode follows a similar structure, though it alters it in a few ways-- the selkie is a bear named Ursula, (cute,) not a seal. Also when Zog falls in love with the selkie, he does steal her skin but gives it back after he sees how unhappy Ursula is at not being able to return home. Ursula gets her skin back, turns back into a bear and heads into the forest waving goodbye to Zog. Happy ending.

[Magic_Hat]

Are there a ton of Futurama easter eggs like in season 1?

Also does anyone ever instruct anyone else to sink their teeth into their non-organic, possibly-metal, very-reflective, buttocks?

[Peelee]

Are there a ton of Futurama easter eggs like in season 1?
Yes. More, I'd say.

Also does anyone ever instruct anyone else to sink their teeth into their non-organic, possibly-metal, very-reflective, buttocks?
More or less, yes.

[Eldan]

See, I would have been completely fine with Fantasy Futurama, but... Futurama had clever episode plots, good jokes and interesting characters, which... Disenchantment didn't. At least for me. I found most of the episode plots frightfully generic, most of the jokes really flat and the characters basically uninteresting. Half of them didn't seem to have any motivations or even character traits that can really move a plot along. I mean, Fry is essentially a lazy, stupid slob and shouldn't really be a plot mover, but he's also a fish out of water, endlessly fascinated by everything in the future and eager to explore and motivated by his romance with Leela. Bean compared with that... barely has any motivations, before the finale of episode one. And then the entire plot with her mother, that could give her something to do, is pushed aside in season two again for one-shots. Or Bender and Luci. Bender has very clear motivations and a very clear character. He's a foil for the other characters half the time and occasionally starts a plot by stealing something. Luci is just there. Occasionally he serves as a plot tool to move someone along, like getting Bean into hell, but mostly, he has neither a very consistent character nor any motivation at all. Nominally, he's there to corrupt Bean, but she's already about as corrupt as she can be and he has not, as far as I can remember, every thrown her into any kind of actual moral dilemma. He seems too lazy for that.

[Magic_Hat]

More or less, yes.

Okay you're definitely going to have to elaborate on this. But please put your response in spoilers.

[Peelee]

Okay you're definitely going to have to elaborate on this. But please put your response in spoilers.

"Bite my shiny metal axe!" and "Let's go already!" both said by John Dimaggio
"Aim at where they are going to be, not where they are."
"I think I’ve done enough court recording, to know how to spell Chazzzzz."


Transport tubes in hell.
Holophoner in Dreamland castle basement
Planet Express ship model is on a shelf
Drawer contains various lengths of wire (and i later discovered it's the exact same configuration!)


Luci flies Bean and Elfo out of hell with temporary wings
Bean looking out a wide-panel window in Steamland to see a completely new, futuristic world for the first time.
Gunderson Airships on Farnsworth Boulevard


I'm sure there are way more.

[Dragonus45]

Off, I thought the first season was boring enough but this second season was unwatchable for me past about episode 4. Sad to see such a miss of a series from someone with so many hits.

[Magic_Hat]

Off, I thought the first season was boring enough but this second season was unwatchable for me past about episode 4. Sad to see such a miss of a series from someone with so many hits.

I think the saddest thing is this series might not spawn any memes. Take a look at Greoning's other work and what they've spawned:

-Not sure if...
-Shut up and take my money!
-Bart hitting Homer with a chair in the tub.
-"Bart, I don't want to alarm you, but..."
-Steamed Hams

What has Disenchantment given us?:smallannoyed:

[Lemmy]

What has Disenchantment given us?:smallannoyed:Mediocrity and apathy? :smallbiggrin:

[Peelee]

I think the saddest thing is this series might not spawn any memes. Take a look at Greoning's other work and what they've spawned:

-Not sure if...
-Shut up and take my money!
-Bart hitting Homer with a chair in the tub.
-"Bart, I don't want to alarm you, but..."
-Steamed Hams

What has Disenchantment given us?:smallannoyed:

None of those happened in the first Season, which Disenchantment just finished.

[Lleban]

I thought the first season was alright, but the second season has started to grow on me. I do like how Zoog, Derrik and Oona got some depth added to them. I do appreciate that the character dynamics felt a lot more consistent.

[Magic_Hat]

None of those happened in the first Season, which Disenchantment just finished.

"Not sure if..." is a still frame from the Futurama episode "The Lesser of Two Evils," which was season 2, episode 6 and the 19th episode of Futurama overall. Disenchantment has had a total of 20 episodes.:smallamused:

[Peelee]

"Not sure if..." is a still frame from the Futurama episode "The Lesser of Two Evils," which was season 2, episode 6 and the 19th episode of Futurama overall. Disenchantment has had a total of 20 episodes.:smallamused:

Fair. Counterpoint, there are a few parts I've used as memes already on these very boards from as early as the first episode, such as a Shocko gif.

[Magic_Hat]

Fair. Counterpoint, there are a few parts I've used as memes already on these very boards from as early as the first episode, such as a Shocko gif.

Has that reached official meme status or is it just something you do? Because I use a lot of gifs for myself that haven't caught on with others.

[Peelee]

Has that reached official meme status or is it just something you do? Because I use a lot of gifs for myself that haven't caught on with others.

Issues with the precise point that marks "official meme status" aside, no they haven't, and that's a crime. Then again, I say the same about people not liking the show to begin with, so take that for what it's worth.

[Magic_Hat]

Issues with the precise point that marks "official meme status" aside, no they haven't, and that's a crime. Then again, I say the same about people not liking the show to begin with, so take that for what it's worth.

Let's not get into what we each think is a "crime" because there's a certain cinematic series everybody is tired of me complaining about which may feature Chris Pratt and other major celebrities in a series that has gone on for too long.:smallannoyed:

I am of course talking about Jurassic World.:smallwink:

[The Aboleth]

I think the biggest issue Disenchantment has is that some people are seeing it as cartoon-Game-of-Thrones, in that everything is in service to the larger story, but this is by the same people who did The Simpsons and Futurama. Futurama, in particular, had most episodes be standalone adventures but the occasional episode that featured as part of a continuing story. Disenchantment is much more continuing-story-based, but they're clearly reluctant to completely abandon the standalone adventures in service to that, which I'm perfectly fine with.

Yeah, Disenchantment definitely has a more Futurama-feel to it (mixed with a good bit of old-school Simpsons humor). I love the series and loved Part 2. Some of the filler episodes aren't great, but none of them are terrible, either. I like that there is clearly an over-arching story and that the characters (particularly Elfo) seem to be undergoing actual character development.

Still, nothing holds a candle to Bob's Burgers right now (though I concede the shows are very different in tone and structure).

[Magic_Hat]

So I started watching season 2...

I like how the cliff hangers from season 1 are resolved by episode 3.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aQ8o4ZwikLE/XMGda7cFtII/AAAAAAAABDA/tTi2KM9OhF0vZja89slsEBRCW9sVaxUUgCLcBGAs/s1600/the_reset_button.gif

:smallannoyed:

[Peelee]

So I started watching season 2...

I like how the cliff hangers from season 1 are resolved by episode 3.

https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aQ8o4ZwikLE/XMGda7cFtII/AAAAAAAABDA/tTi2KM9OhF0vZja89slsEBRCW9sVaxUUgCLcBGAs/s1600/the_reset_button.gif

:smallannoyed:

Except now the entire elfen population is in Dreamland, with a secret agenda we don't know about.

The real issue is, why are they not using that on Zøg?

[Magic_Hat]

Just finished season 2 and...

...it ends just the same way as season 1.:smallannoyed:

My favorite episode of this season was the one where King Bender fell in love with a bear.

Also this season introduced and killed off my favorite character! R.I.P. Jerry.:smallfrown:

Also they did the whole shooting Zog thing wrong. The episode should have ended with Zog shot, us not knowing who shot him, and late we find out it was the baby!:smallwink:
...but the baby died on its way back to its home planet.:smallbiggrin:

[Peelee]

Just finished season 2 and...

..Also this season introduced and killed off my favorite character! R.I.P. Jerry.:smallfrown:


.... Jerry was in Part 1 was well.:smallconfused:

[Magic_Hat]

.... Jerry was in Part 1 was well.:smallconfused:

WHAT?!:smalleek: What episode(s)?:smallconfused:

[JadedDM]

He was in just about every single scene that Cloyd and Rebecca were also in.

[Magic_Hat]

He was in just about every single scene that Cloyd and Rebecca were also in.

Um...they were in season 1?:smallconfused: Should I have rewatched the first season before binge watching the second? I must have forgotten a lot. Like I don't even remember those two really tiny guys Zog has.

[JadedDM]

Yes, they appeared several times in season 1. In fact, they appeared in the very first episode. They were the ones who sent Luci to Bean.

[Peelee]

Um...they were in season 1?:smallconfused: Should I have rewatched the first season before binge watching the second? I must have forgotten a lot. Like I don't even remember those two really tiny guys Zog has.

The whole show on Netflix as of right now is season 1. They broke it into two parts, for unknown reasons (at least, unknown to me). Season 2 drops next year.

Anyway, yes, they were in the first 10 episides. Jerry even had a great line about Zøg - "aww, he's like a coconut. Hard on the outside, but on the inside, coconut."

[Magic_Hat]

The whole show on Netflix as of right now is season 1. They broke it into two parts, for unknown reasons (at least, unknown to me). Season 2 drops next year.

Anyway, yes, they were in the first 10 episides. Jerry even had a great line about Zøg - "aww, he's like a coconut. Hard on the outside, but on the inside, coconut."

Maybe I should rewatch both part 1 and 2 because I remember very little from the first part. I mean I'm not doing anything else with my Netflix subscription and the new season of Bojack doesn't come out until the 25th.

[LameGothMom]

I agree with the assessment that it was nothing special. I felt it was pandering to me as a "nerdy woman" in an unpleasant, forced kind of way. I think it certainly has potential, but it doesn't have the fresh feel we got with circa seasons 5-9 Simpsons or Futurama. Maybe I'm just getting old, but it definitely had a lot of "gIRls cAN b3 c0mPL3x h3roes 2" feels going on. I'll check it out, but I'm not super hyped for it. Just cautiously optimistic.

[Thomas Cardew]

So one aspect that I haven't really seen addressed is the tonal difference. A lot of the Simpsons humor is 'look at how crazy modern life is as we take this normal situation to absurd extremes' and a lot of Futurama humor is 'look at this crazy analog for modern day issues in the absurd future'. Disenchantment felt more like 'hey doesn't feudalism suck? See look, feudalism really sucks! Your fantasies are unrealistic and bad'. For example, Bean's theater episode in season 2 feels much about 'look how stupid people were in the past' than any sort of commentary on present day gender imbalances.

[Zalabim]

So one aspect that I haven't really seen addressed is the tonal difference. A lot of the Simpsons humor is 'look at how crazy modern life is as we take this normal situation to absurd extremes' and a lot of Futurama humor is 'look at this crazy analog for modern day issues in the absurd future'. Disenchantment felt more like 'hey doesn't feudalism suck? See look, feudalism really sucks! Your fantasies are unrealistic and bad'. For example, Bean's theater episode in season 2 feels much about 'look how stupid people were in the past' than any sort of commentary on present day gender imbalances.
I think the "no women in theatre" thing in that one was just an excuse for getting to the actual commentary of one person writes it, second person re-writes it and calls it original, third person blatantly steals it from second person, and the final performance involves a pig in a crown and an entire barrel of makeup. Not that I was particularly interested or entertained, but I think their point lies somewhere in that direction.

[Thomas Cardew]

That was just the first episode that sprang to mind. But for another example most of the Zog stuff revolves around how sucky having an absolute monarch actually would be, the abuses of power, the personal pettiness etc. But most if not all of the audience for the show, doesn't live under an absolute monarchy. It's not relatable and funny the way the Nixon Futurama episodes or the Sideshow Bob runs for office were.