Review: Teenage Euthanasia “The Bad Bang Theory”

Overview:

Spring Break fever gets the better of the Fantasy family, but the Tender Endings team get distracted with very different goals. Trophy and Baba end up in a twisted version of jail after a basic bonding exercise gets away from them. Trophy might want to strangle Baba for the atrocious job that she does on her bangs, but Annie finds herself unable to emote at all. Uncle Pete decides to take this opportunity to unclog Annie’s emotional dam, but it seems like the tear-filled process might not be as helpful for Annie as it is for Pete. 

Our Take:

Annie’s wholesome approach to Spring Break is a welcome contrast to the morbid lens that’s applied to the rest of the episode. The rampant, irresponsible deaths that happen during this annual celebration of rebellious partying transforms Spring Break into a golden opportunity for the funeral home business. There are just as many dead bodies on the street as there are discarded red cups and condoms, so Tender Endings can clean up, figuratively and literally. This grim perspective immediately gives “The Bad Bang Theory” a unique edge over other animated series that have tackled this territory, but it also turns the tired Spring Break trope into an opportunity to deliver the strongest installment of Teenage Euthanasia yet. 

Outside of Trophy and Baba’s hair-brained antics, “The Bad Bang Theory” tells a wonderfully weird story where Tim Robinson’s Uncle Pete functions as a tear and empathy connoisseur. The episode indulges in an absurd science lesson that utilizes deeply sexualized nomenclature, like positioning tears as “eye-jaculate.” This is all vintage PFFR comedy and while I still thought the first two episodes were a satisfying introduction to this world and its tone, “The Bad Bang Theory” is an even more natural evolution of its wry comedy. Most of the elements and dialogue from Uncle Pete and Annie’s tear storyline wouldn’t be out of place in an episode of Xavier: Renegade Angel or The Heart, She Holler.

This storyline is full of enjoyable moments of bonding between Annie and Pete, which have been in short supply up to this point in the series. Granted, a lot of this involves Uncle Pete emotionally breaking Annie as a strategy that’s treated like cathartic progress, but it’s strongly damaging and feels like a hostage situation. It’s such an odd dynamic, especially because Pete remains somewhat passive through it all, but the complex mix of emotions that it explores effectively represent the typical divide that makes Teenage Euthanasia what it is. There’s also the first real example of world-building in the series with the reappearance of goth mean girls, Monotony and Infinity, who are still the area’s cops. It’s a simple, but appreciated piece of character development that bodes well for the show’s depth in the future.  

“The Bad Bang Theory” is another encouraging episode of Teenage Euthanasia that proves how strong of a grasp the series already has on its tone and the style of comedy. It can often take twice as long for the characters in a series to gel together, but Teenage Euthanasia doesn’t have such a luxury with a season that’s only seven episodes long. In that sense, it’s bizarre to think that the series’ freshman season is already almost half over, but it’s already been able to accomplish a lot and highlight a lot of permutations of what an average episode of Teenage Euthanasia might look like. The series, oddly, is at its best when it gets away from the funeral home business and just allows its characters to be themselves and bounce off one another. Whether this results in a hair-raising experience or one that’s a sight for sore eyes, Teenage Euthanasia confidently forges forward as a family.