Overview:
Sebben & Sebben’s atypical corporate culture reaches new heights when Judy undergoes a highly-immersive virtual reality simulation exercise to bolster her flailing firing skills. Judy stands to become more unflappable in the workplace, but she finds herself lost in an artificial past with Sebben & Sebben on the brink of ruin. So, you know, just another Monday in the office on Birdgirl.
Our Take:
Judy Ken Sebben has overcome numerous workplace hurdles in Birdgirl’s two seasons. She’s made impressive strides both as a person and as a CEO, but one area that continues to trip Judy up is the bittersweet terminations that come with the corporate territory. Ironically, abrupt firings–justified or otherwise–is where Judy’s father thrived the most at Sebben & Sebben. Judy undeniably cares about the future of Sebben & Sebben, but her affection is too intense. Judy fails to channel this oppressive authority because she views Sebben & Sebben as a family, not a company. This schism between the private and the public, plus the blurred lines between Judy’s friends and co-workers, have been the ongoing subtext of Birdgirl. However, the “The S.I.M.M.” turns this into Judy’s biggest obstacle to conquer and a satisfying milestone for its second season finale.
Most of the episodes of Birdgirl have unpacked different variations on the idea of how difficult it can be for Judy to carry out her CEO-level duties when she has such a personal connection to so many of her employees. The dichotomy between Judy’s personal and professional interests reaches its apex in “The S.I.M.” when she colossally fails over some roleplay exercises that involve Dog With Bucket Hat. To the episode’s credit, the sheer excess of these simulations, right down to the employee’s hypothetical suicide, are what make it such a fun avenue for Birdgirl to explore.
Judy has had to repeatedly confront comparable hurdles, but it’s appropriately fitting that the season’s finale allows these ideas to reach their natural conclusions and extremes. That being said, while there’s no real danger to losing Dog With Bucket Hat, it’s not the worst idea for Birdgirl to take a hard look at its characters and assess who truly belongs and those that are dead weight. A lot of supporting characters have properly gained depth this season, while others amount to repetitive punchlines, or just feel like they’ve become totally forgotten, like Evie and to a lesser extent, Paul. A shuffle to the status quo next season wouldn’t hurt.
Judy’s experience in the S.I.M.M. is fairly one-dimensional, but these sequences stand out through the quaint 16-bit ‘80s video game aesthetic that’s present through so much of the episode. These creative visual flourishes are some of the most satisfying elements of the episode, but this material may fail to leave an impression on those who didn’t grow up playing through the point-and-click gaming genre. If Birdgirl was airing during the height of Adult Swim’s prime then there would no doubt be a Flash-based Birdgirl beat-’em-up browser game to play once the episode ended. As it stands, it’s a cute aesthetic, but one that’s still more enjoyable to play than to watch.
“The S.I.M.M.” is a satisfactory conclusion to Birdgirl’s second season that reinforces the themes and dynamics that have been present since its premiere. The finale wisely concocts a storyline that properly pits Judy’s inner peace against Sebben & Sebben’s success that’s also able to turn into a fun escapade that shows off the entire Birdteam. Admittedly, the stakes in “The S.I.M.M.” don’t feel as significant as Birdgirl’s first finale, but the series has earned itself–much like Judy–a little leeway. The future of Birdgirl remains unclear, but if this does end up being the spin-off series’ swan song then it at least gets to go out with a quirky slice of absurdity that reminds the audience why Sebben & Sebben is the good kind of ominous corporate overlord