Overview:
Annie has never been more eager to take education by the horns, but she faces a unique obstacle when a surprising deficiency gets in her way. Annie’s education and freedom suddenly depend upon her ability to meticulously log party hours while she proves that she can be a juvenile delinquent. Meanwhile, Trophy gets to relive her glory days and irresponsibly regress through some corpse-fueled keg-based time travel. Welcome back, Teenage Euthanasia.
Also, the age-old question of what exactly the nebulous subject of “social studies” is finally gets answered.
Our Take:
There are many ways in which Teenage Euthanasia stands out from other animated comedies. However, its quintessentially Floridian perspective frequently functioned as the show’s secret weapon back in season. Yes, this is a show with a living corpse and resilient Crotch Beetles, but the rules of Florida play a greater role than the rules of reality. Accordingly, Florida dictates that being a boring drag is more problematic than a school drop-out with zero prospects. Embracing chaos and the random whims of the universe holds more value than a smart plan and life goals. Teenage Euthanasia gets to the bottom of these lofty character-building moments through a strong season premiere that examines the importance of balance and how mistakes are an essential part of life. But because this is Teenage Euthanasia, this insight and introspection is the result of creepy corpse-based chaos.
Teenage Euthanasia effectively spreads the wealth between the Fantasy family, but Euthanasia is the closest thing that the series has to a protagonist. Audiences get a good sense of Euthanasia’s character over the course of season one even though the majority of her storylines are built upon the foundation that she’s an awkward, responsible wet blanket whose interests don’t align with the typical Florida teen and feel even more out of sorts within her eccentric family where there is an extreme lack of normalcy .”Remember Fun?” doesn’t break from this tradition, but it proves that the same idea can bear uniquely rewarding fruit and this is easily one of the series’ strongest Euthanasia storylines. Trophy’s typical role as Euthanasia’s perpetual agent of chaos also isn’t messed with in “Remember Fun?,” yet Trophy’s disgust and concern over Euthanasia’s “transgressions” hit harder than usual. This is hopefully indicative of a more polished and confident second season that can still deliver winners even when it doesn’t stray from its comfort zone.
“Remember Fun?” introduced a bold “party-based resilience curriculum” that allows teens to learn and better themselves through fun–as controversial as that may sound. It’s a really smart premise that’s reminiscent of vintage PFFR productions like Wonder Showzen or even Xavier: Renegade Angel. “Remember Fun?” plays out like a fun subversion of this typical type of storyline. Annie is technically the perfect student and doing just fine, albeit somewhat introverted, while her loner status is treated like a remedial area that’s more important than SAT scores or her own goals for the future.
It also feels like Tim Robinson has finally found the right hold on Uncle Pete and that there’s a bit of a character going on here rather than Robinson just delivering lines as himself. Uncle Pete and Baba’s embalming argument doesn’t exactly break the mold. However, both of the stories in “Remember Fun?” reflect one characters’ weaknesses while another family member helps them grow, albeit from doing the reverse of what they should. The symmetry between these plots does the episode a lot of favors and it’s a fun use and combination of these heightened personalities. Pete, Baba, and Goat’s storyline ends on a surprisingly sweet note that Teenage Euthanasia lands and earns. It’s another important reminder that there’s a real heart to Teenage Euthanasia, as ridiculous as it is.
Teenage Euthanasia’s first season was hardly ground, but this season premiere indicates that there will be just as much sci-fi, fantasy, and secret government experiment ideas this year. Teenage Euthanasia feels increasingly broad in terms of its scope and perspective, but in a manner that feels completely natural with the wild out-of-time world that season one established. Trophy and Annie’s time travel shenanigans in “Remember Fun?” are reminiscent of It’s A Wonderful Life and Back to the Future territory as they revisit Trophy’s greatest past party experiences. Each visit breaks Annie a little more out of her shell, but at the cost of breaks in the grander space-time continuum.
Teenage Euthanasia’s successful season premiere proves why this is an odd animated series that audiences shouldn’t write off. Adult Swim has decreasing original content and Teenage Euthanasia is currently one of the network’s best series. The outlandish laughs and fearless subject matter evoke vintage Adult Swim energy that’s both rare and necessary nowadays. Adult Swim thankfully isn’t burning through Teenage Euthanasia with two episodes a week. The rest of the season hopefully maintains and builds upon the quality of “Remember Fun?” and this becomes the year that Teenage Euthanasia really breaks out as an underground hit.