Review: Teenage Euthanasia “Mother’s Day”

Overview:

The Euthanasia family has the weirdest Mother’s Day in existence after a renegade school project and the kindness of strangers uniquely tax and test everyone involved. Annie experiences Mother’s Day from the opposite end of the spectrum when she winds up with her own (temporary) baby and is stuck with new worries and responsibilities. Annie’s parental role pushes Trophy to regress in a surprising fashion that may have permanent consequences for their relationship. 

Meanwhile, Baba and Uncle Pete celebrate their Mother’s Day by settling a decades-long feud against a bear. Business as usual in Fort Gator, Florida.

Our Take:

PFFR is a fearless production company that is responsible for some of the weirdest–as well as the smartest–material to ever air on Adult Swim including the likes of Xavier: Renegade Angel, The Shivering Truth, and The Heart, She Holler. The bright, neon colors of Teenage Euthanasia can make it easy to forget that it’s a PFFR production, but then episodes like “Mother’s Day” come around which feel like vintage, twisted Adult Swim content and a reminder that some of these shows continue to take genuine risks with their comedy instead of settling for absurdist visuals and non-sequitur one-liners and violence. 

“Mother’s Day” is easily one of the strongest and most ridiculous episodes of Teenage Euthanasia and if the show can maintain this tone for the rest of the season then Teenage Euthanasia could become an Adult Swim all-time classic. The plot of “Mother’s Day” is so darkly disturbing and prescient that it’s easy to forget to laugh. In a concept that would feel perfectly at home in Wonder Showzen or Black Mirror, the United States government instigates “Operation: Keep Your Legs Closed” in Fort Gator to remedy the area’s staggering teen pregnancy rates. This government-sanctioned exercise in body horror involves an A.I. baby embryo that quickly reaches gestation and actively inspires shaking from its mother. 

Female relationships and maternal storylines–especially those about teen mothers–are Teenage Euthanasia’s bread and butter. This makes this perverted parenting exercise function as the ideal conflict to explore on Mother’s Day. Any Mother’s Day-driven story is going to be important on Teenage Euthanasia and a goldmine of emotional and psychological trauma. However, it feels especially poignant for Teenage Euthanasia to litigate Annie’s abilities and desires as a parent in juxtaposition to Trophy’s past peaks and valleys (mostly valleys). There were shades of this in “Remember Fun?”, but “Mother’s Day” evolves this premise through a clever role reversal that turns Trophy into the baby and gives Annie an unexpected dose of responsibility. It’s an effective way to learn more about both of these characters as individuals and as a mother-and-daughter team who are perhaps more alike than they’d like to admit. 

Teenage Euthanasia finds such a fun energy once Trophy possesses Annie’s A.I. baby that’s reminiscent of the playful vibe of the series’ Crotch Beetles. There have admittedly been several Teenage Euthanasia plots that involve Trophy supernaturally possessing something weird, whether that’s a squirrel or in this case Annie’s offspring. There’s cathartic closure by the end of “Mother’s Day,” but “Baby Trophy” feels so natural that Teenage Euthanasia would be wise to somehow return to this concept in a hypothetical season three. Much like season one’s Crotch Beetles, this is a weird, radical new character that could develop in even weirder ways if given the right opportunity. 

Pete learns plenty about himself and healthy family dynamics by the end of “Mother’s Day.” This episode also delivers some crucial backstory for Baba that crucially develops her character. Teenage Euthanasia builds upon the ludicrous concept that Baba (and later Annie) have prehensile breasts with minds of their own and a killer instinct. It doesn’t make any more sense than the other revelations that occur in Baba’s flashback, yet it oddly makes sense for the Euthanasia family. Speaking of which, a feral Euthanasia sibling roams the forest which might go completely ignored or culminate in the world’s most awkward family reunion by the end of the season.

“Mother’s Day” is an excellent Teenage Euthanasia episode that tells a timely and important story in the most ridiculous way possible, which is exactly what this silly show should be doing. It’s continually fascinating to see how this female-led comedy can expand on its core ideas and take them to new, rewarding places. There’s the perfect mix of madness and empathy on display here that leaves Annie, Trophy, Baba, and Pete all a little more grateful for their weird lives and family. Teenage Euthanasia hides a touching tale of parental responsibility in a story that would read as atypical abuse in any other series. It’s magic, morbid, and emotional.