Gary and Quinn go searching for Mooncake while Avacato and the rest of the Team Squad are held captive by the Lord Commander who has returned to the absolute shock of no one. Now, Avacato must relive the most shameful chapter of his life as he is tortured by his enemy.
If there was a word for this episode of Final Space, it would be disjointed. I had the same issue with the last episode, but with “The Ventrexian,” the problem appears to have been compounded. In an episode with two concurrent plots, neither of which bolster the other, the A and B plots almost serve as distractions to each other instead of a compliment. Either story was strong enough to have existed on its own just like last week’s adventure, but instead they are cut apart and shuffled like so many decks of cards, an arrangement that has really done neither one any favors.
Not to say that “The Ventrexian” was a weak story because it certainly was not, but cutting away from one story to another without either relating or intersecting was a minor annoyance that was never fully alleviated.
With that quibble out of the way, let’s talk what we got.
I’m not sure if it’s just me, but has this series matured while I wasn’t looking? I mean, it’s had its share of heavy, emotional moments, but the interaction between Gary and Quinn was actually something to behold. I also have to give serious props to a series that, let’s be honest, birthed Gary as kind of a creepy sci-fi cyber-stalker in the first season, has turned him into a respectful human being. When Quinn says she doesn’t want to share a room, he doesn’t protest, he doesn’t complain, he just accepts her decision even though he’s hurt. There is so much about that one, seemingly non-important moment, that I found so important and, honestly… nontoxic.
In a world where nihilism reigns, it’s refreshing to see character act decently for the benefit of others.
Bisket, though… I have to admit, I’m not sold on him. It seems like all of the excess annoying traits that were drained out of Gary took the form of a tiny Beanie Baby, but I’ll give him a fair shot.
The Avacato story was, to be honest, far more interesting and I would have liked so very much to have seen more focus and emphasis on this plot. Avacato has been a walking, talking, and possibly shedding question mark on this whole series, a loose canon as the Lord Commander put it last season, and to see any light shined on his backstory is always a treat.
More is the word I’m looking for. I wanted more. I wanted more about Ventrexia, I wanted more about Avacato, and I wanted more about the war. I think that this is where I had my troubles with this episode: Every time that Avacato’s story was interrupted by Gary and Quinn, I was vexed something fierce.
I also think that, in attempt to balance the two stories, emotional weight was sacrificed from Avacato’s story. I would have liked to have seen more conflict and more uncertainty in Avacato than we did. I’m not sure if it was intended or not, but the events of this episode makes it look like Avacato has no loyaty to anyone… but, then again, given that he betrayed the Royal Family, Ventrexia, and then the Lord Commander later on… maybe he doesn’t? Maybe the Lord Commander was right when he said Avacato is a loose canon.
There is plenty about this episode that works. As I said, the interplay between Quinn and Gary was quite wonderful and now we have another gruesome ticking clock that brings more urgency to the plot. To me, the Lord Commander, Invictus, and the realm of Final Space seems… I don’t know… darker? A little more evil with this episode? The scope seems so much more epic and the revelation at the end hangs over Avacato and Little Cato’s necks like a gullotine.
And I also have to say… haha… I called it.
A little more focus would have greatly benefitted this episode, but overall, I have to give it a solid recommend.
Jason Gaston 