As of the time of this writing, the fate of Final Space is, annoyingly, still up in the air. As part of my campaign of positive thinking, I would like to, once again, state my demands for this new season that I hope, hope, hopity hope will be announced any day now lest Adult Swim incure the wrath of the Fantrexians.
This list will include spoilers for the third season of Final Space.
Fan That Spark
One of the most crushing twists in season three was Ash turning to her inner darkness and becoming Invicus’ new herald. To see this dark and, yet, perky young woman get swayed by the big bad constantly whispering in her ear was tough, but in the season finale, when Gary apologized for failing her, we saw a spark of of the old Ash break through for just a moment.
The finale of season three was a rescue of Little Catto. Season four should be a rescue of Ash. I’ve said countless times — so many times that even I’m sick of hearing it — that Final Space is a show about a group of random people coming together in the middle of a cosmic epic and forming a family of choice. Although Ash has turned her back on her family, I doubt that her family will turn their back completely on her and I do think that this concept should at least be explored instead of just accepting that Ash is a baddie now.
Yes, I fully expect that the redemption of Ash will be an ongoing theme in season four and the catalyst for that will be…
Nightfall is that Fan
Quinn has been such an interesting character in that she has gotten a sneak preview of the person she is destined to become, a space badass named Nightfall who is smart, capable, and sure of herself. During season two, as a matter of fact, while Quinn was trapped in Final Space, Nightfall actually took her place on the crew and ended up sacrificing her life to open the door to the realm of Final Space.
At the end of the last season, one of the things that I wanted to see was Nightfall’s sacrifice be honored by her friends. This was a living, breathing person and, to see her replaced by a version of herself from earlier in her timeline felt like a bit of an emotional cheat and, although Final Space ultimately did take care to make sure that Quinn and Nightfall were separate characters, the loss of Nightfall did not seem to really affect the rest of the crew at all.
With the exception of Ash.
Nightfall was the closest thing that Ash had to a reliable parent figure and losing her seriously damaged Ash’s calm, arguably being one of many factors that left her vulnerable to Invictus’ corruption and eventually turning her to the dark side.
If you ask me, the key to bringing Ash back to the light is for Quinn to embrace the person she was always meant to be.
Although brushed off often until the finale, Quinn’s reluctance to become Nightfall because of her fear of setting her destiny in stone was essentially keeping Ash from someone she needed for stability. Quinn becoming Nightfall — or at least beginning that journey — would provide Ash with that support again and give her a reason, aside from Little Catto, to begin her own journey back.
Besides, this crew needs Nightfall. Quinn has more experience than Gary, she’s more intelligent than Gary, and more level headed than Gary. Quinn/Nightfall should be in charge of the Team Squad: She’s the brains, Gary is the heart.
All Hail the King of Ventrexia
In the revelation that Avacato was, in fact, not Little Cato’s true father, a lot of small details might have been overlooked, such as… Is Little Cato the rightful ruler of Ventrexia?
I mean, the Lord Commander is out of the picture and the planet is, by all accounts, free of his rule. Would they be seeking out the lost prince? Would Little Cato even be interested in such a position? What would that mean for the Kingslayer… I mean, for Avacato should the Ventrexians want to put Little Cato on the throne?
Does Little Catto have surviving family that he doesn’t know about? Will that family want him to take the throne or would they plot against him to take it for themselves?
This is just too juicy a story for the writers to ignore.
I could also see this as the Team Squad getting a potential ally against Invictus. After all, what could be more helpful in defeating a titan than a hyperactive 14 year old with 60 years of experience commanding an army of the fiercest warriors in the galaxy?
Speaking of which…
Avacato has to Face the Consequences
Avacato is probably my favorite character on the show. I love the guy, he’s been through hell, and he never catches a break…
…and he still shouldn’t. He needs to face the consequences of what he did.
As a hired mercenary of the Lord Commander, Avacato was tasked with killing the king and queen of Ventrexia and, when the deed was done, he discovered they had an infant son. Wracked with guilt, he took the baby and raised it as his own.
Discovering this hidden history was one of the emotional rollercoaster of the season, culminating in the remarkable moment when Avacato metaphorically and literally dropped his defenses and told Little Cato, “I killed your parents, but you saved my life. Being your father is the only thing I want to be!”
It was a beautiful, emotional moment…
But, there should still be consequences be it that it puts a wedge between him and Little Cato, a wedge between Little Cato and both his dads (since Gary knew the truth and said nothing), or even the entire planet of Ventrexia coming after Avacato for the assassination of their rulers.
This isn’t an event that should just resolve itself. This is big.
Give Sheryl a Purpose
Often lost in the drastic shuffle of the third season madness, Sheryl was unfortunately relegated to background character status along the lines of poor Fox who never really flourished on the show in the first place. I would like to see Sheryl take on a more motherly role or even a grandmotherly role as it seemed to suit her quite well.
I just don’t want such a good character to stagnate as she did for most of the 3rd season. As she said, she’s never really stuck around long enough anywhere, so what happens when someone like Cheryl does? What happens with Sheryl’s less than ethical means of doing things clashes with her more ethical son?
Also, am I the only one who thinks that Sheryl and Avacato would make a good pairing? I mean, come on… Gary and Avacato are already co-parents, how much more deliciously complicated might this strange family become if Avacato and Sheryl start getting sweet on each other? Would that make Gary his own stepdad? Would that make Little Cato both his son and his brother?
Just give Sheryl a meaningful part in the show, please. No more neglected characters!
I also just realized that I’ve been spelling “Sheryl” wrong for two years. Why didn’t you tell me!?
Frienemies
One of the best things about Season Three of Final Space was the return of the Lord Commander and the shift of his motivation, no longer pursuing Mooncake, but rather fulfilling his dream of becoming a titan himself. It was one of the biggest setbacks for the Team Squad as they not only lost an ally, but the best chance of killing Invicus, and the entire planet Earth as well.
But, as it turned out, The Lord Commander bit off more than he could chew and, during the finale, was put into a well deserved timeout by Invictus and, while it would be justice to see the titan-sized pipsqueak spend all of eternity inside of a box, Gary’s greatest enemy could end up being the galaxy’s salvation and an unexpected ally.
Perhaps, as the enemy of my enemy is my friend, this would be the perfect opportunity to show that the conflict of Final Space has grown beyond good and evil and have The Lord Commander officially join forces with the Team Squad.
It would be a tense team-up, knowing that the betrayal is coming but never exactly knowing when, but when the fate of all creation is at stake and good old-fashioned revenge is on the table, it’s not a stretch to say that these old enemies would probably see mutual benefit in an alliance.
We Don’t Need New Main Characters
Final Space, with the unceremonious demises of Ava, Fox, and the defection of Ash has hit a sweet spot cast-wise. Gary, Quinn, Avacato, Little Cato, Sheryl, H.U.E., and Biskit can be served by the stories coming our way and very little overshadowing needs to happen.
I’ve harped on this before, but Fox was all but a background character in season 2 and 3 and Sheryl and Biskit kind of vanished in most of season 3 all together. This smaller, more streamlined cast can work for now without introducing any new people on the Galaxy 2.
Then again…
Bring on a New Ship
It’s Final Space tradition at this point that every new season finds the ship of last season destroyed and the crew take up residence on a new spaceship. I’m not even going to object, it’s an inevitability.
For the Love of GOD, Less Tribore Please!
I know Tribore has his fans and I understand why, but to me Tribore is a character that works best in very small doses. He certainly does not need a grand story arch or any undue attention. Tribore was born to be a joke and that’s fine… let him remain a joke. A joke that does not distract from the main story or characters.
Three minutes an episode.
Tops.
I have spoken.
Jason Gaston 