Dycus

We finally have the awaited race between Molly and Aikka. We all thought this was going to be rough considering how cutthroat these races have been up to this point. But instead of a duel to the death we instead get a dance. The animators must’ve had fun making this one. We watch as the two weave and spin around each other and the racetrack, dodging and moving every which way. The two of them are enjoying themselves and admiring the other! So of course the rest of the team have to ruin the moment.

Molly did everything she could to keep up her end of the bargain. She tried to reason with her teammates and when that didn’t work she locked Jordan inside his own turret. She was insistent not to let it come to blows but Don wasn’t having it. In the end the manager got what he wanted and Aikka was shot at. And to rub sand in the wound Molly was in the lead before getting hit with an EMP from Aikka!

I feel bad for both of them. Molly is the one member of the crew that isn’t so jaded to think of the Nourasians as a threat. And Aikka wanted to trust Molly only to be wounded emotionally when it seemed she let him down. Don had his reasons as winning the race meant keeping the wish out of the hands of their enemies like the Crog. But you can tell, for a moment, he was starting to question his choices. 

We’re in the second half of the preliminaries and already the group is hit with a savage loss. The worst thing about the race against Toros is that Molly was making some smart plays. She listened to the advice about the curves, she tried to outmaneuver Toros’s blades, and even used the boosters to get a huge lead to stay out of his path. Only for the bastard to blast forwards and cut the Whizzing Arrow in half! In the end he was just toying with her like a mouse with their prey.

The Crogs have been constantly mentioned as the humans’ greatest threat. And Toros acts as the perfect representative for why that’s the case. Ruthless, brutal, and without a shred of remorse. He’s completely confident in his victory and sees his opponents not as rivals but as speedbumps on his journey to the top. He represents the biggest hurdle Molly and the Earth team have to face in the competition. Because no matter how far they get, they’ll have to continue to face the Crogs.

Thankfully not all the aliens here are bad. We get a little more time with Aikka after his own messy loss. He and Molly get some quiet time trying to avoid the rain which is very sweet to watch. It’s cute to see the two silently gaze into each others’ eyes. They’re too awkward to say anything to each other and honestly it’s adorable. Alas, this is also the episode where we get a focus on Spirit. We’ve only seen glimpses of him up to this point but it doesn’t take an eagle eyed viewer to realize why he’d make both Molly and Don Wei upset upon seeing him. 

Another Amity and Luz episode! And it is a doozy. So first we have Luz doing everything she can to distract herself from her troubles and only causing more trouble for herself for it. And naturally the reason why is so sad. Luz had already felt like she betrayed her mom by getting stuck in the demon realm. But add in not being able to pick flowers for her on the day her father died was too much for her. It must’ve felt like she let her down all over again. Thankfully Amity is there for her. Luz made her upset but it was never going to be too much for her sweet potato to leave her.

Speaking of Amity, this is the episode where she explores what she wants as a person. Instead of doing what her mother wants her to do, she goes out to win a fighting competition! Not only for herself but to prove something to her father, the only one she respects. It’s rough watching her be ignored by him in the beginning. He honestly believes that what he’s doing is for the benefit of his children, not realizing all he’s really been doing is ignoring them. And to watch Amity literally grab her dad’s hand to stop him from casting her aside again is so cathartic to see. It’s also great to see that Amity doesn’t immediately forgive her dad. She doesn’t completely forgive him yet but she’s willing to make amends. As she says, “It’s a start.”

I also love the plot they give to Edric helping Eda and King. Ed and Em started as simply a matched set in the beginning but have slowly been revealing their individuality. So to see Ed get the chance to explore his own autonomy at the same time as his younger sister is inspired! And seeing Eda encourage it is another reason why we love her.

I completely forgot Tibbles was in this one. But he only shows up long enough to sell books and get punched so who cares? This one’s all about Hunter and Willow! First off, it’s great seeing Willow not only growing her confidence but also becoming a leader. She was always the mom friend so it’s only natural she’d take a leading role as a team captain. And it’s especially great she makes up her team of all the school outcasts (and one former mean girl). It is sad to see her doubt herself after being captured by the scouts but her only concern is that she couldn’t help her friends get away. Still showing excellent leadership material. 

Hunter meanwhile is finally learning to live a little. He’s been nothing more than the Emperor’s errand boy and prodigy that he’s never socialized with kids his own age. Being forced to meet with others his age has opened his eyes to the world outside of his own. He first sees them as just recruits for his cause but soon begins to realize they’re people with their own desires. And that’s the first step to him becoming something better.

The most interesting character in this episode is, funnily enough, Darius. Rewatching this the Abomination Coven head’s behavior is fascinating. He first finds Hunter insufferable but not because he’s a teenager. But because he follows orders too eagerly. Darius sees Hunter as the pale imitation of his mentor, the previous Golden Guard. One that was willing to, from context clues, willing to defy Belos. And was disposed of because of it. Hunter only earns Darius’s respect when he starts making his own decisions and defies orders. It’s at that point he becomes much friendlier to the boy.

Leave it to a cat to be a sadist, especially a space cat. The fun thing about having such a big roster of adversaries is that each of them get to have their own gimmicks, and this one was all about deception and subterfuge. I imagine that Para-Dice isn’t really that great at racing and has been sabotaging her opponents to get to this point in the competition. Throughout the episode she’s either messing with the main cast or just trying to blow them up! I don’t even think she tries to make it out of the arena after she thinks she’s blown up Molly and Jordan. I like to imagine she immediately got lost and spent an hour trying to find her way back out.

Para-Dice also has probably the most 2000s design in this series. The show has its moments that date it but the art direction has kept it pretty timeless and alien for that to be much of an issue. But suddenly in comes the hacker cat that’s obsessed with arcade games and computer tech! Complete with a ship that literally emotes on its opponents. Not necessarily a bad thing, I just find it very amusing coming twenty years after computer tech was seen as such a novelty.

Shout out to Molly covering for Jordan’s mistake in this one. She’s trying to make nice with the boy and in turn he’s doing all he can to be the best co-pilot for her. Seeing their dynamic grow has been a highlight of the series. And it’s a bit of a lurch to realize that we’re six episodes in and only now have we heard what the Ultimate Prize really is! I remember all the promotions and ads for the show back in the day and they made it clear it was a wish the whole time. So it’s funny to see the characters only now learning about it. Regardless, it’s nice to see the stakes rise.

We get so much in this episode! First Lily’s back! Hooray! We have time travel! Hooray! Eda’s running from her father who she injured when she was a child! Oh no.

I don’t think we got a proper Luz and Lilith adventure before now so it’s great to see these two bond. It’s a shame that Luz doesn’t seem to share her interest with history at first (at least not what Lily finds interesting) but the girl makes up for it as they try to escape sudden peril. It’s also nice to see stick up for her “niece” as she takes the chance to punch Philip square in the nose. Getting to see these two hang out was enough to make the episode fun. 

But that’s not all we get. We finally get to meet the only other human to ever live in the Boiling Isles and he’s a grade-A piece of garbage. We witness first-hand his disregard for others’ lives for the sake of his own goals. Especially since they’re not human and lesser in his eyes. Combine that with how charismatic and deceptive he is, the final twist at the end isn’t that much of a surprise. That said I never noticed all the small hints to Philip’s true identity there were before my current watchthrough. The broken Palisman in his bag, Belos sending Lily’s old mentor to heckle her, Terra mentioning in a previous episode that the Emperor was waiting to meet Luz again. Not to mention all the easter eggs pointing to things to come. Like a diagram of a human form on Philip’s hideout wall.

And we finish up the episode with Eda finally talking to her dad. We’ve seen her mood sour anytime he’s brought up and it’s wonderful to see them get closure. Dell never blamed his daughter for what she did and is the kind of person who never would. But he knew that Eda would never accept that no matter how much he said it so he found a perfect way to let her “atone” with the seed he gave her. A chance to let her continue his legacy.

So Rick is back in the pilot’s seat and of course Molly’s not happy. But not because she’s no longer a pilot but because she seems to be the only one to realize something’s wrong with Rick. It’s nice to see her worried about the guy but also upsetting to see everyone ignore her because they think she’s just jealous. It’s also nice to see her so worried about her fellows that she’s willing to jump onto a speeding ship in order to stop it from crashing. Like, nice job kiddo but that’s how you break your spine! I should also mention how Satis has been trying to give Molly advice to her. He’s been hovering around the background popping up when Molly’s down. He seems to really like the girl and sees big things in her future. I imagine he was hoping that she would be the winner in the end. 

This episode is mostly about Rick though. He’s trying so hard to act like nothing’s wrong as he experiences seizures throughout the episode. He actually gets hostile with Molly who he’s been nothing but kind to up to this point. He even gets violent with the doctor when they tell him he’ll never be able to race again. Rick’s entire life and identity is wrapped up in being a champion. We see him basking in crowds cheering for him at the finish line fills him with pride nothing else could. So seeing him standing over the quiet arena and crying for what he’s lost is honestly sad. 

After the near disaster that was the race with Grooor, this was the pick-me-up that Molly needed. First she took on Grooor in a barfight and not only won but had backup willing to fight on her side. Aikka was introduced as a stalwart gentleman in previous episodes and he continues to prove that here. Then we get more bonding with Molly and Jordan as they join forces to fight off the big lug. They’re still getting to know each other but it’s good to see them getting along. 

As for the race itself we see Molly’s skill finally get to come out. Flint is the golden boy of the host planet of Alwas and gets special treatment because of it. This leaves him to have a massive chip on his shoulder and think he’s untouchable. I don’t even think he knows that the judges are fixing the race for him by letting him through the booby traps! Molly recognizes this and uses it to her advantage, baiting him into making some bad decisions. In the end it’s her own skill and cunning that gets her the win this episode, proving to everyone that her first victory was more than just a fluke.

At least everyone but Don. Don’s still doing everything in his power to get Molly out of the pilot’s seat. Molly thinks he’s just being bull-headed but it’s clear he’s worried about her survival on the track and putting the pressure of success on the shoulders of a teenage girl. So naturally he’s happy to see Rick up and about again. Though this ending is going to lead to some clear conflict in the episodes to come. 

Luz once again throws herself into situations without thinking them through. Thankfully she has her Sweet Potato to look after her! Amity is the MVP of this episode. Not only did she suss out that something was amiss with Luz but she also jumped in to help her the moment the need arose. And she was willing to fight a coven head to keep her awesome girlfriend alive. But most importantly she wanted to talk to Luz about her visit to the human realm. If there was any time for Luz to have a sympathetic ear, it would’ve been that instance. It’s lovely to see these two together.

But to mirror our lovely couple we must speak of our tragic couple. Eda was willing to do anything in her power to rescue Raine from the Emperor’s grasp only for them to pull away. The fight between them was sad to watch because of how desperate Raine was to run Eda off. The “Please” they gave Eda when demanding Eda to leave with a pleading tone. It was simply heartbreaking. We learn later what was really going on and that Raine was never actually brainwashed. We even hear them give a little whistle for the purification spell over the tea before they drink it in one scene. But that only makes it more tragic. Raine does want Eda to stay away, but for her own safety. In the end they were only trying to protect her.

I can’t finish until I at least mention Terra Snapdragon. They took a very minor character and made her the most ruthless figure we’ve seen up til now. She seems to revel at the idea of killing someone at any given moment. The way her eyes light up when she says the line to Kikimora. “You get? To live.” Her mannerisms are so casual too, literally lounging on her plants as she chases down Luz and Kiki. 

We’ve finally learned who the fake Luz is and it’s a sweet little cinnamon roll! Vee is one of my favorite characters and I imagine many others’ as well. We thought the worst when we saw that something was pretending to be Luz in the human world and it turned out to be just a scared kid wanting to find a better life. This is also where I want to say that this may have been another abandoned plot thread with the basilisks. I imagine if the show went as planned we would have learned why the basilisks were revived and what Belos’s plans for them would’ve been. But alas, all we have is a few episodes involving them.

As for Vee herself she’s the exact opposite of Luz despite pretending to be her. Where Luz is loud and outgoing Vee is shy and quiet. Luz throws herself into situations while Vee avoids confrontation per her own words. Given her past it makes sense that she’d shrink away from anything dangerous and I’m glad the next few times we see her she seems to grow in confidence. 

This episode is also where we get to see more of Luz’s mom, Camilla. It’s amusing to look back at when people thought she was a bad mom for sending her child to a camp for conforming to society. But after this episode that’s all washed away as we see her more playful and charming side. She’s willing to “play along” with her daughter’s silly game and immediately defends Vee against the conspiracy nut when she realizes what’s going on. And it’s heartbreaking to see her cry in the rain as she watches her daughter disappear again.

An Amity episode with a healthy side of Hunter! Focusing on their shared desire to be seen as useful. It’s sad to see both of them so desperate to justify their existence. Both have guardians that make them believe that love must be earned. Amity has been conditioned so long to think that she imprints that belief on sweet Luz who loves her just for who she is. It’s rough to see her fretting over the messages Luz sends her on their toys, not immediately understanding them. And it’s rougher to watch Hunter literally burying himself in his sorrows when he thinks his mission was a failure.

The lighter side of all this is both of them are loved by someone regardless of their deeds. Amity has Luz of course but this episode makes it clear that Hunter isn’t alone either. He finally accepts little Flapjack’s help who refuses to leave him alone since episode 6! A small step towards better things for the young man. Still doesn’t mean that Hunter’s completely good yet. He sows seeds of doubt in Amity’s mind, bringing out her worst impulses. All to end in a climactic fight between Amity and Hunter which is a treat to watch but tragic to witness.

Hunter will get his redemption eventually but for now we’re happy to see Amity understand that she’s loved and admired and even has her small victory of getting titan’s blood for Luz. I’d also like to note that this desperation for approval is mirrored in Kikimora, recurring antagonist who’s also been hunting for the blood for the Emperor and trying not to be overshadowed by Hunter. And her story unfortunately doesn’t end so rosily. 

Here we have Molly’s debut as an official racer and it’s as rough as you imagine. I’d like to start by saying I love how we’re reminded of Molly’s resourcefulness as she builds her rocket scooter into the ship’s controls so she can drive it more easily. It’s a testament to her skills that she got it to work in the first place! It’s also amusing how Don tried to talk Stan and Koji into being pilots only for poor Koji to try and hide behind his computer pad. Very adorable.

As for the race itself I think it’s important that Molly nearly loses. It’s one thing to be willing and ready to take on the job but it’s very clear that she has no idea what she’s doing. In the end she only wins partly by an act of quick thinking to tell Jordan to blast Grooor’s ship where it was already damaged and partly from Grooor’s own cockiness. It’s also important how willing the rest of the team is to help her. Jordan, despite his hesitance, jumps into the ship to help and listens to Molly’s commands while Stan and Koji give her tips on how to stabilize the ship with the new controls. 

It was inevitable that we would get a Hooty episode. He never bothered me but he was never my favorite though. Nevertheless, he’s a fan favorite that’s been around since the beginning so it made sense he’d get something. Wouldn’t have guessed his focal episode would be one of the most integral. 

It’s honestly really funny that his hair-brained shenanigans lead to some of the biggest developments in the show so far. With King we not only get new powers for the little guy but also a massive clue that he’s a unique being even amongst the wide variety of demons in the Boiling Isles. Almost as if he was something entirely separate from them. We also get some fun worldbuilding with how demons are categorized in the setting. And also learn that Hooty’s apparently a worm? The more we learn about him the less sense he makes.

Eda’s story is probably my favorite as we learn so much about the past from it. We see her personal past and how her curse has affected her home and love life. But we also surprisingly see the Owl Beast’s past as it tries to flee from a mysterious figure and is transformed into a spell. It’s fascinating to see what’s been characterised as a monstrous beast turn out to be just a scared animal, just as trapped as Eda is. All this ends in a brilliant conclusion as the duo accept each other giving Eda an awesome new harpy form! Eda’s curse had always been an allegory of chronic illness so to see that the solution is not a cure but acceptance is very inspiring. Gives hope to those who face similar issues.

And finally we get the lovebirds together thanks to Hooty! The funniest part of Luz’s story is we get to see Amity’s softer side come into full bloom as she gets adorably flustered at all the gushy romance in Hooty’s Tunnel of Love. She’s even heartbroken when Luz seems embarrassed by it all and tries to destroy it. Thankfully it’s all settled in what’s television’s most convincing love confession. Both nervous, skittish, talking over each other, awkwardly holding hands, it’s the most perfect thing ever! 

The whole episode was brilliant from beginning to end. It’s fun, impactful, and charming in every way. Thank you Hooty, you did wonderfully! Until you ate the important letter.

Oban was one of those shows I only got to see the promotions for when it ran on television but even that was enough to interest me. It looked like such a strange but cool setting and the premise was fascinating. Finally got the chance to watch it years after it originally aired and was satisfied that it was just as cool as it seemed.

The series begins on Earth where the environmental designs start to pop. The future portrayed here is what I could describe best as “rocketpunk”, with the machines having a sleek but boxy look to them. Everything is meant to be futuristic with hologram projections and anti-gravity suspension but it also looks rough and practical. As if every piece of equipment was meant to be taken apart and worked on at a moment's notice, including the payphones. 

The story itself is rather quick to introduce us to our characters. We have no-nonsense Don Wei, smug but smart Rick Thunderbolt, excitable Jordan, confident Stan and shy Koji, and of course Molly. Molly is stubborn, reckless, and bullheaded here. But she’s also resourceful, inventive, and observant. We watch all this come to play in the first ten minutes with her daring escape from a boarding school on a homemade rocket scooter. 

I do want to say I do like how fast paced this first episode is. I usually prefer when the pacing in a show is slower but here it really pushes how much of a hurry the racing team is. No one in charge thought the Oban race was a serious thing until it was too late and now they’re scrambling to get everything together. It doesn’t help when they’re being actively sabotaged by an enemy alien attacking their trucks while driving to the rendezvous point. It sets the team’s underdog status that persists throughout the show.

When we finally get to the planet of Alwas we’re greeted with plenty of more naturalistic and organic designs for the alien world. It’s the complete opposite of the industrial designs that make up Earth. You can tell that everything from this world is technically more advanced than Earth but it’s all so old that it hardly seems to matter. We’re also introduced to Prince Aikka in this episode and it’s funny to see Molly immediately get flustered being around him. Not much to say about him now other than his giant beetle is a fun idea for a racing mount. Another example of how unique and varied the designs are in this show. You can have strange animals racing alongside massive machines and have a fighting chance.

But of course the biggest takeaways come at the end when we see Rick crash the ship. It’s a shocking way to start the series to have the star pilot get hospitalized this soon in the show but not too surprising. We already know Molly had to take over as the pilot somehow. But the biggest shock is this is what triggers Molly’s memory. The memory of how her mother died in her own race. We hadn’t been told why Molly’s father had been so distant before now and the mom hadn’t even been mentioned before now. We did get a line from Don about how “he feels about female pilots” but tossed it aside as plain sexism. But at that point everything starts to come together.