So I've been rewatching Op. INTERVIEWS for a fanfic I've been writing, and it's been an interesting journey! The ending is a genuinely heartfelt and satisfying all things considered, though I have a few qualms with the special.
1: While it was nice to see Sector W have a major role, I was a bit disappointed with the absence of Numbuh 85, and how Sonia and Lee don't do much until the third act.
3: While Sector V definitely deserved to win the cake, I wish their rivalry with Sector W had more proper focus, maybe having Sector V genuinely being competition for Sector W instead of being dead last for most of the special. Sonia giving Sector V the pipe, while a great character moment, makes it feel more like they lucked out.
The last major/minor thing I dislike about INTERVIEWS is probably something most people probably don't even think about much, and is definitely one of the more mixed part of INTERVIEWS...
(No, it isn't the live-action segments, I really liked those, even with that CGI Father)
Though ironically, my next complaint comes from one of the live action scenes.
I don't think Harvey should've been decommissioned, or at least the reasons for why he was should've been changed. I don't mean this is a self indulgent "Harvey Apologist" way, but in a general storytelling sense.
Here are a few discord posts explaining my basic thoughts
Harvey's decommissioning doesn't feel like a consequence from his actions in INTERVIEWS, but moreso an extra thing added to make it feel more like he got his just desserts.
He already got direct repercussions from his teammates giving Sector V their scavenger hunt items. That was from him gloating to Sector V about winning, something he did throughout the special.
If he lost the CAKED mission from proving himself too irresponsible to handle it, it'd be a better consequence, since it's also a direct repercussion from his actions, since it's linked to an actual character flaw.
I feel that they chose the worst reasons for him being decommissioned, linking it to trigger of his instead of a character flaw. The liter in-canon reasons as to why he's decommissioned is because they got tired of him freaking out whenever someone touched him.
I don't think setting up/wanting personal boundaries is a justifiable reason for anyone to be decommissioned, even Harvey.
Even worse is that it's technically Nigel's fault for waking up Father in INTERVIEWS, since he didn't respect Harvey's boundaries, which caused the outburst in the first place. Otherwise, Father likely wouldn't have woken up. (Though admittedly Harvey should've never put himself or him team in such a position in the first place.)
Lastly, Jenkins. Just Jenkins.
As admittedly messy as it can be, INTERVIEWS is still a fun watch throughout (for the most part). They went all out on this special, and even if it isn't one of the best episodes, it's still a nice note to go out on.
