Alright, so Guy and I decided that if I was going to go out with a bang, it might as well be an exceptional effort, right? There have been a lot of peaks and valleys over the past two months, but I want to assure that this is top snuff. As such, what I'm going to be doing here will be a bit different. That's right. We're fusing the best writer and the slightly more incompetent one (relax, I'm the butt of the joke here. Jesus) together for one last fizzle.

"The Hero" has to be one of the most hated episodes out there, and blessed be the gods that Guy and I disagree with how we perceive the episode. While Guy generally plays it safe by huddling in the general consensus of the episode being a trainwreck, I firmly believe that the episode isn't that, and thus, the prospects of some good old back-and-forth emerged.

Here's the deal. First, Guy presents his case for "The Hero." Then, I present mine, and after some back-and-forth essaying, I make concessions because, let's face it, I'm on a solitary front right now.

Let's go.

Contents show]

Guy's Argument: "The Hero"? More like [insert poor attempt to be clever here]!

Now, first of all, I would like to thank Matt for allowing me to guest star on his post. His own works inspired me to write up my own posts in the first place, so to be working with him is quite a joy.

"The Hero" is an episode that tries to take a deeper look at the relationship between Richard and his sons, and it's something I can respect the episode for. It tried something that was relatively new for the show and tested whether or not these types of episodes could work. However, despite the noble intentions of the writers, this episode manages to drop the ball hard and it in turn is one of my least favorite episodes of the entire series.

Admittedly, to say that "The Hero" has nothing good would be quite the overstatement. The introductory scene in which the children try to one-up each other's fathers is quite amusing and leads to some good jokes, my favorites being Banana Joe's one-liner about how his dad is rich in potassium and the flashbacks involving Richard's legendary dance. Although I don't like the circumstances leading up to it, Richard's song is also pretty sweet and kind of heartwarming.

Unfortunately, this is where my compliments toward the episode end. The main problem with "The Hero" is that there is nobody to root for. All of the main characters in this episode are just very unlikable and insufferable (except for Richard and maybe Darwin); the episode is surprisingly mean-spirited and cold, even for Season 2 standards.

Nicole and Anais suffer major character derailments, and these derailments end up hurting the episode. Upon hearing the Watterson brothers poked fun at their farther earlier at school, they decide that the best course of action is deny the two of food and plumbing. While Nicole does have her temper problems, at the end of the day, she is a caring mother who only wants the best for her three children, so to see her practically dispose of them because they succumbed to peer pressure one day at school is disheartening and not all too fun to watch. By doing this, she goes against everything her character stands for. The episode doesn't even treat its viewers to anything funny once she forces her children to endure the abuse; outside of one gag that's somewhat funny (that being Gumball and Darwin buying food that expires within seconds), the episode plays this plot point straight. Gumball and Darwin realistically starve and deteriorate in condition, and the episode somehow treats Nicole like she's in the right for this.

It doesn't help that Anais joins alongside her mother in this movement against the boys; aside from the fact it’s just cruel, it's very hypocritical of the character. Anais has been shown to be just as critical of Richard (referring to the boys' teasing at the schoolyard, and not their bullying that occurs later), so to see her perfectly okay with her brothers being trashed out for a couple of quips makes her come across as "a special snowflake", for a lack of a better term, a character archetype I'm not too fond of. It's especially worsened by the fact that some of the stuff the boys said wasn't even mean; it was just true.

To say that Gumball and Darwin are complete saints in this episode would also be a lie. While at first, they're tolerable, heck even likable, once they're cut off of basic life necessitates, Gumball's characterization, at least, takes a plummet. His sheer stubbornness to give in and apologize for Richard gets grating fast, and it legitimately frustrated me upon my first viewing. It doesn't help that during the scene in which Richard attempts to save the boys that all Gumball has to share are some downright hurtful comments that aren't funny and only further make "The Hero" frustrating to watch. Darwin is like this to a lesser extent, although he is salvageable in the fact that he drops the insulting once he hears his dad's song as well as the fact that he makes an effort to end the conflict.

To me, "The Hero" is an episode that sets out to do some really good things, but the execution is so botched that in the end, it becomes unpleasant to watch which is a shame because it could have been something great.

Matt's Argument: [Insert Smug Retort and Terrible Wordplay]

Part of me was hoping that I'd have an easy argument to tear down, but even worse, I have to fight back whilst attempting to maintain Guy's sick caption game.

If there's one thing I found reassuring about "The Hero," it's that it proved that the show could do more than just be funny - it could be heartwarming. The first time I watched the episode, that ending kicked me square in the gut for the fact that it proved that the show could do more than just make you laugh. Sure, "The Gi" attempted to do the same thing back in the first season, but because of the show's relative infancy, it tanked at every chance to demonstrate the show's capabilities. "The Hero" helped redeem that.

And yes, I get that the episode starts off kind of shaky, and I get that there were so many missteps in using the Wattersons' family dynamic, but the ending makes up for it. With that being said, I'll try to address each aspect of the argument.

First of all, there's Nicole, a character that, as I've discussed before, was really difficult for Season 2 to grasp. Whereas you could easily argue that Nicole was wholly irrational in episodes like "The Fridge," where she essentially abuses Gumball, I think that Nicole's fiery intensity regarding Richard isn't out of line. It's all a matter of how important he is to her, and while it was a lot more in-the-air at the time, I think that "The Choices" helps clear everything up. You have to understand that Richard is pretty much the only character that can subdue Nicole (as in the beginning of "The Money"), let alone the fact that he completely redirected her life to a point where she couldn't see it any other way. Even if Richard can be incredibly dopey at times and makes a lot of poor decisions, Nicole feels the need to stand up for him because she knows that he's doing the best that he can for his family; Gumball and Darwin simply failed to comprehend that. (Meanwhile, Anais is incredibly inconsequential, though her piling on without ever taking a more characteristic approach to examining the situation was a bit off-putting.)

It's also important not to discount Darwin, who is more than merely "salvageable" - he's quintessential to the episode's proceedings. I've said it before and I'll say it again: having a character to help mediate between both opposing factions is imperative to the episode's success. Without that sense of empathy, I'd probably side with popular opinion, but at the very least, he's the metaphorical spoonful of sugar to help get the medicine of Gumball's insolence down.

Speaking of, if there's one thing that I wholly agree with being an issue in "The Hero," it was Gumball, and I do acknowledge that he drags the episode down waaay too much. While I admittedly don't mind him being unexaggeratedly cruel at times, this episode didn't make any proper attempt at humor to really justify it. It's fine in smaller doses, but "The Hero" took much too long before Gumball turned around (it was literally the climax of the climax). Normally, if Gumball's unrelentingly abysmal, there's at least some sense of realism in play, but the stubbornness prevailed for so long that it became exaggerated in it of itself.

When I was talking to /u/jowijo over at r/gumball, he told me that the episode "just reeked of a fanservice-y a--pull," and I can at least kind of respect that position. As touching as it was to see Richard and Gumball recuperate, it was so instantaneous that there was a tinge of artificiality. I still think it worked, but if Gumball realigned sooner, it would've worked much better.

Alright, so how is it that I can dismiss the ending as partially artificial while still supporting the episode? Well... just follow along for a minute.

There was an interesting joke/argument proposed by /u/TheCoolKat1995 (I keep my tabs, folks), describing the climax of "The Hero" as the ultimate comeuppance for every terrible thing that Gumball has done over the past season, and it's not a bad theory. There's definitely some acknowledgement by virtue of the severity of the scenario that Gumball got special treatment for being such a pushover - whereas Darwin redeems himself and lands in Richard's arms, Gumball gets screwed on the verge of being crushed to death - so it's hard to knock on the idea. Moreover, it says something about Richard as a character that, in spite of how much of a mess Gumball is throughout the whole episode, he still comes back around to save the day.

That's where the legitimacy of it all seeps through: all of the characters evolved. Season 2 was a struggle for a lot of people in terms of Gumball's general character reform, so it was great to see that there was still some insecure backbone in the character, something that later seasons would mercifully reveal more and more of.

I'll close this off with some food for thought for Guy to think about courtesy of the always-welcome C.R. Martin:

"It'd be fine if we got a silver lining out of this, like Richard striving to be better during the episode, or the boys making him not feel worthless, but there is no silver lining. This episode remains consistently spiteful all throughout. Not always explicitly, but you can feel the bitterness of it all, especially from Gumball...

"Speaking of which, as nice as it was on a technical level (the cinematography, I do admit, is great), the final act was not a silver lining because it didn't deserve to be in this episode. It deserved to be in an episode with better characterization, and where the circumstances led to meaningful development. But no. It just had to be in an emotionally manipulative piece of sh-t like this."

And with that, the metaphorical baton be passed.

Guy's Counter to the Counter

Matt has made several good points (and good and nice captions) and has put up a strong arguement; however, I still believe that several of his counterclaims can (potentially) be countered. Countercounterclaims, if you will.

Now, yes, it is true that Nicole loves Richard very much and would jump many lengths to defend him. As Matt has already stated, episodes such as "The Choices," and even smaller moments in episodes such as "The Money" and "The Fury," help to reestablish that fact with heartfelt moments. However, what Nicole does goes beyond defending Richard; instead of simply arguing for Richard, maybe grounding Gumball and Darwin, and leaving it at that, she instead goes to the extreme and decides that she should neglect her children of essentials. In turn, the episode completely botches its point; the attempt to show Nicole's intense passion for Richard instead results in showing the viewers just how cold and abusive Nicole can be. As opposed to seeing Nicole as the soulmate that would protect Richard from harm, we are instead subjected to a mother who would toss her kids out because "they hurt Richie's feelings," and in the end, I fail to see how viewers are supposed to side with Nicole.

While it is true that Anais doesn't have too much of an impact in the grand scheme, her presence is still an overall determent to the episode. She only contributes to the episode's overall bitter tone; in the little screen time she gets, she simply mocks Gumball in a very irritating manner and proceeds to throw soap in his face. Anais's actions are not all too funny nor do they move the plot that much. Therefore, she only serves to make the episode feel even meaner than before (not that it needed that help).

I will admit that "salvageable" was a little too strong of a word to describe Darwin. Matt is definitely right in his argument for the character; Darwin helps to give the episode a empathetic side, a side that this episode desperately needs. However, he does suffer from the fact he makes no real attempt to really call Gumball out on his cruelty, opting to call Gumball out once in one passing line during the climax. This is admittedly more of a problem that stems from the episode rather than Darwin himself, but it's something worth noting.

Matt claims that the characters evolve towards the end of episode, albeit, it's a bit rushed. Despite the evolution, as Matt stated himself, it felt forced and artificial. What makes episodes such as "The Shell" and "The Choices" work is how natural they feel. With those two episodes in particular, there's no sudden extreme mood whiplash from "mean-spiritedness" to "good and nice vibes"; throughout both experiences, sure the tone can change from comedic to serious at times, but there is nothing extreme. They succeed because have a range of moods that are different enough for variety, but not to extreme that it comes across as "disjointing". Even in smaller moments such as "The Origins," "The Disaster," and "The Matchmaker," emotional moments are not proceeded or followed by intense mood shifts.

"The Hero" fails to do this. Instead, "The Hero" is an episode that stays pretty mean throughout, only taking time to make a complete 180 towards the end for a sentimental effect that comes across "fan-servicey", in the words of jowijo, instead of well-done and properly integrated. The moment feels last-minuted and a poor attempt to make the episode seem less mean than it really is.

Finishing with C.R. Martin's original statement, "This episode remains consistently spiteful all throughout. Not always explicitly, but you can feel the bitterness of it all, especially from Gumball..." - all of my grievances with the episode can be summed down to this one statement. There is the occasional sweet moment or two, and I really do love the beginning sequence, but those just don't do enough for me. Gumball, Anais, and Nicole are just too jerky, Darwin and Richard don't really counter their cruelty all too well, and the whole episode is just way too bitterly-toned, almost as if it's mistaking "cynical" for mean.

Welp, it's time for Matt to lay out his final thoughts. I think I have given him plenty to discuss.

Matt's Final Thoughts, Otherwise Known Impractically as the Counter Counter Counter

Fun fact: Guy put in the comment on my good and nice captions before I typed them. How supportive! I can only assume he's an untrustable lying sociopath. SHUN HIM! SHUN HIM! (Please don't.)

Also, ugh, "The Weirdo." Don't remind me. (I can feel the grimaces.)

First of all, since it doesn't connect much elsewhere, I guess I have to just address Anais right now. I agree that she really doesn't help the episode out at all, but the principal problem is that she isn't supposed to be Anais. The character is instead re-applied, as a vehicle, for the sake of reinforcing the notion that Gumball and Darwin are in the wrong. It's a bad practice, sure, but it helps accentuate the narrative, I guess. It would've helped if she had even the slightest sliver of personality - she instead pretty much echoes Nicole for the worse - but I don't think that she's too severe of an issue in the episode as a whole.

Really, though, I don't think we're ever supposed to be rooting for Nicole or Anais or Gumball or Darwin. (That's a lot of ors.) It's about Richard and how his deflation of purpose causes everyone to go insane. The House of the Wattersons is now the House of Atreus (What, nobody? Why do I even try ), and the only way order can be restored is by making amends. I'm not arguing that Nicole was out of character (though that seems to be the prevailing consensus here), but as much as it hurts to say, her attitude might be exaggerated deliberately for the sake of making Gumball seem like even more heinous of a character. Does everything get murky in the process of doing so? Yes, but this isn't exactly a squeaky-clean, feel-good episode. This is all about how the loss of the family's fundamental order brings the worst out of everybody involved.

If there's something I can compromise my opinion on, it's that the characterization was a bit sloppy. Yes, again, we do have Richard to root for and even Darwin to some extent, but Richard's too mopey to contribute to the grand scheme of things and Darwin, in true Darwin fashion, is side-lined way too much to really make up for Gumball's recklessness. (Circling back briefly to your argument, though, Darwin does get verbally aggressive against Gumball's downplaying every moment in the episode's climax. Giving Darwin a distinct voice at all has to count towards something.) There's not even a vaguely soft edge to any of the other characters, though, so you really can't sympathize with anybody else's angle. It's all artificially trotting the plot along without too much thought in giving anyone any more dimension, which is kind of frustrating if you're invested in the characters.

As such, I don't think the ending was a "a--pull" to appease fans or make up for the pseudo-masochism of that which preceded it. I think there was intention. It's just that that intention was never fully recognized. I can at least discern that a lot of effort was put into the first half of the episode, especially in regards to the jokes (the suspension joke is underrated; the rapidly-expiring food is great), but it's just a matter of what they were applied to wasn't the show at its best despite every possible intention to push towards that. They bit of more than they could chew, but that's fine!

Writing anything to be emotional is haaard, and this episode sought to put comedy first and the feels last. Conversely, when we see episodes like "The Origins," the feels are put first and foremost: it's a comparatively light episode in its humor, but makes up for it by being poignant. The formula was only really perfected in "The Choices," but even then, that episode strictly segregated the heartfelt from the humorous, let alone it being the culmination of five seasons of learning to use its characters. Season 2 was a period where the show was trying to redefine itself, and it tripped on its own nuances several times; to compare it to something created at the show's peak seems a bit inconsiderate. We got to "The Choices" through the trial-and-error of these kinds of episodes. The writers simply took what worked about "The Hero," left behind what didn't and worked towards perfecting that.

All I'm saying is that I think that the episode's a winner. That being said, there's a stark difference between being a "winner" and being a "highlight" or "quintessential." It's a winner in the sense that it was a net-win for the show. You have to accept that the episode isn't as perfect as you want it to be. It set itself out to be something that the show simply couldn't handle at the time, but there's no way of knowing or improving without trying. Like I said when discussing "The Extras" a while back, you have to experiment if you want a show to escape the pitfall of dormancy, and even if it doesn't fully work, at least efforts were made. It shows that the writers aren't just cruising through the show, taking every easy out possible; they want to challenge themselves and keep the show consistently fresh, even at the expense of an 'L' from time to time.

That mentality alone should demonstrate how the show lives up to its title: it truly is amazing. The writers care about the show, the characters, and not playing it too safe - all necessary components to making a show truly successful. Since Season 1, the show has been constantly trying to best itself instead of wallowing in its own success, and that's how it has been so captivating after all these years. The show knows that we care about it and doesn't waste a second to prove that they care about us, the viewers. While "The Hero" may have had quite a few setbacks, it showed how far the show would diverge to win us over, and even if it failed, the fact that the effort was made is all that really matters.

The phrase, "Well, at least they tried," may get a bad rep, but that's what makes the show so special. It's managed to chug along for five, going on six, seasons and hasn't shown any sign of waning quality because it never plays it safe. At the time, "The Hero" was a dangerous episode, and you have to respect their commitment. Yes, we've since topped that with more advantageous capers, but it's not like we got there overnight: these kinds of episodes helped push the show towards a more promising future. If you can't appreciate "The Hero" as an episode, at least appreciate that it was a necessary step for the series to evolve.

I rest my case.

A Second Opinion: The Reflection

Well, it's been fun.

I'm not saying I'm done, but I'm going to be taking a break from the format for a short interlude from all of [gestures wildly] this. That being said, there's still a ton of work to do and episodes to defend, so don't worry, because I'm not done. I just need a breather because this has been intense and time-consuming.

Now, if you don't mind, I have some self-indulgence to take care of.

Special shout-out to r/gumball for giving my stuff some attention. They've been pretty supportive along the way, and their support for these articles helped me push through some of the earlier articles. I'll give some shout-outs abound to /u/SaraBellum42, /u/Maniafig, /u/error521, /u/moline85, and naturally C.R. Martin for the jolly conversation.

Oh, and thanks to all of you guys for the "Monthly Featured Contributor" distinction! I blame the Russians Aside from being the fourth award I've ever won (I soar high and achieve minimally), I had no idea enough people were really reading these as to justify that kind of thing. It's super humbling, though, that y'all feel that way, and it means a lot! I may be terribly inept at using chatrooms due to time (I write the majority of my stuff from midnight to 3 in the morning), stress, and substandard social skills (what a great triumvirate), but I will answer every single comment you throw at me, so there's that. Just say "hey" or something - it means a lot.

I don't know, it's probably not that big of a deal, but I've been writing garbage on the Internet since 2011. It's just cool to think that it actually lead to something and that I actually have some kind of distinction. So thank you. (That being said, I have a reputation to live up to now, so that's terrifying.)

Of course, I have to give a very big shout-out to our new, minty-fresh Rollback buddy Guy for being just a generally dope friend throughout this whole thing. He's been supportive and awesome and I can't wait to be able to work with him more in the future.

Here's a few more shout-outs to Karymme and Valer for reading along on almost every step of the journey and Fenton who's looking to step into the writing scene. I can't wait to see what you've got, dude.

I'm happy to report that through these past 8 articles, I've definitely evolved as a person. For instance, in the first article, remember when I made a joke about being a less adept Faulkner? No, no you don't Well, it turns out that the potshot was ill-advised, because As I Lay Dying was a darn-fine book. That's about it in terms of evolution, actually. (I write Dad jokes and I won an award. Anything is possible.)

In the meantime, I'm hoping to work on a new series of posts outside of the "A Second Opinion" moniker. As much as I enjoy writing these, they are just a massive investment, but at the same time, I need to keep active here to retain any semblance of a presence here. My basic idea is a series of article detailing nitpicks with specific characters. I don't know if it'll be as interesting, but I want to find some way to continue analysis in more broad, simpler terms, and I think that it's conceptually decent enough as a temporary substitute. I'll be doing four such articles as a breather, so just bear with me. Expect "The Bobert Problem" next week.

In the meantime, here's the greatest hits:

Thanks for reading along; it's been a pleasure. Season 2 of "A Second Opinion" starts on May 4th. I'll be tampering with the formula a bit, but the quality should be consistent enough.