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The Introduction

Hey, there! Shocker, but I can actually publish my mediocrity within a timely manner if conditions permit.

It has been two years since I have first started penning about the show. These two years have offered me a fresh perspective on the show. I have gained a deeper appreciation for the craft that goes into show, and my respect for the crew has only grew in writing these. I have had the chance to talk with several different people with unique ways of viewing the show that has helped me to really grasp the genius wide appeal of the show.

My reason for sharing this personal anecdote is to establish that my viewpoint comes from a place of loving critique rather than pure malice. I do not claim to fully know how to write a television series, let alone know better than the Gumball staff. I am simply a fan who appreciates the show for how unique it is and wants to discuss how it can reach its full potential. There probably will not be series quite like this one for a long time, and I have nothing but respect for Mr. Bocquelet, Mr. Graves, and the rest of the crew, so I only hope to see the show's success until the end.

I should note that this is a fairly lengthy piece. I do try to summarize everything with brevity in the last paragraph of each section (save for the first one since I am introducing the claim) if that makes it easier to read.

With all that said, let us begin.

The Analysis

Hot take: the biggest flaw with The Amazing World of Gumball is its inability to finish what it starts.

With the show coming to a close with its final season, it has a lot on its plate in terms of closure for its cast, and as a result, has provided the opportunity to properly reflect as to how the cast has been utilized throughout the season. For the most part, the show has used its characters swimmingly, and most of them are getting the proper sendoffs that they deserve. However, characters with seemingly more fanfare to their names have been poorly mishandled throughout the run of the series, and now especially that baggage is showing.

To cut to the chase, the show loves grandiose episodes that seemingly shakeup the status quo in profound ways and indicate that more meaningful fleshing out is to come, whether it be breaking the resident coconut head out of her shell or getting a ghost to go steady with a fish. Gumball will go out and act as if these changes mean anything only to not deliver.

Right off the bat, the most common counterargument I see to this claim is that the show is simply a comedy and that these character-driven continuity-heavy elements are do not matter compared to the actual comedy. Yes, Gumball is a comedy, and yes, its humor is ultimately more important than continuity, but the staff chose to introduce these ideas in hopes of adding some spice to the show. They started the long game with these characters, choosing to elevate the show past its comedic roots. While obviously the show should not be held to the same standards that something such as My Hero Academia is, it is only fair that the show is held responsible for properly maintaining what it starts with its characters.

The Penny Problem

"The Shell" was a fantastic episode; I would go as far to say it is in my personal Top 5 episodes in this entire series. There are many things that the episode could be praised for, but for the sake of relevancy, I specifically want to highlight what it did for Penny as a character and how it added to the dynamic between her and Gumball. Penny went from being the typical love interest character with a somewhat snarky edge to an insecure girl that broke out of her literal and figurative shell who is forced to face a world that only wishes to bring her down. Not only that, it added some nice recontextualization to her relationship with Gumball, establishing him as an emotional backbone to her fragility.

The episode's ending was a big deal for the series. Not only did it give all those shippers exactly what they wanted, but it indicated the show was ready to take a leap into the unknown. It demonstrated that it was ready to commit to the idea of Gumball and Penny being a couple and build something meaningful out of it while still keeping the show's identity intact. For a while, it seemed the show was doing as it should, with "The Burden" reaffirming their status as a couple and "The Bros" providing legitimate exploration as to how the new relationship between Gumball and Penny is affecting the status quo. "The Romantic" even tried to give the spotlight to Penny even if Gumball pulling the strings limited her in terms of driving the plot.

However, it at this point that the show seemingly drops the ball. Penny, and by extension her relationship with Gumball, all but disappears for seemingly years. "The Ex," Penny's one "major" role in Season 5, barely constitutes as an episode with her as a focal point, and her presence seems nonexistent for most of Season 5. The same seemed to hold true for Season 6 until "The Transformation" aired.

Now, I am not here to knock on "The Transformation," because on its own isolated from the rest of the series, it is a fairly strong episode with a lot of good to it. When looked at in the context of the rest of the series, it is a case of "too little, too late." Its placement in the series is odd and disjointed, feeling like an episode that

a). should have been in close proximity to "The Shell" or

b). should have been built up to through the course of the series by showing how Penny has grew since breaking free of her shell.

Neither criteria is really met, with Penny never really having a chance after "The Shell" to show how breaking free of her shell has made her better. The episode as result feels somewhat lacking, especially on Penny's side, despite its strengths.

For one reason or another, the show seemingly stepped away from what it started earlier in Season 3, never being able to truly maintain what "The Shell" made a bold effort to establish. Long periods of inactivity before a closure episode missing its more continuity-based elements left everything feeling somewhat lacking. Despite all of this, the treatment of Penny and her relationship with Gumball is not the most egregious example of the show's flaw.

The Carwin Complications

While execution of Penny's characterization and her relationship with Gumball leaves a lot to be desired, the execution of the romantic dynamic between Darwin and Carrie, as cute and wholesome as it is, can actually leave one questioning the point of its existence.

"The Scam" integrated the cute subplot regarding the two's requited love for each other well enough into the main plot, but one must at least acknowledge that the sudden reintroduction of their feelings for each other after four years of dormancy is abrupt. The last concrete acknowledgement of any romance between Darwin and Carrie was in 2012's "Halloween," a seemingly one-off moment that bared no real significance on the series. The fact that the crew felt the need to suddenly bring it back indicated that they had big ambitions for the characters and that there was a clear direction they wanted to take these two.

"The Matchmaker" only further solidified this notion. Strong development for Carrie in the form of shedding light on a more vulnerable and sentimental side, and a bombastic ending that showed the audience it was ready for the next step with these characters.

Cut to nothing happening.

Okay, so that is somewhat of an erroneous statement. Between this episode and "The Drama" nearly two years later, we got five gags that acknowledged they were a couple, the longest being fourteen seconds of Darwin ranting about fan art and ship names (Yes, I counted).

This did not leave "The Drama" in a good spot. This was the show's last chance to prove why Darwin and Carrie getting together matters, and while the episode certainly has a lot of good to it with Gumball being a lovable ham who makes the episode a fun romp, the episode fails to do anything meaningful with Darwin and Carrie as characters or as a couple, making the episode seem like a fruitless effort.

Not only does Gumball have to do most of the heavy lifting in terms of plot, but the episode feels the need to arbitrarily introduce an ex-boyfriend (while also changing elements of Carrie's backstory as established by "The Mirror" to make it work) just to push the story along. The fact that the second episode (and most likely last) to prominently feature Darwin and Carrie as a couple needs not only a third party to carry the plot along but an ex-boyfriend suggests a lack of direction as to where to take this pairing.

However, if this is the culmination of what the show has been leading to, then what was the point in reintroducing the couple in the first place? The show's sudden interest in romantic chemistry between Darwin and Carrie in "The Scam" surely could not have been leading up to this, right?

Obviously, it is way too much to expect a full-blown shift in tone with needless angst and drama, but surely, a demonstration of what this couple adds to this show is not too much to handle, no?

The Nemesis Negligence

Rob is arguably the most interesting character the show has to offer, which is why how the show has treated him stands as the most glaring example of the show's struggle to commit to what it starts with its characters.

Now, Rob had a great run. What started as nondescript background character evolved into a self-aware nihilist who only wished to find love despite his destructive tendencies. "The Disaster" and "The Rerun" were the peak of the character; not only was his villainy at its strongest, but his epiphany added nuance to his relationship with Gumball in seemingly profound ways. The ending seemed to be an end of an era, with Rob accepting his place as the antagonist out of necessity rather than pure malice. An end to era... or so it seemed.

Rather than embrace this new character development and demonstrate how it complicates his relationship with Gumball or even simply retire the character, the show opts to regress Rob back to a comedic villain with little nuance to the character in a need to cling onto the status quo and not maintain what "The Disaster" and "The Rerun" had established.

Gone are the days of legitimate intimidation backed by solid character-driven motivations. Here are the days in which episodes like "The Ex" exist for the sake of dragging out a joke about Rob's rivalry with Gumball somehow being comparable to that of clingy exes. Here are the days in which he targets characters such as Banana Joe for no discerning reason. Here are the days in which he jumps back into his hatred for Gumball for such petty reasons relative to everything that has happened in the past.

"The Spinoffs," while one of my favorite episodes from Season 6, but Rob's utilization only serves to show just how poorly the character has been handled. Granted, it is a better showcase than Season 5's "The Ex," but Rob still comically fumbles around in an attempt to destroy Gumball without any clear motive as to why. He is there for the sake of having a designated antagonist without any of the character backing "The Disaster" and "The Rerun" brought about.

Whether due to poor pacing of his arc (it was contained mostly to Season 4) or a simple lack of direction for the character, the show has not been able to work in the revelations of "The Disaster" and "The Rerun," choosing to act as if these significant episodes simply did not happen so that they could continue with the status quo of having a constant villainous threat without any of finer details.

Admittedly, as of this writing, the show still has fourteen episodes to go, and anything could happen between now and then. It is possible Rob could get an antagonistic role with some meaning to it, and while that certainly will lessen the blow of Rob's treatment in these recent seasons, it will not completely rectify these issues. Rob's character has been reduced to a joke as a result of not wanting to maintain these big continuity shakeups.

The Conclusion

It is not hard to read my complaints and conclude that I simply want Gumball to be serious at all times, focusing only on building its characters and relationships to the point of becoming Regular Show.

I want to establish that this is not at all how I want the series to play out. One of the show's biggest strengths is its experimentation. If the show was all about relationships all the time, lovingly weird episodes such as "The Joy," "The Countdown," and "The Signal" would be less frequent if not gone entirely. I also do not wish to strip the show of its unique sense of humor as no other show can hit the same comedic beats quite like this show can.

I simply hold the opinion that the show should have done a better finishing what it starts with its characters. If it wishes to get itself caught in big status-quo-shaking moments, then it is not too far-fetched to expect it sees it to the end.

It is not as if this is out of the realm of possibility, either. The exploration of Richard, Jojo, and Frankie as characters with "The Authority," "The Man," "The Signature," "The Outside," "The Catfish," and "The Father" was done swimmingly while still keeping the show's absurdist identity intact. Likewise, episodes starring characters such as Tobias and Alan have no real structure to them in terms of an "arc," but they naturally evolve and explore the characters in way that is satisfying. Granted, the arc of Richard, Jojo, and Frankie has far more backstory elements to it, and other supporting characters never experienced profound shakeups to the status quo, but the point still stands.

The only thing I think the show should have done was commit to what it started.





The Closing Notes

This was really long, so if you somehow made it to the end, thank you! I really appreciate it. With that said, I'm open to discussion! Please, leave me comment telling me what you think if you wish. Agree with my stance? Think there is something wrong with my rhetoric? Tell me in the comments below.

I would like to thank my younger sister, who reviewed this prior to publishing.

As briefly mentioned earlier, if all things go according to plan, this should have been published two years from the day I first started writing about the show. Rather than getting sentimental, I will just leave a link to my first work so you have something to laugh at: comedy gold.

Something something Nicole article.

Well, that's all I have for now. Until next time, take care! :)