Woo! After nearly a month of no Star vs The Forces of Evil, we got it back last week, and then a week after that we get the season finale?

Could things be any more exciting right now?

(Spoilers)

Well, being that this is Star, we were more or less promised two things: weird, and wild. Did it deliver? Ohhh yes.

The premise of the episode is fairly simple: Now that someone competent is in charge of the monsters, Marco is kidnapped, and Star will do anything to save him – even sacrifice the wand.

I can’t really give much more of a description than that – it’s a brilliant episode that can be succinctly summarized, and that’s part of its charm. It doesn’t try to surprise us with the unexpected, it just takes a simple story and executes it beautifully.  The animation throughout the episode is utterly gorgeous, the dialogue is spot-on, and we’re left with a ton of questions ready for season 2. And of course, we get to see just how close Marco and Star have come over the course of the series – she sacrifices her wand for him, people!

And really, there’s not much more I have to say about that, people. It’s a great season 1 finale for a great show, and my one regret is that we have to wait until next year for season 2.

Upgrade . . .

Pros

• Double length episode!
• With Toffee in charge, the monsters seem like a much more credible threat
• Regenerated wand
• Enough unanswered questions to get me excited for season 2

Cons

• The long, long wait for season 2

9.5/10

Continue reading

Another fortnight, another episode of Gravity Falls for our perusal! Am I happy about that, I hear you ask? Well, let me answer your question with another question:

Does a manotaur shit in the woods?

(Seriously, does anyone know? I mean, they don’t seem like the types to be fussed over indoor plumbing . . .)

For those of you who might not have gathered yet from my previous reviews, I love Gravity Falls. It’s one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time, a bizarre blend of Twin Peaks and Scooby-Doo. I love the humour, I love the characters, and I love the mysteries that surround that insane little town. And, as a result of that love, I hold a lot of expectations for the show – I can’t help that.

So, if you’re looking for a review that sings this episode’s praises, I’d suggest looking elsewhere. ‘Roadside Attraction’ has its charming moments, but they’re few and far between.

 

Stan takes the kids (along with Candy and Grenda) on a road trip around Oregon, intending to vandalise every other tourist trap in the state along the way. Meanwhile, Dipper is still not over his crush on Wendy, and Stan gives him some flirting advice – and well, you can imagine how well that goes.

It’s an interesting enough concept for an episode, but the execution felt more than a little flawed; after all the build-up we’ve had to Stanford’s introduction, and the threat of Bill Cipher in the previous episode, the mundane (‘continuity-free’ as Alex Hirsch calls it on Twitter) nature of ‘Roadside Attraction’ feels out of place, with pretty much no links to anything that’s happened in previous episodes.

 

That said, we got some great Stan moments, and any episode that has Mabel, Grenda and Candy in one plays is guaranteed to have some laughs. Overall, not a bad episode, but definitely not one of the best.

Pros

• Nice to see Stan after last episode's near-absence
• The golden trio, together once more! 

Cons

• None of the mystery element that makes Gravity Falls such a great show
• Using the 'Dipper is awkward' premise yet again.

6/10  

Continue reading