Disenchantment
Netflix
Season 1, Episode 3
Disenchantment has all the potential in the world. A fantastic concept, a great little theme song, and a very solid cast, but when the writing goes for every possible joke, it kind of takes away from my overall enjoyment. It’s the same reason I haven’t enjoyed the Simpsons in recent years; a total lack of discretion when it comes to finding the joke in a scene. That said, the show gets a little stronger with each episode I’ve seen so far and episode 3 is a very nice little story, although it does suffer from a few cringe-worthy dad-jokes.
As with other Groening creations, the plot takes a while to develop but there are some genuinely enjoyable bits to help get us there and the camaraderie between the main characters is very charming and fun to watch. Eric Andre is especially strong and really keeps the laughs going in the Bender-esque role of Luci the Demon whose growing influence on Elfo and Bean is palpable in this episode.
The first half of Episode 3 revolves around the crew drinking, goofing off and causing general mischief until they are approached by a group of real hard-living criminals to assist in a real caper. The second half, as expected, focuses on the legal (and exorcistic) consequences of said heist. The narrative beats are short and sweet (to make room for more jokes of course) but it never feels too disjointed or unfocused.
The writing in episode 3 (and really the first four episodes) is, to say the least, all over the place and much more focused on punchlines than plotlines but it’s fun to watch still and the show at least halfway fills the void left by Futurama. The setting and cast alone will have me binging the entire first season, but I do hope the jokes keep getting tighter because the potential behind this show is massive.