Disenchantment Part 1 Review
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From the creators of the Simpsons and Futurama, a new theme yet to be explored is on Netflix. If you try and mash the two shows together and put them in a fantasy world. You get Disenchantment. A Story of a princess named Bean (Abbi Jacobson) that goes on adventures with her friends Elfo (Nat Faxon) and Lucy (Eric Andre).
Matt Groening and his fellow creators have put together something that unfortunately is rather disenchanting. The first 10 episodes of the first season that we were given does set the pace for the show but up front, the jokes seem to fall short and be few and far between. This is a different pace then what I am used to with Simpsons and Futurama. I do also think that we are doing this show a disservice by comparing it against the two all the time.
It feels to me that the creators of the show are trying to get comfortable writing jokes that fit with the theme of the show. I think anyone that watches these first 10 episodes will be able to sense that as well. There are several jokes that do land well. But most seem to always be reaching just too far to a point where I can tell that it was supposed to be a good punchline and it failed to deliver. Now not all jokes can land and that is ok, but with the pace of the show. The identity needs to be set here and I am left wondering what the true intention of the show is about.
There are definitely things to like about this show. The entire Elf Culture is very enjoyable, the naming conventions for all the elves leads to endless chuckles on my part. I also really enjoy the serialized nature of the show. Though it’s not as dominant a feature in the show as say a breaking bad. There is still movement and the show is able to pull off multi-episode arcs very well.
I like the character of Bean Luci and Elfo. They make a good trio that balances each other out yet at the same time magnify some of the negative character traits in each other like drinking way too much all the time.
The show does have it’s brilliant moments like in episode 1. This went rather long compared to the rest of the shows runtime, but really opened up the world that we were about to explore as well as introduce us to the cultures of a few races.
In the later parts of the show, specifically 8,9 and 10 we get the big plot for this section of the story that leaves off with a cliffhanger. This was done really well and had me watching till the end. It also had me excited for the next part of the series in hopes that they creators really catch their groove and make the world feel more lived in and that past events do still have consequences.
An area where this show falls short for me is with the lack of resources to events that happened in previous episodes like the failure to become allies with the king’s queen in Dankmire. They failed spectacularly and there is no repercussions to be seen. Maybe this will be covered in the future, but for now, it was a missed opportunity.
I do think however that this show needs to figure out what it wants to be. And the fact that it has been renewed for more than a 20 episode run (10 of which were in part 1) leads me to believe that the creators will catch their stride in the next season.
Is this show worth watching at the end of the day? If you are a fan of fantasy and the tropes that come along with it then of course. Will this show be the greatest thing you have ever watched? Of course not. But it’s an enjoyable series that just misses the mark on just about everything. The show has potential and it’s worth saying that I will continue to give the show a chance even if the next 10 episode release does not improve where I hope it because I feel the creators of this show are really close to something that will be at a higher level in the future.
