[7.3/10] Another solid episode. Bean’s story is the main event here, and I really enjoyed her pursuing the Arch Druidess throughout Steamland while slowly but surely building a friendship with Gordy, her accidental co-workers at the major manufacturing company in the area. There’s a lot of fun to the two of them palling around together in Steamland, whether it's the amusing take on early 1900s scientific management amid the industrial revolution, or the silly setups and payoffs of the two of them at the carnival.
There’s some intriguing worldbuilding as we learn more about how Steamland came to be through a delightful “Carousel of Progress” spoof, and just seeing Bean learn how the average worker gets by in this land of wonders, while also learning a little more about recreation and stratification in the realm helps the place feel more real. In particular, I like the irony of how the princess envies the life of the worker, since Bean views it as an existence more free of obligation and expectation, despite the monotony and more diffuse set of societal guardrails that people like Gordy face (more or less).
(As an aside, it feels more and more like we’re getting some explicit Futurama connections, from the factory being dubbed “Gunderson’s” as in “Gunderson’s Nuts”, and the Arch Druidess seeming to be an even more plain analogue to Mom from Mom’s Friendly Robots. I’m not 100% sure where they’re going, but color me intrigued.)
The subplots are less successful. Elfo’s solo misadventures in Steamland are worth a few chuckles at best, and his interludes at the explorers’ club are stock without a lot of laughs to them. Zog treating Luci like a kitty (and Luci enjoying it) is likewise worth a few yuks, but feels pretty mild. That said, I’m interested to see how Oona nursing Zog back to health goes.
Still, the main event is Bean and Gordy. They’re cute together, between Bean’s confidence and determination in pursuing the Arch Druidess and Gordy’s unacknowledged crush. That makes it even more dramatic when we learn the real deal here. Not only is Gordy the head of Gunderson’s, but he sent the Arch Druidess to Dreamland to lure Bean here, and his servant is one of the two Steamlanders Bean met last season. (I think I’m gonna need to rewatch that episode because some of the details have escaped me in all this time.)
There’s intrigue in the notion that for all Steamland’s advancement, Alva sees magic as a misunderstood natural phenomenon with even greater potential. The Archdruidess’s warning not to trust this seemingly sweet guy (at least in his Undercover Boss guise) adds another layer to it. Once again, even where the laughs are hit or miss, Disenchantment draws me in with its longform storytelling and worldbuilding.
Overall, this is an episode where the A-story does most of the heavy lifting, but the dynamic between Bean and Gordy/Alva, plus the major plot developments and reveals, give it a boost.
EDIT: I rewatched the last Steamland installment and remembered that "Gunderson" is also the surname of the "logic wizard" who took Bean to Steamland in last season's penultimate episode. He and his associate refer to the Zog assassination attempt as being at the behest of "The Boss" (presumably Alva?). The plot thickens!
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-01-22T02:12:57Z
[7.3/10] Another solid episode. Bean’s story is the main event here, and I really enjoyed her pursuing the Arch Druidess throughout Steamland while slowly but surely building a friendship with Gordy, her accidental co-workers at the major manufacturing company in the area. There’s a lot of fun to the two of them palling around together in Steamland, whether it's the amusing take on early 1900s scientific management amid the industrial revolution, or the silly setups and payoffs of the two of them at the carnival.
There’s some intriguing worldbuilding as we learn more about how Steamland came to be through a delightful “Carousel of Progress” spoof, and just seeing Bean learn how the average worker gets by in this land of wonders, while also learning a little more about recreation and stratification in the realm helps the place feel more real. In particular, I like the irony of how the princess envies the life of the worker, since Bean views it as an existence more free of obligation and expectation, despite the monotony and more diffuse set of societal guardrails that people like Gordy face (more or less).
(As an aside, it feels more and more like we’re getting some explicit Futurama connections, from the factory being dubbed “Gunderson’s” as in “Gunderson’s Nuts”, and the Arch Druidess seeming to be an even more plain analogue to Mom from Mom’s Friendly Robots. I’m not 100% sure where they’re going, but color me intrigued.)
The subplots are less successful. Elfo’s solo misadventures in Steamland are worth a few chuckles at best, and his interludes at the explorers’ club are stock without a lot of laughs to them. Zog treating Luci like a kitty (and Luci enjoying it) is likewise worth a few yuks, but feels pretty mild. That said, I’m interested to see how Oona nursing Zog back to health goes.
Still, the main event is Bean and Gordy. They’re cute together, between Bean’s confidence and determination in pursuing the Arch Druidess and Gordy’s unacknowledged crush. That makes it even more dramatic when we learn the real deal here. Not only is Gordy the head of Gunderson’s, but he sent the Arch Druidess to Dreamland to lure Bean here, and his servant is one of the two Steamlanders Bean met last season. (I think I’m gonna need to rewatch that episode because some of the details have escaped me in all this time.)
There’s intrigue in the notion that for all Steamland’s advancement, Alva sees magic as a misunderstood natural phenomenon with even greater potential. The Archdruidess’s warning not to trust this seemingly sweet guy (at least in his Undercover Boss guise) adds another layer to it. Once again, even where the laughs are hit or miss, Disenchantment draws me in with its longform storytelling and worldbuilding.
Overall, this is an episode where the A-story does most of the heavy lifting, but the dynamic between Bean and Gordy/Alva, plus the major plot developments and reveals, give it a boost.
EDIT: I rewatched the last Steamland installment and remembered that "Gunderson" is also the surname of the "logic wizard" who took Bean to Steamland in last season's penultimate episode. He and his associate refer to the Zog assassination attempt as being at the behest of "The Boss" (presumably Alva?). The plot thickens!