1x01 BMO

[8.0/10] The strange thing about “BMO” is that I wasn’t really asking for more Adventure Time. I love the show, but it had run its course, and it felt like the right time to say goodbye. The format lends itself to a near-infinite number of stories, but I was content to see it go out strong, and reacted to the news of this revival/extension/whatever with some trepidation.

But I loved this! BMO continues to be a fun and adorable part of the show and giving him his very own extended special brings that cuteness and comedy to the fore. The show gets that BMO is basically a little kid playing dress up, but one whose heart is in the right place. There’s hints that BMO knows or fears the fact that he’s just playacting, but he’s also remarkably capable and brave (albeit a little foolhardy), which makes the little adora-bot admirable.

What starts out as a simple pretend game of being a cowboy turns into BMO becoming the sheriff of “The Drift”, a space station with multiple creatures, communities, and pods within it that’s trying to get by. The new setting allows the show to include plenty of neat new character designs and environments, always one of the show’s strengths. And it opens up the sandbox to the series’s improvisational bent, with winged crabs and fireworks races against time and strange jungle flora and fauna.

But it also tells a pretty compelling story. Much of it centers on Y5, the anthropologist-aspiring bunny who finds BMO and slowly but surely becomes inspired by the little robot’s altruism. In The Drift, everyone is focused on moving up the chain and fixated on what can be made useful. Y5 doesn’t feel that in her heart, but receives constant pressure from her parents and the community in which she lives to process the world through that lens.

And yet, when she becomes BMO’s deputy, she sees someone who’s willing to help people even if it results in no personal gain for our favorite bot. It’s something Y5 clearly felt, but never could articulate or pursue because it’s behavior she’d never seen modeled. There’s a great arc for her here, one that’s really beneficial to kids, about knowing what’s right and good and following that even when the world seems to be pointed in a different direction. Her not only following her conscience to save her friend, but helping to expose the conspiracy of The Drift and earn her parents’ respect, is a really heartening character story.

There’s also what feels like a climate change allegory and capitalist critique here, buried in the show’s imaginative wonderland, but no less potent, which is interesting. The seemingly benevolent Hugo, who’s apparently in charge of The Drift, is offering products to The Drift’s residents and claims to be researching to improve their lives, but is really just trying to extract the best resources from the space station so he can use it to the benefit of himself and his inner circle.

He gets away, but exposing him is Y5’s great triumph, and it bolsters her esteem with her parents and her community. In the end, she talks about having to be careful with those resources and organize how to share them, which the episode seems to posit as a more beneficial and communal way to do it. The alternative is especially strong when we learn that Hugo was part of an escape colony from Earth during the mushroom war, who’s always been focused on what benefits him and not those around him.

There’s other nice touches throughout. We see a mysterious “Mr. M” who, by dint of his voice, outfit, and personality, seems very likely to be Finn’s dad. Olive, the protective, shape-shifting repair droid is a visual treat, and her connection with BMO adds to the warm-hearted sensibility of the hour. There’s also the crazy twist that this is a prequel, and a prelude to BMO first meeting Finn, rather than a sequel!

But on the whole, it’s just enjoyable to get to spend some more time with BMO and his little kid sensibilities and courage caught up in this crazy world. I don’t know that I really needed more of Adventure Time, but if it turns out like this, I’m happy to have it anyway.

[8.0/10] The strange thing about “BMO” is that I wasn’t really asking for more Adventure Time. I love the show, but it had run its course, and it felt like the right time to say goodbye. The format lends itself to a near-infinite number of stories, but I was content to see it go out strong, and reacted to the news of this revival/extension/whatever with some trepidation.

But I loved this! BMO continues to be a fun and adorable part of the show and giving him his very own extended special brings that cuteness and comedy to the fore. The show gets that BMO is basically a little kid playing dress up, but one whose heart is in the right place. There’s hints that BMO knows or fears the fact that he’s just playacting, but he’s also remarkably capable and brave (albeit a little foolhardy), which makes the little adora-bot admirable.

What starts out as a simple pretend game of being a cowboy turns into BMO becoming the sheriff of “The Drift”, a space station with multiple creatures, communities, and pods within it that’s trying to get by. The new setting allows the show to include plenty of neat new character designs and environments, always one of the show’s strengths. And it opens up the sandbox to the series’s improvisational bent, with winged crabs and fireworks races against time and strange jungle flora and fauna.

But it also tells a pretty compelling story. Much of it centers on Y5, the anthropologist-aspiring bunny who finds BMO and slowly but surely becomes inspired by the little robot’s altruism. In The Drift, everyone is focused on moving up the chain and fixated on what can be made useful. Y5 doesn’t feel that in her heart, but receives constant pressure from her parents and the community in which she lives to process the world through that lens.

And yet, when she becomes BMO’s deputy, she sees someone who’s willing to help people even if it results in no personal gain for our favorite bot. It’s something Y5 clearly felt, but never could articulate or pursue because it’s behavior she’d never seen modeled. There’s a great arc for her here, one that’s really beneficial to kids, about knowing what’s right and good and following that even when the world seems to be pointed in a different direction. Her not only following her conscience to save her friend, but helping to expose the conspiracy of The Drift and earn her parents’ respect, is a really heartening character story.

There’s also what feels like a climate change allegory and capitalist critique here, buried in the show’s imaginative wonderland, but no less potent, which is interesting. The seemingly benevolent Hugo, who’s apparently in charge of The Drift, is offering products to The Drift’s residents and claims to be researching to improve their lives, but is really just trying to extract the best resources from the space station so he can use it to the benefit of himself and his inner circle.

He gets away, but exposing him is Y5’s great triumph, and it bolsters her esteem with her parents and her community. In the end, she talks about having to be careful with those resources and organize how to share them, which the episode seems to posit as a more beneficial and communal way to do it. The alternative is especially strong when we learn that Hugo was part of an escape colony from Earth during the mushroom war, who’s always been focused on what benefits him and not those around him.

There’s other nice touches throughout. We see a mysterious “Mr. M” who, by dint of his voice, outfit, and personality, seems very likely to be Finn’s dad. Olive, the protective, shape-shifting repair droid is a visual treat, and her connection with BMO adds to the warm-hearted sensibility of the hour. There’s also the crazy twist that this is a prequel, and a prelude to BMO first meeting Finn, rather than a sequel!

But on the whole, it’s just enjoyable to get to spend some more time with BMO and his little kid sensibilities and courage caught up in this crazy world. I don’t know that I really needed more of Adventure Time, but if it turns out like this, I’m happy to have it anyway.