1x13 The Very Thing

[7.6/10] If there’s one thing I appreciate about the second season of Disenchantment, it’s that the events last season’s finale had consequences. Much of this initial trio of episodes has been about reestablishing the status quo and setting things back to where they were, but the show’s earned that, having parental betrayals, trips to hell and back, and unexpected elf help necessary to make it all happen. It’s nice to see Dreamland back in operation, but it’s even nicer to see the show earning that, and taking the time to show all of its characters getting from where they were to where they are now.

The most interesting element of that is Elfo’s lingering resentments. In truth, Elfo is being a little too rigid here. Bean’s right that she not only had a pretty good justification for choosing to revive her mom, even if it didn’t work out, and that despite that, she herself has more than earned Elfo’s forgiveness by literally going through hell to get him back. That said, all the good justifications in the world don’t necessarily turn around someone’s emotions, and it’s natural and interesting to see how Elfo is still upset about Bean’s choice (even if he’s a little annoying about it).

It’s also nice to see the show exploring Queen Oona a little bit. There’s some good sink/think humor at pay, but I like even better the idea that she’s felt stifled in her role as a monarch and, when she lets herself off the chain, is a pretty incredible pirate. Her wanting her independence and her comically acrimonious return to Dreamland each provide good throughlines for this one.

The best story, though, is arguably the one between Bean and King Zog. The show takes it lightly with Zog’s rock-throwing way, but there’s still something to be said for the idea that he of all people would feel betrayed by his wife and daughter turning on him like this. Bean once again earning forgiveness and going to extremes to set things right is a good look for the character’s evolution. And the scene at the end of Bean knowing “just what her dad needs” in the jester-plummeting department is a nice beat to end on. The relationship between Bean and her dad has been one of the major throughlines for the whole show, so it’s nice to see it get some good airtime here.

Otherwise, the show drops some intriguing new mysteries to help refill the show’s mystery vbox quota after so many things were unveiled on both sides of the season break. The arrival of Leavo, the only elf to have left their collective before RElfo, is an intriguing development, ad his cryptic reveal that there’s something of value to the elves there is one that piqued my interest. Leavo himself is amusing in his dry pirate guise, and there’s promise there, both in Elfo’s adoration of him, and in whatever he’s secretly plotting.

Otherwise, the humor in this one was quite good. Oona’s reign as pirate leader in particular lends itself to good laughs, and Zog’s ridiculous rock tossing earned a few chuckles. (By the way, it turns out that the little guys are Zip and Zap, not Akbar and Jeff, despite the resemblance!) There’s definitely some more straight humor in this one than in the first two episodes of the season, and the show mostly makes good on it.

Overall, this is a nice way for the show to get back to normal (while barely remembering Derek, amusingly enough), but making the journey from tumult to the status quo a rich one.