9.4/10. Another very good episode. Stephanie's been one of the show's more endearing (and for that matter, normal) characters since the first season, so exploring her backstory a bit was a treat for me. Showing a teenage Stephanie having feelings for Kim (Doughy's mom) and realizing that Kim didn't take her affections seriously, but was just using kissing another woman to freak out Rev. Putty/Karl and get attention, is one of those understated bits of sadness that really works with a more subdued character like Stephanie. It works especially well with the sweetness of the "Closeface" song.
But I really like where the show takes it, with Stephanie finding solace and comfort from her dad, and his understanding of unrequited crushes where the other person doesn't really care about you. The fact that the show is still developing these two characters, exploring both their past pains and their more hopeful futures, which involve not letting Orel make the same mistakes, is impressive. And there's something heartwarming about Orel going back to Christina, someone who does care about him, and the two dancing together over Stephanie's song in the end. This is often such a bleak, dark show, but little-by-little, in moments like these or the ones with Joe and Nurse Bendy, there's the faintest glimmer of hope as well, and it feels all the more earned by having to cut through the darkness.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-09-30T17:02:16Z
9.4/10. Another very good episode. Stephanie's been one of the show's more endearing (and for that matter, normal) characters since the first season, so exploring her backstory a bit was a treat for me. Showing a teenage Stephanie having feelings for Kim (Doughy's mom) and realizing that Kim didn't take her affections seriously, but was just using kissing another woman to freak out Rev. Putty/Karl and get attention, is one of those understated bits of sadness that really works with a more subdued character like Stephanie. It works especially well with the sweetness of the "Closeface" song.
But I really like where the show takes it, with Stephanie finding solace and comfort from her dad, and his understanding of unrequited crushes where the other person doesn't really care about you. The fact that the show is still developing these two characters, exploring both their past pains and their more hopeful futures, which involve not letting Orel make the same mistakes, is impressive. And there's something heartwarming about Orel going back to Christina, someone who does care about him, and the two dancing together over Stephanie's song in the end. This is often such a bleak, dark show, but little-by-little, in moments like these or the ones with Joe and Nurse Bendy, there's the faintest glimmer of hope as well, and it feels all the more earned by having to cut through the darkness.