[7.1/10] Oh man, it’s really hard to judge this one. On the one hand, it was super disjointed, felt like it had tons of villains thrown in haphazardly without explanation or setup, and delved into some random and rapid jumps between scenes and stories and states of mind. It made for a less-than-satisfying watching experience.
On the other hand, that is often how dreams work, and what they feel like, so while it wasn’t necessarily the most enjoyable twenty-two minutes I’ve ever spent watching T.V., I appreciate the ambition and commitment to the show’s effort to create a dream world for Spider-Man, and give it the feel and rhythm of dreams and not just a do-over.
That said, they telegraphed the “it was all a dream” thing pretty hard. For one thing, they moved the plot in major ways that shows just don’t do all at once like that. Peter revealing his secret identity to MJ was a dead giveaway, and if that weren’t enough, MJ dying sealed the deal that this was some form of “What If” and not something really happening.
(And hey, after the 1990s Spider-Man show pulled a similar trick, I have to point out that it’s really really not cool for Spider-Man to knock Mary Jane off a building without her permission, even if he thinks he can catch her. As I said when MJ tried the same thing herself in the 90s series, “What the hell was your back-up plan there?”)
But I did appreciate the show using “double-dipping” and even some vaguely suggestive confrontation of Peter by MJ and Indie in his dream to suggest that he’s guilty and torn about having feelings for both of them.
The villain plot is a little eh and a little circuitous. (As an aside, are the “twins” supposed to be Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, or new characters, or someone else I don’t know?) They get roped into the lumpy feeling of this episode (replete with a Michael Dorn-voiced Kraven we’ve never seen before who’s treated like someone/something familiar). Convincing Spider-Man to get revenge of Kraven for killing the twins’ parents is interesting enough, but we rush through the whole MJ dying and Peter getting angry about it deal to where even a vocal cameo from Stan Lee isn’t enough for me to be emotionally invested in his vengeance quest.
Overall, there’s a lot of ambition here, which I always appreciate, and some genuinely interesting and clever ideas, but the execution leaves something to be desired.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2018-08-06T02:16:07Z
[7.1/10] Oh man, it’s really hard to judge this one. On the one hand, it was super disjointed, felt like it had tons of villains thrown in haphazardly without explanation or setup, and delved into some random and rapid jumps between scenes and stories and states of mind. It made for a less-than-satisfying watching experience.
On the other hand, that is often how dreams work, and what they feel like, so while it wasn’t necessarily the most enjoyable twenty-two minutes I’ve ever spent watching T.V., I appreciate the ambition and commitment to the show’s effort to create a dream world for Spider-Man, and give it the feel and rhythm of dreams and not just a do-over.
That said, they telegraphed the “it was all a dream” thing pretty hard. For one thing, they moved the plot in major ways that shows just don’t do all at once like that. Peter revealing his secret identity to MJ was a dead giveaway, and if that weren’t enough, MJ dying sealed the deal that this was some form of “What If” and not something really happening.
(And hey, after the 1990s Spider-Man show pulled a similar trick, I have to point out that it’s really really not cool for Spider-Man to knock Mary Jane off a building without her permission, even if he thinks he can catch her. As I said when MJ tried the same thing herself in the 90s series, “What the hell was your back-up plan there?”)
But I did appreciate the show using “double-dipping” and even some vaguely suggestive confrontation of Peter by MJ and Indie in his dream to suggest that he’s guilty and torn about having feelings for both of them.
The villain plot is a little eh and a little circuitous. (As an aside, are the “twins” supposed to be Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, or new characters, or someone else I don’t know?) They get roped into the lumpy feeling of this episode (replete with a Michael Dorn-voiced Kraven we’ve never seen before who’s treated like someone/something familiar). Convincing Spider-Man to get revenge of Kraven for killing the twins’ parents is interesting enough, but we rush through the whole MJ dying and Peter getting angry about it deal to where even a vocal cameo from Stan Lee isn’t enough for me to be emotionally invested in his vengeance quest.
Overall, there’s a lot of ambition here, which I always appreciate, and some genuinely interesting and clever ideas, but the execution leaves something to be desired.