Try your damnedest to get into the mindset of someone who has been casually binging this show, not knowing about the series production or anything. You've just reached this episode that starts with the return of Inspector Seven from "Tutorial Mode" and all the primary glitch techs assigned to play a social deduction game called "Find the Glitch" (connections are most frequently made to Among Us, but this type of game has been pretty popular since 1986's Mafia). At first, it looks pretty cool, with some really fun banter going on between the techs and even the possibility being brought up that maybe their goal is more than just a mere game. But then after BITT addresses how their gauntlets have logs of their missions, we get clips of past episodes that don't just flash by for reference sake, they montage through them for minutes at a time. It finally sets in by the theme song that this is a clip show. 16 episodes in of a 20 episode series. How embarrassing.
This is probably one of the biggest indicators that, while I believe it being released on Netflix was for the best (especially long-term), this show was clearly not made with streaming in mind. This might've been able to pass on cable, especially on a network that probably wasn't going to run it much anyway given their history, but on something like Netflix it feels redundant beyond belief. And it doesn't help that, because of the limited number of episodes to choose from, most people's response to watching some of these is just major deja vu, as a lot of footage is played from the last two episodes alone. They do attempt to mix things up every now and then, particularly when around the middle they turn everything into a YouTube Poop or a sort of dubstep remix, so I give them credit for trying to make something humorous out of it. You can certainly tell the editors had way too much here. But even those attempts get kind of lost under the more straightforward montages anyway.
To its credit, this episode does still try to make a point, and it actually manages to weave pretty well with the clip-heavy nature of the episode. At some point, Mitch derails everyone having fun with the clips to point out how Miko has been the key player insinuating these, adding on her causing a bunch of mishaps and several more of her suspiciously impressive abilities (of course accompanied by clips of her), particularly her immunity from memory erasure, suggesting she's the glitch in the group. This has definitely become a well-known fan theory, partly because of this episode suggesting the idea, but before she could get unanimously accused, Five sticks by her side insisting that even if she is a glitch, it doesn't matter because she's his partner and their friend. It proves surprisingly moving, partly thanks to how it's paced and scored, and partly from co-creator Dan Milano's unmatched grasp on the characters.
Speaking of Dan, he has stated that the reason this episode exists is because of a conflict regarding the animation resources. I've mentioned many times that Studio 100 animated the majority of the season before Top Draw, who previously did secondary and cleanup work, had to be used for the remainder. When this happened, the crew didn't want to be too much of a burden on Top Draw, and they had a schedule to keep, so they figured this was the best reasonable solution. So it's definitely hard for me to blame anyone there when you have this fact in mind.
They certainly did the best possible job they could considering the circumstances, and as far as clip shows go, I'll most certainly take this over whatever the heck the Amazing World of Gumball has been doing recently. But at the end of the day, it is still mostly a clip show on a platform that doesn't warrant those and for a series that's rather criminally short at that. And in my opinion, no number of humorous and dramatic twists they sprinkle in can quite escape that fact. Still enjoyed this more than "Ralphie Bear is Back" though.
I like how, for a second at the beginning, you see the employees just casually having fun or shooting the breeze. Dunno what the "10 pt" graphic is for though.
I'm noticing more and more that they really loved giving Phil these dynamic, dramatic closeups. Not that I'm complaining.
We actually get to see how much data each tech has stored in their gauntlets. Make whatever observations you want out of these. I personally find it pretty surprising that Bergy has much more than Nix and Zahra. I think we can all agree, however, that Mitch having that much more than the others is hilarious.
That's a way stronger drawing on the right than they had any reason to include for such a throwaway bit of exposition.
The interactions between everyone in this scene as they keep calling sus on each other is so charming and natural. Makes me wish the entire episode was just devoted to this.
Most of the clip montages are broken up by these little chibis, not unlike what you saw when the Legend of Korra had their clip show. Not at all a bad way to transition between these, and some like the Miko one are pretty dang adorable.
Don't know why not laughing at fart jokes is what made Haneesh sus, but it makes for another fun exchange before things get more serious for them. Zehra's vocal delivery is incredible here, too.
I didn't point this out earlier, but there are also plot-holes in a few of the clips presented. Like, the "car in my phone" bit is played in full, and despite having Zahra remark in-present "...Yeah, I don't like this game", Five doesn't comment on the fact Zahra has feelings for him at all.
Probably my favorite way they mix up the clips is when they make a cheesy sitcom opening out of them. The song they play sounds exactly like Full House or something, and the way they weave these equally cheesy graphics overtop character footage is the cherry on top. It's made even better when they list BITT "as himself" and how they almost forget about Nix. Apt, given how the series itself seemed to forget about him for 9 episodes.
Don't ask.
This is the most chibis onscreen at any given point, realizing after a Five montage that he's too sweet to be the glitch. Aww...
Miko defending herself and Five being torn over whether or not he can bring himself to agree is unbelievably well directed. Look at how utterly scared Miko is over the possibility of being turned in. While there doesn't seem to be anything actually at stake, she gains all the sympathy here.
Brad Barrett deserves all the props for this music track in particular. It hits all the right notes for such a resolution: the intrigue, the relaxation, the heart... This scene alone manages to elevate the entire episode above mediocrity in my opinion.
The reveal that it was this little creature gumming the works is pretty weak, but eh.
Not only does Mitch take a second to genuinely apologize to Miko (not even backstabbing, like he did in BUDS), but she takes the moment to revel in how he previously noted her 'off the charts' gaming skills. She even gives a little 'boosh' for good measure. Man, does Dan know how to write these guys.
Kind of a weird ambiguous note to end on, as Inspector Seven humors the idea of a glitch living among and fooling everyone, only to ominously leave while claiming 'anything's possible'. Yet another interesting plot point we won't be able to see followed up on because of the series being cut short. Sigh.
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