“ The End Of Muscle Man”
A-
Muscle Man leaves this world out on a metaphor
The evolution of Muscle Man has truly been a pleasant to watch. For someone who was despised by Mordecai and Rigby in earlier episodes has become to be a fellow bro with them that they genuinely care for and like. The greatest part about this character is the he always been a cool dude, it is just that the boys never took the time to realize it. Episodes like “Mentor Muscle” and “My Mom” shows the complexities of Mitch. Although he comes off as an obnoxious prankster he is also a responsible hard worker who very much enjoys the company of our protagonists. At the end of the day after all the craziness the park entails it is nice to know that all the employees got your back. The End of Muscle Man exemplifies this point by the lengths his friends are willing to go in order for Muscle man to have one last good day on earth.
Honestly, who truly touched me the most out of this episode was Benson. He really took the reins to make sure everything on Mitch’s bucket list gets checked off. Even if it means taking out that wallet again and again to cover the insurance that is Muscle man. His sentiment is fully realized at the emotional speech given at dinner honoring his friend. It is a nice reminder of how great a guy Benson is. Though barely seen out of his work persona, this episode showcases that his job truly does not define his character. There was also no conflict between any of the character in this plot. As soon as the skepticism of the death of Muscle man is shattered there are no more questions asked. It shows the unity of the park in dire times and it is a rather touching one. It also makes the third act reveal a very funny one.
Regular Show rarely does not have a fairly rationale episode where nothing surreal happens but besides death, End of Muscle Man really relies on the relationship between these friends. 158 episodes of Regular Show have been an abstract experience but it has always displayed the bromance between the characters. I just hope next time Benson will not have to blow 12k when Muscle Man dies or maybe I should be more concern if he even shows up.
Cool Things Noticed
1. Congrats Mitch and Starla! I certainly cannot wait for episodes surrounding your wedding.
2. “Where he is going is a place of misery and anguish” I freaking love death.
3. Can you feed pizza to a dolphin?
4. People Missed: No Thomas! Where is that intern at? And Muscle Mans Mom was not in attendance. Maybe he still has not forgiven her for that Halloween prank.
5. Also, apparently I am behind. So I will post two regular shows this week. Hurrah!
Glad to see this one didn't slip through the cracks. I almost missed it myself among the Halloween rush. It was fairly obvious that there was some kind of twist, and I don't think the episode was really trying to convince us that Muscle Man was actually dying. I never would have expected it to go the way it did though, a shocking twist in the best possible way. The most important part of this episode was not the possibility of Muscle Man actually dying, but demonstrating just how much he's grown as a character and been accepted by the other park members.
ReplyDeleteBenson's reaction to the prospect of Muscle Man's passing was what got to me the most as well. Aside from Skips, he's Benson's most dependable worker. Hence why Benson gave him the Manly Manhug of Manliness instead of the high five everyone else was getting. He's kind of become everything Mordecai and Rigby could be as employees: dependable while on the job but completely devoted to slacking off when he's off the clock. "Muscle Mentor" is a great pick to exemplify this; he's gone from just a two-dimensional antagonist to a goal for them to aspire to.
Some random observations of my own:
* It's amusing to me that Death appearing to bring an engagement ring from beyond the grave no longer qualifies as a notable instance of the supernatural.
* Starla's VA is Courtney Taylor, who also played Jack in Mass Effect 2 and 3. Imagining her lines coming out of Jack's mouth is hilarious in ways I can't fully quantify.
Great episode Fives and Benson took the show. Honestly if one did not know the formula of the show Muscle Man looked ready to die. Great episode. And of the course the line of the night.
ReplyDelete"THANKS?!?!? I BLEW 12 GRAND ON YOU TODAY!!!!!!!"
Before watching the episode I saw an image somewhere online of the guys in their white tuxes. From that I did suspect Muscle Man's "end" might refer to his bachelorhood and they were dressed as groomsmen. It's not the first ending I've spoiled for myself, and it probably won't be the last. But it by no means spoiled the episode!
ReplyDeleteI agree that the best part of this one was seeing the closeness and dedication that's been built among the park staff over the years. Warms the heart, it does.
And while the others would've all been well within their rights to stay mad at Muscle Man for this stunt - and Starla to turn him down, even - I was really happy that she accepted and that Hi-Five Ghost saw the "genius" of the proposal. Goes to show why they're best bros.
I loved the Death cameo but was otherwise unimpressed with this episode. I feel like this review and the other comments encouraged me to give it another look.
ReplyDeleteGood eye on the white tuxes! I did not even think about that but that makes perfect sense. I just it was just muscle man going out in style (not that I thought he was going to die but was not expecting a proposal)
ReplyDelete