Sonic Boom, Episode 1.43: Fire in a Crowded Workshop

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.43: Fire in a Crowded Workshop

Original Air Date: September 12th, 2015

1950 saw the release of Japanese director Akita Kurosawa's film, "Rashomon," in its home country. Though popular at the native box office, Japanese critics were largely unimpressed with the movie. The following year, it played at the Venice Film Festival, where critics and other filmmakers were wowed by the movie. "Rashomon" would go on to become a critical hit with international audiences, becoming the first winner in the foreign language film category at the Oscars. Not only did the movie establish the global careers of Kurosawa and star Toshiro Mifune, it largely opened the gates for Japanese cinema to be taken seriously all around the world. Today, "Rashomon" is regarded as one of the greatest films of all time. 

Perhaps the film owes its popularity and success to the universal theme present in its story: the inherent subjectivity of the truth. "Rashomon" is about the murder of a samurai and the assault of his wife, as recounted by three different people. Each person gives their own version of events, coming to different conclusions and presenting themselves as the real victim in each telling. The movie presents all three recollections, leaving it up for the viewer to decide what really happen. The film is a great testament to the malleability of human memory, how our own emotions and ego influence our perception of events. 

Why am I talking about classic Japanese cinema on my "Sonic the Hedgehog" blog? That's because "Rashomon's" structure – an event told from the perspective of different people, each recollecting different outcomes – has become a stock story type across all media. The same set-up has been used in countless TV episodes, comics, movies, and plays. There's even an understood sociological phenomenon called "The Rashomon Effect." It's especially common in sitcoms, who often tack a definitive telling of events on at the end. This isn't even the first time I've brought this up, as there's a classic Archie "Sonic" story that does the same thing. So it should come as no surprise that "Sonic Boom" would put their own spin on this classic structure, with typically irreverent result. 

Which brings us to the plot synopsis for "Fire in a Crowded Workshop." Tails arrives at his workshop to see Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and a new girl named Perci covered in soot and ash. The workshop is in disrepair from a fire. Each person presents their own version how they arrived at this point, their own egos served by each rendition. The general facts are: After leaving Meh Burger, the trio came across Perci, who had fallen off her bike and hurt her arm. The parts of the broken bike splattered into a puddle and splashed Perci's scarf with mud. They returned to Tails' workshop, where Sonic attempted to fix the bike with a blowtorch, while Knuckles washed the scarf and Amy tended to Perci's wounds. A pillow might have been involved. The fire was either caused by Knuckles putting the scarf in an industrial strength kiln, Amy dropping a heating pad onto some old newspapers, or Sonic leaving his torch unattended. Tails attempts to uncover the truth. 

What makes the "Rashomon" premise so mutable is that it allows a story with an ensemble cast to explore each character's perception of themselves and their perception of their friends. It's popular on sitcoms especially because each telling can usually be exaggerated for comedic effect. We see this keenly in "Fire in a Crowded Workshop." Sonic's tale – which the episode launches right into, so as to squeeze as much into its eleven minute runtime as possible – begins with Amy flying into an unreasonable rage at Meh Burger. Later, in one of the episode's funniest moments, she scolds Perci on proper bicycle safety. Perci is immediately impressed with Sonic. Knuckles is a total idiot who is entirely dependent on Sonic's care. 

This reflects Sonic's perception of himself as a super cool ladies' man who is there to protect his friends. Knuckles is too much of a simpleton – Sonic even calls him that – to function without him. Amy is an oppressive sourpuss without Sonic there to balance her out. Being a protector is admirable though it also causes Sonic to have an ego, which is why he remembers Perci catching the vapors upon meeting him. It's also pretty funny to see Knuckles as a subservient dum-dum and Amy as an overly emotional, perpetual buzzkill. Hearing the cast deliver such precise, absurd dialogue adds to the amusement. 

"Boom" has already established Knuckles as prone to exaggerated recounting of events, as a childish buffoon with a very strange perception of reality. This means his segment is when "Fire in a Crowded Workshop" gets nutty. It's surprising how much comedic value there is in Knuckles talking as a self-assured authority on everything. It's especially amusing when contrasted with Sonic as a whining, wimpy manlet who is always trying to be as impressive as his mentor, Knuckles. The script is very strong here and really bites into some goofy dialogue, Knuckles' version of what he thinks smart people sound like. The more deranged the recollection grows – the way the fire is put out is especially amusing – the better this version gets. 

Amy is alternatively depicted as a buzz kill or an idiot in the previous flashbacks but her own memory is equally unflattering. She imagines Perci as a floozy with a Southern Belle accent, who either intentionally seduces the brain-dead men in order to get them to complete tasks for her or lacks the initiative to do these things herself. This positions Amy as a woman with who perceive other women as inferior because they rely on men or as rivals for her romantic interests. She even calls Perci, who is a perfectly reasonable and nice person throughout, a "wicked siren" with a "damsel-in-distress act." Damn, Amy, maybe dial back the internalized misogyny a bit. 

And speaking of Perci! The episode seems to position her recollection of events as the objective truth. Yet even her telling seems to favor her as the hero of this story. The bike injury was just a minor scrape, not a big deal. She could've fixed it herself, if she had some tools. The guys rush around trying to impress her, which Perci seems totally neutral about, while Amy negs her as not a self-reliant woman. I guess the only reason we don't know whether this reflects the actual events or is Perci's own prejudices clouding her memory is because we don't know Perci at all. Aside from a few cameos, this is essentially her first appearance in the show. 

So that weakens the end of "Fire in a Crowded Workshop." Maybe some security camera footage that showed an unjudging eye of what happened would've been the best conclusion. (The aforementioned Archie story did something similar.) Especially since there's a clever little twist mere minutes before the end that removes all wrongdoing from everyone. I wouldn't expect a kids cartoon to do a Kurosawa style embracing of ambiguity but I still think the way it presents what I assume to be the "truth" could've been handled a little better. Having said that, I do think the very final scene of this episode is absolutely adorable. 

But let's talk about Perci a little more. Of the minor characters exclusive to the "Boom" setting, she's definitely the most popular. This might be because she was the most prominent NPC in "Rise of Lyric." Yet I think her likable design probably has more to do with. The oversized shit-kicking boots and patched-up blue jeans she wears gives the impression of a tomboy. Yet her bangs and the ribbon in her hair add an undeniable feminine quality too. Plus she has an exposed midriff and smoky eyes. Since Rouge was never in "Boom," that makes Perci the closest thing the show had to a "sexy" female character. And it doesn't hurt that she has certain superficial similarities to Julie-Su and Mina. (And she looks as much like a bandicoot as those two do an echidna and a mongoose.) I like her too and would've liked to have seen more of her. 

By the way, Sticks appears briefly in each segment, spouting off a different conspiracy theory just for one of her friends to say she's "actually very nice." In Perci's version of events, she just screams incoherently. It would've been funnier to me if Sticks' rant was the same in each memory, her craziness being the one event everyone can agree on. I mean, I guess that's still the intended message of this running gag. I suppose each changing ramble from Sticks also reflects the teller's persona, as Amy's memory puts some libertarian insanity in Sticks' mouth about our "tax dollars benefiting others." That made me chuckle. 

Nevertheless, this episode is quite funny. It's definitely the sharpest episode Natalys Raut-Sieuzac has written herself, full of the clever dialogue and keen understanding of the cast members that were lacking in her previous scripts. If nothing else, this one feels more fully formed than a lot of episodes. These eleven minutes are packed. It all adds up to a pretty good episode that would've been one of the series' all-time best with just a few minor adjustments. [8/10]