Sonic Boom, Episode 1.41: Bro-Down Showdown

(Sorry I died for two months. Here's a normal update. I'm going to try and get back on schedule now, though I can't make any promises. Thanks to anyone who stuck around during the unexpected hiatus.)

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.41: Bro-Down Showdown

Original Air Date: August 29th, 2015

In the late 2000s and early 2010s, American popular culture was suddenly fascinated with the idea of "bros." Guys had been calling each other bros since at least the early 20th century but apparently the term came into its modern usage – a word a guy calls another guy, usually a close friend -- in the seventies, Wikipedia tells me. The term really took root in the culture thanks to the popularity of surfer dude/metalhead lingo in the eighties and nineties. This is probably where the word gained its association with a certain type of guy: A bro is a man – almost always a young man – who mostly spends time with other men, usually doing activities widely enjoyed by young men. This is understood to include partying, drinking, playing video games, eating large amounts of unhealthy food, doing stupid stunts to impress each other, working out in the gym, and – in keeping with the sexism deeply entrenched within American culture – both excluding women and coveting them as objects of lust and conquest. 

This association, unsurprisingly, led "bro" to have largely negative connotations going into the new millennium. Bros were meat-headed dudes, reveling in their own bro-ness at the expense of everyone else. They thrived in male dominated spaces and were totally disinterested in examining the sexism inherent in those spaces. Yet something strange started to happen as the 2000s wore on. Firstly, peppering your speech with "bro," even using it as an all-purpose exclamation, became a meme. In 2007, a University of Florida student went viral for screaming "Don't tase me, bro!" before getting tased. Combining the word with literally any other word became a full-blown phenomenon by the end of the decade. There was also mystifyingly popular sitcom "How I Meet Your Mother," which featured a womanizing sociopath named Barry Stintson. He inexplicably became the show's breakout character and helped crystallize the idea of what a "bro" was in the public's mind. They even published a book about it.

As the term grew in popularity, so did its meaning. The concept of masculinity has evolved in the last twenty years. While this has meant a rise in reactionary attitudes, reaching its apotheosis in our modern incel problem, it also meant a wider range of ideas of what manhood – and thus man-on-man friendships – entailed. Phrases like "metrosexuals" and "manscaping" we're coined, showing there was room for personal hygiene, grooming, and fashion in the Bro world. Inevitably came the "bromance." This referred to an exceedingly close male friendship, the homoeroticism and borderline romantic underpinning of the bond being built right into the phrase. 

This went manly-hand-in-hand with an embracing of emotional needs. Guys were striving to better understand their feelings, to be emotionally open and vulnerable with each other. Manly tears and manly embraces were now socially accepted and cries of "no homo" faded on the wind. Suddenly, we were all gonna make it, brah. Having bros went from strictly the domain of crass frat boys to something... Cute. Wholesome, even. It was a real brorenaissance. (This led the way for the rise of the modern himbo, a vapidly bro-y bro who, nevertheless, respects the thoughts, feelings, and boundaries of other genders, cultures, and orientations.)

As with all things, the bro-surge of the mid-2000s was quickly commercialized. A bromantic comedy hit theaters in 2009. The idea popped up all over books, magazines, TV, and the internet. By 2016, bro-dom was so widely understood that Geico could build a whole annoying commercial around it. The spirit of the bromance era lives on in "kissing the homies goodnight" memes and the ironic integration of "bruh" into the internet lexicon. Mostly though, the New Age of Broness was largely an overexposed fad by 2015... And that's when the "Sonic Boom" writers, proving once again that they are about five years behind the cultural zeitgeist, decided to build a whole episode around the enduring bro bond between Sonic and Knuckles.

And that is how this rambling introduction finally comes around to the topic at hand: Episode 41 of "Sonic Boom," "Bro-Down Showdown." After winning a trip for her selflessness, Sonic and Knuckles talk a reluctant Amy Rose into house-sitting for her. The guys immediately make a mess of Amy's feminine space, despite her explicit warnings not to. After ruining her fancy coach, they see an advertisement for a game show called "Bro-Down Showdown," in which knowledges of one's best friend is pitted against other duos. The prize is, of course, a coach. Sonic and Knuckles seek to enter but the casting director decides Sonic has better chemistry with Eggman than Knuckles. This forces a wedge between Sonic and Knuckles' bro bond, which the villainous Eggman seeks to take advantage of. 

How bro-ish Sonic and Knuckles' relationship is depends on what “Sonic” media you're consuming. They always end up as allies but the degree to which their initial rivalry turns into a deep friendship varies wildly. In fact, that's even true of individual episodes of “Boom,” where they are sometimes best friends (as depicted here) and, other times, the hedgehog seems to barely tolerate the echidna. Yet even this sort of makes sense within the context of this episode. Brolationships are full of trials and tribulations. Here, Knuckles and Sonic's joyous activities are interrupted after spilling nacho cheese on Amy's couch. As they try and move it outside, things almost get heated. Similarly, once Sonic is placed on a team with Eggman (and does well enough), Knuckles starts to get jealous. Bros are not always great at feelings and, sometimes, emotions can get tangled up as two guys attempt to explore and define their friendships. 

Of course, two dudes being this clingy and emotionally dependent on each other is low-key gay. “Bro-Down Showdown” actually, in its own way, leans into the homoeroticism of dude-on-dude bonding in subtle, amusing ways. Sonic and Knuckles' weekend plans, initially, involve doing dumb-ass stunts in Amy's house. Once they are broken up into rival teams by the game show, Knuckles' actions grow increasingly petty. Yet the bro code is stronger than an engineered conflict on a television show. Eggman attacks with a giant killer robot and Knuckles attempts to fight it off. If Sonic helps him, that'll be interpreted as Sonic fighting his own teammate and disqualify him. While he tries to resist, eventually, Sonic has to come to his best dude's rescue. It's a triumphant reunion, as meaningful as if Sonic had rescued a love interest from the same peril... Assuming Knuckles isn't the love interest here, since Sonic clarifies vehemently that Amy is not his girlfriend mere minutes earlier. The show stops just shy of going even further with it, like a grown-up sitcom happily would have, but it's still funny to see Sonic and Knuckles' hyper-macho dudery go so far in the other direction that it just becomes borderline romantic. 

The idea of basing a whole episode around two males' bro-y bro-ness is a pretty typical sitcom story idea, especially in recent years. How many episodes of “Scrubs” or “Boy Meets World” ran with similar ideas? Similarly, the idea of two slovenly dude-bros house-sitting their prissy female friend's bungalow – so Sonic can enjoy a change of scenery and Knuckles can enjoy cable – is a similarly hacky set-up. Similarly, Amy's unhinged shouting in the first scene – a deliberate contrast to her winning the “Most Selfless” award – feels like a gag out of an underachieving sitcom. Honestly, I like how effortlessly this episode blends typical sitcom writing like this with scenarios that could only happen in a “Sonic” cartoon. Like Sonic spindashing a metal plate into another evil Eggman robot's face. Or the hedgehog surfing along the walls of Amy's hut. 

Stock-parts as some of these jokes and premises might be, “Bro-Down Showdown” still made me laugh a decent amount. There's a number of amusing meta gags in this script, like Knuckles bemoaning that this won't be a “Sonic and Knuckles episode.” Or Comedy Chimp referring to the coach as a “narratively convenient prize.” There's plenty of good ol' fashion silliness here too. Such as Lady Walrus and Dave the Intern being paired together, which results in a silly line about villainy and working in the fast food industry. Eggman and Sonic being forced to work together, another example of their weird friendship, also is a consistent source of laughs in the second half.

Probably among the episode's most unexpected gags is its surprisingly downbeat ending. Spoiler alert for a seven year old cartoon that, if you're reading this, you've probably seen already: Sonic and Knuckles do not win a replacement coach for Amy. With no other options, they... blow up the inside of Amy's house with a missile and blame it on Eggman? The final minute of the episode is devoted to the heroes deferring all responsibility for their actions, Amy being sad that her coach got destroyed, and that pathetic turtle guy falling to his feet and crying. Considering “Sonic Boom” usually reinforces some moral relativism in its story, I'm honestly surprised this cartoon went with a comic non-conclusion so bleak.

“Bro-Down Showdown” is not a top-tier “Boom” episode. Aside from Sonic and Knuckles' relationship, probably the most interesting narrative detail here is the reveal that Eggman wanted to be a traffic cop as a kid. Is that why he's such a control freak now? Yet I was still reasonably amused by this one. I imagine it honestly plays a little better in 2023 than it did in 2015, when jokes about “bros” had been run into the ground. By the way, if JD and I were to go on Bro-Down Showdown, we would absolutely dominate the competition. Collectively, come at us, bros. We can deadlift like 350 together, no problem. [6.5/10]

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.35: Two Good to Be True

Sonic Boom, Episode 1.35: Two Good to Be True

Original Air Date: July 23rd, 2015

Here in the year of our lord, 2022, pop culture is currently obsessed with the multiverse: The idea that there are countless alternate universes out there and every decision we make creates another reality where things went slightly different. Our billion-dollar grossing superhero mega-franchises are going all in on the multiverse premise. Even breakout indie hits are rolling with it. Meanwhile, people on the internet frequently blame false memories on what they've dubbed the Mandela Effect: A belief that we've all subconsciously shifted between realities and have lingering memories of these prior worlds.

I don't think this fascination is accidental. There's no doubt that life has gotten stranger in the last ten years. We've all been gripped with this unavoidable feeling that something went wrong at some point. That order has been disrupted and the world is spiraling into chaos. It's gotten so bad that we all seem to agree that the bad decisions that led us here must be, not just undone, but redone. We all want to wash our hands of the last decade and try it all over again, aware of the mistakes that led us here. This is true for one or two reasons: The human populace is grappling with the inevitable fall-out of late-stage capitalism and the apocalyptic connotations it brings with it. Or CERN unraveled the gravity holding the Prime Universe together back in 2012, when they discovered the Higgs-Boson particle, and has sent us spiraling through increasingly cracked mirror dimensions ever since. You get to choose which of those you believe. 

Anyway, the multiverse is not a new idea. Philosophers have been considering it since the third century. Science fiction, and comic books especially, have run with the idea. That's why the Marvel and DC movies have this rich history of multiverse stories to draw from. Marvel calls it "What If?" and DC calls it "Elseworlds." "Sonic" nerds know, of course, that this series has its share of alternate realities and mirror universes too, with the Archie "Sonic" comics especially exploring the idea. That finally brings this rambling introduction to "Sonic Boom," which did their own spin on the idea of alternate universes and interdimensional doubles with its thirty-fifth episode. 

The punningly entitled "Two Good to Be True" actually begins with a really clever fake-out. The opening scene sees Sonic and the gang fighting Eggman's Octobot on the beach. After Sonic slides on an oil slick and Amy gets tossed backwards by a laser blast, Knuckles flies in on twin hoverboards to save the day. Knux is depicted as a verbose, hyper-confident strategist and fighter, while Sonic is a clumsy goofball. I initially assumed this was one of Knuckles' egocentric fantasies. Especially after he punches the ground so hard, red shockwaves send Eggman flying backwards. The series has indulged Knux's anime inspired imagination before. Instead, this is an alternate universe we are seeing, where Knuckles is brilliant and not a buffoon. A rogue laser blast from Eggman sends this alternate Knuckles to the "Boom" prime 'verse. Shenanigans ensue and Alt Knuckles must be sent home before his presence causes interdimensional consequences.

I referenced "Star Trek" above and that's the show that introduced the idea of a Mirror Universe into the sci-fi mainstream. Initially, "Two Good to Be True" just uses the idea of contrasting Knuckles with a brilliant double of himself for comedy. When Tails wants to build a laser capable of sending him home, Alt Knux instead insists on storming Eggman's fortress for a copy of his laser. At this point, I suspected that was the twist of this episode: Alternate universe Knuckles is smarter and stronger than his prime counterpart but he's also a huge asshole, if not a full-blown villain. This would cause our heroes to learn to appreciate their goofball, dumb-ass Knuckles more. That certainly seems to be what the title is hinting at. Yet the show doesn't quite do that either. Alt Knuckles is more head-strong than aggressive. He's the one who ends up learning a lesson, that sometimes you've got to listen to other people and rely on your friend's instincts more than your own. While I'm always up for an evil copy story, this approach is a little more nuanced. People – and echidnas – aren't strictly good or bad, black or white. We're all a little more complicated than that. 

Honestly, I think this episode could have explored the ramifications of having a second, better Knuckles around some more. At one point, I also suspected the story would go in another direction. That Sonic and his friends would vastly prefer this new Knuckles more than the doofier original, causing the prime universe Knuckles to grow insecure. That doesn't happen either. Instead, both Knuckles start to get sick from being around each other. Both glitch out like faulty television signals, with Prime Knuckles growing so weak he can't pick up a postcard. (Alternate Knuckles' strength doesn't seem to be effected any.) I guess that's what makes this a sitcom first and an action/sci-fi show second. It wants to explore gentle character dynamics and wacky comedy over deeper introspection or far-out ideas. Nevertheless, I do wish the script here delved a little more into how everyone – and Knuckles especially – feels about having a superior clone of himself suddenly around.

These criticisms are all kind of beside the point though. Because "Sonic Boom" is primarily designed to make us laugh and that's exactly what this episode does. Writer Charles-Henri Moarbes – who has mostly worked on toyetic French and Italian cartoons – provides an amusingly dry and absurd script. The minute Alternate Knuckles flickers into existence in the prime universe, Sticks shrieks "Kill it with fire!" Sticks has an amusingly goofy reaction later on to Knuckles starting to blip out of reality too. While most of the Eggman lines in this episode are pretty lame, Sticks' silent but meaningful reaction to something the doctor said really made me giggle. As did her own take on the phenomenon of people walking in the same direction. Her paranoia is so adorable. 

There's at least three instances of amusing, drawn-out silence. Such as when Tails fails to think of an immediate solution to the problem. (Tails gets another really funny line too, when he digresses about the McRib.) Or Sonic nonchalantly knocking on Eggman's door. At the end, when Alt Knux being sent home ends up taking slightly longer than usual. There's some good absurdity here too, in the form of the silly hat Alt Knux is told to wear to distinguish him from his counterpart and a random appearance from Fastidious Beaver. Funny shit. I enjoyed it!

The idea of infinite realities, and infinite versions of ourselves living within, is too vast a premise for a single eleven-minute episode of a cartoon show to explore thoroughly anyway. Considering the new "Sonic" cartoon is jumping on the multiverse band wagon, this franchise should be getting into the guts of that set-up soon enough anyway. "Boom" never brought back Mirror Knuckles but "Prime" will probably have us up to our elbows in alternate Knuckleses soon enough. This episode deciding to just focus on laughs was probably for the best. "Two Good to Be True" has enough fun with the concept, and includes enough amusingly unexpected gags and one-liners, to justify its existence. [7/10]