Sonic Boom, Episode 2.07: I Can Sea Sonic's Fear from Here

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.07: I Can Sea Sonic's Fear from Here

Original Air Date: December 24th, 2016

After another humiliating defeat, the seventh episode of "Sonic Boom's" second season has Eggman coming to the same conclusion I did last time: Maybe he should take advantage of Sonic's fear of the water and inability to swim. He soon cooks up a submarine that can cause devastating tidal waves. As soon as Sonic realizes this plan occurs underwater, he becomes apprehensive. Some coaching from Soar the Eagle and Tails inventing fancy wet-suits gives Sonic the courage to face his fears... But he still must face them, which proves easier said than done. 

Since this blog is named after Sonic's lack of swimming skills, I can't help but be interested in how this particular character trait has evolved. Early "Sonic" tie-in media always depicted the blue hedgehog as being a very able swimmer. He does just fine underwater in several issues of Archie "Sonic," "SatAM," and "AoStH." Fidelity to the games, where Sonic definitely can't swim, was less valued in those days. Of course, the games never had Sonic being afraid of water either. He was wading through underwater ruins from the very beginning of the Genesis days, nary a sign of fear on his face. Even the later Dreamcast games, which went so far as to give Sonic a major enemy made of water, never commented on his aversion to the wet stuff much. It was just a gameplay mechanic, not a personality quirk.

Japanese media seemed more aware of Sonic's trademark lack of swimminess but still never depicted it as full-blown hydrophobia. He almost drowns in the OVA but is still effortlessly running around the ocean earlier. As far as I can tell – unless there's an earlier manga or Fleetway issue that gets into it – the "hedgehogs can't swim" element of Sonic would graduate to an actual fear in "Sonic Underground." After that "Sonic X" would show the hedgehog as nervous around water multiple times. I'm betting that's when it really became a defining characteristic of his personality, being built into an actual phobia here and later referenced in the live-action movies and "Prime." 

It's easy to see why Sonic being actually terrified of water is something writers would return to. On land, Sonic is just about unstoppable. By the time of "X" and "Boom," Sonic's superpowers had escalated to the point where he could destroy massive doom machines with ease. Giving such an overpowered hero a major weakness evens the playing ground a little. Having deep bodies of water be the blue hedgehog's Kryptonite, David Dunn style, is fine by me. Hell, the fact that "Boom" is set on an island means it could even be a reoccurring element, though I doubt it will be. 

Since "Boom" is a sitcom, it also provides lots of comedic potential. Seeing Sonic, often a cocky braggart, reduced to a panicking scaredy pants is worth a few chuckles. His friends' confusion when he starts stalling after Eggman reveals his evil plan is a good moment. As is his actions after sneaking to the bottom of the seabed. This is probably best utilized during a moment where he pops an inner tube with his quills, even if Soar the Eagle's role in this episode is largely unnecessary. Sonic's phobia builds up to an amusing non-revelation of the final scene. 

This is also, surprisingly, one of the more action-oriented episodes of "Boom" I've seen in a while. Eggman's plot to generate a devastating tidal wave is mostly played straight. It's a serious threat, with real stakes, and the heroes respond accordingly. There's even a pretty cool moment where Sonic's oxygen tube is cut, forcing Tails and Sticks to think fast. She grabs a coolant tube off Tails' plane and dive into the water, swapping it out with Sonic's cut tube. That's such a neat, dynamic moment that it easily would've fit into any of the other, more action-y "Sonic" cartoons. 

Yet this is still a comedy cartoon. By far the funniest moment here is when Amy and Sonic attempt to fight some Badniks underwater, discovering the different terrain greatly effects their abilities. That's a hell of a gag, though the montage where Prbot and Cubot rock some hair metal wigs and letters comes close to topping it. Sticks also gets some good one-liners. I especially liked her comment about sea people. Knuckles also gets a great one-liner about the kids at the community pool that I really didn't expect. 

As I've come to expect from the episodes both written and directed by Natalys Raut-Sieuzac, some of the jokes here are a bit awkward. Knuckles comparing himself to a penguin is a gag extended way too far. A sequence where an octopus falls on Tails' head is pretty stiff. In general, there's just a few too many stuffy one-liners here that don't quite work. Still, this is a decently funny episode with a solid premise. I feel like I almost have to give a positive score to a whole eleven minutes devoted to how hedgehogs can't swim. [7/10]