Sonic Boom, Episode 2.16: Knine-to-Five Knuckles

Sonic Boom, Episode 2.16: Knine-to-Five Knuckles

Original Air Date: February 25th, 2017

I've always had mixed feelings about those sitcom episodes that start in one totally different place in order to set-up a barely related scenario, the premise that actually drives the block of the episode. Late-era "Simpsons" was especially guilty of this. However, the episode being so short allows "Sonic Boom" to get away with this a little more. You can't really stop and ask yourself "How the hell did we get from Point A to Point B?" when the whole thing goes by in only ten minutes. This is exactly what "Knine-to-Five Knuckles" does, beginning with the gang attending a recording of Comedy Chimp's show. This beginning is unrelated to the main point of the episode, which is forcing the big-on-brawn but short-on-brains echidna into the work force. How did we ramble from that start to that ending? Well...

At the taping, Knuckles discovers he's the lucky audience member to have a prize under his seat: A shitty green lamp. Knuckles is immediately enamored of the home décor but quickly realizes he must have a home to display aforementioned décor. That's when T.W. Barker steps in and quickly convinces the easily gullible echidna to sign a contract for a crumbling home. But a lamp won't work unless you have electricity to power it. And so he goes job-hunting, eventually ending up working as a designer for an ad agency. Yet this isn't enough to cover the expenses of home ownership, which Barker enforces with mobster-like intensity. Now, Knuckles has to get a second job at Meh Burger just to cover the bills. This really gets in the way of his prior responsibility as a superhero and he has trouble juggling his three jobs. 

I love to impose a left-wing subtext on "Sonic the Hedgehog" media even (Especially!) when it's most probably not there. Yet the cynicism "Boom" displays about social structures makes it a little easier to approach from this angle. Yes, "Knine-to-Five Knuckles" is an episode about everyone's favorite monotreme becoming a wage slave. This happens due to the absurd mounting costs of home ownership. It's something most of us have to grapple with. I mean, not me. I'm a millennial, I'm never going to own a home. But you don't really expect a "Sonic" cartoon to deal with such a heavy topic. Granted, the show doesn't get into the factors that lead us all to be crushed under the wheels of capitalism. However, depicting Barker as a predatory real estate agent tricking gullible clients into signing deceptive loans, which he then uses violence to enforce, it's still a pretty damning statement for a kids show to make about a standard part of life. That's sort of like the "Kung-Fu Panda" randomly devoting an episode to gerrymandering or something. "Boom'" irrelevance allowed it to get away with all sorts of weird shit. 

Not that "Knine-to-Five Knuckles" is especially sharp as social satire. Knuckles does luck his way into a job in the arts industry, which seems unlikely. Usually, you have to be the boss' cousin or Lena Dunham or something to end up in a situation like that. The earlier scene of him being an idiot as a grocery store stooge seems far more probable. Then again, even a cushy gig like that not being enough to cover standard bills, forcing him to get a second fast food gig, is also a quite dark observation for a cartoon designed to sell a video game to make. But, yeah, this set-up exists more to get Knuckles into a typical sitcom-esque bits of tomfoolery. Like annoying his stuck-up co-workers at the ad agency or being demeaned by Dave at Meh Burger. 

The climax sees him juggle all three of his responsibilities at the same time, while trying not to alert his different set of coworkers. That's some classic, "Three's Company" style japery there. Knuckles being a buffoon allows the joke to go even further, the echidna mixing up his various duties. Such as handing Eggman fries or suplexing a co-worker from the ad agency into a soda fountain. It's all very silly but, honestly, the mounting absurdity works for me. Considering Knuckles is the silliest character on this show, sticking him in such a hacky premise works better than it would with Sonic or Tails. Those two would probably just explain the situation calmly. Knuckles is too dumb for that and so he has to follow this ridiculous premise through to the end.

"Boom" being "Boom," it sneaks in quite a few other jokes in-between these wackier sequences. Some of which are poking fun at the very audience watching this program. Sonic and the others having epic, off-screen battles with Eggman while Knuckles is at his boring desk job is almost certainly a jab at fans demanding more action from this show. In case you missed that intent, Sticks looks right into the camera and badgers the audience for following Knuckles' perspective instead. Not to mention Tails' very specific description of the fight featuring "new minions and classic favorites from years past" makes it clear this is drawing attention to the show ignoring fan favorite instincts in favor of wacky bullshit. There's also a moment where Barker says Knuckles is "a little short" and the echidna responses "that's not what the fan says." I'm assuming this is a jab at people complaining about the "Boom" version of Knuckles being so much taller than his usual depictions and not a dirty joke about fan art giving Knux a colossal schlong. Then again, this episode features an edgy joke about Dave making Knuckles clean up what he hopes is "a chunky milkshake," so maybe this show isn't beyond cock jokes. 

Overall, Benoit Grenier's script packs in enough goofy nonsense to keep me entertained. I mean, Knuckles being devoted to a lime green lamp is the impetus for this whole scenario and that's a good silly gag. So are little bits about chicken fingers in a suitcase or Sticks' circadian rhythms. The episode ends not with Knuckles solving his own problems but with Amy flying into a rage at Barker, intimidating him into backing out of the predatory deal he's stuck her friend in. Normally, I would accuse an ending like this of being bad writing. Knuckles untangling the mess he made, logic dictates, would be a more satisfying ending. Yet this show so rarely gives Amy an unexpected joke that having her just go aggro on a minor villain and threaten to beat the shit out of him made me laugh. Comedy can get away with breaking the rules writing is supposed to have if it's funny enough. And I think this is. 

One assumes that the lack of action scenes made this a cheaper episode to produce. Another indicator of this one's cost-saving measures is just how many pre-established characters it uses. Instead of introducing a new thug to trick Knuckles into buying a run-down shed, they just have T.W. Barker and his burly bears do it. Instead of giving Knuckles some new co-workers at his day job, they just reuse Gunther and Diane Aardvark from "Fortress of Squalitude." (Though Gunther seems to have dyed his fur from baby shit yellow to an equally hideous maroon.) The episode sticks Fastidious Beaver, Leeroy the Turtle, into bit parts and fills Comedy Chimp's audience with a bunch of familiar faces. Even the musical guest on the show seems to be a recolor of Swifty the Shrew. You could criticize this as an element that makes the show seem cheaper but, honestly, I think it makes "Boom's" village seen like more of a real community. Of course you're going to see the same people popping up in such a small town. 

All things considered, it's not a great episode or anything but, considering how many weird jokes and unexpected moments it sneaks into fifteen minutes, I'm going to give it a positive score. It's not like any other piece of "Sonic" media is wildly mixing together the mundane and the wacky with this much free-wheeling energy. Even if that lamp is pretty ugly. Seriously, Knuckles, couldn't you have picked a color that at least pairs well with your fur? [7/10]