Obviously, AD heard all of my complaints about episode title length, and decided to treat me to one that's literally just one word. Of course, now it sounds like I'm just here to review sharks, but I'm not opposed to that.
"Shark?!" is about sharks, obviously, why did you need me to tell you that? More specifically, Steve's fear of sharks, which has Stan worried. This is yet another Stan and Steve storyline, but this one worked better than most because Stan is genuinely trying to help his son throughout. He hires Roger, who has an alternate persona as a shark, to stage an attack and force Steve to confront his fears, and it works. But after Steve spends a bit too much time bragging about fighting off the attack, Roger's pride as a vicious shark must be protected, so he rips Steve's arm off. It's a gruesome scene, but one that works extremely well as the brutality of it sets up Steve's storyline for the rest of the episode. Having faced his fears, or so he thought, Steve is legitimately happy and becomes a glutton for danger, getting the s*** beat out of him by Barry and hanging off a bridge using his teeth. It's great to see of Stan's ridiculous ideas actually work, at least to some extent, as Steve is now completely fearless. But it's obvious that Steve has gone off the rails, so Stan reveals that the attack was staged via simultaneous Roger-Rogu vomiting(you had to be there to understand).
Now on a quest to actually face a shark attack, Steve goes all Captain Ahab, heading off with a harpoon and a dream. Unfortunately, he's also terrible at actually fighting a shark, so Stan and Roger make the save. They escape using the water rocket boots that started this whole mess, and head off into the sunset for reasons unclear. There's a genuinely good message in here about the reality of fear, that what Steve was afraid of was actually keeping him safe. There's a difference between the healthy respect of avoiding a man-eating shark and letting fears control actions, and it seems like both Stan and Steve have learned that lesson. Ultimately, this was one of the better storylines for those two characters in a while, one filled with some great twists and jokes along the way.
"Shark?!" gets very silly in the B-plot, as Klaus attempts to woo Hayley's friend Danuta. It's hilarious to see Klaus try and fail to be the charmer he thinks he is, as ultimately his fear catches up to him and he drives her away. This storyline ends in the only way it could, as Klaus accidentally murders scores of people while a guy eating caramel popcorn lectures him on being happy at the county fair. Brilliant.
8/10
Nothing about "Shark?!" feels brand new or revolutionary, but it proves to be a very solid episode that made me laugh quite a few times. I mean, I haven't even mentioned Francine's Steve Buscemi hallucinations, which probably would've been the best gag on another episode. Now if you'll excuse me, BEACH!!!
"Shark?!" is about sharks, obviously, why did you need me to tell you that? More specifically, Steve's fear of sharks, which has Stan worried. This is yet another Stan and Steve storyline, but this one worked better than most because Stan is genuinely trying to help his son throughout. He hires Roger, who has an alternate persona as a shark, to stage an attack and force Steve to confront his fears, and it works. But after Steve spends a bit too much time bragging about fighting off the attack, Roger's pride as a vicious shark must be protected, so he rips Steve's arm off. It's a gruesome scene, but one that works extremely well as the brutality of it sets up Steve's storyline for the rest of the episode. Having faced his fears, or so he thought, Steve is legitimately happy and becomes a glutton for danger, getting the s*** beat out of him by Barry and hanging off a bridge using his teeth. It's great to see of Stan's ridiculous ideas actually work, at least to some extent, as Steve is now completely fearless. But it's obvious that Steve has gone off the rails, so Stan reveals that the attack was staged via simultaneous Roger-Rogu vomiting(you had to be there to understand).
Now on a quest to actually face a shark attack, Steve goes all Captain Ahab, heading off with a harpoon and a dream. Unfortunately, he's also terrible at actually fighting a shark, so Stan and Roger make the save. They escape using the water rocket boots that started this whole mess, and head off into the sunset for reasons unclear. There's a genuinely good message in here about the reality of fear, that what Steve was afraid of was actually keeping him safe. There's a difference between the healthy respect of avoiding a man-eating shark and letting fears control actions, and it seems like both Stan and Steve have learned that lesson. Ultimately, this was one of the better storylines for those two characters in a while, one filled with some great twists and jokes along the way.
"Shark?!" gets very silly in the B-plot, as Klaus attempts to woo Hayley's friend Danuta. It's hilarious to see Klaus try and fail to be the charmer he thinks he is, as ultimately his fear catches up to him and he drives her away. This storyline ends in the only way it could, as Klaus accidentally murders scores of people while a guy eating caramel popcorn lectures him on being happy at the county fair. Brilliant.
8/10
Nothing about "Shark?!" feels brand new or revolutionary, but it proves to be a very solid episode that made me laugh quite a few times. I mean, I haven't even mentioned Francine's Steve Buscemi hallucinations, which probably would've been the best gag on another episode. Now if you'll excuse me, BEACH!!!
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