Solar Opposites Final Season Review

It was a fun ride while it lasted, but after five years, six seasons, and four specials, Solar Opposites has come to an end. It’s a bittersweet feeling knowing that one of Hulu’s best original animated series is over, but there comes a time when things have to come to an end. Given everything that it was up against, though, it’s kind of amazing that it’s lasted as long as it has. It started out being overshadowed by Co-creator Justin Roiland’s more famous show, Rick and Morty. Then, it was marred by the controversy brought about by the allegations against Roiland himself. Either one could’ve ensured Solar Opposites suffered a premature end, but I weathered both of them. Now, it’s got its own dedicated fanbase and identity and all the better for it. But did this final season manage to land on its feet?

Honestly, yes.

The Solar Opposites Took a Lot of Attention

In the past, I have normally spent the better part of my reviews focusing on the secondary plots, AKA The Wall and the Silvercops. However, a big part of this final season is also one that surprised me the most: the episodic plots felt better than the serialized stuff this time around.

Don’t get me wrong, I have always enjoyed seeing whatever it is the Solar Opposites are doing each episode. With the lion’s share of the serialized elements reserved for things like The Wall, though, most of the things the Solar Opposites do tend to be one-off. Story elements do carry over from past episodes, but everything still feels self-contained. Since this is the final season, though, it feels like the showrunners wanted to give everyone as satisfying a conclusion as possible. They requires character growth, and that requires more serialized storytelling. And the season starts off on a very strong note, with the first episode seeing most of the machines the Solar Opposites use to make money getting destroyed.

The Solar Opposites Grow as a Family

Without the ability to make diamonds and other forms of cash, the Solar Opposites are forced to buckle down and start making changes to their lifestyles. They have to sell most of their tech just to get by, meaning they can’t bail themselves out as much anymore, and have to adapt to Earth more than ever. This isn’t the first time that they’ve had to do so, but what makes this different from the Season Three finale is that this time, they really can’t fall back on their sci-fi tech. Ironically, by pushing themselves outside their safety net, the Solar Opposites are able to thrive like never before. Yumulack and Jesse have to start applying themselves at school, and they discover that they’re geniuses. So much so that they’re able to become the best students at school and co-student council presidents. Terry, after a stint loving romantasy novels (and meeting the fairies who write them), he starts writing his own, and they do so well, they become best-sellers! He even manages to get them made into blockbuster films by the end of the series!

Yet all of that pales in comparison to the character growth showcased by Korvo, and it starts with the return of their old CO, Commander Zarck.

Korvo Has Come into his Own

For those who don’t know, Zarck was the one originally supposed to be in charge of the mission, but to prove to everyone how badly they needed him, he used a machine to erase their memories of him. By the time they remember him and he returns at the start of the season, they’ve all but gone native. Yet Zarck’s return forces Korvo to step and prove once and for all that he’s the better team leader while Zarck doesn’t play much of a role afterwards. It shows just how much Korvo has come into his own as a leader and a character. Yet even that is overshadowed by what is the culmination of Korvo’s entire arc throughout the show. When the Pupa starts to prematurely terraform the Earth, Korvo makes the decision to destroy its means of doing so, making it so that they can never fulfill their mission. The Korvo of Season One wouldn’t have hesitated to let the process go through, but he’s grown to love Earth just as much as his adoptive family has. That’s some good character development.

It also turns out that Korvo made the right decision, not just for Earth, but for all Shlorpians everywhere.

What a Twist with the Silvercops!

Throughout the final season, one sub-plot that remains largely on the sidelines is that of Glen and the Silvercops. Last season, Glen joined the Goldcops to go undercover in the Silvercops to bring them down. This leads into the series finale where Glen (now called Dodge) returns to Earth with the Silvercops where we get the biggest twist in the entire series: the Silvercops created the Shlorpians!

For centuries, the Silvercops had been manufacturing Pupas and using them to create Planet Shlorps that they could then destroy. While the Shlorpians would go out and terraform other worlds, they would harvest the resources for money. It’s an intergalactic scam that’s killed countless people and made the Shlorpians the most hated beings in the galaxy!

This was a really good twist. Not only did it reveal that the Solar Opposites did the right thing by defying their mission, but it reframes everything that happens throughout the series. And in the end, Dodge and Goldcops are able to shut the Silvercops down for good, thereby freeing Shlorpians everywhere and the Solar Opposites to be a family. Even better, Korvo gets to travel the galaxy and tell other Shlorpians they can forget the mission and chill. It’s a happy ending for everyone!

At least until the Earth gets destroyed by the Wallians 90 years in the future.

The Wall Stumbled at the End there

From day one, I’ve kept saying that my favorite part of Solar Opposites has been the story of The Wall. For many fans, it was their favorite part of the series. The show took this silly idea of a bunch of shrunken down people living in a terrarium and turned it into this epic that spanned the entire show. At it’s best, The Wall felt like watching Game of Thrones at the peak of its writing. Ironically, though, I can’t help but feel that, much like Game of Thrones, The Wall stumbled on the last lap.

After the events in The Backyard from last season, Cherie decided to stop running from power and just take the reins of The Wall as its Queen. The implication was that Cherie was going to turn into the same kind of tyrant that she spent the entire show fighting against, but much to my surprise, that never really manifests. Especially since two big developments take place: Ringo, AKA the Duke, comes back, having been returned from the dead by the Solar Opposites, and the Wallians unite for the sole purpose of getting the shrink ray from Yumulack. But despite this interesting premise and getting to see Ringo come to terms with his past, none of the new characters from last season return or have any impact on what happens. Having grown to appreciate these newcomers for what they added, it feels a little jarring not to have them in this grand finale.

Cherie Continues to Make Mistakes

I will say this about the end to The Wall story, though: it’s final act shows us how much Cherie has grown as a character throughout the show, and not for the better. During their mission to get the shrink ray, in a moment of vulnerability, Cherie admits that she no longer cares about the other Wallians. All she cares about is protecting Pezlie. This leads to the saddest twist of the entire story; after blackmailing Yumyulack into restoring everyone to normal size, it’s revealed that doing so would end up killing Pezlie. Thus, her team decides to stay small and not tell anyone the truth while forcing Yumulack to make The Wall a better place.

Cherie. Good Intentions, but Doesn’t Think Things Through

This is some pretty good character development on the part of the show. After spending most of her story fighting against tyrants and deception, Cherie winds up becoming that what she fought against. She chooses to lie to everyone about being able to return to normal so that Pezlie won’t be alone in the world. It’s a selfish decision, and one that the distant epilogue shows will ultimately end in most of the world being destroyed. Yet at the same time, you can’t help but understand where Cherie is coming from. She’s just trying to be a good mom to her daughter and give her the best life she can have.

As is the case in real life, things like this can lead people to make selfish decisions that benefit no one but themselves. Yet this isn’t something that’s coming out of nowhere, either. It was shown back in Season Four that Cherie was willing to bend her ideals if it meant protecting her daughter, even if that could lead to other people getting hurt. And, as we come to see, it winds up destroying everything in the future. I don’t know about you guys, but knowing that the world winds up getting destroyed kind of makes the happy ending of the finale feel pointless. Not only do I not like downer endings, but I don’t like happy-ending overrides. In other words, Solar Opposites hit two of my pet peeves.

I’ll Miss You, Solar Opposites!

Despite all of this, though, I still think that Solar Opposites managed to end things on a high note. I think that the series was fun from start to finish, and I’ve already started rewatching some of the older episodes. It’s just that good! More importantly, though, this is the show that introduced me to the work of Mike McMahan, who helped to create my favorite Star Trek series, Lower Decks. I never would’ve gotten into that show had it not been for Solar Opposites! So for a show that started out in the shadow of Rick and Morty, I’d say that Solar Opposites has created something all its own. Not bad for a bunch of weird plant aliens.

I Give the Final Season of Solar Opposites a 4/5

Solar Opposites Season 5 Review

When Solar Opposites first came out, I only watched it because it was co-created by Justin Roiland, the co-creator of Rick and Morty. Fast forward to season five, and not only has Roiland fallen from grace, but I might be more of a fan of its other co-creator, Mike McMahan. It helps that I spent the off-season binging Mike’s other hit show, Star Trek: Lower Decks. Watching that and seeing his style of humor has made me appreciate Solar Opposites’ ability to stand on its own, Roiland’s reputation be darned. With the fifth season now out, I can safely say that the show that has become three shows-in-one is better than ever. The humor of the Opposites is hilariously on-point. The story of The Wall has evolved past its original premise to my enjoyment. Even the Silvercops story has taken off! It’s just a really good time!

Status Quo is Back Already?

If you’ll recall, last season of Solar Opposites ended with our favorite Shlorpians turning into humans, a result of them going too long without terraforming Earth. To change back, they left Earth to settle on another planet to reset everything. Anyone who had hoped for this to become a season-long arc, though, will be disappointed by the season premiere. The Solar Opposites return to normal, and after a misadventure on their second adoptive homeworld, they return to Earth. The status quo is God trope is in full effect here.

While some might see this as a way for the show to get out of new and exciting stories, I don’t mind Solar Opposites resetting almost everything. That’s because this lets it explore a new development that came about in the Valentine’s Day Special earlier this year: Terry and Korvo are now married. The chance to see Terry and Korvo navigate life as newlyweds more than makes up for missing out on seeing the show start over on another planet! The show and its staff seems to be aware of this, as the second episode revolves around the two discovering what a honeymoon is and enjoying the perks. And, in true Solar Opposites fashion, they use sci-fi to extend the week so they can keep milking it.

The Solar Opposites are Funnier than Ever

That’s only the second episode. The rest of the season includes things like:

• Fighting off Jesse’s ex-boyfriends
• Korvo’s rivalry with another dad straight out of Looney Tunes
• Terry bailing on a Live Die Repeat adventure
• The Pupa’s dynamic with JK Sevens.

Yes, the Pupa ends up gaining a frenemy this season in the form of the alien robot JK Sevens. As the series itself lampshades, Sevens’ is a character shoehorned in for potential merchandising purposes. What saves Sevens from being a full-on Scrappy is the fact that this gives the Pupa someone else to interact with, and the dynamic they have is pretty fun. It’s like a little kid having to deal with the fact that he’s no longer the youngest child and the perks that come with it. It works pretty well.

In addition to this, there’s one episode late in the season that winds up revealing something crucial that changes the narrative of the series. As it turns out, there was another member of the team that was meant to be leader, but that everyone had forgotten about. Furthermore, had they remained in charge, Earth would’ve been terraformed a long time ago. What makes this even more important is that at this point, the Solar Opposites recognize that their planet wasn’t perfect. It could benefit from some of the things that Earth has to offer. With this missing leader still out there, that sews the seeds for conflict down the road, and I’m looking forward to it.

I’m Growing to Like the Silvercops Story

Speaking of conflict, the Silvercops story continues, and like The Wall, it’s become a big selling point for the show. With Glen having changed his appearance entirely, he becomes set on his mission to get back into the Silvercops and take them down. So, the show throws him a curveball and gives him a friend who wants to reform them from the inside. In other words, Glen gets a Suzaku to his Lelouch from Code Geass. Much like Code Geass, though, the events that follow only validate Glen’s perspective: the Silvercops need to go down. And by the end of the season, he’s made new allies to help him with it.

I didn’t think that I would enjoy the Silvercops story as much as I have, but like The Wall before it, it’s a really good show-within-a-show. It gives the series a chance to tell stories that it couldn’t with the Solar Opposites, and it’s showing the consequences their actions are having on the rest of the universe. That, and I hate corrupt cops and like seeing them go down.

The Wall Expands to the Backyard!

In the past, I’ve made my reviews for each season primarily about The Wall. That was the aspect of Solar Opposites that everyone liked the most, with the show and Hulu acknowledging how important it is. They even made a separate season trailer for the show focused entirely on it. Ironically, this season doesn’t follow anything taking place in the Wall. Instead, it shifts its focus to the Backyard, home to all those who fled the Bowinian Church’s assault.

The decision to expand the world of the Wall to include the Backyard felt like a smart decision. After four seasons of exploring Jesse and Yumyulack’s prison from top to bottom, it was time to grow the story beyond its initial premise. And much like the Wall, getting to see how the shrunken humans adapted to life in what is essentially a new wild west frontier was just as fun. From building cities out of basketballs and digging up alcohol bottles in the sandbox to taming the local animals, the Backyard proves just as interesting a setting as the Wall. As an added bonus, one of the new POV characters is voiced by Clancy Brown!

Surprisingly, though, the Backyard doesn’t really continue the story of Cherie until near the end of the season. As the Backyard is gripped by a drought and a conspiracy (which is awesome), Cherie wants nothing more than to stay out of all the nonsense for good. She refuses to take power for herself because she’s seen what it does to people. However, events inevitably drag her back into the plot, and the results aren’t pretty. Seemingly hitting her breaking point, Cherie decides to take power over the Wall as its new Queen. Given the fate of all previous leaders, this bodes ill for her.

If that wasn’t enough, though, the final moments of the Backyard story see the return of a character long dead thanks to Terry trying to fix the Backyard. What a twist!

The Show Keeps Getting Better and Better

Overall, this was the best season of the Solar Opposites to date. The series has come a long way from being that show that people watched because Justin Roiland co-created it. Now it’s capable of standing on its own two feet. While it’s sad to know that we have to wait another year for the sixth season, we’ll have a special coming in the fall to tide us over.

I Give Season 5 of Solar Opposites a 4.5/5

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Solar Opposites Valentine’s Day Special

I think Valentine’s Day is overrated. Growing up, it was (and still is) giving people you care about cards and candy. But you shouldn’t need a single day of the year to do something like that; you should try to show affection every day. And everyone makes such a big deal over getting a Valentine, like it’s the end of the world if you don’t. My favorite Valentine’s Day Special is “Ed Edd n’ Eddy’s Hanky Panky Hullabaloo.” Seeing Rolf snapping everyone out of the holiday-induced madness is fantastic! However, the Solar Opposites Valentine’s Day Special might be a close second.

Number three is the Spongebob special.

War on Valentine’s Day

The premise of the special is simple on paper: the Solar Opposites keep going to a restaurant to get their favorite dish, only to forget that it’s Valentine’s Day. That means a holiday-themed menu, which everyone (except Jesse) gets upset about. Their ultimate solution: eliminate love, and thus Valentine’s Day, from Earth altogether. 

This is the sort of thing that fans of Solar Opposites have come to expect from the series, and it doesn’t disappoint. The fact that they’re willing to get rid of love over the pettiest of reasons is enough to leave viewers in stitches. Their scheme of hitting the planet with an anti-love ray is taking the Valentine’s Day hate to its logical extreme. 

The special only gets stranger as things don’t pan out the way everyone expects. Instead of everyone being filled with hate or depressed or even apathetic, they do something weirder. Everyone starts drinking margaritas from tikis, listening to Jimmy Buffett, and buying parrots. It’s the kind of out-of-left-field result we should expect from Solar Opposites, but it is still unexpected and hilarious. That’s not even including the fact that the parrots later rise to overthrow humanity. 

It’s the kind of crazy, irreverent stuff we’ve come to expect from Solar Opposites, especially with its holiday specials. The difference is that this special ends in a way that will affect the status quo for Season Five. No spoilers, though!

Happy Valentine’s Day (or Not)

So, the big question is whether this special loves or hates Valentine’s Day? The answer is both. Like the other Solar Opposites specials, it makes fun of the holiday and everything that goes into it. At the same time, it doesn’t say that the holiday’s worthless, and I would have to agree. I may not be that big into Valentine’s Day, and I think it does put unecessary pressure on people to find romance. But there are other kinds of love, and ultimately, the other Solar Opposites come to see the value in the holiday. Plus, the end does include a tribute to the late Jimmy Buffett. 

So, whether you love the day or don’t care about, Happy Valentine’s Day!

“An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special” a 4.5/5

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Solar Opposites Season 3 Review

Last year, when the third season of Solar Opposites came out, I either forgot or chose not to write a review for it. I wound up having to go back and rewatch some of the episodes to remind myself what happened. Now that I’ve watched the latest season, it’s given me some thoughts about the preceding one. Most of them have to do with the Wall and the Silvercops, but there are a few about the Solar Opposites themselves. In the spirit of the show, I thought it best to go back and give my review for Season Three, and a lot happened.

Learning More about the Pupa and the Shlorpians Was Fun

Since the show’s mostly episodic regarding the main characters, not a lot of development occurs on that front. That is, save for the Pupa, who seems to be leaving toddlerhood and becoming the equivalent of a young child. And as the season finale makes clear, it’s picked up on the worst traits the Solar Opposites exhibit, putting everyone in danger. The end result is them having to forswear most of their sci-fi stuff for the Pupa’s sake, which was a bittersweet thing to watch. It’s nice to see how Season Four shows that it doesn’t fully stick, but that was a big deal at the time.

The other big thing was the reveal that Shlorp’s been destroyed multiple times over the years. The reveal that they repeatedly go out and terraform other worlds because their own keeps getting destroyed changes how we look at them. While they’ve always been seen as sociopathic jerks, this reveal turns them into an intergalactic invasive species seeking to conform all of existence. No wonder why the Silvercops hate them so much.

The Silvercops Were an Intriguing New Part of the Series

The Silvercops were one of season three’s most welcome additions to the show. At first glance, they look like an expy of the Green Lantern Corps, but with silver instead of rings. They’ve also made it their mission to stop the expansion of the Shlorpians, and they do a good job at it. It is made obvious that they racially profile Shlorpians from the get-go, but given the whole “invasive species” stuff, they’re in the right.

Sadly, the Silvercops aren’t the good guys; at best, they’re anti-heroes. In the episode focusing on them, it’s revealed that they can be pretty dirty and corrupt. Given the more we learn about them in the fourth season, it paints a bad picture. Should the Solar Opposites ever run into them, the show doesn’t seem to hold any qualms about who it wants the audience to root for. The Solar Opposites may be amoral jerks, but the Silvercops aren’t saints, either.

The Wall Remained the Best Part

As always, though, the best part of the season remained the Wall. In the trailer for season three, it looked like this popular sub-plot would see Tim escape the Wall and take the fight to the Solar Opposites. As it turned out, though, the whole thing was a fake-out. In truth, Tim imagined the whole thing as he was dying from lead poisoning. He thought he had become the hero he wanted to be and won back the love of Cherie. In truth, though, he died a chump with Cherie cursing his name, and his lies revealed soon after.

Things only get better from there. Right when things start looking up for Cherie and the new leaders, the power goes out, forcing her and Halk (the hero from the last season) on a mission into the depths of the lower levels. Getting to see how the Duke’s flooding of the lower levels in the first season had turned the place into a wasteland filled with cannibals and mosquitoes was another fun addition to the Wall’s story. In addition, it also brought back characters that hadn’t been seen since that time, and none of them were in good shape.

The end of the season saw Cherie hit her lowest point. She’s the only one who came back alive, only to find the Jesse-worshipping church kidnapped her daughter and propped her up as a fake messiah. It was so frustrating knowing we had to wait another season to find out what happened, but it made for an excellent cliffhanger. Thankfully, we know that everything worked out in the end.

Another Fun Season, Overall.

Overall, the third season of Solar Opposites remained as fun as always. It could go from being hilarious to dead serious at the drop of a hat while never dropping its sense of humor. In hindsight, this season was also the last one to have co-creator Justin Roiland voicing Korvo. Since then, the accusations and allegations he’s been facing have turned one of the golden boys of comedy in Hollywood into a pariah and booted from all projects he was a part of. 

Thankfully, even though he had left, Solar Opposites didn’t drop in quality, and I’m glad that things worked out for Season Four.

I Give the Third Season of Solar Opposites a 4/5

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Solar Opposites Season 4 Review

Last year, I forgot to write a review for the third season of Solar Opposites, or chose not to. Considering the fact that since then, Justin Roiland got fired, that might have been a mistake. However, I’m not making that same mistake. Especially since the show now has not one, but two interesting sub-plots going on. It’s no longer just The Wall that’s an interesting sub-plot for the series. Now there’s also the story of Glen and the Silvercops!

The Solar Opposites Can’t Stay Normal

At the end of the last season, the Pupa went berserk due to the lack of stability amongst the team. To keep them from doing that again, the Solar Opposites had to shun almost all their sci-fi stuff and live normal lives. They hated it, though, with a passion, and wanted nothing more than to go back to the sci-fi adventures they had. While they do try their best to keep that promise, by the end of the season, it’s for naught. Even when they try to avoid it, the sci-fi stuff keeps finding them. 

To the show’s credit, this season does make a concerted effort to have the Solar Opposites rely less on their sci-fi stuff. This results in them getting to get in and out of trouble on their own merits. It’s just that the stuff that keeps happening nessecitates their continued use of sci-fi. This lets the show keep its initial premise intact, albeit downplayed, a sign of it developing its own identity.

On that note, let’s talk about Dan Stevens replacing Justin Roiland as Korvo. At first, it felt jarring for me to listen to, but the way they do it is so clever, I had to respect how the show turned lemons into lemonade. After a while, Dan grew on me, too. Kind of like how the Wall grew on the fans.

Good Riddance to the Bowinian Church

Speaking of the Wall, that sub-plot continues to remain as entertaining as ever. When last seen, the Wall fell under the control of the Bowinian Church, a religion that worships Jesse as a god. In addition, their leader kidnapped Cherie’s daughter, Pezlie, to use as a messianic puppet by claiming she was a gift from Jesse. Naturally, Cherie’s furious at this, and willing to do anything to get her daughter back. Worse, the Church now controls half the Wall as this medieval cult, and their new leader, Sisto, is willing to freeze the whole Wall to gain control. 

Had the show been more daring, it could’ve had done a big timeskip into the future and had Pezlie grow up as this puppet of Sisto. That could then have her become an enemy of her real mother and create this dramatic conflict. Thankfully, the show didn’t opt to do that, instead having the Wall plot focus on Cherie getting her daughter back without that drama. While it shows that Cherie’s willing to lie and decieve her own allies to get what she wants, we should cut her some slack. Her daughter was kidnapped and going to be brainwashed by this cult, and her allies weren’t willing to help her. A parent will do crazy things for their kid.

The conclusion for the Wall plot this season winds up being open-ended. While it does end on a somewhat positive note, there’s enough leg room for it to continue in the future.

If this is the end to the Wall plot, then it would make room for the Silvercops plot.

Glen and Silvercops are the New Thing!

Last season dropped a bombshell with the reveal of the Green Lantern-esque Silvercops. They’re supposed to be an elite police force protecting the universe from people like the Shlorpians. However, as shown in their interactions with the human-turned-castaway Glen, many of them turn out to be corrupt and self-serving, leaving Glen to die. Against all odds, though, Glen survives and makes it back to civilization.

Much like with the Wall plot before it, the show dedicates an extended period of time to Glen and the Silvercops, albeit only an episode and a half. Glen ends up finding a new family in space and witnesses once more how corrupt the Silvercops are. It’s a direct reference to the growing distrust of law enforcement in the present day, with many growing to fear or act outright hostile to police, especially those who have been marginalized. When push comes to shove, Glen ultimately opts to leave his new and fufilling life to get revenge on the Silvercops that wronged him. 

This story has a lot of potential in the works. Considering the enmity the Silvercops have for the Shlorpians, this could also tie back into the main storyline down the line. At the moment, though, it appears to be taking things slowly. Which is fine, since they just started.

Solar Opposites Can Go on Without Justin

When Justin Roiland was disgraced in January, many feared that the shows he helped create would crash and burn. Howver, given how good it remains in this new season, I think Solar Opposites has done a lot to alleviate people’s concerns. It’s in good hands with Hulu. 

Once again, though, the season ends with an evidently major shake-up of the status quo, with the Solar Opposites moving to another world. Could this mean restarting many of the plots from before? A new version of the Wall? Will the original Wallians now take over their house? It should be interesting to see how this turns out!

I Give the Fourth Season of Solar Opposites a 4.5/5

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Click here to go to the Solar Opposites Lessonalyzer. This is a real thing

My Reaction to the Justin Roiland Controversy

Last week, NBC News reported that Justin Roiland, co-creator of Rick and Morty, appeared before the district court in Orange County, California, for a pre-trial hearing. According to the report, Justin faces felony charges relating to an incident from January, 2020, with a criminal complaint case being filed in May of that year. The alleged incident and complaint charge Justin Roiland with felony domestic violence, along with false imprisonment, involving a woman he was dating at the time. He was arrested later that year and released on bail. 

While no trial date has been set at the time of this writing, the news that the co-creator of Rick and Morty was facing criminal charges sent the Internet into a frenzy. While I have kept my head out of the ensuing flame war thus far, what I have seen isn’t very encouraging. Fans seem split, unsure thus far about whether Justin is guilty or not. Some are more concerned at how this is the first the public’s heard about this. In addition, many fans are worried about the future of shows like Rick and Morty and Solar Opposites. Justin’s their co-creator and plays the main characters on both. If found guilty and sent to prison, Adult Swim and Hulu could either replace his role’s with someone else or drop the show’s altogether. 

The Leaked DMs Make Things Worse

To make matters worse, this week, screenshots of supposed DMs between Justin and a minor surfaced on Twitter. The DMs depict Justin messaging a teenage girl and using incredibly vulgar and offensive words and phrases. 

Not helping matters is Kotaku’s report that Justin’s gaming studio, Squanch Games, was sued by a former employee for sexual harassment. While Justin himself was not involved, his status as CEO means he’ll still get the flak for it.

I went on Twitter to look at fan reactions to these further allegations, and the results are not good. Many fans are disgusted with Justin Roiland and plan to turn their backs on his shows. Some have even brought up the very real possibility that Adult Swim and Hulu could either cancel or choose not to renew Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, and Koala Man. With Rick and Morty having recently finished its best season in years, the time couldn’t be worse.

What Do I Think? 

What do I think about all of this, though? I have been a fan of Justin Roiland for years, ever since I first heard him play the Earl of Lemongrab back on Adventure Time. I love Rick and Morty and think its one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and Justin is hilarious as the titular duo. So, it begs the question: how do I feel about these accusations? Truth be told, I don’t know.

I don’t know enough about what’s happening, as this story only broke a week ago. More details will likely surface in the coming months, and I know that many fans will be paying attention to them, myself included. As we learn more, I’ll be able to form a better opinion on what’s going on. However, at the moment, I feel disappointed and sorry. I am disappointed that Justin might be the latest show creator to do stupid stuff like this. I’ve lost all respect for him if this is true.

More than that, though, I feel bad for the people who work on his projects. The people who work on things like Rick and Morty, Solar Opposites, and High on Life are all talented individuals who worked hard to entertain us over the years. Thanks to this scandal, though, the future of their work could be in doubt. They shouldn’t have to waste years of their lives because of the mistake of someone else like this. I want these shows to continue, but if they get dropped, I hope the people who work on them can continue working in the industry if they wish to. At least they deserve that much. 

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Solar Opposites Season 2 Review

I never thought that I would see the day when a pair of unholy dog monsters would attack the guests at a dinner party, eat them, and then poop them out as bottles of wine. If that sounds like something I made up, it’s not. It’s a plot point from the new season of Solar Opposites. And it’s still hilarious!!

Debuting on Hulu last year and created from the minds of Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland and former head writer Mike McMahan, Solar Opposites is a sci-fi sitcom that is, well, completely bonkers. Four aliens and this little pupa-thing get stuck on Earth after fleeing their destroyed home world and get into misadventures using sci-fi BS. No, really, that’s the whole plot of the show. No matter what happens, the writers just pull some amazing sci-fi BS out their butts and solve problems. That’s the whole plot of Solar Opposites. It’s hilarious to watch.

Okay, maybe it gets a little repetitive at times. However, now that it’s in its sophomore year, Solar Opposites is not afraid to double down on what makes it funny: meta-humor and pop culture references.

The Wall of Meta-Humor. And An Actual Wall

Last year, the show was trying to find its own footing, so it had to be all over the place at times. While this meant the plots for the episodes weren’t always the funniest, it worked because of the power of sci-fi BS. This year, though, Solar Opposites is working with meta-humor at its primary weapon.

Right off the bat, the show’s not afraid to reference the various tropes and formulas that go into an episode. From acknowledging how everything occurred “last year” to blatantly stating that they can only use this amazing sci-fi idea once, Solar Opposites gets very meta. It also helps that they repeatedly reference and advertise Hulu. They’re not so much as breaking the fourth wall, as they are leaning on it.

Speaking of walls, the best part of the season remains the story of the Wall. The first season introduced us to this wall in the house where the kid aliens keep humans they shrink down for the pettiest of reasons. They built their own society in there, and then ended up fighting a civil war over the course of the season. Season Two takes us back to the Wall and keeps coming back to it as we continue to see things unfold inside this tiny, makeshift world. It’s both silly and dramatic at the same time, and I love. PS, the seventh episode focuses entirely on the Wall plot like last time.

Go Binge This Show NOW!

Last year, Solar Opposites came out in a world that ground to a halt thanks to COVID-19. Now that the world’s slowly starting to move again, we don’t have as much time to stream stuff. But that doesn’t change the fact that this is one of th best sci-fi dark comedies out there. Go watch Solar Opposites if you’re looking for the right kind of nonsensical stupidity.

I give the second season of Solar Opposites a 4.9/5 

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Solar Opposites Season 1 Review

First, I want to say sorry that I didn’t put up my review/recap of the new chapter of One Piece yesterday. I apologize, it’s up now. Secondly, the reason why I was quiet this weekend was that I was watching Hulu’s new show. It’s called Solar Opposites, it is made by Justin Roiland, and it’s hilarious!

What’s it About?

If you haven’t heard, here’s the premise of the show. These four aliens flee the destruction of their home planet and crash land in suburban America. They have to fix their spaceship and get off-planet before their organic computer, the Pupa, evolves into its pure form and terraforms Earth into a replica of their home and kills everyone. Too bad most of them want to mess around on Earth.

Leading the group is Korvo, voiced by Justin Roiland. He’s Rick, but not as deep-sounding or as cynical. He’s the only one dedicated to their mission and acts like he hates humans and Earth. Yet deep down, he can’t stop from getting enamored by aspects of Earth culture. 

Next is Terry, played by Thomas Middleditch. He’s the eternal optimist who loves everything about Earth and just wants to enjoy it. He doesn’t realize how much stress he causes Korvo and how no one likes him or his group. He’s hilarious. 

Then we have Jesse and Yumyulack, their kids? They’re called replicants, we don’t know what that means, but they act like the kids, so that’s what we call them. They’re super smart and argue like siblings and about what’s good on Earth. Jesse’s the more optimistic one who tries to see to the good in everything. Meanwhile, Yumyulack’s the cynic who acts like a jerk to everyone. They also shrink humans down and keep them in a glass wall that will come up later. 

Lastly, there’s the Pupa, their sentient computer in the form of a pet. That’s pretty much what it is, too: a pet. It gets into trouble when everyone’s not looking and acts like a pet, except when it evolves, it will kill everyone. 

Blending Multiple Shows

If I had to describe the humor and structure of Solar Opposites, it would be like this: it’s a mixture of the fun and black comedy of Rick and Morty and Invader Zim with a plot structure similar to Regular Show. Let me explain.

Since Solar Opposites’ made by Justin Roiland, it’s got a lot of the same humor as its sister show. However, it doesn’t wax existential or philosophical like Rick and Morty, choosing to focus on the improvised comedy Justin Roiland’s famous for doing. Also, while it’s got a lot of the same sci-fi and black comedy of Rick and Morty and Invader Zim, it’s nowhere near as dark. Yeah, the aliens are jerks to humans, but at least half of them don’t realize they’re jerks. That’s what makes their antics so funny.

Speaking of antics, here’s where the comparison to Regular Show comes in. The plot of an episode of Solar Opposites follows the same basic formula:

1. The aliens get invested in some mundane things about Earth’s culture.
2. Korvo may or may not resist at first, but then joins in by saying its part of their mission (which it’s not)
3. They use their technology to take said mundane interest to extremes and cause problems.
4. They then have to resolve the said problem before returning things to regular and remaining unpopular and hated by humanity.

It reminds me of a lot of the structure to Regular Show. That show focused on some mundane task the cast had to do and get into some surreal situation as a result. Or maybe I’m the only one who sees the similarity.

The Best Dang Sub-Plot I’ve Seen in Years

By its nature right now, Solar Opposites is a very episodic show with little continuity. It’s only in its first season, so that’s expected. The one thread that ties the episodes together is this recurring sub-plot that I call “The Wall.”

Jesse and Yumyulack (mostly Yumyulack) use a shrink ray to shrink down humans they think are jerks (so, for very petty reasons). They keep them in a system of interconnected terrariums in a wall in their bedroom, hence its name. The shrunken people end up building a Mad Max-style society led by a man called the Duke. 

The story of the Wall plays out during the whole season as members of the shrunken society fight in a civil war for control. Everything culminates in the 7th episode, which is by far the best in the series thus far. It focuses on the people in the Wall with the aliens doing a background plot with them stealing a bear. I’d tell you how it ends, but I don’t want to spoil it for you because it’s fantastic!

Go Watch Solar Opposites

We all have a lot of free time now since society’s come to a halt because of the COVID-19 Pandemic. If you’re looking to kill two-and-a-half hours, then watch Solar Opposites. It’s on Hulu, and it’s a hilarious, softer version of Rick and Morty that, ironically, has as much foul language. I love it.

I give the first season of Solar Opposites a 4.8/5 

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