Welcome back to part two of my review of every “Smiling Friends” episode! This time, we’ll be reviewing the second season of this iconic Adult Swim show.
“Gwimbly: Definitive Remastered Enhanced Extended Edition DX 4K (Anniversary Director’s Cut)”: It’s no stretch to say that this single episode has permanently changed the online conversation about the gaming industry. The fate of Gwimbly, a destitute video game character whose owner refuses to release new games for him, has struck a chord with many fans of games in similar predicaments. The fat CEO screaming, “It’s my IP to sit on and do nothing with!” is an instantly memorable image and a perfect encapsulation of the fates of older games locked behind copyright. Other famous memes include Gwimbly’s heartbroken reaction to his co-star dying from fentanyl and Mr. Boss’ line “Guess I’m ooooooogly goo!” The downside to all of this, though, is that the B-plot (featuring Charlie being tormented by a random guy) is overshadowed into irrelevance. Nevertheless, this episode remains truly iconic and will likely be referenced for as long as gaming companies continue to act like scumbags. 9/10.
“Mr. President”: This episode is considered the weakest in the season, probably because it’s the most overtly political—it’s a thinly veiled allegory for the then-upcoming 2024 election. And this seems to hamper the episode, especially in the case of Mr. Frog, who is pushed into the role of Trump; he ends up weirdly underutilized compared to his first appearance. Most viewers also hated President Jimble (portrayed in live-action by Mike Bocchetti), clearly the stand-in for Biden, but that is where I disagree! I thought he was quite funny; his grossness and incompetence played for hilarious effect. And his bumbling attempts to fix the economy (“I’m gonna be the money president!”) will likely be referenced in political satire for years to come. 7/10.
“A Allan Adventure”: This is the only episode of “Smiling Friends” to have its own dedicated Wikipedia page, which really tells you all you need to know. Allan—basically a background character until now—is thrust into an insane and convoluted adventure on a quest to buy some paper clips. But that summary doesn’t do it justice. “A Allan Adventure” boasts incredibly high-quality animation and intense action sequences that make it, by far, the most fun episode to watch. And, of course, we can’t forget how this episode introduces one of the most memorable villains in the entire show, as well as several of its funniest bits—the miniature version of Mr. Boss being among them. My only complaint is that the adventure seems to go by a bit too fast at times—but given everything they had to fit in 11 minutes, that’s hardly a problem at all. 10/10.
“Erm, the Boss finds Love?”: When Mr. Boss marries a hideous and obviously evil succubus, what are the Smiling Friends to do? This, the second Halloween special, is filled with crappy, stupid jump scares that happen for no reason at all, highlighting what happens when the show’s already chaotic atmosphere is fused with Halloween spookiness. Adding to the hilarity is the unexpected appearance of Doug Walker, aka the Nostalgia Critic, as himself, but if he exorcized demons instead of reviewing cartoons. The actual confrontation with the demon could have been more fleshed out, but at least we got Allan’s iconic line, “That means the Smiling Friends will belong to SATAN!” 8/10.
“Brother’s Egg”: Professor Psychotic is a maniacal genius who wishes to create an evil homunculus in his laboratory; however, Charlie and Pim soon realize that his real problem is his deteriorating relationship with his brother Doug. Doug, by the way, is portrayed via rotoscoping, in contrast to literally everyone else who is traditionally animated, making him stick out like a sore thumb and adding a comedic dimension to a familial drama that is, for the most part, played totally straight (of course, except for the part about Professor Psychotic creating an evil homunculus in his laboratory). So, despite a couple of goofy moments, most of the humor in this episode is strangely dark, which may turn off some viewers. After all, it literally opens with Glep pretending to be convicted pedophile Jared Fogle for a prank, so what did you expect? 7/10.
“Charlie, Pim and Bill vs the Alien”: What begins as a pastiche of UFO-spotters and conspiracy theorists soon takes a drastic turn. Our heroes find themselves abducted by aliens, who are themselves abducted by other aliens, who turn out to be stereotypically obnoxious party bros—which, as you know, are the most terrifying beings in the universe. Watching this episode will strike a chord with anyone who has ever been to one of those parties before. But the fact that all of the social awkwardness takes place on a fantastical spaceship with weird claymation aliens provides for some excellent jokes. Oh, and the titular Bill? He gets eaten. Realistically, this is about an average episode by “Smiling Friends” standards, which simultaneously means that it’s absolutely hilarious. 7/10.
“The Magical Red Jewel (aka Tyler Gets Fired)”: While “Smiling Friends” is known for being chaotic, this episode takes it to a whole new level. Pim and Mr. Boss travel to the realm of Spamtopia, an eye-bleedingly colorful land where the entire population consists of Microsoft Paint gremlins screeching in Y2K-era text-to-speech. The only law? DON’T LOOK ANYONE IN THE EYE. It’s already disturbing before the fabric of reality begins to collapse in on itself. Meanwhile, Charlie, Allan and Glep are tasked with looking after Mr. Boss’ teenage son, who is still somehow an infant. It’s a great chance for the three, who haven’t really interacted together, to hang out … only for things to go very, very wrong. Delightfully unhinged—but skip if you don’t like this brand of humor. 8/10.
“Pim Finally Turns Green”: He does not, in fact, turn green. He does, however, bring a snowman to life using radioactive garbage, who immediately begins to have an existential crisis when he realizes that he can melt. Then Bill Nye shows up and is brutally electrocuted. I have no idea if this is an authorized depiction of Bill Nye, as he doesn’t voice himself. Should he sue over this depiction of him brutally dying? Anyway, the plight of Rotten the Snowman turns out to have a quite wholesome ending, as the Friends manage to help him find a way to survive, showing the relentless, if fragile, optimism that permeates every episode of the entire show. As a tearful Charlie says at the end: “Wow, I just … I love my friends, and I love my God, and I love my country, and… uhh, and God bless America I guess, what else can you say?” 9/10.
