Review: Son of Zorn “Radioactive Ex-Girlfriend”

Don’t worry, extended exposure to this review won’t cause any harm.

Spoilers Below, So Don’t Have a Meltdown And Say We Didn’t Warn You

It is time for Edie and Craig’s engagement party, which is an occasion for insecure people to freak out about their love lives. This means you guessed it Zorn invites his most unstable ex-girlfriend to be his date. Also scheduled for the festivities: a performance from Alan on the glass harp, though his mom is struggling to tell him that he is just not very good at it. Meanwhile, Craig is on hand to defuse these and any other conflicts by pushing his side gig as a therapist with a brand new business card.

Zorn’s whirlwind reunion with Radiana (Olivia Wilde) goes pretty much exactly as one would expect a hasty reunion with a manipulative ex would go. She plays him into letting her move in, throws out the fake pregnancy card, just completely wears him down physically and emotionally, and causes a disaster at the main event (which, in true Son of Zorn fashion, most of the guests are totally unaware of). But “Radioactive Ex-Girlfriend” stands out among any other show that has ever done this storyline by taking full advantage of its cartoon side. Radiana’s character design features some of the best animation of the series, what with her neon green outline, radioactive bodily fluids, and nuclear rod abdomen. Also, irradiated Zorn (aptly compared by Linda to Matthew McConaughey at the end of Dallas Buyers Club) is quite the striking image.

Also helping this plot along is the interplay between Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde. It can be dicey casting real-life couples opposite each other. That actual connection does not always translate to a satisfying fictional facsimile. Perhaps in this case, it works because what is actually needed between Zorn and Radiana is supreme anti-chemistry. Or it could just be that how well two actors play off each other has nothing to do with their romantic situation.

A glass harp, for anyone unfamiliar, is an instrument that consists of an arrangement of wine glasses that are played by rubbing your hands along them. I do not know where Alan got the idea that he should become a glass harpist, but I do not care, because it is such an inherently goofy concept. Sure, he does not sound particularly great, but he could be much worse, and either way, Edie needs to work on being straightforward with her son. Also, she does not need to worry about how his lady friend might react. Layla is a great gal who has thus far been totally easygoing about all the craziness in Alan’s life.

Oh, and Craig? He gets the win with his therapy. Of course he does. That guy is so optimistic and persistent.

Memorable Lines and Other Stones of Insight:

-Linda (who Zorn still believes is a man) continues to rock it as a reliable supporting character who is always ready with a burning zinger.

-Alan, guessing what Zorn will get up to today and in the process summing up the show’s whole premise: “What, overreact to an imagined slight?”

-Craig wishes her grandmother were here. “But she’s in Tampa. In her grave.”

-“Oh, it’s just a 5^th draft.”

-Edie’s discomfort about hearing children being interviewed on the radio is a comparison I will have to start using myself.

-“That’s Craig, the gentlemen who’ll be marrying my sloppy seconds.” “I like to think of it as recycling.”

-Craig, king of dad jokes: “I need some butter, cause this is a toast.”

-“You are so lucky you have such an erotic father.”