Review: Son of Zorn “The War of the Workplace”

War of the worlds.

Spoilers Below

Zorn and Alangulon work out the struggle of nature vs. nurture, with the former still struggling to subsume his warrior identity in a traditional American workplace, while the latter deals with the burden of his half-Zephyrian identity. Zorn goes to great lengths to seek revenge against a hot sauce thief who works at the company across the hall, as Linda maintains her damnedest efforts to keep him in line. Meanwhile, Alan must survive a fairly typical school bully plot, but the twist of course is that unlike in most school bully plots, Alan is getting teased because he is a half-warrior cartoon (indirectly, that is: he gets picked on for being overly covered up at gym class).

For most of Zorn’s hot sauce crusade, I am wondering when this show will get around to really being imaginative with its animation and characterization the way it was in the pilot. The final battle between Zorn and Derek from VitaShock is a perfect opportunity for a plethora of visual gags, but instead it ends before it even begins. That is partly okay – this is not the type of show that ought to feature disembowelings of its live-action characters, and Zorn’s most aggressive tendencies ought to be kept in check – but there needs to be some room for danger.

The trouble is, Zorn is just not a very interesting character. I will reiterate that I love the idea of a He-Man cartoon stuck in the real world, but a lead character requires depth that goes beyond just a wacky premise. This is why Craig has thus far been the most fascinating character. Tim Meadows’ performance certainly goes a long way, but it is not like Jason Sudeikis (or Cheryl Hines for that matter) has been a slouch. Craig’s unique advice and line readings indicate a worldview that is both fascinating and singular.

Zorn’s relationship with Linda holds a lot of promise going forward. Artemis Pebdani has been reliably aces, but the antagonistic status quo has been holding these two back. Linda clearly wants Zorn to succeed as a valued employee, and it would be nice to see them get wins together. Surely they will continue to have conflicts about appropriate methods, but odd couples must have triumphs amidst their disagreements.

Alan is also suffering in the Interesting Department. Part of that is understandably by design. He is meant to be passive, in marked contrast to his father. The twist ending about the power in his legs makes it likely that he will soon come out of his shell, which he better do if his show wants its audience to care about him. In the meantime, for his storylines to work, he needs to exist alongside someone more assertive and well-defined. That is why his heart-to-hearts with Craig have been some of the best parts of the series thus far and why the cliché bully story is such a bore.

Memorable Lines and Other Stones of Insight:

-In heartening news that demonstrates that the rest of the world is familiar with Zephyria, The New Yorker did “a whole cartoon” on Vulchazor.

-Tim Meadows has been so strong that even his pronunciation of a thoroughly unimpressive line like “the best defense is defense” (with an odd emphasis on the “de” in the second “defense”) gets a big laugh.

-What a wonderfully bizarre guest appearance from Craig Cackowski as Alan’s gym teacher, with lines “What’s with all the shouting? This ain’t no chicken auction!” and “A lot of people don’t take swimming seriously. Well, those people are dead now.”

SCORE
5.5/10