Review: King Star King “Kwa Kwa City”

Spoilers Below

Being the final episode of the season, Adult Swim decided to be a pain in the ass and make this episode only viewable by completing a game. If you wish to watch it, you must get through ten levels of “Floppy King”. In this game, you must help King’s head (only his head) bounce in the air and navigate in between slimy dildos. By clicking the mouse or tapping the screen, King’s head will bounce in the air and gain a little altitude. Think of the gameplay in Joust. You must time your clicks or taps so that King’s head can squeeze through the space dildos without getting slimed. It can be difficult at first, but you’ll get the hang of it after a few tries. It’s not as hard as it is annoying. If you can get through ten pairs of dildos, then you will have access to the last episode.

In the Waffle Zone, Hank is harassed by an irate customer named Kwa Kwa. Kwa Kwa appears to be a grotesque face with a tail that is attached to the eye socket of his partner, an old man named Pinchy Leroux who has scythes for hands. Pooza identifies Kwa Kwa and Pinchy as being wanted for robbing liquor stores. King wants to bring these villains to justice. Kwa Kwa decides to rob the Waffle Zone and pulls out his penis shaped gun. King and the gang laugh in his ugly face. Then things start to get weird (more than usual).

Kwa Kwa looks like he’s on an acid trip and Pooza thinks he’s about to take a dump in the old man’s head. Instead, Kwa Kwa pulls out of Pinchy’s eye socket, which opens up a portal. King and his crew are drawn into the portal by “incredibly powerful sucking.”

They land in Kwa Kwa City and are greet by a short little dude with pink moose antlers named Ed the Five Antlers. In between licking a toad, Ed explains that he too was sucked into Kwa Kwa City, along with the rest of the population there. He takes the travelers to the Hotel le Kwa Kwa and they up to the penthouse. Ed explains about the health benefits that they will receive. Pooza exclaims, “Finally I can get this thing cut off!” as he pulls out a large growth from his neck.

King is disgusted that everything everywhere has Kwa Kwa’s image or name on it. He wants to escape, but Ed explains that it is impossible to do so. The only way out is by taking the Rainbow of Gore, which leads to Pinchy’s eye. But the Rainbow of Gore isn’t as peasant as it sounds because it is guarded by ferocious ravens that look like pterodactyls with large breasts.

King pours beer directly on his brain as he comes to terms with the fact that he may never leave here. Hank is excited to stay, but King is disappointed that his days as a hero are over. Ed replies that, “We don’t need heroes in Kwa Kwa City. Everything’s Kwa Kwa!” So Ed tells everyone that they need to pledge an oath of allegiance to Kwa Kwa. All they have to say is, “Hey Kwa Kwa, you’re number one.” But King proclaims that he would rather die than pledge allegiance to anyone but himself.

Ed leads the group to the Trampoline of Anxiety. He stays behind while our heroes take the jump. They bounce off the trampoline and onto the rainbow. But there they discover that the Rainbow of Gore doesn’t go all the way to Pinchy’s eye. The ravens attack Hank and pull his guts out. Then King gets the brilliant idea to inflate Hank’s guts and turn him into a balloon. They ride Hank’s gut balloon to the eye and escape.

Back in the Waffle Zone, Kwa Kwa and Pinchy are still robbing the place. King corks Pinchy’s eye with a bottle, and then proceeds to beat the living crap out of Kwa Kwa. The season ends with the Narrator unplugging Pinchy’s eye and making everything disappear.

Of all the King Star King episodes, this one is my personal favorite. Ed the Five Antlers is a funny character and I would love to see him again. When he speaks, everything is “Kwa Kwa this” or “Kwa Kwa that.” For a fun drinking game, take a shot (or a hit off the Peace Pipe) every time Kwa Kwa is mentioned in this episode.

King Star King ends its first season strongly by maintaining the complete randomness, strange drug usage, and unique animation style that we’ve grown to love about this show. There is always so much stuff going on in the background, that visually it is a stimulation overload. Everything goes so fast that if you blink, you might miss a secret message, someone getting decapitated, or some strange sexual act. This first season was filled with crazy sauce, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for season two. So lick a toad or ingest some peyote and enjoy the trip!