Review: Our Cartoon President “Militarization”

“Doctors are considering putting Trump in a two-year medically induced coma.”

Overview:

After being upset by Mike Pence overtaking him in the popularity polls Trump decides to launch a ‘Minority Disenfranchisement Act’. Essentially trying to make it more difficult for minorities to vote. But, Trump has a hard time being subtle.

At the same time, Trump is dealing with a serious internal blockage that forces him into surgery. His absence and newly found subtlety allow Pence to take center stage, which brings out Trump’s insecurity. The president is going to have to trust his inflated gut when it comes to his loyal best friend.

Our Take:

I feel ever so awkward after watching this episode. There are so many backward ideas that are floated around – all be it, as a joke but, there are some concepts that are difficult to watch, funny or not. Legitimizing racism, Mike Pence as a president, Trump playing the part of the hero, it’s all uncomfortable ideas to sit with. To make that entertaining is probably the biggest challenge the show writers face.

Racism was a significant part of this episode, and that would be fine if it wasn’t so honest. One of the scariest parts of the Trump administration is the bigotry and discrimination that seems to fuel them. So, on one hand, it is easy to laugh at. On the other hand, it is truly unsettling.

The episode had a solid congruent plot in place of the two-story formula that has been carrying the show and many other sitcoms. It is always a breath of fresh air when a show like this shakes things up. Many of my previous complaints within the series were not present for this episode. In place was an entirely new formula that worked really well for the characters.

For some reason, the art structure really pulled me out of the show tonight. Is it just me or does this animated Trump look really messed up? Sure, the real world Trump looks really messed up, but the longer the show goes on the less and less the animated version resembles the president. Also, he doesn’t even talk like Trump anymore and a whole new character has developed. With one episode remaining in the season, I would hope that this issue is addressed moving forward.

My feelings on this episode are a bit inconsistent. While I appreciated the layout of the story and the use of characters, there was a lack of stand-out jokes – it wasn’t an overly funny episode. Maybe it was due to my uncomfortable feelings towards the themes or being conscious of the art, but there was some flair missing to help the episode along. Not to say it wasn’t entertaining, it was just that close to becoming one of the strongest pieces of the season.