Review: Big City Greens “Green Mirror; Cricket’s Tickets”
Overview (Spoilers)
“Green Mirror”
When the Greens interrupt a conference after a vegetable delivery to Big Tech founder Gwendolyn Zapp (Cheri Oteri) goes awry, they’re recruited into beta testing some new self improvement technology called “Flawless You!” Tilly encourages the rest of the family to try it, until she realizes there may be unintended consequences.
“Cricket’s Tickets”
After accidentally finding some hidden tickets for a coveted showing of The Barnacle Banquet, Cricket is faced with the impossible task of trying to decide whether to take Tilly or Remy. After his sister and best friend start vying to win his favor, Cricket lets the power go to his head and instigates a bidding war among every kid in the neighborhood, forcing Tilly and Remy to take drastic action in retaliation.
Our Take
Ties are tested this week, between both family and friends. Tilly in particular sees some character development in regards to how she values and interacts with the people in her life. The rest of the cast more or less stays the course, but manage to get in plenty of entertaining lines along the way.
As someone who couldn’t stomach “Black Mirror” long enough to reach its actual critiques of technology, I definitely prefer the animated version that is “Green Mirror”. Not only does this episode manage to investigate the impact of technology running rampant in our lives in a concise way, but it does so without veering into the easily mocked “what if phones but too much?” territory. After being uploaded into a Tron-like cyberspace, Zapp explains to the Greens the process for removing flaws from their personalities, with the help of a giant gun (“does the gun have to be so big?” “No!”) Tilly assists her by drawing out the most glaring issues each family member faces, but unfortunately in the quest of making them flawless, essentially erases their personalities entirely. Thankfully, she sees the flaws in her ways and is able to save her family from obliteration. Bonus points for the dystopian lines about Big Tech knowing what everyone’s living room looks like, and Gwendolyn Zapp’s fate in the system, all delivered in an exceptionally cheerful tone.
“Cricket’s Tickets” is one of those episodes that almost perfectly encapsulates the series itself. It’s also a classic example of the common storyline wherein a character finds themselves being treated well by others and takes it too far. The personalities of each of the kids are on full display, starting with Cricket’s reaction to accidentally finding the tickets, “I knew hard work never pays off!” Tilly and Remy are both far more interested in the show than Cricket, and while they individually try to win his favor, they eventually team up against him. We’re briefly introduced to a new character, Gregly, who boasts a design reminiscent of young Crocker from Fairly OddParents and is voiced by Tim Robinson. Things of course work out in the end, but I have to hand it to this show for finding original endings to tried-and-true plotlines.
This week’s episodes continue to build out the relationships between our Big City dwellers in an interesting and meaningful way. Compelling writing, a few well-placed pop culture references that somehow work without being too schticky, and the now-expected level of art quality all help this week earn its place. Looking forward to what the Houghton brothers have in store for us next!
