Review: Housebroken “Who’s a Bad Girl (Part 2)”

Overview:

Honey has run away from home. Hitting the road with her overly fantasized love interest quickly backfires. Aside from learning that Armando the coyote may not be all that he seems, living in the wild is even less fulfilling. It is not long before Honey turns tail and returns home.

However, when Chief discovers that Honey has been rubbing noses with another canine, jealousy takes over. Although taking his anger to the wild may not be the safest decision. And when Honey realizes that Chief may be in danger it is all paws on deck.

Our Take:

The finale for the first season of Housebroken manages to cover all its promises. The back-half of a two-part special also wraps up underline plots stretched throughout an 11-episode season. Every member of the large ensemble cast finishes their last dangling arcs. And most importantly, the season finale packs in extra laughs helping to set the stage for next year.

Plot-wise this episode moves quickly and predictably. Obviously, Honey was not going to last out in the wild with a pack of coyotes. However, surprisingly, it is over before breakfast, or just enough time for a humorous montage. Unfortunately, with the season-long lead up to this moment, far too many potential jokes remained unutilized.

Thankfully the show takes another stab at it by sending Chief out for his own prance in the wild. This second round is much more unexpected and entertaining. Even though this scene doesn’t stretch much longer than Honey’s, the montage is twice as clever.  

As for the rest of the group, only a few character arcs remained to be concluded. Max comes to terms with returning to therapy after his big goodbye. Elsa finds companionship when getting in a relationship with Diablo, though she dumps him within the hour. And likely the most relieving, Will Forte’s character, Shel, survives the attack from his crazy ex.

The only character left of the group that hasn’t faced much adversity is Chico. This episode manages to squeeze in a last side-plot to give the fat cat some screen time. Even though Chico has been under-utilized, he is one of the most likeable. Which makes the fact his owner is inattentive to him even more heartbreaking.

While all this is well and good, this season finale does go above and beyond with some big laughs. The intro delivered by the Raccoon is extra-special after falling in love with the character over the last few months. The connection Honey makes with a bunny is overshadowed by a better unlikely friendship between a kangaroo and an octopus. And how the group escapes danger is not only clever but relevant.

Over the course of eleven episodes, this show has grown and become a fan favourite. The season-finale works not only for concluding the larger stories but showcasing everything great about the show. It will be exciting to see how the stakes are raised next season, and how the series settles into itself. Until then, this will be a fun season to binge-watch as a complete set.