Review: Aquaman: King of Atlantis “Chapter Three: Tidal Shift”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

After Ocean Master and Pytor Mortikov join forces and the dreaded villain Scavenger enters the fold, Aquaman fights for the hearts and minds of his subjects and the physical existence of Atlantis and Earth!

Our Take:

This has been an intriguing journey for me when it comes to this miniseries. After starting with a modest beginning and continuing with a solid middle chapter, Aquaman: King of Atlantis has become one of the shows that gradually gets better as they go on, in my eyes. Now, the animated trilogy is coming to a close, with Aquaman facing the greatest challenge of his life to prove himself worthy enough to become Atlantis’ new king. The question is, is it exciting enough to conclude the story arc on a satisfying note?

Its third and final chapter, “Tidal Shift”, sees Aquaman still struggling to earn the trust of his subjects. Because, apparently, they still love Ocean Master despite his misdeeds, and they’re all as dumb as rocks. Then, Vulko reveals the true purpose of the time crystals. They’re both sources of the Armor of Chronox, which can be used to destroy planets. Meanwhile, Ocean Master and Mortikov team up to cause a jailbreak and distract the heroes while Mortikov sneaks in and steals the armor and the crystals. Now known as Scavenger, Mortikov plots to use the armor to split Atlantis, along with the entire planet, in two. It’s now up to Aquaman, Mera, and Vulko to defeat Scavenger and save the world.

When it comes to final chapters, limited shows tend to go all out to end their stories with a bang, especially with the action scenes and concluding character arcs. Aquaman: King of Atlantis happens to be one of them. “Tidal Shift” continues its consistent streak of enjoyableness that began in “Primordious” by providing a frenetic and vibrant showdown between good and evil.

The chapter also offered more screen time for Vulko (Thomas Lennon) following his brief appearances in the previous episodes. Horrible puns aside, the writers finally gave this character a chance to shine by having him fight alongside Aquaman and Mera, and the result was pretty good. Vulko was portrayed as a genius who’s worried about his trinkets breaking. Like Aquaman and Mera, his personality was altered to fit the show’s goofy and kid-friendly tone, but it was also balanced well with his action scenes.

The humor also continued to deliver some amusingly fun moments. Although, it will highly depend on how you feel towards light-hearted DC content. The main element of the comedy was Aquaman’s subjects, who constantly ridicule him and prefer Ocean Master as their king. On the one hand, their stupidity can be annoying after a while. But, on the other hand, it works in representing Aquaman’s final phase of becoming king in a tolerable way. The animation maintained its status as the highlight of the show. Despite some unattractive details during a couple of scenes, the style offered plenty of color and energy in its action sequences and backgrounds to resemble a graphic novel for kids.

Overall, “Tidal Shift” concludes Aquaman’s royal journey on a fulfilling and action-packed note. As for the entire show itself, I would say that it was enjoyable for what it’s trying to accomplish. Aquaman: King of Atlantis is similar to Teen Titans Go, in which they provide kid-friendly and goofy versions of our favorite DC superheroes and different animation styles. The former happens to be a bit better because of its engaging story arc and ambition. While the humor and animation may not impress everyone, King of Atlantis is nonetheless another suitable addition to DC’s line of family-friendly content not just for television but also for HBO Max.