Review: The Great North “From Tusk Til Dawn Adventure”
Overview (Spoilers Below):
Tusk Johnson, a former celebrity mountain man, returns to Lone Moose with a big favor to ask of Beef and Wolf. Meanwhile, Honeybee enters a contest to win her own mall kiosk.
Our Take:
It’s not every day you have someone asking you for help. But when that someone is a celebrity with a bad influence, you should probably reconsider your act of kindness. That’s how I would describe the latest episode of The Great North, which sees the return of a familiar face from season one and Honeybee attempting to win a special prize.
The episode started with Moon looking for Bogies on the tree. Instead, he found former celebrity Tusk Johnson (J. K. Simmons), who arrives at the Tobin house to tell the family he’s come clean. Tusk asked Beef and Wolf to throw a bachelor party on the boat to celebrate his engagement. Wolf kindly accepts as he is eager to forgive and forget despite being almost killed by Tusk’s trick. Although, Beef is still convinced that Tusk may be up to his old tricks again.
“From Tusk Til Dawn Adventure” features the second appearance of Tusk Johnson, following the ninth episode of season one, “Tusk in the Wind Adventure”. Interestingly enough, this episode is the ninth adventure in season two. It looks like this character has got himself a lucky number in the show.
As all of you know, Tusk Johnson wasn’t precisely the television hero he seemed to be for Beef and Wolf, as seen in “Tusk in the Wind Adventure”. He almost tore Beef and Wolf’s relationship apart and got Wolf stuck on a log over a crevasse. This episode sees Tusk turning over a new leaf with a bachelor party that quickly goes off the rails in the best way possible. The Great North has found itself the best episode of its sophomore season so far regarding the dialogue and message.
Tusk Johnson in “Tusk in the Wind Adventure” has proved himself to be a character you’ll love to hate with his personality and J. K. Simmons’s vocal performance. “From Tusk Til Dawn Adventure” attempted to make him a character you’ll love to like, and the results were pretty fantastic. When it comes to the deliverance, J. K. Simmons successfully brought out the charm and comedy as Tusk Johnson. Simmons has always been one of my favorite actors, and I’m pleased to see that his work on television is still as enjoyable as his film roles.
What also worked in the episode was the humorous dialogue. There were a lot of hysterical moments that earned its massive chuckles, such as Tusk’s “Shot on the Boat” conversation, Wolf’s tortoise trick, and the New Kids on the Dock. There’s also a kiosk competition subplot that offered some solid jokes, even though they’re close to being as memorable as the main plot.
The episode also provided a respectable message regarding its script. Beef was worrying so much about Tusk that he wound up trusting Dan, Tusk’s former sidekick who’s secretly plotting revenge. However, he eventually forgave himself and helped Wolf rescue Tusk and Dan from Dan’s smugglers. It shows that everyone deserves a second chance, even a celebrity who almost got someone killed.
Overall, “From Tusk Til Dawn Adventure” is a hilarious and well-written episode that redeems a season one character and throws a fun bachelor party. From J. K. Simmons’s fantastic performance to its terrific humor, this is one of the better episodes that fully embrace the show’s comedic and tenderhearted quality. The Great North will be hosting its first holiday episode in the next couple of weeks, so it’ll be interesting to see if its Christmas party will be just as successful as the bachelor party.
