Review: The Great North “Dances with Wolfs Adventure”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Wolf is excited about taking Moon to his weekly Saturday recorder practice, but when he discovers that it’s actually a group therapy session for children with divorced parents, he begins to take the past too seriously and winds up needing help dealing with his parents divorce himself. Meanwhile, Honeybee gets attacked by an eagle who also happens to be a town council member, and tries to get payback for her lost mitten… until she realizes that the eagle deserves to be on the council after all.

Our Take:

It’s 2022 and time to welcome in the new year with another episode of the Great North. Dances with Wolfs Adventure, the first episode of the year, finds Wolf and Moon going on a journey of healing in order to fully and properly process their parents divorce. There’s also some drama between Honeybee and a town council member who just so happens to be an eagle. It’s a bit of a wild ride at times, but felt like a great way to welcome 2022—and the Great North back to our screens.

The main plot starts with Wolf chauffeuring Moon to his Saturday recorder practice, only to discover that his little brother has secretly been attending a group therapy class to help kids deal with divorces. The children get to eat ice cream, talk about their feelings, and watch corny videos comparing divorces to banana splits. Moon isn’t into any of except the ice cream part, but Wolf quickly becomes a disruption to the class when he realizes that he may have been responsible for introducing his mother to her new partner because of his insistence on learning to tap dance.

It’s a fun little storyline that also has some surprising weight behind it. Wolf is usually one of the wackier characters in an already pretty wacky show, so it’s nice to see him get a more serious sort of emotional arc that isn’t just centered on comedy. The realization that his mom knew his dance instructor long before he joined the class may not be the best ending to encourage personal growth for Wolf, but it’s a fine way to wrap things up efficiently.

Honeybee’s B plot may not take up quite as much screen time as Wolf and Moon’s trip into the past, but it was perhaps more enjoyable. I’m all about the sillier aspects of life, and an aggressive eagle being on the town council is right up that alley. Honeybee’s progression from just wanting to get her mitten back, to wanting to eject Toby from the council, to wanting to enact new laws to keep him on was a bit fast, but it felt natural enough for her character. I’m still on team anti-eagle myself, but it was sweet of Honeybee to go up to bat in Toby and his keeper’s favor. I think my favorite bit in the whole episode had to be when Ham flashed back to when he was running to unseat Toby, and lost the debate to him. (The crowd just loved those interrupting eagle squawks!)

Dances with Wolfs Adventure is a welcome return for the Great North after the annual holiday hiatus. It showcases Wolf in a way that I haven’t quite happen before, giving him a deeper emotional subject to try and work through. But there are still plenty of laughs thanks to Honeybee’s struggle against Toby the eagle and his owner Roy. Roy may have given up on his dreams to become a council member at one time due to being dry and boring, but this episode was far from those descriptors!