Review: Tuca & Bertie “Somebirdy’s Getting Married”; “The Mole”

Overview:

It’s time for closure, catalysts, and consequences as Tuca, Bertie, and Speckle put on their best attire and celebrate the miracle of love at the wedding of Speckle’s sister. The happy ceremony brings forward unresolved feelings for all birds involved and some dire decisions lie ahead as Bertie and Tuca consider their romantic dreams and fears. Matters of the heart make sure that these are an emotional two episodes, but this spiritual release turns into a physical dilemma as Tuca’s tug of war with her body reaches an impasse. 

And has Bird Town’s greatest match–Speckle and architecture–finally called it quits?!

Our Take:

The third season of Tuca & Bertie has sent its characters down challenging paths, and while they’ve mostly come out the other side as improved individuals, it’s now time to put this progress to the test through a beyond-stressful double-header season finale. “Somebirdy’s Getting Married” and “The Mole” are independent entries, but they both deal with the season’s most important ideas and feel like fitting closure for a season of indecision. These episodes push Bertie, Tuca, and Speckle to consider their past and presents while their future happiness lies on the line. “Somebirdy’s Getting Married” and “The Mole” are full of laughs, surprises, and resolution that end this season with intelligence and grace, whether these happen to be Tuca & Bertie’s swan song or merely an interlude to something bigger.

Bertie experiences a bit of the Scott Pilgrim treatment when she comes face-to-face with a cabal of Speckle’s “evil” exes, an experience that only causes Bertie to feel worse about her own insecurities. It’s frantically a little shocking that in the five-plus years that Bertie and Speckle have been together that they’d never discuss past relationships and discuss this important territory. It further points towards the superficial nature of this romance, that despite the undeniable love that’s present, might be a bit of a security blanket for both characters in different capacities. It’s just as telling to learn that Speckle has had amicable break-ups with all of his exes, many of which seem like they’re a lot to handle. Speckle is so conditioned to avoid conflict and be the “good guy” that he’s robbed himself of the necessary catharsis and growing experiences to prevent a shockingly hollow multi-year relationship like he evidently may be in with Bertie. 

It’s important to remember that Tuca & Bertie has only provided glimpses of Bertie and Speckle’s characters while in this relationship dynamic and so the audience doesn’t have the context to judge their behavior. However, it’s safe to say that most people wouldn’t consider Speckle’s current state to be an improvement from where he’s at when Tuca & Bertie begins. Speckle is too oblivious to realize this, but the events of Dottie’s wedding is enough to make these negative thoughts invade Bertie’s frazzled mind. Even the self-involved Tuca is able to recognize Speckle’s depression. To make matters worse, Bertie doesn’t have her typical emotional support toucan by her side as much as she’d like. That’s not to say that a meltdown would be unavoidable, even with Tuca firmly by Bertie’s side, but it pushes the wedding portion of this finale into a more frantic state of mind. 

Tuca’s behavior with Figgy demonstrates similar growth where she’s able to turn to him for support, but without it coming at the expense of her morals or beliefs. The developments that take place with Figgy are genuinely heartwarming and one element that I’ll be excited to see Tuca & Bertie continue to explore if there happens to be another season. The same is true for the moments in “The Mole” where Figgy and Speckle get to work together as a team. It may be brief, but there are already the makings for a strong, healthy friendship here.

“Somebirdy’s Getting Married” helps test Tuca & Bertie’s characters and see if they’ve truly been able to grow and change, but the events of “The Mole” are considerably more somber, albeit presented through a fantastical lens. It’s a harsh cooldown period from the sillier heights that are reached at Dottie’s wedding. Beyond Bertie and Speckle’s relationship schisms, it’s Tuca’s lingering health problems that have dominated the season. In this sense, the season comes full circle as it properly addresses the issues that began to gnaw away at Tuca in “The Pain Garden.” 

It’s also a fun turn of events that the ways in which the criticisms of Bertie’s mom make her literally smaller play a vital plot point in “The Mole” as Bertie goes all Fantastic Voyage to help with Tuca’s imminent rupture. It’s the longest session of absurdism that the series has indulged in, but it’s only appropriate to go above and beyond with this tribute to Tuca’s character as the season comes to a close. It’s a minor detail, but it’s also appreciated that “The Mole” does a lot to redeem Kara’s character and highlights that people can change, contain multitudes, and don’t just remain villains because it’s convenient to view them as such.

“Somebirdy’s Getting Married” and “The Mole” are the perfect one-two punch to end what’s been a consistently fulfilling season of Tuca & Bertie. These episodes properly display the extremes that give this animated series such depth. Tuca & Bertie can engage in bird-based silliness for a half-hour or trigger a traumatic tale with real-world resonance, which are areas where these two episodes both triumph and compliment one another. The grand finale of all of this is visually gorgeous, but more importantly reinforces the undying bond between Tuca and Bertie and how their friendship is the ultimate superpower that can help them achieve anything. It’s a satisfying close to the season that highlights why Tuca & Bertie is so beautiful, unique, and worthy of more time to let these birds spread their wings and soar.