Overview:
A boring night of Chimothée Talamet rom-coms turns out to be a fate that’s so intense that it can’t even be avoided by unconsciousness. Sarah’s love for these gooey romance films doesn’t mesh with Rachel’s idea of a fun night. However, Rachel’s hopes for alternative plans soon get kiboshed when Sarah’s collective unconscious becomes so committed to a relaxing movie night that it’s willing to consume anything that gets near it..
Our Take:
Romance is easily the most interesting catalyst between Sarah and Rachel. It’s fluid territory that’s able to split these two apart like nothing else. Romance, or lack thereof, may be well-trodden territory for YOLO. However, this history only adds greater credence to the events of “Chaise and the City,” which happens to explore the twisted love triangle of Sarah, Rachel, and their egos in an especially creative way. “Chaise and the City” feels like the evolution of the tension and drama that’s developed across the show’s first season rather than coming across as a retread of old ideas. There are similar themes and broader goals that are present here, but it’s otherwise a wholly unique episode of YOLO that gets to the root of Sarah, Rachel, and their sweetly toxic and toxicly sweet codependent relationship.
YOLO has previously had fun with experimental visuals during its first season and it even engages in a full-on live-action dance sequence. However, “Chase and the City” contains some of the most exciting animation to come out of the series once Sarah’s imagination attempts to recreate the more polished aesthetic of a black-and-white American arthouse film a la Woody Allen or Wes Anderson. YOLO subtly changes the quality and nature of its animation in a way that doesn’t distinctly feel American, but does have a unique vibe from the show’s standard chaos.
The look of “Chase and the City” is reminiscent of the early animation that might have aired on HBO or Comedy Central during the 1990s. Sarah’s character model is particularly striking. This new look is not distinctly better or worse than YOLO’s typical style, but it does feel as if it’s in its own ethereal world. It’s a gambit that pays off and it’s encouraging to see how much time YOLO: Silver Destiny spends in this contrasting dream world. It’s not just a creative visual gag but rather it becomes the playground that “Chaise and the City” spends most of its time in.
“Chaise and the City” quickly falls into a fairly predictable pattern where stretches of Sarah and Chimothée’s love story plays out, only for Rachel’s crude interjections to occasionally break up the flow like an even more ornery version of Mystery Science Theater 3000. This basic structure doesn’t hold back “Chaise and the City” and it’s a more effective direction for the series than if these roles were reversed and Sarah had to infiltrate Rachel’s psyche (although this premise wouldn’t be out of place in a future installment).
It’s easy to imagine a weaker version of “Chaise and the City” where Rachel arbitrarily conquers Sarah’s Puppetmaster through some random, simple maneuver. These left-turn twists are prevalent throughout the first season of YOLO and wouldn’t be out of place here. However, “Chase and the City” is better off for its more mature resolution where Rachel bests this creature through her genuine understanding of her friend. This victory is diminished, but it’s vital that YOLO solves this problem through love instead of eccentric violence (even though chaos still gets a chance to reign here). These decisions continue to reflect the evolution of not only Rachel and Sarah, but YOLO: Silver Destiny as a whole.
“Chase and the City” is a strong episode of YOLO: Silver Destiny that properly balances the animated series’ emotional and fantastical impulses in a way that feels incredibly natural. It’s an episode of television that’s brave enough to ask the eternal question of what weighs more between a healthy friendship and a tasty chicken parma? “Chase and the City” takes a wonderfully mundane activity and finds a way to turn it into another ultimate test for Sarah and Rachel that also manages to shine a brighter light on who they are. YOLO’s standard silliness and unpredictable plotting is fully on display here and yet “Chaise and the City” still manages to say something genuinely sweet about friendship in the process.