Review: Red Ketchup: “Full Metal Ketchup” ; “The Hunt for Red Titanic”

The quest for the Seven Grails of the Knights Templar continues! His search for the third cup brings Red to back to Vietnam – the place where he was transformed from a troubled young man looking for a way to serve his country into an unstoppable rogue agent/drug addict. Trusty sidekick Peter Plywood tags along for moral support, only to come across his own unwelcome blast from the past in the form of a woman named Kiki. Kiki used to have a sister named Becky, but Peter kind of accidentally killed her. Kiki also wants to get the grail, which, by the way, gives the chosen one who quaffs of it the ability to temporarily transform into anybody they’ve ever met. Peter also becomes the cook at a POW camp turned drug lab, but his food receives mixed reviews. Meanwhile, Bill and Sally grapple with an ape they kidnapped.

The fourth grail is, obviously, the one that gives the user the power of dominion over all animals. The Beast Grail was lost in the sinking of The Titanic, which means Red has to commandeer a Soviet sub and pilot the pilfered submersible all the way to the bottom of the ocean. The Grail is indeed on board, but so is a weird old dude that calls himself God. It’s God’s duty to guard the holy chalice. A battle of boat wits begins, but things turn a little bit biblical when Red and Peter end up getting swallowed by a giant whale, which is bad because Peter’s got a Smuttsian degree of hatred for whales, because a whale ate his brother, and his boombox. If you’re thinking that this is going to be the point where the Beast Grail’s animal control powers come into play, then you must not watch this show very often – the situation is resolved, yet again, with a whole bunch of cocaine. Meanwhile, Sally entertains an old friend who is also a cannibal.

In times of great emotional stress, Red has visions of a Penguin, just like American folk hero Billy Madison. Having to go back to Vietnam is obviously giving Red some subliminal PTSD, because Deputy Penguin is in haunting his dreams. When it comes to Red, of course, that shit stays in Dreamland. Peter Plywood‘s stress over killing one person, by accident, is far more intense than anything Red allows to come to the surface of his mind, ever. Red in this half of the season is all about the grails, all the time. Once he’s got his mother’s cup back, perhaps the dreams will stop. Also, Peter being bad at things is always funny, especially when there’s a whole bunch of prisoners at the camp throwing him a ton of sass for making healthy, nasty food.

Week after week, Sally continues to impress with her various hidden skills. She scales a building with her bare hands, something she apparently learned how to do before she escaped from the circus. Because Red’s childhood trauma is one of the central parts of the show, it’s easy to forget that Sally had a fucked up childhood also. Her circus background maybe explains why she steals a drug-addled ape with albinism from a dangerous criminal and brings it to a hotel room to help it get clean. It’s actually quite possible that Bill and Sally’s gonzo drug trip from episode 11 has never ended.

Both Kiki and her now deceased sister Becky are voiced by the incomparable Jean Yoon. Yoon brings real class and grace to all of her roles – even the extremely flatulent Kiki and her sister’s ghost. Kiki’s got a “Lucky Star” era Madonna look, a noble cause, and the wherewithal to make her dream of revenge (against childhood diabetes) become a reality. In conclusion, Jean Yoon is awesome.

The second story is classic Ketchup – steal a submarine, kill the entire crew, and then realize that neither he, nor Peter, are capable of piloting it. Olga, as always, saves the day, aiding the agents in getting down to the world’s most famous shipwreck. Her taking the helm allows the generally ungrateful guys to riff about the reasons they both hate whales. Peter, of course, hates them because of all that brother eating stuff – Red hates them for being communists.

This episode is full of great dialogue, including the excellent “I’ll send a jellyfish back to diddle ya,” that Red utters as he walks away with the grail. A close second would be Peter  concluding his tale of marine woe by saying “A whale destroyed my family… mother blamed me for not saving him, father made me pay for a new boombox.” Don’t worry, though – Plywood gets his mix tape AND his boombox back.

It’s also really nice to see Sergei Lem return! The charming people killer wants to make right on his past sins by only eating bad guys. Sally’s not loving it but it is a start! Lem’s first appearance had real Cary Grant in “Suspicion” vibes, and he’s just as menacingly charming as ever! His backstory as a later in life serial killer is also inspiring for all those would be psycho killers out there that think it’s too late to get started on a successful career as a serial killer. Bill is at least able to help Lem curb those murderous impulses with a shopping spree – after all, hasn’t raw dirty capitalism always been the cure for murder?

The first half of Red Ketchup’a first season was great, but the second half is, so far, even more great! It’s a bit of a risk to do a mid-season introduction of a new set of magic powers every episode, but it’s a risk that has been paying off. It’s cool when Red has powers, and the unusual reasoning he has for using his powers or, in this case, not using them, are always interesting. Keep ‘em coming!