Review: Solar Opposites “An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special”

Overview:

It’s Valentine’s Day in Solar Opposites, which means that it’s time to break out the gaudy pink decorations and bargain bin chocolates! Unfortunately, love is not in the air for the Solars and they’re determined to make the rest of the planet as emotionally numb as they are. Sci-fi bullshit blends with an avian apocalypse and suddenly a presumptuous holiday to sell greeting cards is the least of anyone’s concerns.

Our Take:

“Valentine’s Day is the most romantic night of the year,” and with that bold proclamation, the Solars make a bitter rival with this commercially-driven love fest holiday. It’s been  consistently entertaining whenever the Solars rage against a confounding Earth custom. However, there’s considerable appeal to this alien family actively fighting against a tradition, which in this case is a macrocosm of love. This essentially puts the Solars up against kindness, empathy, and romance in general, which holds just as much potential as their previous tirades against Christmas and Halloween, even if there’s no Crypt Keeper along for the ride this time.

Solar Opposites typically succeeds with whatever combination of characters that it brings together or pulls apart. A Valentine’s Day deconstruction could go in many different directions, but the central conflict here stems from Jesse’s appreciation for the romantic holiday. She doesn’t want to wage a war on love, even though it’s a concept that’s foreign to Shlorpians, who instead have “teammate affinity” as their dominant emotion. It’s smart to have Jesse at the center of this story and operating as the voice of reason and opposing force.

Similarly, Yumyulack’s turn as the grander villain also works well. Solar Opposites does some of its best work when he and Jesse are in conflict with each other. The decision to treat Sully Sullenberger and Zac Gallen as bird-hating pariahs rather than a heroic pilot and accomplished pitcher is also the brilliant type of true-but-not joke that Solar Opposites does so well. It’s also really fun to get another holiday variant version of Solar Opposites’ opening credits for each special. It’s a benign element, but it’s still enjoyable to see just how detailed and creative the animation department gets with these visual makeovers.

Solar Opposites is never a show to waste time, but it’s impressive just how quickly this episode is off to the races and the Solars erase love from the Earth. What’s equally effective in this special is how Valentine’s Day is really just the catalyst to a whole year’s worth of chaos. Like many of the Solars’ best plans, they enact a measure that’s incredibly extreme for something that’s quite short-sighted. Yes, they achieve what they want and have a modest February 14th that’s without compromise. However, the bulk of “An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special” explores the chain reaction of side effects that their irresponsible actions caused and the true dangers behind a world without love. It’s a smart way to deliver a Valentine’s Day-centric episode that’s indebted to the holiday, but still gets out of its shadow and does something different from the past holiday specials. Of course, the Shlorpians’ crusade against love results in a parrot apocalypse because this is Solar fucking Opposites. What else is it going to do with a Valentine’s Day special? Tell a tender and timeless love story?

Solar Opposites is a series that’s deeply aware of its past and there are multiple moments in ”An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special” where characters call out past storylines and if they’re destined to make the same mistakes. This self-aware nature amounts to more than just playful, mocking commentary and it pushes Solar Opposites to leave its comfort zone and deliver their biggest and weirdest holiday special yet. It’s exactly what’s needed to surpass expectations and turn something as innocuous as a Valentine’s Day special into one of the series’ silliest and most thought-provoking installments. It also contains a pitch-perfect “Mambo No. 5” gag, so if nothing else, it’s got that.

Evidently, in lieu of love, tiki culture reigns supreme. This is actually a rather thin premise by Solar Opposites standards, which is why the apocalyptic third act is so crucial to “An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special’s” success. Nonsense begets greater nonsense begets emotional understanding and catharsis, which is all that one can hope for with Solar Opposites. That being said, I wouldn’t mind the series taking another crack at this holiday in the future – perhaps as a regular episode instead of a seasonal special – and seeing where they go with it. It’s a successful experiment that’s hardly “normal,” but one that still ranks below the series’ past Christmas and Halloween specials. The Solars should be genetically engineering their own version of Cupid whose arrows turn romantics into emotionally distant losers, or something equally complex. A Book of Eli-style end of times scenario gets introduced in the episode’s second-half and most of the best material in “An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special” occurs after this cataclysmic shoe drops. It’s encouraging that the episode ends stronger than it begins, but the perfunctory first act becomes the special’s biggest hurdle.

“An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special” embraces a lofty metaphor about the death of liberty, which works quite well and should catch the audience by surprise. It’s definitely an unexpected message to get in a Valentine’s Day special as opposed to a condemnation of consumerism or that true love comes from within. It’s also absolutely the type of gonzo left turn that Solar Opposites loves to make on a regular basis. Solar Opposites could be a little cleaner with “An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special’s” conclusion, but it does find a way to bring all of this back to love and reiterate its purpose in the world. It even uses another type of fowl to thread its needle and nearly resolve its bird-based chaos. Solar Opposites seamlessly and thoughtfully kills two birds with one clone and then ends with a legitimately moving wedding.

“An Earth Shatteringly Romantic Solar Valentine’s Day Opposites Special” is a satisfying ending to a standout Solar Opposites season. It’s a fun winter treat that doesn’t rewrite the series’ status quo – nor should anyone expect it to – but it does reach a sweet resolution that should make longtime Solar Opposites fans smile. There’s a brief St. Patrick’s Day tease here, which could very well become the subject of Solar Opposites’ next holiday special. There’s definitely more than enough to unpack there when it comes to the sloppy nature of the human condition. In the meantime, Solar Opposites just wants to appreciate the time that it’s got left with its silly Shlorpians, whether that ends with season five or continues for several more years of “sci-fi bullshit.”