Review: Invincible Fight Girl “Bertie Unbound”

Overview

With the days counting down, Andy continues her attempts to accomplish even one Perfect Strike; the Busters invite her to their monthly Rusty Rumble tourney, and Andy gets her first look at the other competitors vying for wrestling greatness.

Our Take

Bertie Unbound pretty much refers to Bertie going Hulk as a result of the events of last week’s episode that quickly leads to a wrestling match with Andy. That said, for a side quest episode, Ben Joseph helps write one of the better examples I’ve seen on American television. The dramatic elements of the show are really starting to shine through and exhibit many levels of conflict. Special kudos should be given to Alan Wan who does an exquisite job of directing the pain that Bertie is going through and the further internal conflict Andy is going through as she’s both trying to win her match and also remain ambivalent to Bertie’s parents and Bertie.

Anjali Kunapaneni dazzles in her role as Bertie giving real depth to her character so much so that I hope she returns (and judging by her outro, I think she will). Moreover, Sydney Mikayla’s continued time with Andy showcases a real trust of her own character and helps show the different levels of meaning that the performance seems to indicate, real elements confliction and unconscious bias as it pertains to Andy’s internal struggle with her decisions.

With three episodes left it will be interesting to continue to see how much this show can grow before the completion of the show’s first season. A big tournament kicks off next week, Andy’s still trying to perfect her finishing maneuver, and Bertie is still out there somewhere. There are a lot of threads still at play, and I’m looking forward to seeing where everything wraps.