Review: Bigfoot “Genius”

OVERVIEW
Mother Nature, the ethereal spirit of the forest, visits to grant each of the woodland creatures gifts for many hardships and accomplishments. That is, except for Bigfoot, who is snubbed due to his role of “King of the Forest” seemingly not having much value or use. In his outrage, Bigfoot is relieved of his duties, but will the forest manage without him?

OUR TAKE
Bigfoot has long made a huge personal deal out of his seemingly self-appointed position as king of the forest, though I can’t say we’ve ever really had that best portrayed until this episode. Whenever we’ve seen Bigfoot around humans, it’s no surprise that they’ve long since lost curiosity or respect now that the mystique of him has faded. But it seems like his relationship with the beings he supposedly rules over is equally poor, to the point that whatever actual supremacy he holds is questionable at best. It’s only now that we really get to see the order he enforces, and it’s only AFTER we meet what is apparently his supervisor, the literal Mother Nature. Being only a few floating rings attached to a naggy but doting voice, she presents herself…well, like a mother would, handing out gifts easily to her children and showing them much affection and joy. But to Bigfoot…nothing. He’s even more of a disappointment to her than anyone else, supposedly due to the fact that his occupation isn’t necessary in the first place. This begs the question of how or why Bigfoot came up with that title or when, if ever, it was effective, but even if it was, those days have long since passed.

That is, until we finally see what happens when he’s deposed and the forest animals submit themselves to their urges…and it’s apparently kind of like humans do, but it’s just animals doing it. In a weird bit of irony, Warren, the only one amongst them that doesn’t seem to have the ability to talk with noises other than tweets, is the only one keeping his shit together and even tries to keep the growing angry mob at bay. He really is the only true friend Bigfoot has in the whole world (which is even more reason why I expect the finale to focus on his permanent turn to the darkside, but we’ve got a few more weeks until we know for sure). But it also seems that, seeing the sheer chaos that has been wrought in her absence, Mother Nature also sees the value in Bigfoot’s work, so his position is safe for now. So, overall, this feels like a bunch of stuff that was overdue but also might be setting up quickly upcoming stories. It’s about on the level with nearly every other episode I’ve seen so it’s not great, but I have certainly seen worse and can definitely endure another three weeks of this.