Review: Doomsday Brothers “All is Lost”

 

 

Overview:

General Hex is undertaking his masterplan to retrieve the information he needs from AENUS to save his child. Unbeknownst to him, Gabe and Rafe have hitched a ride in an attempt to keep their mom safe. However, the bunker’s supercomputer is not so willing to let the boys see their mother and distracts them with an escape room.

Meanwhile, Judith gives up her escape attempt to help her robot friend from General Hex’s attack. Although when she discovers who AENUS is hiding from her, she has a change of heart. Unfortunately, time is running out as the bunker sets to go into lockdown once again.

 

Our Take:

Canada’s newest adult animated series has made some waves throughout its inaugural season. The ground-breaking show has delivered episode after episode unlike anything produced in the nation before. And it has all been in lead up to this very climactic season finale.

The tension has sat in the air since the pilot. The series has been split in two. With one story following the dysfunctional brothers’ trials and tribulations of staying alive and protecting the town of St. Zephyr. And the show’s third main character, locked in a bunker hidden from the rest of the characters.

Slowly we learned the pieces of the puzzle that is Doomsday Brothers. That the woman locked in the bunker is the brother’s mother. How Judith ended up trapped within AENUS. And why she is not safe in the most locked-up place in the wasteland.

And it all pays off in one spectacular finish.

The boys have never been so close to being reunited with their mom. Judith has never been so close to salvation. And in the end, it is not General Hex that keeps them apart, but Judith’s friend and sometimes lover, AENUS. Though, it is completely in character, as the robot has proven on multiple occasions that his selfish needs come before others.

There are no definitive conclusions in this finale. Even General Hex does not get what he is after. And a cliff-hanger plays with fans heads at the last second. This season finale teases us with everything that we want and takes it all away in the final moments. Setting everything back to the status quo for the much needed second season. But you wouldn’t want it any other way.  

For now, there lays a buttload of potential for future episodes. Without the cost of any significant changes in the shows core structure. A second season could explore all the major revelations that have come in these final few episodes, bring this massive world a little closer, and develop the antagonist to new heights. All while keeping the brothers close to their beloved friends in St. Zephyr, and maintaining Judith and AENUS’s relationship.

This finale pulled it all off. Managing to give fans a satisfactory ending at no detriment to the ongoing plots. At the same time laying the groundwork for a great second season.

When Doomsday Brothers first premiered all those months ago, we had no idea what we were in for. Each week the series got more elaborate and delivered an unexpected anthology in the apocalypse. Now that season one is over, it feels like we have been on an epic journey. But the truth is, we have been laughing the whole way through.  

That is the smooth balance that Doomsday Brothers has accomplished. It is a hilarious comedy full of interesting and lovable characters. At the same time, it works as an anthology of significant proportions. And the finale is the perfect example of how the show delicately keeps these themes progressing simultaneously.

We need more!