Review: Dream Corp LLC “Deep Impact”

It’s “Inception” meets crack cocaine. And it’s back.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

To kick off the second season for Dream Corp LLC, new patient, Patient 21, has a severe fear of sleeping, believing that he will die once he falls asleep. Of course, Dr. Roberts and his crack team are up to the job. After the usual array of preparation tomfoolery and waver signing, Patient 21 is sent into a dream. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when Patient 21 wakes up in a night terror and starts attacking the staff, taking a big chomp out of Dr. Roberts and giving Bea, Dream Corp’s new intern, a bloody nose.

After they get him asleep again, Dr. Roberts proceeds to get to work in his brain space. After enduring some terrifying nightmares about beehives and his father’s home, Patient 21 starts making some progress. Bea tells Dr. Roberts that 21’s issue is his fear of moving on after his wife left him, advice which Roberts takes to heart. From there, Dr. Roberts guides 21 through his pain, and reminds him to move forward, face life, and find love yet again through the metaphor of an encroaching cinnamon cloud.

That does the trick, and 21 goes right off to sleep. His work done, Dr. Roberts ushers his patient out of there and gets ready for his second patient of the day.

Our Take:

Dream Corp LLC has returned for its second season, it and it hasn’t skipped a beat since it last dropped its acid trip dream sequencing on us in its frightening and hilarious season one. This is a great episode that brings in all the fun and games you’ve come to expect from Dream Corp while bringing a couple surprises to elevate the episode beyond the usual.

With a show like Dream Corp LLC, quantifying just what the heck this show actually “is” is quite the challenge. Short and sweet, Dream Corp is all about style and comedic timing. Details like story, consistency, and tone are all just things on the wayside, to be ignored for the sake of the acid trip jokery it wants to work with. The laughs are gonna come at you quickly and hard, and a lot of the time you’re going to be more confused than anything else, but there’s a strong comedic undercurrent that follows the whole episode. The background gags are on point, the quick little visual quips and cues that make your mind reel but squeeze out the chuckles.

Despite all this strangeness, this season premiere of Dream Corp LLC is quite satisfying to watch, both for its comedy and its strong thematic grounding. The whole thing unfolds, appropriately enough, like a dream, with everything striking the viewer all at once without pause or reasoning. It’s astounding to watch it unfold; you’re not really sure where it’s headed or what it’s going for, but seeing it happen is a real joy. This is surmounted, of course, by the elaborate and trippy dream sequences that are real marvels of vivid animation. The surreal nature of the dreams engrosses the viewer in the thoughts and fears of Patient 21, serving to bond the viewer with the character almost subconsciously.

What really makes the episode such a treat, though, is its ending. Despite all of the weirdness, despite all the absurdity, Dr. Roberts gives Patient 21 an important lesson on life and how to move forward. This positive message seemingly comes out of nowhere but scratches a philosophical itch I didn’t even know I had. This all works because Dr. Roberts character is both funny and endearing, with an excellent performance that ties the whole show together.

It was a blast watching this brief, but exciting premiere for one of the strangest shows on television. I’ve no doubt most anyone could enjoy this, and even if you don’t, its still one hell of a thing to see.

Score
8/10