Review: Squidbillies “Debased Balls”

Buy me a hotdog! Look at my buttcheeks!

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

Dan Halen pitches Dougal County to business execs as construction crews begin building a minor league stadium. They don’t seem to latch onto the conspicuously turd-shaped Flying Pecan Logs mascot, but they do spot Early trying to combat a possum through a trashcan, which sparks marketable ideas. Seeing the merchandise, Early is initially outraged at the “misappropriatizin’” of his culture, until Halen gives him a job as the mascot. Thus Early becomes the local team’s “Squiddy the Nitwit” for the Ornery Mud Squids, embodying a more kid-friendly version of his usual poverty class character. Things go perfectly well as he whores himself out for cash moneys, and Granny and Lil take advantage of it also to minimal effect, but Rusty protests the poor treatment of his people. Also to minimal effect. So he takes matters into his own hands by outing Early as a convicted felon who drinks hairspray. The stadium quickly empties, forcing Early back into his old ways, blowing up the stadium (with an oddly placed reference to “The Natural”) and landing him in jail as Halen falls back on the Flying Pecan Logs.

OUR TAKE

Obviously, this is a commentary on the not so recent but still growing controversy regarding the Washington Redsocks and their appropriation of American Indian/Native American culture. Like last episode and the Cuylers’ ambiguous biology to do what the plot requires, this touches on their status as a minority like previous episodes where it was revealed they were used as slaves in the Civil War. Or even this season’s premiere “Dove in an Iron Cage” which dealt with unlawful imprisonment of minority groups.

And interestingly, this could be seen as a sort of companion episode to “The Guzzle Bumpkin”, where Rusty is the one doing stupid and insane things for money while Early sits on the sidelines and tries to be a part of it (and even tries to take Rusty’s place by the end). Here, Early gets that opportunity, but at the cost of what little honor and reputation his species have, much to the outrage of Rusty. Usually, I’d say this was a sign of being derivative, but it actually gives the opportunity to see two characters in different ends of the same situation and how they handle it differently. And with less than half of the season left, at the very least we can expect somewhat topical topics covered in increasingly crude, but interesting, ways