Review: The Jellies “Walla Walla Civil War”

Don’t be an indecisive bitch!

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Well folks, it’s come down to this. Vests vs. Turtlenecks. Red vs. Blue. Founder vs. Natives. Fully-exposed genitalia vs. Only partially-exposed genitalia. This is Walla Walla Civil War!

It started with the residents of Walla Walla buying red vests to honor their annual founder’s day tradition. Barry’s co-worker Samuel was particularly impassioned about the legend of their founder, Mr. Tomato Man, a man with a tomato for a head. However, Barry’s other co-worker, Chata, enraged Samuel by buying a blue turtleneck. He used it as a symbol to commemorate the Native Americans Mr. Tomato Man allegedly slaughtered.

This led to the entire town taking sides, dividing allegiances and even splitting the Jelly family—except for Barry whose indecisiveness pissed off both sides. After much debate, the factions decided to settle things peacefully with a Civil War reenactment. All went according to plan until Cornell doomed everyone by drawing first blood, leading to a violent battle which devastated the town.

Our Take

This solid episode highlighted the parameters of the show’s fictional universe. This season we’ve seen a spattering of loud, eccentric guest characters and got a deeper look into the mind of Tyler the Creator. But we didn’t get to see enough of the series’ true soul which lies in its cast of consistent supporting characters. The town dynamic in “Walla Wall Civil War” was marvelous and akin to The Simpsons and South Park in their heydays.

Two scenes, in particular, stood out. The first was when a Turtleneck sympathizer knocked over a little girl during what looked like a grade school production of Romeo and Juliet. While Shakespeare’s tale of star-crossed lovers may seem like the perfect allusion, the episode wasn’t about a town divided, it was about racial injustice. Therefore, the scene that truly stood out involved a young black boy pretending to shoot a police officer during the mock battle. At this moment, The Jellies brought awareness to a serious problem without getting preachy.

In the end, the town couldn’t be saved, because they never learn anything in Walla Walla. But after Barry is flattened by a tank and almost killed, Samuel and Chata recognize the error in their ways and rekindle their friendship in time for happy hour. Because enlightenment is a slow process.