Season Review: Inside Job Season One Part Two

Overview:

It’s been over a year since we last saw our favorite Deep State operatives at Cognito Incorporated. In Part One we saw Reagan Ridley (Lizzy Caplan) overcome her insecurities in co-leading with Brett (Clark Dale), battle a gelatinous blob of JFK clones, and take on the inner-machinations of her mind in order to save the company. It was quite the wild ride. 

But it wasn’t all sunshine and personal victories for Reagan. Rand (Christian Slater) schemed and plotted his way back into power, tossing his own daughter’s ambitions aside. You know, just like how any loving, power-crazy, alcoholic father would do, right? With her professional life in shambles and her personal relationships up in the air, Reagan looks to get her life back on track. 

Part One of Inside Job was well-received by critics and fans alike, so despite being a relatively under-the-radar show, there are pretty high expectations coming into Part Two. Does it deliver after a very strong debut? 

Our Take:

Part Two starts in the same way as in Part One, with a Ridley ranting and raving about the control the Deep State has on the world. But this time it’s with a Toblerone-strapped Reagan who’s drunk off her ass yelling at children and hitting rock bottom. Thankfully it doesn’t take long for Reagan to regain her focus and aim to take down her father, with the help of Ron Stadler, voiced by Adam Scott. Scott plays a member of the Illuminati whose job is to erase people’s memories, which is the perfect compliment to his role in Severance. The chemistry between Caplan and Scott is excellent and it only grows stronger throughout the season as their characters grow closer and closer. 

Creators Shion Takeuchi and Alex Hirsch have developed a strong show that has begun to separate itself from the animated crowd with its own voice. Yes, you can still draw comparisons to BoJack Horseman, Futurama, and Rick and Morty, but Inside Job has made a nice little niche for itself on Netflix. There are certainly plenty of shows that offer witty political commentary, but Inside Job manages to tell an original story with sturdy enough legs to stand on by itself. Not all of the jokes are winners, but this show manages to land more than it misses. Dull moments are few and far between on Inside Job, but there can be times when the show loses focus every now and then. Some b-plots have the tendency to feel tacked on and contribute very little in terms of story or character development. But one is for certain, the cast never gives a B effort. 

The cast has delivered some terrific performances throughout the season. Each character has its own unique flair, even if they do adhere to standard animation archetypes. There is a sense of comfortable familiarity that helps move the oftentimes insane plot forward. Caplan as the bullheaded and maybe too smart for her good Reagan is a perfect fit for the show. Her edginess and dry humor are balanced wonderfully by Dale’s performance as the happy-go-lucky and blissfully stupid Brett. There always seems to be a skillful balance between characters as they move through the story. Rand and J.R. (Andy Daly) were perfectly pitted against one another in Part Two. Their contrasting personalities but similar morals made them an excellent pairing. And voice over legend John DiMaggio proves why he’s one of the most recognizable voices in the industry, once again playing the straight man opposite the zany and colorful cast of characters. 

Like in Part One, Inside Job continues to walk the fine line of revisiting familiar plotlines while adding its own unique and irreverent twist. Characters become babies, travel to class reunions, run for political office against their will, and struggle to move on from past relationships, yet there always seems to be the right amount of freshness to keep the episodes new and filled with belly laughs. Inside Job doesn’t pack the same emotional punch as BoJack Horseman, but it has laid the groundwork if they ever choose to do so. Reagan, Brett, and the rest of the cast all carry their own burdens, they just don’t need to be dramatized at this point. Inside Job is a lighthearted romp filled with booze, drugs, and of course copious amounts of violence. Why bog all that down with boring feelings?

Instead of hammering down on the melodrama of Brett’s pretentious and downright nasty family belittling Brett or making the viewer really feel sorry for Myc as he faces the harshness of his old stomping grounds, Inside Job always skirts on the safe side of comedy. And so far it is a winning formula. Part Two has delivered more character development and a richer narrative connecting the gang of misfits inside Cognito from Part One. Each character now feels fully fleshed out, without relying on a tear-jerker episode that halts the momentum of the show. Finding both healthy and unhealthy ways of coping was the overarching theme throughout Part Two. While Reagan found sex as her outlet and Rand resorted to abusing power, Brett turned to puppetry to finally vent his frustrations. That juxtaposition of coping mechanisms is what makes Inside Job an absurd and enjoyable animated show. 

Inside Job is a blast to watch. It is a bingeable and anything-but-predictable show that pokes fun at just about everything. Liberal? Conservative? Lizard Person? People who freeze-frame cartoons? No matter what you are, this show will crack a joke at your expense and you’ll laugh along with it. Inside Job Season One Part Two is an excellent follow-up to Part One and is sure to continue to build up its back channel network of dedicated fans and shadow supporters. After finishing this season you’ll have only one thing on your mind: Consume Consume Consume Consume Consume Consume…