The Book of Rannells: Welcome to the Wayne: Season 1, Episode 12 – “Wall-to-Wall Ping-Pong Ball” (2019)

Third unaired Welcome to the Wayne episode, third in a row to focus on Andrei, who’s quickly emerging as the most prominent character outside the central trio.  More hints about the underlying mystery surrounding Andrei, terrific animation, and a ton of great lines.

While trying to make a complete record of Andrei’s powers, the kids discover a book that may unlock some of the secrets of Andrei’s forgotten past.  They take a trip to the Stanza, the Wayne’s secret library staffed by flying squid-like creatures (just go with it,) but the answers they’re looking for are hard to get their hands on.  The librarian is nowhere to be found, the library itself seems out to get them, and there’s a ninja determined not to let Andrei leave.

This show is such a delight.  I love that it creates situations in which lines like, “We don’t negotiate with library ninjas!” are completely valid, and where else are you going to find a kick-line of menacing knights?  I’ve already gone back to check out the show’s non-Andrei episodes, but I may also need to see what else the creators have made, because this particular brand of imagination and sense of humor appeals to me all the way.

No surprise, Olly is a highlight.  Here, there’s a running gag that he hopes to go viral with the video he records of Andrei showing off his powers – I love the line, “If you don’t get a million views before you hit 11, what are you even doing with your life?” – and he and Ansi have a goofy back-and-forth re:  the menacing knights.  Meanwhile, Saraline gets to deliver the witheringly dry, “Not every book is about tattoos, Olly.”

And Andrei himself is great.  This is another heavily-serialized episode, and a lot of the stuff the kids get into, including the Stanza itself, are things Andrei hasn’t seen before, so his bewildered along-for-the-ride confusion is a lot of fun.  Like I said, we dig more into his unknown backstory – less about him specifically than about vampires in general, and some of what he learns worries him. 

Andrei also has some fantastic lines, made all the more entertaining by Andrew Rannells’s line readings, which are magic as usual.  My favorites are as follows:  “Whoa, this is a library?  I thought they were underfunded.”  “Just go, guys – I’ll be okay.  That’s what people say in movies, right?  Please don’t go!”  (I love scaredy-cat Andrei.)  And, of course, “You’re a ninja, I’m a vampire – let’s just celebrate how cool that is for a second!”