Wheels are turning, plots are unscrolling, people and players are being moved into position on the board. I still feel like the animation style is keeping me just a little at arm’s length, but the story is definitely pulling me in.
As the city continues to reel from recent events in the superhero world, Mark and his dad clash over tactics. While Mark likes the support and camaraderie he gets from his new friends on the Teen Team, his dad prefers to be a standalone hero. At the same time, as Mark gets more involved in the hero game, he struggles to balance his new responsibilities with his personal life.
I haven’t crunched the numbers, but I feel like this show might have introduced more superheroes in three episodes than the MCU has done in twelve years. This means tons of options for different powers on the field, different combinations of abilities fighting the bad guys as different heroes work together. It also means an opportunity for different philosophies and approaches to the life of a hero and a wide range of interpersonal dynamics, not to mention ample space for a bunch of different actors to lend their voice talents. This rapid-fire establishment of a world filled with superheroes can make it tough for a lay person like me to connect with all of them, but at the same time, I like that the show isn’t really holding my hand on that. It’s giving me distinctive powers/costumes with some possible hints at backstories and then trusting that I can keep up.
Mark remains endearing and rootable as a kid coming into his power and still trying to figure out what that means for him, as a hero and as a person. He’s getting pulled in a lot of different directions here, both in the superhero world – the pressure to follow his dad’s superhero model vs. his own desire to be part of a team – and his personal life – his crush on cool girl Amber vs. his emerging feelings for his superpowered friend/colleague Eve.
This episode is a good mix of Mark’s personal journey, team dynamics, and continued hints of the central mystery. It features an epic prison break, superhero tryouts, an intriguing twist, and a demon detective who brings a gravelly-voiced noir sensibility while literally lowering the temperature of any room he’s in.
Andrew Rannells’s William continues to be a sparsely-used character. He’s in one scene in this episode, attempting to help Mark prepare his bedroom for a study date. As in the last episode, he’s a dedicated wingman doing his damnedest to help Mark out, possibly in spite of Mark himself. Handily making himself scarce when the girl in question shows up, with a parting edict for Mark to get a hold of him afterwards and tell him everything, is cute.
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