Heist episode! I feel like every genre show needs at least one, and this is a rollicking job time. It plays with the tropes while putting its own 3Below spin on it. Some really fun stuff for Diego Luna/Krel.
Krel is still missing a final component for the Mother Ship’s daxial array. When Aja hears a classmate talking about Area 49B, a supposed top-secret government facility housing an alien spacecraft, she gets the idea to infiltrate it so Krel can get the part he needs. And so, we commence with a 3Below heist, led by the only alien who’s ever escaped Area 49B: Stuart.
We’ve got all the classic heist bits here. Planning out their strategy aided by a tabletop model of the facility. An “Eye in the Sky” guiding our heroes via two-way communication. Disguises and diversions. Having to get through laser security sensors. Personally, during the planning phase, I like how each character’s suggestions are accompanied by shots of them carrying out their idea, with Stuart repeatedly pointing out how it’ll get them all killed.
I previously talked about Ricky, one of the two “Blank” robots that Krel programs to pose as his and Aja’s parents when necessary for their cover. The other is Lucy, our character of the week (voiced by Cheryl Hines.) Like Ricky, her understanding of Earth comes from outdated satellite transmissions, and she acts like an off-kilter version of a stereotype 1950s sitcom housewife. In this episode, she and Ricky serve as the Eye in the Sky for the heist, monitoring Area 49B’s security cameras from Stuart’s taco truck, thanks to Krel’s hacking.
Honestly, this is a good episode for everybody. Varvatos gets to do action stuff and be ridiculous. Stuart is integral to the plot and we learn a bit more about his past. We see the ongoing marriage between Aja’s fighting skills and her compassion. Plus, there’s a fantastic moment where Stuart goes in for a high five and the confused Aja simply waves and goes, “Uh… hi?” I love it.
It's a rather delightful episode for Krel. We get a little of everything from him here, starting with his usual bored cynicism when Aja gets excited at the prospect of breaking into Arena 49B. Krel argues, “Come on, it’s just something [Eli] read on the internet! The internet is full of nonsense—and cats, playing the piano.” We get a bit of his are you kidding me? attitude when he asks Varvatos, “Your plan isn’t to run at the heavily armed guards, is it?”
And we get a moment of genuine, honest elation from him at the thought of getting the final component to build the new daxial array. As Krel enthuses, “I can fix everything!”, Luna’s voice sounds at once thrilled, surprised, proud, and relieved. It’s a rare guileless moment for a character who’s often a bit prickly, and it goes to show how much Krel relates to the world in terms of what he can repair, tinker, or invent his way out of. It also reminds you that, while Aja appears to be the same age as the main Trollhunters characters, it’s not for nothing that she calls Krel “little brother.” He feels so young in this scene, just a kid who’s felt frequently wrongfooted on Earth and has hope that he’ll finally be able to put everything right.
A couple more great bits I have to mention. We have a new fun English-idiom joke when Stuart mentions his bucket list. Aja asks, “How many types of buckets are there?”, and Krel smoothly replies, “Enough to fill a whole list, apparently.” (In this exchange, I’m right there with Stuart, who says, “That never stops being lovely. You’re adorable, both of you.”) And during the heist, there’s a fantastic moment involving an alarm that will be triggered by the pressure-sensitive floor, Aja’s hoverboard, and Krel elbow-deep in the engine of a spaceship while sitting on Varvatos’s shoulders—the animation here is just so fun, and it works wonderfully for both characters.
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