I'm going to go to the second of the three-episode reviews from the doubleheader that we got last week. Amazingly, I’m not dead from doing this when having to do all three without getting a break and using the break from the June 26 date because there were no new episodes this past Thursday. But besides that, I noticed the ratings when it came out this past week for the doubleheader and despite the New York area having to watch through a WNBA game that took over its slot until late at night, I have to ask... what the fuck are y’all doing? What the fuck are y’all doing?
I’ve seen the numbers, and we thought that the double header should at least help out with the show, and hopefully, it should be getting a bit of a boost. Boy, we were wrong on that, and again, it might be because of a scheduling conflict in the New York City area, and maybe some area, because severe weather was in the northeast that night, and I get that. But holy shit, this is bad. This is really bad. Like... what is it going to take? Hmm? What is it going to take for y’all to get through your thick skull and show your support? I know that I’m gaslighting everyone here, but we are doing our best here to watch the show so we can get another season. Let’s hope that the streaming numbers paint a different story, and pray that we can get a Season 6 in the future. Other than that, this might as well be my frustration, and y’all might as well avert your eyes because you know what latest meme I’m going to be using, to sum up everything with the current situation we’re in...
On this week’s episode of The Great North, and yes, I said this week, as referring to last week, because it is a part of the doubleheaders that came out that week, it’s the night of a viewing party outside of town to watch the comets fly over and for Beef, he attempts to stop his kids from, in point of view, a terrible mistake as if history would about to repeat itself, as Aunt Dirt decides to go rogue at a retirement home in my spoilerific review of the seventeenth episode of Season 5 of The Great North, titled “Serendipi-Beef Adventure”
Not the first time that I have had to cover an episode that involves a space rock floating through the sky and everyone getting a view of the thing while having a watch party to see the thing in action. You would have to think back to Bob’s Burgers with “Comet-y of Errors” from Season 13 as the prime example and the last episode that involved a comet as the center point of an episode. And now, here we go again with The Great North regarding a comet, or rather, two comets floating around the night sky in what is probably a once-in-a-lifetime event, even though those two appear every 23 years. At least those two comets don’t appear to pose a threat to us, so we’re good. At least we’re good.
Each comet has its backstory and myths and this one for this episode with the twin comets passing through each other, more on that in a bit, and knowing what this episode holds, aside from the subplot with Dirt thinking she’s trapped inside the retirement home and Judy and Ham tagging along with Bethany to find some mysterious item called “gank”, with the focus on Beef and Moon tying in with the passing comets, it’s pretty much “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” 2.0 if you think about it. Especially Beef in this episode. It’s love. The twin comets passing through each other resemble love for most people, though Beef disagrees, and that’s where we get to the nitty-gritty of things. This is “Serendipi-Beef Adventure”.
The episode begins with a fly-by view of Lone Moose as we see the two comets in question passing through the night skies of the town, pretty much a big event planned to have a watch party of some sort to watch the once-in-a-lifetime, or a once-in-a-generational event as we pan down to the Tobin household, yes, the newly updated guest cabin from the end of the previous episode is there, thanks for asking, where you see the Tobin family finishing up eating their dinner since, of course, it is a big night for the town and for the family itself. Well, unless you’re Judy and Ham, who are recovering from having their wisdom teeth removed, I thought it was the mumps for a moment there when the promotional images came out a week ago, leading up to the episode’s initial airing, and are planning to take their antibiotics and gauzes with them for implying as they, along with Moon, are about to head out to camp out in the wilderness for an overnight field trip for the school to watch the comets. The same goes for the town as Lone Moose develops a case of comet fever as a once-in-a-generational astrological event, called the Curlew’s Kissin’ Comets, flies through the night skies of Lone Moose. Everyone is excited to see the comet ready to fly by and pass through each other, since there are two sets of comets hurling toward each other. Everyone, except for Beef.
We get a backstory for why the set is called the “Curlew’s Kissin’ Comets”, once again with the 1940s cartoon-style animation from the previous episode, scratch that, make that 1930s with this one because you have the two people as examples wearing gloves, which is how most cartoon characters back in the day wear for this style, as each family member explains to Honeybee about what so special about it. So, according to each Tobin sibling, the name derives from an amateur explorer named Dynastus Curlew who was out in the open seas and saw a comet with blue flames on his way to wherever he was heading and decided to follow it, thinking that it was a north star that would help him in his exploration. Back in the day, there was no GPS, and the only things you would rely on would be a map, a compass, and hoping nothing bad happened that could spell your demise.
The same goes for the following traveler named Thora Tronk, who is also following a comet, but this one has orange flames, and she, alongside Curlew, is about to crash into each other once the twin comets pass through each other. Not collide as if chunks of space rocks would hail down like it’s a flurry of fireballs hurling from the sky and into the ground as if they’re expecting the apocalypse to take place. But no, the twin comets flew by each other, and that resulted in both Curley and Tronk crashing into each other, causing them to fall overboard, and their ships smashed into pieces. Mind you, phones, let alone, telecommunication lines weren’t invented yet, so they’re pretty much screwed out in the open waters. They both collided, causing most of the bones to break, once again, pretty much screwed because no modern medicine back in the day. But they kissed, so that’s where the name comes from, and the twin comets fly by every 23 years across Lone Moose. So, it’s an interesting little mythos right there regarding the background of the two comets the name came from two people who nearly died when colliding with their boats but it can be used as a love mechanism because whoever makes out under the comets, especially around 9:23 PM where the comets are set to pass through each other, their souls are pretty much bound as if they become soul mates.
Though, not in the way of the whole blood moon thing in Star vs The Forces of Evil where Star and Marco had to dance under the moonlight of the blood moon, though the first time around, it was mostly because Marco was concerned for Star’s wellbeing and they thought all the way to Season 4’s “Curse of the Blood Moon” where they thought they were under the curse, but you and I know that’s not the case because they were endgame regardless. So, 23 years is when the twin comets pass through each other, and this one is meant for love because the two boaters collided and made out despite the broken bones that came with it, as if it was fate that drove them there. Of course, the Tobin kids have to put the whazoo in switching things up from the actual lore of the comet in question into something straight out of a Disney movie with the two boaters, Curlew and Tronk, somehow surviving and living a happy life until they die of old age.
Did I mention that Beef is the only one here who doesn’t like this once-in-a-generational event for Lone Moose regarding the comets? Oh yeah, he hates this time of year because he thinks that it’s stupid. He called out the two boaters for having to rely on the comet that led to their boats colliding and injuring them in the process, which I guess is valid because you never know back in the day where a star or comet would lead you to, and noticing that you would meet your demise. Even though, again, GPS hadn’t been invented yet, and it was unclear if either of the two boaters had a map and compass in their possession. But it’s mostly because of the whole background of how the twin comets are being used for romance and calling bullshit on the whole souls binding once the comets pass by each other.
This, of course, causes Judy to call her father out for the reason that he doesn’t like comet night because of the experience from what happened the last time the twin comets flew by Lone Moose. Of course, that was when he was with Kathleen the last time it happened, and he thought that comets were flipping him off because of how she was treating him to the point where she had a generational run with the affairs that ultimately led to her fucking off with Marcus to Pittsburgh.
I mean, you can compare Beef’s unlucky streak since the night of the comet many years ago to Teddy in Season 13’s “Comet-y of Errors”. Like Beef, Teddy had his own problems since the last time he saw the comet passing through the town’s skies. And we know the series of unlucky events that Teddy had gone through since the last time he saw the comets flying, ranging from his ex-wife cheating on him and filing a divorce to... well, everything else, and that episode, of course, was when Teddy and Kathleen, not Beef’s Kathleen, the other Kathleen who is Irish, and doesn’t want any bad luck from the comet to ruin his relationship. Spoiler alert, that didn’t happen to the point where Teddy’s point of view about the comet changes. And spoiler alert again, the same goes for Beef at the end of the episode. So, the kids leave on their way to the bus with their belongings packed up and ready for their overnight trip to watch the comet at the state park. And the same goes for Wolf, Honeybee, and Dirt on their way to the bar. Leaving Beef alone at the house on the night of the comet. Sucks to be him. Sucks to be him.
About half an hour to an hour later, with everyone arriving at the state park at the dead of night, as the comets are now an hour away from passing by each other. Every student getting out of the bus, and you can already tell whose sleeve it belonged to when seeing the kids getting off the bus, since this episode wants to be “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” 2.0. Especially once we get to Beef’s side of things, and you already know right away where this is going. Other than that, especially once Gibbons tries to tell Loud Sandy and a boy she nabbed to stop where they’re going into the forest, I mean, what do you expect when a portion of the students who are attending the trip are teenagers?
You have Judy and Ham, who are still recovering from their wisdom teeth removal surgery and feel envious of their peers about to use the comets as a way for them to kiss because the comets are used for a romantic mechanism, and if we’re going to treat this episode as a rethread to “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” with the comets, it must’ve sucked for Ham and Judy in their situation. Not because of their wisdom teeth being removed, which feels like something that shouldn’t have to be mentioned, but here we are, I guess. Mostly, the twin comets are meant for romance. To find love. To be with your partner. You’d think things would be totally different if Ham and Crispin had never broken up earlier this season, and/or Judy were to find someone she wants to share a kiss with instead of them having to get their wisdom teeth removed and having to miss out on that other than just looking at the sky for hours until the two space rocks pass through each other.
Hell, let alone Ham finding another guy to serve as a rebound, in finding another guy up until you and Crispin decide to get back together. I mean fuck, say Ham and Crispin were to bump into each other. I know, I know, I know I said that we should give it a season or two and not treat this shit like it’s the divorce plot in Season 3 of Rick and Morty. But at least a bump would at least be something while hoping not to rush things. This is if Ham (and Judy) don’t have their wisdom teeth pulled, by the way. As for Judy, it might as well be her trying to find someone whom she wants to lay her lips on. And if it’s going to be “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” with this episode, I’m guessing Gill because why not. Because why not? Although in the event Ham and Crispin get back together and spoilers with Moon with his side of the main plot, and we’ll get to him in a bit regarding his plans for the comet... yeah, Judy... you could be the only Tobin sibling left who doesn’t have a romantic partner. Which would suck for Judy given her romantic history throughout the show. And if I were to choose on who Judy should end up with... fuck it.
I’m going with Kima. I’m rocking with Kima as my choice for Judy to end up with, because why not? Why not. And I guess the Judy and Kima ship would work because those two have known each other the longest. They look out for each other. And she was one of the two options that we got regarding Judy when it came to the pairing game. It’s either her or Gill. It’s either her or Gill in the Judy relationship sweepstakes. And I might as well die on that hill. But if it is Gill, then it is what it is. So, it sucks for Ham and Judy to not have anyone to smooch with because of the twin comets flying through, but also recovering from having their wisdom teeth removed, they can pretty much do nothing but to watch the night sky and the comets to fly by.
That was until Bethany ends up appearing out of nowhere and decides to give Judy and Ham a nice little consolation activity to do when being out at the state park. She’s not here for the romance thing that came with the comets; she doesn’t care about all of that, but instead, she found something that got her attention deep in the woods of the state park. A stuff called “gank”. What is gank, you may ask, my avid reader? It’s drugs. It’s probably drugs... allegedly because we don’t what that stuff is that Bethany is dragging Judy and Ham because we don’t know what it looks like, especially once Gibbons finds the stash at the end of the it and all we get is a glowing light from the bag as if the bag of gank is nothing more than a wad of cash instead of... well, drugs. So, Judy, Ham, and Bethany head off to find the so-called gank deep in the forest for the night.
Adding more headaches for Gibbons, who is in charge of the trip, as we switch over to him, alongside Moon, Russell, and Quinn serving as chaperones as part of their Lil’ Preppers group, as if he has any more problems to handle for this overnight field trip. I mean, the majority of the people attending this trip are teenagers who are using the twin comets as an excuse to make out because that’s what the background of the comets is: love. So, as if the high schoolers of the school have to separate from the group while they go do their stuff, primarily making out, they have no chaperone. And we’re not talking about Moon, Quinn, and Russell as one as part of their Lil’ Preppers assignment, they mean an adult. A parent taking the role. And well, it looks like, according to Moon, who has to check the clipboard that Gibbons was carrying, and find out that he got duped. Gibbons got duped with the fake names written on the clipboard, so now, they have no chaperone. How does that happen?
Again, a trip where the majority are teenagers and about to treat the trip to see the comets to use it as make-out points back in the day, if y’all or y’all parents or grandparents remember, where you have to drive by the cliff by the town and make out. Gibbons would make a phone call at the last minute to see who is available, but due to the comets coming into the area, communication lines are going to be fucky, as seen in the subplot with Wolf unable to get a signal for a tow truck after the car broke down. Which might be a good thing for the teens, and mostly everyone on this trip. Not for the whole excuse to wanting to make out on the night of the comet that is meant for romance, but also because they don’t want to hear Gibbons’ cover of “Fireflies”, in which Quinn plans on going back to the bus to hide the guitar. But while that is happening, once Moon looks up at the sky with the comets, of course, hours away from passing by each other...
Moon decides to ask Russell his plan for the night, and no, pretty sure Moon is not the Zodiac Killer because he doesn’t look like Ted Cruz. But instead, he plans to use the comets as his one-shot opportunity to be around Quinn for the night. And by for the night, I mean for the rest of her and his lives because Moon thinks that tonight is the night he’ll ask Quinn the ultimate question, which is to make her his girlfriend. It’s reasonable for Russell, of all people, to be the one who Moon would ask for all of this when it comes to Quinn. You remember at the end of Season 3’s “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” when Quinn joins Moon and his group as an exchange for the table of baked goods, and he teases the two that something is going on between them. And it wasn’t until “Arranger-ous Minds Adventure” later that season, where it was revealed by Russell that Moon has an out-of-nowhere crush on Quinn when asking him to tag along with her when doing their junior janitors' assignment, which Moon tries to deny. And now, he plans on making Quinn his girlfriend, and the night of the Curlew Kissin’ Comets, especially around 9:23 PM, when the comets are set to fly by each other, is the perfect opportunity to do such that. It’s like Moon heard, saw, and read the backstory, including the fictitious portions, of the twin comets that Moon went all, “That sounds ridiculous... I want that to happen with Quinn and me.” And that’s pretty much Moon’s mission for the night, in his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and using the comets as the perfect timing to do so.
Onto the subplot we go with Wolf, Honeybee, and Dirt on their way to the bar to watch the comet and drink the night away. Of course, fate has other plans for the other three as the car decides to break down on their way there. The car has some problems before this, and hopefully, nothing ties in with what happened back then with Judy giving it a go to get through her fear of driving. No connections there. And speaking of no connection, Wolf can’t get a signal to contact roadside assistance because, of course, communication is jammed due to the incoming comets flying through the sky which everyone should know that stuff like this would happen whenever there’s interference whenever space weather like a comet or solar storm would stand in the way. Luckily for Wolf, Honeybee, and Dirt, they’re not far away from the nearest place on the road, that being the Old Moose Retirement Home. Which Dirt doesn’t want to go there, but ends up going because they aren't going to let her walk alone in the road to the bar or back home to her bunker.
We go back to the house with Beef spending his night alone since everyone is out experiencing comet fever, with him ready to unclog the drain in the bathroom because if there’s one thing to enjoy and want to do in a house by your own by having to clean the house, especially unclogging the drain. So, just as he was about to do that, he noticed something that caught his eye on the counter, and it was not a good one that would cause him to head out of the house for the night. That being the prescription bottles and gauze for Ham and Judy, which they forgot to pack before leaving for the campsite. Causing Beef to panic because Judy and Ham need to take their antibiotics for their treatment, and if they were to forget to apply them, then it would cause an infection, and it might be GG's. This causes Beef to rush to the State Park to deliver the bottles and gauze to their older kids, which, luckily for Beef, means the roads are empty and should be an easy drive there before things go bad for Ham and Judy. But it looks like Beef may have hit a hurdle on his way to the State Park, as he nearly ran over someone who had trouble putting their sweater on. And ending the first act of the episode, and the person who is nearly about to have their face on a t-shirt is none other than...
Greta Meatweep. Yep, we haven’t seen her ass for a very long time. A year, to be exact, since Season 4’s “Risky Beefness Adventure”. And if y’all remember that episode, which was the last time we saw her, she and Beef had a one-night stand after Beef tried to give online dating a shot and failed after Beef got a message from his dick that he needs to get out more. A one-night stand too many that led to Beef’s experience in the newspaper for everyone to read, up until she talks about someone else having the same experience. You know, causing his heart to break, but he got through it and learned his lesson from that. It might as well be “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” 2.0, with Greta being the first to be brought back into Beef’s life, thinking it was all the comet’s doing.
And it might as well be an awkward drive to the State Park, going into the second act of the episode between two sexual lovers who pretty much smashed one too many that one week that got the women of Lone Moose’s attention. Pretty awkward if you think about it. Like coming to the mall to buy some stuff and the next thing you know, you come crashing into your former crush that you haven’t seen since high school, type of awkward. That pretty much sums up this car ride on their way to the State Park. For Greta to, of course, get a view of the twin comets and Beef, hopefully to get out of dodge, just to deliver the gauze and antibiotics to Ham and Judy since they forgot to put it into their bags. So, it’s an awkward ride to the State Park for Beef when having to drive Greta to the State Park as if he thinks this is all part of the comet’s plans to reconsider his opinion on... well, love and fate.
We go back to the subplot of the episode with Wolf, Honeybee, and Dirt, I guess, abandoning their car and having to walk their way to the retirement home as they hope to use the home’s landline to call for help with their situation on their way to the bar. But once they enter the building, they notice the front desk is empty with no one there, as if they got laid off or something. So, it looks like they have some time to spare before getting the assistance they need, and by that, I mean hoping to get permission to use their phone to contact the tow driver, with Wolf planning on going to the vending machine where they serve the butterscotch candies.
Leaving Dirt to go on her lonesome to take a tour of the place that she wishes she didn’t want to be dropped off, where she spots the community room and notices the group of seniors lounging around, minding their own business. You know, old people stuff. You know, reading, playing games, all that jazz and thank God, no Fox News blaring into their cornhole they called ears. And it looks like that is what Dirt will be doing for a bit, not knowing that she may have accidentally trapped herself in an inescapable room one way. Okay, so if a fire were to break out and each senior tries to open the door to make a break for it, and this door can only open one way, which is outside in the hallway, who’d you think would be the blame for that?
We go back to the State Park where we check up on Bethany, Judy, and Ham on their way to search for the missing gank. Knowing that those three are teenagers, and knowing that gank is pretty much drugs, they question how to use it once they discover the item in question. As well as whether or not to sell it or keep it to themselves. Mostly in the event they do find it and get that sweet, sweet reward money. Yeah, let’s hope that what they’re doing won’t result in them getting lost deep in the woods. We have already dealt with enough of that earlier this month with Bob’s Burgers, let’s pray that this little gank hunt doesn’t result in them landing themselves coming across a cult meeting. I swear, at this point, we might as well need some sort of task force to handle that.
Staying with the main plot of the episode with Moon, after getting a nudge from Russell to make a move, does so as he walks up to Quinn, who is busy pitching a tent for the campsite. Asking Quinn about how she is doing with the tent work with Quinn replies to his question that she averages five minutes for the build-up but is hoping for four, which, of course, made Moon feel impressed. You know, her being a Lil’ Prepper and all, as if, like Moon, knows a thing or two about surviving the outdoors and the wilderness in general. Moon changes the conversation by asking Quinn to join him on top of the hill called the Captain’s Crest, and camp up there for a while to get a better look at the comets, and hopefully they can get there by 9:23 PM on the dot, which, of course, Quinn suspects the time because that would be when the comets are set to fly by each other. And, without giving any second thoughts on the offer, Quinn decides to take up Moon’s offer, and it looks like things might be going in Moon’s favor after all, and hopefully nothing can go wrong that could disrupt things that might stand in the way.
We transition back to the subplot with Dirt at the retirement home. In the community room as she continues to take a tour of the place and sees everyone doing their business for the night instead of having to go outside and watch the comets passing through the night sky. She comes across Chester, if you remember last season, who is the grandfather of former student and partygoer turned member of society Doug DeLuca, who thinks that Dirt is the newest member of the house when spotting her in the community room. Dirt denies it with an answer that she is only here because the car that she, along with Wolf and Honeybee, was in broke down on their way to the bar, and they need to call a tow truck. However, it looks like Dirt might not be going anywhere when she notices the door is locked. And the same goes for the window since the clock now reads 8:00, turning the door into a one-way where the person outside the room gets to open and not make it both ways, so that the people who are inside don’t get out. Mostly because there’s some in this house who has memory issues.
Dirt tries to get out but is unable to do just that. She did spot Wolf and Honeybee at the desk, thinking that they would go and get her, but once she noticed them along with one of the careworkers doing something, which Dirt thinks that it’s a registration form as if they plan on getting rid of her and putting her in a home... without the family’s permission I guess, but that is what Dirt is thinking and now having to believe the whole “car broke down” trick but she thinks it actuality, it’s them putting Dirt in a home. I mean, we’re treating inserting an elderly relative into a home by having to lie to them the same as... well, we hear lies time and time again, where we think we would be getting something or going somewhere excited like an amusement park, but instead, it’s a trip to the dentist to get our teeth deep cleaned. It might as well be like that with the seniors, as if their brains are reaching the end of their operation.
Going back to the main plot of the episode with Beef and Greta arriving at the State Park where they both go their separate ways upon leaving the car for Greta to get a view of the comets and for Beef to rush his way to give Judy and Ham their antibiotics and gauze that they forget to pack before the infection kicks in. Of course, should’ve brought this up during the car ride that Greta was suggesting Beef to be her make-out partner once the comets pass through each other, despite what happened a season ago that gave Beef his biggest heartbreak yet, but again, if it weren’t for Greta, he would not have get through it without having to fall into a depressive state. Hence, a few episodes ago, when finding out he and Carissa called off their relationship but took it maturely, even though the family does have a right to be concerned for their father’s well-being. Of course, we all know who Beef would smooch at the end of the episode if y’all watched it this past Thursday when it came out or watched it on stream the next day. So, right as Beef and Greta part ways upon arriving, it didn’t take long for the second of Beef’s former flames to meet up on the night of the comet...
That being Alyson. And I know, I know... I know this is being late and all, I put out a schedule on my socials, mostly Instagram, if y’all just bother to check it out. People already have their opinion of Alyson’s voice in this episode. So, much like Mrs. Tuntley a few episodes ago, the actress who took one of Megan Mullally’s roles, Anne Yatco, here we go again with Alyson. And this one got some people in an uproar. It got some people in an uproar, primarily on the subreddit, though it’s mostly out of concern rather than blasting on the Molyneuxs for Mullally’s absence. First off, not their fault. Second, it’s too late to make a change because an episode takes months to a year. And third, scheduling conflict. I don’t know if she’s doing something as big as a tour that would cause some problems while Season 5 was in production after “The Prince of Hides Adventure”, which was the last time we heard Mullally voicing Alyson.
And as of typing, we got the plot synopsis for the next episode on July 17, “Heel-raiser Adventure”, where the subplot has Judy at the Point & Shoot store and having to train a new employee, meaning Alyson is going to be there... of course, we might not have Mullally and it would be Yatco taking the role. No hate on the actress, it’s just schedule conflicts are a bitch. Just be lucky that it isn’t as big as what happened with Mickey in “Beach, Please”, where instead of Bill Hader voicing him, it’s Loren Bouchard himself before the episode re-airs with John Kubin taking the role. And I know people have concerns about what happened in The Great North regarding Mullally might trigger a domino effect on Bob’s Burgers with Gayle. I highly doubt that would happen. I highly doubt that someone else would voice Gayle the next time we see her.
So yeah, Alyson is the next woman up to bump into Beef, who also experiences comet fever as she wants to get a view of the cosmic event. Alyson’s reason for why she decides to go to the State Park to see the comets isn’t for viewing or for romance, though she was getting flirty with Beef, and I know that Yatco voicing Alyson in this episode and not Mullally doesn’t feel odd because we know that Alyson has the hots for Beef and both Mullally and Offerman are married in real life, which is pretty much obvious on who you want Beef to end up with at the end of the series, just not in the way of pulling the plug that is, but more of wanting to take a photo for a calendar she is making. Beef asks Alyson if he’s not the only one who would fall under the spell of the comet and the fate that comes with it for anyone who sees it, to which Alyson replies that the story behind it might be horse radish, which is pretty much a small victory for Beef, that ain’t going to stop Alyson from having to be flirty towards the bearded man as if she wants to a taste of his lips, even though she think up how the comets could one day destroy the planet or at least be like a fireball and crash land like it’s a Saiyan pod from Dragon Ball Z. Or in this instance, the fireball that crash landed in the Southeast this past week. Beef and Alyson part ways right as they come across two teenagers making out, with Alyson having to go find a spot where there’s no interference and also to get a better view of it once they pass each other.
Finally reached the end of the first half of the episode with Beef finally arriving at the campsite, only to find Gibbons and Russell, just Gibbons and Russell, at the campsite with no one else present and as seen in the previous scene with Beef and Alyson, you have teenagers using the comets as an excuse to make out. You can thank Gibbons for being deceived and not having a chaperone at the last minute, don’t even think about having Beef to fill in as the last-minute option because his visit is only short. He’s only here to find Judy and Ham because they forgot their antibiotics, which is, of course, bad. So now, Beef has to go and find the two before the infection kicks in inside their mouths, meaning once again he has to go across the woods to find the two, not knowing that they’re with Bethany deep in the woods, so... deep in the woods and that’s where Beef is heading. Mostly because of fear of infection but mostly because he thinks they would fall into the comet’s spell of romance... yeah, if they even have partners to fucking hang with before getting their wisdom teeth pulled. So, Beef leaves the campsite...
But not before coming across former flame number three at the campsite, that being Del. I mean, it was blatantly obvious just by looking at the sleeve when the students were getting off earlier in the night. But here we go again with Beef coming across with Del. Of course, this was for a brief moment between the two because Beef thinks that the comets are out to get him after coming across Greta and Alyson, thinking that the universe wants him to reconsider his opinion and might as well turn it into which woman Beef wants to kiss with on the night of the comet. Spoiler alert, if you know, you know who. But if Del wasn’t enough for Beef to come across on his way to reach Judy and Ham to give them their antibiotics before the infection kicks in...
Here comes former flame number four, Carissa, who her and Debbie, who is not part of the school trip to overlook the comet, or she is, just she doesn’t want to be crammed into the bus, but here we are with her and her mother coming out of the bus. Not one interaction between Beef and Carissa since the breakup in this episode, because Beef wants no part in wanting to come across his previous flames. He already had that awkward ride with Greta. Already had an awkward walk with Alyson. An awkward confrontation with Del, which I’m sure Judy, Ham, and Moon would be a bit surprised when entering the bus on who was driving the bus on their way to the State Park to watch the twin comets. And now, spotting Carissa coming out of the car and now having to avoid their former flamers like the damn plague to wrap up the first half of the episode, once again, not one interaction between the two in this episode, but that should be enough for Beef to say, “Nope. Not today, comets! Not fucking today!”
And, to add insult to injury for Beef, we have a bus coming to the campsite that carries a group of women, with one of the women wearing a sash that reads “bridesmaid”, meaning that the bus that came in and the women want to get their hands on Beef. Yeah, we might as well say that Beef has quite himself the harem. He got quite himself a harem like he’s the main character in a harem anime. Though, that little trope pretty much died out since the turn of the decade, but who to say that this is what we’re doing with Beef here. Single parent Beef. Just be thankful it’s just that because when watching the episode when all four of Beef’s former flames visit the campsite, along with the party bus carrying a bachelorette party, my mind when watching the episode for the first time would be me saying, “Dear God, please don’t bring Zelda back. Please don’t bring Zelda back for this episode.” Thank God that didn’t happen, because otherwise... woof.
Onto the second half of the episode, and it didn’t take long for Beef to finally catch up to Judy and Ham after trying to avoid, I guess, every female at the State Park, as he continues to believe that the comets have put a hit on him and doesn’t want history to repeat itself for him and the kids. He’s just lucky that Ham and Judy got their wisdom teeth removed just days before the comets and, of course, is currently single because that would’ve been the way to go if things took a different direction with the main plot. Beef’s mission is pretty much complete with him delivering the antibiotics that Ham and Judy forgot to pack right as they and Bethany were on their way to the location of the hidden gank. Pretty much a waste of time we spent with that, if you think about it. Again, you’d probably think things would’ve been different if this episode wanted to be “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure” 2.0 if either Ham and Crispin never broke up earlier in the season or bumped into someone, that may or may not be Crispin, and/or Judy trying to find a partner to smooch with.
So, Beef successfully delivered the antibiotics to Ham and Judy, but now, he wants to know where Moon is because when he came into the campsite looking for the two, only Gibbons and Russell were there while the rest were doing their own things, mostly kissing. And according to Judy, that is exactly what Moon is planning on doing with Quinn and using the comets to make a move to be his girlfriend. Causing Beef to run, thinking that history will repeat itself with his youngest son, and plans on cockblocking him from doing that.
Back to Dirt in the retirement home, with her crawling through the air ducts after what she thinks it’s Wolf and Honeybee plotting to get rid of her by thinking that they’re going to the bar, but instead, it’s them putting her in a home. And Dirt does not want to be a part of that, even if she wants to do it, which she won’t. Might be planning on getting back at Wolf and Honeybee once the escape is successful, and no twin comet magic would save them from what she is planning on doing to them. So, just as she continues to make her escape through the air ducts like she’s John McClane from Die Hard, she hears the sounds of glass clinking, chips stacking, and the smell of onion dip when coming across the nearest vent, showing a room filled with some seniors, one of which being Goldie, if you remember her as the old woman who Ham pal around with in Season 2’s “As Goldie As It Gets Adventure”...
This causes Dirt to abandon her escape attempt and decide to play along by wanting to play a round of poker with a couple of seniors while in progress. But not before deciding to shake it up a bit once she pulls out a couple of dollar bills from her coat pocket to make it an actual poker game with gambling, actual gambling, and not having to rely on poker chips, even though you could transfer that into cash. But other than that, Dirt decides to abandon the escape plan and probably a get back towards Wolf and Honeybee and decides to stick around and play some poker with the other elders of the retirement home like it’s a night out in Atlantic City, no secret family and casino robbing involved.
Back to the main plot, and yes, we finally reached the biggest moment in the episode, one of the two to be exact, but this is the highlight and the one that I will be going to write out and for y’all to read like it’s a college essay. At this point, I might as well be thinking about doing some sort of character ship analysis piece on Moon and Quinn. I might do it. Give this review on my WordPress 100 likes, and I’ll do it. No balls. No balls. Especially since there’s no new Great North until July 17. 100 likes, no balls. Even though I might do it or not, because I need a massive breather before the next Bob’s Burgers episode, the day before the Fourth of July, but still. 100 likes on this review on my WordPress page, and I’ll do a character ship analysis. So, back to the topic at hand, Beef reached the top of the Captain’s Crest and stopped Moon from having a nice, little relationship with Quinn under the comets because Beef still believes that the comets are bad news and fears that what happened to him will happen to Moon.
Making sure that his father doesn’t stand in the way of his shot to have a magical night, Moon decides to put this whole “curse of the comet” bullshit that Beef had been spewing throughout the night and the days leading up to that to rest. In a private talk between father and son with Moon tells Quinn to build a tent to keep herself busy and hoping nothing can stand in the way since the clock is pretty much ticking. About minutes away from the twin comets passing through each other, so Moon might as well quickly tell Beef to cut the crap out on whole “comets bringing bad luck” shtick. Look, Moon knows that what happened back then, leading up to right now, wasn’t his fault. I mean, you could say that it is, but surely, it’s not fully his fault, nor it’s the comets who are at fault for what happened the last time it happened 23 years ago. It’s just Kathleen being Kathleen because why not? It’s not that surprising to begin with. The red flags would’ve been waving for Beef to understand the night they first met, thinking that it’s love at first sight. Spoiler alert, it’s pretty much him being a dumbass because of what he is being roped into and not let go until things fall apart. And besides, if it weren’t for that, well, he would not have four kids who know what they’re doing, with one of whom wanting to get this conversation to be over with so he can spend some time with the girl who will soon become his girlfriend.
Who quickly built the would-be tent and fireplace while the conversation was taking place between the two. And, no bullshitting, I had to go on the timer and time the conversation between Moon and Beef while Quinn was building the shelter out of sticks and leaves ahead of the comets passing through, a minute and twenty-three minutes. A minute and twenty-three seconds. That is the fastest that Quinn had to build a shelter, by herself, while Moon was giving Beef the Carfax on the comets. I had to look it up on the record to build a tent the fastest, didn’t say anything about doing it with only one person, but it’s a minute and seven seconds by two people. Yeah, I can see why Moon likes Quinn. And pretty much tells Beef that Quinn will not, repeat, NOT, all caps, be like Kathleen. I mean, I’m sure that is what I’m guessing it’s the same when Honeybee first came into the picture, since moving from Fresno to meet Wolf. So, this pretty much changed Beef’s outlook on the comets as Moon plans on going back to join Quinn with the comets now seconds away from passing through, but not before giving his father his blessing to find someone to make out with while the comets are still visible to see. Spoiler alert, we already know who.
And now... we get to this moment in the episode. Two seasons now. It’s been two seasons since Quinn made her debut on the show, and two seasons since, out of nowhere, we found out Moon developed a crush on her. The time has finally come for him to make his move with the comets, of course, seconds away from intersecting, with him telling his confession to Quinn. Asking her to be his girlfriend and wanting to spend the rest of his life with her because he knows how amazing she is, despite that we barely know about the girl since Season 3, and better pray to whatever deity you worship we get more seasons so hopefully, we get to know more about everyone, especially Quinn, to the point where he imagines them following the made-up part of the story about the two boaters having to surrounded by a pack of animals with Moon saying he wants to be with her to die together when being surrounded by a pack of wolves who would adopt them as their leaders.
Probably should’ve done some emotion into the mix with the confession regarding Moon if I were to paint this. Especially after Moon confessed his feelings, and he would have to close his eyes, hoping that Quinn wouldn’t reject it. Giving him some anxiety after telling her said confession as if he fucked it up and might’ve scared her away with that. Granted, they’re both 10, but still, those are pretty big steps to get into a romantic relationship. Their first romantic relationship, to be exact, but aside from that, I still think that this little confession would add a little emotion into the pot with Moon having to deal with some anxiety after confessing his feelings and hoping that Quinn doesn’t reject it. Because the last thing we need is Moon having to go through his down bad arc once again, the last time Quinn rejected his offer and was letting up to the practice prom dance. I.e., the week Aunt Dirt was discovered. Luckily for Moon, he might not be doing a redux of that.
Quinn accepts Moon’s confession and offer to be his girlfriend because she was going to do the same to ask him to be her boyfriend, as if she wants to use the comets to make a move of her own. Telling the same confession Moon had asked her earlier, only in her head, it’s a pack a bears surrounding them. And if y’all know, you know that Moon has a massive crush on Quinn, right? Well, if you look at “Arranger-ous Minds Adventure”, you have a scene where Moon and Quinn were waiting to be picked up after serving their junior janitors duties and you have Quinn saying the phrase “Not because I want to hang out with you”, as if it was implying that Quinn likes Moon like how Moon likes Quinn, but only shows Moon having the stronger emotion of the two. I mean, it was pretty clear that both Moon AND Quinn like each other, and I mean, like-like each other. Hell, after that miscommunication at the end of “Aunt Misbehavin’ Adventure” at the dance with Quinn having to bring her pig David, yes, I’m still going to hold her accountable for that in having to play with Moon’s emotions, they did share a dance and it was a cute moment between the two. And it wasn’t until this episode where, of course, they decided to seal the deal with the night of the twin comets to serve as the perfect opening to do just that.
And so, at 9:54 PM on Thursday, June 19, 2025, it is official. Moon Tobin and Quinn Notti are officially boyfriend and girlfriend. They are officially a couple once the comets, right on time, pass by each other. And while it wasn’t as Earth-shattering as... I dunno, when Louise kissed Rudy in “Bob Actually”, but more in the line of Central Park with Molly and Brendan when trying to make the comparison with Moon and Quinn. But hey, at least we know that those two have officially become a couple. Their first relationship, to be exact, and also their first kiss. And they might as well never forget this moment. And all it took was two breakups in a single season to get to this point. As if Ham and Crispin’s relationship, along with Beef and Carissa’s, were nothing more than sacrificial pieces to get to Moon and Quinn. Although, if you think about it, and this isn’t just me saying it, this is from something I picked up from a Reddit comment, that having Moon and Quinn become a couple feels as if things are starting to wrap up. Treating it as if they knew that they’re not going to get another season after this one and think to themselves that if they want to do something now, then might as well clear things out of the way and Moon and Quinn having crushes on each other is one of those items that needed to be checked off. Again, this is what I picked up from a Reddit comment, and I hope that’s not the case, even though it feels like it’s inevitable. Once again, 100 likes on the WordPress page of this review, and I’ll do a ship analysis.
Moon’s comment to fact-check his claim about the comets and seeing his youngest son finally having Quinn as his girlfriend, finally got Beef to change his perspective on things regarding the comets, Beef finally is about to get his second shot in wanting to get a kiss under the comets while the twin space rocks are still visible as we end the third act of the episode and going into the fourth and final act, Beef goes down the cliff and decides to find someone to share a kiss with while the night is youn- it’s Alyson. Beef is gunning for Alyson, and that is the person he wants to share a kiss with. He was considering it with Carissa, Del, and Greta, but no, it’s Alyson that he wants. And Beef thought he found Alyson at the campsite to get the view of the comets... only to end up spotting the wrong woman and revealing to a woman named Mary Fadasserson, the mother of Tia, one of the students who attended the trip. So once again, for Beef, back to running he goes deep into the woods.
We check back at Dirt at the retirement home, in the middle of a poker game, where Wolf and Honeybee finally found the missing elderly woman... playing a round of strip poker, by the way, that screencap, all in GTA. All in GTA. All in GTA. That is exactly what is happening with Dirt throughout the night, with everyone either fully naked or in their drawers while smoke is plaguing the room. Dirt is enjoying what she is doing after accusing Wolf and Honeybee of thinking that they’re dropping her off when noticing them talking to one of the workers, and having to head outside as if they’re dropping her off and never to return. Only to find out that they were signing paperwork for approval to use the vending machine and having to wait outside for the tow truck to come, and I guess saw the comets fly by while waiting for that. Did I mention that the elders here are missing out on seeing the comets? It would take another 23 years to see, and by then, everyone in this room would be dead.
So, that finally clears things up for Dirt to understand. Mostly because, according to Honeybee, they ain’t going to drop Dirt off as if she and Wolf are tired of her because they like having her around. That, and also the cost of affordability. Especially in this economy. So, Dirt gets kicked out by one of the workers of the retirement home, but not before saying that she plans on returning for the next week for a round of Uno. Because even though Dirt doesn’t like the idea of being put in a home despite being a miscommunication, at least she had some fun with people her own age range and having to liven things up in her own way.
Going back to the main plot of the episode as we reached the two-minute of the warning of the episode and it didn’t take long for Beef to finally find Alyson, who fell from the top of the tree just as she was trying to get a good view of the comets just as it was flying through each other, cushioning her fall after he thought Alyson would be out of the park. But lo and behold, here we are. And, of course, the two share a kiss right as the comets are currently away from each other after crossing over as if their souls have intertwined. Something that Kathleen wouldn’t replicate, and it was expected that it would be Alyson whom Beef wants to share a kiss with. Though I know, I know, it doesn’t feel the same without having Mullally voicing the character when doing this scene, but at least this is out of the way, okay? Even if it was expected. Though there is one statement that nearly threw me off after the make-out session.
And that's Alyson saying that she's married, but claims it’s not that serious and could dump the person she's with and dive right into Beef’s life. Since fucking when did that happen?! Since fucking when? That was an out-of-nowhere line coming from Alyson, but then again, there was the episode “Can’t Hardly Date Adventure” from Season 3 where Alyson was supposed to meet with someone whom she came across online and plans on marrying, only to end up getting catfished. So... I guess she went to that site again, and this time, it’s as she said to Alyson. I mean, Beef in that episode, after what happened on the other side of the area, says that he should test the waters in the dating world, i.e., a one-night stand with Greta that helped him get through heartbreak and a trial run relationship with Carissa, before thinking about getting into an actual relationship with Alyson. Though with only a few episodes left in the season and God forbid the series as a whole, it might as well be the waiting game once again.
So, we reached the final scene of the episode with the aftermath of the comet viewing party, with all four Tobins together by the van, with Ham and Judy having to treat their mouths. Luckily, no infection, and it’s going to take a while for them to recover, but at least it’s not a total loss. Though, once again, things would’ve been different if Ham and Judy had not suffered through their wisdom teeth getting removed and had romance plots of their own. But alas, the night isn’t a total loss, especially for Beef and Moon, with Beef having second thoughts on the comets after kissing Alyson. And, of course, Moon finally has Quinn as his girlfriend. Of course, the celebration gets cut short once Principal Gibbons is about to make his way towards the nearest camp, that being the Tobins, singing his cover of Owl City’s “Fireflies”, which should be enough for everyone to make a break for it.
But not before Gibbons spotted something as he was singing that happened to be a backpack. And wouldn’t you guess it, it was the “gank” that Bethany, Judy, and Ham were looking for. Again, you probably didn’t see what the “gank” is other than giving out a glowing golden light as if it’s going to be treated like it’s the golden turd from American Dad. And the moral of this story: Fate can be tricky little bitch, especially when it comes to romance. So, might as well expect the unexpected. That’s all I have to say.
Reaction/Thoughts:
So, all and all, what do I think about this week’s episode of The Great North? First off, I need a few days' rest before the next episode of Bob’s Burgers because, holy hell, having to do three episode reviews in full breakdown format in a span of a week or a week and a half... It’s amazing how I’m still alive when doing this. But yeah, this was a good episode, not going to lie. Sure, it was expected and not Earth-shattering, but that didn’t downplay the episode as a whole.
The episode was trying to be a rehash of “Autumn If You Got Em Adventure”, minus the whole thing being narrated by Judy to Alanis, with 2/3 of the main plot being romance plots regarding Beef and Moon and I think things would’ve been different if Ham and Judy would not have their wisdom teeth pulled out and have their own romantic subplots ahead of the comets crossing over each other later in the night. And even though it should be focused on any of the Tobins in this episode, it does feel more like Beef’s episode, with him getting most of the spotlight because of his disdain for the comets due to experience and him coming across four of his former flames, thank God this episode did not brought back Zelda for this one, before we knew right away that it was going to be Alyson.
Moon’s plot was expected but also cute, and not in a weird way. Calm down. Regarding him and Quinn now becoming boyfriend and girlfriend, going into the remaining episodes of Season 5. Sure, it wasn’t Earth-shattering, but it was somewhat expected because we know that those two like each other, but it was nice. It was cute. Should’ve done a little more with the confession, but at least things turned out well between the two. Once again, 100 likes on the WordPress page to do a character pairing analysis on these two.
The subplot was fine with Dirt thinking that Wolf and Honeybee were dropping her off at the retirement home before having to abandon her escape attempt to play a round of poker that later turned into a game of strip poker as if things were about to turn freaky and knowing that this was posted late at night and going into the early morning hours... good luck sleeping tonight with the mental image that y’all just read. Oh yeah, and there’s also another main plot with Judy and Ham... which, again, and I’ll say this for the last time, would’ve been different if they didn’t have them recover from their wisdom teeth. Just putting it out there. But other than that, a good episode. Predictable in some parts, but it didn’t kill the enjoyment out of it. So there’s that. So, I’ll give “Serendipi-Beef Adventure”...
An 8 out of 10. But that’s my opinion, and I want to hear yours in the comments below. We did get a plot synopsis for the July 17 episode of The Great North for “Heel-raiser Adventure” with Wolf wanting to try out amateur wrestling and Judy having to train a new employee at the Point & Shoot. And until then, it’s back-to-back Bob’s Burgers episodes with “The Shell Game” after July 3 and “Wild Steal-ions” the week after July 10.
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