Last week, we reviewed the first episode of the new series, Velma. At the time of writing that post, Binge had only dropped the first episode. However, we discovered a couple of days ago that they had dropped episode two as well, so that’s why we’re reviewing three episodes, whether than one or two. So, we have to admit that the humour does get better in the three episodes we watched, over the narrative feels forced.
What we mean by this is that they’re trying too hard to get the point across in a short amount of time. This is a situation other adult animation series, like the smash hit Harley Quinn, don’t have. We’re massive fans of that show because of its pacing. We never cared about how much swearing, sex and violence there was as we understood the pacing and the narrative flow would result in certain pay-offs.
With Harley and Ivy getting together in Harley Quinn, there was a setup for it, which was evenly paced. Also, it didn’t happen until Season 2. The narrative presented in Velma for Velma being bisexual and having the hots for Daphne is forced into the first few episodes. While it is not dumped on the audience the way Brendan Fraser’s ass was in Doom Patrol, zero clues hint at it.
The Implications Aren’t Given Before Something Happens
There is also no implication that Daphne is bisexual until she kisses Velma. Also, trying to force the narrative makes the audience hate the show. Why couldn’t the writers address all this early in the first episode and allow the audience to have its say from the get-go? They’re following a woke ideology here of telling the viewers what to feel rather than allowing them to decide what they want to feel.
Also, the show leans too much on the stereotypes they’re trying to avoid. They even state this in one of the episodes. The most obvious is how Fred is portrayed as a spoilt man-child who never grew up. He’s a 16-year-old who hasn’t achieved puberty. This is made a mockery of when people see his penis. Another example is Daphne, who is made out to be a colossal bitch and Velma’s former best friend.
An Extra Opinion
Mia Johnson made an excellent point in her review of the first episode when she said that the show’s sloppiness would’ve worked if it hadn’t been for the Scooby-Doo IP. She also points out that all the characters hate each other. They’re virtually all new characters who share the exact likeness to characters the audience already knows.
We have to agree with Mia when she mentioned in her review that if you grew up in the era of all the different variations of the Scooby-Doo IP, you’d understand which archetypes go where with each character. So let’s go over that briefly, shall we?
Velma is the smart one. Daphne is the pretty one. Shaggy is the one who isn’t always there mentally, while Fred is the good-looking one with the big heart who is a little up himself.
In Velma, the archetypes of the characters are nowhere to be found, and these episodes back that up. Fred is the insecure one. Velma is the one who is the rebel. Shaggy is suddenly smart, and Daphne is the bitch.
The Laughs Don’t Always Land
As we stated in our previous review, jokes don’t always land, but there are times when they do. While these three episodes are better than the first, it’s understandable why HBO is dropping two episodes a week rather than one. They want to get to air as quickly as possible, and it’s easy to see why.
