The Introduction[]
We're well into Season 6 by now, and I must say I've enjoyed it so far. My expectations for the past few episodes have ranged from way far off (The Vegging turned out to be my favorite episode so far his season, given its theory potential as well as its general enjoyability. Expect a theory soon) to actually not that bad (I'm really proud of myself for kind-of-predicting the three-person dynamic in The One.) As a result of this, I'm writing the sequel to my Season 6 Expectations Analysis. What shall it be called? Season 6 Expectations Analysis 2: The Expectationning! Catchy, I know. My aim here is to get this done before the unusually mysterious episode The Cringe airs Friday, Febuary 2nd. It is currently Thursday, January 25th. Let's do this.
The Cringe[]
Synopsis: N/A, as of 1/25/18
Expectations: Average
The first thing anyone initiated in the ways of the interwebs will think about this episode is that it will be about so-called 'cringe culture,' the following that has sprung up around subjectively 'cringey' things, i.e., something likely to make the average person cringe in second-hand embarrassment. And it might be about cringe culture, for all we know. The show has played with it before: "I just cringed all the way back into my lower intestine," and such. But with this space I'd like to present another... *ahem*... theory as to what this may be about, one that I haven't seen since the episode name was revealed.
What if it was the third installment in the Hot Dog Guy arc? It sounds far-fetched at first, but think about it. We haven't gotten an episode centered around Gumball and Hot Dog Guy's... say... cringeworthy escapades since Season 4's The Awkwardness, and based on the ending of that episode the arc seems far from over. This is why I've et my expectations at average, as the episode can swing both ways: it could be a commentary on cringe culture a la late Season 5 , but... well... let's just say social commentary isn't Gumball's thing. Or, it could be the long-awaited (by me, at least) sequel to The Hug and The Awkwardness. Or it could be something completely different. We'll just have to see.
The Father[]
Synopsis: The kids try to help Richard bond with Frankie.
Expectations: Average
On the one hand, Richard. On the other hand, Frankie. (On the third hand, kiddos.)
As I've discussed earlier, Richard has had some problem episodes in the recent past. He's a simple character to write, and a great source of easy comedy, but this can backfire very easily. The Lady managed to sidestep this by leaning heavily comedy-wise on either a) the Watterson brothers or b) the other definitely-not Golden Girls. I expect The Father to do something similar to this with the Watterson kids and Frankie. If it doesn't, it'll be taking a risk that has historically not paid off.
Frankie has always been one of my favorite characters in the series. While his son is just plain-old lazy, he's sleazy in an oddly endearing way. His return is something I genuinely look forward to. On another note, isn't he supposed to be in prison? Segue to...
The Future[]
Synopsis: N/A, as of 1/25/18
Expectations: Sky High
When I first learnt of this episode, it seemed pretty obvious what it was, or at least what it was meant to be: first episode, final season, a look at what the characters' lives would be like in the... shock of shocks... future. And given the phenomenal success of the episode I'd instantly unconsciously compared it to, The Choices, I expected great things of it; I still do. But then The Vegging came along, and I noticed a little detail that turns all this on its head. Allow me to explain.
We're all, at this point, aware of the mysterious message at the end of The Vegging: "THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE / THE STRANGE THINGS THAT HAPPENED TODAY WERE FOR A REASON AND IT WAS ALL THE WORK OF..." The message has garnered tons of attention, for good reason, but there's one overlooked detail I (and some perceptive people on the Gumball subreddit, kudos to them) have discovered. Let's look at the first part of the message again: THIS IS A MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE. This is a message from The Future. Coincidence? I think not.
But this raises another issue. Ben himself revealed this episode on Twitter, telling us that it was meant to be the season premiere but was delayed. At first, I fully believed this statement was true. Now, I'm not so sure. Think about it: if you wanted to tease a, say, series finale but you didn't want people to necessarily know it's the series finale, how would you go about doing it? Also, though this is just me speculating, didn't The Rival make an unusually good season premiere despite supposedly being substituted in at the last moment? Also also, the tweet in question dates back to October 31st, a good two months before The Future was supposedly sceduled to air. Though it takes a year to produce an episode, that's still a large chunk of time left to get the episode done. So Ben might be lying. Or he might not. For now, we'll just have to wait and see what The Future brings.
The Candidate[]
Synopsis: N/A as of 1/25/18
Expectations: Average
These last few analyses might be a bit shorter than some others, mostly because there's not much there to analyze. The main notable thing about this episode so far is its single storyboard. Which tells us virtually nil about the plot, because it's a bunch of people running. And that's all we know.
In other news, the episode could be a sequel to Season 5's delightful high point The Vision, which would be great. It could just as well be a social commentary in the style of The Nuisance, which would be... not that great. As with The Cringe, it can go either way.
The Faith []
Synopsis: N/A as of 1/25/18
Expectations: Average
One word: religion. And now several more words to explain the first.
Gumball has always had a shaky relationship with the subject of religion. You name a (often first-world) problem facing the world today, and Gumball will have covered it. Except, notably, religion.
Season 5 has had a sharp increase in references to religion, mostly Christianity, squeezed in amongst its other gags: "You look like you're about to walk on water!" This trend has continued in Season 6; think Darwin attempting to name the Seven Sins in The Sucker. But so far, the show hasn't directly adressed religion... until, maybe, The Faith. And from religion, we move on to a completely different form of faith.
The Shippening[]
Synopsis: N/A as of 1/25/18
Expectations: Rock Bottom
Oh, The Shippening. Thou art a blessing and a curse. The most contentious argument having to do with this already contentious episode has to do with whether it has to do with ships... or ships. My opinion, if I may voice it, is that The Shippening is most definitely about ships. As in, with canon, not cannon.
Wordplay aside, The Shippening will most likely be the bane of the ship-abstaining, relatively civilized upper crust, so to speak, of the Gumball fandom, those who take the time and effort to keep the wiki informational and up to date. It'll likely be a field day for the crack-shippers down in the darkest, most unsavory corners of Tumblrland, who don't care about continuity this and morals that, as long as they get their ships. No offense, Tumblrites, but...
I've given The Shippening a rock bottom expectations score not because I expect it to be bad, but because I just don't think it can live up to its hype. The content of the episode itself is anyone's guess, as we have literally no information on the episode other than the title. We must, however, remember that love potions are a thing in the Gumball universe. Just saying.
The Conclusion[]
From cringe culture to shipping. I think we've come full circle. Whew. Miraculously, I've managed to cover six episodes in one afternoon. This took... a lot less time than the last one. Good night or good morning or good afternoon everybody. I'm gonna go sleep now. See ya sometime, I guess.