As a Fridge subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
Fridge Brilliance:
- In the first episode, the original Pac-Man trivia pickup line that Scott attempts to impart on Ramona on their first encounter is instead changed to trivia about how Sonic the Hedgehog used to have two different versions of a cartoon show running at the same time, one that was lighthearted and comedic, and the other which was darker and serious. At the end of the episode, the twist is revealed that Takes Off is in and of itself a different version of the Scott Pilgrim story, but it's taken a step further when the antagonist is revealed to be an older version of Scott whose story had accurately followed the original books. We end up with two versions of Scott being present at the same time; one with a more naïve outlook who wants to make his own decisions, and one who's lived through ordeals that turned him into a darker (though still immature) person.
- Similarly in the first episode, Ramona reveals that she didn't grow up on cartoons but rather Columbo. After Scott seemingly dies, Ramona takes it upon herself to play detective and investigate into his disappearance.
- Also in the first episode, the amount of coins Old Scott leaves to trick the others into thinking Matthew had defeated Young Scott is indicative of his own sense of self; he literally left the amount he believed he was worth, almost nothing.
- Or seeing how Scott was still living with Wallace in the future at the time and doesn't seem employed that could just be all the money he had at the moment.
- During the battle with Gideon in the original comics both Scott and Ramona were hit with The Glow. That's what made Future Scott forget to respect people and be more mature and Future Ramona forget she can't run from relationships when they get tough.
- This means Even Older Scott using his vegan powers on Gideon isn't just a way of saying Shut Up, Hannibal!; it's likely because he not only blames Gideon for having a major role in ruining his life but the compliment he gave regarding his plans likely struck a nerve with him. One of the last things Even Older Scott needed to hear was his greatest foe speaking positively about him.
- Matthew Patel of all characters becoming an Adaptational Badass when he gets a confidence boost from beating Scott makes sense — out of all the Evil Exes he and Todd are the only ones with actual superpowers while the others are just superhuman in their abilities. And unlike Todd, Matthew's powers don't come with conditions like following a certain dietary lifestyle. It's possible Matthew was always the strongest of the Evil Exes but his lack of confidence limited his abilities, allowing Scott to beat him easily when they fought in the comics. Also, you have to compare him to Lucas Lee, the second ex Scott has to fight. Matthew has mystic powers, can summon allies through the demon hipster girls, and can heal himself. Whereas Lucas is just really strong and has stunt doubles/skateboarders to fight alongside him, not healing him. It would make more sense if Lucas was the first boss and Matthew was further up the list rather than just having all the exes fight Scott chronologically. It's almost as if Gideon rigged the fight in his favor and didn't expect Scott to be defeated so early on.
- It's said every Evil Ex more powerful than the last but as Matthew beating Gideon shows, this isn't true and that their level of strength isn't quite set in stone. But the eighth Evil Ex, Even Older Scott, brings this rule back as the sheer strength difference between him and Gideon (and the rest of the Evil Exes) is made very clear.
- Ramona was the catalyst Scott needed to mature and grow up as a person so it’s no wonder when you remove that catalyst, he goes right back to being a immature man child.
- In episode six, after Scott reveals that he was behind his own faked death, the song that plays during the end credits is "Kidnapped by Neptune" by Scout Niblett. Neptune is usually depicted as an older man with a full beard, which fits the physical description of Old Scott. Moreover, his Greek counterpart Poseidon was said to have competed with Athena, the goddess of wisdom, over who got to be the patron of Athens. The Athenians chose Athena, who provided them with a more useful gift than Poseidon, which mirrors how in the end, the combined wisdom of the young and old Ramonas triumphs over the bitterness of Even Older Scott.
- Also, Neptune is the eighth and farthest planet from the Sun, as Even Older Scott is the eighth evil ex and the furthest along in the timeline.
- The Irony in Todd outright giving up on his vegan diet is that the extra butter he's willing to have on his popcorn is something he could have explained to the Vegan Police as not being real butter.
- Just meeting Even Older Scott and hearing Even Older Ramona explain she just wanted some space after a fight and Scott way overreacted to it ensures their future can never happen as now present day Scott knows what to do when they reach that point of their relationship. Which is exactly what present day Scott suggested his older self tell him during their first meeting.
- Wallace completely breaking Todd's heart at first seems unusually cold for his character when taking into account prior portrayals. However, it's possible that he destroyed Todd specifically because he was Envy's boyfriend, being his way of getting back at her for breaking Scott's heart.
- The movie crew's overspending with only 3 scenes done seems comically incompetent until you realize most of the money was spent on the cut of the film with Lucas Lee as the lead role rather than Todd. They had to scrap what they had and restart, and the money they spent doesn't just magically reappear.
- It's a bit strange that none of Scott's friends and sister seem to be anywhere near as crestfallen as you'd expect them to be after his death... until you realize that as demonstrated by the Katayanagi Twins and per Word of God, people simply respawn in this world after they're defeated. They probably expected him to pop up again after a while.
- Alternatively, it could be that this is just something they've expected for a while now, given Kim's remarks about Scott always taking on "higher level enemies".
- Lucas Lee's agent references "Skater Boy" by Avril Lavigne when telling Lucas he's on the verge of being fired from Hollywood. When analysing Lucas's character, the song makes more sense than you think aside from the title. The song is a story about a girl who has a mutual crush on a boy but never articulates it because she is afraid of the social fallout from her friends, only for the boy to grow up rich and successful while she laments about missing the opportunity to be with him, and the final chorus has Lavigne shaming the girl for not only missing the opportunity but for not knowing the boy well enough to respect him. Lucas's story is a result of Ramona leaving him for Todd and responding by tailoring his image in a way that would Ramona regret dumping him by being the ultimate bad boy, ultimately telling Ramona that she didn't know him well enough.Sorry, girl, but you missed out
Well, tough luck, that boy's mine now
We are more than just good friends
This is how the story ends
Too bad that you couldn't see
I see the man that boy could be
There is more than meets the eye
I see the soul that is inside - The final episode ends with a little chiptune cover of 'God Only Knows' that plays while we see the characters finally getting ready to move on with their lives. Being one of the finest and most beautiful love songs in the world, it's also being praised as a very realistic depiction of love, with its highs and lows through life, and even the protagonist singing says that they may not be sure if love will go on forever, or if the person they love will always love them back, and the chorus even states that only God Himself knows what will happen if the relationship and love eventually ends. This mirrors practically all of the Scott Pilgrim's franchise take on their endings, as we never know what will happen in the future, and if the love the characters fought so hard for will always be there, but for now, there IS love, and love is there for them.
- Future Ramona being able to jury-rig time-traveling rollerblades out of 'some parts she got from a Delorean' might seem Hand Wavey at first. But when you consider the fact that much earlier in the series, Ramona in the present was able to access Scott's dreams via subspace and even hear his voice despite Scott currently being 14 years in the FUTURE, it starts making sense that Ramona could use subspace highways to travel through time.
- Even that makes sense for subspace sense their distance bending/time dilation properties could reasonably be applied to time travel.
- Even Older Scott is strictly a Bare-Fisted Monk despite the fact past Scott Pilgrims literally have sword proficiency as a trait. However, he is a man without the Power of Love (via his and Ramona’s separation), the comic’s Power of Understanding (as he can’t come to terms with said separation) or the film’s Power of Self Respect (as he resents his younger self and refuses to trust him in making his own decisions). Meaning none of Scott’s Character Development-based swords are available to him.
- In the first episode, when Scott apparently dies his friends are shocked and horrified, but Julie, in contrast to the comic, smiles. Either at this point she hates Scott that much for breaking Envy's heart, or she saw the coins and thought he'd respawn and decided to enjoy his humiliation.
- For his fight with Matthew, Gideon bet everything he had, including his underwear, and the result was legally binding. That's why he went back to call himself Gordon Goose - Matthew won his legal name. Though he either didn't know Gideon Gordon Graves wasn't his real name or didn't care so he continued calling himself Matthew Patel.
- Gideon attempts to use The Glow on Even Older Scott during his fight with the Evil Exes which Even Older Scott completely shrugs off. Even Older Scott is so far in his head The Glow can't make things worse.
- Every other adaptation is referenced in some part. Naturally, the original Scott Pilgrim's Precious Little Life film references the actual movie. Old Scott's memory tape is made up of individual frames from the course of the original story, sort of like a comic, and it's watched with the Virtual Guuy, which in real life is used to play video games. A fringe case could be made as well for Old Young Neil's memoir, as it's an actual book that the screenplay was based on.
- The first time we see an older version of Scott, he's still wearing his X-Men jacket. Guess which superhero team is known for getting into an absurd amount of Time Travel shenanigans.
- When in episode 5 the director has Todd kiss Wallace to interrupt Todd and Envy's makeout sessions, Envy is stunned in horror the moment the director tells Todd to look at Wallace, almost as if she realized what was going to happen... Because she did: she and Wallace got acquainted back when she was dating Scott and knew both that Wallace hated her and that he had the habit of stealing Stacie's boyfriends by making them gay, Wallace somehow talking the director into having her boyfriend kiss him was exactly the kind of stunt she should have seen coming. She was just so surprised and horrified she couldn't stop it.
- When Even Older Scott kidnaps Scott, Ramona, their friends and the Evil Exes to fight them he leaves Envy behind in spite of her status as The One That Got Away and her help in the original timeline... Because his previous kidnapping of Scott and the consequent lack of the battle with Todd prevented her from starting to have closure and in the timeline he was trying to prevent she and Scott likely never returned to be friends.
- Future Ramona probably never reached out to Scott during their separation because like in the comics, she reacted to the emotional turmoil by loafing around her house. This is noted to be something she has in common with Scott in the comics, and something semi-jokingly used as a reason why they deserve each other. Here this similarity is played for drama, because they both ended up self-isolating.
- Scott says that Super Ramona is a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog 3, despite Super Sonic as a form first appearing in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, something that Even Older Scott even calls out. Take a look at Super Ramona for a second; her entire body is golden, not just her hair. Scott isn't referencing Super Sonic, he's referencing Super Mecha Sonic Mk. II, one of the final bosses of the game, and who similarly has its body completely golden instead of just the quills.
- It's also entirely possible he just never got the Chaos Emeralds in the second game. Those things can be absolute hell to complete.
- During the battle with Even Older Scott, he briefly looks surprised when Matthew Patel uses his powers to create extra arms and start pummeling him. Makes sense, since in the timeline Even Older Scott came from Matthew never had those powers, and as Even Older Scott mentions "study[ing] all of your skills" during his training, of course he wouldn't know how to counter this initially.
Fridge Horror:
- In the original continuity Gideon had cryogenically frozen several women so he can make them his future girlfriends. Unless Matthew freed them while he ran Gideon's empire, they're still trapped and Scott and Ramona have no reason to know or save them.
- There's also the matter of the Glow and its effects on Ramona and Scott.
- Old Scott's actions essentially undo all of Scott's character growth from the books, including not allowing him to face his flaws in the form of Nega-Scott. And Even Older Scott bears a striking similarity to Nega-Scott, especially once his eyes start glowing during the final fight.
- Somewhat mitigated for present Scott, in that seeing the kind of man he would become in the future seems to have been a pretty heavy wake-up call. One of the first things he does after coming back to the present is come clean to Knives and apologize, showing that Scott is at least on the right track now.
