YMMV / Big Mouth

• Accidental Aesop:
  • Feminists need to learn to clearly articulate their expectations of men and stop being the Master of the Mixed Message or Moving The Goal Posts. Even sympathetic guys who want to be allies often find it difficult because they are forced to guess what women want and are harshly condemned if they get it wrong. Which tends to push male allies away, making women even angrier and just creating a vicious cycle of mutual resentment.
  • Activists make terrible boyfriends.
  • Feminists are just as capable of being mean and horrible to other women and girls as misogynistic men because they sometimes don’t want to admit that they are holding other women to standards that they don't meet themselves.
  • Health conditions aren't necessarily related to age. Cases like DeVon's juvenile arthritis, while rare, do exist in real life.
• Adorkable: All 5 main characters have a moment since they're all still young and fairly dorky but also strangely endearing in their own quirky ways. Most of the time at least...
  • Andrew most of the time. Comes together hand in hand with his awkward demeanor and being Jewish and Nerdy.
  • Bashful, kind and chatty Missy, who has a crush on Andrew (and Nathan Fillion) is this times a million.
  • Matthew totally becomes this in the Valentine’s Day special. All he wants is to get a nice boyfriend and not have his friendship with Jessi ruined.
  • Caleb is this and a bag of chips. While he's very literal minded due to lacking social cues, he's a very talented young boy (both artistically and with coding apps) with a steady friendship with Matthew.
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • At the end of season 2, Nick gets a new Hormone Monster. Considering the Hormone Monster, some people started wondering about whether that decision is connected to some degree with his personality. The fact that Connie is his new Hormone Monster has people specifically wondering whether Nick is going through gender dysphoria and if he is transgender, since she has previously only worked with girls, even though she does mentions that she'll "make him a man" before teaching him how to masturbate and might simply be Nick being In Touch with His Feminine Side, not unlike his Camp Straight father. At the same time, Nick's over-developed nipples and emotional outbursts in the Valentine's Day special are speculated to be part of an estrogen rush caused by Connie. Connie even calls attention to this at one point, saying that it's very possible that Nick could be a "girl with a penis," though it seems to have been jossed otherwise.
  • "My Furry Valentine" strongly implies that Andrew has serious psychological issues that go far beyond his compulsive masturbation. Andrew is generally depicted as a Butt-Monkey, but his characterization in the special is considerably darker. It also parallels some of his behavior with that of his father, suggesting that Andrew's Hilariously Abusive Childhood is less of a joke than previously depicted and that Andrew may be a genuine threat to others' safety as a result.
  • When Sharon curses about Greg's new girlfriend, is it because she's jealous that her deadbeat ex husband has a girlfriend when she just got dumped and is generally succeeding in getting his life together while she's struggling, or does she just resent him so much at this point that she doesn't want to see him succeed, or is she simply jaded about the relationship given Greg's immaturity and Caitlin's younger age? Similarly, does she think that moving Jessi away by force is for her own good, is it a way to prevent Jessi from gravitating more to her father or is she more concerned with doing things that'll help her own psyche that she doesn't even bother to care about her own daughter's any more? Likely a good combination of the latter two (poor Jessi).
  • While he's clearly a Politically Motivated Teacher and, much later, a hypocrite and a gaslighter, did Mr. Lizer always intend to use progressivism as a means to attract women, consenting age or not, or is he a well-intentioned know-it-all who, like Andrew, was too arrogant to recognize his own flaws until he crossed the Moral Event Horizon?
• Aluminum Christmas Trees
  • Sylvester Stallone did star in a softcore porno called The Italian Stallion, but its original title was The Party at Kitty and Stud's. It was also years before Stallone's breakthrough with Rocky, so he neither had his iconic Heroic Build yet, nor did he use quotes from Rocky.
  • "Men Going Their Own Way" sounds like some generic fake name the writers tossed up for the sake of a toxic masculinity joke, doesn't it? Nope, it's real. The Southern Poverty Law Center even classifies it as a hate group.
• Anvilicious: Has its own page.
• Arc Fatigue: Andrew and Nick both often get plots where they seem to be hitting it off with a girl, only for their immaturity to ruin it. This is a major factor in why the characters have become so polarizing in later seasons, as they don't seem to retain the lessons they learn from these experiences and it becomes more and more cringeworthy over time. Andrew in particular has had several seasons of self-proclaimed improvement, but seems to regress back to being gross withim episodes for the sake of Cringe Comedy.
• Audience-Alienating Premise: The series is about a group of teens going through puberty and first exploring their sexuality, portraying the issue with such extreme, in-your-face frankness, many people claimed it was bordering on child pornography. The creators were aware of it, as the art style used is deliberately ugly, probably chosen to dissuade ephebophiles. Critics who saw it actually liked it, but other people may be appalled by either the subject or the art style, and it's not very likely that the show gets watched by actual teens going through puberty, since they would feel the series is too close to home.
• Award Snub: In 2018, Mark Rivers was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Music and Lyrics for "Totally Gay", but lost to "Come Back, Barack" from Saturday Night Live. A year later, the show itself was nominated for Outstanding Animated Program for "The Planned Parenthood Show" but lost to The Simpsons.
• Base-Breaking Character
  • Lola's abrasive, unfiltered attitude is either hilariously charming or deeply obnoxious, depending on who you ask, especially after she became a much more prominent character in season 3. Despite this the writers label her as the show's breakout star in season 6.
  • Matthew, at least in season 1. A hilariously camp gay character or a grating gay stereotype?
  • Due to his bizarre Cloud Cuckoo Lander and Manchild antics, Coach Steve is either the most hilarious source of surreal comedy in the show, or the most annoying part of it.
  • Rick has a similar reception to Steve, especially as he became more prominent from Season 4 onward. His weird unintelligible grossness is either delightfully strange and quotable or obnoxious. His role as Nick's hormone monster is either seen as an interesting metaphor for hormonal problems or part of what holds back Nick from developing as a character.
  • Marty Glouberman is seen as either audaciously hilarious for his harsh attitude, or he crosses the line into abusive in an unfunny way. Season 6 playing the Glouberman family more seriously made this divide stronger, as some appreciated the authentic look at toxic family relationships while others thought he crossed a line by emotionally abusing Barbara.
  • Montel's sassy attitude is either delightful or grating, and the decision to give Connie and Marty a kid at all is either a compelling choice for their relationship or an unnecessary and distracting decision. Being tied to Jessi's controversial blowup about gender roles doesn't help their case.
  • Post-Flanderization, Andrew's racked-up Cringe Comedy either goes far enough to make him funny and (particularly in the context of his dysfunctional family) compelling, or he's just too gross to root for anymore.
• Best Known for the Fanservice: If there's one moment in the show that constitutes as legal fanservice, it'd be shirtless Judd Birch in "No Nut November". The moment that happened, that was all that fans know when it comes to that episode.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment:
  • The "Everybody Hurts" parody in "Everybody Bleeds."
  • The brief mockumentary-style shot of Coach Steve in "Girls are Horny, Too" after Jay mentions his pornographic drawing of all the teachers. It's very random, and even Coach Steve is confused by it.
  • The student randomly getting his arms ripped off during the science lab scuffle in "Requiem For A Wet Dream." Despite the nature of the show, this kind of gorn humor isn't typically present. Justified in that it's all just Andrew having a dream.
• Bizarro Episode: "Pillow Talk" involves Jay's brother impregnating his now-sentient pillow and the two of them spending the rest of the day going through the stereotypical motions of a real life pregnancy (morning sickness, feeling the baby, the baby turning out to be Jay's brother's, etc), the drama of 13-year-old Jay now being the father of a 40-year-old pillow's baby and eventually the pillow giving birth. It ends with the pillow leaving him and taking their half-pillow, half-human hybrid baby with her and Jay deciding to have sex with his bathmat instead. It Makes Just As Much Sense In Context.
• Broken Base:
  • There's the purposefully exaggerated art style. For some, it does work in its own way, much like the writing, and has its appeal. For others, it's just ugly regardless of Intended Audience Reaction.
  • Among people who actually like the show, there's some debate of whether or not the writers should tackle gender queerness. Some feel as though including pubescent transgender characters would be positive, others feel that the mostly-cisgender writing staff are probably better sticking with what they know than intimately depicting something they probably don't understand all that well (assuming they wouldn't hire trans writers in that case). When they did introduce a trans character in Season 4, Natalie, she was written with help from trans women's input and has had a fairly positive reception.
  • Related to the above, the show's handling of pansexuality has been a subject of debate. A small but vocal amount of viewers felt as though Ali's descriptions of it is tactless and bi-phobic, a criticism Andrew Goldberg openly accepted. Others have said that it's in-character for a teenager like Ali to explain a nuanced concept in a tactless way and it shouldn't be taken at face value.
  • At the end of the third season where Nick and Andrew officially end their friendship, fans are divided on whether it's Nick or Andrew who's more at fault for the deterioration of their friendship. The fact that this conflict continues into season four (for the first four episodes) just makes it worse.
  • The recasting of Missy's voice actress from "Horrority House" onward. Some people enjoy Ayo Edibiri's performance and believe it fits nearly into Missy's arc, making her sound more mature and confident, without being too much of a departure from Jenny Slate. Others believe Slate's performance had more character and that Missy didn't need to be replaced. The meta reasoning for the voice actress change — the belief that Missy, who is mixed black/white, should be voiced by a black actress — only adds to the controversy.
  • Season 6 raises a debate about whether it's better to raise a child gender-neutrally. While some people appreciated the touching song and the critical eye on how parents project gender norms onto babies, others found it too far, believing Greg and Caitlin putting girly things in their new daughter's room and calling her a "she" doesn't make them sexist or transphobic. Some take a middle ground by agreeing with the basic idea of gender-neutral parenting, but disliking how forceful Jessi was about it.
• Cargo Ship: Canon: Jay and his pillow. They even wind up having a baby!
• Catharsis Factor: The show regularly puts abusive men through immensely satisfying humiliation congas that many could only ever dream about happening in real life.
  • After Daniel's history of forcing women to give him oral sex and Slut-Shaming those who refuse comes out, Nick throws up in his hat, which his sister puts on Daniel's head. Jay then further humiliates him by offering him a scarf to clean himself up, then makes it disappear and flips him off. Then, when Daniel tries to storm out, he discovers that Judd's slashed his (and everyone else's) tires. And then to cap it all off, an epilogue reveals that he actually died.
  • After being a rude jerk for most of the series, eventually crossing the Moral Event Horizon by gaslighting a teenage girl into giving him massages, Mr. Lizer is fired in front of the whole school, then gets dropped through a trap door, breaking his legs in such a way that his toenails tear his genitals. It's equally as satisfying as Daniel's comeuppance in season 1.
• Critical Dissonance: The show received unanimous praise from critics, with a higher-than average percentage rating on IMDb and a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Viewer response, on the other hand, has been more mixed-to-positive.
• Don't Shoot the Message: While the show might be crass to many people, it raises several valid and important points and has many solid aesops regarding themes such as body-positivity, consent, growing up, etc. To say nothing of the Planned Parenthood episode, which was instantly controversial.
• Ensemble Dark Horse:
  • Matthew, before he became part of the main cast in the later seasons, was popular for his delightful bitchiness and being responsible for the sexuality Aesop of "Am I Gay?". He gets even more popular when he's given more depth into his character while serving as a possible Love Interest to Jay. In "My Furry Valentine" his role is expanded, and we see him interacting with Maurice, previously indicated (but not shown) to be his Hormone Monster, for the first time.
  • Judd, Nick's Bomb Throwing Anarchist brother, who is somewhat psychopathic, but in a funny way. Besides, he seems to genuinely care for his siblings.
  • Caleb, in all his autistic glory. He's mostly a background character, but he's so innocently blunt and obvious when he appears, that fans love him. His A Day in the Limelight episode in Season 7 was the most well-received part of that season.
  • Gina was warmly received by Latin American audiences as well as girls who experienced D-Cup Distress, finding her highly relatable.
  • Missy's Hormone Monstress Mona was well-received for her interesting design and spicy personality. She also sets herself apart from Connie by having a more positive influence on Missy than Connie had on Jessi.
  • In Season 4, Natalie sparked a lot of popularity as being the first trans character on the show and showing the very realistic struggles that trans individuals go through, with fans also being very fond of her sassy and fiery spirit, as well as her friendship with Jessi. Fans would get to see her again in Human Resources, where it's revealed she's the sister and granddaughter of clients Nadja and Yara respectively.
  • From the same season 4, another one of Nick's campmates Milk has also become relatively popular due to many fans finding his odd non sequiturs, particularly about his dad's friend 'Bob Ready' and with him being a hilarious Phrase Catcher some of the funnier aspects at the beginning of the season. His 'Naruto Run' also stood out to many old fans and upped his newfound popularity.
• Epileptic Trees: The fandom has speculated on every character being the Ponytail Killer, including obscure or borderline fantastic characters. Some guesses include Leore Paulblart, Nick Starr, and Miss Benitez.
• Fan-Preferred Couple: Despite season 3 making Aiden/Matthew canon and season 4 pairing Jay with Lola, there's a lot of fans who still wish for Jay/Matthew to happen, since the two had a very interesting Belligerent Sexual Tension dynamic in season 2. The two of them finally become an official couple in season 5 only for Matthew to dump Jay towards the end of season 6 due to being incompatible.
• Fandom Rivalry:
  • Immediately developed one with Tuca & Bertie, another Netflix original, due to some very bad timing where Netflix announced that Big Mouth would be renewed for three additional seasons, mere days after the latter show was canceled only after just one season.
  • In general, Big Mouth tends to earn this with any Netflix show that gets cancelled prematurely, due to its perceived Adored by the Network status and Audience-Alienating Premise. Fans of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, and more recently, Inside Job, tend to be particularly acidic.
• Fanon: Many share the belief that the overly macho Gavin was Guy Bilzerian's Hormone Monster, and possibly Val and Kurt's as well.
• Growing the Beard: While Season 1 received good reviews, it was dogged by accusations of being softcore child pornography, if not just another Family Guy clone. Season 2 would not only improve on the sex-positive stories but also branch out into ones about body positivity, especially the show-stopping "We Love Our Bodies," which finally assuaged these critics and making the show one of the most popular adult animated comedies of its time. It's telling that season 1 received knee-jerk backlash from its subject alone while season 3 received actual good-faith criticism about how it handled the subject.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Back in season 1, Andrew's mother is adamant of him having sex education. The Planned Parenthood episode would later reveal that she had an unplanned pregnancy from a one night stand and decided to have an abortion. While she didn't regret her choice, the experience was an emotional one.
  • The beginning of "Girls are Horny, Too" has Andrew's mother saying she is worried about Alex Trebek. This would air two years before Trebek's pancreatic cancer diagnosis and three years before his death.
  • Andrew's porn addiction in light of John Mulaney being admitted into rehab, having developed a drinking problem at the same age as Andrew.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • In "How to Have an Orgasm," Andrew writes a "Dear John" Letter to Cherry hoping one of their family members dies so they can meet again at a funeral. The next season, Andrew's grandfather dies, and Andrew becomes convinced it's his fault for breaking his rituals, and he develops intrusive thoughts about death from the experience.
  • Andrew's voice actor John Mulaney would later go on to voice another character with uncomfortably moist hands. For added laughs, Missy's ex-voice actress starred in Venom (2018).
  • "Am I Gay?" has a scene where Jay suggests Nick call Jessi a "lesbo" for dumping him, while also insisting that being gay sucks as a dude because you won't get any girls. Season 2 would reveal that Jay is bisexual, while Season 5 would reveal that Jessi is also attracted to girls.
  • In Season 2, Jessi scoffed at the boys for being so obsessed with boobs. A few seasons later, she finds herself transfixed by Ali's boobs, and later becomes fixated on Caitlyn when she's breastfeeding, much to her embarrassment both times.
  • One episode has Elliot and Val talking about sex, and when Val mentions Elliot's wife, he is told to "keep [his] wife's name out of your fucking mouth." Months later, it seems like Will Smith decided to let that quote inspire him on Oscars night...
  • In his namesake episode, The Shame Wizard calls Andrew 'irredeemable', a word more fitting and actually used for a future animated character John Mulaney voiced.
• Ho Yay:
  • Being Heterosexual Life-Partners with a lot of conflict, there's occasional romantic subtext between Nick and Andrew, even discounting Andrew questioning his sexuality over Nick in "Am I Gay?" and kissing him to try and test the waters. The crowning (pun not intended) moment is likely the climax of "Poop Madness" where Nick holds Andrew's hand as Andrew finally takes a poop while "I'll Stand By You" by The Pretenders plays, which is deliberately set up like a husband helping his wife deliver a baby. Later in the episode, Seth tells them to take care of each other while referencing how he blew things with Natalie, his crush.
  • Building off of the Nick/Andrew subtext, Nick's jealousy towards Seth and Andrew's friendship can make Nick look more like a jealous ex-boyfriend watching Andrew on the rebound. Specific moments include Andrew complimenting Seth's bandana in a manner that's almost flirtatious and the two of them bonding over their penis size.
  • In "Nick Starr," Nick's future self has a robot slave based off of Andrew named "Andrew 3000," whose duties include massaging Nick and changing Nick's diapers. When Nick Starr learns he has to leave the planet and can take one lover to repopulate the Earth, Andrew 3000 chimes in that he'd be willing to incorporate that into his programming.
  • At the end of Season 7, Nick has made friends with a boy from his new private school, Cobblestones — also named Andrew. When main character Andrew comes over to Nick's and finds the new Andrew there, a faceoff occurs complete with Old Western motif and Andrew (Gloubernman) referring to Nick as "sweetie" when telling him to back off while the two Andrews settle things in a verbal duel that Glouberman loses. Cut to season-ending cliffhanger.
• Informed Wrongness:
  • In Season 2, Episode 9 "Smooch or Share", after Andrew admits to having masturbated to Nick's older sister Leah, Tyler has a very valid point when he tells Nick that they don't want to think of their big sister in such a way and for masturbating in his house. And so Nick is understandably pissed off and disgusted by this, but Andrew, with the help of Maurice repeatedly defend themselves and attempt to justify what they did. But this is despite the fact that Andrew crossed a line by masturbating to his best friend's sister (who witnessed it no less) and in their pool house on top of it all, and when he reveals that he's masturbated in Nick's house plenty of times before, including when Nick is sleeping, Nick is once more rightfully upset by this new knowledge. However, while Andrew does own up and feel bad for what he did, the episode treats it as if Nick was wrong to get mad at Andrew for this as Nick himself even says that he was "mean" to his best friend and blames Tyler for encouraging him to call out Andrew for his indiscretions. Granted while Andrew does have urges that he can't exactly control due to puberty and Maurice's influence, Nick can't really be faulted for being rightfully upset upon finding out about how his best friend has constantly done such things in his house and to his sister.
  • The Jessi/Missy/Ali conflict in Season 5 resolves with Jessi being shamed into apologizing to Missy for taking over her affinity group after her Backhanded Apology the first time Missy approached her about it, with her and Ali vandalizing the statue against Missy's wishes depicted as inappropriate. However, the vandalism is what convinced the administration to actually change the racist mascot, while Missy's peaceful protest and incrementalism was the subject of mockery. Any point about racial privilege doesn't track either, as Ali, who spearheads the fight to take more direct action, is familiar with racial discrimination as an Asian girl as much as Missy is as a black girl, and since neither are Romani, Missy has no more say than Ali in the "correct" way to protest anti-Romani caricatures. While Jessi calling the affinity group boring was uncalled for, she had a point that her and Ali's method actually got Missy what she wanted.
• Iron Woobie:
  • Jay; something that's recognized In-Universe is that it's amazing how functional he manages to be, based on the fact he is abused and taught the worst possible things at his house. His father cheats on his mother and is a divorce lawyer that tries to teach him that love dies and marriage is a scam. His mother is an alcoholic that ignores him. His brothers use him as a slave and their bullying of him gets into child abuse levels (at one point, he offhandedly mentions his brother force him to trim their pubes). He is still a rather happy kid (with some issues), who just wants the best for his friends and desperately seeks to be loved by someone.
  • Ali is boastful, sociable and also deeply traumatized for getting kicked out of school for coming out to her now-former friend.
• Jerkass Woobie:
  • Jay is this as well as an Iron Woobie. He has some twisted views on women and relationships, but only because he gets next to no affection from his family: his mom is a neglectful alcoholic, he's frequently terrorized by his older brothers and his father is a bad influence.
    Matthew: Sleep in hell!
    Jay: Joke's on you Matthew! I DO SLEEP IN HELL!
  • Matthew, once it's revealed that his bitchy, judgmental and occasionally even racist attitude is a defense mechanism. The second he lets down his guard and becomes less bitchy, he's bombarded with homophobic insults, from the boys genuinely thinking he's going to rape them to girls only wanting him as their Pet Homosexual and saying he's not "really" a boy. It's also revealed that he has to hide his sexuality from his family because he knows they won't ever completely accept it.
  • Jessi becomes more of a jerk in season 2, it's also understandable why as her home life becomes chaotic and Connie's influence becomes more erratic. She even turns to shoplifting out of sheer boredom. By the end of the season, it's revealed she has depression.
  • Jessi's mother Shannon isn't too far off either. She's doing her best to raise a daughter on her own while also struggling to come to terms with her own erratic emotions, including late-in-life discoveries about her sexuality and mixed feelings about her now ex husband. Unlike said ex husband, whom she won't even give the time of day to despite his clear and even successful efforts to be more responsible (going so far as to curse out his new girlfriend under her breath), she eventually decides that her own well being is more important than her daughter's and starts making irrational decisions without regard to Jessi's feelings.
  • Lola in Season 2. Andrew dumps her after their G-Rated Sex and we get a glimpse on her awful home life, with a mother that wishes she was someone else and is only present for Devin. Lola's house is mostly empty because her mother is setting up to move and is never there to make her food. If Andrew didn't ask her for dinner, her only meal would be unfreezing ravioli in the sink. The Shame Wizard refers to her as "the world's saddest girl." Gina pities her enough to talk her into standing up to Devin. If that weren't enough, she gets groomed by a teacher in Season 3. Season 6 takes this further with Lola's home life, unknown parentage, and absent mother being a main focus in certain episodes.
    Lola: You're like weak and boring and, like, a nobody! What does it mean that even you don't wanna be with me?
  • The Shame Wizard reveals himself to be this. Despite him seeming harsh and unforgivable, he actually has a sweeter and nicer side. His worst traits come from a sad childhood, when his dad abandoned him and his mother made him feel weird about himself for something she asked him to do. He has a hard job, that is making people feel ashamed or guilty to make them be better and avoid catastrophic consequences of people without shame. He is also hushed by his co-workers, who fear his worst traits, which makes him feel sad and alone.
• Just Here for Godzilla: The fact that Andrew Rannells is in this show has brought in a lot of fans who openly watch the show just for his role as Matthew, mostly after he was Rescued from the Scrappy Heap of course.
• LGBT Fanbase: The show has many LGBT fans due to its messages about sexuality and how people should be free to identify themselves however they feel, as well as many gay fans who feel a strong connection to the Gay Best Friend Matthew. This was intensified in Season 2 when Matthew's Hidden Depths were explored and how precise of an exploration of how young gay guys feel in school he is during the sleepover, as well as him essentially being elevated to being a part of the main cast and being a lot more than Jessi's Gay Best Friend, even getting his own boyfriend. Likewise, Jay earned more fans after he came out as bi in Season 2. The show also tries to represent many different sexual orientations and gender identities beyond the most common ones, like introducing a pansexual character (Ali) in Season 3, a transgender character (Natalie) in Season 4 and a non-binary Hormone Monster in Season 6 (Montel). While Ali's reception was mixed, Natalie was very well-received by trans fans.
• Mexicans Love Speedy Gonzales: Quite a few people on the autism spectrum love Caleb, who's considered to be one of the "better" stereotypes of an autistic character (though by Season 3, his tics and disorders have become so bizarre and character-specific that one can hardly call them stereotypes).
• Moe: Despite the wonky character designs, Missy counts as one due to her friendly demeanor and in part thanks to Jenny Slate's voice work during the first 3.75 seasons. Caleb and Tyler count as well due to their naivete.
• Moral Event Horizon:
  • Daniel has already passed it by the time he's introduced. Not only has he tried to force multiple women to give him oral sex, but does everything in his power to twist the words of everyone who's rightfully calling him out into making it sound like he's the victim in every way while saying that that party culture is the real enemy and accusing everyone (yes, even the women) of misogyny.
  • After being depicted as an average hypocritical sexist jerk in earlier episodes, Mr. Lizer becomes irredeemable by outright committing child molestation by telling Lola to rub him sensually, then gaslights her into thinking it's her fault, not unlike real sexual predators. He gets hit with some brutal Laser-Guided Karma that's made to be as immensely satisfying as possible.
• Most Wonderful Sound: The way Connie says "bubble bath" or even just the word "bubble."
• Narm Charm:
  • The typically sunny Jack McBrayer playing a talking pubic hair is silly to say the least, but when said pubic hair is telling Nick to kill Rick the Hormone Monster, he's surprisingly sinister.
  • The use of "Groove is in the Heart" as the soundtrack for Barbara's sad backstory. It might sound ridiculous, but Barbara's story is genuinely bitter and sweet that it manages to fit with the song and balance its sad moments, including her accidental pregnancy and abortion before meeting Martin. The rest of her story is sufficiently happy to justify the song, and the line "I couldn't ask for another" has heartwarming subtext when applied to her son.
• Nausea Fuel: Has its own page.
• Opinion Myopia: Within the online cartoon community, Big Mouth is treated as shorthand for a terrible adult cartoon that nobody actually likes. However, it has very good critical and audience scores and is frequently trending on Netflix.
• Overshadowed by Controversy: The fact that the show focuses so much on (animated) early adolescent sexuality, including graphic depictions of masturbation and images of underage genitalia, sparked controversy from the second the first trailer dropped, since many found the premise to have pedophilic potential. Even after the show became successful, it's still extremely contentious on social media because of this.
• Play-Along Meme: In the Christmas Episode, the Jansen twins tell a story about a terrifying holiday mascot in their homeland known as "Vader Johan." It ends with them telling the characters, and the audience, to share the legend of Vader Johan, or the creature will eat their bones. This led to several fans posting the story of Vader Johan on the show's social media groups just to ward off the beast.
• Realism-Induced Horror:
  • As seen in "The Shane Lizard Rises", discovering that your child has injured themselves trying to fix some flaw in their appearance, to the point that they require medical care.
  • The sub-plot about Jessi and Jay running away from home together in the season 1 finale. While Jay's parents don't even notice he's gone, Shannon and Greg are understandably worried out of their minds, and Shannon even cries when the police insensitively asks for some clothes for the cadaver dogs to smell. They do get back home okay, but not after living in seedy motels and running out of money.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap:
  • Andrew's normally surly dad gets to show his sympathetic side in a flashback showing how he met Andrew's mother. She'd rammed into the back of his car which naturally would have set him off, but when he sees her crying he immediately sees how upset she is and comforts her. Even when later episodes show him being an otherwise self-centered husband and hardass father, he never denies how much he loves his wife.
  • While Matthew has always been popular for his delightfully bitchy attitude, he was more of a Base-Breaking Character in Season 1, where none of the other characters call him out on some of his particularly cruel remarks. The following seasons toned down the cruelty and just made him a regular Deadpan Snarker while also subjecting him to some Humble Pie (see Jerkass Woobie), expanding on his relationship with Jessi and developing him into a more nuanced character.
• Romantic Plot Tumor: After Nick's crush on Jessi was seemingly resolved in early in the show, seeing it return in late Season 4 and play a major role in Season 5 can get repetitive and drag Nick's character down, especially as Jessi makes it clear she's not into Nick and he keeps pursuing her and then resents her for not liking him back.
• The Scrappy:
  • Even in his few appearances before he became an outright villain, Mr. Lizer was easily the least popular character in the show, as he seemed to only exist to pick on Coach Steve by bragging about how much better-educated he was. The creators seemed to notice this, leaving him out of most of season 2 and making him an antagonist in season 3.
  • Of the kid characters, Devin is perhaps the most hated due to her being an all-around horrible bitch with almost no true redeeming qualities as she has shown to be a Hypocrite, a Female Misogynist who puts down other girls who don't live up to her standards while acting like she's trying to stick up for other women, a borderline abusive partner to Devon, and even racist as she makes an extremely racist remark about Missy regarding her racial identity.
• Seasonal Rot:
  • Tends to be a tie between Seasons 4 and 5; the former was criticized for a perceived overreliance on shock value while the latter featured most of the characters being flanderized and holding the Jerkass Ball.
  • Seasons 6 and 7 are both considered to be Broken Base at best. Some people like them better than 4 & 5 but aren't as well liked as the early seasons, especially in regards to the short-lived spin-off, which takes place before and in-between both of these seasons.
• Squick:
  • The fact that there's no holds barred on showing 13-year-olds developing and experimenting with their sexuality will no doubt make a few people uncomfortable in its execution.
  • "Florida" has the scene of Nick and Andrew trying to go into a gas station bathroom, which is nasty. The place is full of blood and hair and it's clear someone was killed there while changing their identity. Andrew says that when he tried to poop, the bloody toilet bowl water splashed back onto his butt.
  • In the Season 6 finale after Andrew and his father swap bodies, Andrew has to reignite the spark between his parents while pretending to be his father. Luckily he and Marty swap back again before Barbara has sex with him.
• Tainted by the Preview: And how! The show quickly became a favorite punching bag on animation forums and threads after its first trailer premiered, with viewers knee-jerk reacting to the ugly art style and perceived Gross-Out Show humor in fear that it would be terrible in all the ways that animated shows for adults from the previous decade had been (i.e. sexist, racist, and gross).
• Take That, Scrappy!:
  • Devin getting told off by her own lick-spittle Lola was seen as well-deserved for her general nastiness towards every other girl.
  • Mr. Lizer is publicly humiliated when his inappropriate relationship with Lola is revealed. Then after trying to make himself somehow seem like the victim, he suffers grievous injuries to his legs and genitals.
  • For anyone who finds Nick and Jessi over-rated, their self-pitying duet in "Rankings" is a satisfying way to acknowledge that they're not too popular in-universe either.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character: Natalie was popular for being a positive depiction of a young trans girl who still had a distinct personality as The Gadfly, as well as developing a friendship with Jessi. Unfortunately, since she doesn't go to Bridgeton Middle School, she was only relegated to the few episodes as part of the summer camp storyline. Fans were thankful to see her return in Human Resources as a side character in her family's storylines... only for her and the rest of her family to never be so much as mentioned again after their two spotlight episodes in the first season. This leaves many interesting plots specific to growing up as a trans person under-explored.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • "Obsessed" has Missy and Jay co-write an erotic fanfiction together, seemingly forming an Odd Friendship. This interesting dynamic never shows up again, nor does the fanfiction.
  • In Human Resources, Maury and Connie break up when it becomes clear that Connie isn't interested in having children while Maury wants to start a family. This is handwaved less than halfway into Season 6 by Connie deciding that she previously wasn't mature enough to have a child but is suddenly ready to become a mother. The writers missed a huge opportunity to showcase valid arguments for living child-free and to explore further the reasons why Connie and Maury couldn't work as a couple due to wanting different things in life.
  • Val and Leah's surprisingly healthy relationship indicated that Val could develop into a nicer person, possibly changing some dynamics in the Bilzerian family and developing Val distinctly from Kurt. However, the relationship appears to end offscreen and Val goes right back to his typical Big Brother Bully self by Season 7.
  • In season 7, Petra the Ambition Gremlin comes over to help Andrew develop ambition, making him a very motivated and successful person. However, this only lasts one episode, as he's unable to be both ambitious and horny at the same time. Given the complaints about Andrew's Flanderization, many fans wished this plot lasted beyond one episode, believing that it could be possible to keep his new ambitious side without completely getting rid of his sex drive (and could even teach a lesson about how sexuality doesn't have to distract you from success) and push Andrew towards some much needed Character Development.
• Ugly Cute: While the general art style is considered unappealing at best, some of the exaggerated features of the younger characters can border on this trope (such as Jay for example).
• Uncertain Audience: It's unclear whether the show is aimed more at teenagers going through puberty or adults reminiscing about their puberty. The show is rated TV-MA and features explicit nudity, heavy sexual subject matter, and other details that make it inappropriate for younger audiences. On the contrary, many episodes take an anvilicious educational approach to subjects like sex education and personal identity that seem more like messages to help children still undergoing puberty (though adults may still appreciate them). The scenes featuring children's genitals provoke criticism regardless of the demographic - the sexual humor may be too inappropriate for 12-year-old viewers, but adults watching a show with a focus on child sexuality is often berated as creepy. This is lampshaded a handful of times throughout the show, almost always in a Hypocritical Humor fashion.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • The final episode of Season 2 tries to make the Shame Wizard out to be a Jerkass Woobie by showing his colleagues avoiding him outside of work. The problem is, they mention that he's just as as much of a bully to them as he is to the kids.
  • The show goes out of its way to depict Shannon as a woman who's struggling to give the best life to her daughter while dealing with complicated feelings about her sexuality and failed marriage. However, after she betrays Jessi's trust by selling their house without telling her so she has no choice but to move, most fans have said that Jessi would be better off with Greg getting full custody of her. To the writer's credit, Season 6 has added some shades of grey to the dynamic showing that one parent isn't necessarily superior to the other.
  • The show tries to paint Lola as a Jerkass Woobie in a couple of ways through Parental Neglect by her mother, her toxic relationship with Devin, and a victim of harassment by Mr. Lizer, she is in general way too much of an obnoxious Jerkass that it's pretty difficult to feel any amount of sympathy for her and her sympathetic moments are usually way too brief that they really don't create much investment in wanting to sympathize with her at all.
  • The Season 5 finale has Jessi realize how callous she's been to Missy and apologize for taking over her affinity group. However, Missy's own behavior in the season, particularly spreading vicious Slut-Shaming rumors about Jessi and Ali that culminate in a massive physical fight, make it harder to see Missy as a victim of Jessi's behavior as opposed to them both being petty and impulsive. The season does depict Missy's hate-filled behavior as unsympathetic, but the final episode implies most of the blame is on Jessi in the situation, despite Missy acting more maliciously as opposed to just snarky or Innocently Insensitive like Jessi. Even before she falls into hateful territory, her resentment of Jessi and Ali for "taking over" her affinity group comes across as selfish, as she ignores the fact Jessi and Ali's protest actually worked and focuses more on the fact she wasn't the one to do it.
  • Jessi accuses her father and Caitlin of imposing on their soon to be born daughter because they plan to raise her in a conventionally feminine environment. It never occurs to Jessi that she's imposing her own ideas onto a sister that she's not even that psyched about. Not to mention that a child's identity isn't anywhere near as predictable as Jessi assumes it will be.
• Unpopular Popular Character:
  • Jay is barely liked by his friends who more or less only hang out with him out of proximity, but he's one of the most popular characters among fans due to being a funny Jerkass Woobie. Season 2 earned him an LGBT Fanbase when the final episodes explored his newfound bisexuality and some level of interest in Matthew.
  • Coach Steve is at best an annoying idiot and at worst a liability to his peers, and he can't sing to save his life. Fans, however, have latched onto him for his genuine kindness and unfaltering optimism.
• What Do You Mean, It's Not for Kids?: It's a brightly colored animated series starring short teenagers who are struggling through middle school. Despite dealing with puberty, a phase that most from the ages of 10-15 are going through, it's very clearly intended for older teens and adults, and meant to take the adult demographic back to their middle school years. Not only does it deal with its subject matter in a non-educational and very tongue-in-cheek way, but also openly deals with substance abuse, Abusive Parents, affairs, and contains heavy strong language and cartoon nudity/visibility of sexual fluids.
• Viewer Gender Confusion:
  • Tito the Anxiety Mosquito is referred to with "she" pronouns, despite her masculine-sounding name convincing viewers she's a male. She does have a female voice, but one would expect a mosquito's voice to be high-pitched either way.
  • Many viewers, especially those who haven't seen the spinoff Human Resources, assume Montel is a male character, likely due to their resemblance to Maury, but they're really nonbinary. While they do get a song about how their gender identity isn't determined at birth, it's easy to assume they end up growing into a male due to their facial hair and the early usage of "he/him" pronouns. However, Human Resources consistently uses gender-neutral language for Montel even as they age, making it clear this is their identity.
• Viewer Name Confusion: Some fans spell Michael's name the same way as the artist (Michelangelo), but his Instagram handle confirms that Michael is his first name and Angelo is his surname.
• The Woobie:
  • Andrew. His father's a total jerk, his mother is something of an unhelpful doormat, and his puberty process is just downright humiliating for him. Even when he takes a level in jerkass, he's still just such a sad sack it's hard not to want to hug him.
  • Jessi's father, Greg, during Season 2. He's still in love with Shannon, but it's clear this has become one sided as the years have gone by, and their strained relationship start to damage his relationship with his own daughter, who starts acting out like crazy, including shoplifting and taking his edibles. His divorce finally makes him move out of the house, which creates a distance between him and his daughter. He even breaks down crying in front of Jessi at one point. Fortunately, by Season 3, he's getting his life back in order by finding a job, getting an apartment, and starting to date again.
  • Missy in Season 2 suffers from low self-esteem due to her flat chest. Seeing such a normally cheerful and sweet girl experiencing self-loathing is heartbreaking to say the least.
  • Gina. The poor girl is treated like an object by the boys and slut-shamed by the girls, then forced to share sleeping quarters with them during the meteor shower episodes while they all quietly bully her.
• Woolseyism: Italian and Portuguese dubs change references to Seaworld to Zoomarine, a similar aquatic animal based zoo present in both Italy and Portugal.

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