The worst part is that the three-parter that ended the first season was definitely the show's Growing The Beard moment without question.
The characters were definitely likable and the villains were scary at times, but overall, yes, the show never got the chance to become something greater, mainly due to the lack of major character arcs. Not that it should be faulted for taking things slowly for 15 episodes, but there was definitely room to do more. The three parter that ended it was not the show\'s Growing the Beard moment, as I didn\'t think it accomplished much besides showing how much Lance and Ilana cared about Octus, but we already knew that.
The most obvious problem with the series is that the writers were clearly hoping for 2 maybe even 3 more seasons, instead of trying to wrap things up in one.
Find the Light in the DarkLeave a Comment:
Intriguing, but ultimately unsatisfying
Sym-bionic Titan is a show I'd have liked to see continue. It's clearly something the creators thought long and hard about, setting things up, establishing backstory, analyzing characters and laying plot threads...
.. And it really doesn't go anywhere. Our three main characters aren't without chemistry, but the story never really takes advantage of it, nor does it really expand on it. This isn't through a lack of effort! No, the trouble lies in the lack of any real secondary characters. Aside from the villains, we have Kimmy... and that's about it. We get two villains - Modula and Steel, neither of whom is ever fleshed out enough to really do much for the story. Steel is a generic General Ripper, which isn't a bad thing on its own, and Modula never really gets a chance to do anything other than rhasp and throw monsters at some teenagers. He feels like someone who SHOULD be threatening, but who I wind up wanting to snark at instead.
This is the series' underlying problem. It sets things up, but never delivers. The characters are sympathetic, but never become likable. The villains are obstacles, but never scary. The monsters are cool looking, but never interesting. I would go so far as to describe this series as Power Rangers, minus the inherent silliness, with no added substance.
The fights with the Mutraddi beasts tend to feel tacked on, the lack of secondary characters causes the main ones to grow rather stale quickly, and there's never any real sense of peril or emotion.
The series certainly DID improve as time went on, which leads me to my biggest woe. Had it been allowed to go on, I have no doubt that it would have grown the beard. But it left us too soon, before it could ever really mature. Give it a look see though. Unsatisfying as a whole, but not a waste of time. If it gains a big enough fanbase, it may yet return to grow its wings.