When The Tick left us half way into its first season, we were left with the cliffhanger of knowing that Arthur had been taken in by The Terror, but not knowing precisely what his plans were, or if it would effect the others when they found out. The drama unfolds quite quickly in the seventh episode, as Arthur begins investigating quickly, and Dot, the Tick, and Overkill gradually learn of the news and race to find him. The result was an episode that had plenty of suspense, but enough light moments to keep viewers from feeling too anxious.
The star of this episode is absolutely The Terror. He was already an eccentric villain, but in this episode, he is just so gloriously weird that I would defy anyone to not love him. The best part of this comes in a hilarious parody of Whiplash, where Terror is being berated just as Miles Teller was by JK Simmons for his imperfect drumming, but in a twist we find out that Terror was ordering him to berate him, and is dissatisfied with his performance. The scene is funny as hell, but it also throws us off for a second, as we wonder just briefly if The Terror has a boss, but of course, that couldn’t possibly be the case; The Terror is too unique a character to answer to anyone.
As for Arthur, he first finds Dr. Karamazov at the facility. He talks to him about the suit, and gains information about its powers, but most importantly, he realizes that he is also a prisoner of The Terror. Lint sens Arthur free — all part of the The Terror’s plan — and he takes Karamazov with him (the poor guy has to carry him). At this point, we don’t know where Karamazov’s true allegiances lie, so releasing him from the facility is a bit of a risky move. It makes sense; though, after being tortured by The Terror himself, he develops a natural instinct anyone else he believes could be endangered by him. Again, Arthur has continued to develop more and more moxie, and a greater courage behind his moral compass. He’s still neurotic, but he has enough gumption that we can root for him as a protagonist rather than just wanting the dude to chill out a little bit.
The rest of the gang sets out to look for Arthur. Here, we get some amusing pair-ups. Tick and Dangerboat have some awkward, mildly-tense-but-mostly-funny dialogue, but some of the best fun comes from Dot, and the ultra-serious Overkill, who is so hardcore about everything, that he winds up being totally oblivious to what people are saying to him. He’s essentially the anti-Arthur; rather than neurotic and unsure, he is so utterly certain about everything that he winds up completely missing the mark. Their failed attempts at conversation allows for some levity as we wonder about Arthur’s fate.
Arthur escapes just as Tick dives into the earth looking for him. Then, the lair explodes while he and Overkill are down there. Once again, we’re left with multiple questions about multiple characters, although we are left with the relative comfort of knowing that Arthur is safe. Now, though, we don’t know how the blast effected Tick, Terror, and Overkill. Additionally, we’re left to wonder what Karamazov would be up to. This episode managed to answer the main questions of its predecessor while setting up a line up fresh ones for the next one the tackle. The Tick has revealed itself to be quite efficient in its ability to create suspenseful moments. Combine that with the various great dialogue here, and we’re left with best episode of the series yet.
Stray Observations
-Arthur’s newfound toughness is brushed off by Terror. When Arthur tries his best to give a speech warning him of his impending fear, Terror laughs it off and calls him “Foxy Brown.”
-”I’m sorry Rebecca Baumer, beloved Aunt and Mo.”
-”C4? I see more than four.”
-Can’t help but wonder if Terror yelling “shut up, Alexa!” is an example of the show being self-aware about it’s rampant product-placement