Netflix’s Big Mouth, at this point, is either something you like, or something you can’t stand. The brand of humor that it shares with shows like South Park, Family Guy, and other animated shows that provide cartoonish visuals mixed with crude, adult humor is special. The show also delves deep into what it means to grow up. You learn things about yourself and you go through feelings that are brought up in adolescence. This time around for season four of the show, it’s really split up into two halves. I won’t delve deep into spoilers for the season, but just know that there are some slight plot spoilers up ahead. So let’s look into the first “half” of season four.
The Kids Go To Summer Camp
The season’s first couple episodes are set at summer camp. The boys are separated from the girls and we meet a couple “new” characters. I put new in quotes, because they’re only new to us. We’ve got Seth Rogan as Seth, Nick Birch’s old camp friend that befriends Andrew. We also have Natalie, a trans-camper that has to go through the process of letting everyone know that they’re trans. It’s a hard hitting couple of episodes from a content standpoint right off the bat. But in classic fashion, the show never becomes bogged down with these issues. It uses them as the process for jokes and fun, but also teaches people about how to deal with these issues.
Obviously being part of a summer camp brings back all kinds of memories for all of us. I never went to camp as a kid, but this still echoes memories of the summertime and all the fun that went into that as a 13 year old. Everyone in their life has had those moments where you feel like your friends are being “stolen” away from you. That’s on in full force here as Nick and Andrew’s feud from season three is the crux of the first couple episodes.
At the girl’s side of the camp, Jessi has to deal with her first period at camp and befriends Natalie. Together they help each other through their own issues of the camp. By the end of the sequence, you feel like you’ve gone through an entire summer camp of fun and horror, but you’re only three episodes into the new season.
The Next Section Seems To Lag Just A Bit
I won’t say that the entire season is perfect though. It’s a damn fine season of television that you’ll burn through, but the middle section of the season is a bit scattershot. As you know there was a bit of controversy when the show announced that Missy would change her voice actress. Jenny Slate, voiced the African-American character for the first three seasons and eight episodes of this season. They made the change to Ayo Edebiri for the last two episodes of the season. I only noticed the change after it was brought up. Edebiri keeps the voice 95% similar to Jenny Slate’s performance. It’s just a change in pitch to match the new voice actress.
As for Missy during the season, she undergoes a pretty drastic change in character at the midpoint of the season. It’s an interesting one that provides commentary on race and what it means to celebrate your race. That episode might provide the most “controversy” for people when it releases, but it’s a damn good episode on the whole of things. It just stands out with the rest of the season.
The Home Stretch Of The Season Is Perfection Though
From episode six to ten, the show is simply perfect. Episode six and ten are somewhat connected and are absolutely smashing. From the laughs to the subject matter, it’s all about what you would expect from Big Mouth. Also the show seems to recognize that there are criticisms from people out there. Those kind of people say things like “the show is too vulgar, it’s just fart, dick, balls, and ass jokes”. Big Mouth FULLY recognizes this, and then tells has Maury the Hormone Monster go and do something obscene. It’s amazing. At this point, if you’re hate watching Big Mouth after over 40 episodes, what the hell is wrong with you?
If you enjoy the show? You’re going to love this season. It’s similar, yet it builds upon everything proceeding it. It rides the fine balance of vulgar comedy and actual human emotions. And you actually feel something by the end of it.
You Know It’s Hard-Hitting When A Cartoon Makes You Tear Up
The ending of the season, like past seasons, is a culmination of everything that’s gone on throughout the season. You get different storylines wrapped up, and new ones are created for season five. But what this one seems to do differently, is that it adds a gut punch of emotion. I can admit that the tenth and last episode made me tear up. It was incredibly relatable seeing what all these characters go through. You’re left at the end of it with such a feeling of hope and power over your own emotions. The Gratitoad pictured above is one of my runaway favorite characters from the new season.
I’m very much looking forward to season five of Big Mouth, but take some time to appreciate all the good of season four for now. You learn about yourself, you learn about the problems that other people face out there, and it’s all done in such a way that doesn’t feel preachy. It helps that it’s given to you by a profane Hormone Monster. Accepting yourself for who you are might be the guiding principle for the whole season.
So for the people out there who love stuff like Big Mouth, this season is more of what you love and then some. If you hate the show, why are you reading this? The new season arrives in it’s entirety on Netflix on December 4th.
For more on Netflix, Big Mouth, or any other general pop culture, make sure to check back to That Hashtag Show.
