Creature Commandos – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

The Tourmaline Necklace

Episode 2 of Creature Commandos begins with us whisked back to 1831. Here we see the Bride’s creation, with pieces cobbled together on a table ready to be assembled. Eric Frankenstein is here too, and after an initial little verbal spar with Victor, is happy with the face of his “true love”.

Back in the present, Flag gets patched up while clutching the mobile device that Dr Phosphorus tried to steal the previous night during their fight. This device unleashes a painful jolt directly into the brains of the squad. So if they step out of line, it’s the only thing that keeps them in check.

Flag promises to do his best to keep Ilana safe, and that, in turn, comes from keeping all the villains in check. However, Ilana’s charms are too much to resist and the pair do eventually end up having sex.

The Bride and Nina wander around the abandoned manor, where Bride reminisces on her birth spot. The real reason she’s here though is because Bride wants to find the Tourmaline Necklace. It’s a pinkish gemstone that immediately captivated her when she was born from nothing.

Flashbacks help to flesh out more of this tale. The Bride ended up liking Victor more than Eric Frankenstein, who obviously can’t understand the complexity of humanity and compassion. He eventually storms out the mansion, allowing Victor and Bride to spend more time together. The gemstone we heard about earlier was a gift to her from Victor but unfortunately, things hit a snag in the present.

After finding the gemstone, Circe suddenly shows up outside, forcing the Commandos out of Ilana’s mansion, with Alexi driving, to get involved in the action. A big old fight breaks out, but Bride is easily dispatched by Circe.

After beating her down to a pulp, more flashbacks of the past show Victor and Bride ended up having sex but Eric, having returned, saw all of this transpire. Jealous, Eric kills Victor and decides they should have each other from here on out. Bride is shocked, as she’s forced to flee while Eric and Victor are burned in the fire.

Eric survived, obviously, but kept a close eye on The Bride from afar. He was obsessed and continued through the years to try his luck at being with her. However, it always failed, and through it all, eventually leads us back to our current timeline. Nina is shot and left to die without water, while Bride is a bloody mess on the ground. She’s hit with the butt of a guard’s gun and left unconscious.

The Episode Review

So this episode works to flesh out more of Bride’s backstory and understand her complicated and difficult relationship with Eric Frankenstein. Of couse, this isn’t the sort of show that’s going to dive into the psyche and inner workings of its characters, and while the backstory is welcome, the show falls into the usual tropes and pitfalls that other James Gunn IPs do too.

The musical montages during the fighting don’t work particularly well in this set-up, especially the one in the past after such an emotionally charged story. The action is okay though and the story perfunctory, but so far there’s nothing here that really stands out as being exceptional in the animated field. Creature Commandos is… fine. But whether that’s enough to carry this one is another matter.