Koala Man – Season 1 Episode 4 “The Great One” Recap & Review

The Great One

In episode 4 of Koala Man Season 1, an alien being called The Great One makes its way to earth. Meanwhile, the Williams family enjoys a day at the carnival. Vicky wants to spend quality time with Kevin, but he sees the carnival as the perfect opportunity to don his koala suit.

While Janine is at the top of the ferris wheel, a meteor falls out of the sky and lodges itself inside of her. Her eyes then start to glow.

At home, Vicky tries to talk to Kevin about being more aware of each other’s needs so they can both have a good time when they’re intimate. He doesn’t get what she’s saying, preferring to be time efficient. While the couple lies in bed, Janine watches them from outside their house.

Alison brings showbags from the carnival to school for Rosie, but it turns out that everyone at school had the same idea to buy Rosie’s friendship. Principal Baswell then talks about the “forbidden showbag.” Its excessive amount of fun proved too dangerous for Dapto, but rumor has it that it’s still somewhere in the city. Rosie comments that whoever gives her the forbidden showbag can instantly become her best friend. Alison takes the challenge to heart.

Alison and Liam return to the carnival to look for the forbidden showbag. Liam hears someone inside his head. Someone is telling him he has the “gift.” The voice says he’ll have to find him if he wants the showbag.

Vicky can’t get a hold of Janine, which starts to concern her. She starts noticing others in town walking like zombies with glowing pink eyes. She’s not too worried, however, and actually enjoys the message of love these zombies are spreading.

They invade Kevin’s workplace, talking about how The Great One is coming. They want to share their “love” with Kevin, so he runs away. He finds Vicki, but she’s talking as if she’s already been infected. 

Big Greg shows up to save Koala Man. He gets in the mayor’s car, where Louise, Spider, and Damo are waiting. Vicky takes off her sunglasses after he leaves. Her eyes aren’t pink; she’s not infected. She just really liked the message of love everyone else has been spreading.

Big Greg shares with Koala Man that these people have been infecting others by giving massages. He takes everyone to his panic room, where he shows them a caged and infected Darren. Darren tells them The Great One wants his followers to build a crystal rocket at the top of the council building. The Great One will take them to a place where they will be filled with his love forever.

Damo can’t take seeing Darren caged up anymore and sets him free. He and Spider then get infected, so Big Greg has to cage all three of them. Koala Man decides they need to destroy the rockets with koala bombs.

When they arrive at the rocket, Big Greg suddenly turns, and Louse sacrifices herself to his massage in order to save Koala Man.

Koala Man then reunites with Vicky at the rocket, realizing she hasn’t been infected. The zombies load Koala Man and Vicky onto the rocket with them, but they are not able to infect them (it turns out that the prawns they’ve been carrying make them immune).

Vicky remarks that it’s too bad. They are full of love, unlike Kevin, whom she accuses of not making her feel loved anymore. Kevin apologizes right before they start to take off.

But they’re not going to outer space. The Great One starts using the rocket as a dildo, and his actions start tearing the planet apart. 

Meanwhile, Liam leads Alison in a search for the showbag. They eventually come across the brain of the inventor of the showbag, James Showbag. He tells them the forbidden showbag was his greatest creation, but it was too powerful. He says he can show them where it is, but they must kill him. He’s tired of his existence as solely a brain.

After he divulges that the bag is in a catacomb at the fair, Alison kills stomps on the brain so they can be on their way. The twins then enter the catacombs and discover the showbag. Alison opens it to take a peek and decides she wants to hoard all the fun for herself. She’s so distracted she doesn’t notice the earth crumbling around them. To save her, Liam throws the showbag into a crevice.

Meanwhile, Vicky guides Koala Man’s hand as he controls the koala bomb (in a metaphor for listening to your partner’s sexual needs). The bomb goes off, which The Great One enjoys more than anything. The alien now wants to have a relationship with Earth but flies off quickly when he realizes the residents have kids. He’ll never bother their planet again.

The Episode Review

I can chuckle at Kevin’s obliviousness when it comes to his marital issues and at how he learns what Vicky’s needs are by blowing up a koala bomb–but beyond these instances, this episode was less a clever commentary on sex and more a big, cringeworthy sex joke.

All in all, this episode just doesn’t strike the right balance between the absurd and the commentary it’s trying to make through those absurdities. Maybe some will enjoy the playing off of zombie tropes, but it felt like a cheap spoof to me.