Solar Opposites – Full Season 2 Review

 

Season 1

Season 2

Episode Guide

Episode 1 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 7 -| Review Score – 4/5
Episode 8 -| Review Score – 3.5/5

 

Fresh off the success of the first season, Hulu’s alien sitcom returns for 8 more episodes of outrageous comedy antics. With a familiar set-up and some nice meta jokes, it again falls on the Wall subplot to hold this show up above “just another animated sitcom.”

For those who need a quick recap, the first season of Solar Opposites followed the Shlorpians, a misfit family who were forced to crash land on Earth following an incident on their own planet. Korvo and Terry are the two adults, joined by the silent but deadly Pupa while kids Yumyulack and Jesse attend school.

Yumyulack however, has a tendency to shrink down random humans around town, taking them home to place inside a large glass cage known simply by those inside as “The Wall.”

Each episode combines comedic elements of Family Guy and Rick & Morty, with satirical jokes around entertainment, lots of celebrity and cultural name drops and plenty of wacky alien tech. The result is an outrageous and unique concept that can allow the writers to go anywhere and do anything – and this show regularly capitalizes on that.

Following such an unpredictable first season, Solar Opposites finds itself in a weird place during these 8 episodes. The humour is certainly firing on all cylinders and there’s some nice plots here, but it’s ultimately The Wall that really shines.

This year features more of a whodunit vibe, as those inside The Wall are rocked by a series of murders. This is left to grizzled detective Halk to investigate what’s really going on. This plot is agonizingly drip-fed across the episodes but thankfully there’s another self-contained episode that does help here. As one may expect, this is easily the best episode of the season. In fact, it just solidifies that The Wall should have been an animated show in its own right.

The rest of the episodes away from the Wall are a bit more hit or miss. One of the weaker episodes hangs on a continuous dick joke, in the form of B.D.E., relying too heavily on low brow humour rather than clever and witty writing.

Another time, we get a time looping adventure that feels surprisingly tame compared to other time travel hijinks we’ve seen in something like Rick & Morty. However, there are shining gems here, like the first episode which sees the aliens head off to London.

There’s undeniably a lot of experimentation this year and while some of it doesn’t quite hit the mark, others most certainly do. Still, it’s The Wall that really shines here and the guys have struck gold with this sub-plot.

Visually, the season looks great and all the usual gruesome, crude and outlandish jokes are here, along with a dollop of detailed backdrops to boot. London features various different graffiti marks or shop names correlating to slang terms. These little visual nods crop up constantly and really helps give the show some depth lacking in other animated offerings.

The voice acting is decent again this year too, with Sterling K Brown lending his voice to the season as our grizzled detective inside the Wall. Alongside him, most of the voice actors from season 1 return again with a few surprise cameos too. No spoilers here of course!

Overall, Solar Opposites is still a decent animated sitcom but it doesn’t quite reach the same heights season 1 achieved. The Wall subplot is still the best part of the show, while some of the longer running gags (including a self-referential jab toward the Solar Opposites title) help to keep everything tied together.

At the same time, some of the episodes don’t quite hit their mark. This is a much more experimental season; a mixed bag of the good, the bad and the ugly. If you enjoyed this the first time around though, you’ll undoubtedly love what’s here, but if not this follow-up is unlikely to change your mind.

 

Solar Opposites Season 2 releases on Hulu 26th March 2021!

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