Scott Pilgrim Takes Off vs High Expectations

I am very glad Scott Pilgrim Takes Off exists.

Watching the first episode, I was already getting bored, a little weary. Lulled by the fact that I was watching something I've seen time and again. So the fact that I was thrown off by the show's major twist was enough to have me hootin and hollerin in my seat. What I planned to only watch a few episodes of I ended up marathoning in one day. So yeah, I'm happy that the show exists, and I think it's great overall.

Overall.

And I'm not just happy Takes Off exists. I think it needs to. A lot of people are comparing the show to the Evangelion Rebuilds, which I've never seen, so I'll draw on what I do know: Final Fantasy 7 Remake.

I once wrote the following about FF7R:

Everything has changed since FF7 released 23 years ago. The world has changed. The creators have changed. We as people have changed. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with these directors, who are now different people, wanting to do something different with the story they originally told, or to say something new as their lives have changed. I know I as a creator have felt differently about the world and the stories I want to tell, even in comparison to a year ago, let alone two full decades.

The original Scott Pilgrim graphic novel started in 2004. It's been 19 years y'all. I honestly don't think we need that story anymore, and I think it's perfectly fine that Bryan Lee O'malley didn't want to reiterate it again either. My man wrote that shit when he was 25, has gotten married, and been divorced all since the series took off (heh).

As a result, this new show instead focuses on tackling the inherent toxicity in Scott and Ramona's relationship, and allows Ramona to delve a little deeper - and even reconcile with - some of her exes. It's consistently surprising and made my jaw drop at times. It's also beautifully animated, and the movie cast coming back works extremely well too.

That's all great! BUT. After stewing on it for the past 24 hours, I feel like it does fall apart a bit in the final few episodes. Let me explain why.

FF7R succeeds where Takes Off doesn't because that game has a very clear vision in how it's subverting our expectations as an audience. It's effectively saying that we could make things right - prevent Aerith's death, and perhaps have a more positive ending. Time will tell if that ends up being the case, but it does feel like where things are going.

Takes Off doesn't seem to know what the point of its own existence is by the end, in my opinion. It all hinges on Future Scott. I was expecting something new to be added to the core themes of the series. Instead we got a rehash of what already exists.

The comics, particularly the last volume, do address the fact that Scott and Ramona require self-respect, strong communication, working on their issues and getting past them. They are definitively better people by the end of the series. As a result, I feel like all of the shit that happened to Future Scott in the show needed more justification. But we really only get jokey vagueness as to what happened between him and Ramona. It feels like a flanderization or regression of the character without much of a thematic point to it, or at least not one distinct enough from the comics to earn it.

Beyond that, the idea that Scott and Ramona need to be reminded of how to treat each other 20 years later is a bit depressing and borderline silly. Like damn, I hope I'm not like that in my future partnership (if that ever happens LMFAO).

And let me clear: I loved this show. I'm very happy we got to see characters that didn't get screentime before, shine here. I love that Ramona got to take the spotlight. I love that the league felt like a bunch of people who were wronged but bond over that shared trauma. But I don't feel like it nails the landing just so. In the end it feels more like an alternate take than an expansion of the series' themes. And that's fine!

Last ridiculous thought: I would have loved if the show ended with Ramona and Scott breaking up, or at least taking thing slower. That would have felt like a real shakeup. But also I'm just an idiot with opinions, maybe that'd suck. Who knows!

Let me know what you thought of the show yourself on cohost !