Gremlins- The Wild Batch Part 2 Review
‘Gremlins: The Wild Batch’ part two has been released, concluding the second season of the show. It focuses much more on the mystical side of America this time around, with the gang’s goal to seek out the power to save Elle’s mum. The five episodes do cast away most of what came before, which helps to explain why the episodes were split up this way, as the last five episodes tell a completely different story to what came before.
‘The Wild Batch’s’ turn to the more mystical and supernatural side helps to deepen its lore, with crazy concepts that prove there’s a lot going on in this world, more that the audience might have initially suspected. But this has some consequences, as the episodes hang together in a loose fashion, as each one deals with a completely different supernatural event. There is still the overarching goal of saving Elle’s mum, but the structure of this part of the season is far more episodic than the previous part.
The focus of the season is radically different to the previous five episodes. As mentioned, the gang must save Elle’s mum, but this sidelines all the gremlins. Sure, Gizmo and Noggin do still appear, but they’re far less central to what’s going on this time around, which is a shame as ostensibly this is a show meant to be focused on them, but they feel largely redundant. Indeed, the very reason why the gang came to San Francisco, to see why Gizmo is going bad, is cast aside, in favour of this supernatural dive. There are some unique concepts that the writers have come up with in service of this supernatural direction, which does help to add some variety.
That’s not to say that the characters don’t develop across the season. Simu Lu’s Chang gets to shine across these five episodes, with the events of the previous five looming over him and driving his actions. Lu delivers a more complex performance as the character, which is a highlight. The duo of Elle and Sam remain entertaining to watch, with Sam truly coming into his own and rising up to meet the moment. Elle has her own troubles to deal with over the course of the season and rises to it.
Overall, the end to the season is OK, though it throws away a lot of what came before to do its own thing. The episodes are less connected to each other than audiences are used to with this show too. It feels like the writers wanted to experiment with the show’s structure and goals, and while experimentation is a bold move and something to be applauded, it is something that hasn’t worked out in the season’s favour, especially when the main star of the show, Gizmo, ends up sidelined as a result. It is mostly a detriment to the season. Elle, Sam, and Chang are as entertaining as ever to watch, going on clear character journeys as well as their actual one, but this is a weaker batch to what’s come before.
