I've just finished what Netflix is calling "Part 3" of "Disenchanted," which is the first half of the second season. I'm still enjoying the show very much, and got through the latest ten-episode batch without any trouble. However, I can sympathize with those who have gotten frustrated with its ups and downs and bailed out earlier. Matt Groening and company are still having trouble with the bingeable Netflix release model, and trying to maintain a serialized story. "Part 3" does an awful lot of setting up for narrative payoffs that aren't going to happen until "Part 4." The one big reveal we got at the end of "Part 3" involves a character I had completely forgotten existed, since he was last seen in an episode that premiered way back in 2018.
Still, I found"Part 3" of "Disenchantment" consistently fun. The characters have gotten more comfortably familiar, their flaws more endearing. The production quality has improved considerably, especially the animation. While some of the humor is repetitive and indulgent, the earlier efforts toward worldbuilding have paid off nicely, so wacky concepts like a Steamworld freakshow and the snooty kingdom of Bentwood land easier. Even better, the central relationships and the big season arcs are very solid. Bean has matured a bit, drinking less and worrying more about her father and her kingdom. King Zog gradually loses his marbles after a coup and attempted murder, which creates a lot of opportunity for pathos and gallows humor. Bean, meanwhile, spends most of the season trying to get to the bottom of the conspiracy, and dodging the plots of her evil mother, Dagmar (Sharon Horgan).
As I suspected, Elfo and Luci are a lot more fun the less we see of them. This year Elfo's big arc is getting separated from Bean during an adventure in Steamland, being imprisoned in a freak show for two episodes, and then falling in love with a boat. Luci's best moments come during his brief rivalry with a talking cat (Dave Herman), as the B-plot of an episode. Bean ends up shouldering most of the melodrama, and gets to be a lot more competent and admirable in general, which is great. We also spend more time with Odval, Prince Derek, and some of the castle regulars like Pendergast (Eric Andre) and Turbish (Rich Fulcher). Meanwhile, "Disenchantment" introduces a handful of new characters like Mora the mermaid (Meridith Hagner), Sagatha the fairy (Tress MacNeill), and Steamlander Alva Gunderson (Richard Ayoade), mostly to help nudge various characters along toward maturity. Oona is now my favorite character - she's way more fun as Zog's ex and Bean's drug supplier.
The show's humor is still a lot of variations on old gags and gross-out jokes, but we're also getting more character-based laughs. Zog's descent into madness this year is the big highlight so far, and it's fun to see the situation approached from a lot of different angles. There's Odval and the Archdruidess (MacNeill) constantly trying to machinate their way around the situation. There's Bean, Oona, and the castle staff getting frustrated trying to take care of him. And there's Zog himself, who veers wildly between moments of lucidity and unhinged wackadoodle antics. While the lunacy is fun to watch, he's also terribly poignant and sympathetic as he realizes he's losing himself. It doesn't hurt that John DiMaggio's performance as Zog is absolutely hysterical, with generous amounts of raving, muttering, and goose honking sounds.
I look forward to "Part 4" of "Disenchanted" with some impatience, because I want to see where some of these long-gestating plotlines are finally going to go. Elfo is well overdue for that big reveal about his origins, and Luci's still hanging around for some reason. Dagmar's clearly got a few cards left to play, and Zog's story is definitely not done. I swear, though, if Bean and Elfo end up together, I'm going to be deeply disappointed, especially since Bean finally got a decent love interest this season. "Disenchanted" isn't as good as I hoped it would be, but it's still lumbering along, doing its own thing, and I got a good amount of laughs out of it. So, I'll still be watching, and waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for the next chunk of episodes. I really hope it's worth it, but I've gotten enough out of the show that I'd be okay if it's not.
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