Final Space (2018)

I've been waiting for Final Space for quite some time. I loved the pilot on the creator's YouTube channel, and I knew it could be great. Overall, I think Final Space fulfilled expectations. Season 1 was full of introductions, but in ten 22-minute episodes, they managed to tell a story worth telling _and_ make me feel for the characters. There were legitimately sad moments in this animated comedy, which isn't something that can always be said about these types of shows. Olan Rogers, the creator, did a fantastic job of teasing out emotions while still filling the show with the comedy he's known for. The season did a decent job of balancing surface-level comedy with deeper, more thoughtful laughs, even if it did lean towards the surface a few too many times. It's forgivable, though. The absolute highlight of this show is the characters. From Gary's fantastic personal growth to the development of Avocato and Quinn, the show shines in its people. Even characters that don't "grow" as much as are revealed like HUE, KVN, and Mooncake add a lot of emotion and emphasis to the show. While the characters are great, the main antagonist seems to fall a little short. That's not to say Lord Commander is a bad character or even a bad villain. He's not, it's just that the rest of the characters set the bar high. He's seen as a real threat, which is an accomplishment, but he doesn't get enough screen time to get fully fleshed out, although that's probably alright. This show really hits its stride around episode eight. The last three episodes of the season are my favorite, and the emotional buildup and release happen to be one of the best in an animated series. The season also ended in a great way. The arc is wrapped up well, and if the show would never come back, I'd be satisfied. They also left just enough left to spur on curiosity and interest in a second season. My average episode score ended at 8.4 for the season, but the way they fit together as a tidy arc gives this enough of a boost to get to 9. I'm eagerly awaiting Season 2 and more from Rogers.