Denzel Curry | Animated Observations

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It took a while but I finally managed to watch the last episode of Carole and Tuesday, and I have a lot to say about it. So, here are my final thoughts.

Carole and Tuesday is aptly named after its main characters who come from two very different places. Carole is a refugee from earth who is barely making a living in Alba City, the capitol of Mars. Tuesday, meanwhile, comes from a affluent part of Mars, and has a politician running for president as a mother. One day, after realizing that her mother will never approve her desire to make music for a living, Tuesday decides to run away from home. After making it to Alba City and subsequently getting her stuff stolen after arriving, she meets up with Carole on a bridge. The two immediately hit it off after performing together and formally agree to make music together.

Expectations

I try with every show I watch and talk about to keep my expectations somewhat neutral, with varying rates of success. However, given the high profile nature of the show, with it being directed by Shinichiro Watanabe and being about musicians living on Mars, I got pretty excited.

It was incredible sitting down to watch the first episode and have not only a great premise but also an amazing musical scene right off the bat. A lot of different thoughts were running through my head, and I had a lot of hope that this show would live up to the hype of its initial episode, and I am glad to say that, for the most part, it did.

The Music

If there is one thing people have heard about this series even before watching it, it is probably the music, and just how incredible it all is. Which, one might reasonably expect given that it is a show about the lives of two musicians who form a band. However, for those whose tastes tend to be on the pickier side when it comes to music, this show might not be as appealing. The range in genre, while overall pretty big, mainly tends to focus on a more pop sound, which is represented largely in the main characters Carole and Tuesday.

Despite this though, the music overall tends to be really well done, and even the pop sounding stuff sounds much better than a lot of stuff on top forty radio. Denzel Curry specifically did a great job when it comes music of rapper Ezekial. While not having to large an involvement in the show, really only showing up in the later quarter of the show and doing two songs in total, Curry’s voice and more lyrical leanings made it incredibly enjoyable.

I also want to give props to Lauren Dyson, the vocalist for Crystal, for their amazing work. I will totally admit that I have been bumping “Unbreakable” nonstop in my car ever since I heard it while watching the show. For being the only real representation of R&B in the show, she does a fantastic job.

Carole and Tuesday as a Political Conversation

One thing that kind of irked me about the first half of Carole and Tuesday is that the fact that they are on Mars is kind of irrelevant. In fact, for the first twelve episodes, it is only referenced a handful of times, and it is usually only as a reminder of Carole’s past. A lot of the writing just kind of went to waste, that is, until the pieces are put together in the second half.

As the episodes continue it becomes much more obvious that seemingly innocuous background information like the fact that Tuesday’s rich mom is running for president, or that Carole is an illegal earth refuge starts to come into focus. What started as a show about two girls wanting to escape their problems and create music together becomes a much more outwardly criticism of politics of the modern day, specifically in America.

Now for those, who do not think this is in anyway a critique of American politics, tell me if this sounds familiar: A political elite runs for president as an outsider, with the help of a few unsavory figures, running on a platform of destroying trade deals and deporting illegal aliens. While it is true in this instance I am describing Donald Trump, I am also describing Tuesday’s mother, who ends up being the main reason for the outwardly political shift in the show’s story.

Immigration ends up being the main focal point of the later half. Tuesday’s mom, at the behest of her resident shady character and political consultant Jerry promises during her campaign for president of mars that if elected she will deport all illegal immigrants and refugees. This promise, being something that would directly affect both Carole and many of her friends, leads both Carole and Tuesday to work towards creating change.

The Finale

From the beginning of the first episode up until the second to last, the show builds up the final moment of the show, “one that would go down in history on mars.” Part of the reason I talked about expectations earlier on was because of this. A moment in the show so important that the writers decided it was worth building up in the first episode should have a serious impact.

However, I feel like overall it is a bit of a letdown. The final scene features artists from all different walks of life, many of whom Carole and Tuesday meet on their adventures throughout the show, gathering together in secret to stream a live performance of a new song that opposes Tuesday’s Mom’s divisive rhetoric. The song and the performance thereof are both handled really well. Some of the characters animations during the song seem to contradict the very serious nature of the song, however, and makes it a little bit awkward. Still, for a scene that was built up for the entire show, it made me feel a little underwhelmed, largely because of the supposed importance. If the show had made more of an effort to make immigration a more important part of the underlying story, as opposed to starting this arc halfway through, it would have had more of an emotional impact. I will admit that I think this opinion has much more to do with my expectations than the fault of the show itself, although I do think changing those things would have made the show better.

Conclusion

There is a whole lot more I could talk about when it comes to the show, from the subplot with Angela, to the implications and importance of the show’s message, but I would much rather not spoil it. While it does have some noticeable flaws when it comes to things like animation and storytelling, it is an overall worthwhile experience that I highly recommend checking out for yourself.

How do you all feel about Carole and Tuesday? Let me know in the comments below.

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