The Criticism-Giving Review

No, I'm not going to criticize this episode, it just sounded good for an opposite title.

Actually I liked this episode quite a bit, and while it was a little (okay, maybe a lot) corny at times, I believe it did a good job in appealing the usual target audience of 8-12.

The epsiode started out really well. It felt like the old Odyssey just having Connie, Eugene, and Whit at Whit's End. I thought it was funny that Connie had lost something yet again, and then it was even funnier that Eugene turned out to have it! Her ringtone was interesting, and I'm sure we'll hear some negative responses from fans who believe drums and backbeats are associated with devil "rock" music.

And then Jay and his uncle (who just happens to run the junkyard mentioned in Square One) drop in because they got caught in a ditch just outside Whit's End. On a sidenote, am I the only one who thinks it's weird that there's a road in front of Whit's End? If you've ever seen the Odyssey videos, you know that in them, Whit's End is always in the middle of town between other buildings in front of a road. But I thought it was supposed to be in the middle of McAlister Park! The only video that depicts it as I would imagine it should look like is Race to Freedom. That one, however, is what Whit's End looked like as a church in the 1800s, so it may not be as reliable. Am I the only one who doesn't get that? If you can explain, please comment!

Back to Jay and his uncle. I'm glad we get to hear from Jay again, and it was interesting to have his uncle as well. It was funny to hear him say "Rue the day!" at one point in the episode. I think Jay is going to be a good replacement for Rodney as I said before in Stage Fright. Having him and his uncle there almost felt like Bart and Rodney were there. : )

So up to that point I really liked the episode. Then came the singing. And then came Connie singing. Now I know why they didn't have her actually sing her full song in Odyssey Sings! Just kidding. Well, sort of. Eugene's singing sounded as good as ever, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Will Ryan wrote all of the songs. But it was weird to bring music back to Odyssey, and it would have seemed quite out of place had it not been in this episode. I guess it was handled pretty well. But I don't think Connie has a very good voice for singing to be honest.

I liked that Whit was the narrator, giving it a Passages feel, while still having the Dr. Seuss elements.

The story was a bit fast-paced and unrealistic and weird, but I guess I can deal with it. There was a very good moral, and I'm glad that it was reinforced by Whit and Chris at the end.

Overall, it was a pretty entertaining episode with a great moral that was just different from the Odyssey that we're used to. It was almost like a mix of Thank You, God and A Thanksgiving Carol, combining a meeting of the main characters with some silly storytelling. Plus, we haven't had a Thanksgiving episode since BTV: Thanks, so it was about time. ; D

I liked it a lot, and will give it an 8/10. Please comment!