So we finished The Doomies on Disney+ over the weekend and we just needed a few days to gather our thoughts on what we thought about the first season, what we think may be coming and how it really does mirror some things in Gravity Falls. What we are going to do here to make everyone happy is put together a spoiler free section of the review for the first season followed by a section where we go over the episodes in chunks and include spoilers.
When we talk about the Disney’s The Doomies season one overall, we have already said a lot over at our spoiler free review of the first few episodes of The Doomies already. Here we go over what we thought about the show after watching the first six episodes prior to the launch. The show has a very complex story so things definitely have changed from the first few episodes and now those episodes feel more like a setup, which is fine. Go over and read that before coming back.
Not only that but if you want to hear it directly from the co-creators and animator you can see The Doomies interview we did with Andres Fernandez, Henry Gifford, Pozla Rémi Zaarour.
Let us kick it off with our spoiler free quick review of the first season before we delve into the more detailed review where we will get even deeper. The Good: The story continues to stay really funny and we do get introduced to some more characters (and villains) as the story goes on. The animation stays strong and the monsters that we get to see are even more exciting and fleshed out. The characters themselves get more detailed and we really get to see their struggles dealing with all the evil that happening around them. There are multiple mysteries that are going on and some things are not what they seem. The creepy factor also gets ramped up and we loved that there were some pretty scary monsters and locations for this horror comedy animated show. The pacing of the show and reveals makes you want to watch just one more episode every time you sit down to watch. The So-So: Things that we just did not love was one of the characters that gets introduced does not seem to add much to the hero team. There is a villain complexity that can make the path of the story seem like it is always changing and maybe a bit too much to feel invested in not liking the villain. The other thing was the ending of the season almost feels too close to what we saw in Gravity Falls. The Verdict: This is the first season and it is really strong and a must watch. There was never a time where we felt like we did not want to quickly continue on the next episode to find out what is happening next. The scenery, locations, challenges they faced, uniqueness of the monsters, the animation along with the strong cast of characters really make this a top notch show.
Here is our warning, What comes next WILL contain spoilers for the show as we do an episode chunk review. We took notes after each episode and we will let you know how we felt as we watched. Again spoilers abound below.
The Doomies episode chunk SPOILER filled reviews:
Episodes 1-6
See our previous review that we have talked about above, it was very monster of the week but in a good way, sets the stage and introduces the characters. Great way to start a series like this.
Episodes 7 – 10
So we are full in the Mordam evil sorcerer show at this point in the season and she puts a mean curse on Bobby, which becomes a secret thing that goes on for a bunch of time in the first season. We are loving Mordam as a villain. We then get a really creepy episode on “Momster” where Bobby summons a weird copy of his Mom, which is both scary and funny. We really loved how the Momster really comes to care for Bobby especially as Bobby mentally deals with everything that is going on with him. We have a few episodes now where the heroes are trying to save Bobby from his curse and probably the funniest thing of the whole season is that we learn that brussels sprouts are evil and needed for the incantation to save Bobby. Like we all did not know that those are evil and yucky vegetables already. We find that there are a lot of general jokes about Belgium. When we talk about monsters we get our favorites in the ancient ghost knights. Now at this point Bobby’s curse is lifted but these ghost knights are tracking Kim and the heroes until they are finally put to rest. This was a great sub story that we really enjoyed.
This includes episodes: The Missing Link, Momster, Shadow of a Doubt, and Knight Terrors
Episodes 11 – 14
The next set of episodes are really fun, we have Doug’s teacher coming back as a crepe, it feels like it should not work, yet it really does and it is super funny. In “Happy Doomsday Everyone” we also see Mordam fighting the heroes and we get to see some of Doug’s real power. This is where things get crazy though as Doug sacrifices himself instead of Kim to close the portal, it almost feels like things are over once this happens. We get to see Bobby’s real mother and we have the reveal at the end that maybe Doug is not gone forever. The Happy Doomsday episode feels like a real great middle of the season episode as things will change even more real soon. With “Hair Raising” we are starting to feel like less monster of the week and more like the monsters are there to support the overall story. We have an episode that gives us a lot of insight into Kim and is a good catch your breath episode after everything that just happened. In “Terror Cruise” we learn a few things including that Mordam is still in Bobby’s head. This is also where we get the feeling that this show is way more serialized than your average animated series. This story has Romy thinking that Doug’s soul is in his car, but it really is not, so we are still left wondering about Doug and his whereabouts. We also come to learn that the Mayor is evil, but this may only be because of the evil ore that is being used and the item she has around her neck. So now do we have two villains? Mordam and the Mayor? This is where we are starting to feel like “what the heck is going on to connect Mordam and this ore?” “Lighthouse of Horrors” is going to introduce us to Killjoy who is another Lighthouse Keeper who is brought in because Doug is no longer around. He sure is not as nice as Doug and it opens up a door about how this not so nice guy part of the team that is supposed to be protecting the world. Plus here is another thing we are thinking about while watching, these evil mermaid things, are they part of Subterra or just around town regardless? Kim ends up having to fight them and we learn a bit about her in the process. How old is Kim really and how old is she in this incarnation?
This includes episodes: Happy Doomsday Everyone, Hair Raising, Terror Cruise, Lighthouse of Horrors
Episodes 15 – 17
We start taking better notes for these episodes going forward as there is a lot going on now with Doug gone and Killjoy taking over. In “Season of the Witch” the old ladies in the town get turned in witches or they are possessed by witches (who knows) and we find out that Killjoy was sent by the Council of the Light Keepers. Does this mean that there are Light Keepers all over the world taking care of different issues of the super natural? Maybe we find out more in subsequent seasons on that, or a spin-off? Now the other thing that happens is the new light keeper summons a new chosen one, Grim Kim and she looks just like Kim which is kinda weird. We wonder what this will mean for the future, we do at one point, we forget when we see some of the Chosen Ones through different time periods. There is so much more to learn about the Chosen One that we hope we find out. This block of episodes also tell us that the town itself is evil, well probably just built around a lot of evil. New character time as we learn that the brochure writer, who is like the town hero, Mr. Grimkin ends up being evil as well, and he sees the pattern to why Ouimper is so evil! He wants to open the door to inter-dimensional evil, does this seem a little familiar? This is where the show is also so funny, because he was originally defeated by a proof-reading error. Grimkin feels like a character that should have more importance, but for now he is limited to this episode. In “Sub-Terror” we see Doug in Kim’s dream and this is where Kim is starting to feel more human to everyone, including herself. Mordam is back though and still messing with Bobby. Doug has been leaving messages for Kim to try and help get himself rescued from a place they are calling The Great In-Between. This seems to make a correlation to what we would expect Subterra to be. Kim also confides in Doug she is having a hard time becoming more human and dealing with emotions that go along with it. We are also getting more into the story of the haunted or evil ore that allows mind control that the Mayor is using. Mordam also helps Bobby out but now Bobby is cursed again. Doug also introduced us to his monster girlfriend Myrrh and we just did not love this relationship or addition to the hero team. We will see if it plays out any better in the future episodes.
This includes episodes: Season of the Witch, Resident Evil and Sub-Terror
Episodes 18 – 20
We are getting close to the end and “Mind Games” has an evil board game Jumanji vibe that allows Doug to get rid of Killjoy because Killjoy cheats at the game. So why was Killjoy a cheater if he was part of the Light Keeper crew? Also Bobby’s mother is leaving for a tour and wants Bobby to come with her, but he decides to stay with his friends in town. We do not know how Bobby could really leave at this point anyway. We get weird in the next episode as the Light Keepers council are crows and tell the heroes that Mordam is living in Bobby. Romy gets really upset with Bobby and there is a bit of a rift between the two of them for now. We also get a lot more of Morgan who is the Mayor’s daughter in the upcoming episodes. They are out of the light house and in a safe house now and the Light keepers are mad that the Doomies not fighting the evil, and this is because of Bobby and Mordam. They also call Kim the flawed model which is interesting because what will that mean for Kim in the future. So the Light Keepers take away Romy’s memory of the Doomies. Bobby has a decision and decides to use Mordam to fight the Light Keepers, which is probably a really bad decision, but we love it for the story. Bobby is now a creepy looking mix of Mordam and Bobby and takes care of the Light Keeper super crow monster with magic. The Mayor also goes all crazy on Morgan as well, we are really in the thick of things now. In “The Kids Are All Fright” we get Mordam trying to take over Bobby’s mind once and for all. Doug also realizes that Mordam has given up on releasing Subterra and this is our first clue that things are bigger than just Subterra. Mordam is now on to the Devourer of Souls and trying to free them. Romy with no memory of Mordam really can not stop her, Mordam gives Romy back her memory so that way she realizes what craziness is happening. This is always a bad idea for a villain to do, but here we are. The Doomies friendship though lets Bobby break the control that Mordam has on him, and it seems as if things are going well, but here comes another twist. Watching this a second time we get how Mordam is going to summon this world conquering beast, but what part did Subterra than play in the plot? There is more to come here and the last two episodes are packed.
This includes episodes: Mind Games, Nevermore, The Kids Are All Fright
Episodes 21 And 22
So we start with “Scream Time” where the phones with the haunted ore that is being used as batteries are sent out to everyone in the town. There are a lot of fun computer and phone jokes here in this episode. About mid way though this episode we get introduced to the town planner Redwin. We think he is just a normal guy and it feels like he has nothing to do with what the Mayor is doing with the phones. How wrong we were and this was a great upcoming twist. We get a speech from the Mayor about taking over the world and a joke about Belgium again. Margot makes it seems like she is double crossing the heroes so she can get close to the Mayor so that she can crush the crystal, which we find out is called eviltanium. Now the Mayor has no memory of taking over the town, so do we assume that means that Redwin was actually responsible for getting the Mayor involved in that evil ore to begin with, or is this just a side quest that stood on its own because the Mayor wanted votes. In the last episode of the season we get some ideas to why this town was evil to begin with in terms of locations and how that makes up this weird design and we lead in with Redwin telling us how everything is going to be. It is funny that they make him a city planner and he is very meticulous with his planning on taking over the world. We also come to learn that Kim is the only one that has the power for Redwin’s grand designs of taking over. So Doug takes out the book and says the Light Keepers have a protocol for these sort of things, so it seems that they continue to protect the world during all different times. Redwin is going to use Kim to tear the dimension apart and remake it in his own image. We assume that this means all of Subterra will come but that was not really made clear. There is lots of classic villain talk where Redwin tells them he has seen this play out before and his planning always defeats them. As the town gets evacuated it is now up to the heroes to stop Redwin. This is where we get to see all of The Chosen ones throughout history and dimension and we hope that we find out more about that, because while it was a quick scene it was real cool. We are going to be honest here, we do not love the portal animation, it feels like something out of Tron and for us just does not vibe. Redwin, aka, the Devourer of Dimensions absorbs his other selves in prep for the end of days, so was the town planner always evil or is this something that happens to him. Doug brings the heroes to the Great-In-Between to try and hide out, but that is not what heroes do. The team bands together to create some chaos by merging so that Redwin cannot plan for the situation. There is a great battle scene that happens next that we just love and then they send Redwin into No Dimension and the portal goes away, but not before putting the town back to normal. Now we end with Bobby, Romy, Kim and Doug ending up in an alternate Ouimper that looks to be much darker and run down than their original dimension, but there is a crow that we see screeching so does that mean the Council?
This includes episodes: Scream Time and Grand Designs
So after reading through all that, we might not have broken up the episodes into the best chunks, but we were starting to get tired with his long review, plus it took us a while to figure out to spell Redwin and Myrrh’s names, we thought we kept hearing Redwood while watching. Also this was a first watch, we may have not put some of the puzzle pieces together or missed a few things here and there, some episodes we did take a look at a second time, but who knows what we missed. This is a show that deserves to be watched a few times and we love that.
Overall Thoughts And Conclusions
We really enjoyed the first season of The Doomies, it was the perfect combination of creepy and comedy. The animation worked really well and the characters and story keep us hitting the next episode button late into the night. We are also still thinking about it after finishing it and wondering where the next season will take us. That being said, there were a few things we just did not love, but most of it was a little bit picky. Also, some of it may make more sense in the upcoming seasons. We aren’t loving Myrrh. She really did not do a lot for the season and even though there is a a lot of supernatural stuff going on she makes the hero team feel a little disjointed because Myrrh is from Subterra. Also while all the pieces may come together next season and we are sure they will, the Mordam, Mayor, Grimkin villains feels like a lot especially with Redwin being introduced, and can get a little confusing on who you want the heroes to defeat as well as not giving you enough time to really dislike the villain. This though feels like it will be answered and all the pieces to the puzzle will make the payoff worth it especially with Redwin. Is Redwin Mordam’s boss? The show did a great job at bringing us a bunch of different mysteries to keep it exciting but we feel like we were really invested in Mordam being the villain. Overall we love the show and the first season and are looking forward to how this adventure that impacts all dimensions turns out. Do not let the little things we point out change the fact that we are in LOVE with The Doomies, plus a lot of them may go away in future seasons.
Some Questions And Next Season
There are a lot of things we want to learn more about, obviously how Kim continues to grow and maybe even learn a bit about some of her past life experiences and past Chosen Ones? Are they all the same person or not. Are the Light Keepers good or bad? This will be a complex question that we look forward to. Is Redwin really gone and what about Mordam and the eviltanium. Really though just give us more of the skeleton crew! We hope that there is not a long wait until The Doomies season two. That is the downside of releasing all the episodes at once, but we loved not having to wait.
Some Crazy Thoughts
What if Redwin was Bill from Gravity Falls? Yeah we decided to go there, could you imagine what craziness would ensue? This would be the ultimate cross over we have ever seen. Now we know that this is not the case, but the ending of the first season just kinda had us thinking about this and wondering what it would mean. The Light House already feels like the Mystery Shack to us and we did feel like there was a little too much of the same with Redwin and Bill, but we will let it play out to see how we feel at the end.
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