Over the Garden Wall

Well I've decided to write about some of the shows I've seen this year that have been popular and very highly praised to see if they live up to the hype.

This time it's Over the Garden Wall.

Even before I started with Gravity Falls or any other cartoons this year, I've heard high praises for this show and high praises lead to high expectations. The final results are...mixed.

This mini series revolves around Greg and Wirt as they wander around the Unknown, trying to get home. Along their travels they meet some interesting characters, a bluebird named Beatrice, a woodsman who's obsessed with keeping his lantern lit, and a whole list more.

Due to the high expectations I had, I was expecting the show to draw me in hard and fast, especially since it only has 10 episodes.

For the first 3 episodes, I wasn't as invested as I thought I'd be, they were ok but I was confused as to why this got so much praise.

After episode 4 and onward is when it starts investing me, when I actually got a chance to learn more about Wirt and Beatrice and even Greg.

It also introduced the Beast, whom we learned from the woodsman's warnings but this is the first time we got to get a glimpse of him and get some development. This show itself is really dark like people have said but I personally didn't feel very uncomfortable watching it until... again, after the first 3 episodes.

The show's saving grace is the character and their arcs, each one was written so uniquely with their own quirks and traits.

Wirt is a high schooler who's really insecure about himself and he doesn't like his half-brother, Greg very much, but he's still a compassionate kid who has some wits and he does care about the people around him and he wants to protect them, he develops from this paranoiac boy to kind of a brave hero.

He also seems to really like art, he loves poetry and he studies a lot about internal structure decor.

Beatrice is a bluebird who used to be human until she threw a rock at one and got her and her whole family cursed into bluebirds, ...I've heard weirder reasons to be cursed.

She originally wanted to bring the brothers to meet Adelaide, claiming that Adelaide could get them home, when in actuality she is planning to bring them to Adelaide in exchange for a pair of magical scissors to cut off the wings and make her and her family human again.

At first, she was so unlikable, she was rude and bossy, but she opens herself up to Wirt and starts to befriend him. She starts showing compassion and she actually hopes that they would fail to make it to Adelaine and she's willing to take their places for the scissors.

When Wirt finds out about Beatrice's deal with Adelaide, he leaves with Greg, feeling betrayed and Beatrice, feeling regret and remorse. This is a really good redemption for her and I really feel sorry for her.

Greg is someone I really didn't like, he is insanely naive, even for his age, he doesn't understand what betrayal is and he threw away the coins they needed even after he knew that, just because he lied. He's just the little brother who has a frog and a rock that apparently has rock facts. He's kinda annoying but the moment he starts playing contrast with Wirt's depressing seriousness later on, he becomes a lot more bearable and watching what he does later on, it's heartbreaking.

The side characters are mostly one shot characters while there are only 10 episodes, my favourite is a girl they meet later on called Lorna.

She is one of the nicest people you'll meet in the Unknown and sadly, she's one of the most tragic. She's an ill girl who's constantly commanded to do chores by a mystical bell her Auntie Whispers owns.

When Wirt and Greg come to her house, she seems innocent and nice enough but later it's revealed that Lorna's illness is being possessed by a demon who makes her "wicked".

After Wirt and Greg make the demon leave her body, she lives a happy life with her Auntie Whispers and thanks them for saving her.

She's very polite and very graceful, she reminds me of Cinderella, constantly doing chores and working her butt off but still remaining positive and kind.

The artwork for this is beautiful too, you can really appreciate how much effort was put into the atmosphere of this mini series and the soundtrack really stays with you after a while.

The story, when it gets moving is phenomenally good. I only wished that it got me this invested sooner, especially since it's a mini series. But for what it is, it's pretty good and it actually gets better watching it again, you catch a lot more things and clues that you may have missed on your first time. I understand why so many people loved it but I do think it's a teeny bit over-hyped for first time viewers.

That's all for what I think about this show. I love it but you've gotta admit flaws when you see them. Feel free to voice your opinions down below.

See you next time.