If you remember from last year, I reviewed the first season of the Disney Channel cult classic, So Weird. It was worshiped for taking a darker path with its story and characters than the usual fare at Disney Channel, and yet it never re-aired for almost two decades outside of through re-posted tape recordings online. So, when the news broke out that this was going to be one of the shows available on Disney+ upon its launch, many people just went:
And me? Ever since I saw the first season, I, too, jumped into the bandwagon. I enjoyed how dark it was, how well-told its stories were, and how relatable the characters were. And once I finished up the first season, I was enthusiastic to see what the second season would’ve had in store for me.
And I’m telling you, So Weird sure pulled out all the stops this season!
On the whole, this season continued where the last one left off and explored the various locations and debunked mysteries that Fi and her family discovered throughout their mother’s concert tour. But before I dwell into that, you know how I thought that Fi and her family had the tour bus for a home and how Ned, Molly’s manager’s husband, was the closest thing to a teacher they ever had?
Well, I was sorely mistaken.
The first three episodes were nice enough to introduce us to Fi’s real home: Hope Springs, Colorado. The Phillipses settled in a lovely wooden cabin, the town was nice and mellow, and Fi even had a good friend from school named Candy. However, one reason Molly and her family toured across the country for so long was partially because she recalled recording many of her songs with her husband, Rick, in their cabin. So, doing what she loved in Hope Springs evoked too many painful memories for her to continue her work. Meanwhile, Fi did what she did best as she investigated all the paranormal goings-on she caught on to during her family’s adventures, especially in Hope Springs. However, as she continued her investigations, she slowly discovered that she became closer than ever to feeling the presence of her father in spirit. Every once in a while, she even ran into various mythical creatures who knew the Phillipses, her father especially. What Fi never knew about him until Molly told her, and us, the audience, was that Rick was also a paranormal investigator, just like Fi afterwards. Like father, like daughter. So, with this much involvement in such risky endeavors, the Phillipses were somewhat familiar people to the mythical creatures Fi discovered on her family’s journey.
Now, on the surface, this feels more like your everyday monster-of-the-week scenario you would associate with Scooby-Doo, just like in the last season. Only in the case of So Weird, each encounter was spiced up by certain aspects that only strengthened their significance. In the grand scheme of things, however, what made the story even more significant, even compared to last season, was how much involvement Fi’s family ever had with the mythical beings they encountered, both at the moment and throughout generations. By intertwining this many connections between them, the overarching story of the season carried more weight, felt more epic, and made some of the more random encounters suddenly feel all the more significant.
Fi was still the observant paranormal blogger that we all know and love. She still carried the soft tenor in her voice that highlighted her oddball yet endearing nature, as only Cara DeLizia can provide. This season, however, I can’t help but sense a little desperation in her tone. Fi reacted on occasion as if she was super close to reaching something or someone that she suspected she could never reach, but her strong faith kept urging her to push forth and try whether the odds were against her or not. Because of her emotional involvement, her quests made this season’s adventures feel more exciting and carry more of a mystery vibe to them.
Molly Phillips, played by Mackenzie Phillips, was still the soft, tender mother who sought out the welfare of her children and her family while also touring across the country – and maybe even the world – as a rock-and-roll musician. Only this time, she started showing more blatant painful reminiscences of her husband when he was alive and acted as if she knew more about the ongoing circumstances than even Fi or Jack may ever have known. In turn, her reactions and conversations with them suddenly started feeling like they were full of half-truths on her end.
Now, with Jack, I can’t help but feel like he came across as more skeptical than how he was last season.
More often than not, he thought Fi was engaging too much with her paranormal investigations or wasting too much of her time over it. But other times, he admitted to not believing that whatever Fi was focusing on in each of their adventures was real. There were times, of course, when he got intertwined with specific scenarios that proved him wrong, like with the werewolf, the crop circles, or even the merman. And, after the cat was out of the bag concerning their father’s love of paranormal investigations, he still didn’t believe in any of the activities either Fi or their father engaged themselves with. But I don’t know; for me, it makes him more complex as both a character and an older brother figure, and it also made him look less like a buzzkill and more like the Doubting Thomas of the group at times.
Besides, Ryan, the child prodigy Fi met in ‘Second Generation,’ admitted to following her website despite not believing a word of her explorations of the paranoia. So, what’s the big deal?
However, one thing about Jack that I found admirable was that he occasionally mentioned Gabe as if he and she were both online dating. If you don’t know who I’m talking about, Gabe was the girl Fi helped in ‘Angel’ last season. And apparently, Jack still held onto the angel necklace given to him from that episode. At specific points throughout the season, the angel necklace helped Jack in some of his more strenuous moments, as if the angel they encountered in that episode was still guiding them, no matter where they went. In an offhand way, it also hinted that Gabe’s family may have prayed for him and his family on their adventures. That was a very touching detail added to Jack this season.
Clu Bell, played by Erik von Detten, was still the enjoyable, excitable goofball that he was in the last season. But, to my surprise, he was in the season only for the first six episodes. Why? Because he signed up to go into college in Portland. So, his limited time would’ve hinted that he made it in. At the same time, his older brother, named Karey, joined the group after coming home from college, albeit for different reasons his family didn’t know about at first. This was where I thought Irene and her side of the family were at their most interesting thus far in the show.
Now, as for Karey, played by Eric Lively, I found him kind of a mixed bag. He felt pretty standard throughout Season 2, yet a few things about him kept him engaging, if only by a margin. One is, the real reason he joined Molly and the rest of the gang was because he dropped out of college. He wanted to pursue becoming a better guitarist instead, a chance he eventually got when he partook in Molly’s concerts as part of the band. Now, that was a compelling quest toward the Molly Phillips gang that he had. And, one element about his character that I found admirable was that between him and Jack, Karey was the most fascinated by Fi’s findings on paranormal activity. And it made sense, given that he never really knew about Fi or her reports before dropping out. But still, Karey didn’t add a lot to the group dynamic outside of these bright spots. There were even times when I found myself missing Clu’s sense of humor and some of the levity he brought into the show.
Irene Bell, played by Belinda Metz, still maintained her admirably stern, no-nonsense attitude whenever she tried to help Molly out with her concerts or whatever other problems she may have had. Of course, this season took some opportunities to expand more on her character, like when she and the band reunited with her sister in ‘Nightmare’ and subjected themselves to some family trauma surrounding them.
Ned Bell, played by Dave ’Squatch’ Ward, was still the likable, rough-voiced bus driver/’bus-school’ teacher he was last season. Only this time, plenty more details about him were added to make him more compelling, even compared to Irene. For starters, as ‘Fountain’ showed us, he and his family have known the Phillipses for as long as Fi and Jack were alive. He was even called ‘Uncle Ned’ sometimes, if I’m not mistaken. So this shows how much closeness these two families had with one another. Also, there’s an episode entitled ‘Fall’ where he reunited with a good childhood friend of his, only to run into some trouble when he came face to face with some past trauma he suffered from, also from his childhood. So, these details made him, and even Irene, look far more interesting this season.
A few new characters were introduced this season, such as a British rock star named Poppa Bear, who knew Rick when he was still alive and was a really good friend of the Phillipses. However, he also had some health problems whenever he smoked behind the scenes. And even though he appeared in just one episode, there was a mechanic from Hope Springs who not only knew Rick but was also around when he had his accident. And finally, you have Rick’s twin sister, Rachel, who lived in New York City and showed up for the season finale, but I’ll mention the purpose for that soon. All I can say is that when this many characters, from across the country or the globe, had some personal affiliations with the Phillipses at some point in time, you know things will be bound to get more personal.
And let’s not forget some of the returning characters who came back this season. In one episode, the scientist from Simplicity, Tad Raxall, came back to woo Molly once more, except this time, I didn’t find him quite as eccentric as I did last season. Now, that was a slight surprise. And in another episode, the mischievous Will-o-the-Wisp from the Season 1 finale, Bricriu, returned to taunt the Phillipses again. Except, once he did reappear, some beans were spilled on his end that showed that he played a more prominent role in the show than we would’ve anticipated. Again, I’ll mention what he did when I get around to it.
The music and songs that I admired made a comeback, too, and I can’t help but feel like they’ve been flexing their creative muscles this season. Mackenzie Phillips’ songs ranged from melodically evocative to lyrically meaningful and were diverse even in their subjects. Some of them were about love in general, but probably the most unique love song out of them was one that she wrote about Rick, entitled ‘Another World.’ Molly even wrote a song inspired by her family’s originating country, Ireland, known as ‘The Rock.’ They were all terrific, and if there’s one place you can go to listen to the music and songs, start with the episode ‘Encore.’ This is where you’d see Mackenzie Phillips’ musical talents take center stage – literally – and perform the enticing songs that underscored the show, including the main theme song.
The individual episodic stories offered a diverse array of ghoulish, out-of-the-ordinary experiences throughout this season that helped the show live up to its name. They included the story of a man who was cryogenically frozen many years back, one of a town whose departed souls came back to walk about every Halloween, and even one of a car that happened to have a mind of its own and can drive in its own free will.
You know what? This season introduced many interesting new additions to the series and the characters in a way that only deepened what the show started with. So, I’m now in the mood to take a cue from the Nostalgia Critic (NSFW, mind you) and arrange for you what I consider the top 11 best episodes of Season 2.
10. Listen and Roswell: I put these two together because they both focused on what I believe is a compelling issue: the effects of extraterrestrial involvements with human life. In Listen, Fi discovered within an Iowa town that anyone who ate food made out of the town’s local wheat developed telepathy. She eventually caught on to how the local wheat fields from which the food came had crop circles, a trait usually associated with aliens. And in Roswell — New Mexico — Fi and her family ran into an old man who put what they thought was a radio to his ear all the time. They didn’t know, at first, that he was hearing alien voices from that box that were unintelligible, even to him. And it all stemmed from a secret that his father asked him to keep between the two of them. These two episodes asked some very intriguing questions about how humanity can be affected in either a positive or negative way by alien life, whether it be onto an individual or even an entire community. And, they each benefitted from other aspects that worked to each episode’s advantage. In Listen’s case, the telepathic occurrences applied onto the Phillipses and the Bells, too, resulting in some beans being spilled over certain secrets they each held and, in turn, some dramatic moments between them. And in Roswell’s case, it’s held together by Tom Heaton’s performance as the old man, Andrew, whose expressions ranged from kooky and unfocused to emotionally burdened and troubled. We may never know until then what a union between humans and extraterrestrial life would bring, but these episodes put their spin on such a phenomenon, and they did so to astounding effect.
9. Siren: Taking place in Hope Springs once again, Karey found himself entirely entranced by a singer who had what he considered the most enticing, beautiful voice he’s ever heard. But once Karey started learning more about her, he, Fi, and soon the rest of the family discovered that she was a victim of music executive corruption. This episode was very intriguing in exploring how many mythical ties one may have and treading as delicately as possible onto equally frightening real-life issues. Throw onto that a nice little reprise of ‘Rebecca,’ and you got yourself a nicely rounded episode whose two sides of the realism scale were explored very well and whose dilemmas were no less compelling.
8. Vampire: Jack decided to sign up for a tutoring program, so Molly squeezed enough time to visit the tutor program’s headquarters between her bus trips. Once they got settled there, however, Fi got unnerving vibes from the spokespeople who greeted them, and her suspicions were confirmed when she found out that these people were vampires out to feast on their flesh. Not only was the atmosphere terrific, starting as pleasant and inviting before becoming hostile and medieval, but there were two things I liked about the vampires. One, the vampires were among the mythical creatures who knew the Phillipses for a good portion of time, for they admitted that they had a history with Rick in the past. And two, I like the idea of mythical beings taking advantage of modern human resources for their own gain. It makes the real world and the paranormal activities feel more interconnected and suspicious, just like this episode—just the right kind for you to sink your teeth into.
7. Fountain: I never thought that So Weird would’ve done a couple of holiday specials this season, that being Boo, the Halloween special, and this one, the Christmas special, of all things. But between these two, Fountain did the best job of setting itself apart from the rest of the show while still maintaining its formula and celebrating the holiday. Without going into specifics, Fi was out Christmas shopping for her family in a Grand Junction mall before running into a soda jerk. From there, Fi found herself in a series of time loops that she couldn’t claw her way out of, and each one put her back in her home in Hope Springs and with her family. The hopping from one time period to another was surreal, the actresses playing the younger versions of Fi were terrific, and the soda jerk? I’ll so beyond not tell you who he was, but all I can say is he was the embodiment of the holiday and the show’s eerie nature interweaving with one another. And by the time you finally piece together his identity, suddenly the experience would be seen as touching and very clever. You’ll have to see for yourself what I’m talking about so you’ll get it. If you’re in a mood for a freakier Christmas experience besides, say, The Nightmare Before Christmas or Scrooged, this is just the episode to hop onto.
6. Destiny: Or, Will-o-the-Wisp II, because this featured the return of the deviously mischievous Bricriu from the Season 1 finale. However, this time, instead of hijacking Jack’s body, he hijacked that of Molly, much to Fi’s horror. Things got even more complicated when their disastrous reunion roped in the mechanic who saw visions and was again around when Rick had his accident. While it wasn’t as surreal as Will-o-the-Wisp, what made this episode so memorable was that it revealed how Rick had his accident, not to mention how Bricriu may have had a role in that. This threw in a completely new angle on the So Weird mythos and was one of the chief reasons why Fi’s paranormal investigations became so personal this season. On top of that, Mackenzie Phillips was incredible in this episode, letting a sympathetic, motherly, rocking character like Molly become 100% wily once Bricriu inhabited her body. If Encore demonstrated her musical versatility, then this episode demonstrated her acting versatility.
5. Second Generation: While Molly was rehearsing for a concert in Los Angeles, Fi was approached by a young prodigy named Ryan, who followed her website despite not believing her reports on the paranormal activities. He came looking for her because he needed her help to trace his birth certificate and discover what had happened to his deceased mother. But here’s where it got trippy: whereas Fi’s father died two years after she was born, Ryan’s mother turned out to have died two years before he was born. So it then raises the question: how did he come to be? What did his father, who was a scientist, have to say about this? The story carried plenty of twists and turns, it led to discussions about human identity and clone experimentation, and believe it or not, this would be the first time you see Fi kiss a boy. It was a thought-provoking episode, to say the least, and all the more reason to declare it a great one.
4: Nightmare: Fi, her family, Irene, and her family all came over to Irene’s sister’s place to say hello and catch up, while Jack started having nightmares that involved him and a young boy he saw in his dreams. That boy turned out to be Walter, Irene’s nephew, who also had nightmares, namely the same ones that Jack had. As soon as these two, plus Fi and Clu, caught on to this pattern, they all concluded that they were subject to a strange phenomenon called aspect dreaming. So, they all banded up in the hopes of finding each other in their dreams and also tracking down a scary black cloud-like monster that was haunting Jack and Walter. This episode was very eerie, but underneath its freaky imagery lay a very tragic uncovering of Jack’s fears and those of Walter, adding up to a surreal, contemplative, and deep episode that highlighted their misfortunes, whether it was from the dream world or the real world. And because the traumas each concerned both the Phillipses and the Bells, this episode hit two birds with one stone and did so with excellent panache.
3: Strange Geometry: While on a music tour in London – don’t ask how the Phillipses got their bus to cross the Atlantic Ocean – Fi discovered that the building where Molly would’ve performed her next music video, with their family friend Poppa Bear, was a fabled spirit realm. That means that the building would’ve guaranteed access between the real world and the spirit world. Upon further digging, Fi slowly but surely traced one set of clues after the next until she ultimately came across the membrane of the building, where she encountered the spirit of the scientist who invented it. The buildup was beyond well-done, and the souls reaching out to Fi before she found the membrane resulted in some of the creepiest imagery in the entire show. And let’s say it culminated in a temptation and the family bombshell, which made the whole third act surprisingly heartrending. It would have been easy to make this episode a more passable one about the resurrection of the body. But no, this was so much more than that; it was a great episode that benefitted from macabre imagery, a sobering ending, and in my opinion, some of the best acting you would ever see from Cara DeLizia. Hands-down, this is a gem.
2. Twin: Don’t act like you didn’t see this coming. This episode provided most of what you’d want in a good season finale of So Weird. While in New York City for Molly’s musical ventures in a talk show, Fi caught up with her Aunt Rachel, Rick’s sister, when out of the blue, Rachel started writing strange symbols in her sleep. Being the keen observer she was, Fi caught onto this and wondered if she did it subconsciously. After some debate, they both realized that the writing may have been Rick doing it like he was trying to tell them something from beyond the grave. The family themes were super prevalent in this episode, and it led to what was arguably a long-awaited moment in the show: Fi’s reunion with Rick in his spirit form. Some people may find it a skosh anticlimactic because of how quickly it came, even for one in a season finale. But because Rick’s death was the driving force behind the family turmoil over the past two seasons, this felt like a satisfactory bowtie to… well, Fi’s story, at least. Heck, had the third season never happened – least of all, the one with Annie, but I’ll get to that very shortly – this would have felt like a decent, if also a little hasty, series finale.
And the best episode of Season 2, as well as probably one of the best of the entire show? That would be…
1. Banshee: This episode just oozed with family dilemmas, which only becomes even more fascinating when it concerned a couple of generations worth of the family in question. The Phillipses were staying at Fi’s grandparents’ place – Molly’s parents – while Molly hoped to take advantage of the situation to make amends with her father. Meanwhile, as they all slept, Fi woke up in the middle of the night to discover a ghoulish woman hovering above Fi’s grandfather. Fi tried to alert him to the ghoul’s presence, but she vanished before anyone saw her. Fi eventually discovered that this ghoulish woman was an entity of Irish folklore called the Banshee, who typically came forth to announce the forthcoming death of a family member. This panicked Fi because that would’ve meant she was after her grandfather, who was sick anyway. So, in the middle of the next night, she, along with Jack and Karey, planned to sneak out, find the Banshee, and attempt to talk her out of claiming her grandfather’s life. Meanwhile, Molly tried to reason with her father, who turned out to have been generally neglectful to her throughout her entire life, and hoped to prove her worth to him by performing a song she wrote in his honor. One of the biggest strengths of So Weird was its handling of family issues, and this episode was packed with layers of those, from Fi’s issues concerning both her grandfather and even Rick at one point to Molly’s issues with her father. And it opened our eyes to what Fi’s ancestry was like; her family line originated in Ireland, hence the Banshee’s current involvement with the Phillipses. And, her great-great-grandmother happened to have been named Phiona, hinting that Fi was named after her. It’s funny how some of Fi’s biggest adversaries in the show happened to have ties to Irish mythology – you know who else I’m talking about besides the Banshee – but that makes this show feel that much more engaging and this season that much more personal, and this episode alone demonstrated it in spectacular fashion. It had everything you’d want in a ‘So Weird’ episode:
It was profound.
It had great music.
It tested Fi’s strengths.
It tested Molly’s strengths.
It addressed family dilemmas in a relatable way.
Of course, it came soaked in the eerie acquaintances and atmosphere that lent the show its reputation as an underrated classic.
Nonetheless, this season wasn’t necessarily perfect. It had its fair share of episodes that I thought didn’t have quite as much traction as the others; ‘OOPA’ and ‘Fathom’ didn’t feel as substantial as the rest of the episodes. But unlike the last season, where ‘Simplicity’ suffered from an excessively goofy character and pretty ridiculous scenarios concerning gremlins, these two episodes were not quite as bad by comparison. They at least gave back something of value that at least made them more tolerable. OOPA, while putting quite an emphasis on the goofy antics of Tad Raxall, also had the tricky premise of Fi investigating a mysterious artifact from Atlantis kept under CIA protection in its Virginia headquarters. This part of the episode made ‘OOPA’ feel a bit exciting. And, ‘Fathom’ not only had a good introductory song, ‘Origami,’ or a somewhat intriguing character in the form of the merman but there’s something about Jack being the one investigating the mystery this time around that was quite interesting. However, the third episode, ‘Shelter,’ had probably So Weird’s most farfetched premise yet: Fi discovered that an animal shelter in Hope Springs had a problem with humans injected with a serum that turned them into dogs. In the process of investigating it, she got injected with that serum and became a dog herself. Even for a show that dived into otherworldly experiences, this episode would not have felt like something you’d expect to see out in the real world, with or without evidence. Now, it was enjoyable when you heard Cara DeLizia’s fast-paced and hilariously quirky voiceover as Fi as a dog. Still, yeah, unlike ‘OOPA’ or ‘Fathom,’ even that wasn’t enough to save this episode.
One major side note I must mention here is that I watched all of Season 2 in chronological airing order, and I felt bothered by the placement of ‘Fountain’ when comparing it to ‘Strange Geometry’ and ‘Fall.’ What I mean is, ‘Strange Geometry’ ended with the family bombshell, ‘Fall’ showed the aftereffects of that bombshell between Fi and Molly, and ‘Fountain’ first aired in-between these two episodes. I understood that it was more of a case of production technicalities. Still, I think if ‘Fountain’ first premiered either before ‘Strange Geometry’ or after ‘Fall,’ maybe then the narrative flow would’ve been smoother and not so disjointed.
I must also admit, the one part of the season I thought was unintentionally weird was the scenes set in Hope Springs, Colorado. Even though they did an excellent job laying out the groundwork for what Fi’s original hometown was like, it was still shot in Vancouver, British Columbia. Whenever I saw scenes shot around that area throughout the show, I remember seeing tons of Douglas Firs everywhere, which is typical given that this was in the Pacific Northwest. But because Hope Springs was in Colorado, I feel like it would’ve benefited from more, I don’t know, pine trees, aspen trees, mountains, or something. Having grown up in both Washington State and Colorado throughout my life, I can tell the difference. Even WarGames, which I’ll admit is one of my favorite movies, was smart about shooting the Washingtonian scenes in Washington State and the Coloradan scenes in Colorado. But I don’t know, should I be this upset over it when I had similar feelings over the scenes showcasing Fort Smith, Arkansas in John Wayne’s True Grit? I know they were shot in my hometown of Ridgway, Colorado, yet, weird as it felt, they still did the job and the illusion fine. And that’s the keyword: illusion. And as long as they conveyed the right feelings associated with such hometowns regardless, then I shouldn’t mind too much. And another thing, I also realize that TV shows like So Weird that aired on broadcast networks may not have had a high budget at the time of its airing, so I do understand.
Now, getting back to ‘Twin,’ head writer and producer Jon Cooksey said that this episode would’ve ended differently had So Weird’s then-forthcoming third season continued Fi’s story and the dark themes that came with it. Before Fi encountered Rick, a three-headed demon leaped out from what looked like Hell and attempted to kill Fi by pushing her off the building until Rick helped her up. Then, the two shared some parting words, Rick faded away, and all’s right with the world. However, what would really have happened was that after Rick helped Fi up and said some words to her, the three-headed demon pushed Rick off the building next, and his spirit would’ve fallen into a portal that led into Hell. Then, the following season would’ve detailed Fi’s journey into Hell to bring Rick back and out. And, what Rick would have said to Fi was that it was her destiny to defeat Evil, hence both her quest to rescue her father and her eventual knowledge on the matter, as the little clues scattered throughout the show would’ve hinted. Cooksey even mentioned that his idea of So Weird’s third season was inspired by one of his all-time favorite books, ‘What Dreams May Come’ by Richard Matheson. Man, if you thought the first two seasons were dark, then this one would’ve been an absolute doozy!
But nope, So Weird and Disney Channel were hounded by the controversy surrounding the show’s dark themes, so the third season was then reformatted to be much lighter, more colorful, and more kid-friendly. And the biggest insult to injury? At this point, Fi would’ve left the building, for taking her place as the main character was a blonde-haired girl named Annie Thelen, even though she was never established throughout the show before, and despite the Phillipses and the Bells not even knowing her. I’m going to need until next Halloween for sure to prepare myself for the embarrassment the third season might prove itself to be.
But the dark themes weren’t the only reason So Weird was reformatted in its third season the way it was. Word has it that Cara DeLizia wanted to pursue other acting opportunities outside of Disney despite having ideas of her own in terms of where the third season could’ve gone, and so left So Weird to do just that. I feel like if both Disney and Cara DeLizia had a little more faith in this show and took a little more risks with it, So Weird could have ended with a bang and with the continuity and resolutions that it would have deserved.
I feel that the way ‘Twin’ wrapped up, the only thing it cost was the little touches scattered throughout the show that hinted at the eventual return of Bricriu, or the reason behind Rick’s death, or Fi’s predestined quest to thwart off Evil, like in ‘Destiny’ or ‘Roswell’. I agree; it’s a shame it added up to nothing, but let’s not forget, it could’ve been worse. So Weird’s second season could’ve used the original ending but also ended right there on an unresolved cliffhanger, or it could’ve continued in its third season with Annie regardless. Also, So Weird could have pulled a Game of Thrones: Season 8 on us and rushed to the show’s resolutions too quickly, and with very little dedication to the characters or story. No matter what could’ve happened, the way ‘Twin’ wrapped up and gave Fi’s overarching story as much proper closure as possible, even if it was at the last minute, was really respectable.
In fact, the way the past two seasons of So Weird came to be, especially for a Disney Channel show, that just blows my mind. There’s no other children’s show from its era I can think of that had this level of fright factor outside of Courage the Cowardly Dog. But what So Weird did was different. It dazzled us with characters we could all relate to, stories that sparked our imagination, music that moved us, thoughtful discussions on what could be, and introduced us to mythologies and urban legends in an exciting, attention-grabbing way. The end result left a stamp in our collective consciousness as a show whose methods of experience helped it stand out in the Disney Channel crowd, and the legacy it left behind in its wake was a testament to how much its risks paid off. The second season demonstrated that by deepening the show’s already compelling stories and characters and by holding nothing back on the frights if the adventures the characters went through would have entailed them, anyway.
So weird? Duh. So scary? Sometimes. So special that you have to see it to believe it? You have no idea.
Happy Halloween!
My Rating: A
Works Cited
"The So Weird Podcast – Episode 59 Jon Cooksey (Head Writer/Showrunner) Interview". The So Weird Podcast, 8 Jan., 2019