'Toon Reviews 19: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Season 1 Episode 15: We've Got Pests

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We’ve Got Pests

So far, some of this show's characters have been shown to have more depth to them than they let on.  This is one of the strongest cartoons to continue the trend.  Three characters who do nothing but party wildly hang out with someone who also wants to do nothing, but has a lot more to her. 

We start with short instances of Enid impressing her co-workers through nonchalantly solving their mishaps while barely leaving her spot.  That’s when creatures known as “pests” show up, all of which acting stereotypically cool. There's Gnarlio, who’s big on slang, Peej, a sentient fruit who puts hashtags in front of everything she says, and Chill Cat, who sports 3D glasses to look attractive.  They see potential in Enid through her uncaring attitude and allow her to join their group. 

At first, there isn’t anything wrong with Enid hanging with the pests as they take part in innocent pastimes.  Eventually, the pests’ lack of true depth becomes apparent.  After a great deal of fun, they don’t want to partake in any down time.  All they want to do is party and talk cool, which in all honesty, makes them sound desperate to be cool as opposed to actually being cool.  They invite a whole bus of partying strangers to show up to the bodega turning simple everyday shopping sprees into a beyond out of control party.

 

While the pests do nothing but cause trouble, Enid remains the most interesting and reasonable.  For how much she acts like she doesn’t care and wants to be left alone to do her own thing, she knows a problem when she sees one and tries to stop it.  She even flat-out states that the destruction they’re causing now is not the same as the innocent harmless lollygagging they were doing earlier.  Almost crushing K.O., who’s brave enough to go through a crowd of partyers to help an actual customer, with a shelf is the final straw. 

The way Enid gets through to the pests is huge for not resorting to any violence which would be the easy way to settle things.  She gives them a big speech which them off for being one-dimensional destructive slang-spewing party animals and that their idea for being cool was never cool at all. They should think about who they really are without their aims to party all the time.  The speech is especially effective through the use of silence, allowing its power to be felt.  Even better is that the speech brings on a heartwarming ending where the pests turn out to be more than they seem as they forge new healthier lifestyles. An adult Gnarlio thanking Enid while looking at a picture of her in a scrapbook is the culmination of the ending’s power. 

This is one of those deep cartoons that gets you to think about life through showing how great characters can be when they don’t rely on just one trait, and what being cool is really all about.

A+

The Ranking

1. We’ve Got Pests
2. I Am Dendy
3. You Get Me
4. Let’s Be Heroes
5. You’re Everybody’s Sidekick
6. Jethro’s All Yours
7. My Dad Can Beat up Your Dad
8. Let’s Be Friends
9. We Messed Up
10. Presenting Joe Cuppa
11. Sibling Rivalry
12. Just Be a Pebble
13. Do You Have Any More in the Back?
14. You’re Level 100
15. You Are Rad

The next OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes review shows how awesome Mr. Gar is and all his influences on the bodega crew.

Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the Star vs the Forces of Evil episode featuring "Friendenemies" and "Is Mystery."

If you would like to check out other OK K.O.! reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.