Monday, August 20, 2018

'Toon Reviews 19: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Season 1 Episode 17: Know Your Mom


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Know Your Mom

One of the most heartfelt aspects of the series is K.O.’s relationship with his mom, Carol.  Everything about this mother figure is a joy to watch.  She’s protective of her son's well-being, but is also very supportive of all his goals, and always makes time for him after work.  Along with a great personality and sense of fun, it shows that K.O. should be proud to have a mom like Carol.  Like what most people would do for any great mother, K.O. is willing to show how much he appreciates all that his mom does for him.  This cartoon gives him an opportunity at that with Mother’s Day coming. 
Since K.O. is a little kid, his gift ideas for Carol are simple macaroni art.  Despite being perfectly acceptable for his age, he feels self-conscious about his unspectacular gift.  This is especially the case when Brandon and A Real Magic Skeleton, subtly allude to giving a pasta art picture to his mom to giving her trash.  Actually, it’s really Brandon who convinces him; he ends up getting a karma-fueled subplot where RMS insists his actions have consequences. 
Even if K.O. really doesn’t need to worry about this, him looking for of a more fitting gift for Carol is amiable. Not to mention it fits his goal to go above and beyond as a great hero.  He questions how much he appreciates what his mom does for him when the best answers he has for what she likes are what she does every day.  They aren’t exactly the same as interests or character traits.  Out of this setback is an endearing gesture from K.O. as he researches about Carol.  The information  he finds is solid character development.  She was a member of a highly revered hero squad P.O.I.N.T. under the name Silver Spark.  This gives a new insight to K.O.’s upbringing through being raised by a talented hero and wanting to be one himself.  Plus, P.O.I.N.T. is a prominent elements of the series, serving as the main focus of many cartoons to come. 
Out of these reveals, there’s believable emotional value to what K.O. is trying to do since Carol quit P.O.I.N.T. 6 to 11 years ago, which is how old he is.  Even if this is technically an overreaction, it’s not too inaccurate that K.O. could be the reason Carol quit her job. K.O. believing that is especially heavy.  That said, his idea of resolution by inviting an old villain Carol used to fight for a battle is a little boneheaded due to the clear problems it can cause.  It’s still enjoyable through K.O.’s calls to some of them revealing that most of the old villains are too old or not even alive. 
He finally convinces a villain to come, an aging rapping cactus called Succulentus.  While Succulentus rocks out while fighting, Carol questions how he was brought over.  There’s a nice moment where Carol’s good nature wins out as she comforts Succulentus when he gets tired, and they civilly get coffee.  Then we end with one last show of mother-son love as Carol tells K.O. that he’s all she needs for a great life now.  She also lets him know that he didn’t make her quit P.O.I.N.T. which offers further context to the vague sandwich flashback from an earlier cartoon. 
It’s a typical trait for a parent to be satisfied just with raising a nice kid, but the way this piece of family love plays out makes it impactful anyhow.  Along with insightful moments of how meaningful relationships can be and interesting character development, this is an endearing cartoon for anyone who loves their families.
A
The Ranking
  1. Legends of Mr. Gar
  2. We’ve Got Pests
  3. I Am Dendy
  4. You Get Me
  5. Let’s Be Heroes
  6. You’re Everybody’s Sidekick
  7. Jethro’s All Yours
  8. Know Your Mom
  9. My Dad Can Beat up Your Dad
  10. Let’s Be Friends
  11. We Messed Up
  12. Presenting Joe Cuppa
  13. Sibling Rivalry
  14. Just Be a Pebble
  15. Do You Have Any More in the Back?
  16. You’re Level 100
  17. You Are Rad
The next OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes review shows Lord Boxman as a civil citizen trying to impress a client on top of a diabolical villain who's captured K.O. and his friends.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews from Star vs the Forces of Evil is a review of "Hungry Larry" and "Spider With a Top Hat."
If you would like to check out other OK K.O.! reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

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