Because of my crazy schedule, I was unable to listen until just now. Which is fine, since I wanted to listen to both parts together anyway.
First of all, I would like to sincerely thank the AIO team from the very bottom of my heart--we haven't had "circus music" for a while
We haven't seen it--well, heard it, I guess--in several episodes, and it's helped the feel of the show, immensely.
Speaking of which, that brings me to number two--the flow and feel. Both were very very good here. I don't know how else to word it, but the music and the dialogue and everything else came together really well.
Three, Tasha. It was good to have her back. As far as the new voice (I feel an obligation to touch on that), I need to say that whenever we get a new voice for a character, I have a problem. I've heard every single episode, most of them multiple times, and because I've trained myself to listen for subtle things, I will always notice the difference.
That being said, I think things worked out well here. The new actress got the personality down really well. Sometimes I felt the voice was a little off, but that's bound to happen (see previous paragraph). But still, the personality was well done.
Another thing I liked was that Whit told Connie to quit reading Rusty's writings--talk about making sense
Still, he and Connie sounded very in character here. Speaking of which, what work did she and Whit do upon noticing that Jason was missing? I really liked her role in all this and was looking forward to seeing what happened next.
Speaking of characters, and this is number five, it was great to hear Jason again. I feel that his being sent on mission trips starting back in Malachi's Message was because with Whit back, they couldn't think of much for him to do. Which is a bummer, b/c Jason is always a lot of fun (anger management, lol). Hopefully we'll see more of him in Odyssey--assuming he gets to come back, I haven't heard part 2 yet after all.
Six, applesauce. I've got mixed feelings about this. I've always viewed applesauce in Exit as merely a password, not a program. What choice do I have, with Whit erasing the program back in The Battle?
Then I have to ask, why does a bad guy show up asking for Applesauce? It doesn't exist anymore. I mean, sure, it's good motivation for a bad guy to make an appearance, but why does it keep showing up?
I'm hoping part 2 answers some of these questions. If what Jason brings the bad guy to really is the program, that might hurt continuity.
And lastly, number seven, The Whisperer. This is another part of the episode I have mixed feelings about. At times he sounds very menacing, villainous, diabolical. And at other times he sounds like a crazed clown--The Joker very readily comes to mind. And it's easier to take him seriously because we can see him.
So at time it's hard to take him and his assistant seriously simply b/c of how goofy they can wind up sounding. Which, ok, this is a kids show, but the same kid show that showcased one of the most chilling villains ever, Dr. Blackgaard.
Again, maybe part 2 will reveal more of him, and I can form a complete opinion on him.
In conclusion, I thought this was a terrific episode, but because of a few misgivings (which I'm hoping will be relieved in part 2), if I had to rate it, I'd say 4.5 stars.
Whoo! This is the longest and most in-depth review I've written in a
long time. And now, on to part 2