Recap

Dandy and the crew discover an intriguing alien, but after it bites Meow he falls ill and has to be taken to hospital.

Zigg’s Thoughts

Space Dandy episodes have fallen into a weird pattern, where the first half is usually a competent and occasionally funny romp, but the second half actually delivers the goods. There’s no starker illustration of this than this latest episode. There’s nothing wrong per se about Dandy’s hospital based shenanigans, which offer decent physical comedy and some good jokes to go with the entertaining visuals, riffing off a hundred thousand zombie flicks. Zombie QT is a treat too, and the pacing is excellent, wrapping up the baddies in the outbreak and keeping the laughs and action coming fast.

Really though, that’s just fodder for the second half, where the show transforms into some madcap existential comedy with utterly incredible results. I was uncertain at first where they were going with the whole idea, but as the fiction became deeper and yet more insane, I started enjoying it more and more. By the time that incredible endcard hit I lost my mind with laughter, and the entire thing is a great example of how basically one slow burning joke can get funnier and funnier the further you take it. I watched the show dubbed and the dry, matter-of-fact delivery of the announcer really helped with the funnies too. I’m not sure if Space Dandy can keep up this genre hopping for every episode, but I do hope they try. The whole ‘no continuity’ thing is pretty refreshing and gives them a great chance to screw around with the story and tone. If that leads to more episodes like this one, I’m all for it.

Gee’s Thoughts

Finally, we have ourselves an episode where things manage to start and then end on a high note. Rather than the cringeworthy fanservice, we start getting some good ol’ fashioned space zombie hijinks. The first half had me pretty pleased with the various takes on the zombie tropes that Space Dandy played with. QT getting zombified was a particularly noteworthy gag in the whole thing. Overall, if the episode had continued on the same course, I would been satisfied. Yet somehow, Space Dandy manages to up the ante in ridiculousness with the second half. The crew’s undead existential pondering was an absolute comic delight that had me laughing throughout the whole thing. It’s just so absurd and zany, but somehow it just works. The narrator’s typically deadpan voice also added to the comedy of the situation. Overall, if the show can manage to keep giving us the fun space romps like this, I’ll be a happy camper.