Crime
Wayward
Wayward tries to make a statement about intergenerational trauma, but it comes with a lot of content issues that will make the show a nonstarter for many.
Fall? More like fail.
Jonathan Fall isn’t special. His last name may be associated with some of the best captains the ocean has ever had, but last names can only get you so far—especially when you’re 268th (out of 268) in your class at the Naval Academy.
Actually, that’s being generous: Jonathan has the worst exam scores of any student in the history of the Naval Academy. And based on a personality test, he’s also extremely gullible and oblivious with low levels of “natural authority, alphaness and suspiciousness.”
All of which makes him the perfect candidate to be the unwitting scapegoat for a massive criminal organization.
See, they need a captain for their cruise line, which secretly works in human trafficking, drug and weapons smuggling and more. And there’s no one better than an oblivious and easily manipulable man like Jonathan.
After all, could there be a better fall guy than a Fall guy?
Captain Fall is so trusting and gullible that he might not even know what sorts of jokes to expect from an adult-targeted animation show. But for me, I could tell what was coming before I watched a minute of the show—and you could probably guess, too. Yep, that’s right. Sex and violence.
Honestly, adult animations are rinse-and-repeat dime-a-dozen creations these days. And while Captain Fall might offer a general plot that is marginally better paced than your average adult animated show, that doesn’t take away from its root. You could sub much from our reviews on others of this copy-and-paste genre and still get a pretty accurate synopsis of the content within.
But I’ll save you a click. Characters making plenty of sexual references, even around and about under-aged children? Check. Characters having frequent onscreen sex? Check. Over-the-top gory violence that revels in gut spilling and limb chopping? Check. Plot lines that feature active human trafficking, such as a woman sold into a man’s harem against her will? Well, I’ll be honest, that’s a new one, but add it to the list. If you’d guess that there’s plenty of alcohol and swearing, you’d be right on that account, too.
One episode even focuses primarily on a husband and wife attending a swingers event, where viewers see plenty of sex and deal with a subplot about Viagra pills. Another deals with a zoo filled with human captives, sold into slavery by our cruise line. And one father celebrates his 16-year-old daughter’s birthday by bringing in doctors in order to give her a breast enhancement.
If I sound a bit jaded throughout this review, perhaps it’s because I am. The shock value content format has been so overdone that I genuinely wonder if any adult animation writer has any idea on how to be funny beyond making yet another sex joke. I’m not entirely sure when “adult animation” became slang for “extreme sex and violence” rather than just animation for adults. Believe it or not, the two aren’t synonymous.
Sadly, Captain Fall isn’t even the most egregious offender in adult animation, so perhaps some might think my harshness on its review is unmerited. But just as Jonathan Fall is the fall guy set up to represent the scummy underworld of the cruise line’s crime ring, I’m making Captain Fall my fall guy representative of everything that’s wrong with adult animation.
But you know the difference between Jonathan Fall and Captain Fall?
Jonathan is innocent. Captain Fall is complicit.
Due to his poor exam scores, Jonathan stands little chance of ever captaining a ship on the open ocean. But the scheming of a criminal organization plans to give him the chance.
Jonathan accidentally walks in on his parents as they’re having sex, and we hear noises and see movements as well as most of his mother’s breasts. (The scene involves sex-related lotions and discussions.) Jonathan’s brother, Tanner, grabs a woman’s rear. We later see the two passed out naked in the bushes, their critical bits covered by the smallest of margins. A woman makes a joke about Jonathan becoming a prostitute. Tanner admits that he’s watching another woman’s children so he can have sex with the woman later. When one of the kids gets upset by this, Tanner tells Jonathan that the child is “slow.” Tanner brags about the amount of sex he had the previous night.
Seven people are shot and killed, and we see trickles of blood emerge from the wounds. The building is later burned to the ground. Jonathan’s dad makes a joke about his brother molesting Jonathan. Children are tased. A man hits a couple with his car. A man is murdered, and it’s made to look like he hanged himself. People bully Jonathan, throwing Fanta on his pants to make it look like he wet himself. Jonathan is vomited on. Tanner drives a boat into a rock.
People drink alcohol, and Tanner is intoxicated. He later complains about feeling hungover.
The f-word is used four times, and the s-word is used twice. We also hear the use of some other words, like “a–,” “b–ch,” “c-ck,” “d–n” and “h—.” God’s name is used in vain four times, including one time that’s in the form of “g-dd–n.” Jesus’ name is used in vain once. Someone displays his middle finger.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He’s also an avid cook. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
Wayward tries to make a statement about intergenerational trauma, but it comes with a lot of content issues that will make the show a nonstarter for many.
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