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Solar Opposites

Solar Opposites season 4

Credits

Cast

Network

Reviewer

Kennedy Unthank
Paul Asay
Emily Tsiao

TV Series Review

It’s hard to move to a new place. That’s especially true when the “new place” is a few parsecs from home, and its current inhabitants don’t regrow their limbs.

It’s not like Korvo and his little family wanted to move. No, they pretty much had to relocate when their home planet, Shlorp, blew up and all. While a select few other Shlorpians theoretically found their ways to other uninhabited-but-life-sustaining planets, Korvo and his posse crash-landed on Earth, a modest dirt orb that already has plenty of residents, thanks.

So now, as they try to fix their spaceship and/or wait for their little Pupa to grow into a destructive, soul-sucking eater of worlds, they must try to live as best as they can in modern American suburbia—meeting the neighbors, going to school and learning about the culture through television, billboard ads and, of course, wanton destruction.

No wonder the HOA dues went up so much.

You Can’t Go Home Again. Really.

Of this Schlorpian family unit, leader Korvo is probably the least comfortable on Earth.

“I hate Earth!” he says. “It’s a horrible home! And one of these days I’m just going to blow it up and be done with the whole stupid thing, I swear to God!”

Terry, Korvo’s partner (more on that in just a bit) is far more accepting of Earth and its culture. He digs it, in fact. He likes the sitcoms. He likes the chips. He even wears human T-shirts, while Korvo insists on wearing his traditional Schlorpian ceremonial garb.

Their replicants/children suffer from the same sort of dynamic. Both are subject to, as you might imagine, some bullying at school. But while “boy” Yumyulack would prefer to deal with such problems via ray gun, “girl” Jesse would rather make friends, date boys and only shrink/lobotomize bullies that really deserve it.

Star Dreck?

If Solar Opposites seems to have the same sort of vibe as another popular MA-rated cartoon, Rick and Morty, that’s no accident. Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland teamed up with one of the show’s writing assistants (Mike McMahan) to make this one. Like its predecessor, Solar Opposites is stuffed with witty, rapid-fire dialogue, cultural observations and man, lots of violence. But while Rick and Morty sometimes leans heavily into a nihilistic mindset, this one seems—dare I say it—a bit more sensitive at times, even as it’s also a bit zanier, too.

So are these Schlorpians really a family? And would that make Korvo and Terry—both apparently male—the first animated gay co-starring couple on TV?

Sort of. It’s revealed that the alien species can choose their genders. And Korvo and Terry, while seemingly platonic at first, eventually develop a romantic (if not exactly sexual) relationship.

We know that the children/replicants aren’t natural offspring of the two (the “replicant” descriptor sort of gives that away). Schlopians grow their offspring as one might grow a tree sapling—by cutting off their limbs and nurturing them in a pot.

But really, the exact nature of Korvo and Terry’s family relationships seem to be the least of Solar Opposite’s problems.

TV-MA: The Final Frontier

The content in Solar Opposites won’t come as a surprise to anyone familiar with Justin Roiland’s Rick & Morty. Yes, the show is animated—and it pretty much had to be, because if all the blood and gore we saw here was dumped into a live-action sitcom, Solar Opposites would make Saw look like a My Little Pony special. People and aliens are killed and mutilated in a bevy of creatively disgusting ways. And the language? Yowza! Harsh profanity seems quite adept at making the jump to hyperspace. In one scene, they shoot a molecular biology book with a “Dumb Ray,” and it turns into the Holy Bible.

Oh, and the show is weighted by plenty of sexual content and allusions—including of the same-sex variety—too. Just not between the two Schlorpian “adults” we meet. For all its wit and even occasional warmth, Solar Opposites is the sort of show where you’re likely to see a variety of limbs hacked off or eyeballs gouged out with little real warning.

But it’s not just the aliens who are out to do the morally deplorable. A running subplot revolves around a society of humans who’ve been kidnapped and shrunken by the Schlorpian children and placed within a massive human ant farm, and these people engage in much of the same savage behaviors as their captors.

Solar Opposites has some moments in which our characters treat one another in positive ways and actually provide positive messages to its audience. But these moments are as few and far between as the show’s jokes that don’t require sex or violence to be funny.

Episode Reviews

Aug. 14, 2023 – S4, Ep1: “The Ping Pong Table”

Korvo and Terry try to convince their boss to purchase a pingpong table to improve company morale. Meanwhile, Yumyulack and Jesse are accused of incest by their human classmates.

Korvo and Terry’s boss accidentally falls on a broken beam, stabbing him through the head and killing him. They use “resurrection pellets” to bring the man back to life, but accidentally shoot him. They use the pellets once more, but the man goes into an existential crisis having apparently become one with the universe in death. And he jumps out a window to end his life.

Korvo and Terry kidnap a man responsible for the death of a coworker’s husband. They “gift” him to the woman and she pulls a gun on the perp, apparently killing him offscreen. When Jesse suggests that school should be “survival of the fittest,” Korvo warns her not to kill her classmates. A teen boy is killed when two logs smash together on his head.

Terry accidentally throws a dart into Korvo’s throat, nearly killing him (he’s saved by a healing ray gun). We hear of a similar incident that happened previously wherein a butter knife flew into Korvo’s eye. In a flashback, a Schlorpian cuts off its finger in order to replicate offspring.

Yumyulack and Jesse communicate by exchanging bodily fluids through glands in their elbows. When their classmates see this, they insinuate incest and mock the siblings. Terry occasionally flirts with Korvo, making sexual statements. We see a picture of an alien dressed like a woman having sex with a human man. Another picture shows a reindeer performing a sexual act on Santa Claus.

A teen girl says she humiliated her brother by posting a video of him grooming his groin area. Another teen girl is accidentally hit by a ray gun that causes a male reproductive organ to sprout from her skin like acne. Yumyulack moons Jesse during a prank. There are some age-inappropriate sexual jokes about teenagers.

We hear a teen boy is in jail because his older sister planted methamphetamines in his locker. Several characters smoke cigars and cigarettes. Teachers talk about drinking alcohol with a teenager.

Yumyulack and Jesse ditch each other and plot ways to embarrass the other in order to impress their new friends. Teachers make fun of students.

There are more than 30 uses of the f-word and 10 uses of the s-word. We also hear “a–,” “b–tard,” “b–ch,” “d–n,” “d–k” and “h—” throughout the episode. God’s name is abused seven times (once paired with “d–n”) and Christ’s name is abused twice.

Jul. 13, 2022 – S3, Ep11: “The Fog of Pupa”

As the Pupa reaches its teenage years, it begins to act out in various chaotic ways, causing Korvo, Terry, Yumyulack and Jesse to learn how to properly parent it.

Korvo references the Passover. Yumyulack tells his family that they should smack Pupa in the head with a hammer and throw him into a quarry, and he informs them that the police shot a hippo. Terry references a fanfiction about flatulence. He also talks about smoking and perineum. Terry and a woman both fail a breathalyzer test. Terry tries to persuade the family to sacrifice a man. Terry makes a reference to sex. Jesse references a sexual game.

The family’s computer talks about wooden male genitals and evolution. Pupa is shown to have marijuana and a bong. Pupa shatters glass, and it is forced to smoke a large quantity of cigarettes, which it eats. Pupa also throws a party which trashes the house, and it hatches a “Little Buddy,” a nude man with no genitals. Pupa throws bricks off an overpass at cars.

A man reveals his infected nipples. A man references his “addiction to celebrity feet.” Another man references sex, and a woman references a sex act with Korvo.

A praying family is interrupted when their house is broken into by massive hippos. The hippos eat the ashes of a woman’s father, destroy a church and devour a passing motorcyclist. Monsters crush and eat people, and we see severed legs. The monsters also smoke. They shoot acid at a man, and the victim essentially melts.

The f-word is used around 20 times and is once preceded by “mother.” The s-word is used nearly 15 times. “H—” is heard over 10 times. We also hear instances of “a–,” “b–ch,” “d–n” and “t-ts.” There’s a single use of “crap.” God’s name is misused five times, and two instances are in the form of “g-dd–n.” Jesus’ name is inappropriately used three times.

Jul. 13, 2022 – S3, Ep1: “The Extremity Triangulator”

Korvo’s DNA begins melting him to death when he becomes frustrated with his team not fulfilling their respective duties. Pupa cons a woman during a love affair.

Korvo begins to melt away, and the group says that it smells like fecal matter. Korvo drinks urine. He also makes a reference to sexual stimulation. Korvo bites off a man’s ear, causing him to bleed profusely. Terry’s disembodied arms gain sentience and choke him. Terry references trap queens and sex, and he makes a mention of sex with Malcolm Gladwell—a joke which is repeatedly made. Malcolm talks about a sensual fanfiction. Yumyulack attempts to shoot Korvo. Yumyulack and Jesse pick their dismembered rears off the floor.

Pupa operates a robotic human, and he uses it to kiss and have onscreen sex with a woman. Pupa’s robot smokes a cigarette. Pupa crashes a car into the Solar Opposite clan. The team’s spaceship computer makes a reference to genitals.

A man and woman bathe nude together and kiss (and the woman’s breasts are partially visible). The two are eaten by an unseen underwater entity, causing the water to be filled with blood and a torn-off arm to be seen. A doctor explains that because it’s prom season, he’s been busy with a lot of abortions. The doctor shows articles regarding dog herpes, one of which features a picture of animated dog genitals.

A man calls a back scratcher his genital scratcher. There’s a reference to rum, and Terry is offered alcohol. Another man drinks a glass of alcohol. Two men fall off a boat into the ocean and presumably drown. A company is called “Puff, Puff, Pass.”

The f-word is used 10 times, and the s-word is heard over 15 times. We also hear instances of “a–,” “b–ch,” “d-ck,” “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ss.” Furthermore, “pr-ck” and “crap” are used once. God’s name is misused five times.

May 8, 2020 – S1, Ep1: “The Matter Transfer Array”

Korvo, desperately out of sorts with the Earth, is thrilled to discover someone whom he thinks is another dissatisfied alien creature—the furry children’s character Funbucket Tadstalkings. Korvo and Terry go to visit Funbucket when he makes an appearance at a local mall and are seriously put out when they realize that he’s not real. So the two decide to make their own. Meanwhile, Yumyulack and Jesse deal with a school bully by shrinking her and forcing her to run through Lego mazes. But what to do with her after they finish with their experiments?

Korvo and Terry actually create two Funbuckets. When Korvo, Terry and Funbucket No. 1 go to a nightclub, the first Funbucket runs off with a couple of apparently gay men, necessitating the need to create another Funbucket who won’t reject them. The second Funbucket has a few organs hanging on the outside of his skin, and he vomits frequently. Eventually the two become one, monstrous Funbucket: He throws up on a DJ (leaving a smoldering skeleton in the vomit’s wake), stomps on others (blood and bones fly) and gruesomely kills many.

Yumyulack and Jesse are subject to bullying and hurtful stereotypes by both students and teachers. “Don’t be racist,” Jesse tells one. “We don’t zap people” (as her brother takes out a ray gun to zap somebody). The two nearly murder the student they shrunk, but opt instead to open up her skull and pour soda on the student’s exposed brain to make her dumber. (One mentions how much faster it would go if they were using Mountain Dew.)

On TV, Funbucket gorily garrotes someone. Korvo and Terry speculate about whether Funbucket has a penis or not. Korvo’s feet are eaten away by lava (but the grow back). Yumyulack purposefully severs his own hand, which one of his teachers holds in a bag. A teacher and a principal rip off each other’s clothes, apparently preparing for sex. A promotion at a shopping mall includes offering the chance to “win one of St. Peter’s finger bones.”

Pretty much an entire city is destroyed. (Terry wonders why the children’s hospital blew up as it did, speculating that someone was storing explosives there.) Korvo, Terry and Funbucket hack the heads off snakes and drink the reptiles’ blood. (A gang of hoodlums barges in and shoots at the trio as they run away.) An eye pops out of someone’s head. We see someone’s (animated) butt, with that someone seemingly preparing to defecate. Someone claims to have urinated in his pants.

Characters vomit several times. We hear a reference to a “kill the hooker in Vegas scenario.” Animated alcoholic drinks are consumed. Korvo and Terry speculate that Funbucket’s new, apparently gay friends (Travis and Avery) were able to love Funbucket in “a deeper and more sensual way than we ever could.” A bus stop shelter is hit with a shrink ray: The shrinking shelter crushes the people inside it to death with a shower of blood.

Characters say the f-word a dozen times. We also hear the s-word about eight times, along with “a–,” “crap,” “d–n,” “h—” and “p-ss.” God’s name is misused seven times, twice with “d–n.”

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Kennedy Unthank

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 doesn’t think the ending of Lost was “that bad.”

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Paul Asay

Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.

Emily Tsiao

Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.

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