Dylan Buell
Review: Velma - 1x07 & 1x08
Jinkies! This raucous reimagining of the Scooby-Doo franchise unravels the mysterious origins of Mystery, Inc. – as seen through the eyes of the gang’s beloved bespectacled detective Velma.
Mindy Kaling, Sam Richardson, Constance Wu, and Glenn Howerton
With only two episodes left, 'Velma' finally decides to pay attention to its main plot. As the serial killer plot becomes more fleshed out, Velma herself becomes more and more insufferable. She continues to degrade everyone who isn't an Albert Einstein level intelligent woman and only sees her friends for their flaws, a characters attribute that is literally joked about.
The series only saving grace at this point is Daphne. While Fred and Norville have their moments, they continue to become more shallow versions of what they should be. Daphne at the very least has heart and tries to be the best she can with the poor friends she chooses to be around. While her friends shine, Velma continues to only care about herself. She even addresses it at the end of episode 7 then continues to do it again in episode 8 like nothing ever happened.
This series also continues to mock the original Scooby Doo franchises classic traits over and over again. It feels like the writers have a personal hatred with the original show and are doing everything in their power to ruin what its built. They tear down the classic endless doors joke, and make the Mystery Machine a useless plot device. I honestly don't see a reality where this show gets a season two even with how much people are hate watching it. It has no redeeming factors and continues to disappoint.
With only two episodes left, it's hard to see a coherent well structured end in sight. The story feels like it has no legs and it's as bland as it possibly could be. While the series has a slight glimmer of light every once and awhile, it's immediately washed away by atrocious writing, voice acting, and storyline.
