This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The Solar Opposites return in all brand new fashion for their fourth season together. While familiar faces may return, we get some brand new voices that add a whole new level of humour to the show. The season abandons the immature humor and Hulu references that filled the previous season, opting for jokes that aren’t overly reliant on pop culture, providing a refreshing change.
Solar Opposites centers around a team of four aliens evenly divided on whether Earth is the best or the worst. While Terry (Thomas Middleditch) and Jesse (Mary Mack) love TV, junk food, and pleasant things, Korvo (Dan Stevens) and Yumyulack (Sean Giambrone) only see pollution, rapacious consumerism, and human weakness. This season, we put away the science fiction and temporarily return to reality. After that, it’s back to the usual Solar mayhem, chaos in the Wall, and brand-new Silvercops adventures!
After being with each other for four seasons and two specials, the family has evolved (not like the Pupa), but actually growing together as a family. It was nice to see this side of the Opposites after watching them occasionally go at each other’s throats. We did get moments in previous seasons where they would come together as a family. However, after the last season’s finale and this season’s first two episodes, it’s clear what direction they were trying to go for.
After Justin Roiland was fired from the show back in January, he was replaced as Korvo by Dan Stevens. Instead of Dan Stevens taking a replicative approach, he takes the mighty decision to give Korvo an over the top British accent that even plays in flashbacks. This decision did bring a whole new level to the humor: Korvo is able to bring enlightenment at any time just because of how ridiculous his accent sounds. Surprisingly, I love the decision of adding some lore into why his voice has changed instead of it just randomly being different. It works perfectly with the type of sci-fi animated sitcom this is.
The best thing about this season is how many excellent nods to past seasons we get with returning actors and plotlines that continue. It demonstrates that the creators of Solar Opposites genuinely care about the show and its lore. Having this shows that this is different from your typical animated sitcom with a problem of the week.
The Wall’s storyline is moving forward once more and this season has given us one of the strongest Wall stories ever. It builds on the conflict from the previous season and moves forward without faltering in any way. Despite its scattered presence throughout various episodes, The Wall has a dedicated episode that ranks among the season’s greatest.
Sadly, some characters and storylines return that just don’t capture me in the same way as the other storylines. As stated in the synopsis, Glen returns along with the Silvercops. While some viewers might find the Green Lantern parody amusing, it slows down the season’s incredible run by dedicating an entire episode to it.
It’s not all doom and gloom with Solar Opposites though as the season wraps up in an interesting place and I’m curious to see if season five will continue from that point onwards just like last season’s finale to this season’s remiere. The Wall storyline also ended in quite an interesting spot this season. Ending both storylines for the season by having our main characters face new status quos is the best thing going forward as it worked perfectly for this season.
Solar Opposites‘ fourth season is the best season yet of the show, filled with tons of laughs and twists and turns that won’t be expected from any viewer. The show leaves all our leading characters from the three storylines with new status quo’s that will make for an interesting fifth season. You’ll end up wanting more from these dysfunctional aliens once the season ends. Luckily, you won’t have to wait long as a Valentines Day Special will be releasing sometime in 2024.
★★★★
Solar Opposites releases on Hulu on August 14.
