….Why was that an actually amazing episode? It’s been a hot minute since the Pokémon anime, of all things, has made me cry.
This is what every serious character-driven Pokémon episode should be like. Every decision in the narrative is an extension of a character’s beliefs, and the conflict develops naturally with purpose. I was very pleasantly surprised when the message didn’t end up being “surround yourself with your friends if you’re feeling depressed”; but rather a very grounded and realistic message of taking things one step at a time, luckily with friends like Go and Ash willing to wait as long as it takes until Drilizzle is comfortable and willing to allow company. What makes this even better is the way things connect back to Go. As much as I’ve wanted to see more of his upbringing, I thought that chapter was pretty much closed; thankfully it isn’t yet. I can really empathize and relate to Go on being anti-social and facing pressure to make connections with others, yet when being asked why, not being able to come up with an answer. Go realizing that and applying it to Drilizzle’s situation was just great, emotionally rich writing.
All in all, this was a fantastic episode. I’m really pleased with how gently-handled Sobble’s storyline has been; it’s easily one of the best Journeys episodes so far. 10/10.