the midnight gospel ending

3 Reasons Why You Should Watch Netflix's The Midnight Gospel

Animator Pendleton Ward (also known for his Adventure Time series) and Duncan Trussell's new animated Netflix hybrid show The Midnight Gospel is this mix of a podcast coupled with incredible whimsical animation, a new way to playfully take a stab right in your heart.

It's almost difficult to explain this unbelievably amazing animated series with its action-packed meditative odyssey across this hallucinogenic sci-fi fantasy world, filled with bone-dripped imagery with a tinge of whimsy. Much of the dialogue from the show comes from Duncan Trussell's podcast where he interviews an eclectic range of quests, now put side by side with a fictional framework about spirituality, philosophy, life, death and other topics you might be too scared to talk about.

It's one of the series that has captured my heart and my soul with it myriad of strange sights, each episode is it's own stand alone piece, but you should watch it in sequence for it to capture its full surreal clarity. I absolutely love this show to bits, it has gotten me bawling, guffawing and coming to terms with things I've been avoiding my entire life.

Let's be honest, with quarantine being the in thing, a good series is always a plus if you want something to do other than to stare blankly at your computer screen - so here's 3 reasons why you should watch Netflix's The Midnight Gospel.

Clancy in The Midnight Gospel


1. It's incredible animation 

The Midnight Gospel' Is The Trippy Existential Animated Series For ...

Let's be honest here, the entire animation of the series is absolutely mind bogglingly beautiful. There's constant cartoony ultra-violence mixed with ultra violet so much so the visuals might overwhelm you to the extent you might miss some crucial bits of dialogue (i'm one of those entranced fools who has completely lost the conversation at certain points). There's adorable piano-playing cats, rainbow flashes of colour and MC Escher staircases amongst the various visual gags, it's got so much surreal and abstract elements packed into it's brilliant animation. 

The use of pastel colours and psychedelic designs are not just for show, they are used to help deepen the conversations between interviewer and interviewee, for the audience to understand the irony of certain topics with it's visuals - also to add that comedic value to lighten the mood. 

2. It's thought provoking topics 

Netflix's 'The Midnight Gospel' Is Mind-Expanding - Once You Get ...

The Midnight Gospel is a heavy watch, insofar as to making most of its plot based on people talking about spirituality. Even if you don't really bother about that (like me), the idea of physicality and the metaphysical does exist to a certain extent.  

The dialogue between each episode goes through topics like death positivity, drug use, spirituality and compassion, mixed in with crazy silly (and violent) visuals from deer dog hybrids mangling baby clowns to a knight seeking vengeance against an ass-wielding villain (you heard me right, you'll be looking at some cake clappin'). There is however, more to the absurdity. Of course, even though you see the main protagonist sticking his head in a giant vagina literally every episode, The Midnight Gospel has serious emotional and topical range - each episode covers this existential conversation to the forefront of popular culture and it goes through a deep dish wash of analysis on said topics. 

3. It will help you through some troubling times

Netflix's 'The Midnight Gospel' Is a Profoundly Weird Psychedelic ...

The last episode of the series is an absolute masterpiece. Without revealing too much, it's the podcast conversation between Duncan Trussell and his mother Deneen Fendig, talking about death and moving on together with her son. After watching the episode and going on to research about the podcast, I realized that that specific podcast was recorded just weeks before her death. 

We see this extremely vulnerable heart to heart conversation, completely breaking the fourth wall and you see both mother and son embrace the idea of moving on. We see the character get personal and we dive into an in-depth lesson into dealing with the loss of a beloved. Honestly, anyone who has contemplated the death of a parent (or a loved one) will find this episode awe-inspiring and heartbreaking. 

It was cathartic in way as my tears ensued after that final episode. Like Clancy, most of us have been avoiding our problems, our refusal to confront them growing, evolving into something nasty (like when his interdimensional portal combusted without his care). Whilst he was forced to face reality, I watched as the story provided incredible perspective about letting go of the things that I didn't know that I needed to work on letting go of. I, like Clancy got a good wake up call. 

Titmouse - Posts | Facebook


Of course we have the people who were disappointed with the series. I believe it's their expectations of the show that got in the way of their experience, the show itself even scoffs at its topics from time to time, not taking itself too seriously. Perhaps the show's reactions to very generic statements were too excess or it's dialogue being too self indulgent - regardless, it is one of the most fascinating shows I've ever watched.

If you enjoy insightful philosophy and complex animation with crazy trippy juxtapositions, this out of sync yet parallel visual storytelling is definitely something you should watch. 

evelyn

You Might Also Like

0 comments

instagram