Review: “Kid Cosmic” Season 3
by Emily Nagle
[usr 4.5]
Netflix dropped the third and final season of his latest animated series “Kid Cosmic” on Thursday, a day after its premiere’s one-year anniversary.
When we last left off in season 2, the motley crew of heroes finally got the hang of their powers, and just in time to save the world from the infamous Erodius the Planet Killer. While the first season appropriately focused on Kid’s character development as he learned that being a hero isn’t all about flying around and defeating the bad guys, and the sophomore season focused on Jo as she figures out how to lead the team, the final season wraps up the story.
Season 3, subtitled “The Global Heroes!”, focuses on the aftermath of Erodius’ defeat. Now that they’ve saved the world from the notorious planet killer, they’re real heroes, complete with special suits, a giant mecha robot, and a super-vehicle. Kid and the Global Heroes are living out their wildest dreams…except Papa G and Jo, who think it’s all too good to be true.
Just like in the previous seasons, the colorful animation remains one of my favorite parts of this entire show. It differs from the art style I’ve seen in other animated series recently, and is actually one of the major factors that keeps me watching. There’s also moments in the show (such as parts of the fight sequences, vehicles, and shots of the record player at Mo’s Oasis) where the animation will briefly turn 3D, which made the cartoony superhero show more lifelike.
The show’s final season is a quick watch, only consisting of six episodes (the first season contains 10, while the second season has 8). Clocking in about two hours, it was the perfect binge-watch for the snow day I had recently.
Although it’s not very long, season 3 is definitely the heaviest emotionally, as the team figures out that things aren’t always what they seem. At the beginning of the show, it’s fairly lighthearted and just pure fun. Now that we’re at the end of our journey with the Global Heroes, things are getting pretty intense. This season features several episodes zeroing in on Papa G, particularly his relationship with Kid and what he’s willing to sacrifice to make his last living relative happy.
In an interview with TheWrap, creator Craig McCracken told sources that it was his choice to end the series after three seasons, because that’s how much time he needed to tell the his story. “I didn’t want to do a show that could kind of last forever and make six, seven seasons of it,” McCracken explained. “I wanted to do something kind of short and sweet.”
And short and sweet it was. Because it’s a limited series, every episode and every line of dialogue has a purpose in the story. It’s compact and very to-the-point – no filler episodes in this show! – but it’s also really funny and has a lot of heart.
The way McCracken ended the series felt just right. After the Global Heroes’ work defending the planet from intergalactic evil is finished, Kid isn’t ready to leave their space adventures behind (and honestly, me neither. I just wanna experience it all again!). To remedy this, Mo’s Oasis Cafe – which has been rebuilt by the team following its destruction by Erodius – re-opens to serve the entire galaxy, staying true to its new slogan: “Mo’s Oasis: Like no other place in space is.” It’s not like everything went back to the way it was before they saved the world – all the characters, even 4-year-old Rosa, have grown so much since their debut last year. The ending was comforting, and reminded me of a hot cup of coffee after eating a filling meal at a restaurant (and not just because that’s where the show ended).
All three seasons of “Kid Cosmic” are available to stream on Netflix.