Disenchantment Part 4launched on Netflix on February 9th. Despite an exceptional voice cast, outstanding animation and in-depth worldbuilding, this fantasy cartoon cannot escapethe shadow of Matt Groening’sFuturama. Part 3 left all our characters in rough spots. Newly-crowned Queen Tiabeanie (Abbi Jacobson) was kidnapped and taken to hell by her evil mother, Dagmar (Sharon Horgan). The demon Luci (Eric Andre) died and went to heaven. King Zog (John DiMaggio) was sent to an insane asylum. The elves have re-discovered Candyass, the ancient seat of elven power, underneath Dreamland’s castle. And Elfo (Nat Faxon) was kidnapped by ogres.
There are a lot of pieces to pick up and Disenchantment wastes no time in diving in. The mystery behind last season’s final line “the bride has arrived” is finally revealed. Hint: Satan is a recurring character now, played by Rich Fulcher. As usual, the voice actors are on top of their game. Andre gets to show off his scatting skills in multiple instances. Horgan has narcissism dripping from her snobby voice. Jacobson stands out this season for her dynamic performance, never losing the essence of Bean’s voice even when the show starts treading more serious and emotional ground.
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Turns out Dagmar’s manipulations go deeper than anyone could have realized. In an effort to get out of a contract stipulating the Queen of Dreamland (a position formerly held by Dagmar) has to marry the King of Hell, Dagmar plotted Bean’s succession to the throne of Dreamland. Now that Bean is Queen, she can marry Satan in Dagmar’s stead, letting Dagmar off the hook while keeping her unholy powers. It is the worst betrayal from Dagmar yet, so how will Bean escape? Well, actually, kind of anticlimactically. At the altar, Bean easily disarms her mother and forces her to sign the contract with Satan. Dagmar is now Queen of Hell, and she takes to the new role like a demon to a lake of fire. Well, that took care of the big bad rather quickly.
The trio remains separated for two entire episodes. They aren’t reunited until episode three, when Bean, a reincarnated Luci and Jerry snatch Elfo back from the ogres. These first two episodes are notably light on good jokes without Bean, Elfo and Luci’s banter. Not to mention, their relationship is the moral and emotional core ofDisenchantment, if one can even say it has that core. When we were introduced to these characters in Part 1, it was evident how much they needed each other. The same is true in Part 4. But even after Bean, Elfo and Luci are working together again,many of the show’s jokesfeel stale or just don’t land. Much of the humor feels like it’s from a different decade– particularly a couple fat jokes and a dig at neurodivergent behaviors.
Episode 3 focuses almost entirely on Zog, former King of Dreamland and current asylum prisoner. Zog actually has one of the most interesting journeys in Part 4, going from asylum escapee to co-ruler with his daughter to rekindling the flame of an old romanceonly to lose heracross these ten episodes. He makes the realization early on in the season that his children, Bean and Derek, should be his priority. He sets out to be a better father in this season, and he is, but his irascible nature and blunt jokes remain.
Bean’s romance with Mora the mermaid continues, though remains thoroughly under-developed. Their trysts are restricted to Mora rescuing Bean from a few situations, and the two spend more time kissing than developing their relationship. It’s nice to see a lesbian relationship in adult animation, but not so nice if all they do is kiss. It’s not even clear if Bean remembers her experiences with Mora last season were real and not a dream.
The series also appears to be building up to a reveal for Bean in future seasons. A few moments heavily imply she has some type of untapped power. After reuniting with Zog, she heals a wound on his arm by waving her hand over it– and she doesn’t realize she’s even doing it. The final scene of Part 4 indicates Beanhas some supernatural capabilitieswhen it comes to saving her own skin, as well. Netflix has not renewedDisenchantmentfor Part 5, so it remains to be seen whether viewers will ever know where this plotline is going.
Perhaps the best part of Part 4 is Episode 5: “The Pitter-Patter of Little Feet,” which is primarily structured as a celebrity roast of Zog. Each character is tapped to deliver their “tight 15” to hilarious results. With only 28 minutes allotted per episode, obviously none of them will get through the whole 15 minutes. This episode, reminiscent ofBojack Horseman’s funeral episode, brings something fresh to the middle of the 4th season, right when the plot is starting to drag.
The back half of Part 4 is dedicated to some pretty complicated world-building that delves into the history of Dreamland. It seems the Dreamland we know today was built on the ruins of a magnificent elven kingdom. It’s revealed that the Trøgs, the creatures found in Part 3 dwelling underground beneath the castle, are elves, as are their sister species the Sea Trøgs. The ancient elves diverged after their kingdom was taken over by humans.
The animation inDisenchantmenthasalways been high quality, but it’s improved even more in Part 4. The textures on Steamland-produced items, like the airship and escape pod, clash unnaturally with Dreamland’s natural landscape– as an anachronistic item from another world should. The escape pod moves exactly as a rickety helicopter would when being flown by a medieval fantasy princess.
Disenchantment Part 4ultimately concludes in a lackluster finale that delivers more fan service than answers, while failing to excite for a possible Part 5. Following a contrived and overdone “clone fight”, Bean is easily disarmed by Dagmar and thrown into the waters beneath the castle, seemingly to her death. But Mora is there to save Bean! Their lip-locked embrace is either meant to imply Bean has supernatural powers that make her capable of healing herself, or Mora is delivering mouth-to-mouth. A post-credits scene shows Dagmar on the Dreamland throne, with her husband, Satan, and the severed head of Bean’s clone by her side.
With four years and as many seasons under the belt,Disenchantmentisfalling behind beloved predecessorFuturamain terms of finding the perfect balance of jokes, character arcs, and world-building. The overwhelming cynicism of its main trio may be to blame, or perhaps in trying to create “the nextFuturama,”Disenchantmentis setting itself up to inevitably fall short and be a second-rate version, albeit in a different flavor of genre.
