Ben 10 2016 Reboot Episode Review: All Wet
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Ok so this episode debuts Frightwig, another well established villain that we've seen in the previous shows and who is a member of the Circus Freak Trio, henchmen type villains that work for Zombozo. Or at least she was because in this reboot, she's just her very own villain instead of being part of a team of villains with a unique theme to them.
In this episode, Ben and Gwen are at a water park and Gwen meets Frida, who Ben immediately recognized as Frightwig. Frightwig wants to get back at Ben for all the times that he defeated her by being friends with Gwen and getting Gwen to side with her over Ben. Shenanigans ensue, as usual with this freakin show, and eventually Gwen realizes that "Frida" really is Frightwig. Ben defeats Frightwig. The end.
Let's discuss Frightwig now. I like her better in the Original Series than in the reboot. Yeah, I know, shocking. Frightwig in this reboot episode was...ok. She's ok. I mentioned in a previous review in regards to Michael Morningstar that if you're going to take something away, replace it with something else. They tried to do that with Frightwig and they did it a little better with her than with Morningstar. She's not bad but she's not good either. Frightwig is a decent villain in this episode. Granted, there are still plenty of issues with her. To me, Frightwig just doesn't deliver as well in the reboot as she did in the Original Series. I found her more interesting in the Original Series than in the reboot mostly because of her circus freak theme and her partnership with Thumbskull and Acid Breath. It felt as if there was more variety with her in the Original Series than in the reboot. She felt more unique and she was a pretty well-skilled suitable threat to the main characters, using her hair with the weights at the end like a ball and chain. No we didn't know a lot about her but I didn't find the need for a backstory for Frightwig to be necessary because she was already a pretty interesting villain from the way in which she was implemented in the Original Series.
In the reboot, Frightwig is just some little girl with her hair having a mind of its own now. She doesn't have Thumbskull and Acid Breath to help further add to her as a villain. She's just an evil little girl that has a grudge against Ben, much like every other villain throughout the franchise. She was pretty manipulative, trying to get Gwen to side with her, which was pretty nice...and that's pretty much the best that she could offer in this episode. It's nothing new either. We already have plenty of villains in the franchise that are also manipulative (Michael Morningstar in Alien Force, anyone). Hell, even though they're trying to separate her from that circus freak theme as part of making Frightwig her own independent villain, she still has that sense of being from a circus from her outfit to her hair to even down to her name. Maybe she is from a circus though or maybe she's from somewhere else because this episode doesn't provide a lot about her. All I know based on this episode at the moment is that Frightwig is a little girl with hair that has a mind of its own. To me, she just doesn't offer a lot and doesn't deliver as well than she did in the Original Series. I find her better and more interesting in the Original Series than in the reboot.
There are certain things about Frightwig that were mentioned by other people. Someone on Tv Tropes forums said that Frightwig in the reboot has more personality. I guess that's the case. I just don't see that. Again, I find Frightwig more interesting in the Original Series than in the reboot. On the Ben 10 Planet Wiki, it mentions that Frightwig's hair apparently is some technological wig with an AI that controls it and communicates with her. Really? All I can tell is that her hair just has a mind of its own and that's it. I guess it's a wig with an AI but I'm not going to accept that as fact until the show establishes that and in this episode, it doesn't. As according to this episode, all we know is that her hair has a mind of its own. That's it.
Also, how does Frightwig have so much hair? At one point, she has normal length hair for a girl of her age and at another point, she suddenly has more hair than her body mass. A lot more. Wait, what? How does that work? Great work further undermining Gwen as well. Ben immediately recognized Frightwig yet Gwen doesn't until she sees Frightwig's hair peek out of that cap. Isn't Gwen supposed to be the smart one out of the two? If Ben knows about Frightwig, then so should Gwen. I find it hard to believe that Gwen never saw Frightwig in any of Ben's past encounters with her considering that Ben and Gwen are supposed to hang out with each other a lot. But ok then, let's go ahead and let all of that pass and let's just say that Gwen really doesn't recognize Frightwig. What's stopping Ben from just walking up to Frightwig and pulling that cap off of her to reveal her disguise? It's certainly not something that's hard to do since that Gwen was able to do that so easily. Why can't Ben do that? He had plenty of opportunities to do so.
Overall, the episode is ok. Frightwig is ok but she was a lot better in the Original Series than in the reboot. Arguably mediocre but I say that this is an average episode. My biggest problem is that I just don't find Frightwig to be as interesting and good as she was in the Original Series.
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I checked out the new Ben 10 episode online and it was cool. But why Grandpa Max wasn't in the episode because they don't see him shirtless or seeing Max half naked in swimming trunks? I saw a shirtless Max in the Bentuiton clip on Youtube.com with Ben and his alien Overflow.
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While I understand your opinion, I find Kid Frightwig more interesting than her adult counterpart (don't get me wrong, she was cool, but didn't have much time to shine and didn't stick out to me much), this version just seems so much more interesting and hope she will appear again, hope we might see more waifus make an appearance.
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@Rexfan1333 She's a little girl with hair that has a mind of its own and she does evil things. That's all we learn about her by the time the episode ends. No, Frightwig is not more interesting in the reboot as she is in the Original Series. They did more with Frightwig in the first Original Series episode she appeared in and she wasn't even the main villain of that episode. Hell, her being a member of the Circus Freak Trio and her partnership with Zombozo already makes Frightwig more interesting in the Original Series than her reboot counterpart.
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@Tactical-Ochoa Thats Rexfan's opinion Tactical Ochoa. If he thinks Frightwig is more interesting in the reboot than in the original series and/or Omniverse, thats up to him to decide. You make it look like its a fact that Frightwig is less interesting in the reboot. Thats your opinion, not a fact. Just to clear that out.
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@Tactical-Ochoa I honestly say that because of the Circus Freaks she didn't have much of a character to go on at all, she was just a typical bad guy and they completely forgot about until now, at least the reboot she can be her own character if the creators let her be anyway.
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@Mortie-10 I'm not stating fact. I'm stating my disagreements. If that's his opinion, fine. I disagree.
@Rexfan1333 And she didn't have much character to go on as well in this episode too. Oh she's more interesting because she's her own villain now and thus has potential? Potential doesn't make characters interesting. It just illustrates how they can be interesting. Frightwig can be interesting in the reboot but right now she's not interesting. We don't know a lot about her and she's just like any other typical villain in this reboot and that's not something that's good to say considering how most, if not all, of the other villains in the reboot are like. You're looking at her potential, which might not even be fulfilled. I'm looking at what we've already seen of her at the moment and right now, she's not an interesting character and villain and she's not more interesting as a villain as her Original Series counterpart.
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@Tactical-Ochoa I understand, but at least she is her own character and not just some random baddie that just pops up and never seems to have a personality of her own. Seriously this is like the first season and everyone expects it to have a story, it's trying to introduce characters and once they do that, they will get to a actual plot.
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@Rexfan1333 They introduced story and characters in the first season of the Original Series. Everyone expects a story in the Ben 10 reboot because that's what's supposed to happen. Introducing characters first then a central plot isn't an excuse.
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@Tactical-Ochoa Things change, a lot of shows start with filler these days like Steven Universe and Ladybug. It's not going to be like OS, this is totally different from that.
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@Rexfan1333 Yes, things change but change isn't always good. Just because things change doesn't make it ok and acceptable. Also, Steven Universe and Miraculous Ladybug are original shows that were starting out. Ben 10 is a franchise that's been around for over 10 years.
Star Wars went through changes. Doom went through changes. Resident Evil went through changes. Then they went back to what they once originally were before and found major success that way. The Force Awakens went back to the old approach to making Star Wars films and became a major success after what was done to Star Wars through the prequel films. Doom 2016 went back to the fast-paced action approach of the classic Dooms and found major success after Doom 3's attempt of going for slower-paced horror. Resident Evil 7 went back to the formula of the classic games and found major success after the years in which Resident Evil became more action oriented.
Sometimes, the best way to take steps forward is to take a step back. The reboot may be different from the Original Series but that doesn't make it good and the episodes that aired and the reception that the show got proved this.
http://ben10club.org/topic/224/the-identity-and-traditional-roots-of-ben-10
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Personally I just want to see a sequel episode of her with the same scenario that happened to Heather in Total Drama.
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@Ebomnitrix You mean getting her hair shaved?
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@Tactical-Ochoa That is your opinion, not fact, I'm cool with Ben 10 trying new things, the sequels did it and I respect it them for doing something new. I honestly don't care for most of those series you mentioned, but they are there own thing and they can do whatever the hell they want for all I care. You pretty much want the original series back, I honestly like the sequel shows more so I'm not too into the OS, but I like the reboot because it is doing something interesting, not everyone is going to like it, but you can't please anyone
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@Rexfan1333 Coming from a guy that constantly complains and whines about people disliking the Ben 10 reboot, I'm not buying any crap from you. Also, I want the Original Series back? We already have the Original Series so screw off with that load of crap.
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@Tactical-Ochoa You do WANT the original series back! You are talking about the original series and Hero Generation all the time. Of course you want the original series back. And let Rexfan have his own opinions. As I said before your opinion is not a fact, its an opinion. Just as his opinion.
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@Mortie-10 And like I said, we already have the Original Series so no, I don't want it back because we already have it. As I also said before, I know that my opinion isn't fact. I'm still going to express my disagreement of his opinion regardless.
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@Tactical-Ochoa Thats ok.
