The grand finale of Space Dandy!
Season Two, Episode Twelve - Dandy's Day in Court, Baby!
Dandy stands trial for murder, as the Gogol Empire closes in.
He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy is on trial for the murder of the Lumeshian Guy Reginald on the planet Suburbia. Having heard about the presence of a rare Lumeshian on the planet at BooBies, Dandy travelled there to capture him. A DNA scan of Dandy comes up negative, but his Pyonium levels are increasing exponentially. Dandy sleeps through his entire trial.
He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: Dandy doesn't list Meow as a crewmember, and once tried to sell him to a petshop but they wouldn't buy him. Meow waited at the emergency exit during the supposed murder, and pretty quickly turns against Dandy, saying that he always thought he'd snap eventually. He spends most of the trial tweeting.
He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: QT is also called as a witness, along with Scarlet and Honey. QT was minding the ship at the time of the incident. Dandy wanted to buy "one of those R2-D2 type robots" but ended up with QT, and he was too much trouble to take back.
We're Alien Hunters, Baby:
Lumeshians: An extremely rare alien species, the registration of which would fetch a fine one million woolongs at the ARC. Judging by Guy Reginald, they are tall, blue humanoids. Reginald suffers from sleep apnoeia, and had entered a state of hibernation mistaken by the coroner for death due to his unfamiliar physiology. Reginald was formerly a notorious masked wrestler.
Sundry aliens: The prosecutor of the trial is a weird jackal-shark creature. The lead judge is a toothy whale creature with a hint of Vogon about him. They both speak with a Southern drawl. The counsel for the defense is a vaguely insectoid, green quadruped.
Let's get Our Asses to BooBies, Baby: Honey isn't pleased that on his last visit to BooBies, Dandy ordered a coffee and stayed for "like, five hours." Dandy was snuggling up to Rose Reginald, Guy's wife, a tall, beautiful and very chesty humanoid.
I Know This Planet, Baby: The planet Suburbia is five thousand parsecs from planet Turbo, home to two baseball-playing, Twitter-obsessed kids called Hiroshi and Skipjack.
Phenomenology, Baby: Pyonium, or Mega-Pyonium, is a recently discovered particle that bends time and space, allowing travel across dimensions, and theoretically contains incredible levels of energy. Intense emotional states can interact with Pyonium, potentially propelling matter across incredible distances or across dimensions, for instance, the bloodlust and fury Hiroshi felt at his "friend" Skipjack for blocking him on Twitter propelled his Pyonium covered baseball from Turbo to Suburbia, seemingly because of the magnetic effect of Dandy's own Pyonium levels.
Dr. Duran is the galaxy's foremost expert on Mega-Pyonium. He refers to it as the God Particle. (Professor Higgs will be pleased, he never liked people using that name for his eponymous boson.)
The Bottom Line, Baby: A pretty average episode that mostly exists to clarify what Pyonium does and set up the grand finale. The furious level of in-jokes has long settled down by now, but the episode still finds room for references to Star Wars, Samurai Champloo, The Shining and Twelve Angry Men. The mad Dandy-esque space science is good fun. The ending is worth it, though: a thousand insectoid Gogol warriors appear outside the courthouse to capture Dandy, leading into...
Season Two, Episode Thirteen - Never-Ending Dandy, Baby!
It's the grand finale. With all of time, space and reality in the balance, the Gogol Empire prepares to use Dandy to conquer the universe.
He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy doesn't know it, but he is the one being who exists across all realities, capable of being himself and traversing all possibilities, although his memories don't usually survive the trip. With the universe on the brink of destruction, Dandy takes Gel's ship and fights his way into the naked singularity. In a moment of nobility, he vows to go alone, not willing to risk his friends' lives again. Although, when the going seems to tough, it's a glimpse of Honey's booty that spurs him on. After the destruction of everything, Dandy is faced with the choice, as the only being who can perceive the possibilities of the Multiverse, of becoming God. He declines; after all, as God, he'll have no body, and won't be able to go to BooBies.
They're Sidekicks, Baby: While none of the supporting characters get a lot of time in the spotlight in the finale, they all come together to rescue Dandy. Meow, QT, Honey and Scarlet all risk everything to fight their way through the battle between the empires. Honey is an incredible pilot, surfing the Aloha Oe through the maelstrom past Gogol patrol bots, while Scarlet is a great commander and kicks Gogol ass.
QT's last words are, "Anyone know what that's about?"
Commander Johnny sets to rescue Dandy from the clutches of the Gogol by massing the entire Jaicro fleet, vowing to save the universe from the machinations of Admiral Perry. He fails, and is slain by Perry.
There's Bad Guy's Too, Baby: Dr. Gel finally captures Dandy, revelling in his long-awaited victory. He makes the most of it, stalking about his inner sanctum, speechifying, while an evil raven screeches and cackles around him (this might be Vicious's pet bird from Cowboy Bebop). Gel has gigantic brain things on hand to scan Dandy. Gel comes good in the end, helping Dandy face the Hulkider. His last words, across all realities, are "It's glorious."
Bea is revealed as a spy for the Jaicro Empire, but he really has only his own interests at heart. He shoots Gel and blocks Perry. Planning to become "King of all the things!" Bea sets the Hulkider beyond the point of no return. His victory is short-lived, as the still living Gel crushes him in his gigantic fist.
Admiral Perry appears as a terrifying "nightmare," but this is just a hologram. He's really a small, elderly but psychotically evil old man. He looks suspiciously like Larry Page, founder of Google.
I Know This Planet, Baby: The Gogol Empire homeworld is an elliptical mass of spikes, webbed with cities and industry. It is not a friendly place. The homeworld is utterly obliterated, shortly before the rest of reality.
It's Tech in Space, Baby: Gel's spacecraft has a Liberty mode whereupon it forms a mecha that can battle through the waves of the Hulkider.
The Super-Hulkider is the greatest weapon in history, capable of destroying the entire universe. Which it does, so at least there's no hyperbole there. It was just the Hulkider, but Perry evidently didn't think that sounded impressive enough. The Hulkider's overload of Pyonium begins an unstoppable collapse, with the universe disintegrating.
Phenomenology, Baby: The Multiverse is 14.8 billion years old, ruled over by a single formless being, who may as well be called God. It turns out He is actually the Narrator, and also one time, the Chameleonian, having watched Dandy throughout his adventures. He can pass across all realities because he has no physical restrictions.
Infinite realities exits throughout the Multiverse, invisible to each other, but linked through space/time by cosmic strings, which can manipulate Mega-Pyonium. As this universe disintegrates, all universes will follow. As the Multiverse collapses into singularity, God will die with it, and He appoints Dandy his successor. Since he declines, the universes is born again with no God.
14.8 billion years later, it's just like it always was... except Dandy's now a leg man.
The Bottom Line, Baby: Epic. While it might spend a little too much time of zap-pow space battles, the final episode of Space Dandy is a philosophical story at its heart, just like the series has been all along. Although that heart is still as puerile and butt-obsessed as it always was, as well. "Never-Ending Dandy" is a showcase for a series that could do serious sf while never, ever taking itself seriously. Some have said it's a Gainax ending, but it's not; the ending makes perfect sense. All the nonsense, narrative holes and supposed lack of continuity have actually been part of the plot from the beginning. Dandy is revealed as the centre of the universe, just like he always knew he was, and going with the flow is the only way to survive in an infinite stream of realities. This wonderful, magical, mental show.
So, will we ever see anymore Space Dandy? Well, apart from the manga releases (which I may cover), it doesn't look like it. While it ended with a "Maybe to continue.." the series has shown no signs of being renewed. Bones rarely produces more than two seasons. And while the series could clearly continue - there's a whole new universe to explore, after all - "Never-Ending Dandy" also offers a satisfying conclusion. We know Dandy's still out there, checking out asses and hunting for aliens both friendly and not. Just going with the flow.
Season Two, Episode Twelve - Dandy's Day in Court, Baby!
Dandy stands trial for murder, as the Gogol Empire closes in.
He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy is on trial for the murder of the Lumeshian Guy Reginald on the planet Suburbia. Having heard about the presence of a rare Lumeshian on the planet at BooBies, Dandy travelled there to capture him. A DNA scan of Dandy comes up negative, but his Pyonium levels are increasing exponentially. Dandy sleeps through his entire trial.
He's Not a Space Cat, Baby: Dandy doesn't list Meow as a crewmember, and once tried to sell him to a petshop but they wouldn't buy him. Meow waited at the emergency exit during the supposed murder, and pretty quickly turns against Dandy, saying that he always thought he'd snap eventually. He spends most of the trial tweeting.
He's Just a Little Obsolete, Baby: QT is also called as a witness, along with Scarlet and Honey. QT was minding the ship at the time of the incident. Dandy wanted to buy "one of those R2-D2 type robots" but ended up with QT, and he was too much trouble to take back.
We're Alien Hunters, Baby:
Lumeshians: An extremely rare alien species, the registration of which would fetch a fine one million woolongs at the ARC. Judging by Guy Reginald, they are tall, blue humanoids. Reginald suffers from sleep apnoeia, and had entered a state of hibernation mistaken by the coroner for death due to his unfamiliar physiology. Reginald was formerly a notorious masked wrestler.
Sundry aliens: The prosecutor of the trial is a weird jackal-shark creature. The lead judge is a toothy whale creature with a hint of Vogon about him. They both speak with a Southern drawl. The counsel for the defense is a vaguely insectoid, green quadruped.
Let's get Our Asses to BooBies, Baby: Honey isn't pleased that on his last visit to BooBies, Dandy ordered a coffee and stayed for "like, five hours." Dandy was snuggling up to Rose Reginald, Guy's wife, a tall, beautiful and very chesty humanoid. I Know This Planet, Baby: The planet Suburbia is five thousand parsecs from planet Turbo, home to two baseball-playing, Twitter-obsessed kids called Hiroshi and Skipjack.
Phenomenology, Baby: Pyonium, or Mega-Pyonium, is a recently discovered particle that bends time and space, allowing travel across dimensions, and theoretically contains incredible levels of energy. Intense emotional states can interact with Pyonium, potentially propelling matter across incredible distances or across dimensions, for instance, the bloodlust and fury Hiroshi felt at his "friend" Skipjack for blocking him on Twitter propelled his Pyonium covered baseball from Turbo to Suburbia, seemingly because of the magnetic effect of Dandy's own Pyonium levels.
Dr. Duran is the galaxy's foremost expert on Mega-Pyonium. He refers to it as the God Particle. (Professor Higgs will be pleased, he never liked people using that name for his eponymous boson.)
The Bottom Line, Baby: A pretty average episode that mostly exists to clarify what Pyonium does and set up the grand finale. The furious level of in-jokes has long settled down by now, but the episode still finds room for references to Star Wars, Samurai Champloo, The Shining and Twelve Angry Men. The mad Dandy-esque space science is good fun. The ending is worth it, though: a thousand insectoid Gogol warriors appear outside the courthouse to capture Dandy, leading into...
Season Two, Episode Thirteen - Never-Ending Dandy, Baby!
It's the grand finale. With all of time, space and reality in the balance, the Gogol Empire prepares to use Dandy to conquer the universe.
He's Dandy, Baby: Dandy doesn't know it, but he is the one being who exists across all realities, capable of being himself and traversing all possibilities, although his memories don't usually survive the trip. With the universe on the brink of destruction, Dandy takes Gel's ship and fights his way into the naked singularity. In a moment of nobility, he vows to go alone, not willing to risk his friends' lives again. Although, when the going seems to tough, it's a glimpse of Honey's booty that spurs him on. After the destruction of everything, Dandy is faced with the choice, as the only being who can perceive the possibilities of the Multiverse, of becoming God. He declines; after all, as God, he'll have no body, and won't be able to go to BooBies.
They're Sidekicks, Baby: While none of the supporting characters get a lot of time in the spotlight in the finale, they all come together to rescue Dandy. Meow, QT, Honey and Scarlet all risk everything to fight their way through the battle between the empires. Honey is an incredible pilot, surfing the Aloha Oe through the maelstrom past Gogol patrol bots, while Scarlet is a great commander and kicks Gogol ass.
QT's last words are, "Anyone know what that's about?"
Commander Johnny sets to rescue Dandy from the clutches of the Gogol by massing the entire Jaicro fleet, vowing to save the universe from the machinations of Admiral Perry. He fails, and is slain by Perry.
There's Bad Guy's Too, Baby: Dr. Gel finally captures Dandy, revelling in his long-awaited victory. He makes the most of it, stalking about his inner sanctum, speechifying, while an evil raven screeches and cackles around him (this might be Vicious's pet bird from Cowboy Bebop). Gel has gigantic brain things on hand to scan Dandy. Gel comes good in the end, helping Dandy face the Hulkider. His last words, across all realities, are "It's glorious."
Bea is revealed as a spy for the Jaicro Empire, but he really has only his own interests at heart. He shoots Gel and blocks Perry. Planning to become "King of all the things!" Bea sets the Hulkider beyond the point of no return. His victory is short-lived, as the still living Gel crushes him in his gigantic fist.
Admiral Perry appears as a terrifying "nightmare," but this is just a hologram. He's really a small, elderly but psychotically evil old man. He looks suspiciously like Larry Page, founder of Google.
I Know This Planet, Baby: The Gogol Empire homeworld is an elliptical mass of spikes, webbed with cities and industry. It is not a friendly place. The homeworld is utterly obliterated, shortly before the rest of reality.
It's Tech in Space, Baby: Gel's spacecraft has a Liberty mode whereupon it forms a mecha that can battle through the waves of the Hulkider.
The Super-Hulkider is the greatest weapon in history, capable of destroying the entire universe. Which it does, so at least there's no hyperbole there. It was just the Hulkider, but Perry evidently didn't think that sounded impressive enough. The Hulkider's overload of Pyonium begins an unstoppable collapse, with the universe disintegrating.
Phenomenology, Baby: The Multiverse is 14.8 billion years old, ruled over by a single formless being, who may as well be called God. It turns out He is actually the Narrator, and also one time, the Chameleonian, having watched Dandy throughout his adventures. He can pass across all realities because he has no physical restrictions.
Infinite realities exits throughout the Multiverse, invisible to each other, but linked through space/time by cosmic strings, which can manipulate Mega-Pyonium. As this universe disintegrates, all universes will follow. As the Multiverse collapses into singularity, God will die with it, and He appoints Dandy his successor. Since he declines, the universes is born again with no God.
14.8 billion years later, it's just like it always was... except Dandy's now a leg man.
The Bottom Line, Baby: Epic. While it might spend a little too much time of zap-pow space battles, the final episode of Space Dandy is a philosophical story at its heart, just like the series has been all along. Although that heart is still as puerile and butt-obsessed as it always was, as well. "Never-Ending Dandy" is a showcase for a series that could do serious sf while never, ever taking itself seriously. Some have said it's a Gainax ending, but it's not; the ending makes perfect sense. All the nonsense, narrative holes and supposed lack of continuity have actually been part of the plot from the beginning. Dandy is revealed as the centre of the universe, just like he always knew he was, and going with the flow is the only way to survive in an infinite stream of realities. This wonderful, magical, mental show.
So, will we ever see anymore Space Dandy? Well, apart from the manga releases (which I may cover), it doesn't look like it. While it ended with a "Maybe to continue.." the series has shown no signs of being renewed. Bones rarely produces more than two seasons. And while the series could clearly continue - there's a whole new universe to explore, after all - "Never-Ending Dandy" also offers a satisfying conclusion. We know Dandy's still out there, checking out asses and hunting for aliens both friendly and not. Just going with the flow.
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