Moving away from the main show a bit for this latest episode of Diabolical, for a tale of the perils of social media, with a sting in the tale.
Boyd (Eliot Glazer) is disappointed in his life, especially compared to the lives people appear to be having on social media. Following a quick spell on a Vought face app, he's invited to join a trial of a new drug, one that will make him appear to others as his ideal form. Strong, handsome and confident, he finally approaches his next-door neighbour Cherry (Nasim Pedrad) whom he has had a crush on. All goes well, until she discovers and takes the drug herself, with an unexpected outcome.
Written by Ilana Grazer and her brother Eliot, who also plays the lead the story of this one was nicely done. With the story escalating and then resetting for a happy ending, before pulling the rug out from underneath the audience. (In a way that seems to have upset quite a number of the reviewers, but I felt was in keeping with the tone of "The Boys"). There are guest roles for Kumail Nanjiani and Emily Gordon, as Vought scientists and for Colby Minifie, who reprises the role of Ashley from the main show, as the lead pair become celebrities.
The animation style is basic, but charming and is somewhat similar to their work on the 2020 feature "Wolfwalkers".
What it has to say about the effect of social media is, perhaps, already a little dated, given the speed that the internet moves at but this was a decent, if perhaps slight, addition to the series.
