Golgotha

"Golgotha" isn't terrible by any means, but during and after my viewing of the episode, I was left with one crucial question: What was the point of the episode?

It isn't funny. It isn't entertaining. It isn't even interesting. The CGI is perhaps the only thing that was even remotely impressive, but even that was lackluster compared to most other episodes this season.

The premise was fine, and it did bring up an interesting question of whether animals would call humans out if given the opportunity. However, there were so many ways they could've explored the idea better that I was upset at the wasted potential.

Perhaps most strange of all is that there wasn't anything 'bad' about the episode. The story was tolerable, the CGI was tolerable, the acting was tolerable, the ending was tolerable, but the problem was that it all felt pointless. "Golgotha" is an episode of nothingness.

Being live-action in a series where unique animation is key is a bold thing to do - You'd think it would use the format wisely, maybe use it to its advantage... Well, it doesn't. The concept - again - has huge potential, and it ends up being a big nothing sandwich. Hollow, doesn't dare to dive into anything worth exploring...And you have RELIGION to play with - in an anthology series that where episodes are self-contained. What better canvas do you need to be creative??! It just simply does nothing with the world it created, does nothing to be funny at least, forget shock-factor or a twist. I like Rhys as the next guy, but you have given him nothing here to make is worth our while.

A priest who witnessed the resurrection of a dolphin greets the alien cephalopods who believe it to be a messiah.

This is a live-action episode with CGI, most obviously the alien. It's a pretty short episode, and there isn't a whole lot going on here. It seems like it probably belongs in a more traditional anthology collection than LD&R.

I can't really say that I've seen much in the way of alien messiahs in my science fiction. So, it's got that going for it. However, it doesn't really go anywhere particularly exciting or interesting with that hook. It's basically just a setup for a simple message.

It's not bad. The acting is fine, and the humor is fine. It seems like the sort of thing you might find on YouTube, though. I half expected the priest to turn to the camera at the end and say, "Don't forget to like and subscribe!"

I was so excited about the next season of LD&R, but this season has been such a bust. It might have been better if season 3 had been the last one, and we ended on a high note.

Episodes like this make me appreciate The Drowned Giant. I'm still not even sure how much I liked that episode. But The Drowned Giant left me wondering exactly what it was about and what it meant, if anything. This wasn't bad, but it feels like a throwaway episode whose only reason for existing is to blow some stuff up via CGI.

This is a meh episode that could have been a lot more interesting or better. We learn little to nothing about the alien's religion. So, it would have been interesting to learn if their religion was similar to ours or such. Having an alien and human priest debate their religions seems like an interesting idea. Then the stinger at the end is at best a single line delivery. Did the dolphin demand that humanity be wiped out? Or were the aliens reacting to the dolphin's tale of human abuse or destruction to sea life? It is not clear and delivered through a single cryptic line that is not easy to hear. Either way, you can see the twist coming from a mile away.

For the first live-action episode in the series since Ice Age, I was hoping for something that would impress, and this episode fell very short of doing so. Almost no character was given to anyone, and the entire plot would have played out the same if the main character were absent. I struggle to see what this episode was trying to say or accomplish besides a very shallow "humans harm the earth".

With very little to bring to the table in terms of story, characters, and messages, it can't even give interesting visuals for me to at least turn my brain off and enjoy watching. Most of all, the sin this episode is most guilty of is being boring.