Returning to her roost on Adult Swim, the girl that saves the world is back fighting crime and corporate ineptitude in Birdgirl season 2. Though early in its sophomore season, the new/few adventures continue the punchy quips and quotes that make the series a worthy spinoff to Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
From toilets and subscription boxes to brand reinvention and foreskins, Judy Ken Sebben (Paget Brewster, Alpha Betas) and the eccentric team over at Sebben & Sebben Worldwide have tackled absurdity and identity in a way that's constantly funny and uniquely critical. Whether it's coming from Dog with Bucket Hat, Paul the masseuse, or Birdgirl herself, the show's cast of corporate characters rarely miss an opportunity to say something comedically profound.
Hot On The Trail
"No, Gillian. I Have A Nose. It Smells Like Pork Rinds And Gooch."
After Birdcat slices open Charlie's (River L. Ramirez, Teenage Euthanasia) rejuvication pod, Gillian (Kether Donohue, B Positive), Charlie, and rejuvication attendant Charles XXIII must hunt down Charlie's sentient skin suit before it escapes the Assburg woods. Aptly named Skarlie, Charlie's animated epidermis steals Jessica from Accounting's truck, and the team is forced to use their noses to track it down.
Screeching to a halt at Charlie's command, Gillian learns that it wasn't a sixth sense, but a scent that illuminated Skarlie's trail. While the smell of a cognitive skin suit isn't exactly universal knowledge, it wafting somewhere between chicharrones and grundle funk makes a startling amount of sense. Delivered with immaculate timing, Charlie's visceral description is as funny as it is unsettling.
Don't Be Fooled By My Appearance
"I Know What You're Thinking. What Does This Bimbo Know About Toddling With Her Gender Neutral Shoes And Taste For Expensive, Infused Water?"
Pitching questionable toy ideas to the Sebben & Sebben board in an attempt to tap into the children's market, Judy digs into her "happy childhood memories" box to uncover her old toy named The Wanky. Though obviously a sex toy, Judy's innocence/nativity preserved it as an uncorrupted artifact for her and a more adult opportunity for the company.
While the episode serves as a sexual awakening for Judy and highlights the importance of healthy release, it does so under the guise of self-deprecation. As Judy mocks her appearance to disarm the peculiar old toy maker behind The Wanky, her inference is important. She's a prominent, modern woman and she's well aware that that's intimidating for the antiquated male mind.
Busy Schedule
"Tonight Is Your Speech At The Harley Davidson Hogs For A Female Cause and Friday We Have The Women In Business Male Empowerment Seminar; A Networking Event For Business Women Run By Men."
Filling Judy/Birdgirl in on her appearance schedule, Gillian's rundown of Judy's absurd obligations is a prime example of laughing over tears. As Judy arrives in a sleek black dress and Benji slides over to her saying he never misses the event for "obvious reasons," Benji's wanton words to his CEO paint a brazen allusion to the objectification of women in the workplace.
The male empowerment networking event for women run by men furthers the satire. Riffing on how corporate fundraisers are often done out of obligation rather than conviction, and how men can take the most female-centric cause and still make it about themselves, Judy's schedule would be a gas if it wasn't so painfully on the nose.
Honest To A Fault
"I Was Raised To Never Say Anything Honest To A Woman."
The innovator behind the Calypsis toilet and the Cancel Cabin, Brian O'Brien (Rob Delaney, The Man Who Fell To Earth) is Sebben & Sebben's head of human waste and resident airhead. Playing "Honest Assessment" with Gillian, Brian's admission is true to form for a man with a head filled with tumbleweeds.
With a six-pack and no romantic nuance, Brian shares that manipulation is the only courting he knows. Deception for physical connection is a cruel game, but his transparency works for Meredith (Negin Farsad, Bull), as Brian is the only person at Sebben & Sebben with quite literally nothing in their head.
Built For Speed And Comfort
"Oh, Man! A Euro-cut Thigh Hole Fortified Junk Pouch?! It Is Like You Crawled Inside My Brain."
Paul (Tony Hale, HouseBroken), aka The Feels, is Sebben & Sebben's in-office masseuse and the Birdteam's pelvic pull. While the rest of the team is less enthused about their costumes, Paul is certifiably torqued to show off his hardware.
Usually operating out of his "Zen Pen," Paul's touch and tone serve to disrobe and disarm the stressors of his coworkers. The Feels' costume essentially being a thong and an ascot is perfect for the smooth masseuse, as it allows his body to finally get the attention usually reserved for his coworkers.
When A Dog's Gotta Go
"Speaking Of A** Clenching, Anyone Headed Outside?"
Dog with Bucket Hat runs the security at Sebben & Sebben. Brought to life by the gravel-voiced John Doman (City on a Hill), he protects the office and its secrets while navigating being a talking dog.
In a meeting between Judy, Meredith, and Charlie about budget balancing, Dog with Bucket Hat's pun is a fun play on Meredith's "a**-clenchingly precarious" balance sheet and the fact that despite holding a high-end corporate job, he can't go potty unless someone takes him outside to his favorite fire hydrant.
Thread Count
"I Perused The Topple Popple Boards And Organized All The Online Hate Comments About Judy Into Categories. There's Weird, Weird-Violent, Weird-Sexual, Angry-Weird, Angry-Sexual, And Funny."
After a virus is launched at the Sebben & Sebben servers in response to Judy's slimming of the preposterously girthy Topple Popple cans, Judy and the Birdteam must dig into the trenches of the internet to figure out who's behind the cyber attack.
What Gillian uncovers is a dark truth for almost any woman online: regardless of who they are and what good they've done, a community of keyboard creeps exists and communicates with the sole intent of fetishized hate and objectification. Though the hacker isn't who they'd expect, the deeper truth is far worse than a brand diehard with meaty hands.
Charlie Bit Me
"So I've Done Some Questionable Things For The Company. Big Whoop. You Have To Break A Few Necks To Make A Capitalism."
Though Charlie's origin/power source isn't unveiled until season 2, her dedication to Sebben & Sebben never comes into question. As the building becomes sentient in an attempt to subvert modernity, Charlie and the rest of the team are forced to look inward with dire urgency.
Laughing off the bodies and baby seals she's slaughtered in the name of capitalism, it's not until she's faced with sacrificing Judy that she understands the repercussions of what she's done. What good is a full bank account if it means sacrificing your peers and morality in the name of a soulless entity?
Right In The Feels
"Find Somebody Else To Touch Your Back Fat."
Uttered every time Paul is summoned mid-massage, this decree plays as the flipping of the switch from Paul to The Feels. While Paul is more than happy to work out the knots in the "Zen Pen," The Feels has more pressing kneads.
Paul's tonal shift and bodily disgust ping hilariously out of character, but as a sworn-in member of the Birdteam, his commitment to a higher calling outweighs his affinity for serenity and executive touch.
Wink Wink
"I'm Really Only Passionate About What I Do After Work."
Conveying her corporate fatigue over the phone to the guy taking her Ramen order, Judy's confession is a fun and obvious wink to her clandestine calling as Birdgirl. Moments later, she'd be cast into the role of CEO at Sebben & Sebben and her journey of crime-fighting and corporate reinvention would be on its way.
Birdgirl is as much about Judy discovering who she is as it's about superheroism. No longer just a job or a sidekick, her prominence as CEO gives her the public platform to change her familial legacy for the better while drawing from the fearlessness that comes with the bird suit. A birth and a death on the same day, Judy's passion and pursuit of all things good is her lifework.