Episode Review: No Chemistry Whatsoever 9/1/13

     Installment 12 of AIC is up!  You should read it too, whether or not you follow AIC.  There's a fun surprise at the end.  In the meantime, however, I will be reviewing last week's episode...

     "No Chemistry Whatsoever" is an episode full of contradictions.  The A-side of the episode (Connie's chemistry class, which is extremely alliterative and fun to say), contradictory to almost every other episode with two stories, is worse than the B-side.  Penny has risen to become a major character since GRC, but her pointless role in this episode contradicts that.  The moral of Connie's experience contradicts the moral that's slapped on the episode description.  It's such contradictions like these that make it a confusing episode.  The parts you expected to be satisfying (Penny, the idea of Eugene teaching Connie chemistry) wind up unsatisfying, and the parts you expected to be unsatisfying (Barret and a seemingly cliche storyline surrounding him) wind up satisfying. 
     For the first couple scenes, everything was going as planned: Penny's song was fairly amusing if a bit awkward, Eugene was shaping up to be an interesting chemistry teacher, and Barret's storyline seemed like filler.  Then, around the time of her presentation that turned her hair blonde, I stopped caring about Connie's predicament, because her behavior was, in essence, another contradiction.  She seemed to be failing the class on purpose, but she still complained about it to Whit.  I didn't understand Connie's behavior at all until later in the episode, and even that explanation has its flaws.  That storyline had lost me, so I began to pay more attention to Barret in his dilemma.
     There was also a turning point in that storyline that made me pay attention to it.  It was probably around the time he explained his plan of memorizing ridiculously short verses to Olivia.  We've seen Odyssians try to take the easy way out before, but this was regarding the Bible, making it a bit more serious.  I was actually amused by Barret's plan, and eagerly awaited what would come of it.  Olivia seems to be the new Lucy in that she tries to steer her male friends out of trouble (Remember Isaac and Curt?).  This is a good role for her, and she works well as a "goody two-shoes".  The story continued to captivate me until the very end, and it's one of the few times in recent memory where I've really enjoyed a slice-of-life story starring kids (of course, there's "The Friend Formula", but that's next week).
    Meanwhile, I only half paid attention to Connie's predicament, but I did catch the scene with her and Eugene, where the real reason for Connie's lack of excitement was explained: Eugene, her friend and rival at the same time, was in a position of authority over her.  Connie had to humble herself and admit Eugene was better than her in this subject, something no one really wants to do.  That's the reason I'm confused about the moral: "The value of hard work"?  I can see it with Barret of course, but I personally don't believe Connie's problem was laziness.  The scene with Eugene proved that.  This is yet another contradiction, and it makes me all the more confused.
     Ultimately, I'll split this review in half: Barret's storyline, the B-side, gets an 8/10.  Connie's storyline, the A-side, gets a 5/10.  What's the average of 8 and 5?  Just a little over 6/10.  This episode was quite surprising, and the surprises weren't always good.  It benefited from a great B-side storyline, but the rest of the episode leaved a lot to be desired. 

     No Chemistry Whatsoever Rating: 6/10

     Don't forget to check out the new AIC!
     Thanks for reading!