Once again, Big Mouth managed to explore the good, the bad, and the very ugly aspects of adolescence, this time with a healthy dose of meta commentary (which only served to make the show even more enjoyable). Yes, the series is crass. Yes, it’s certainly not for everyone. But boy does it hit on the insanity of middle school in a way no other series has ever attempted to touch.* Was it a perfect season? No, but it was pretty great.
Ok, Pen15 certainly hits on some of these issues – and with more finesse and fewer dick jokes – something Big Mouth absolutely knows and even tacitly acknowledged this season by having Pen15‘s co-creators Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle guest star as seventh graders with their own sitcom.
Let’s get my major complaint out of the way: There was way too much focus on Nick Birch at the expense of other, more interesting and complex characters like Jessi or even Andrew. Sure, Nick does have the titular big mouth of the title, but he’s remained the least interesting of the show’s central characters throughout the entire series. I wouldn’t have minded all that much if the focus of his arc this season really made him grow or change in a major way, but even him learning his lesson regarding opening himself up for the help and love of those around him didn’t seem all that crucial to changing his thought process. Yes, he needed to be a focal point of the season considering how he was the wrecking ball that helped shatter several friendships at the close of season three, but he didn’t need to be the linchpin of the season four arc as a result. A little Nick goes a long way, and while other characters have spent the past four seasons truly growing up, Nick remains disappointingly stagnant. Yes, kids grow and mature at different rates – which is something the series has made clear – but Nick needs to start evolving mentally as a character if not physically. Especially if the series wants to keep him as a key focal point moving forward.
Now, onto the good. After three seasons of shaky minority representation on the series (if I’m being generous), Big Mouth finally took the plunge and really addressed several of the troubling issues that were hanging over the series in regard to it being super white, straight, and male. The biggest change (and likely the most well known) was Jenny Slate stepping down from voicing Missy (with the series throwing out a meta comment early in season four about having a white woman voice a biracial character) and Ayo Edebiri taking over the role. While the change didn’t happen until late in episode nine, it was pretty seamless. While I certainly enjoyed Slate’s work on the series (and she will continue voicing her other characters), I’m excited to see more of Edebiri’s take on Missy in the next season.
Aside from the major change in casting, Big Mouth allowed Missy a chance to get out of her comfort zone and embrace her Black heritage in a way that was refreshing to see. While dealing with the physical and emotional elements of growing up is a crucial part of adolescence, finding your place in the world isn’t just limited to that. Dealing with your sexuality (which the series has addressed in truly excellent fashion with Matthew’s arc in season four) and how the outside world perceives you (whether that be your race, sexual orientation, gender identity, or ethnicity) is all a crucial part of adolescence. While there were certainly some missteps (the early parts of Natalie’s camp arc were cringey before the writers found their footing), season four was a great deal more inclusive to tweens of all backgrounds.
I absolutely could have used more Jessi and even more Andrew (who still seems to be vacillating between a decent, if insanely horny, kid and a bundle of toxic masculinity – something that the series needs to spend some additional time on to really get a handle on whether this is just a facet of Andrew’s personality or if he’s backsliding into his toxic actions of the past). And Missy kind of faded into the background in the final episodes, which was also a bit of a disappointment. But, as with many shows with large casts, there are a lot of mouths to feed so some characters are bound to get lost in the shuffle. Ultimately, it was a strong season, and it was great to get to spend more time with this crazy bunch of characters (and we even got another “bubble bath” reference from Maya Rudolph’s Connie – who was in true fine form throughout the season; I’ll take an entire spin-off that is juts the hormone monsters living their best lives, thank you very much). I’m excited to see what Big Mouth has in store for us for the remainder of eighth grade and hopefully beyond.
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