Kid Cosmic Season 3: It has No Right to be THIS GOOD

| Ivan Montero Creative

At the time of me writing this, my mother is making lunch and I have four videos to edit + work at 4 pm later today. SO. This one will likely be quick… we all hope. If this title isn’t already clear: the show is heckin’ amazing, but season 3 vamped it up.

Spoilers for Kids Cosmic S3 Ahead

I didn’t watch Kid Cosmic S3 right as it came out. It took me a few days because I wanted to try to finish It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia before diving into Kid Cosmic and Murderville, but I saw that The Cuphead Show is being released – OOP. TODAY – So. Wow. That was an unpleasant realization; at least today’s my final day of cleaning service work? … ANYWAY, HERE WE GO!

I had fallen in love in Kid Cosmic: The Local Heroes (Season 1) when I discovered it last summer. it had already been on Netflix for a few months since February that same year, but it hadn’t hit my radar until the summer. So, when Kid Cosmic: The Intergalactic Truckstop! (Season 2) was released later on in 2021, I was both happy and shocked. You see, usually, television shows have a “run” that is similar to the school systems’. That is why you will rarely see shows pop up in January or “Spring” with a “full episode order” (anywhere from 20-23 episodes) but rather with a mid-season order (anywhere from 6 to 8 to 10 to 13 episodes, with 10 being streaming service’s choice for sitcoms; unknowingly why). So, I was pretty taken aback by how quickly new episodes were produced and released. I guess that’s the beauty of doing everything in-house like Netflix, haha! Now, imagine my seizuring EXCITEMENT when suddenly Netflix announces they will release Kid Cosmic: The Global Heroes! (Season 3) in less than one month, last month! Interestingly, however, Kid Cosmic’s episode count per season diminishes by two every season; i.e., S1 started with 10 Episodes, S2 cut back to 8 Episodes, while Season 3 got only 6 episodes. On the flip side, Season 1’s episodes were anywhere from 11-18 minutes, averaging around most likely 15.5 minutes per episode? They were pretty short. Comparatively, Season 2’s episodes were all around 17 – 20 minutes each, while Season 3 Episodes were 23-26 minutes each. So, the episode count decreased, yes, but the episodes got longer with more content, sweet yesssssssss! This strategy was PERFECT for Kid Cosmic’s storytelling.

This brings me to my (I guess second?) point: Kid Cosmic overall employs the Three Act Story Structure beautifully. Other than having only three seasons to match the Three Act Story Structure, it really employs the structure while using Dave Harmon’s story Circle, as well. At the start of Season 3, the Global Heroes are fighting crime a little too well – in fact, hilariously, Jo convinces everyone this is a fake world when she asks if a world could actually exist with them being the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, having a nice homage to Marvel Comics and The Avengers. The heroes began S3 in the fifth stage of Dave Harmon’s [8-Step] Story Circle: Find – Your hero finds what they’re looking for. From here, you can go MANY different ways, but in both The Story Circle and The Hero’s Journey (12-Step Formula for Storytelling [I use all three + Five Act Story Structure for my scripts and stories; just depends on the type of story]), this is the point where things usually aren’t exactly what they may seem.

Kid Cosmic Season 3 beautifully employs the fifth stage of The Story Circle as a way to “establish a normal world” (applying Act 1/Stages 1-2) for both the characters and the audience. It isn’t until Kid sees his parents and see that… he feels absolutely nothing and this fantasy world he is living is not what he thought he always wanted. It was a touching moment of growth for Kid, finally. This show puts Kid through SOOOOO much, but deservingly so. Usually, you see everyone gets a handle on their powers within seconds or minutes of them using them. Doctor Strange, Shazam!, and Sky High all did really well showing the heroes learn their powers little by little. In fact, in Doctor Strange, Stephen Strange was SUPER depowered and he was only using a few spells because he was inexperienced, so, in the final fight, his cunning and cleverness allowed him to succeed – not necessarily power (brains over brawns [also, see, guys? I can see the good in terrible movies! *playful wink*]). Kid had to go through this treatment time after time after time after time after- you get it, but this is how it felt. Why? Because Kid would simply not learn his lesson, because he’s a kid. Kid’s often forgot and they are impulsive and are often entitled and selfish, but ultimately, all they want is to be heard as human beings, honestly. Kid just wanted to be heard and to be seen as someone important, like his comic book heroes. He wanted to do all of this, not because he was inspired truly by his heroes, but because he wanted to be a hero and everything that his perception came with it: fame, glory, gadgets, and awesome storylines. He had to go through all of the crap that he had to go through to finally realize that being a hero isn’t what he thought. Being a hero… is being hopelessly stuck in outer space with nothing but what little air you have left, HAHA! I shouldn’t laugh, Rosa almost died. But I thought the message was clear and clever, so I chuckled cuz it was THAT good! It elicited me to chuckle in amazement!

I thought Kid’s “Dark Night of the Soul” happened when he saw his parents and said, “My parents made me feel happy. I don’t feel anything now. My real parents would have never made me feel this way.” <- That broke my heart. That was… what maturity. EVERYONE TAKE NOTE. He didn’t allow himself to be tricked by emotions or fantasy. He stayed true to his missions: saving the world, not saving rewards. HOWEVER… Kid’s real dark night of the soul was when everyone actually gave up and, at every turn, Kid and Jo faced one obstacle after another; it was too much for Kid so he gave up. Act three really kicks off once Rosa returns with the heroes’ RINGS OF POWER!

From there, it’s a steady incline toward that climax. So. We need to talk about something. Kid Cosmic S3 made me CRY, I want to say, TWICE. Throughout the series, Kid’s backstory is hinted at and talked about by the townsfolk. At this point, we know that Kid’s parents – one had to be Papa G’s child (or not, considering how much here referred to them as “kid’s parents” and how much he wanted them to come back to him – wait, no, biologically, one has to be his. Kid calls him “grandpa” at the climax) – died in an accident and that Papa G and Kid bonded over Papa G’s old comic books. Season 3, Episode 5 “Kid Comic and the Planet Killer” finally gives us what we needed to know. They showed us the after math, the effects of the death of Kid’s parents on him, and Papa G doing what he can to break through and bond with Kid. In the end, Kid and Papa g make a bike that Kid uses to run away but comes back realizing that Papa G loves him and he loves Papa G (also, I don’t know how I didn’t catch “Planet Protection Group” as “The PPG” and Papa G knew this was fake the ENTIRE time, kinda running the place second-hand, HAHA!). When the rocks fell on Papa G and (I knew the crystal Papa G had was the fourteenth stone and that it was a healing stone; it was staring at us in the face, haha!) Kid was crying as he dug through the rocks begging that he couldn’t lose Papa G as well, that… that got me, man. Then when he called Papa G grandpa when PPG was moving slowly… The following episode began with a funeral and I stopped the episode, sat for five minutes, and continued shedding two tears. Then I laughed and shouted, “OF COURSE” when he arrived at the funeral, HAHA!

The lessons that Kid goes through are what make this series worth watching. If you want to know how to write a series or use story structure well, then this is the show for you. Also, it’s DIGESTABLE. You can binge it in one night, maybe two. Kid finally understood what it meant to be a hero and he decided that the only way to stop Erodius was to risk his own life to get the rings of power back to The Global Heroes. In the end, the heroes decide to stay quiet about the events that transpired but go back on that word when they decide to send a transmission to space letting the galaxy and beyond know that Mo’s Oasis Cafe was now open for galactic business welcoming all the aliens that the heroes made friends with in season two BRINGING A BEAUTIFUL AND AWESOME CIRCLE TOGETHER!!

Kid Cosmic Season 3 gets a 10/10 for an Ivan rating and the series as a whole also gets a solid 10/10.

You can find my work by exploring through my website and my social media handles. If you’re looking for professional senior, lifestyle, or wedding portraits done for you or someone you know, send me a message! I am now booking for the remainder of this year as well as for the 2022 year! Inclusively, I am also booking for Logo, Package, and Cover Art designs, while additionally, offering video services for your business, commercial, music video, or short film. If you have any questions, send me a message using my contact me form below or visiting my contact page. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *