Just when it seems that Son of Zorn cannot outdo itself in terms of comedy along comes “The Battle of Self Acceptance.” There are a number of firsts in this episode. Alangulon becomes addicted to an appearance altering Zephyrian drug, Craig trains to be a warrior and Zorn discovers that Linda is a woman.
This episode kept the gags coming at a rapid pace. From Linda’s worry about the CEO, who does not like her, coming to visit, to Alan’s desire to change his Zephyrian “lower half” everything was up in the air. The visual jokes ran thick and fast as well.
(The fish oil man gag was hysterical. Alangulon asks about an appearance altering drug that the cave doctor has on offer. “The first taste is free. After that, b*tch better have my money.” Zorn comes back in the room after sucking on the fish guy’s hole. With green stuff on his chin and one leg thrumming, he shouts excitedly “…give me my flu shot and a lollipop…”)
Son of Zorn “The Battle of Self Acceptance” starts with Craig and Edie planning their wedding. Watching a video of Edie’s marriage to Zorn causes Craig some problems. You never, he tells his fiancee, look at me like that.
The first gag of the episode follows soon after when he correctly identifies the braid Edie is wearing as a “Dutch braid.” He then “challenges” Zorn to be able to match his prowess in identifying braid types.
Craig: “I’d like to see Zorn correctly identify a braid.”
Zorn (on the video): “I love you, Edie, and, hey, I love your Dutch braid.”
Craig: “Son of a…
His insecurity increases when Craig and Edie hear a suspicious noise when they are in bed. Craig is clearly terrified and Edie sends a text to Zorn. Her ex comes and saves the two from a tree branch.
Zorn: “Don’t worry, though. I hacked it off, uprooted the tree, and salted the earth so nothing can ever grow there again.”
Feeling very ineffectual, Craig asks Zorn to give him warrior lessons. These include numerous slaps and a montage of training scenarios.
The training stops after Craig stands up to Zorn. The Zephyrian warrior drops to his knees in front of Edie’s fiancé and sings his praises. He also explains that for Craig to win as a warrior he needs to sucker punch the opposition.
Alan finds that the free drug he took to change his appearance works but has side effects and severe withdrawal symptoms. He is desperate to get more of the drug, now $500, and as he looks for things to sell, Craig attacks him and beats Alan up.
(The second comedy highlight of the episode was Pemberton’s scream when his character looks into the mirror and sees his Zephyrian nose.)
In the meantime, Linda has been demoted and now works in a cubicle near Zorn. The penny finally drops and he realizes that Linda has been a woman all this time. Later Zorn explains his sense of loss to his former boss.
“You were one of the guys,” he says. “You were my bro’. You know? And now? No mo’ bro… you know?”
Zorn comes over to help with Alan’s drug problem. Craig sees that Zorn has now learned to be more than a murderous barbarian and the bonding between Edie, Alan and Zorn causes Craig to leave.
Edie comes home to a spotless house and “apple and carrot” muffins; left by Craig as a going away gift. Alan learns that Layla likes him just the way he is, Zephyrian legs are, it seems, perfectly acceptable to her.
Uncertain as to what her next move should be, Edie goes to see Zorn. She walks into the apartment and finds that Zorn and Linda have clearly just had sex…twice. (Or as Zorn says, technically one and a half times…)
This was a brilliantly funny episode. The laughs came less from the quirkiness of the Zephyria juxtaposition and more from the standard issues that affect us all.
Alan’s worry that Layla will not like his many penii and his Zephyrian legs and Craig’s feelings of inadequacy. Zorn’s failure to see Linda as a woman until she worked next to him and Alan’s leg issues were related to the Zephyrian storyline but not reliant upon it.
Son of Zorn continues to be a funny addition to the FOX lineup. The series airs Sundays on the network and it just keeps getting better.
CAST:
- Jason Sudeikis – Zorn
- Cheryl Hines – Edie
- Johnny Pemberton – Alan
- Tim Meadows – Craig
- Artemis Pebdani – Linda
- Cameron Monaghan – Jeff
- Mark Proksch – Todd
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