“Knuckles” Season 1 Review

Brief Overview

I was never expecting Knuckles to get a spin-off show. Surprisingly, I didn’t even know this would be a show until the very first trailer came out. I knew there and then we were going to be onto a winner.

The Sonic franchise has had a fairly successful time which is one hell of a feat when you consider what happened when the first trailer was released. We’ve had 2 movies, a soon-to-be third, and now a spin-off series which is only a good thing for movie fans.

The Knuckles series firmly plants itself alongside the Sonic films which only benefits the show further. All of the original voice actors returned including Idris Elba who voiced Knuckles perfectly in the second film and through the 6 episode season.

The lengths this franchise can go in live-action is great, I’m looking forward to seeing where go after this show. We already know Keanu Reeves will be voice acting Shadow in the 3rd installment. I do see a second season on the horizon for Knuckles on the back of this.

Story – 9/10

The story centers around Knuckles being unable to adapt to life on Earth. After the destruction of the Wachowski house, they’re desperately trying to repair it. Knuckles doesn’t allow anyone to do the work needed as he sees them as a threat.

After turning the house into his kingdom, he’s then hilariously grounded before going on a journey to find an apprentice warrior after having a conversation with another Echidna. It’s very well structured in how it plays out.

I never lost interest in the story and enjoyed it as it progressed. It was never a story that you needed to take seriously or invest in like other superhero shows. It was an easy-to-follow story that never lost its trail. I particularly liked being able to sit back and watch a show that was straightforward, fun and had some feel-good moments. You don’t have to focus on it to much, you can relax when you watch it.

Action – 8.5/10

It’s a Knuckles show. It wouldn’t be a Knuckles show without some incredible action sequences. It’s not a 10/10 simply due to the fact some episodes didn’t feature any action at all – the musical episode for example. Don’t get me wrong, the action was great when it happened, I ultimately wish there was more of it. It’s the same with the final episode action, I just expected more when Knuckles started rocking the Flames of Disaster.

Characters – 8.5/10

The first episode featured Sonic and Tails so it doesn’t get much better than that but this is a Knuckles show, not a Sonic show. I was a little skeptical about Wade carrying the show alongside Knuckles but once you sit back and take it as a fun show then you do begin to like Wade. The stupidness of some of it just makes the characters all that much better. Seeing Wade go from a scared cop who had nothing to do to having to escape a small cage is just fantastic.

As always, Idris Elba is perfect for the voice of Knuckles. It just works and I never thought it would when the announcement initially happened before the second movie was released.

For more information on the full cast list, you can visit IMDb by clicking here.

Entertainment – 9/10

Was I entertained? Absolutely. It was a sit-down and enjoy show. The similar vibe I got from this is like The Office or Big Bang Theory although only 1 season. It’s one of those shows that you don’t have to binge, you can take your time with it. I have a bad habit at times of losing concentration on shows, often finding myself scrolling through my phone when I know I shouldn’t. I tend to base some of my entertainment value based on that and I never found myself on my phone once during the show.

Episodes – 9/10

For the type of show it is, I didn’t have an issue with the episodes. They were shorter in comparison but it makes sense. Most of the episodes were around 25-27 minutes or so. That’s what I was talking about earlier when I mentioned the show is so easy to watch. I honestly think if the episodes were longer or the season was longer, it would’ve unnecessarily stretched out for no reason.

Antagonist – 3/10

The antagonist wasn’t great. There were 2 Agents hunting Knuckles but these weren’t remotely interesting. The antagonist section was the biggest letdown of it all. Dr. Robotnik’s protege was the actual main antagonist but he barely featured at all. I can’t say this section scores well at all as a result. I felt bitterly disappointed in the end. I know I’ve discussed investment into the show but at least with Robotnik he was annoyingly interesting.

Quality – 10/10

Quality is perfect. The acting was perfect. No complaints at all. It’s even more impressive that they can use these cartoon-type characters to look real in the world. I can’t say a lot more than that other than it was 10/10.

Favorite Episode

I’ve got to say it’s the finale for me. I am torn between the opening episode and the finale but The Flames of Disaster had me on the edge of my seat. I also loved the moment when Wade beat his father to win the National Bowling Championship. It felt bittersweet. It also had a similar vibe to the Dodgeball film with the ESPN commentary. A fantastic episode. We don’t review episodes episodically when the entire season is released in one go but I have an inkling the finale would’ve been 10/10.

Worst Episode

The musical episode was horrendous. The music was trash, the episode was trash. I had nothing in me at all to watch this. I even paused it at points to see how long was left just to get through it. A very boring episode and that’s putting it lightly.

Our Overall Rating 8/10

Overall, the series was great. I enjoyed it. It felt great that we finally got a solid universe when it comes to the Sonic franchise. Knuckles was a fun mini-series that had everything you would expect from the series besides a better antagonist. I hope we get to see Knuckles further develop as we move forward into a potential second season. I feel like we’re just getting started.

Does It Deserve Another Season?

100% it does. At this moment in time, we don’t have any announcements that a season 2 is inbound but I think it’s likely.

Availability

The show is exclusively available on Paramount+. You can sign up completely free for 7 days by clicking the below image;

Season Trailer

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Knuckles is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+. Try it FREE!