TL;DR: Started out great, ended up with the main character becoming a jerk who mistreats his friends, girlfriend, and parents, and shifted the focus to over-idealized politics that somehow ignore how everyone in the show that has their material needs met becomes a terrible person.
What started out as a quirky coming-of-age show plummeted into some very dark, antisocial territory. By this final episode, we've seen Cootie and Flora go from innocent flirting to a toxic relationship, where they say they love each other but resort to verbal insults and sniping instead of discussing and modifying their bad habits like reasonable adults. Jones somehow developed the superpower to brainwash people by showing them distorted images of reality, sort of like you see in the news today. There is no logic to her images: if people only respect each other's property out of a fear of violence, how could they ever possibly respect one another enough to make a society where everyone is equal work? The mega-wealthy Hero, who has all his material needs met, is a horrible person. Cootie himself was far nicer and more relatable when he was struggling to find money for a burger; once he became a model and didn't have to worry about finances, his entire character changed. He now has social/financial power, and chooses to resort to violence to bring about change. Worse, he now has friends, and chooses to treat them as commodities that he can use: Flora and Jones for their powers and Felix for his car. He even accuses his parents of making useless weapons and accomplishing nothing. Not forgetting poor Scat, whose death he politicizes and then never mentions again, even though his ghost is still hanging around. Jones, in her/their naïve idealism, doesn't seem to grasp that having their needs met just makes a person adjust their needs. Indeed, it seems like the characters are all at their best when they're longing for something they don't have, because it gives them goals to strive for. Give them what they want, and they cease to appreciate it, the way Cootie does with his friends and family. If there's a next season, I hope they take this into a healthier, less cynical direction. I know Cootie can never go back to being innocent and idealistic, but he can at least stop wanting to be "the villain".
What started out as a quirky coming-of-age show plummeted into some very dark, antisocial territory. By this final episode, we've seen Cootie and Flora go from innocent flirting to a toxic relationship, where they say they love each other but resort to verbal insults and sniping instead of discussing and modifying their bad habits like reasonable adults. Jones somehow developed the superpower to brainwash people by showing them distorted images of reality, sort of like you see in the news today. There is no logic to her images: if people only respect each other's property out of a fear of violence, how could they ever possibly respect one another enough to make a society where everyone is equal work? The mega-wealthy Hero, who has all his material needs met, is a horrible person. Cootie himself was far nicer and more relatable when he was struggling to find money for a burger; once he became a model and didn't have to worry about finances, his entire character changed. He now has social/financial power, and chooses to resort to violence to bring about change. Worse, he now has friends, and chooses to treat them as commodities that he can use: Flora and Jones for their powers and Felix for his car. He even accuses his parents of making useless weapons and accomplishing nothing. Not forgetting poor Scat, whose death he politicizes and then never mentions again, even though his ghost is still hanging around. Jones, in her/their naïve idealism, doesn't seem to grasp that having their needs met just makes a person adjust their needs. Indeed, it seems like the characters are all at their best when they're longing for something they don't have, because it gives them goals to strive for. Give them what they want, and they cease to appreciate it, the way Cootie does with his friends and family. If there's a next season, I hope they take this into a healthier, less cynical direction. I know Cootie can never go back to being innocent and idealistic, but he can at least stop wanting to be "the villain".