atticbattic Review of The Villains of Valley View

The Villains of Valley View (2022– )

Needs work (the mother character) but decent concept

[6/10 · 22 June 2022]

A lot of people say that this is like the Thundermans, which as a fan of that show, I can say they are definitely similar. But I can't blame Disney for trying to break into the superhero genre when Nick has had some great hits in that area. I think the main issue is that they don't really know how to write the characters yet. The characters motivations change each episode, and most of the family are big hypocrites. In the first episode, the parents open with talking about how they can't tell anyone the supervillain secret- then let their youngest son use his new powers to scare random bystanders. After the neighbor girl (who is actually a good actor and a reasonable character) discovers them, the family gets freaked out enough to almost move away, all while using their abilities in public still with little consequences. Amy is the main character, and I feel as if she definitely should have held back on the "I can try being good" speech until AFTER she yanno,,,,,, was willing to be good. She still doesn't really care even after "becoming friends" thing. Best character hands down is Jake, the older brother. His desires are consistent: he wants praise and success, is willing to "hold back his villain side" to win student of the month and make good scores on his tests, but also will side with whichever will end with him having the most payoff. He is constantly trying to remind the cast of the plot, as they are never being discreet, and their lives are actively in danger. He's the dented can of the family (whatever that means) and gets called a disappointment a lot, which makes him easily sympathetic for anyone with a heart. The family has some good lines and jokes, especially the dad who really nails the evil voice and dialogue, but good GOD the mother is horrible. I don't know if it's the writers fault, the actor, or maybe even the director, but something is causing most of her jokes to miss or just be unbearable when onscreen. Plus for someone who is supposedly worthy of a promotion, she is DENSE in the second episode. I have hope that it will get better, and think that if any story is introduced it could improve a LOT. It just needs a sense of direction. Maybe give it a few months to see if this score improves before checking it out.