Sp-sp-spoiiillerrrr warning! This review is as spoiler-free as possible, but we’d probably advise that you listen to this episode first if you don’t want this review to “cross” ahead of your experience.
It’s that time of year when we pick the one (and possibly only) brand of episode review this website has been able to do consistently since the literal day it was created: Rydell episode reviews. There was a time when everything that could be said on a single Rydell episode would typically end up being said, making any opinions at AIO Writer’s Block (or The New AIO Blog, whichever it may be)…less relevant. Not so in the final days of 2024. After all the discussions, debates, and controversy, the once-notorious Rydell Arc has lost a bit of its provocative luster, a phenomenon we’ll take a look at here shortly.
This review is going to be a conglomeration of all the categories we’ve defined as making a whole episode. Those are, as a reminder, music, making, moral, and emotional weight. We’re going to start with Making today, which is where we generally end up covering the plot side of things.
Making
Adventures in Odyssey continued its move away from “Rydell” in this story with a more to-the-point plot line, which I appreciated. The intro of Part 1 had some great and immediate setup, a testament to AIO’s skill in getting the audience invested. It’s important to notice that the new antagonists of this chapter of the Rydell saga involve threats or dilemmas coming against Cooper, Morrie, Suzu, and now, Emily. While in the transition, disagreements arose as a part of the latter three’s history, and that initial dispensation is now becoming an irrelevant detail as they face these new foes. As the adage says, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Chekov’s gun began smoking immediately as the episodes began, with all the people I predicted to be antagonists showing up right away, though I couldn’t have foreknew how the story was possibly linked together. Adventures in Odyssey wastes no time establishing the villains when it comes to Rydell episodes (unless the villain is Morrie Rydell, then as much as four years is appropriate). Another curious note was the team, but specifically Cooper, referring to Emily as “Em,” a sign of their developing relationship. I loved the cliffhanger ending that is working up to what may finally be a satisfying Era 6 conclusion to this length of an arc. My initial theory listening to part one revolved around some more sinister cloaking or mind control tech, but the reality was…less elaborate. There was one error that may just be a nitpick on my part, and that was Cooper’s reference to Suzu as a strong “Zuzu” in the opening act. It still made for an excellent story, though, which is why this category earns four and a half stars in my book.
Note: There’s something I never really noticed until this episode’s credits started rolling. The time is coming (and has probably already passed), when the seats all of the AIO cast and crew will be filled with completely new members who are disconnected from the original days of Adventures in Odyssey. Even then, some of the team members we have now started out in the 2000s and are going on their third decade as AIO employees. That won’t be so for long. The Odyssey team now has capable actors, sound designers, directors, and writers who jumped in two or three years ago. Now, this isn’t a bad thing, it’s just one more thing to think about. It’s also a testament to the pretty immortal quality of Odyssey. To paraphrase AIOpinions, this show will really only ever end when Focus stops funding it.
Moral
The moral of this episode was masterfully constructed. This wasn’t merely because it was a good lesson that lined up, because many often are when it comes to Odyssey. I especially thought highly of this moral because the application could be instantly witnessed. For whatever it’s worth, AIO has completely shed the “ends justify the means” message. In real-time, the audience saw Suzu’s actions’ very risky effect in parts 1 and 2. The scoldings she got from the principal, Emily, and later Morrie were almost exactly what I felt like giving as the events unfolded. That was another element that this episode used. Hearing what Suzu did in both her missteps, you can’t help but feel frustration–frustration that seems to be woven into the “list of intended reactions.” The flip side of this is witnessing Morrie’s reaction when Suzu informs him of how she apprehended the antagonists at the end of Part 2. I want to focus on him for a moment, too. His character development over the past few years has been astounding to witness, as he originally would be 100% behind her whole scheme and probably even aid as an accomplice. We didn’t even see this attitude in “The Team”, when it was clear a reluctant Morrie only wanted to follow the rules Emily set. Morrie’s “In God’s hands” and “arrogant dumb ones” comments are little slips of huge development. We’re assuredly leading down a likely powerful salvation arc for him, and I’m remarkably for it. Again, the moral premise the other episodes have set is being put aside here, which makes this a 5/5 category for Kris-Crossed.
Music
Over the past few years, Jared Depasquale has locked in his style for Rydell episodes that I’ve appraised. This episode maintained the lingering of Revelations and a bit of the intensity of Realizations. I also caught some notes of the classic Rydell theme from the Sacrificial Escape days, which is among my favorite themes. Four stars.
Emotional Weight
I was feeling a three-and-a-half-star category here in the initial moments of Part 1 when there was not much to write home about. As the episode progressed, however, it sought to defy me as I was continually pulled in with moments of intrigue at Emily’s accusation and frustration as Suzu’s interruptions occurred. I even found myself audibly agreeing with Morrie in the final act during his confrontation with Suzu (shocker, right?). The tension in this episode was very well put together, and it really just felt like a good-old Odyssey mystery story without most of the Rydell drama attached. This episode had its classic Morrie comedic moments. One in particular was his “that’s not how it works in the real world” line in part two. Phil Lollar outdid himself in this category, earning four and a half stars.
Final Thoughts
Here’s the dilemma and how to approach it. “The team” isn’t going anywhere. Any objections to it or the morality behind it, as we found out during that whole Rydell Reconstruction escapade in April, are definitively behind the writers and evidently a majority of fans, too. So let’s take this episode, as we’ll have to with every Rydell story in the future, ceteris paribus, or all things equal and aside. This is because, again, we are in a clearly different chapter of this almost decade-long saga anyway. It seems the removal from all of that initial drama really helped this episode shine in its strength: being a classic mystery story with a familiar set of characters. Kris-Crossed truly is a great episode with a solid plotline and a moral that is going to be great fodder as this storyline continues.
Now, the biggest complaint regarding this episode arose from it being the number 1000th episode. I thought Chris’s intro was a nice touch, to be honest, but my fellow Adventures in Odyssey fans didn’t seem to agree. Reading any arguments against it, the real issue didn’t stem from a mainstream episode being episode 1000, but more that mainstream episode was a Rydell episode. Phil Lollar was rather self-congratulatory, and to be honest, it’s not too sycophantic to be congratulatory along with him. It’s credit to the three decades of work he’s put on this show. I suppose it would’ve been preferable to include episodes that didn’t have any particular…history behind them. Some fans suggested Better Buck Next Time as an alternative. That, I don’t disagree with. However, we’ve known since well before now that episode 1000 wasn’t going to be any sort of special episode. AIO also stated that the OGP episode was not going to be episode 1000. As far as I could see, One Grand Party was just a long-overdue celebration of a number of recent monumental occasions. The fact that episode 1000 happened to be a Rydell episode is irrelevant.
My ultimate theory is this. All of these “foes” the team has faced over the past couple of episodes have been one-on-one, tackling each of this new team in their respective focus episodes. I’m seeing an Avengers-style plot unfolding where every character has had their individual challenge. I’m hoping for an Endgame of sorts, which, regardless of what you’ve thought of Rydell over the past decade, would be an epic finish and a good apology for that whole Revelations mess. I’m still sure the antagonist of Realizations is coming back, but this episode has me wondering if we’ll be seeing these ones in the future too. This theory only came out after I remembered we haven’t even reconciled the very first “team episode’s” battle with Cooper. Point being said, I’m cautiously optimistic about the future of the “Jones-Team Saga” (newly introduced name) for the first time in almost five years. AIO still has a creative spark yet, even with so many bumps along the way. We’ll see how they do. For now,
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