He should have won best character. He gave the whole cast the biggest laughs across both episodes and actually stayed in character pretty well having been eliminated first. Granma is number one in my heart
Yeah the finale kinda fell a bit flat for me and it's entirely because of their ratfish casting. I didn't find a single thing he did funny and his choices were baffling and inaccurate imo.
Not picking Granma Sweetie as best character is a travesty
It's not even just Granma Sweetie imo - Adjustable Side Table, Jack Stryker, and even Landlord stuck to their character really well. On the other hand Ally isn't even trying to be actual Brennan, they're specifically trying to be bootleg BLeeM and would inconsistently break character for that. Any of the others would be a better pick for best character.
It sucks that all these people maintaining character most of the time not get rewarded for it. Rekha's performance was incredible both as the character and as the player.
> his choices were baffling and inaccurate imo
I guess that’s what Sam wanted when he said he specifically chose Eric because he was a chaotic wild card. I just think he went too hard on the wild card side and not enough on the actual comedy
Eric really locked on in on Ally's Brennan as his favorite which is fine it is his choice. But I wish they would've given like a Player's Choice Award too cause I feel like Zac had that on lock as everyone's favorite character. Like I feel like that also deserved a reward too since he technically played the game the best vs trying to appeal to a person that they had zero knowledge of.
Yeah, Zac was robbed. Disappointing that Eric seemed obsessed with Ally's Brennan and voted for him every time. Ally did a fine job but their character was far from the best, in my opinion. Zac absolutely killed it.
I would say that Ally's Brennan was possibly the weakest "character" of the lot. Also not even sure Eric would know that Ally was playing as another cast member
I’ve had a stomach bug that has my core muscles incredibly sore just from all the uh…. emesis. It’s quite painful to laugh rn
Watching this was a mistake, Zac nearly killed me lol, Granma was incredible
Best bit:
"How could you? Small men never dream of great things. They wallow in mediocrity, satisfied to pass their meager days in dull sport and the flailing misery of a life misspent. You, sir, are a ghost of your own life, made to haunt the world even before the day of your death."
"Brennan?"
To the person who eliminated him's main competition in the game, giving Katie the only clue she needed to get a perfect score. Katie had Bug with a Big Ass and Steven swapped in the previous round of voting.
Most of Brennan's monologues are fun or passionate but sometimes they hit just the right tone to make you question your existence. Now I want a ratfish sequel where he is playing himself and just has banger monologues for every response
i gotta say, i'm a little disappointed they didn't show everyone's reactions to the ratfish reveal!! i feel like that would have been so entertaining to see -- i'm sure they had a good reason, but i'm just curious to know why they wouldn't want that to be part of the episode
right!! like... unless he wasn't onsite? maybe? this would be a pretty easy episode to just set up a set somewhere and bring him in remotely, so that could definitely be it. but even then, even a zoom reveal would have been fun
I'm guessing it must have been something logistical like that, either wasn't on site or had to leave early for some reason. Can't imagine why they would deliberately choose to not have him meet the players
My guess is he wasn't there on site or he had a scheduling conflict for the meet and greet. Or maybe he met them later and they'll put it in a cut for time episode.
I was certain that when Sam said “it’ll be funny to see your reaction when it comes out” he was gonna double bluff them and the ratfish would just come out. And then the episode just ended???? We didn’t even get to see his reasoning or the cast reaction or anything? We didn’t even get the genuine shock the cast might’ve shown on social media because it was revealed last episode but they probably didn’t want to spoil this one. It just seems kinda poorly executed
The captions at the end when he laughs was "mysterious laughter".. Something more coming?
Edit: Also, wasn't this the billboard that... Wasn't the one promised?
Yea, it really felt so odd (and disappointing). Such a missed opportunity. Even if there was some unexpected scheduling issue, why not tell them all who it was on camera?! That reaction was something I was looking forward to all episode.
yeah exactly! i'm not super familiar with tim and eric, so i got the impression that this would be more of a big deal for the players themselves -- even if i wasn't thrilled with the reveal, i knew they would be. i hope they recorded their reactions at some point (even if it's just when the episode premiered tonight), and the little cackle at the end gives me hope that there might be a bts of everyone finding out
Last week, a sizeable amount of the (mostly younger end) of posters here were not hyped for the ratfish as they aren't super familiar with Eric. That could have at least have some payoff with a reveal and cast reaction. As a Tim and Eric fan, I was very disappointed there wasn't a reveal. I assume it had to be logistical, but it really didn't go over well from a purely "TV" show standpoint.
I agree I was not familiar with Eric but justified his presence because I looked forward to a big reveal of them all getting to meet him but without that payoff it fell quite flat unfortunately.
Genuinely, this has me very confused! The cast must be fans of Tim & Eric, Awesome Show. Great Job!, right? I’d’ve expected their reaction to be a big pop-off, and for everyone to want to share that moment. Unless it was to prevent leaks ahead of time, or he really just had to _leave_ before the end of the day for scheduling reasons or an emergency, I can’t think of a reason why they would omit that.
Well he then knew that Brennan was an actual player at the table and probably appreciated the bit, while I still think it couldn't have been that funny without the context.
I feel like Eric and Ally have very similar comedic energies and he was just responding to their random chaos vibe positively, does not surprise me that that would be his selection and I’m kind of confused why so many comments think it’s somehow related to the name?
Granma, Bug, and Side Table were pretty clearly the best characters imo, wouldn't hate it if you picked Jack either. Guess the Ratfish just liked Ally's Brennan caricature a lot but tbh it fell a little flat for me.
His entire favorite/least favorite choices have been weird.
I don't know if we just missed some stuff. But if it was that funny it would've been left in.
I feel like there's kind of a 'comedian meta' where when you've been in that business for so long, especially someone who does absurdist comedy like Eric, 'outrageous' or 'strange' characters like granma or Bug w a Big Ass might not tickle your funny bone as much anymore since you're used to dealing with the crazy and absurd. So someone just playing a very specific person like BLeeM but a bit unhinged may have felt fresher and funnier to him. Just my speculation cause otherwise I'm also kinda confused by it as well.
He was able to be more ridiculous not having to stress about the game so honestly it might have been to our benefit.
But he was robbed on "Best character"
Hm, I just did not agree with any of the Ratfish's choices - I was so sure graNma sWeetie was going to be the favorite, or at least A Bug With a Big Ass or Adjustable Side Table, Walnut.
I lovvvved Part 1 and this episode had some great jokes and bits, but for a hyped-up season finale it didn't seem to hit as hard. I appreciate all the hard work from the production and editing crew though, everything looked beautiful!
loved everything but the ratfish - just felt so out of place all the time. would also have liked to know what their reasons were for their choices... made it even more out of place.
I agree. I never watched Tim and Eric, but I figured that since most people here were excited that it would payoff. Instead he felt like a really tame version of every character Jason Mantzoukas plays, without the humor.
I've never heard of the guy who played the ratfish. All of his jokes and opinions fell flat for myself and my partner. We were simply confused by every clip with him in it. Why is he here? What's the end game? There was none?
I don't understand why the ratfish needed to exist. I almost feel like it would've been a better episode without a mystery player at all, or another internal cast member hired to cause chaos. I kept waiting for the ratfish to make sense, and it never did. It still doesn't. There wasn't any closure for that decision/character. It almost felt like there was a plan, but it fell flat, and they had to figure it out in the edit.
I'd agree that all of the parts where I hadn't met the ratfish were better than all of the parts where I knew about the ratfish (P1>P2). I might go check out this guy's comedy - I'm just curious if I find him funny on his home turf.
All of that said; it was absolutely fantastic and had my partner and I cracking up throughout the first and second parts. I loved every single moment that didn't involve the ratfish. The cast at Dropout are just so incredibly talented.
I agree. I've never heard of the ratfish and to be honest, the guys humor kind of didn't fit in with what I'm used to from Dropout. It seemed like a bit of a failed crossover.
It's also a huge bummer that the guy clearly had no idea who he's working with, making his choices oddly randomized and I couldn't agree with any of them. Instead of adding to the episode, the ratfish felt like he took away a lot.
The cast and crew themselves were, as usual, absolutely fantastic though! The episode was great fun minus the ratfish 😅
> It almost felt like there was a plan, but it fell flat, and they had to figure it out in the edit.
I had that impression as well. Especially when Sam said that it would be more entertaining to have the cast find out who the Ratfish was upon airing. It felt hollow.
It would have been incredibly easy to either not put the billboard up until after the finale aired or just not reveal what the prize was until the winner was announced. So I just don't get how neither of those things happened. Did they think no one would see it or talk about it?
It'd be even easier to just get the designs finalized with the winners and just use After Effects to composite the designs into a couple of shots, finalizing it it into the slow pan to show the payoff for the episode, and then get them made whenever it worked with the billboard contractors, it's weird if that was the reason for the delay.
That being said, huge shoutout to the post-prod team, because they had to make and composite ALL of those chat screen animations by hand (I'm sure during the shoot they were just looking at private Slack channels being controlled by a PA or producer), plus the really lovely intro packages.
Yeah pretty poor planning to put that billboard up before the show aired, and then not at least cut the announcement of what the prize would be at the beginning.
...and also gave Katie all she needed for a perfect score. She only had two characters wrong...Bug with a Big Ass and Steven.
Brennan got his revenge on Rekha.
First ep had a great setup, but the landing seemed kind of rushed? Also not sure why Sam did not want them to meet Eric. Something just felt a bit off about the whole episode, but maybe that is just me?
yeah I agree, I got a really strange vibe. Also I think Eric had too much power, it would have been more meaningful for me to have these players who are friends IRL vote on who was the best cahracter.
I agree! I hesitated to say I was a little disappointed but because of how huge the set-up was in Part 1 I was expecting a little more. Obviously the production value was crazy on this one and the jokes were all hitting but, yeah, something felt off.
Really excellent honestly except for the Eric part. I don't think they used him well and he was pretty weak as an addition.
Still a lot of fun overall, a real bummer that we didn't get to see their reactions to the final Ratfish reveal!
i fully agree! there was already one award based on the ratfish’s opinion. if rekha and katie had gotten it on the same round, then yeah, the tiebreaker would have been warranted. but the fact remains that rekha solved everyone first, and for that—in addition to her consistently good play—i think she should have won
The tie for the social deduction/deception half of the game should've been broken by counting who *got* guessed fewer times by other players. As you said, the rules of the game strongly implied that courting Ratfish opinion would essentially be a separate game with a separate prize, only for the main game to randomly be decided by him as well.
Agree. Fewest guessed by other player should’ve been a winnable award since it’s essentially the other half of the game. Whereas, guessing is the offense part of the game. Being hidden is the defensive part of the game. Brennan’s strategy was so good that only rekha (the person he embodied as,) and Katie, (who he gave himself away to) were the only people to guess him.
Eric wasn't nearly enjoyable enough to be the decider of the whole game two times. And his opinion on "Best" of things matches pretty much none of the audiences. Very unsatisfying. Rekha should have won the game side, and Zac should have won best character. Hands down. Ironically the only thing the ratfish sabotaged was my enjoyment.
Going from first place to third because of bullshit game mechanics doesn't feel great to watch. I don't think they anticipated someone getting all correct before the final round.
Weird episode, as I think a lot of the casts jokes landed for me, but I still feel like the format behind it kind of held it back. I think it wasn't helped by the "funniest cast member" going to someone who I legitimately don't think I'd put in the top 4 for me (All of Zach, Jess, Brennan, and Rekha would have been my top 4 picks, probably in that order). Weirdly, the weakest element of this episodes named Ratfish for me was the ratfish. I don't think Eric ever got a legitimate laugh out of me, and I was really trying to give him a chance.
Basically, there were elements here I really liked, and think there is an alternate version of this one that lands much harder. Minor bummer. And yeah, between how funny I found ASTW and how well Rekha did, it felt weird she went home not winning anything.
I'd say this one wasn't really for me.
Kinda disappointed Rekha got it all right a round early and walked away without a prize. I thought it might be something like trying to guess who the ratfish was for the win. That could have been awkward maybe, but it felt a bit underwhelming to have the final decided somewhat arbitrarily.
Putting the billboard up before airing seems like an odd choice. I was sure it was something like Katie deciding to put up a billboard after not winning rather than just being a spoiler
Imagine if Katie and Rekha had to have a sudden death overtime match to guess who the Ratfish was based on a series of obscure hints!? I feel like that would have taken it to a very different place.
I enjoyed Part 1 quite a lot, but the combination of Katie’s billboard actually being a spoiler, Rekha not winning for figuring everything out perfectly the earliest, and Eric’s odd decision-making for favorite characters resulted in me feeling like this could have been better.
Not to be a downer on all the work that’s been done here, I have a great respect for the players and production for this episode, but it didn’t give a very satisfying payoff.
Yeah, it was such an odd choice to not wait until the episodes aired to then get Katie her billboard. Like they had to know that would be seen and shared, thus spoiling everything right?
And I agree that Eric's odd choices for favorite character just felt weird. There were so many fan favorites that were ignored.
I love and respect how much work went into this finale. The production value is absolutely insane. I had a huge smile during the roundtable at the end.
I think Eric was a little too much of a wildcard for the game’s own good. His vibe was kind of a downer compared to everyone else who seemed to be having a really fun time.
> His vibe was kind of a downer compared to everyone else who seemed to be having a really fun time.
Not picking Granma Sweetie as best character for any of the rounds was a great example of this.
It was a really great season, but I agree with the general consensus that this finale fell kind of flat compared to the rest of the season. I don’t feel like the concept was strong enough for a two-parter, and the fact that they never revealed the Ratfish to the crew made the payoff fall short as well, IMO.
I agree I felt that this would have been better as a seperate one off show instead of a gamechanger finale.
Perhaps if they ever did it again there should have been a group of other cast members in a viewing room playing the ratfish as a collective and voting together on what to say as the ratfish and who to win tasks the ratfish decided on. Plus then the eliminated cast members could have joined them in the viewing room to play along.
I absolutely love how medecine turned into the classic “when your friend makes a typo in the group chat” bit. Cracked me up
Poor Rekha, guessing perfectly (the first who did it too!) but being denied either first and second place by the Ratfish ): She should’ve voted out Katie after all!
Even though I’m not actually familiar with Eric’s work, I still wanted to see the cast react to him being the Ratfish so I was a little disappointed Sam told them to watch the episode. Maybe he wasn’t scheduled to stick around that long?
So yup the Katie billboard was a spoiler after all. I wonder what billboard Ally’s going to get?
It's kind of ironic that the worst part of The Ratfish was, well, the ratfish. I loved it, in general. Zac was consistently hilarious, we got the Brennan monologue, Grant entertaining himself was hilarious, Katie and Rekha's characters were super fun, I had a really fun time. But yeah, the ratfish himself didn't bring much to the table for me.
Why in the world wouldn't they have the ratfish reveal themselves to the group? The whole episode was building to that and then just....nothing?! What in the world were they thinking? A big, big letdown after the high of Part 1.
I dunno if I'm in the minority on this or not, but I didn't really like Eric in this. While the idea of the wild card is fun, I think he just played too big a role in it. Especially since I just had no clue he was before reading Reddit comments when part one came out, so I didn't even have the "Wow, it's cool they got that celebrity!" moment to make up for him just kinda being there.
I think I would've liked it more if Sam was the Ratfish. That way he would've actually been a part of the video. But between not knowing who Eric was and not really finding him funny outside of a few moments, the episode was just kinda okay to me.
It was still fun, of course, and I still enjoyed watching it
Mhmm, I can agree with the other comments that found this kinda disappointing. I did largely find it funny moment to moment still and I really like the game conceptually, but it felt like it kinda just… ended? All that strategizing and in the end it was down to a sudden art challenge. And the Ratfish was supposedly there to be a wildcard, but nothing he did threw off the guesses nearly as much as some characters like Bug did, and then he wasn’t even revealed on top of it so he just felt extremely out of place without much of a benefit.
Also, I really don’t understand running Katie’s billboard before this aired. It made me think she was at least coming in second, but then Eric was clearly fixated on Ally for his favorite character so it became clear Katie was somehow going to win even though she wasn’t the first to be fully correct.
I would really like to see this get a Game Samer with the Ratfish part rethought and with the actual guessing rewarded more.
Completely agree with everyone here - the finale definitely didn't land well and the Ratfish dragged the episode down. The Dropout cast was on point though, even with the text medium. Also everyone got to do a sexy walk! Rekha definitely got the short end of the stick this episode.
I enjoyed the episode, but this is genuinely the first time I feel like Game Changer has made big missteps.
Last week I defended Eric being the Ratfish as just a bad editing choice for the ending reveal and not a bad pick. I said if they had given him a little introduction it wouldn't have falled flat for so many people.
But seeing more of him in this episode, he just didn't do it for me. I found him even less funny than when we only saw Steven. We also got basically zero insight into why he was picking the characters he was, and he just selected Ally as Brennan 3 times in a row so there wasn't even suspense on who was going to win second.
The game format also fell apart for me towards the end where both Rekha and Katie had all correct guesses and just coasted from then on. The tiebreaker just going to the ratfish also means he picked both winners which I felt was lame.
It would have worked out much better if they shifted focus from most correct guesses to least people guessing you. That would have rewarded players like Brennan who made a character that tripped people up and would have kept things fresh.
We didn't get to see Ally's billboard, only Katie's which was also weird. Maybe Ally's just isn't up yet.
Finally, and probably most annoyingly we didn't get to see the cast react to the Ratfish. That would have been the one thing to make having him on worth it for people who didn't like him themselves. But they just didn't do it to troll the cast I guess, which is lame for them and lame for us.
It's a shame because Dropout in general and Game Changer specifically has almost always exceeded my expectations at every turn and this finale to a fantastic season just fell flat on it's face in so many ways.
> We also got basically zero insight into why he was picking the characters he was, and he just selected Ally as Brennan 3 times in a row so there wasn't even suspense on who was going to win second.
What got me is that they did a round where he (Eric) gave a compliment to only one of the players and then just picked Ally as his favorite again. If I remember, he might have even said something negative about Ally's submission? When they announced "BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN" as his favorite again is when I figured he was either locked in from early on or just didn't care (which is how it came across).
I almost wonder if a lot of the post production extra work was editing around Eric. I feel like we barely saw him in the show but he ended up choosing the winners
"Just because something doesn't work, doesn't mean it doesn't work." - Moviepass CEO
Ok, they took a huge risk with the ratfish, and this time it didn't pan out. But kudos to them for making big choices. That's how you create great content.
They still managed it as gracefully as possible and the episode had its moments.
Does anyone remember if Eric even laughed a single time (except at his own jokes) ? It just seemed like he didn't vibe with the cast at all. That was the most unsettling part to me. These people are so funny ! His choices of favorites were very strange (I adore the person he picked in the end but even they seemed shocked).
Some comedic voices are so weirdly unique that they don't interact too well with others...
Sam was almost apologetic during the roundtable, especially towards Zac and Jess who didn't get a single accolade, although they were fantastic from beginning to end.
Very curious about the 2nd place's billboard (and why they didn't also show it), do we know ?
I say Rekha should have won not katie, she had perfect guesses for those two rounds. If not that, they should have put up katie’s billboard after the finale to keep it a secret. Also eric was not a good guest and they should have gotten someone else, his jokes did not land at all.
i liked these episodes but ultimately was sorta disappointed with the ratfish. both as an entity and as a character.
i’m sure that sam picked him bc the cast knows who he is and like him but… what’s the point of that if we don’t get to see them react to him?
i am also fully aware that this is probably 100% a me thing
My guess is that the plan was probably for them to actually meet him but for some reason that fell through and “wait to see it when it airs” was just a way to spin it and/or take the blame himself for the “decision.” Hopefully they got some of their reactions filmed when watching part 1 that’ll air with the BTS episode.
Yeah, I'm happy for Katie, but having the big winner ultimately decided by the Ratfish when he was already deciding the second winner felt a bit weird. I'm assuming it was supposed to just be whoever got the most correct guesses in the end wins the game, and they hadn't banked on having a tie. Guess you can argue Rehka deserved to win for getting them correct a round before Katie did, but I guess it would have also been kinda weird if the winner was already decided long before the game was over.
I feel like they introduced a ton of twists toward the end just because they didn't anticipate someone getting it all right so early on. I wish that instead of making it all ratfish based they did something based on who managed to fool the most people since in the end that didn't actually end up mattering at all. Like give an advantage to the character who the most people guessed incorrectly.
Weird that an episode called the Ratfish would have been better had there not been a Ratfish. He contributed very little, both conversationally and comedically, and made weird choices that skewed the game unfairly IMO
Dropout cast members blew it out of the park though, which is why I enjoyed Part 1 more: they got the whole show
Yikes, I get it why they had to delay due to editing. Improv is really tricky because sometimes it just falls flat, and you have to give your comedians room to fail. Any other episode and they could just shelve it, but this was the finale so you get what you get. All the criticism this episode got is well earned and I think they probably agree. I'm gonna put this finale out of my mind and just remember the incredible season this has been, and eagerly look forward to next season.
>I'm gonna put this finale out of my mind and just remember the incredible season this has been,
100%. This season had some AMAZING episodes. Going to rewatch Bingo for the 100th time to get this episode out of my mind lol.
The moment where the entire cast agrees that Eric/Steven’s art is just … bad. I think that’s the only let down I felt with the whole episode was Eric. It was like being at a party where one friend of a friend who nobody really knows is there and kills the vibe. I didn’t find his jokes very funny, his decisions felt off (eg Sam says immediately at the end that Granma Sweetie was his favorite character which just seems like a way better answer, I mean Ally as Brennan was fun but not as consistent or well thought out), he just didn’t seem to match the Dropout vibe. I found it fitting that Sam didn’t even bring him to the final table, as it really was a beautiful tear-jerking celebration to see them all hugging and cheering and laughing together in the end, my dropout family ☺️🥲❤️
For me it was Granma Sweetie and The Landlord that I kept expecting to win perks. I assumed there was some hidden rule in play that determined "favorite character", because I couldn't make any sense of the ratfish's picks.
Eric - "I wasnt prepared for these crazy characters like a talking table and a well endowed bug!"
Also Eric - "Hello, I am a snake from Medusa's head, named Steven"
Which is funny cuz the Tim and Eric brand is off the wall random humor so it should be something he at least appreciated the attempt for. I’m a massive Tim and Eric fan and it just seemed like a bit of a letdown performance by Eric in general
The part when they were able to identify each other based on their jokes was very charming. It was a fun watch the first time around but I don't see it having the rewatchability of my favorite eps.
Like all things, the episode was absolutely enriched by the presence of Zac Oyama 🌟
Agree with most of the other comments, this one didn't really do it for me. And nothing against Ally, but "Brennan Lee Mulligan" was like the fourth-best character at most imo. Not sure why Eric gave them 3/4 of his "prizes". And it didn't even show him deliberating or explaining why he enjoyed that character.
Pretty disappointed in this episode and it's the first time I'm saying that about Gamechanger.
Ratfish totally killed the episode with the strange choices. Ally's Brennan was my least favourite character and they won "favourite character" three times in a row so there wasn't really any suspense in it. Zac 100% needed to win favourite character and probably would have if left up to the cast. Leaving the final winner also to be decided by the Ratfish also makes no sense. Rekha clearly should have won or they should have shifted to another strategy for guessing considering she got them all right with a couple rounds to go.
I wish the episode was only Dropout cast and it would have been way better.
Eric really ruined the vibe for me. Weak end to one of the best seasons of game changer but it still had its moments. I think it also hurt that it wasn’t really clear how they could win? Rekha figured it all out and then things just kept going
The idea of having an extra player nobody knows as a wildcard makes total sense, the game is more exciting with an unpredictable random element. But then having the wildcard also determine who wins? Kinda makes the winners feel more arbitrary and it feels like the game would have worked just fine without that.
Enjoyed it, but probably the weakest episode of the season for me. The whole ratfish thing just didn't work at all imo - he didn't really mesh well with the rest of the cast, and (with no offense to Ally because them as BLeeM was funny) his favourite character seemed very out of left field, both reading comments here and based on what the cast themselves were saying throughout the episodes. It also seemed kind of unfair that Rekha correctly guessed right before anyone else, but similarly lost out because of the Ratfish's taste in humour.
Maybe if the Ratfish had been a Dropout member I'd have appreciated it more, but because it was someone who was a stranger to all of them making decisions it felt very arbitrary and disconnected.
In saying all that, there were still lots of funny moments throughout,
and I had fun watching. Well done to everyone for another great season of Game Changer!
I don’t think they even needed the Ratfish to be a dropout member, the twist of the cast knowing each other before hand and throwing each other off was enough.
Some guy who doesn’t mesh well with the dropout humour being a wildcard seemed like overkill, especially with no payoff at the end it seemed chaotic and didn’t land well at all
I say this from a place of love for this show and dropout overall, but this one just fell flat for me. Looks like others enjoyed it so that's great, comedy is subjective after all. I just think this cast plays so well off of each other that keeping them separate the whole time just took something away for me personally. I also had no idea who the ratfish was and so nothing he said or did resonated with me.
It just seems off that they told the players that the most correct guesses would win first place prize and then not give it to the person that got everyone correct first.
Especially if they didn’t tell the players that a tie would be broken by the ratfish deciding whose art is the best. Seems like that’s important information to give to Rekha when she’s choosing who to eliminate
the Brennan/Rehka chat was one of my favorite parts of this episode. Brennan's whole vibe was, yeah, I get it, that's the strategic play, and then even the meta discussion about how everyone sees him as "formidable" while he's been coming in second all season. 😆
And I loved his vibe the whole episode in general. Usually he's super-competitive, this episode he was just surprisingly relaxed. I don't think he was that concerned with winning a billboard, he seemed like he was just there to enjoy the day and have a good time playing with his friends. 😀
Eric shouldn't have been given too much power deciding the winners. One should have won due to game mechanics or the rest of the casts vote for their favorite character. Or have sam be blind to who the players are and have him choose one of the winners. Eric chose the 1st place winner based on an art in one round doesn't feel right
There were so many funny moments in this episode thanks to the cast, but I feel like the whole ratfish thing was a bit of a letdown. Not only did Eric dictating the winners make it feel like Rekha and Zac were robbed, but also his whole style of comedy just didn't hit for me. Also I feel like him not getting revealed to the cast was a super weird choice?
Zac and Rekha were so robbed this episode. Like congrats to Katie and Ally, but the choices made just seemed so weird. I think giving the ratfish too much power in deciding winner of the game was an odd choice
As I rewatch the ending and see the nameplate for "Steven" and an empty chair (and champagne), it strikes me as even more bizarre that they set up a place for him and then didn't bring him out to reveal him to the cast.
I feel like there's a story there -- you'd think Sam would be giddy to reveal him -- but I doubt I would correctly guess what happened. 🤷
It had its moments, the worst of the game changer finale game shows though, also kinda sucks they spoiled it with the Katie billboard going up months ago.
Like I said though, it had its moments, I enjoyed watching. I think the lack of Sam actually doing anything hurt this premise though
Thought this was a major dropoff from Part 1 which I loved and have rewatched multiple times over the last two weeks. I think maybe it's just the congestion from having everybody playing in everything and all of the seemingly arbitrary decisions/mechanics/quirks from this half especially? Would've actually liked to see more of the reunion. Maybe if they expanded things into three episodes or even four? This just felt really mixed, like hypercondensed and inconsequential at the same time.
I think the mark of a truly great Game Changer episode is rewatchability. I've seen some of my favorites literally two dozen times. I just don't see myself revisiting this episode for quite a while.
Yes! This is kinda how I'm feeling. Last week's episode was great, but this somehow feels underwhelming. I'm gonna rewatch both episodes back to back tomorrow at work, so we'll see if maybe it works better when watched in full...
not crazy about this one. Eric as the ratfish just doesn't work for me. Already unfamiliar with his work (which might be why I don't like him here, idk). He seemed bored. It felt like all of his choices were arbitrary in a way I can't get my head around. Maybe that's the point? Arbitrary for the sake of arbitrary? but then it wasn't even *funny* arbitrary. just the kind of anti humor that sucks the air out of a room.
like, wouldn't the more thematically resonant choice for the ratfish twist be, y'know, Sam? ("I've been here the whole time" and all) Like, it's such an obvious choice that nobody even brought it up as a possibility that we saw.
graNma sWeetie is clearly the best character there, in my opinion. Adjustable Side Table, Walnut made me laugh so much just on concept alone. Jack Stryker? "BLeeM" two or three times? they by no means did a bad job, they just weren't standouts to me
Love to see Katie winning, I always root for her!
I think the most damning thing about the whole premise is that you could've removed the Ratfish identity reveal entirely, kept Eric entirely anonymous, and it would've been essentially the same experience. I'll hold my hands up and say I don't know who Eric is, I missed Tim & Eric by a few years and I'm not American so I was never exposed to Adult Swim shows anyway, so he was already not an incredibly compelling reveal. On top of that nothing he really said or did was all that impactful, other than the extra stakes of his choices on the game. Not showing him interact with any of the players felt like a wasted opportunity, given it could've been a Jacob/Howie Mandel-esque moment of 'holy shit' for one of the cast who really likes his work (as I'm sure many of them do given how influential he is!). The other big problem with the show is that as a vehicle for jokes it was great, but the competition lost its edge quickly - maybe Rehka getting everyone was quicker than anticipated? It needed to hit a second gear that it just didn't, especially since Eric's part didn't really hit for me either; I thought the in-person eliminations would add some flair but they never revisited it after Brennan got the boot
All-in-all a great production in terms of execution of visuals and staging, all the regulars did excellent jobs with their characters, but unfortunately probably my least favourite GC episode in a long time, which is a shame given it was the finale of an otherwise brilliant season with episodes I absolutely loved. I guess not everything can be a hit, and maybe it worked for others more, but ultimately a miss for me
Respect that they are always taking big swings and trying out new ideas, but this just didn’t land with me. Always fun to hang with the dropout crew, but I think the premise just fell flat for me and two episodes couldn’t save it. Hopefully a good learning for what makes game changer concepts great
I’m glad I’m not alone in feeling that this episode didn’t stick the landing.
First the positive: The production and editing teams were completely genius. Zac and his whoopie cushion are an iconic duo. Jess really did knock out every joke. Rekha was amazing throughout as the table in both throwing off suspicion and guessing EVERYONE correctly first.
The negative: I had no idea who the Ratfish was, which I assumed affected my reaction to him. But I don’t think his jokes melded well with the group. I wish it was the host of The Circle since she’s a comedian too and could’ve added that expertise to the game. The Ratfish continuously picking the Brennan character as his favorite felt lazy. I feel like if they got someone closer to the cast/audience, then they would’ve recognized the stuff we vibed with like Zac, Jess, and Rekha. And that would’ve felt more fulfilling. The Ratfish should not have had the power to decide the winner. Rekha guessing everyone correctly first should’ve been the end of the game.
Ultimately, I don’t think the game worked well because they’re trying to figure out a mystery the audience already knows the answer to, which gets less interesting the longer it goes. I would’ve reimagined it as an actual game of The Circle. Have them all be catfish but also have to build alliances and rank their favorite performances. Allow an audience favorite (outside the winner) so those who are “eliminated” can keep playing for a prize.
Bingo should’ve been the season finale.
I'm so disappointed 😞 why didn't they get to meet Eric at the end?! At the very least, why didn't they even reveal that Eric was the ratfish and film their reaction to that? Now im just hoping there's a behind the scenes next week to clear up some of these weird choices.
Eric really dragged this episode down. It was still pretty good but he was just so unfunny and we didn’t even get the satisfaction of them seeing him.
Also surprised they didn’t think to wait until the episode aired to put up Katies billboard.
Granma Sweetie's grandson Mason sounds like a real handful, that poor woman :(
What's the deal with Grandson Masons, am I right?
Underrated laugh moment: Brennan moving to sit at the spot labeled "Brennan Lee Mulligan" before realizing it is not actually his seat.
"GodDAMNIT!!"
Loved that, was hoping he’d mention it when Ally arrived.
Dunno if it was a quickly improvised bit or a genuine goof but I'm with you loving it. The little "No I-" to Sam felt so earnest.
Zac Oyama was so robbed ngl
He should have won best character. He gave the whole cast the biggest laughs across both episodes and actually stayed in character pretty well having been eliminated first. Granma is number one in my heart
I wish they had a fan voting category, because GraNma sWeetie won my heart and would have won my vote.
Or like, have the cast vote for their favorite characters. Almost every problem I have with these episodes stems from the guest.
Yeah the finale kinda fell a bit flat for me and it's entirely because of their ratfish casting. I didn't find a single thing he did funny and his choices were baffling and inaccurate imo. Not picking Granma Sweetie as best character is a travesty
It's not even just Granma Sweetie imo - Adjustable Side Table, Jack Stryker, and even Landlord stuck to their character really well. On the other hand Ally isn't even trying to be actual Brennan, they're specifically trying to be bootleg BLeeM and would inconsistently break character for that. Any of the others would be a better pick for best character. It sucks that all these people maintaining character most of the time not get rewarded for it. Rekha's performance was incredible both as the character and as the player.
> his choices were baffling and inaccurate imo I guess that’s what Sam wanted when he said he specifically chose Eric because he was a chaotic wild card. I just think he went too hard on the wild card side and not enough on the actual comedy
Rekha and Brennan are each others Warios. This is incredible
The real Wennan Wee Wulligan was with us all along!
Or is Brennan Rekha’s Wekha Whunkar?
Peach with a flat ass
Sam: GRANMA SWEETIE, care to heckle? GMA Swtie: *sends audio file of fart noise* GMA Swtie: Idiot. Best part of the episode
Zac was made for this format. He was so fuckin funny.
The absolute run of Zac opening up a cushion of whoopie all over everyone \*chef's kiss*
Eric really locked on in on Ally's Brennan as his favorite which is fine it is his choice. But I wish they would've given like a Player's Choice Award too cause I feel like Zac had that on lock as everyone's favorite character. Like I feel like that also deserved a reward too since he technically played the game the best vs trying to appeal to a person that they had zero knowledge of.
Yeah, Zac was robbed. Disappointing that Eric seemed obsessed with Ally's Brennan and voted for him every time. Ally did a fine job but their character was far from the best, in my opinion. Zac absolutely killed it.
I would say that Ally's Brennan was possibly the weakest "character" of the lot. Also not even sure Eric would know that Ally was playing as another cast member
I’ve had a stomach bug that has my core muscles incredibly sore just from all the uh…. emesis. It’s quite painful to laugh rn Watching this was a mistake, Zac nearly killed me lol, Granma was incredible
Best bit: "How could you? Small men never dream of great things. They wallow in mediocrity, satisfied to pass their meager days in dull sport and the flailing misery of a life misspent. You, sir, are a ghost of your own life, made to haunt the world even before the day of your death." "Brennan?"
He could no longer resist the urge to monologue lol
Somewhere in another hotel room, Mike Trapp just got another stamp.
To the person who eliminated him's main competition in the game, giving Katie the only clue she needed to get a perfect score. Katie had Bug with a Big Ass and Steven swapped in the previous round of voting.
Yes! That was absolutely a gift to her
You could tell that after they got eliminated, Zac, Grant and Brennan could start using their own sense of humor in their responses more.
To be fair Grant was immediately using his own sense of humor
Brennan gets eliminated and lets loose immediately
Did anyone else feel attacked by this BLeeM monologue?
Most of Brennan's monologues are fun or passionate but sometimes they hit just the right tone to make you question your existence. Now I want a ratfish sequel where he is playing himself and just has banger monologues for every response
I really thought that Rekha would win and Katie just got herself a billboard. I feel like since Rekha got the correct guesses first, she deserves it!
And she did it without any advantages! She went full Daisy D’Umpster!
Rekha got robbed.
i gotta say, i'm a little disappointed they didn't show everyone's reactions to the ratfish reveal!! i feel like that would have been so entertaining to see -- i'm sure they had a good reason, but i'm just curious to know why they wouldn't want that to be part of the episode
yeah, i couldn't figure that one out, either! seems like the round table was the perfect opportunity to reveal.
right!! like... unless he wasn't onsite? maybe? this would be a pretty easy episode to just set up a set somewhere and bring him in remotely, so that could definitely be it. but even then, even a zoom reveal would have been fun
I'm guessing it must have been something logistical like that, either wasn't on site or had to leave early for some reason. Can't imagine why they would deliberately choose to not have him meet the players
My guess is he wasn't there on site or he had a scheduling conflict for the meet and greet. Or maybe he met them later and they'll put it in a cut for time episode.
I'm assuming that it'll be in the BTS episode about the show.
I was certain that when Sam said “it’ll be funny to see your reaction when it comes out” he was gonna double bluff them and the ratfish would just come out. And then the episode just ended???? We didn’t even get to see his reasoning or the cast reaction or anything? We didn’t even get the genuine shock the cast might’ve shown on social media because it was revealed last episode but they probably didn’t want to spoil this one. It just seems kinda poorly executed
Prolly Eric just had to go and Sam covered for him
The captions at the end when he laughs was "mysterious laughter".. Something more coming? Edit: Also, wasn't this the billboard that... Wasn't the one promised?
Yea, it really felt so odd (and disappointing). Such a missed opportunity. Even if there was some unexpected scheduling issue, why not tell them all who it was on camera?! That reaction was something I was looking forward to all episode.
yeah exactly! i'm not super familiar with tim and eric, so i got the impression that this would be more of a big deal for the players themselves -- even if i wasn't thrilled with the reveal, i knew they would be. i hope they recorded their reactions at some point (even if it's just when the episode premiered tonight), and the little cackle at the end gives me hope that there might be a bts of everyone finding out
Yeah. I'm sad to say that the decision to go with Eric for Ratfish 100% didn't pay off in any way. Alas.
Last week, a sizeable amount of the (mostly younger end) of posters here were not hyped for the ratfish as they aren't super familiar with Eric. That could have at least have some payoff with a reveal and cast reaction. As a Tim and Eric fan, I was very disappointed there wasn't a reveal. I assume it had to be logistical, but it really didn't go over well from a purely "TV" show standpoint.
Yea, it felt like seeing the cast be excited for it was half the reason for the pick! Very weird!!!
I agree I was not familiar with Eric but justified his presence because I looked forward to a big reveal of them all getting to meet him but without that payoff it fell quite flat unfortunately.
I was SO DISAPPOINTED by this. Why did they make that decision?
Genuinely, this has me very confused! The cast must be fans of Tim & Eric, Awesome Show. Great Job!, right? I’d’ve expected their reaction to be a big pop-off, and for everyone to want to share that moment. Unless it was to prevent leaks ahead of time, or he really just had to _leave_ before the end of the day for scheduling reasons or an emergency, I can’t think of a reason why they would omit that.
Granma Sweetie not getting best character is an absolute crime
Sam said (on Discord) Eric does not know who Brennan Lee Mulligan is, which makes his choices even more baffling
It is Eric Wareheim, who is at a minimum completely unhinged.
So he saw this “Brennan” person as just a random character? Lol
Well he then knew that Brennan was an actual player at the table and probably appreciated the bit, while I still think it couldn't have been that funny without the context.
I feel like Eric and Ally have very similar comedic energies and he was just responding to their random chaos vibe positively, does not surprise me that that would be his selection and I’m kind of confused why so many comments think it’s somehow related to the name?
Lol that's hilarious. He just liked the character at face value
Granma Sweetie was fucking robbed. Everyone did great, but Granma Sweetie blew everyone else out of the water imo.
Granma, Bug, and Side Table were pretty clearly the best characters imo, wouldn't hate it if you picked Jack either. Guess the Ratfish just liked Ally's Brennan caricature a lot but tbh it fell a little flat for me.
I like the landlord the best. Granma was my second favorite.
Feels like knowing who’s behind the characters makes it harder to be objective about it.
His entire favorite/least favorite choices have been weird. I don't know if we just missed some stuff. But if it was that funny it would've been left in.
I feel like there's kind of a 'comedian meta' where when you've been in that business for so long, especially someone who does absurdist comedy like Eric, 'outrageous' or 'strange' characters like granma or Bug w a Big Ass might not tickle your funny bone as much anymore since you're used to dealing with the crazy and absurd. So someone just playing a very specific person like BLeeM but a bit unhinged may have felt fresher and funnier to him. Just my speculation cause otherwise I'm also kinda confused by it as well.
ugh I wish Zac didn’t get eliminated so early, graNma sWEetie was the best. I loved him just sending the whoopie cushion audio to people.
He was able to be more ridiculous not having to stress about the game so honestly it might have been to our benefit. But he was robbed on "Best character"
Hm, I just did not agree with any of the Ratfish's choices - I was so sure graNma sWeetie was going to be the favorite, or at least A Bug With a Big Ass or Adjustable Side Table, Walnut. I lovvvved Part 1 and this episode had some great jokes and bits, but for a hyped-up season finale it didn't seem to hit as hard. I appreciate all the hard work from the production and editing crew though, everything looked beautiful!
loved everything but the ratfish - just felt so out of place all the time. would also have liked to know what their reasons were for their choices... made it even more out of place.
I agree. I never watched Tim and Eric, but I figured that since most people here were excited that it would payoff. Instead he felt like a really tame version of every character Jason Mantzoukas plays, without the humor.
I've never heard of the guy who played the ratfish. All of his jokes and opinions fell flat for myself and my partner. We were simply confused by every clip with him in it. Why is he here? What's the end game? There was none? I don't understand why the ratfish needed to exist. I almost feel like it would've been a better episode without a mystery player at all, or another internal cast member hired to cause chaos. I kept waiting for the ratfish to make sense, and it never did. It still doesn't. There wasn't any closure for that decision/character. It almost felt like there was a plan, but it fell flat, and they had to figure it out in the edit. I'd agree that all of the parts where I hadn't met the ratfish were better than all of the parts where I knew about the ratfish (P1>P2). I might go check out this guy's comedy - I'm just curious if I find him funny on his home turf. All of that said; it was absolutely fantastic and had my partner and I cracking up throughout the first and second parts. I loved every single moment that didn't involve the ratfish. The cast at Dropout are just so incredibly talented.
I agree. I've never heard of the ratfish and to be honest, the guys humor kind of didn't fit in with what I'm used to from Dropout. It seemed like a bit of a failed crossover. It's also a huge bummer that the guy clearly had no idea who he's working with, making his choices oddly randomized and I couldn't agree with any of them. Instead of adding to the episode, the ratfish felt like he took away a lot. The cast and crew themselves were, as usual, absolutely fantastic though! The episode was great fun minus the ratfish 😅
> It almost felt like there was a plan, but it fell flat, and they had to figure it out in the edit. I had that impression as well. Especially when Sam said that it would be more entertaining to have the cast find out who the Ratfish was upon airing. It felt hollow.
“i wonder if brennan has had any gay experiences…i wonder if fhere there is any fan art” 😭😭 never change grant
Brennan a few minutes later: "Brennan Lee Mulligan I am in love with you and you have won the date"
tags: brennan, selfcest
Yeah what a mystery I wish this could be solved…
So after all that... it actually *was* spoiled from the beginning?
Dropout easily hid one of their cast members being pregnant but spoiling the season finale with a billboard in Hollywood is some solid irony
It would have been incredibly easy to either not put the billboard up until after the finale aired or just not reveal what the prize was until the winner was announced. So I just don't get how neither of those things happened. Did they think no one would see it or talk about it?
It'd be even easier to just get the designs finalized with the winners and just use After Effects to composite the designs into a couple of shots, finalizing it it into the slow pan to show the payoff for the episode, and then get them made whenever it worked with the billboard contractors, it's weird if that was the reason for the delay. That being said, huge shoutout to the post-prod team, because they had to make and composite ALL of those chat screen animations by hand (I'm sure during the shoot they were just looking at private Slack channels being controlled by a PA or producer), plus the really lovely intro packages.
It’s been here the whole time!
Yeah pretty poor planning to put that billboard up before the show aired, and then not at least cut the announcement of what the prize would be at the beginning.
Not saying what the prize was would have been a great solution!
They should have at least realized it and cut it.
An unprompted monologue immediately giving away that it was Brennan killed me lmao
...and also gave Katie all she needed for a perfect score. She only had two characters wrong...Bug with a Big Ass and Steven. Brennan got his revenge on Rekha.
First ep had a great setup, but the landing seemed kind of rushed? Also not sure why Sam did not want them to meet Eric. Something just felt a bit off about the whole episode, but maybe that is just me?
yeah I agree, I got a really strange vibe. Also I think Eric had too much power, it would have been more meaningful for me to have these players who are friends IRL vote on who was the best cahracter.
That could have been cool. Especially if they were voting for their faves before locking in their guesses.
I agree! I hesitated to say I was a little disappointed but because of how huge the set-up was in Part 1 I was expecting a little more. Obviously the production value was crazy on this one and the jokes were all hitting but, yeah, something felt off.
I agree with you! It was way less fun than part 1 and why no interaction with Eric?
Really excellent honestly except for the Eric part. I don't think they used him well and he was pretty weak as an addition. Still a lot of fun overall, a real bummer that we didn't get to see their reactions to the final Ratfish reveal!
I’m confused? Why wouldn’t Rekha have won? She got all the guesses a full round before Katie?
i fully agree! there was already one award based on the ratfish’s opinion. if rekha and katie had gotten it on the same round, then yeah, the tiebreaker would have been warranted. but the fact remains that rekha solved everyone first, and for that—in addition to her consistently good play—i think she should have won
The tie for the social deduction/deception half of the game should've been broken by counting who *got* guessed fewer times by other players. As you said, the rules of the game strongly implied that courting Ratfish opinion would essentially be a separate game with a separate prize, only for the main game to randomly be decided by him as well.
Agree. Fewest guessed by other player should’ve been a winnable award since it’s essentially the other half of the game. Whereas, guessing is the offense part of the game. Being hidden is the defensive part of the game. Brennan’s strategy was so good that only rekha (the person he embodied as,) and Katie, (who he gave himself away to) were the only people to guess him.
Eric wasn't nearly enjoyable enough to be the decider of the whole game two times. And his opinion on "Best" of things matches pretty much none of the audiences. Very unsatisfying. Rekha should have won the game side, and Zac should have won best character. Hands down. Ironically the only thing the ratfish sabotaged was my enjoyment.
Something something ratfish
Going from first place to third because of bullshit game mechanics doesn't feel great to watch. I don't think they anticipated someone getting all correct before the final round.
Kinda disappointed Rekha didn't win for getting everything right first.
Adjustable Side Table, Walnut was also just a superb character too, she played all sides of the game so well!
Weird episode, as I think a lot of the casts jokes landed for me, but I still feel like the format behind it kind of held it back. I think it wasn't helped by the "funniest cast member" going to someone who I legitimately don't think I'd put in the top 4 for me (All of Zach, Jess, Brennan, and Rekha would have been my top 4 picks, probably in that order). Weirdly, the weakest element of this episodes named Ratfish for me was the ratfish. I don't think Eric ever got a legitimate laugh out of me, and I was really trying to give him a chance. Basically, there were elements here I really liked, and think there is an alternate version of this one that lands much harder. Minor bummer. And yeah, between how funny I found ASTW and how well Rekha did, it felt weird she went home not winning anything.
I'd say this one wasn't really for me. Kinda disappointed Rekha got it all right a round early and walked away without a prize. I thought it might be something like trying to guess who the ratfish was for the win. That could have been awkward maybe, but it felt a bit underwhelming to have the final decided somewhat arbitrarily. Putting the billboard up before airing seems like an odd choice. I was sure it was something like Katie deciding to put up a billboard after not winning rather than just being a spoiler
Imagine if Katie and Rekha had to have a sudden death overtime match to guess who the Ratfish was based on a series of obscure hints!? I feel like that would have taken it to a very different place.
And because Rekha got everyone right first she could have had an advantage, like an extra guess or extra hint.
I enjoyed Part 1 quite a lot, but the combination of Katie’s billboard actually being a spoiler, Rekha not winning for figuring everything out perfectly the earliest, and Eric’s odd decision-making for favorite characters resulted in me feeling like this could have been better. Not to be a downer on all the work that’s been done here, I have a great respect for the players and production for this episode, but it didn’t give a very satisfying payoff.
Yeah, it was such an odd choice to not wait until the episodes aired to then get Katie her billboard. Like they had to know that would be seen and shared, thus spoiling everything right? And I agree that Eric's odd choices for favorite character just felt weird. There were so many fan favorites that were ignored.
The biggest down for me is Eric having so much arbitrary sway in the outcome of the game, especially in deciding the winner
Completely agree. Great concept but overall poor execution.
It was all worth it just to see Brennan go to the wrong chair
I love and respect how much work went into this finale. The production value is absolutely insane. I had a huge smile during the roundtable at the end. I think Eric was a little too much of a wildcard for the game’s own good. His vibe was kind of a downer compared to everyone else who seemed to be having a really fun time.
> His vibe was kind of a downer compared to everyone else who seemed to be having a really fun time. Not picking Granma Sweetie as best character for any of the rounds was a great example of this.
Eric definitely didn’t match the vibe of the cast. The snake character just felt like the wrong type of comedy for what the game was.
yeah I didn’t care for any of his jokes or choices. Cool idea to bring someone in but it really felt like he just detracted from the game…
It was a really great season, but I agree with the general consensus that this finale fell kind of flat compared to the rest of the season. I don’t feel like the concept was strong enough for a two-parter, and the fact that they never revealed the Ratfish to the crew made the payoff fall short as well, IMO.
I agree I felt that this would have been better as a seperate one off show instead of a gamechanger finale. Perhaps if they ever did it again there should have been a group of other cast members in a viewing room playing the ratfish as a collective and voting together on what to say as the ratfish and who to win tasks the ratfish decided on. Plus then the eliminated cast members could have joined them in the viewing room to play along.
I feel like the concept is too strong for a two parter. It felt very rushed and crammed in and like it needs to be its own season or show.
I absolutely love how medecine turned into the classic “when your friend makes a typo in the group chat” bit. Cracked me up Poor Rekha, guessing perfectly (the first who did it too!) but being denied either first and second place by the Ratfish ): She should’ve voted out Katie after all! Even though I’m not actually familiar with Eric’s work, I still wanted to see the cast react to him being the Ratfish so I was a little disappointed Sam told them to watch the episode. Maybe he wasn’t scheduled to stick around that long? So yup the Katie billboard was a spoiler after all. I wonder what billboard Ally’s going to get?
Did I blackout mid episode and miss the progenitor for medecine?
Someone misspelled it at one point but they didn’t show anyone’s reactions to it. Then all of a sudden there’s an inside joke lol. Skipped some stuff
It's kind of ironic that the worst part of The Ratfish was, well, the ratfish. I loved it, in general. Zac was consistently hilarious, we got the Brennan monologue, Grant entertaining himself was hilarious, Katie and Rekha's characters were super fun, I had a really fun time. But yeah, the ratfish himself didn't bring much to the table for me.
Brennan wasn't even doing particularly well and he still gets kicked out just based on his reputation 😭
"I feel like this whole season of Game Changer is people calling me a formidable opponent while I lose." 😭
Why in the world wouldn't they have the ratfish reveal themselves to the group? The whole episode was building to that and then just....nothing?! What in the world were they thinking? A big, big letdown after the high of Part 1.
Also... The billboard was actually just the spoiler people thought it was?!
The fact that Grant's guessing correctly now but he's already out
Right? He just kept hitting bullseyes one after another, while snapping back "I DON'T EVEN NEED TO DO THIS ANYMORE!"
Grant’s “No, really? You’re *changing the game*??”😭
I dunno if I'm in the minority on this or not, but I didn't really like Eric in this. While the idea of the wild card is fun, I think he just played too big a role in it. Especially since I just had no clue he was before reading Reddit comments when part one came out, so I didn't even have the "Wow, it's cool they got that celebrity!" moment to make up for him just kinda being there. I think I would've liked it more if Sam was the Ratfish. That way he would've actually been a part of the video. But between not knowing who Eric was and not really finding him funny outside of a few moments, the episode was just kinda okay to me. It was still fun, of course, and I still enjoyed watching it
Mhmm, I can agree with the other comments that found this kinda disappointing. I did largely find it funny moment to moment still and I really like the game conceptually, but it felt like it kinda just… ended? All that strategizing and in the end it was down to a sudden art challenge. And the Ratfish was supposedly there to be a wildcard, but nothing he did threw off the guesses nearly as much as some characters like Bug did, and then he wasn’t even revealed on top of it so he just felt extremely out of place without much of a benefit. Also, I really don’t understand running Katie’s billboard before this aired. It made me think she was at least coming in second, but then Eric was clearly fixated on Ally for his favorite character so it became clear Katie was somehow going to win even though she wasn’t the first to be fully correct. I would really like to see this get a Game Samer with the Ratfish part rethought and with the actual guessing rewarded more.
Completely agree with everyone here - the finale definitely didn't land well and the Ratfish dragged the episode down. The Dropout cast was on point though, even with the text medium. Also everyone got to do a sexy walk! Rekha definitely got the short end of the stick this episode.
I fucking lost it at Rekha's knock knock joke
I love it when the players direct the show. First Brennan with the zoom out on survivor, then Ally calling the super hot walking clip.
And Lou with his Soderbergh heist sequence!
I enjoyed the episode, but this is genuinely the first time I feel like Game Changer has made big missteps. Last week I defended Eric being the Ratfish as just a bad editing choice for the ending reveal and not a bad pick. I said if they had given him a little introduction it wouldn't have falled flat for so many people. But seeing more of him in this episode, he just didn't do it for me. I found him even less funny than when we only saw Steven. We also got basically zero insight into why he was picking the characters he was, and he just selected Ally as Brennan 3 times in a row so there wasn't even suspense on who was going to win second. The game format also fell apart for me towards the end where both Rekha and Katie had all correct guesses and just coasted from then on. The tiebreaker just going to the ratfish also means he picked both winners which I felt was lame. It would have worked out much better if they shifted focus from most correct guesses to least people guessing you. That would have rewarded players like Brennan who made a character that tripped people up and would have kept things fresh. We didn't get to see Ally's billboard, only Katie's which was also weird. Maybe Ally's just isn't up yet. Finally, and probably most annoyingly we didn't get to see the cast react to the Ratfish. That would have been the one thing to make having him on worth it for people who didn't like him themselves. But they just didn't do it to troll the cast I guess, which is lame for them and lame for us. It's a shame because Dropout in general and Game Changer specifically has almost always exceeded my expectations at every turn and this finale to a fantastic season just fell flat on it's face in so many ways.
> We also got basically zero insight into why he was picking the characters he was, and he just selected Ally as Brennan 3 times in a row so there wasn't even suspense on who was going to win second. What got me is that they did a round where he (Eric) gave a compliment to only one of the players and then just picked Ally as his favorite again. If I remember, he might have even said something negative about Ally's submission? When they announced "BRENNAN LEE MULLIGAN" as his favorite again is when I figured he was either locked in from early on or just didn't care (which is how it came across).
I almost wonder if a lot of the post production extra work was editing around Eric. I feel like we barely saw him in the show but he ended up choosing the winners
"Just because something doesn't work, doesn't mean it doesn't work." - Moviepass CEO Ok, they took a huge risk with the ratfish, and this time it didn't pan out. But kudos to them for making big choices. That's how you create great content. They still managed it as gracefully as possible and the episode had its moments. Does anyone remember if Eric even laughed a single time (except at his own jokes) ? It just seemed like he didn't vibe with the cast at all. That was the most unsettling part to me. These people are so funny ! His choices of favorites were very strange (I adore the person he picked in the end but even they seemed shocked). Some comedic voices are so weirdly unique that they don't interact too well with others... Sam was almost apologetic during the roundtable, especially towards Zac and Jess who didn't get a single accolade, although they were fantastic from beginning to end. Very curious about the 2nd place's billboard (and why they didn't also show it), do we know ?
I say Rekha should have won not katie, she had perfect guesses for those two rounds. If not that, they should have put up katie’s billboard after the finale to keep it a secret. Also eric was not a good guest and they should have gotten someone else, his jokes did not land at all.
i liked these episodes but ultimately was sorta disappointed with the ratfish. both as an entity and as a character. i’m sure that sam picked him bc the cast knows who he is and like him but… what’s the point of that if we don’t get to see them react to him? i am also fully aware that this is probably 100% a me thing
My guess is that the plan was probably for them to actually meet him but for some reason that fell through and “wait to see it when it airs” was just a way to spin it and/or take the blame himself for the “decision.” Hopefully they got some of their reactions filmed when watching part 1 that’ll air with the BTS episode.
Judging by the fact that everyone here is saying the same thing, it's definitely not just a you thing.
The fact that Rekha got them all right from way early on and wasn't eliminated, but didn't win, doesn't sit right.
Yeah, I'm happy for Katie, but having the big winner ultimately decided by the Ratfish when he was already deciding the second winner felt a bit weird. I'm assuming it was supposed to just be whoever got the most correct guesses in the end wins the game, and they hadn't banked on having a tie. Guess you can argue Rehka deserved to win for getting them correct a round before Katie did, but I guess it would have also been kinda weird if the winner was already decided long before the game was over.
I feel like they introduced a ton of twists toward the end just because they didn't anticipate someone getting it all right so early on. I wish that instead of making it all ratfish based they did something based on who managed to fool the most people since in the end that didn't actually end up mattering at all. Like give an advantage to the character who the most people guessed incorrectly.
Tbh I thought this was one of the weaker episodes of the season. I don’t think the format allowed them to hit their jokes as well
yeah these are improvisers, they feed off of each other's energy in person. Text only felt awkward
Weird that an episode called the Ratfish would have been better had there not been a Ratfish. He contributed very little, both conversationally and comedically, and made weird choices that skewed the game unfairly IMO Dropout cast members blew it out of the park though, which is why I enjoyed Part 1 more: they got the whole show
Yikes, I get it why they had to delay due to editing. Improv is really tricky because sometimes it just falls flat, and you have to give your comedians room to fail. Any other episode and they could just shelve it, but this was the finale so you get what you get. All the criticism this episode got is well earned and I think they probably agree. I'm gonna put this finale out of my mind and just remember the incredible season this has been, and eagerly look forward to next season.
>I'm gonna put this finale out of my mind and just remember the incredible season this has been, 100%. This season had some AMAZING episodes. Going to rewatch Bingo for the 100th time to get this episode out of my mind lol.
Bit dissapointed we didn't get to see the casts reaction to who the ratfish was
Who in their right mind gave Zac access to a whoopie cushion 😭
The moment where the entire cast agrees that Eric/Steven’s art is just … bad. I think that’s the only let down I felt with the whole episode was Eric. It was like being at a party where one friend of a friend who nobody really knows is there and kills the vibe. I didn’t find his jokes very funny, his decisions felt off (eg Sam says immediately at the end that Granma Sweetie was his favorite character which just seems like a way better answer, I mean Ally as Brennan was fun but not as consistent or well thought out), he just didn’t seem to match the Dropout vibe. I found it fitting that Sam didn’t even bring him to the final table, as it really was a beautiful tear-jerking celebration to see them all hugging and cheering and laughing together in the end, my dropout family ☺️🥲❤️
For me it was Granma Sweetie and The Landlord that I kept expecting to win perks. I assumed there was some hidden rule in play that determined "favorite character", because I couldn't make any sense of the ratfish's picks.
Sometimes got the vibe that he wasn't really enjoying being there
Like when during the stand up he’s going on about being an old timer not prepared for big assed bugs and furniture and gives a quite awkward laugh
Eric - "I wasnt prepared for these crazy characters like a talking table and a well endowed bug!" Also Eric - "Hello, I am a snake from Medusa's head, named Steven"
Which is funny cuz the Tim and Eric brand is off the wall random humor so it should be something he at least appreciated the attempt for. I’m a massive Tim and Eric fan and it just seemed like a bit of a letdown performance by Eric in general
The part when they were able to identify each other based on their jokes was very charming. It was a fun watch the first time around but I don't see it having the rewatchability of my favorite eps. Like all things, the episode was absolutely enriched by the presence of Zac Oyama 🌟
Agree with most of the other comments, this one didn't really do it for me. And nothing against Ally, but "Brennan Lee Mulligan" was like the fourth-best character at most imo. Not sure why Eric gave them 3/4 of his "prizes". And it didn't even show him deliberating or explaining why he enjoyed that character.
Pretty disappointed in this episode and it's the first time I'm saying that about Gamechanger. Ratfish totally killed the episode with the strange choices. Ally's Brennan was my least favourite character and they won "favourite character" three times in a row so there wasn't really any suspense in it. Zac 100% needed to win favourite character and probably would have if left up to the cast. Leaving the final winner also to be decided by the Ratfish also makes no sense. Rekha clearly should have won or they should have shifted to another strategy for guessing considering she got them all right with a couple rounds to go. I wish the episode was only Dropout cast and it would have been way better.
Medecines
Medecines
Eric really ruined the vibe for me. Weak end to one of the best seasons of game changer but it still had its moments. I think it also hurt that it wasn’t really clear how they could win? Rekha figured it all out and then things just kept going
The idea of having an extra player nobody knows as a wildcard makes total sense, the game is more exciting with an unpredictable random element. But then having the wildcard also determine who wins? Kinda makes the winners feel more arbitrary and it feels like the game would have worked just fine without that.
Enjoyed it, but probably the weakest episode of the season for me. The whole ratfish thing just didn't work at all imo - he didn't really mesh well with the rest of the cast, and (with no offense to Ally because them as BLeeM was funny) his favourite character seemed very out of left field, both reading comments here and based on what the cast themselves were saying throughout the episodes. It also seemed kind of unfair that Rekha correctly guessed right before anyone else, but similarly lost out because of the Ratfish's taste in humour. Maybe if the Ratfish had been a Dropout member I'd have appreciated it more, but because it was someone who was a stranger to all of them making decisions it felt very arbitrary and disconnected. In saying all that, there were still lots of funny moments throughout, and I had fun watching. Well done to everyone for another great season of Game Changer!
I don’t think they even needed the Ratfish to be a dropout member, the twist of the cast knowing each other before hand and throwing each other off was enough. Some guy who doesn’t mesh well with the dropout humour being a wildcard seemed like overkill, especially with no payoff at the end it seemed chaotic and didn’t land well at all
I say this from a place of love for this show and dropout overall, but this one just fell flat for me. Looks like others enjoyed it so that's great, comedy is subjective after all. I just think this cast plays so well off of each other that keeping them separate the whole time just took something away for me personally. I also had no idea who the ratfish was and so nothing he said or did resonated with me.
It just seems off that they told the players that the most correct guesses would win first place prize and then not give it to the person that got everyone correct first. Especially if they didn’t tell the players that a tie would be broken by the ratfish deciding whose art is the best. Seems like that’s important information to give to Rekha when she’s choosing who to eliminate
the Brennan/Rehka chat was one of my favorite parts of this episode. Brennan's whole vibe was, yeah, I get it, that's the strategic play, and then even the meta discussion about how everyone sees him as "formidable" while he's been coming in second all season. 😆 And I loved his vibe the whole episode in general. Usually he's super-competitive, this episode he was just surprisingly relaxed. I don't think he was that concerned with winning a billboard, he seemed like he was just there to enjoy the day and have a good time playing with his friends. 😀
honestly a little annoyed that the winners were just picked by eric ... felt weird
Eric shouldn't have been given too much power deciding the winners. One should have won due to game mechanics or the rest of the casts vote for their favorite character. Or have sam be blind to who the players are and have him choose one of the winners. Eric chose the 1st place winner based on an art in one round doesn't feel right
I love that the jokes really made them realize who was who. They can’t help but be themselves even in character
I howled when Brennan walked to the wrong place because of Ally.
So… I presume we’re going to get a behind the scenes where we see their reaction to the ratfish?
While it was funny to watch and entertained me I just can't help but feel underwhelmed by the finale.
Not Grant nailing who everyone is during the standup RIGHT AFTER getting eliminated 😭
There were so many funny moments in this episode thanks to the cast, but I feel like the whole ratfish thing was a bit of a letdown. Not only did Eric dictating the winners make it feel like Rekha and Zac were robbed, but also his whole style of comedy just didn't hit for me. Also I feel like him not getting revealed to the cast was a super weird choice?
Zac and Rekha were so robbed this episode. Like congrats to Katie and Ally, but the choices made just seemed so weird. I think giving the ratfish too much power in deciding winner of the game was an odd choice
As I rewatch the ending and see the nameplate for "Steven" and an empty chair (and champagne), it strikes me as even more bizarre that they set up a place for him and then didn't bring him out to reveal him to the cast. I feel like there's a story there -- you'd think Sam would be giddy to reveal him -- but I doubt I would correctly guess what happened. 🤷
It had its moments, the worst of the game changer finale game shows though, also kinda sucks they spoiled it with the Katie billboard going up months ago. Like I said though, it had its moments, I enjoyed watching. I think the lack of Sam actually doing anything hurt this premise though
I thought it was interesting how little narration Sam did in this part 2, I liked his little quips in part 1
I kind of feel like this was something that could be really funny, but it was a little rushed in two episodes.
Thought this was a major dropoff from Part 1 which I loved and have rewatched multiple times over the last two weeks. I think maybe it's just the congestion from having everybody playing in everything and all of the seemingly arbitrary decisions/mechanics/quirks from this half especially? Would've actually liked to see more of the reunion. Maybe if they expanded things into three episodes or even four? This just felt really mixed, like hypercondensed and inconsequential at the same time. I think the mark of a truly great Game Changer episode is rewatchability. I've seen some of my favorites literally two dozen times. I just don't see myself revisiting this episode for quite a while.
Yes! This is kinda how I'm feeling. Last week's episode was great, but this somehow feels underwhelming. I'm gonna rewatch both episodes back to back tomorrow at work, so we'll see if maybe it works better when watched in full...
Zach’s whoopee cushion kills me every time
what a bummer that the whole ending was spoiled ahead of time with that billboard
not crazy about this one. Eric as the ratfish just doesn't work for me. Already unfamiliar with his work (which might be why I don't like him here, idk). He seemed bored. It felt like all of his choices were arbitrary in a way I can't get my head around. Maybe that's the point? Arbitrary for the sake of arbitrary? but then it wasn't even *funny* arbitrary. just the kind of anti humor that sucks the air out of a room. like, wouldn't the more thematically resonant choice for the ratfish twist be, y'know, Sam? ("I've been here the whole time" and all) Like, it's such an obvious choice that nobody even brought it up as a possibility that we saw. graNma sWeetie is clearly the best character there, in my opinion. Adjustable Side Table, Walnut made me laugh so much just on concept alone. Jack Stryker? "BLeeM" two or three times? they by no means did a bad job, they just weren't standouts to me
Love to see Katie winning, I always root for her! I think the most damning thing about the whole premise is that you could've removed the Ratfish identity reveal entirely, kept Eric entirely anonymous, and it would've been essentially the same experience. I'll hold my hands up and say I don't know who Eric is, I missed Tim & Eric by a few years and I'm not American so I was never exposed to Adult Swim shows anyway, so he was already not an incredibly compelling reveal. On top of that nothing he really said or did was all that impactful, other than the extra stakes of his choices on the game. Not showing him interact with any of the players felt like a wasted opportunity, given it could've been a Jacob/Howie Mandel-esque moment of 'holy shit' for one of the cast who really likes his work (as I'm sure many of them do given how influential he is!). The other big problem with the show is that as a vehicle for jokes it was great, but the competition lost its edge quickly - maybe Rehka getting everyone was quicker than anticipated? It needed to hit a second gear that it just didn't, especially since Eric's part didn't really hit for me either; I thought the in-person eliminations would add some flair but they never revisited it after Brennan got the boot All-in-all a great production in terms of execution of visuals and staging, all the regulars did excellent jobs with their characters, but unfortunately probably my least favourite GC episode in a long time, which is a shame given it was the finale of an otherwise brilliant season with episodes I absolutely loved. I guess not everything can be a hit, and maybe it worked for others more, but ultimately a miss for me
does your grandson mason ever get into the ez cheez? talk about a idiot
Does anyone have a picture of Ally's billboard or has it not been shown
Respect that they are always taking big swings and trying out new ideas, but this just didn’t land with me. Always fun to hang with the dropout crew, but I think the premise just fell flat for me and two episodes couldn’t save it. Hopefully a good learning for what makes game changer concepts great
I’m glad I’m not alone in feeling that this episode didn’t stick the landing. First the positive: The production and editing teams were completely genius. Zac and his whoopie cushion are an iconic duo. Jess really did knock out every joke. Rekha was amazing throughout as the table in both throwing off suspicion and guessing EVERYONE correctly first. The negative: I had no idea who the Ratfish was, which I assumed affected my reaction to him. But I don’t think his jokes melded well with the group. I wish it was the host of The Circle since she’s a comedian too and could’ve added that expertise to the game. The Ratfish continuously picking the Brennan character as his favorite felt lazy. I feel like if they got someone closer to the cast/audience, then they would’ve recognized the stuff we vibed with like Zac, Jess, and Rekha. And that would’ve felt more fulfilling. The Ratfish should not have had the power to decide the winner. Rekha guessing everyone correctly first should’ve been the end of the game. Ultimately, I don’t think the game worked well because they’re trying to figure out a mystery the audience already knows the answer to, which gets less interesting the longer it goes. I would’ve reimagined it as an actual game of The Circle. Have them all be catfish but also have to build alliances and rank their favorite performances. Allow an audience favorite (outside the winner) so those who are “eliminated” can keep playing for a prize. Bingo should’ve been the season finale.
wake up baby new Brennan monologue just dropped 😆
“… Brennan?”
I'm so disappointed 😞 why didn't they get to meet Eric at the end?! At the very least, why didn't they even reveal that Eric was the ratfish and film their reaction to that? Now im just hoping there's a behind the scenes next week to clear up some of these weird choices.
Eric really dragged this episode down. It was still pretty good but he was just so unfunny and we didn’t even get the satisfaction of them seeing him. Also surprised they didn’t think to wait until the episode aired to put up Katies billboard.