TV REVIEW: Mentopolis Episode 2

Title: Mentopolis
DM: Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20)
Players: Hank Green (he/him) as The Fix, Danielle Radford (she/her) as Anastasia Tension, Alex Song-Xia (they/them) as Conrad Schintz (he/him), Siobhan Thompson (she/her) as Imelda Pulse, Mike Trapp (he/him) as Detective Hunch Curio, and Freddie Wong (he/him) as Daniel ‘Dan’ Fucks
Streaming Service: Dropout

Dimension 20 goes hard in the second episode of Mentopolis. With our Prefrontal PIs all together, the mystery of the stolen file and the true controller of Elias Hodge’s mind begins to unfold. We learn the big guy works at a pharmaceutical company, researching mind reading. Something worse may be underfoot, and with this new bit of information, will we meet antagonists not native to Mentopolis?

The Art

From the fantastic character artwork by Allison Cooper to the immaculate set design by Dropout’s Art Department, the artwork really shined.

^{Mentopolis Intro Credits (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

During the opening credits, each player’s name takes center stage with their shadow being their character’s name. The jagged dark grows against bright colors, feeding into the theme and present in the dome during more dramatic scenes.

^{Oblongata Station (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

This week, when our heroes split, we get to see a number of the larger keystones on the Mentopolis map. Oblongata Station also introduces the vaster network throughout the body of Elias Hodge, including adrenaline coming in from the kidneys and messengers from the gonads as well as other places. Colors mark main sectors of the brain. Pink portrays the temporal lobes and brain stem.

^{Mentopolis (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

From Brennan’s descriptions of the interior, I’ll be excited to see the fandom’s response and all the wonderful art that will give us more of the finer details of Mentopolis.

Into the Thick of It

Our Prefrontal PIs confront each other as The Fix attempts to abduct Conrad Schintz in the wake of his almost murder, leading to the first player versus player confrontation of the series as they continue to investigate the madness taking place in the mind of Elias Hodge.

The Fix reveals the contract out on Conrad’s life as well as the district attorney, Mark Bition, being the one to put out the hit on the kid.

^{Mark Bition (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

In addition to the law, Don Avaricci is after Conrad. Mob elements are a cornerstone of noir, and it will be exciting to see how this unfolds though we don’t have much information on that element yet.

The Prefrontal PIs have a laundry list of problems and an even longer list of questions. None of them know the exact details in the file. With so many trails to follow, our marvelous mental metaphors split up. Conrad and The Fix head off together in hopes of getting DA Bition off their tracks while Fucks and Tension go to Oblongata Station. Curio and Pulse stick together, heading to The Hippo Campus.

While Anastasia Tension looks to talk to the station manager, Dan Fucks searches out illicit pleasure particles and finds Wilton as well as noticing numerous shock troopers.

The shock troopers took a train car off the tracks that came from the scalp, beating and arresting the passengers.

Quick thinking allows Anastasia Tension to find a message announcing pain, indicating blunt trauma to the head and explaining the collapsed highway.

Switching over to The Fix and Conrad, we stick to the grimmer side. The distractions that The Fix took pride in removing hinted at a larger underlying issue.

When we turn to Conrad and The Fix, the wealth of missed opportunities collected in Conrad’s home opens up to a nearly as grim but perhaps more poignant scene where Conrad reveals the ice skates he keeps are attached to the last time that Elias Hodge truly listened to him. A bully had attacked Elias’s sister, and after defending her at Conrad’s behest, the ice skates were used to heavily cut up the young Elias. Conrad suggests the memory of the incident was repressed, yet the damage continues to haunt him even if Elias can’t remember.

We also get a number of powerful quotes from Hank Green, who argues it is time for Conrad to unlearn the lesson of the ice skates and he shouldn’t be listened to as well as questioning the brain’s self-regulation versus micromanaging.

Curio and Pulse successfully get their hands on the file memories as well as those from when Imelda Pulse inspired Elias Hodge into taking the file. After which, the group reunited at De’Lux Industrial where they learn a horrifying truth — somebody threw Elias Hodge out a window, and from the looks of it, the fall isn’t one he’ll walk away from.

^{The Defenestration of Elias Hodge (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

Highlights

Freddie Wong, playing Dan Fucks, eased on the affectations which undermined his quips last week, but at times, he still fell back onto it. Hopefully, in the next few episodes, Freddie will completely drop it so his quick wit can shine. However, on the other end, the split when distracting the shock troopers at the Station has me curious if we’ll learn the over-the-top persona wasn’t a swing-and-a-miss but an overarching character choice of a piece of the brain of a terribly touch-starved individual.

Hank Green (The Fix) and Alex Song-Xia (Conrad Schintz) bounce off each other well. We saw The Fix cared about the abandoned interests at Madam Loathing’s House of Wayward Interests in the first episode, so the impulse on Hank’s part to reassure counters with his naturally intimidating frame as The Fix. Along with Justin, the three of them hit an interesting tone that I’d be excited to see more of.

Mike Trapp (Detective Hunch Curio) shines this episode. Despite repeatedly failing checks and starting what can only be called a hoard of Moxie Token, Mike rolls with the punches, managing to succeed even at his lowest. For fans of Um…Actually, his sheer enjoyment and enthusiasm for everything he does is no surprise. He leans into the absurd, yet manages to expertly turn into the serious with profound results.

Final Score (4.5 out of 5 Stars)

Tensions rise, and the minor complaints fall away in light of good storytelling. If our Prefrontal PIs can’t find a way to save Elias Hodge, all of Mentopolis will come smashing down.

Do you think our heroes can prevail? Or are we living out the last few moments of Elias Hodge’s life? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.

Featured Image: Dimension 20

The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network

The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord.

New episodes of The Boss Rush Podcast release every Monday morning on YouTube and all major podcast applications like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Patreon supporters gain one week early access.