TV REVIEW: Mentopolis Episode 5

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

Editor’s note: Be sure to check out our reviews for the first, second, third, and fourth episodes.

With two of the four reflexes found, our Prefrontal PIs succeeded in saving Elias Hodge from his deadly fall, but having broken through a window of Gobstopper Industries, Elias leapt out of the frying pan and into the fire. Having recovered a copper gun, Detective Hunch Curio and The Fix have the key to eliminating the next biggest threat; however, more questions than answered loomed at the end of the fourth episode.

The fifth episode opens with the players hunting the source of the copper gun, arriving on the doorstep of Mr. Thalamus.

^{Mr. Thalamus (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

The Fix helps Detective Hunch Curio focus, allowing him to find the rest of the copper ammunition at Mr. Thalamus’s pawn shop. Dan Fucks finds a drawing by Ronnie Reptile which Norrell Ojiccle left behind when he came into the shop to purchase the copper gun. Tensions run high as The Fix goes protective, winning our hearts all over again.

Elias Hodge has made it to a desk in projectiles, showing Gobstopper Industries transformed the big guy’s work into a brainwashing ray gun. Armed and needing to cover a lot of ground, the group splits ways once more.

^{Elias Hodge’s Desk (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

Imelda and Ivana run into trouble. However, the repaired switchboard doesn’t have a keyhole, and in the mess that follows, we meet Deputy Chief H. V. Lance. The back and forth between Siobhan and Brennan as Imelda and Lance brilliantly showcases the jumping yet flirtatious anxiety of hyper-vigilance and impulse.

^{Deputy Chief H. V. Lance (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

Imelda seduces Lance to their side, proposing and getting proposed to in turn as she turns the key. Her seduction not only lowers the pressure by focusing hyper-vigilance but ensures Elias continues on the right path forward.

Ambition and Tension war at the courthouse under the watchful eye of Judge Connie Fusion.

^{Judge Connie Fusion (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

Danielle is a tour de force in the courthouse! Her impassioned speech would be the climax of any procedural crime drama, carrying the one-two punch to knock out the antagonist.

Unfortunately, Dan Fucks comes in, and while Freddie plays to his unpredictable character, the letdown after Tension’s speech bounces between hilarity and frustration, which seems to be the line Fucks often rides. Luckily, Danielle rolls well, revealing to a raucous table that she was a paralegal prior to her current work.

The Fix, Conrad, and Hunch return to Madam Loathing’s Home for Wayward Interests. Conrad and The Fix speak with Ronnie Reptile as Hunch snoops. The curious detective finds a picture of Self-Doubt and Loathing, discovering that Madam Loathing is actually Self-Loathing.

As Justin plays with the kids, the White Key takes control of him as Hunch arrives on the scene. Mike Trapp thinks on his feet, finding a copper pipe. The Fix joins the fight as Hunch strikes Self-Loathing, sending her to flee toward Oblongata Station. Conrad pulls Justin back.

Fucks and Tension are the only two caught out, stuck with Don Avaricci and meet Fanny Fawnsworth, the third of the reflexes.

^{Fanny Fawnsworth (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

As the positive feelings rise from doing the right thing, Dan Fucks starts to wonder about higher pleasures, but his attempt to pull one over goes south, leaving Tension with Fanny, whose desperate flirting sounds all the stranger coming out of Brennan Lee Mulligan’s mouth.

From seducing the key from Fawn to losing her family key to a runaway Flight, Tension can’t seem to catch a break. However, every insane problem crumbles in the face of Danielle’s nerves of steel. Of course, Flight lies about her name, but we’ve all been hoping to meet the “real” Stacy Fakename.

^{Stacy Fakename (A.K.A. Flight) (Image Credit: Dimension 20)}

Leaving Fucks to deal with Don Avaricci, Tension ends up on her way to Oblongata Station with Flight driving the getaway car.

Highlights

As always, Allison Cooper‘s character illustrations are wonderfully whimsical, capturing the fantastical premise as well as the 1920s/30s flare. If we don’t see many of these characters showing up at conventions, I’ll be shocked. The bubbly Imelda Pulse seems a popular and straightforward costume though the devilish red Mr. Bition might also capture fans’ imaginations.

Though separated, Danielle and Siobhan take center stage once more, using their quick wit and talent at turn of phrase to turn potential enemies into allies. Danielle’s speech in the courthouse and Siobhan’s repartee with the ever-brilliant Brennan Lee Mulligan underline the strength of Dimension 20‘s players.

Final Score (5 out of 5 Stars)

This episode was a mastery of emotional highs. From Tension’s impassioned speech to the quiet desperation of Conrad’s plea as he saved Justin, the Prefrontal PIs pulled every heartstring in an absolute symphony. While the whole series started strong and remained throughout, this episode had no true weak point with even the lows only accentuating the highs as we head for the final showdown.

With pressure mounting, we have one last episode to go. Do you have any predictions? Are we going to see Dan Fucks turn against the rest of the players? Let us know in the comments below or head over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.

Featured Image: Dimension 20

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