Comparing All of Ben’s Electric Aliens

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Intro/ Outro Music: Noxi (NoxiMation)

TIMECODES:
00:00 - Introduction
03:52 - Episode Breakdown
40:36 - The Ratings
44:34 - Final Thoughts

_______HOW MY BREAKDOWNS WORK:

THE REVIEW
I watch each episode with my own commentary, often pausing the scenes to get my words out without having to talk over the episode, and also to point out and analyze the show's art and animation. I have seen each episode already growing up, so these reviews are to compare and contrast the five categories listed below.

PLOT (Scaled from 1 to 5 Points)
The foundation of the episode. Uniqueness and overused tropes are taken into account, but it is also judged on how well it tells the story of the episode. An episode can score a 5 even with a basic/ cliche plotline as long as it has good pacing, worthy use of its tropes, and feels well-polished. An episode can lose points due to plotholes, uneven storytelling, and relying too heavily on cliches to do the work for it.

CHARACTERIZATION (Scaled from 1 to 5 Points)
How well the characters are written. Do they feel like themselves compared to the grand narrative of the franchise? Are the supporting or one-off characters interesting, or pure plot devices? Did the humor land? Did the actions and character motivations make sense?

VISUALS (Scaled from 1 to 5 Points)
Basically, everything that happens on-screen. Character Design. Animation. Backgrounds. Creative mechanics and solutions. If there is CGI or digital effects added, how well do they blend into the show, and were they used as an enhancement, or a crutch?

IMPORTANCE (Scaled from 1 to 5 Points)
This includes, but is not strictly based on, how important the episodes are to the current story arc (if there is one) or the general narrative of the Ben 10 Franchise. Points can also be awarded for how impactful the episode was, or how favored/ important it is to the general Ben 10 fanbase. I ask myself, "If I skipped this, would I be missing out on the 'Ben 10 Experience?' "

ENTERTAINMENT (Scaled from 1 to 5)
Pretty much the most important part of developing a tv show. You can be perfect in all four of the previous categories, but the episode can still be boring. On the flip side, the episode can be absolute garbage, but still an enjoyable watch. How likely would you be to put this episode on if you were in the mood to watch Ben 10?

[ArishemTheJudge-]

If you think about it Amphibian is a hilariously broken alien. He has Flight, Electrokinesis, Mind reading, Intangibility, Super Speed, and the ability to travel through electrical circuitry.

[teku]

I think him saying “there hasn’t been a Phil in this body for years” was more of an ego-death metaphor

[HelenaSan]

This episode is When your team is full of electric type Pokemon against a single ground type be like:

[DrWardy]

i absolutely adore comparing aliens that fit into a similar niche

[CyberKirby]

Apparently consuming things through a straw dampens some of the flavor. So there may be a credit to the whole smoothie thing. His mom and Grandpa Max make very flavorful exotic things which overwhelms Ben's taste buds. Smoothies and their straw don't hit so hard.

[JunkoEnoshima.]

NGL i like the ''Phil is no Kevin'' line because it goes to show that NOT everyone is redeemable. While yes perhaps the line means way less if we assume Phil is not there anymore but at the end of the day it goes to show not all evil people can just one day become friends. Kevin was an exception, he was a monster but he was a kid who had way too much problems with his life and having Kwarrel as a mentor and growing up in relatively better conditions after leaving Null void even if through being a con man has mellowed him out and through that he was able to be redeemed thanks to Ben and Gwen. But not everyone is Kevin, not everyone can be saved and genuinely atone the same way

[Treeman]

You know, the line “my exposure to the Nemetrix is messing with your little watch there” always stuck out to me. Does the Nemetrix have some sort of effect on the Omnitrix when in a certain proximity? Maybe that’s why Ben always turns into a specific set of aliens when fighting Zed. Heck, that might also explain why he unlocked Ball Weevil when fighting Zed, similar to how he unlocked Buzzshock when fighting Phil.

[AhmedHussain-juxd]

Despite there being so many electric aliens in the show, kevin was actually the first person to ever use electricity in the show

[eon]

Frankenstrike having detachable limbs that can move independently would be really cool and a great display of his electric powers.

[headcrabA]

About the intelligence thing, its possibly that Terroranchula's aren't that sapient normally, but operating in a humans brain for so long allowed it to develop higher thought. One of the key differences between human and animal brains is the sheer amount of neurons in them

[entropic-decay]

on the food thing, my personal headcanon for why ben doesn't like a lot of others' cooking but likes those... *questionable* smoothie flavors is down to having problems with textures in foods. that's something i struggle with as well, so it feels relatable to me. having things basically reduced to a slurry does help on occasion

[SowaraAkther]

This month gonna be good for us Ink Tank fans. This breakdown, and 5YL for the next 2 week. We are being fed thanks Kuro and the rest of the gang.

[BuzzPrincess]

Rook not realising Phil is his name is probably because Khyber called him "a Phil" in Season 1, so he assumed Phil isn't a name

[dominico]

Personal head canon/theory: When he said, "There hasn't been a Phil in this body for years." He doesn't mean the terroranchula has taken over his body, he means the 'Phil' that was Max partner has been dead for years, possibly since classic. All there left is the new Phil, one who will do anything to get what he wants whether it's by freeing null void aliens or absorbing mega watts.

[Genesis-XE]

10:43 Rob talking about Rob and Rob who voiced a character and compares the 2 Rob’s voice performances. We’ve got 3 Robs at the moment lol 😂

[ghost_gaming]

36:32 “my exposure to the nematrix is messing with your little watch “ do you think that’s why when Kyber shows up he always gets the aliens that have predators (edit: thanks for the likes ps Kuro what do you think of this theory?)

[geran]

When you said Ultimate Humungousaur and Frankenstrike were a nightmare to animate, I was reminded of the episode, And Then There Were None, where they both literally showed up and shared multiple frames together.

[thutmosetoure]

Phil mentions that his exposure to the nemetrix is what prevents Ben from turning into other aliens. Does that imply that the nemetrix is also forcing Ben to turn into aliens that can be counted?

[ultimatex]

I always viewed the whole "There hasn't been a Phil in this body in years" was a byproduct of being transformed with a clearly new and untested Nemetrix for as long as he was. The brief look we got at Khyber's Nemetrix-induced insanity wasn't too bad, possibly because of it being the "final" version of the Nemetrix. Meanwhile, it seemed like Phil was the first ever test subject. When Phil was transformed for too long into Terroranchula, we see him start smashing his head into the Rust Bucket and foaming at the mouth. Khyber was seemingly transformed for just as long into Tyrannopede, but we never see him doing anything similar.

[seismicstar]

I always took this episode as Phil became more, his mind breaking during the time he was left rotting. The amount of time he had his hybrid form in the null void making him want to stay that way, and renounce who he was. That final line from Max to Phil being Max coming to terms the Phil he knew was long gone.