Unlike “Life Lessons”, it's easier to root for Sam's side then it is for Danny. While I can argue about her constant stubbornness (she followed Danny into danger despite fair warnings from the ghost boy), she had better validation for her actions then Danny did.
If Danny had kept his promise to Sam as oppose to his hormone-inducing desire for Paulina, this would have would have prevented everything bad from happening in this in the first place. Unfortunately, he is fourteen years old and is still in the process of discovering the root of his naivety and blunt nature that he can exhibit at this point. To him, his teenage hormones come first, not to mention an invite from Paulina’s party is a rare occurrence while a movie with Sam is constant. Still, Danny plays the selfish card and looks upon Paulina over the welfare of his best friend. Danny even belittles Sam after the first monster's appearance, ultimately telling her to back down in a derogatory manner as oppose to a more sensitive approach, not exactly good friendship fodder.
However, it does raises a bigger eyebrow that the beginning portion opens with Danny refusing to abuse his powers despite Sam's rare approval, a brief moment where Danny takes the high road. For the rest of the episode, he degrades while Sam returns to her usual rational figure. It's understandable now since Danny's maturity is only just beginning, but it will get worse sometime around the second half of Season Two when the writers constantly downgrade Danny's maturity to better Sam's self-righteous personality which, by that point, turns from a flawed aspect of her character into a complete "You know I'm right" attitude (and usually, she is). Incidentally, this is meant to squeeze in a moral, but they do it in all the wrong ways.
Eventually, both of them made up (and for it) by end, it’s the feel good story of the year. In a fit of irksome arguments and side-to-side agreements/disagreements, this is a classic example of friendships in general where close buddies are incline to make bigger deals over even the simplest matter because of the bond they share; their refusal to break it down. Danny and Sam's argument remains one of the most real ways I’ve seen an animation do on teenage conversation: one rifled with immature sarcasm and illogical reasoning. It’s handled with brilliant voice acting, something that shone magnificently here. Listen to Desiree especially as she cries out in frustration and roaring in pride as her powers grow; the woman who played Pandora in “Boxed Up Fury” should have taken lessons from Peri, she nails the role of Powerful, Angry Lady hook, line, and sinker.
Compelling character interactions aside, the story itself is a wonderfully unique take on an old tale: the ol' amnesia plot that kills two birds with one stone by doubling as an origin story. There is no “knock on a hero’s head to erase his memories” or one involving a villain using it for his evil ends (though one can see the possibility of a Vlad episode showing off something like that), instead Danny ends up forgetting his life by never having experienced them due to one misbegotten wish. While it cops out and predictably ends with a wish to bring it back into the centerfold, the presentation was a breath of fresh air.
Arguably, the only error is the Danny/Sam angle. After the heavy emphasis on friendship the two portrayed in the first half, the second sequence involves Danny and Sam’s growing romance, somewhat unique here since Danny’s crush on Sam is a first timer due to her wish, but that remains the only justification. Their growing love is tastefully done, but it seemed as if the writers were attempting to squeeze it in while they had the chance. It leaves a weird taste in my mouth when the first half was completely absent from it. The romance would have benefited if they had kept this for the entire run.
Strangely, Sam works the buttons and cogs of the Ghost Portal to recreate Danny's accident in pitch-perfect form. No damage, no harm. It's so simple to initiate that they could create an army of superheroes. So why don't they? Sam and Tucker fighting side-by-side would make for an easier time. The first reason is an obvious DUH; this is Danny Phantom's story, not Tucker and Sam; they don't get to have ghost powers and that's how it should be. The other is a theoretical look: Danny may be the only one who could have survived the blast. Each human has different genes. It's possible Danny was the only one who had the lucky human code to make it out alive. That's why no one outside of Vlad (who got his powers in a similar, but still different way) were gifted with these chosen powers. Yes, Jack turned ghost in "Masters Of All Time" and its possible that it could be a Fenton gene thing, but I find that answer too easy and see it more as a fate playing around with familiar coincidences then genetics.
The writers must've wanted to bring Season Two with a bang and for the most part, it did. They filled this with welcoming nods to past episodes. Geeks like me can spend their leisure time pointing out the references the characters made, but it’s not just the nod to the past, but a gradual leap forward with it's great characters and story driven plots; the characters acknowledge these past incidents indeed happened and Danny gains a permanent change with a spiffy, new logo (despite the awkward deliverance). There is no reset button (except for the crappy "Reality Trip"), the story moves forward as much as it references back and proves the writers really pay attention to even the most minor of details. And for that, the episode deserves a standing ovation. Not many DP episodes--continuity driven or not--fills in this many in one episode. Kudos.
Baring those damn still shots inside Danny’s memories (which hosted some severe off-models), the episode is an absolute breeze to look at: beautiful solid coloring, gorgeous eye candy (the meteor shower/night sky never looked more purdy), and mostly on-model designs gives this DP episode two thumbs up.
8/10
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Article written in: Nov. 5, 2008
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