Every Cuphead Episode Ranked From WORST TO BEST

this video was sponsored by mantisly I watched all 36 episodes of cuphead to rank them from worst to best and we definitely have a crappy episode to start with on our hands lost in the woods is the worst episode of cuphead Point Blank the episode revolves around cuphead being tasked together firewood after he destroyed some but mugman helping him out due to his impulsive yet empty-headed nature the appeal of cuphead as a character is that even though he's impulsive selfish egotistical and dim-witted it is balanced out with a sense of Charisma bravery and love for his family even if it isn't always shown all of that was thrown out of the window and ran over by a high-speed train but Rockets foreign didn't respect Elder Kettle or mugman as they did the simple job of collecting firewood mugman in particular was cutting the firewood that he wasn't even scolded to get he was doing cuphead's punishment for him and cuphead still went out of his way to make it a nightmare I get what this episode was going for having the back and forth between being responsible and not but the comedy isn't there at all not even a little bit it's not even in the same solar system as most of these episodes it comes off as cuphead being the worst person ever which is not how he is in other episodes he's never been this brain dead before and wasn't as brain dead after this episode but the part I disliked the most in this episode is that mugman had to apologize it didn't matter what he had to apologize for no matter what moral gymnastics you play mugman has absolutely nothing to apologize for in this episode if the series was 20 of these I would have never touched the show with a 10-foot pole oh yeah there's a number on the screen yeah each episode is Ray it out of five based on four factors primarily that I think make up the ideal cuphead episode comedy because it is a comedy heavy show a sense of adventure and how entertained I was throughout it the story which is different from Adventure and the last element which is the most important as it'll vary throughout each episode The gamey feel of the show this is a video game adaptation so it should retain what people enjoy about the game translated into an animated series now if that's a confusing concept the picture just replace the word game feel with lore as I'm using them interchangeably speaking of pictures we have another episode that tarnishes the image of season two say cheese has very little to offer the episode is about Elder Kettle wanting a family portrait with cuphead and mugman and despite begging offering and demanding they still don't do it yet blackmail Elder Kettle into giving them what they want despite not following through on their end of the offer it's even worse when you realize that the justification for treating Elder Kettle like crap is that cuphead mentions offhand that Elder cattle doesn't come through on his promises you're always promising to take us places then when it's time to go you'll say you can't remember I don't remember that yet not only is that not the case in General within the show he specifically brings up the promise that he made to cuphead and mugman in this episode and how they didn't come through on their end of the deal regardless so now we don't even know if Elder Kettle was telling the truth or not either way he's been treating cuphead and mugman just fine throughout the seasons and it's actually their annoying and aggressive attitudes that drive him up the wall it's disheartening to see mugman acting this way specifically because he's generally seen as the more sensible one of the duo but for some reason it is written completely differently here as if he isn't able to deduce that if he gives Elder Kettle a simple photo that'll take like five seconds he can get what he wants not only this but the ending was all over the place why did Elder Kettle want to physically harm his children the camera was already broken not only this but couldn't he have simply just grounded them for life if the photo was ever released this episode is all over the place masquerading as a funny episode when in reality it's just a mean-spirited mess in fact one can say that this episode was so boring that even during a re-watch I nearly fell asleep which has been easier to do with my Manta sleep mask I want to mention something super important look at the time of this video do you see how we're barely getting started in this long video yeah I started this video eight days before the publish date the only way for me to binge the show take notes script revise record edit and polish this video while also doing daily Community posts and being active on Twitter and Discord is keeping my energy right which starts with a good night's rest one way I recommend improving your sleep is with manta's OG sleep mask which gives me a better balanced sleep with no pressure on my eyes at all the Manta sleep mask is incredibly affordable and comes along with earplugs and a case so basically if this video is anything it's a testament to how well I've slept while getting such a big video done in a short amount of time so thank you mantisly for sponsoring this video and if you want a 10 discount on a good night's rest use promo code Alpha J at checkout Alpha j a why when you get your very own Manta sleep mask the world's comfiest 100 blackout sleep mask guaranteed speaking of spirits in the spirit of numbered reviews I want to say really quick that I'm only comparing these episodes to each other not any other show usually reviews of numbers get a certain subsection of the internet crying about the numbers and the rankings and speaking of babies we have the third worst episode of the show despite such a low score I actually warmed up to baby bottle compared to how I felt when the season was brand new so consider to score an improvement it was a typical misunderstanding plot specifically the demon child Baby plot where the baby looks cute and innocent to one person or multiple people but demonic to one specific person this episode kind of avoided the truly angering scene of for example mugman seeing the baby do something bad but blame cuphead for it regardless even in cases where one couldn't justify how this was cuphead's fault and I think that's the Saving Grace this isn't like everyone hates bendy for example where in certain instances they just blame plain blue because of his poor credibility rather than looking at logic baby bottle is still not a great episode and debatably I'd even argue it's not a good episode either it has some decent moments and admittedly it avoided some bad choices at other episodes that use this plot typically run into but getting around that baby bottle is the first episode to establish that cuphead is a mean show or at least meaner compared to his contemporaries and we noticed given that cuphead didn't warrant any of the pain that was given to him via the baby and also that Elder Kettle didn't warrant any of the pain that he ran into with the baby but also how they solved the problem [Music] care of baby let's get you inside it's not a show meant to be held up to our moral standard akin to shows like Craig of the creek the loud house or even wacky shows like Phineas and Ferb it's meant to have a little gray area of morality to achieve the comedy that it wants it's just that here like building up Elder kettles radio as a prize possession just to have the baby intentionally break it it's just not that funny nor was the story tailored towards the show in a gamey sort of way compared to the first episode of the show but there's another episode that struggled with this comedy a lot despite avoiding mistakes that would ruin episodes like these and that's a joyride while I understood that this episode is only here to introduce Miss chalice to the devil if you take this episode out and simply add the last 30 seconds of this episode to the next you don't lose anything it's not so much that this episode does anything wrong or truly egregious it's that this episode doesn't do anything at all it's just them Meandering for 15 minutes the hook that this episode attempts the offer is Miss chalice's ability to possess bodies however we would have known about this within the beginning of dead broke as within that episode cuphead and mugman were possessed by Miss chalice and by the way dead bro comes before this episode sure seeing Elder Kettle be less responsible and more like cuphead was an interesting thought but not enough to Warrant a whole episode or a whole half of this episode to focus on not only that but there's no gamey feel to this episode at all it honestly feels like a filler episode and an otherwise strapped for time show it doesn't have time to waste hey you guys want to get some Cotton Candy Boy however I won't dock points at least from the adventure aspects because it did have a good Pace even if it wasn't going anywhere significant Until the End there's a few ways I would have fixed this if the staff was married to this concept why not have chalice introduce a weakness of sort from possessing Too Many Bodies why not have them do the joyride aspects but break the car and have to fix it in time why not have the devil do reconnaissance spying on chalice the entire time before making the call to summon her there's no conflict in this episode so it always came to cross as a flubbed execution to me speaking of flubbed executions let's talk about one that I covered before a very devil Christmas is a very very very flawed attempt at making a Christmas episode it follows in the season 3 trend of making the devil just feel sad and bad for himself for the most part in the show except here combining the introduction of Santa Claus and one of the most ridiculous ways to motivate someone to be good mind you the devil has been on a naughty list for so long that he's at the top of that list yet Santa few used himself with the devil and made a pact that if the devil doesn't deliver presents to everyone Christmas is canceled he's putting his faith in everyone getting presents all around the world on the person who's at the top of the naughty list the most naughty person if you do not succeed you'll stay Santa Claus for all eternity oh okay oh oh you crazy like I said in my video Santa is insane however an insane premise alone doesn't make this episode flawed the adventure was dry and I often found myself bored even through a re-watch of it there's sprinkles of Hope here and there like the joke of the devil failing to be nice even for five seconds or him singing in the beginning of the special or even henchman in general especially the wholesome ending but what's in between those good moments is a bunch of filler that was forgettable but also another brick and a Wall of Shame having the devil turn into a wooby I also guarantee you that the ice cream man sounds better as a title and concept than watching the actual episode so dangerous mugman is a season one episode that has mugman at the Forefront without being boring yet here it feels like the problem with splitting up the two is that if you're trying to do a story like this they kind of need each other this story was Bare Bones and the show doesn't really work well with having a free-form type of story The relatively exciting part of this episode is short and underwhelming with mugman and the ice cream man battling over hat placements and noise pollution if you're wondering if I'm leaving anything else from this totally exciting episode I'm not stop flavor of the day [Music] it's mugman trying to read a book shipping himself with calamaria and getting distracted I found the ice cream man to fit in the same mold as ball boy another character within the show but in a more forgettable fashion his perceived evil route has been done to death in Disney shows alone there's nothing new here the adventure is weak the jokes are lame and it might be one of the most forgettable episodes despite not being rated the lowest but speaking of met episodes roadkill wasn't so much of an episode that had bad things in it but just a lack of good and an indifference towards seeing the devil portrayed this way look back to season 1 episodes like roll the dice sweater off dead or sweater luck next time or season 2 episodes like release the demons where even though he ultimately loses at the end his reputation doesn't really take a hit he's still awesome in those episodes but here he's just seen as a normal guy when he's the devil plots like this in theory should be avoided like the plague with this character because it humanizes him way too much especially for who he would go on to see is actually a big deal in the third season says you can take your nickel and you can stick it right foreign [Laughter] [Music] if anything stickler is the most threatening person within a series from this point on and he's not supposed to be a liked character at least from both the devil's perspective and the audience perspective he enforces the rules he makes things hard for the Devil he's supposed to be lame and boring yet he holds all the power not only this but cuphead and mugman don't even Fear The Devil in this episode that much beyond the brief moment where he intended physical harm there's a few saving Graces to this 11 minute pile of mid which is the wholesomeness between the pet goat and Elder Kettle but also I will admit the devil's chaos replaced by cat noises was entertaining I just wish it didn't require for him to be reduced to a pity party in order to do so for the fourth episode of the third season the fourth episode of the second season was only marginally better this is another episode that admittedly I've warmed up to slightly when I came back to re-binge the show so consider the score higher than it would have been I think when makes this episode work a little bit better maybe a little bit of a cop-out you see within another episode Handle With Care we see bull boy a new character up to that point and mugman has a harsh reaction to him I think he looks swell not that I asked you bull boy when we enter this episode cuphead and mugman go their separate ways not being able to amicably resolve their ideas of fun cuphead willing to be more risky mugman wants to be more safe and enter bull boy in his proper debut befriending cuphead which adds another layer as to why mugman feels betrayed disrespected and lonely it would be easy to forget that one moment between mugman and bull boy and it's not like they hint at it in this episode I only put the two pieces together when benching it fully so while it's a minor point I only find this episode to be okay learn from you cuphead and be just lucky you cuphead and become you cuphead it feels like an episode any show could do the idea of the duel splitting off in their own separate ways could have been built up to in a better way and mugman's side of things was incredibly boring there wasn't much to it besides missing cuphead and a tiny tiny blinking you'll miss it moment where mugman finds someone who wants to be safer than even he is there wasn't many funny moments within this episode and the resolution at the end was definitely amiss not the strongest of episodes and especially coming off the prior episode it was a letdown in comparison but speaking of episodes that weren't the strongest the season 2 finale upon re-watch was both empty and underwhelming but served a greater purpose although I didn't use this aspect in my rating of the video consciously anyway one of the points of discussion with season 2 was that even though cuphead was more impulsive it was the bill to season 3 in which it would be addressed ha ha ha mugman this was to excuse say cheese another brother lost in the woods and this episode given that this was not addressed in season three but that exact same selfishness would Aid him we can now lay this discussion to rest cuphead was and is supposed to be impulsive and him humbling up shouldn't have happened Beyond an episodic basis however when you write him to be this mean you have to balance it with good comedy a good balance struggle or at least a reason to act as so here he's not as bad as other episodes he's just berating mugman here and there but some of that can be excused due to being a meaner show what makes this episode weak is that it really wasn't that funny outside of the ending with the devil I didn't enjoy the devil wreaking havoc once he gathered the courage to prove everyone wrong that he's not washed up but it led into him basically being humiliated which was a bad Omen for season 3. in addition this episode felt kind of flat as there wasn't much of a game-like feel to it it just felt like cuphead and mugman running a around without a point which isn't the worst thing ever but it certainly shouldn't be ranked with the best episodes you know what other episode was excused in season two because supposedly cuphead was going to be humbled sweet Temptation which is a weak episode it's one of the rare episodes that I didn't find much of anything funny within it and it sets up a prominent season 2 problem cuphead gets worse and worse with very little if any remorse which the prior entry the devil's Pitchfork was going to address alongside the season 3 premiere which we'll speak about later although another brother set the tone this episode was less funny in comparison at least with another brother there was a better story here the only good part is seeing the Candy Kingdom in the candy fight version of cuphead and mugman I didn't enjoy the fact that cuphead's poor impulse control never gets checked by mugman without there being some life or death claws especially because his way of repaying mugman backed for eating all of his candy took no effort on his end and in fact contributed to even more of a struggle for Milkman because when you look at the entire episode he was specifically told to not speak about the Candy Kingdom he actually put monkman in more Danger trying to repay him back tell no one about Sugarland if I told you there was a place where everything's made of candy would you want to go there of course I'd want to wait who's the baroness hopefully we'll avoid her I also found the baroness a weird and weak character I'm assuming she preys on children with poor impulse control to break her rules and then eat which is a very convoluted way to make a villain between the clunky writing and the unlikable portrayal of cuphead I did feel like there was more of a game like vibe in this episode compared to another brother which is why this ranks slightly higher but that can only get you so far it has to be a great experience throughout this video game adaptation and this episode was not however you will get a better experience once we leave the bottom 10 of cuphead and get into better episodes like don't answer the door despite being a successor to baby bottle this episode is only kind of better it's not an awful episode but compared to the rest of the show it certainly doesn't stand out it falls into the line of episodes where it limits how much it does to a simple Adventure which doesn't make it bad just not spectacular there's plenty of opportunity for fun and memorable moments in a simple story as we'll see later on in this list but that's not this episode it's just a lot of watching and waiting for exciting things to happen with a few dry spots scattered throughout uh no [Music] no no no no the joke of Elder Kettle being pranked and pranking the back was kind of weak the bear aspect was interesting but I wished it was fleshed out more and they didn't really need to extend the search for baby bottle that much if the whole point was that it wasn't baby bottle it would have been super cool if the bear chased them back home not to kill them but to return the basket like this episode does and then everything else happens at least in that sense it would have a nice but chaotic way to ramp up things before the big twist as it stands there isn't much to speak about it's a thin episode there's more to speak about in episodes like cupstage the plot of cup stage is simple the trio of cuphead monkman and the devil compete for the lead role in a play there's this idea that a lot of people agree on where if a show runs on for too long it'll go through like a watering down period yeah this plot is an example of this could have been done by anyone and the way it turned out was not unique to the show at all replace these three characters cuphead mugman and a devil with any other characters from any other show and the episode would work exactly the same so in addition to the cookie cutter plot and the way that they executed It season 3 is saturated with the trend of taking away any threat from the devil and turning him into a complainer I am being unappreciated by you cultural numb skulls I hope you all enjoyed yourselves today's performance shall be my last now one may facetiously draw parallels to my complaining of the devil being a complainer with the devil complaining in universe so to clear things up if I had a pitchfork that shot fire there's 126 different ways that I would get the lead role without being stopped by two kids admittedly it is a funny episode compared to the rest of the season but is blown out of the water by the prior two seasons jokes I enjoyed seeing cuphead and the devil duke it out for the main role but mugman was kind of there it makes me feel like this episode was written to be a cuphead slash devil episode it could have been more Brash in your face and funny so that's the bottom third of this show episodes that you can honestly avoid or just see once if you're truly curious but now we're getting into episodes that are good in their own right like an episode where mugman wasn't just kind of there he was the main focus piano lesson was the light at the end of the tunnel of mediocre season 2 episodes however little did I know it would be to calm before the storm this also falls in line with cuphead being brushed to the point of being a little hard to watch but what saves this episode unlike a few others in this season is that the story works a lot better here we have mugman whose dream is to play at the recital and make his mentor Ludwig proud do you remember all of those times we saw mugman speak about his dream of playing the piano I agree I never did either unlike other season 2 episodes like ice cream man Ludwig is a good single episode character you think I was wondering I must remove my driving gloves laughs he was saying The over-dramatic Voice Direction The Great Character design and his mannerisms really sold him on being a memorable part of an otherwise typical episode usually to keep these episodes fresh the writing veers into having the Rivalry take twists and turns but this one was very straightforward cuphead doesn't care for piano so of course these unnaturally talented at the piano only to take it from megman because lobsters 10 grand I get it but at the same time with the running joke about crawfish it just seemed like cuphead was perfectly content with what he had even during roll the dice an episode about a show with an implied grand prize cuphead cared more about having fun than any material possession cuphead stance in this episode appears kind of awkwardly forced into the episode and that's one of the reasons it wouldn't be rated higher than it is on the whole it's a decent but flawed episode marking the end of a hallway of boring or mean-spirited episodes at least until around the end of season 2. season 3 however would have an interesting obstacle leave establish an ongoing rivalry with cuphead and the devil but also resolve the mystery of Miss chalice turning her from a mysterious Cliffhanger into an entertaining Mainstay what would this season have to offer and how will the devil finally resolve his gripe with cuphead well so far by being neutered as a threat you think your brother is going to save you he thinks his brother is going to come down here and save him [Laughter] we've established very early on that the devil runs a tight ship and should be feared in the prior episodes of this the devil's Pitchfork even had a Critic acknowledge that he used to know what he was doing despite seeing imagery of these poor beings caged up and sent to perform manual labor the devil seems to forget in this episode how to torture someone he's unnaturally nice to mugman almost as if he doesn't have any options to torture the guy now I love mugman as a character and this isn't a request to see him tortured but why would the devil be so cautious and soft when it comes to dealing with mugman the person who made the invisible sweater placed it on the devil causing severe burns that took a long time to recover from and laughed at him when he was at his lowest an episode ago why isn't mugman carrying rocks why is he so sure that cuphead will save him using the power of hindsight it's because the devil grows soft even and though when he isn't around cuphead and mugman he can be himself it's weird how neutered he'd be coming this season and it's only more obvious the more you watch you know what weirdly worked out though certain app it was a decently good episode it is a rare Elder kettled Centric episode that revolves around him misunderstanding cuphead and mugman's wolves and reluctant decisions to bury someone to mean himself if there's anything carrying this episode it's the story to see Elder Kettle attempt to impress cuphead and mug Man shows how much he cares for him and the implied preservation of himself but the story in pacing is slowed albeit to the pace of Elder Kettle and he offers not much Beyond being the butt of a joke which we've seen as early as the first episode of the series but cuphead and mugman play a laid-back role almost the same character story-wise which isn't bad but it would have been cool to get more one-liners from either of them I did enjoyed a small twist at the worm that they've been taking care of is alive with the same voice actor of the worm playing mugman man you really helped over her mouth so long fellas foreign although it runs into the same problem of episodes like baby bottle and Handle With Care where it seems too casual of an episode to sack up against the more adventurous episodes of the series plus the comedy was hit or miss it hit sometimes like with the entire sequence of Elder Kettle stepping over his own traps but then miss in terms of the light bulb run and gag in the beginning of the episode but overall it was nice to see a bit of history and lore added to Elder Kettle that I did not know before watching this episode if you want to see a season 1 episode that had a better gamey feel though you should check out root packs it features the trio that one would see within the game rather early which is a great inclusion into the first season even if it is the seventh episode although not the funniest of episodes the very first joke of Elder Kettle singing turning abruptly into breaking his back is still incredibly funny and is one of the rare moments in this episode that I rewound and watched it again and again interestingly like with another episode within the first season ghost ain't real an episode we'll see later it features a real Dynamic of having one less competent character and the two that are in comparison except it's done better here because the less competent one isn't just for jokes but also contributes to the story in a major way this Garden is all our poor Elder cattle has left almost makes you want to cry that's just a terrible poor out the cattle this episode like with a few others in season one has so much fun with the character design even if it is for characters we may never see again the bouncer was cool probably one of the Highlight characters however beyond that it was a very average episode in the grand scheme of the show The Adventure really wasn't that unique and I think it could have went a lot farther and a lot whackier given if you know anything about the game and anything about these characters I found the ending to be underwhelming as well given that Elder kettle's plans were built up to so much in this episode unlike the moment with the radio within baby bottle where it breaks and it serves as a big moment as Elder Kettle learns about baby here it's just like swept the way like the dried remains of the plant it's not a bad Episode by any means but it definitely isn't an amazing episode either in fact as far as the story goes it can learn a thing or two from this next episode season 2's return of Miss chalice was also just good nothing extraordinarily spectacular but it didn't really need to be this episode had one purpose get Miss chalice and capetta mukman in the same room to continue from the high tensions of interim's way which was the last episode of season one with that being said that's probably the best part of this episode seeing them speak in demystifying chalices appeal down to being part Charming but also part liar and still retain that wild card energy beyond that the episode doesn't really offer that much excitement it skips over to dancing competition that it was building up to a little bit it doesn't explain how chalice's dancing Works versus when anyone else does it and the angry mob angle was handled a tad underwhelmingly well it served the greater purpose of showing cuphead and mugman that Miss Charles is a ghost there are other ways to go about that without having it feel undercooked I didn't enjoy that when Miss chalice explained her reasoning for abandoning them it wasn't that big of a deal to them showing that they don't hold grudges for that long you two knocked yourselves out cop stormed in and I was lucky to get away cookies are pretty good though huh the goat finally had a solid joke appearance within this episode and it won't be his last either overall I just felt like this episode was the embodiment of this is by no means bad but this is by no means amazing an episode that has an amazing appearance from a character you wouldn't have predicted is special delivery there's a lot I appreciate about this episode we see the best Trio of cuphead mugman and Miss chalice who doesn't overstep anyone's Spotlight and equally shines throughout this episode we have the best pork rind appearance within the show with him trying to be largely apathetic but being shown to at least have some feelings albeit mostly guilt towards the trio who admittedly annoy him but he doesn't want to see anything bad happen to them we see ribby and Crooks again always a welcome when it comes to this show and their establishment which was rebuilt rather quickly these guys work and if you don't know what happened to The Establishment stay tuned because that episode is a riot the key to this episode is that through needing to deliver a package each of them react to it differently cuphead wants to take it seriously get the job done so that they can get their ball back Miss chalice wants to see what's in the package mugman the best of them all takes his secret disguise seriously which leads to a lot of wacky shenanigans [Music] I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it I got it this is a highlight in an otherwise just fine season three a highlight of season two would be the premiere episode the second season had a lot of expectations on it but the sole question people wanted answered was what happened to cuphead and mugman which I did not know I'd need to appreciate so much given how in another show oddballs had also ended with a cliffhanger wouldn't address it for seven episodes the episode directly deals with the ramifications of getting caught sneaking into a cookie factory combining it with the sibling rivalry element that the two shared all throughout the first season into a fun plot seeing the two brothers scramble around and try to escape mukman also has a side part of the plot where he tries to make the best of his situation working as a laundry person befriending all the mean tough scary prisoners which like with the salty sponge I really like that Trope I think it's one that works best when used sparingly oh don't worry someone also wash your blankie [Music] um as much as I love prison my place is with cuphead the comedy was pretty good nothing to write home about it was a good way to start the season but it was just nothing special it would have been fun to see a few different ways to spice this up like for one we here at the end that Elder Kettle meets up with Miss chalice I wouldn't have mind if it sacrificed some elements from the first part of this episode to see more of that I would have loved to see a more elaborate sequence when cuphead breaks out I would have loved if this episode tapped into the Misunderstood fear of Miss Cyclops more the biggest prisoner of them all however as it stands it's a solid introduction to an action-packed second season that features cool episodes like dead broke similar to the first season there was an episode called ghosts ain't real an episode I've been building up because the episode is really good like with this episode both of them are just spookier than the rest of their respective season and I always considered this episode and that episode to be like the halloween-esque episodes of the show and between the two this one is just a weaker one it's so good which speaks to how great the other episode is here we get some cool aspects like the burn bomb quadruplets for girls who long for a normal world after being trapped for a hundred years within a painting they're crazy chaotic and I love their voice direction as well there's a lot of great voices to be heard within season two this is also a heavy Miss chalice episode which is sorely needed after Charmed and dangerous what kind of word is dangerous this is also a heavy Miss chalice episode which is sorely needed after Charmed and dangerous and the season 1 finale in charm's way we see that Miss chalice is now casual with cuphead and look man now that the friction has been settled and their Dynamic can truly shine even though Miss chalice also loves risk has a bit of an ego and takes challenges on she doesn't overshadow cuphead in fact I'd even argue that cuphead kind of becomes a different person that's had safer compared to chalice and that's really cool to see look but if chalice is in that painting then that means this house really is we see The Return of the ice cream man the woman who practically lives in the theater Sally stage play and some cool action sequences towards the end this felt a lot more gamey than many episodes within season 2 and I appreciate that this next episode didn't feel gamey at all but was one of the best stories within season one when it comes to the smaller Adventures Handle With Care may be one of the best despite its low score while not specifically tailored towards a gamey feel it is tailored towards cup hence pun intended which explains its Anatomy how handles are viewed in the world and was Elder kettle's best performance to date even with this fictitious story cuphead and mugman are always going to fight and to see it go wrong in different ways is the bread and butter of the show we also got a proper introduction to pork rind as within the first episode they never fully visit his shop getting distracted by Carnival more on that episode later but also a small appearance from bull boy who he saw in another brother the story just made a lot of sense never had any slow parts and even had a Twist at the end man handles I found the honey joke to be hilarious even months later and the bride joke was pretty funny too the only aspect that holds this episode back is that it takes two steps back from being a gamey sort of vibe for a more conventional show Vibe which isn't inherently bad but it isn't what I'm looking for in this show and it isn't displaying the show's strong suit to both me as a new fan but also long time fans of the show this next episode also had a fantastic story but took a step closer to getting that game like feel right even if it is so a little flawed the rags the richest story of King dice post roll the dice had an incredible amount of potential even before I watched it down and out is a king dice episode that just so happens to feature cuphead and mugman from seeing him live in squalor conditions eating a cooked Boot and having trash dropped on him unapologetically to seeing him gain his confidence back after one show which brings in everyone nearby was nothing short of engaging from beginning to end it's one of the best stories within the show and obviously one one of two fantastic stories within the third season we'll get to the other one later this is also accentuated with the boredom of the devil so far within this season he's been pushed around and not taken seriously not just by cuphead and mugman but by his own minions minus henchmen but more specifically stickler he finally cracks calling the place that he used to have fun extremely boring and refusing to take accountability for his lack of Soul snatching this place used to have style what happened to the glitz the pizzazz the Razzle Dazzle [Music] hmm foreign so with him needing entertainment and King dice working his way back up to the top not only did it have a wholesome ending but the story didn't make a complete circle back to where he was at roll the dice this is a new king dice on A New Path although not rated as highly as other episodes this is only held back by its conventional feel so while it's a great great story it wouldn't rank higher than the episodes that have the gamey feel for me an episode that did truly knock the gamey feel out of the park is Ruby and croaks ribbian croaks was a really good episode that had the memorable debut of the Frog Duo Caribbean croaks but also establish a lot of smaller things for one this episode has cuphead and mugman at their signature competitive and tense atmosphere that defines them as the Troublesome brothers that we know and love we also got to see smaller but recurring characters a unique but memorable environment and a wholesome song about ruby and croak appreciating their mom this was the first episode I felt directly translated the fun chaotic wacky feel perfectly into episodic form so what if I am [Music] this felt straight out of a level within a game compared to baby bottle the episode before this one where that felt more like a conventional cartoon episode so what makes this good and not great well the adventure aspects and the game feel are the better qualities of the episode it's held back by the actual story which is that cuphead and mugman don't get along because someone ate the other person's food it just felt a little out of place within this episode including the moment where they both apologize to each other I'm assuming it's supposed to be a funny moment created from the contrast of Chaos around them with them being emotional and I do see the connections between their sibling rivalry and ribby and croak's rivalry so it's definitely not a bad story but one that needed more to glue the connection together the comedy wasn't terrible it was just done better in other episodes however I will highlight the joke with the cook and his girlfriend being one of the best moments within the show tied with the table aspect of the chase scene it just looks beautiful and deserves more credit like the debut episode Carnival doesn't get enough credit for being a great introduction to this show for both fans and newcomers cuphead and mugman's personalities are clearly distinct there's a lot of fun adventure and great music the story also sets up a clear overarching plot with cuphead owing his soul to the devil through my experience of watching pilot episodes they're either unpolished not focused enough or sometimes even too excited to tell you all about the story that it feels cluttered admittedly the weakest point is the comedy but there's a few defenses to this one for one it's still a relatively funny episode just not to the level of the rest of the show but more finally the episode told more story for the purpose of setting up fun moments later I were singing Soul counter stopped foreign it's like how with help wanted for example maybe that episode isn't in anyone's top 10 when it comes to SpongeBob but it had to tell the story of so much for every other episode to make sense the chase scene with the Devil is quite possibly one of my favorite Chase scenes within a show it does feel like it can be directly translated from a video game level or 2-1 and not lose any of its charms speaking of the introduction to the devil showcases charm singing ability and aggression in a perfect way I'm curious to know how mugman would have known that destroying the soul ball machine would have saved the two of them because that's a long shot for a hunk of Metal He's only seen for about 10 minutes the running gag with elder Kettle is great the hard cut when mugman tells cuphead that they're not going to the carnival only to go was also great and also seeing the soulless people of Inkwell Isles was a great introduction to tell who is and not with the soul so that's the middle third of this show full of good episodes in their own right but this upper third is where the show truly shines compared to the actual holiday special this is the better winter themed Christmas themed episode despite having a simple premise of gathering a tree it turns into a fantastic Adventure it's episodes like this that really show exactly what I mean with having a grand Adventure even if the concept is simple and Casual plus the action-heavy segments feel directly ripped from a game having these twists and turns and variants all around I enjoyed the dynamic of cuphead and mugman a ton in this episode and their chemistry was the driving Factor all throughout why you say pork rind let's close it up at five ten okay okay six tell you what here's my final offer pork rind was also cool being a tough negotiator and setting things off for cuphead and mugman to solve the problem as chaotically as they usually do usually this aspect goes without saying because it can apply to every episode on this list even the bad episodes but I want to give a special amount of praise to the animation within this episode the team appears to have gone all out making it feel bouncy and full of life envying a lot of shows that premiered episodes as well in that year while it may not be the funniest episode of the show it definitely is in the upper bound of episodes when it comes to Quality you know what was one of the funniest episodes however if there was an episode within the show that was straight jokes it was the episode rats all folks this feels like a love letter to Tom and Jerry with a war slant which most likely is a nod to Elder kettle's past although the story is pretty much what you get the true appeal of this episode is that you get to see cuphead mugman and later Elder Kettle deal with one of the most Sinister villains within the show Werner a rat whose mission is to take over the cottage for his own there was slapstick overflowing in this episode like no other just going through a few of my favorites there's mugman dressing up as a cheese lady because for some reason they thought that would work there's a gag where Vermin would hide in the other brother's cup so that they would beat each other up a classic but one of my favorites would include the mouse traps and seeing Werner tease them by eating their do something nice for Elder Kettle so he will do something nice for us back cake give it a lick [Music] no I could tell the team had a lot of fun storyboarding this episode because there's a lot of creative ways that they retell some of the classic gags that Tom and Jerry were perfecting decades ago also to see Elder Kettle save the day for once is a refreshing take on an otherwise Elder Kettle light season if there were anything I would have wanted to see more of it's probably to have Elder keto come back into The Fray earlier as it's not about the cake it's about the Takeover of his home it makes me wonder if Elder Kettle and Vermin would have been enemies back in the day which would have been cool to know maybe Vermin is a part of a faction that Elder Kettle used to battle in the war or maybe he was sent on behalf of someone bigger and better than him however as it stands it's a very good episode however not good enough to be in the top 10 like ghost ain't real which is an underrated episode of the show especially when I think about what a perfect episode of cuphead theoretically would have to have this episode accomplishes the adventure and game aspects really well especially for being an episode that doesn't really fit in with the rest of the episodes perfectly in fact I'd it sticks out and not in a good way despite ultimately being a great episode this episode keeps the supernatural aspect of the show alive and has a big elaborate chase scene with the ghost that felt action-packed with a big twist at the end foreign [Music] however centering in on the ghosts while this Trio could have easily have been a Duo and a lot of this episode wouldn't need to be changed the designs were fun I can tell the art Team how to blast with this episode especially when we get around to the different animated segments that increase the charm of this episode what holds it back is that the comedy was just there it was a lot more action than comedy which again isn't a bad thing in a vacuum wacky Shenanigans technically count as slapstick but it just wasn't funny to me obviously this episode more than makes up for it by having such a grand adventure for what is a run-of-the-mill concept a grander adventure was a series finale the devil and Miss chalice aged better than I remember although It suffers like a few other episodes in the season from having the devil too soft this is one of the Lesser offenses this story would have been a 5 out of 5 but the ending was incredibly unsatisfying that a point had to have been docked off for that one more hit Elsa he won he lost that's it we're done oh come on Boss we should go oh there is just too much in seeing the devil's sad this season that even though I knew he wasn't going to win to have him appear this much in the dumps at the end just took me out of the immersion plus the episode really wasn't that funny and some jokes fell flat but it was clear that this episode wanted to be more serious and ambitious which now not the negatives are out of the way we can speak about the dance sequence obviously was the best aspect about the show we start the episode off with the devil in this chalice having a friendly but competitive Vibe with each other about who the better dancer is so to have the competition for her life be censored around dancing was a no-brainer however there is one aspect that has confused me even to this day so there's an Applause meter that measures who gets the bigger Applause Miss chalice maxes out the meter yet when she trips at the end she loses even though the devil didn't get as much Applause I wish it was a bit clearer you would have won if I hadn't given you those marbles what you lost because of him oh delicious outside of that small element I love the solidified bond that chalice has for the two dingbats and risking her life to keep them safe however I also appreciate cuphead even empty-headedly putting his life on the line and also mugmans to save chalice as well the way the ending wrapped around to the beginning was meh because again episodes like the Worst That season 2 had to offer accentuated that impulsive nature and left a bad taste in my mouth it was cool to see chalice become less of a wild card throughout the season a character who had the opposite Arc was mugman who became so dangerous that he had one of the best episodes of the show Dangerous mugman will always be a slept on favorite for me for a variety of reasons for one this is a mugman Centric episode which is rare within the show this episode also swaps the Dynamics of cuphead and mugman which was both memorable and refreshing to see it also has a really great story about confidence that isn't told in a Cheesy way combined with the Fantastic Adventure led by man he sails the sea travels the jungle and climbs the volcano all of the assumption that cuphead's goggles give confidence goggles that would be separated from mugman long before he would realize these goggles give me a sense of adventure you can't possibly comprehend even though it is a story with the smallest amount of characters just cuphead mugman and pork rind each play their part really well when it comes to pork rind the clever misdirection of him going ape on cuphead and mugman reaching a boiling point of being annoyed by them was the most memorable joke of this episode to me and while I'm older and wouldn't have believed that he would have done something like this just some mere facts that this show would tease this is what makes it funny to me [Music] laughs hahaha however the best part is mugman and his bravado which is a much needed changeup even if it is just for this episode as his character has been mostly reactive to cuphead so to see him shine was very much appreciated in this season like with the two-parter special as part two to sweater off dead this episode does some things better and some things worse than its prior episode as this is part two of the two-parter But ultimately both are on even playing fields while sweater off dead had a grander sense of adventure to it while also retaining some of the lore elements a lot better sweater luck next time felt smaller and it did not live up to that same Grand aspect and said opting for a more casual feel to it which in some ways aided its comedy and story a lot better the jokes and sweater luck next time were great but to highlight the very best the one scene where cuphead and mugman scold the devil for being so loud that he'll potentially wake up Elder Kettle was top tier comedy hand it over oh would you get out of here Elder Kettle can't see you who is Elder Ken especially because it didn't take away from the power and Menace that the devil has while giving cuphead and mugman a perceived dog in the fight they still look and act as if they can defeat the Devil making it a balanced match-up the dynamic here between cuphead and the devil is one of my favorite moments within season one ah how delightfully unexpected uh you know cuphead you're not so bad off rule thanks it's kind of wholesome to see their abrasive and egotistical personalities be able to both clash but complement each other as well which adds a layer to their rivalry it makes a capture of the sweater have more depth than a simple grab and dash however there was a lot of that as well albeit failed attempts but it showed the sheer determination of the devil even small aspects of the story like henchman's inclusion and the radio were all important aspects of the story making it one of the more cohesive and gripping Stories the show has to offer maybe even the best within a season alongside part one sweater off dead is an extremely important episode within cuphead and it is equally good to know that the show did not fumble the devil's Arc yet this episode was all about tension from both sides of the camp with the protagonist mugman really stepping up to emphasize the cuphead and the audience how bad it is that cuphead soul is being sought after by the devil actively with the antagonists we are introduced to an important character within the lore stickler the true reason the devil has to care about cuphead Soul despite the other aspects of his operations breaking records and Performing fantastically [Music] foreign I'll only be a minute nice work stickler I will not apologize for doing my job both sides are pushed to confront each other for logical reasons which makes the tension that much better because a resolution is needed and needed quickly we're introduced to the invisible sweater which deters the devil in this two-parter episode and introduces a lot of schemes actions and the angriest we've seen the Devil by far which by the way I really enjoyed the animation in this episode I also enjoyed the introduction of quadratus whose voice performance and character Direction was distinct within this episode and the show giving him a Unique Edge compared to other side character debuts in the show only tied against King dice debatably within season one a sweater knit with invisible fur from a long extinct creature will deter basically the sweater is impenetrable to the devil so uh you stopped rhyming huh it gets old there was a lot of good comedy within this episode and across the board it is one of the better episodes in the season but not as good good as a season finale this was the episode that taught me that this show was one to keep an eye on between the introduction of the Charming and dancing Wild Card Miss chalice the amazing musical element brought to this episode or the way that it ended and how it left a lot of questions to be answered within season two there's a lot to dive into here however not to rehash the video I made on it let's go over to major points the Elder Kettle angle at the beginning was quick and didn't stay as long as it needed to to give Miss chalice all of the space to debut in an impactful way to see the boys stop everything just to observe her persuasion tactics and even at the end of the episode still not be able to replicate it only builds up Miss chalice's character to be seen as magical when you get a peek into her life it's incredibly engaging and fascinating to watch as a fly on the wall but it isn't until Miss chalice cuphead and mugman combine their fun towards the latter half that really really pulls this episode together the cookie factory scenes were super tense as we see that Miss chalice didn't want to leave them but couldn't get tangled with the police for reasons that we'd begin to understand later cuphead and mugman are also thrown in jail and it sets up a fantastic season 2 that would answer all of these problems and keep interest High both for the show and the then upcoming DLC laughs [Music] to say it's a perfect episode maybe a little bit of an embellishment but as far as courting attention this is one of the best episodes of the series to do so however it is not the best ranked chalice episode that goes to dance with danger what an amazing episode that I knew I had to speak about when it came out it has one of the best stories and best Adventures within the show while also explaining Miss chalice's origin in an incredibly entertaining way I love the penguin caretakers I love the fact that dancing was just in her blood when she was young I love that she instinctively took up Charming people out of things that she needed for survival reasons there's so much here that makes it one of my favorite episodes thank you [Music] and just what do you think you're doing we don't spend that much time with the devil as the episode maximizes its time to focus on chalice's Origin we see exactly how she's able to be both mortal and not as she's made a deal with the devil but has not repaid her side of the deal yet given that we've seen Miss chalice and cuphead and mugman bond over numerous episodes having the devil order chalice that betrayed the two first friends that she's ever had is a hard decision to make compared to her own life it's time to cash in on that favor you owe me for sure what do you need I need you to betray the ding dongs mind you she didn't want to be Tangled Up with the cops when they met in charm's way and now she has to weigh her own life against the bond she has with the cup Duo it's a different vibe for an episode but still retains a lot of lore elements and a great adventure and story I also think it's the best episode that season 3 has to offer however this next episode was the one that made me commit to speaking about cuphead the most within 2022 roll the dice is one of the defining episodes of cuphead and I think it was specifically written to be from the concepts alone exploring King dice one of the more memorable characters from the game and seeing cuphead take over his show which is the number one game show on Inkwell Isles with such a great concept with a perfect execution who's those with the most you are your handsome devil oh you're terrible I love that they just fall into a it too as the episode also emphasizes that the devil is still looking for cuphead soul we established that King dice may appear Invincible to the audience but he is a mere Pawn to the devil losing all of that charm whenever he has to speak to him which only accentuates the power and influence in the series's main antagonist speaking of Charm King dice could not have had a better debut into this show a great musical number charm Elegance ego and aggression all wrapped up in a package that only makes this antagonistic role all the more memorable his Dynamic with cuphead was funny but also served as a role both in this episode but also in a grand scheme planting the seeds of king dice's fall from grace and giving him a reason to dislike cuphead outside of Association [Music] one way or another the card ban was a great touch to the comedy and also the character design Elder Kettle raging in the background was also a highlight and seeing telephone again was just funny there's only some points docked because compared to other episodes it's not the best adventure but compared to most episodes this is one of the funniest it has the best game feel that the series has to offer and that's why it's one of the best however if you want to see the best devil-centric episode look no further release the demons is a crazy episode that fulfills nearly everything I would have wanted in a cuphead episode this may even be the devil's greatest episode in terms of performance his raw anger towards cuphead was believable impactful yet also hilarious creating some of the funniest jokes within the series his rallying of the troops was funnier each time he failed in doing so King dice was also amazing in this episode showing some versatility and keeping the story flowing even if he wasn't the main focus Big D Big D it is a pleasure to watch you in action nobody works like you still here you mean number one's got to do it two cuphead and mugman's contributions while smaller still mattered a lot in this episode The Story of mugman trying to scare cuphead based on a hay Fair trip they had years ago is just a cool idea however there's something this episode did that I'm highly appreciative of the devil calls for the four horsemen and henchman builds this up as a drastic Choice normally in shows today it's subverted and the scary monsters look cute and cuddly but are so dangerous that's not what this episode did yeah there was so much chaos within this episode that I cannot even contain it to a small Summary of why it's ranked so high so I'm gonna leave it at this it's one of the funniest action-packed and well-paced episodes of the show it's important to the show's lore has some of the coolest character designs and is insanely rewatchable however even this episode doesn't compare to the greatest Adventure within the show which gives number one its Edge over this episode what you can find out on patreon I'm kidding kidding kidding but could you imagine by the way uploading scraps but complete videos to patreon that anyone who supports can see so check it out like the best episode of cuphead it feels like cheating to give the longest episode the title of the best but it goes deeper than being the best episode it is everything I could have imagined I'd want in an episode of cuphead it might be a little bit of a hot take but if this show was just eight to ten of these I would be just as happy if not more within the show with its extended run time it offers the best adventure a high seas adventure and goes about an in a way that's full of action comedy romance lore twists and turns and amazing music and even amazing background directions yeah yay a real real pirate you can take us on a high seas adventure adventure we're going home no way hi hi home Adventure brainy beard is just a great character a hardened pirate whose time at Sea taught him that he's too lonely to Brave it alone I guess if you don't count as parrot he seeks out the most dangerous Beasts of the Seven Seas calamaria I present to you a token of Milo a symbol of me enduring devotion you talk too much she's one of my favorite characters in the show I love her voice her design and her personality she's basically a career woman in that clash between her and brinybeard was engaging I love brownie Beard's parrot chiming in here and there and also being included in his song I love the fact that cuphead and mugman swap their interests in a high seas Adventure the former winning it in the first half and the latter winning it in the second half when Britney beer gets to shore [Music] you broke his legs them breaking brinybeard's legs was shocking especially because it comes full circle this is an episode that both entertains someone who is completely new to the lore and enhances their experience if they did play the game it's episodes like this that in an Ideal World I would want from the show because it has a chaotic and fast pace to it while still telling a fun memorable story that feels pulled right out of the video game everyone in this episode did their part perfectly let me know which show I should rank from where's the best next and check out this cuphead video here by tapping on the screen

Channel: Alpha Jay Show

Views: 76,867

Keywords: cuphead, the cuphead show, cuphead show season 3, the cuphead show reaction, cuphead show reaction, the cuphead show season 3, cuphead reaction, cuphead season 3, cuphead season 2, cuphead show season 2, cuphead show netflix, the cuphead show episode 1 reaction, cuphead show, the cuphead show!, netflix cuphead, the cuphead show season 1, the cuphead show netflix reaction, season 3 cuphead show, every episode ranked

Id: Vj1lQ6Zw3K8

Length: 60min 31sec (3631 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 14 2023