2024 has come and it's just about gone. With it came a brand-new batch of Alan Becker content, including several new plushies, seven new episodes across four different franchises, and 21 new Actual Shorts wrapping up Season 2 and just starting Season 3. However, some of this content is better than others, so I'm going to be giving my personal opinions on which episodes drew high praise and which ones are paper tigers.
I will be ranking the seven full-length episodes that Alan posted to his channel in 2024, including the three Infliencer Arc episodes, the two AvM episodes, AvE's very own AvGeometry and the long-awaited AvA11. I will not be including the full-length compilations, so sorry AvA S1 and Actual Shorts S2 fans, it would not be fair to include them since they are not one single episode, but multiple. Only the seven episodes I mentioned will be judged, reviewed, and ranked. But with that out of the way, let's start the countdown!
#7 Burnout – Influencer Arc Part 3[]
When this first came out, I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed. I think I had my expectations too high for it, much like all the people online who think Kung Fu Panda 4 is mid or bad (I came into that movie without expectations, and I loved it). But looking at it objectively… I can’t help but be disappointed by it.
It’s not all bad, though. I love the fight scenes. GG’s re-emergence and his “final form” were really exciting to see. I loved it, and Green using weapons from the movie posters was a great detail. It wouldn’t be an Alan Becker episode without awesome fights, and this one delivered. I do also like how Green came to terms with GG. He learned to accept his mistakes, and even embrace them (somewhat literally). I do respect that, as I’m trying to do the same: realize and embrace my imperfections. And the guys forgave Green and he learned a valuable lesson from the whole experience. He’s learning to live for his friends rather than Internet likes, and that’s one of many things that makes life worthwhile. But outside of those things, I feel like there were a lot of missed opportunities, especially after how hyped the first two parts made me.
My major knock against this is the unrealistic view of depression. I strongly think Green was depressed, not to my level–which is to say, wanting to kill himself–but still. When he posts about cutting fake friends from your life and being sad all the time, what am I supposed to think? I too have had my struggles with screen obsession and loneliness, and after all I went through, Green gives me real depressed vibes (I seem to be in the minority in that sentiment, though Film Theory makes a case that Green was in fact depressed. Not to mention Alan himself commented on that video, saying, “Couldn’t have said it better myself!” I consider that an argument in my favor from Alan himself. “Now say I’m cool, and don’t lie.”). And he just snapped out of it by… thinking a lot? I was isolated and lonely, but I didn’t see anything wrong with me because I’m an Asperger’s introvert. Yet Green sensed something was amiss with him? I just don’t get it.
OK, OK, I’ll give some benefit of the doubt. Maybe Green seeing what he did to them drove it home, but I just don’t see it as realistic and it gives me “you can overcome depression on your own” vibes, and that’s just not true. If Green went to talk to someone, anyone, to get his head on straight, I would’ve been appreciative of that, but nope. Purple was right there, you could’ve vented to him! Purple could’ve been there for Green, just as Green was there for him so many years ago on the mountaintop, but sadly no.
Despite its good aspects, I can’t shake this disappointed feeling. It’s probably from my own experiences with similar troubles (and me setting the bar too high). I just wish it handled the depression angle a bit more realistically. More emotional moments would’ve been so sweet to see, but I guess not. At least I have my oneshot about this arc… and it seemed to hit different for a lot of people. As far as I know, my oneshot is the true ending of this series. Call me biased, call me whatever, I literally don’t care. Green Redeemed is my HC ending.
One last thing… If you are struggling with something, be it physical, emotional, spiritual, whatever, there’s no shame in opening up. Talk to someone, friends, family, a professional therapist if it comes to that. It’s hard, yes, but finding healing is worth the arduous journey.
#6 Green’s Channel! – Influencer Arc Part 1[]
Now we’re getting into the non-disappointments. It’s definitely much harder to rank the rest of these, but something’s gotta go in the next-to-last spot. It was this one, and despite its low ranking, I have nothing against it. In fact, I love it. It really shows the guys having fun with each other and it just gives me feel-good vibes. I love the trick shots they do, I think Dude Perfect’s got some competition. And then they make their own video about it, with all their fun little edits, we not only see the Gang having fun, but also how well-coordinated they are. Even when they’re not fighting. But speaking of fighting, let’s get to the part that makes it an Alan Becker video.
The fight scene is probably my favorite part of the video. It’s so exciting seeing GG, and I also like how he isn’t immediately hostile. He’s like the Wolf from The Last Wish the way he introduces himself, just a simple clap which gets the guys’ attention. Even Green tried being cordial with him, until GG ruined it and a fight ensued. Sure enough, Red was the first to throw punches, as usual. But as for the fight itself, it’s incredible, as always. GG’s abilities and fighting style are so fun to watch and then we see him grow stronger. But that’s when the power of friendship wins out and the Gang takes him down… temporarily, which starts Green’s spiral. It’s so fun seeing the Gang just vibing together, I love this episode. It’s just a shame that the others are… just better. Like I said, someone had to be here.
#5: IS GREEN OKAY!? – Influencer Arc Part 2[]
The second part of the Influencer Arc story is, in fact, my favorite. Sounds like how I personally see the Kung Fu Panda franchise, the second is best, followed by the first and then the third. (KFP4 I prefer to the third, though) But as for this episode, I love the insight it shows with Green’s spiral. It starts off slowly but steadily, reacting to his comments, but it soon spirals into something worse, and I’ll be honest, how this episode portrays the mental spiral is a lot more realistic than Green’s depression shown in Part 3. Like I’ve said, I’ve had my problems with mental health, and props to this episode, it showed it very authentically in my opinion. The gradual decline, separating from friends, cutting them out of the videos, getting caught up in something… It all ties everything together beautifully.
And it all cultivated in Green’s prank, you all know the one. Green dropping his friends into lava was just the icing on the cake and it made for a realistic breakup between Green and his friends. If I was in SC’s position, or Yellow’s, Red’s, or Blue’s, I probably would’ve stormed out as well. Clearly Green was getting too caught up in his fame and ignoring his friends, and it’s heartbreaking to see. The worst part of it was… Green still thought he was in the right. It’s crushing to see how much his mental health fell in such a short time, and watching him refresh his comment section every second is so painful to see. It’s so real for me and I respect it for that reason. It spawned numerous theories between me and a dear friend of mine, Dragon, and it was the basis for my Green Redeemed oneshot, which seemed to hit different with a lot of people. If nothing else, I’m grateful for this episode because it proved to be the basis for Green Redeemed, one of my most liked oneshots. It set up Part 3 to be incredible… it’s just a shame that Part 3 fell flat. But Part 2 was amazing, the best of the series in my opinion.
#4 Animation vs. Geometry[]
You know you did a great job when Alan Becker * My favorite school subject = only the fourth best episode of the year. I love this episode. I love math, but geometry is my favorite branch of it, so you can imagine my excitement for it. When it came out, I was not disappointed. I loved seeing math concepts like the Golden Ratio, the Pythagorean Theorem, degrees, angles, even Platonic solids (or as I like to call them, dice). It was so much fun, and even better, SC made a quick friendship with Phi, much quicker than his bond with Euler’s number e^(i pi).That was really cool, and that’s not to mention the villain of the story.
How does someone make a 4D hyper diamond a destructive villain? I have no idea, but leave it to Alan and his team to pull out ideas out of nowhere and make them really awesome and incredible. And how they defeated it was awesome! Trapping him in dice solids, (which is to say, solids used for various types of dice: 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided…) that was brilliant, but its power to break them was really cool. It shows his power and threat level, but he wasn’t invincible. Phi making another solid with its ratio and SC throwing it into the Hyper Diamond was awesome and incredible. I also love how they showed that shape… I don’t know what it’s called, but it has an infinite perimeter… that thing. And that ending, where SC saw himself from AvPhysics, that was really cool. I wonder where he’s going next. But until then, AvGeo earns a spot just outside the podium.
#3 Note Block Concert - AvM Episode 35[]
Numbers 3 and 2 are very, very difficult to place, but taking the bronze medal (by a narrow margin) is NBC, the second of two AvM episodes. Despite it ranking below its predecessor, I really, REALLY love this episode. As with most Note Block episodes, (Universe being the exception) the music is the best part of it. It slaps, and Scott Buckley went all out for this score. It’s incredible, and Green composing it all is absolutely incredible. The music is S-tier, and it ties in perfectly with the action of the episode.
Nothing goes together like AvM and epic fights, and the fight between Green and the Silverfish is so funny and musically driven. I love aspects like how Green’s sword and the Silverfish’s stolen staff are in time with Rush E playing in the background, and the entire battle gives me real Tom and Jerry vibes. As a lover of cartoons, Tom and Jerry included, seeing this was very funny and entertaining. I do feel a little bad for Green, though. He’s just trying to orchestrate a concert and his friends are playing along with the Silverfish. I understand Green’s frustration with them, if I was in Green’s situation, I’d feel a little betrayed, to be honest. So points for relatability as well.
But above all… what I like most about this episode is something–or rather someone–who had not even three seconds of screen time the entire episode: THE TANGO FAMILY! It’s the first appearance of Purple and King in an AvM episode since the end credits of The King, and I’m so glad to see them together. We need more of those two, I think a mini-series of just them and their adventures would be so sweet. Imagine them fighting off baddies together or just building and hanging out. But that’s an essay for another day. When I saw Purple’s cameo, I was so excited! They’re back, they aren’t being forgotten! Seeing them alone warranted a Top 3 spot, and it might’ve cracked #1… if not for two more that I like just a bit more.
#2 The Prank - AvM Episode 34[]
It was hard for me to choose which AvM I prefer, but scoring a close silver medal is The Prank. This is easily the funniest AvM episode to date, and I cannot recall laughing as much during any AvM episode outside of this one. Red is at his funniest in this episode as well, his victory dances and his endless attempts to hit Green with a cake are pure comedy gold. I also just love Green’s numerous escapes. Like, how is he that skilled? And more importantly, how did he escape the anvil trap? But aside from that, I could go on about Red’s victory dance… but to keep it short and sweet so I can get to the best part of the episode, I just find it hilarious. Red’s so childish and funny and I love him for it. And that’s not even the best part.
The best part… to no one’s surprise, it’s the return of my boy Purple! He’s probably the main reason I have this episode above NBC: Purple has a major role in this episode and not just a minor cameo. He was the one to come up with the amazing plan to get Green caked, he was the one whom Red went to for help… and I love that. Now if only some other stick came to him for help, someone who has done more for Purple than most other sticks in this franchise, thus offering the perfect opportunity to repay him years later, but that’s another discussion. As for this episode, I was so excited seeing Purple again, legitimately cheering, that’s how eager I was. I just hope we see more of him in future AvM Shorts and Actual Shorts. I think we will, though. Also, seeing Red hug Purple gratefully and then jump out the window, oh my gosh this episode is top tier, especially in the comedy department. It would probably be #1 if not for the obvious, but there’s nothing to be ashamed of with a silver spot on my list.
#1 Victim - AvA Episode 11[]
The episode we’ve been waiting 13 months and several setbacks for did not disappoint. I don’t know how, but AvA ages better than a fine wine, only getting better with each new installment. And this one was well worth the wait. What can I say? It’s an incredibly animated and written backstory episode that shows just how tragic Vic’s story is. I cannot imagine being created, destroyed, and recreated as a plaything for a cruel and uncaring creator… for nine months. And then his escape from his torture is so captivating… I love all the cameos and references Alan slipped in, like having Tom being interested in his work (I’m sure that’s a reference to how he started his career) and 3D pinball, I loved playing that as a kid. No cameo was more awesome than Purple and his family, though. When I first saw it, I was ecstatic. And Navy’s still a dirtbag, too. And that’s just the cameos. The story itself is S-tier.
Vic’s escape is not only impressive, but what happened afterwards is legitimately gripping and captivating. Bouncing around the Internet and then meeting Mitsi, just how terrified he was upon meeting her for the first time, it’s real and heartbreaking. Imagine, the only person you’ve ever met has done nothing but torture you. You can’t fault Vic for being so terrified, and the trauma he endured is real and legitimately soul crushing, which made it all the more sweet to see him overcome it with Mitsi’s help. It wasn’t an overnight process, shown by Vic’s occasional cursor sightings, but that only adds to how real it is. The Influencer Arc should take notes, this is how to overcome a serious mental state: With help from close friends and over the course of time. Though I’d like to imagine that Vic and Mitsi are a lot more than friends. I don’t usually “ship” Alan Becker characters, (outside of my OCs Maggie and Candy) but I’ll make an exception for Vic-si. Those two are just so cute together. It’s just a shame it couldn’t last.
The most heartbreaking moments easily came from the Newgrounds massacre. I can’t imagine the pain Vic must’ve been feeling after Mitsi disappeared in sparks. And that’s not to mention the massacre itself. Countless innocent sticks caught up in the whirlwind of destruction left behind by Vic’s younger brothers, one of whom was his replacement. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see Mitsi’s death, Chosen flying overhead, and Agent Shades watching helplessly. That loss absolutely crushed Vic… for seven years. It hurts so much, it’s so captivating and it’s what makes this episode #1 on my list. The raw emotions, Vic’s roller coaster ride from pain to joy to pain, Mitsi’s and Vic’s chemistry with each other, and the pain of that final shot, Vic realizing the roots of his torment… It makes Vic so real and relatable. An easy #1 on my list and it’s not even close. Congrats on the well-deserved gold medal.