‘Praise Petey’ Recap: ‘Barn Wedding’ & ‘Not-Sad Adult Birthday’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Annie Murphy and Kiersey Clemons as Petey St. Barts and Eliza in Episode 106 of ‘Praise Petey’ – ‘Barn Wedding’. (Photo Courtesy of Freeform.)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episodes 105 and 106 of ‘Praise Petey’. To revisit the previous two episodes, click here. Also, this piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
​
For the most part, animated comedies tend to steer clear of the rules of traditional television and it makes sense as to why. After all, they are set in a world of pure imagination, and are designed to make us laugh and laugh hard. So, there’s no need to follow up on prior storylines and concepts, unless big laughs can come from that again, and there’s no need to dive into deeper stuff or backstories and/or really grow the characters, unless there’s a big reason to do so, or an empty spot in the season to fill. Which is why the new Freeform series, Praise Petey, is of note. Because this is an animated comedy that is eager to offer up traditional storytelling and for proof, just look no further than this week’s episodes.

Because ‘Barn Wedding’ and ‘Not-Sad Adult Birthday’ took the time to follow up on past plotlines and added depth and backstory to Petey and her world, and helped her to grow, and that made… for a pair of phenomenal stories. The kind that showcased what animated comedies are capable of, and all it took to get such brilliance going, was that follow-up. For early on in this block, Petey was working hard to figure out how to make a sustainable economy in this place that didn’t involve robbing people and well, what she came up with… was ingenious. For she figured out that New Utopia could use the town barn to host super wedding packages with an epic price tag. And all they had to do to make this successful was keep all the weird wedding traditions away that her dad put in place. Such as the hardcore nudity and ceremonial fertility tortoise, and well… for a time, it appeared as though Petey’s plans were going to work and be free from drama and weirdness.

For she booked a big wedding and the elders and the other more oddball citizens of New Utopia were sent off to find pinecones, to avoid the hardcore nudity. But alas, there was still weird to be found in this wedding, since this turned out to be the wedding for her ex, and well… that meant that Petey was going to have to face one the big reasons she came down to New Utopia and her past life in general. Because the bride to be, was very much like the Petey of old, and that brought forth a supremely powerful journey for Petey. One where she faced the worst parts of her past head on, reconciled her heartbreak, and embraced her new life and of course… found a way to blend together the weird of this town with her new revenue stream. Granted, she had no choice because the tortoise and the others crashed the wedding, but hey… she made it all seem like part of the plan when the moment was right and that deserves a round of applause.

Yet, that wasn’t the only aspect of the past that Petey had to deal with in this tale. Because she found her birthday to be quite the somber affair. For she was reminded of the fact that no one ever really took the time to celebrate her on this day. After all, Petey’s bestie got so freakin’ drunk on Petey’s birthday that the ugly shenanigans that ensued pulled all the attention away from the birthday girl and for that matter, Petey’s mom was never around for birthday shenanigans because she was in New Utopia doing a one mom show about Petey’s birth. Which put Petey in a tough and somewhat self-indulgent place. Because all she wanted was to change that pattern and overcome and feel loved and well, moving to New Utopia allowed for those wishes to come to life. Since Bandit kept her from doing something dumb and Eliza, made sure Petey felt loved on her birthday for the first time ever and made sure mom was present for a change as well.

All of which, brought forth growth for Petey and signs of better days ahead. But what mattered more, is that both of these tales were deeply connected to past episodes and did a wonderful job of following up on past storylines and that made this feel more like a traditional comedy series for certain and speaking of the comedy… well it was simply top notch here. After all, the whole tortoise thing was just rip-roaringly hilarious, as was the town’s response to the one mom show about the birth and life of New Utopia’s present leader and well, all of these elements combined to bring forth one magnificent episode. One that made it clear that Praise Petey is the most refreshing animated comedy on the air right now, and this really does leave us eager to see what other surprises await us in New Utopia as season one of this magnificent show continues along. Until next time.

---

Watch ‘Praise Petey’

Powered by JustWatch