Knuckles, the first Sonic the Hedgehog spin-off, is hilariously absurd.
At the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) found himself a new home on Earth. That’s where things pick up for the character in Knuckles, a new series coming to Paramount+ on April 26th. As the series begins, Knuckles is struggling to get acclimated to his new surroundings. Enter the spirit of his ancestor Chief Pachacamac (Christopher Lloyd), who tells Knuckles that he will find his purpose by training a new warrior: Green Hills deputy Wade Whipple (Adam Pally). Wade’s bumbling nature makes him seem like a bizarre candidate, but their quest starts to take shape over the six-episode series.
On the surface, the plot for Knuckles seems very similar to the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie: a police officer and his anthropomorphic animal friend work together while being pursued by a mad scientist (Rory McCann). However, those similarities are only surface level, because Knuckles is a very low stakes series. Wade’s great quest doesn’t revolve around the Chaos Emeralds, or protecting the planet. Instead, he’s trying to win a bowling tournament in Reno, Nevada where his estranged father (Cary Elwes) happens to be the reigning champion. On their way to the tournament, Knuckles and Wade come into conflict with a pair of agents (Scott Mescudi and Ellie Taylor) hired by a scientist that once worked with Doctor Robotnik. Trailers for Knuckles positioned that conflict as a big part of the show, but the mad scientist storyline is little more than an excuse to imbue some action into what’s otherwise a traditional road trip comedy.
Wade the Unlikely Warrior
When Knuckles starts out, the show eases viewers in, reintroducing the established characters and their world. Wisely, the show does that via Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), and Maddie Wachowski (Tika Sumpter). Seeing these characters again was a nice reminder to how well director Jeff Fowler has built-up this Sega universe in just two movies. However, the show uses its format to add a lot of depth that we haven’t gotten for both Knuckles and Wade. The two series leads end up having a unique dynamic, and it’s very different from the one between Sonic and Tom in the movies. This propels the show in a direction that’s way more offbeat and bizarre than most audiences might be expecting.
While Sonic was always cheerful and ready to embrace Earth’s culture, Knuckles is a lot more distrusting and judgmental. Meanwhile, Wade’s pretty much a police officer in name only, and fits none of the cop cliches. He’s nothing resembling a warrior, and he’s underestimated by every single person in his life, from his bowling partner (Julian Barratt) to his FBI agent sister, Wanda (Edi Patterson). Knuckles and Wade are both aloof in their own different ways, and that’s the key to the series. I’ve been a fan of Adam Pally since The Mindy Project, and while I enjoyed seeing him in both Sonic movies, he was mostly used as comic relief. Those comic chops are on full display in Knuckles, but we also get a greater sense of who Wade is as a person. As a result, Pally ends up stealing the show. The series is arguably more about Wade than it is about Knuckles, but Idris Elba does get some moments to shine.
The humor in Knuckles is similar to the first two Sonic movies, but it leans much more into the absurd. The show’s fourth episode in particular dials things up in a very big way; while I found myself enjoying the first three episodes, it’s here that the show really finds itself, ironically just as Wade also starts to uncover his own inner strength. The episode might be my favorite thing that’s been done with the Sonic Cinematic Universe so far, and it’s destined to spawn a plethora of gifs and memes.
A Cinematic Universe Expands
Knuckles does have a few missteps, and while they aren’t major ones, they do stick out in an otherwise strong series. Throughout the six-episode run, I found myself frequently wondering about the current status of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles. The show doesn’t do the greatest job establishing the general public’s knowledge about these aliens; the people of Green Hills might be used to seeing Sonic at this point, but no one in Reno seems to be fazed by a giant red echidna walking around, either. However, Wade’s mother Wendy (Stockard Channing) faints at the sight of him. It’s one of those things I had to “turn off my brain” about after a few episodes, and I just wish things were a little bit clearer. The final episode of the series also ends a little too abruptly, leaving a couple plot points from the first episode dangling.
Despite some small issues I had with the show, I found Knuckles to be a delightful new chapter in the ongoing Sonic the Hedgehog Cinematic Universe. What could have been a drawn out movie with a lower budget is instead an absurdly hilarious adventure that adds more depth to a pair of established characters. The music’s great, and Adam Pally and Idris Elba might have better chemistry than we even saw between Ben Schwartz and James Marsden. There are bound to be some Sega fans disappointed that the show doesn’t feature a bigger threat, or more of a presence from Sonic and friends. We should get both of those things in Sonic the Hedgehog 3 though, and I’m happy that we got something weird and unique to flesh out this universe. Knuckles is not going to be the Sega adaptation anyone is expecting, but it’s a wild ride worth taking, especially for fans of the Sonic films.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Knuckles is set to premiere on Paramount+ on April 26th. All six episodes of the first season were provided by Paramount for this review.
