Hello and welcome my new Happy! go lucky readers! My name is Sterling Gray and I will be reviewing Happy!, airing on SyFy, Wednesdays 10/9c. Now, I don’t know anything about the series…but I do love the morbid and a good blood and gore scene. I don’t know what the series will bring but I am really excited to dive in. After the finale, I plan on buying the 4 issues the series is based on and do a compare and contrast. We all know a book is better than the series. On with the show!
Courtesy © 2017 SyFy
Before we really dive in, I want to take a moment to appreciate the production design and different motion capture styles incorporated. The panels, the slow mo as everything is sped up…it’s visually appealing and the color contrast in many of the scenes makes me smile.
We meet the rough and tumble Nick Sax, a hitman contracted to kill 3 men. Best way to do it? Hire the three men to take you out. That way, they’re all in one spot, like ducks in a row. The guys he was hired to hit are the Scaramucci brothers. It seems the Mob is run by Blue and the Scaramuccis are related by blood. It seems there was a 4th brother, Michael, who was in Italy when the Don passed away. The Don gives the young man a password, meant for Blue. Of course, it is implied that Mikey told the password to Nick before croaking.
Courtesy © 2017 SyFy
Enter Merry, who seems to already know Nick. While fighting Michael, Nick has a heart attack and is shot, but a witness mentions overhearing the young man mention a password. She seems super invested, telling the paramedics if Nick dies, it will be on them. A scene later, we see her on the phone with Blue. No idea if they are secretly related or if she is just a dirty cop. What is noteworthy is when Merry mentions the 4 brothers are dead, Blue doesn’t seem too shocked, only concerned about the 4th brother, Michael. Merry tells Nick in a later scene she thinks Blue put the hit on his own nephews, but only the 3. Mike was collateral. Why? No idea. But based on clues, I would agree. He’s way too calm.
On the other side of the storyline, we meet Amanda Hanson and her daughter Hailey. They’re at a concert called The Wishees, run by Sonny Shine. It’s implied the concert is for underprivileged kids and they give back to the community by granting 3 wishes. Being too short, Hailey darts away and Amanda loses sight of her daughter. Happy seems to be her imaginary friend and tries to encourage her to return back to her mother. Suddenly, he tries to warn her to run-from what, she’s uncertain-until we see an old, creepy guy who looks like Bad Santa.
Courtesy © 2017 SyFy
Next thing we know, we are flying through the air and actually get to see Happy, a winged, buck toothed horse. Nick thinks it’s the injuries or drugs making him hallucinate; but even after he is off the drugs, Happy is still drifting around.
Another character of note is Smoothie, one of Blue’s henchmen who seems to love torture. Evidence of that came with him strapping Nick down and stating he plans on removing a vital piece of male anatomy slowly. Most people would be worried, but Nick takes it in stride, making jokes and causing those with Smoothie to laugh. And then we get to the blood and gore. Side note: I always hate depictions of blood spraying out of vein cuts, but in the scene, he does have a small circular saw and the blood would actually spray because of the saw’s rotation. Kinda cool they used that. Nick kills all but Smoothie, who just sits in the corner and watches. I am sure we will meet him again and I won’t lie, kinda excited for when we do. In the scene though, two cops burst in and state they can only shoot Nick to wound, not kill. It implies Blue owns quite a bit of the officers in the city. Nick escapes using Merry’s car and tells Happy they are out of town and screw the little girl who imagined him up.
Courtesy © 2017 SyFy
Happy drops the bomb-it’s Nick’s daughter. That’s why Nick can see Happy. Of course that should be the game changer. It seems creepy Bad Santa might be behind several child abductions, as he has several boxes lined up with air holes, each with a missing sign posted on the outside. Of course we won’t know Nick’s decision to listen or not listen to Happy until the next episode, but in the last frame, it shows a bus barreling towards them both.
Overall, I am excited for this series. It looks really good, edgy and fun. It has some laughs, it has some winces but I enjoyed every minute of it. Some predictions I have for the series are:
-Merry will get more concerned with Nick’s erratic behavior and may even try to help him by sending him into a psych ward
-Amanda and Nick will reunite and Amanda will probably swing on him
Courtesy © 2017 SyFy
-Merry and Amanda will spend some time together and Amanda will mention Happy, which makes Merry believe Nick’s story
-Smoothie will return, bloody as ever
-I will have nightmares about the man who kidnapped Hailey. I mean, look at him! Who wouldn’t?!?
Well, that’s all I have for this week. Hopefully you can keep some happy thoughts in your head as we wait for the next episode to air. Until then, stay shiny!
