Diandra Reviews It All- Choose A Side In Kimmy Vs. The Reverend

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a cult classic because it is one of the strangest shows…..EVER! Its humor is so particular, loud, joyous, and deranged that you have to be as special as Kimmy to love this Netflix comedy, and I am happy to say I AM! I loved the Tina Fey created series, and was sad to see it go last year. On May 15, it makes a bittersweet return in one of the craziest, most powerful ways….. an interactive special called Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs. The Reverend.

First, I have to say that Netflix broke my heart and brain with Bandersnatch. For all the choices, Stefan had only a few fates and, spoiler alert, none of them were happy. Thus, I was not surprised that Kimmy’s choices, however eclectic, would lead her to happier fates. What surprised me was that she had sad ones. The wonder of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend is that you really feel like you are holding someone’s destiny in your hand, and you could really screw it up. There are so many choices, big and small, during this interactive special that is hard not to feel like God playing the Sims. You will repeat and repeat this special until you figure out every destiny Kimmy can choose: for better or worse.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend | Interactive Special Official Trailer | Netflix

Unlike Black Mirror’s Bandersnatch, sadness does not feel inevitable. To the contrary, this is the world of Kimmy Schmidt; filled with talking backpacks, hallucinogens, robot butlers, karaoke songs based on fruit, and a prince that looks exactly like Harry Potter because he is played by Daniel Radcliffe. Kimmy Schmidt, as a series, thrived on outlandish happiness, an oddball self-awareness, and the hearty resilience of its heroine to not let her traumas haunt her. Thus, you guide Kimmy through a deep, spiritual experience that is veiled behind one of the greatest casts to grace a comedy. (FOR REAL! Everyone shines in this series!)

In Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend, your job as the viewer becomes one of strange healing: deciding whether to corrupt or care for Kimmy’s soul. With her wedding around the corner, Kimmy still can’t shake a gnawing sense of revenge for The Reverend, Jon Hamm, and a belief that he did more harm to more women or, at least, did enough harm to her so that she never accepts happiness. This is some pretty heavy material for a show that built the classic track: “Peeno Noir: An Ode To Black Penis.” Yet, that is the surprise twist of this VERY INTRICATE special; you are in charge of Kimmy’s ability to move on and forward with her life and…. again…. you could screw it up. More than Bandersnatch, the first of its interactive kind, Kimmy vs The Reverend, makes you feel the weight of having a life in your hand, and you could really tell your own lightness or darkness because of it.
Daniel Radcliffe Reads Titus Lines From Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Netflix Is A Joke

I got to both happy and sad endings. I made characters take drugs and hallucinate buffets, I explored a character’s very Freudian bond with his mother, and tried my best to salvage the making of a film. Yes, there were so many ways for so many characters to go, including celebrity guest spots, but, in the end, the interactive special goes all John Malkovich and lets fans feel what it is to be Kimmy. While it is as happy as I thought it would be, I was surprised by the special’s focus on personal strength, and the amount of wit and psychology that went into building this brilliant, interactive world. Frankly, I loved it, and anyone, even non-fans of this show, will love it, too. This special can and should change the television game with its fantastic production and innovation. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs. The Reverend Comes Out May 15.