Thursday 27 September 2018

Season 22: Counting on Nia

It’s an educational episode that’s... actually good?


I like Nia. She’s feisty, takes no nonsense and she’s really clever. But I also like that she takes pride in her problem solving skills as it makes you feel sympathetic to her when she makes a mistake. And it makes sense for her character to not want to seek help when she needs it.

So to put her in a situation where she’d need help was a great role for her to star in. Granted, it’s her only starring role since the movie, which is a shame, but I guess they thought that was enough..?

I also like how they emphasised how intelligent Nia was. Usually, I hate that conflicts kick in quite far in to an episode (or, in an overarching narrative, far in to the season). But I feel it worked here as Nia’s mistakes had more of an impact, not just on her but the audience as well.

It also does a great job of emphasising the struggle of an immigrant coming to a new country, namely learning to recognise the new symbols and numbers they see. But by focusing on numbers, it does an even better job of being relatable for the target audience, especially those with dyscalculia. Heck, even adults with the condition would probably take something positive away from it.

Putting Nia with Annie and Clarabel was a brilliant move (why Thomas wasn’t taking them, I’ll let slide). The coaches have always been seen as level headed mentors throughout the franchise, and that shone through brilliantly here. It’s also a breath of fresh air to see an all female starring cast. Sure, it’s been happening for a couple of years now, but it’s still really nice to see.

The plot itself is focused, but... still fairly thin. In this case, it’s not the worst thing since the focus is on the lesson and how Nia learns to overcome her problems in her own way. But the team really need to work on that in future episodes and seasons.

Then there are the themes. “Ask when you need help” is a good lesson, but it’s been overdone so much by children’s media (this show included) that it’s another lesson that loses its meaning. Thankfully, this pulled that lesson off in a unique enough way.

The second is that people learn in their own way, which is a fantastic lesson and one that adults need to learn. They need to work with kids more to pinpoint the best techniques to teach kids rather than stick to a rigid, flawed syllabus that teaches them only one way. It leaves so many kids behind, and they deserve much, much more.

Final Thoughts
It says a lot when an episode makes you go out and look at real world conditions like dyscalculia to learn more about them. Because I think that kids (maybe even adults) who have that will gravitate to this more than the majority of people.

Sure, the theme of asking for help is another one that’s been done so often by this show, and in children’s media in general. But it’s done in a unique enough way that I don’t mind that much. Add the great characters and the plot that’s... not that strong, but fairly well paced, and you get a genuinely good effort!
Rating: Good (8/10)

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