‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Isn’t Even About Scott — And That’s a Good Thing

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

The Big Picture

• The 2023 Netflix anime Scott Pilgrim Takes Off surprises viewers by having Scott Pilgrim disappear at the end of the first episode instead of battling all seven exes, allowing other characters to shine in the story.
• The series focuses on Ramona Flowers as she tries to find answers behind Scott’s absence, leading to a shift in perspective from the movie and graphic novels.
• The side characters get their time in the spotlight, with the evil exes not being as evil as they seemed and undergoing unexpected changes, giving more depth to the story.

The 2023 Netflix anime Scott Pilgrim Takes Off masterfully buried the lead regarding the show’s concept throughout its marketing and promotion. What we thought would just be another adaptation of Bryan Lee O’Malley‘s beloved graphic novel series became something we should’ve seen coming based on the title alone. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera), the main protagonist of the comics and the 2010 film Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, quite literally takes off at the end of the first episode. He vanishes after being defeated by Matthew Patel (Satya Bhabha), the first ex of his new love interest, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), instead of battling all seven.

That’s right, Scott Pilgrim is gone for the majority of the series — they hold a funeral for him and everything. I’m sure mine wasn’t the only jaw that dropped at the twist. Perhaps it should’ve been suspected, seeing as how the only footage of Scott we see in the trailer comes from events in the first graphic novel, not to mention O’Malley insisting that the story was its own thing — but it put the audience at the edge of their seat wondering what would happen next.

‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Is Really About Ramona

Those who follow O’Malley closely and read way too deep into the Pilgrimverse, like me, will know about the impermanence of death in this universe, as stated in O’Malley’s Tumblr. Exploding people into coins doesn’t make Scott a serial killer, and therefore, a funeral with some quarters in the casket means that he’s not dead either. However, he does disappear, and when Ramona discovers that he’s alive, the story turns into a sort of magical-realist mystery as she tries to find the answers behind Scott’s absence. This includes coming together with Scott’s friends, band, and fake high school girlfriend, and revisiting her seven old flames, who formed and then collapsed The League of Evil Exes.

This is a significant shift in perspective from both the movie and the graphic novels. While no Scott Pilgrim unfortunately means less of Michael Cera’s brilliant second try at playing him, it also means that every other character gets ample room in the story to develop. Some have already gotten their moment in the sun, mostly in the graphic novels which could dedicate more time to characters like Scott’s ex-girlfriends, Kim Pine (Alison Pill) and Envy Adams (Brie Larson), but others weren’t so fortunate.

Since this story is about Ramona re-examining her relationships to possibly start a new one, she’s the character we get to know the most. The series reveals that not every break-up was one-sided, that Ramona has been wrestling with her avoidant attachment issues since adolescence, as she eventually buries the hatchet with each relationship, whether it be through a talk, a physical altercation, or both. This serves to allow Ramona her personhood outside her relationship with Scott and give more meaning to her past relationships. It also gives her more character, which will hopefully come to shatter the negative perception some may have, not only of her, but of women who are perceived to be like her.

‘Scott Pilgrim Takes Off’ Allows the Side Characters To Steal the Spotlight

On those evil exes, it turns out they’re not so evil. We get to see who they are beyond a boss fight, including them scrambling after their plans in creating the league worked a little too well. Scott Pilgrim gets defeated, the league dissipates in a huge power struggle, and for better or worse, everyone plans to go back to their lives. However, the collision with other characters allows them to change in unexpected ways, which allows for either development and maturity or outlandish comedy. Matthew Patel ends up winning a media empire and achieving his Broadway dreams, including a fitting one-man performance of “Agony” from Into The Woods. Roxie Ritcher (Mae Whitman) gets the closure with Ramona that she deserves, and Todd Ingram (Brandon Routh) discovers that while he likes his girlfriend, he loves Scott’s old roommate, Wallace (Kieran Culkin). Hollywood actor Lucas Lee (Chris Evans) struggles to maintain his fame and fortune, and the previous final boss, Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman), completely loses his own. The two form a magical friendship.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off centers on the idea that you are more than your romantic relationships and break-ups. Since Kim and Envy have got a fair amount of development in the Pilgrimverse already, they take a slight backseat to the characters who need the spotlight more. Julie Powers’ (Aubrey Plaza) hilarious but one-note bitchiness is given more dimension as she collides with Gideon, helping him out of his lowest point. Knives Chau (Ellen Wong) becomes so much more than just a teenage fan girl with an uncomfortable past relationship with Scott — she ends up joining his band and helps it reach new heights with skills she seems to magically pick up. The band Sex Bomb-Omb gets their big break, in a sense, and even Young Neil (Johnny Simmons), who gets no attention in any other version, gets his plotline as he wakes up and suddenly becomes a screenwriter.

More than anything, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a fascinating thought experiment. Scott Pilgrim is the driving force of the story because it’s his story. He falls in love with Ramona, fights her exes, and has to learn to stop dismissing the worst parts of himself. So what happens when that driving force comes to a screeching halt? Well, the same thing that happens when someone takes off for any reason: the people around him move on with their lives, or try to pick up the pieces they leave behind. We lose the regular perspective character, and because Scott Pilgrim is at times such an unreliable narrator, everything around him becomes less one-sided and more objective. Ramona isn’t some dream girl, the “7 evil exes” aren’t monsters, and his friends aren’t just side characters in his own precious little life.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is available to stream on Netflix.

Watch on Netflix

Denial of responsibility! TechCodex is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.