The Knuckles six-episode streaming series on Paramount Plus struggles to capture the magic of its cinematic predecessors, hampered by low stakes, a detachment from the core Sonic narrative, and an over-reliance on human-centric subplots.
Warning: This review contains moderate narrative and character spoilers.
Too Much Human Drama, Not Enough Echidna
The spin-off follows the titular warrior as he mentors Wade Whipple (Adam Pally), the bumbling police officer from the first two films. While Wade functioned well as comic relief in the movies, anchoring the emotional stakes of an entire series to him proves problematic. The show frequently shifts focus to Wade’s family dynamics, leaving viewers to wonder why the narrative prioritizes this domestic drama over Knuckles’ own development. While Idris Elba delivers another commanding voice performance and the CGI combat sequences look stellar, the series often feels like two different shows spliced together—neither of which fully lands.
The Shallow Pool of Sonic Villains
The action sequences, particularly a standout kitchen fight scene utilizing clever camera work, are the series’ high point. However, these moments expose a fundamental issue within the current Sonic franchise: a lack of compelling, deep-seated antagonists. The primary villains—two rogue G.U.N. agents and a former Dr. Robotnik employee—feel like rehashed plot devices rather than genuine threats. While Ellie Taylor and Kid Cudi perform well, their characters exist merely to facilitate action scenes or push the plot forward, lacking the gravitas needed to make a lasting impact.
A Hit-or-Miss Comedic Tone
Outside of the combat, the series relies heavily on humor that frequently misses the mark. Despite the comedic pedigree of actors like Adam Pally, Paul Scheer, and Cary Elwes, the momentum often stalls. The family-centered plot, which leans heavily into a bowling tournament trope reminiscent of Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, struggles to balance sentimentality with action-comedy. The result is a tonal inconsistency that feels disjointed and difficult to engage with.
An Inessential Addition to the Franchise
Ultimately, Knuckles suffers from feeling entirely non-essential to the broader Sonic universe. It functions like a sitcom where the status quo is restored by the final episode, offering little in the way of meaningful character growth or world-building that would justify its existence before the release of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 this December. While not a “bad” show in the traditional sense, it lacks the ambition and quality found in modern video game adaptations like Fallout or The Last of Us, feeling more like a relic of a bygone era for the genre.
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