my thoughts on the most recent lunchtime with smosh episode and what it means for the sketches:
so i've only watched that episode once and then i went to bed. i woke up an hour and a half ago so i might be misremembering things or whatever.
i just want to preface this by saying that when they dropped the news that ian and anthony had reunited, my mind didn't go to "they're bringing back the classic sketches". instead it went to, "oh my god, anthony's gonna be on unscripted videos". i absolutely love the classic sketches from the olden days especially bc they were what made me fall in love with ianthony/classic smosh, but i'm not like pathologically attached to them. they're just content, the medium in which we see ian and anthony and their friendship, which is more important to me.
getting rid of unscripted to make way for the sketches was definitely very polarizing, and i've always held the belief they could've co-existed on the main channel instead. i respected their decision and defended them from angry cast stans, especially bc it's not like we saw a lot of them on pit and games anyway. the main channel could be primarily ian and anthony content that the members funded while the cast had pit and games. whatever.
this isn't about sketch vs improv or classic sketches vs bit city. what really bothered me was their attitude about it in the lunchtime with smosh episode, especially ian.
anthony was more diplomatic and professional about it. he was more tactful and emphasized that the classic sketches didn't highlight the cast dynamics and personalities. i thought using that as a reason not to make them anymore was a little silly, and if they really wanted to show more of the cast in sketches, they could always go back to making smoffice-style or EBE-style sketches. but in the end, i understood that the sketches were harder to make, they were more labor-intensive and time-consuming and again, they did not highlight the cast.
but ian's demeanor and how he talked about it really bothered me. he came off as resentful and a little hostile. it's like after those 2 months of being on break he suddenly had a different outlook on the paying members and the membership. he didn't consider why the members would be disappointed or even confused, and he straight-up admitted they were nostalgia-baiting. it was a signal that the spirit of smosh was back. dude! just say the sketches weren't profitable! why are you acting like your fans are stupid for thinking you were gonna be doing the sketches for longer than a year?
i feel like he was being a little disingenuous. he knows damn well why people signed up to be a member in the first place - to watch ian and anthony focused content. but now he's acting like, well since you signed up to be a member that means you support ALL of smosh and want to see EVERYTHING we do, not just the sketches, right? wink wink.
he also said that this expectation of them making "ian and anthony only" content was ridiculous. in a way, i understand where he's coming from, he doesn't want to shut out the rest of the cast from content anymore, i get it. but is it really that ridiculous and far-fetched that a subsection of their fandom who quite literally funded their sketches for a year wants and expects to see content of them being a duo? i guess that's what lunchtime with smosh is for, but come on. it doesn't even have to be sketches! it could be low-effort vlogs or they really could just increase their screentime on pit and games.
idk. i haven't been a paying member in quite a while now, so on a personal level, this has nothing to do with me. again, i am not attached to the sketches specifically, i am looking forward to more bit city, i am glad anthony is back. but as an ianthony fan, i couldn't help but feel slighted, and i empathize with anyone who's feeling hurt right now.
turnnoffyourmind
origamiaround
yousharknotpass
