Wirt and Greg from the television series, Over the Garden Wall changed how I interact with the world, as well as how I treat the people in it. The show is a 10 episode series, and was released in 2014. When I first watched it I feel in love with the story as well as the characters, so I continued to watch the Halloween special every year after that. I related with the character Wirt the most, as he was an older sibling who was constantly struggling with both: interacting socially in the world around him, and making decisions. Throughout the show, he is also shown to have a negative relationship with his younger brother, finding him annoying and too lackadaisical, but as the series moves forward he matures. He becomes a better leader for his brother, and begins to treat him with respect.
An early scene in the show showcases Wirt’s sibling relationship, and decision making skills. In it he struggles to protect him and his brother from a wolf-like creature they believed was “the beast.” He blames Greg for leading it to them, and fails to protect both of them from it, only getting rid of it with pure luck. He is reprimanded for this by an adult character called “the Woodsman” but he doesn’t seem to fully take it to heart at first, and is resentful to Greg as well as the Woodsman.
I related to this at the time, and I felt that the show helped me think about how my actions affected my little sister, and I feel that with that acknowledgement, I was able to improve aspects of our relationship that were in my control, and I was able to become a leader for her, rather than a rival.
The story explores much more than sibling relationships and leadership, but that is what I was able to relate to the most. I recommend it to anyone interested in a show that “…incorporates modern sensibilities into fantasy storytelling, telling tales of childhood empowerment and self-learning that showcase outlandish environments and odd, even grotesque, characters” (Bergstrom 2017).
The worldbuilding in the show is excellent, and it has inspired my writing for years after my first watch. It leaves you with questions that are eventually answered, though they are questions that don’t make the story unfollowable like some series do. It is a mystery that you didn’t think needed to be solved, all the while leaving subtle hints to it throughout. The show helped me try and be more subtle with my mysteries in this way, and is a great example of short form storytelling (for episodic series at least).
Over the Garden Wall also shows complex characters with their own goals and feelings, everyone feels like a real person with their own thoughts, for good or for bad.
Perfect taste