Truth or Flare (Inanimate Insanity)

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"Truth or Flare" is the 15th and penultimate episode of Inanimate Insanity II, and the 52nd episode overall. It was shown live at the BFDI & Inanimate Insanity 2024 Tour, alongside TPOT 12 or BFDIA 14 on dates ranging from June 28 to August 4, 2024. The episode released on YouTube on August 10, 2024, the same day as BFDIA 14, which was released after Truth or Flare.

"Truth or Flare"
"Now it's time!" — Taco, at the end of her song in this episode
Series: Inanimate Insanity Part of Season: 2 Episode Number: 15 Air Date: August 10, 2024 Writer: Brian Koch Director: Adam Katz Brian Koch Justin Chapman Previous episode: Hatching the Plan (season 2) You Can't Do This Forever (chronologically) Next episode: The Reality of the Situation (AKA, Act 1 of Inanimate Insanity II: The Movie)

This episode also directly follows the events of the finale of Inanimate Insanity Invitational.

Synopsis

After facing a season full of invading aliens, mysterious memories, and evil corn, many of the contestants are ready to hide the drama away. But when an old friend emerges from the bushes, every truth will be lit by the flame.

Why It Truthfully Flares (In A Good Way)

1. It's great to see Inanimate Insanity II back in the limelight after being held on hiatus for 4 years.
2. Speaking of such, it picks up directly after the events of the finale of Inanimate Insanity Invitational, which is pretty interesting, considering no episode of an object show has done that before.
3. The entirety of Taco's Tirade.
4. The animation and voice acting are incredible, as expected from an Inanimate Insanity episode.
5. The remaining contestants, Baseball, Lightbulb, Knife, and Suitcase, are still as likable as ever, likely better than they have ever been in Hatching the Plan.
6. The challenge is pretty creative, as it involves the contestants answering questions truthfully to raise their flames high enough to burn the rope.
7. Heartwarming scenes throughout the episode, such as the scene where Lightbulb sacrifices her spot in the game to reunite with Paintbrush, along with the scene where Baseball forgives Suitcase for voting off Nickel.

Cruel and Inhumane Qualities

1. For some unexplained reason, Toilet is nowhere to be seen, not even through a post-credits scene.
   • Wasted Potential: This episode could have made way for a post-credits scene involving what MePhoneX did to Toilet, following up to the post-credits scene in the previous episode.
2. MePhone4 can be somewhat unlikable in some scenes, especially in the case where he refuses to revive Taco until MePad got angry at MePhone4 for it, thus causing MePad to quit the show.

Trivia

• This episode released exactly 1,470 days after Hatching the Plan, making it the longest jump between two episodes in the same season in the show's history.
• After the episode was released, the YouTube banner was updated again, this time going back to the Season 2 formation.
  • Additionally, the characters now have slightly updated renders, with notable changes include; the updated assets, and small eye adjustments.
  • However, as of August 2024, The Remaining Competitors section in the official II website still recognizes Lightbulb and Baseball as the remaining finalists, even though they're eliminated, as well with the old assets not yet altered because it still uses the 2018 art style.
• This episode features new assets for several characters in the show, including Lightbulb (who now has a shine on her bottom), Baseball (whose outline is now gray), Knife, Cherries and Apple (who have new shines).
  • These new assets were reveals for the first time in a post made by AnimationEpic for the season's 11th anniversary.
  • Additionally, this episode received upgraded backgrounds, which were painted by Sean Thurlow.
• This is the first episode to include MePad on its thumbnail, 11 years after his first appearance.
• This is the first episode where Toilet does not make an appearance since Cooking for the Grater Good.
• This episode released on the same day as BFDIA 14. The JacknJellify twitter account advertised this event as BFDIIIenheimer, referencing the two movies Barbie and Oppenheimer, which both released on July 21, 2023.
  • However, BFDIA 14 released later, in the evening/night hours. (~5PM EST)
• This episode peaked at #14 on YouTube trending the night of it's release.
• This episode was shown live at six different locations and dates during the BFDI & Inanimate Insanity 2024 Tour:
  • June 28-30, 2024 at the NYU Skirball Center (New York City)
  • July 6, 2024 at the Linda & Archie Dunham Theater (Houston, TX)
  • July 13 and 14, 2024 at the SIFF Cinema Egyptian (Seattle, WA)
  • July 20 and 21, 2024 at the Saban Media Center (Los Angeles, CA)
  • July 27, 2024 at the Harris Theater (Chicago, IL)
  • August 3 and 4, 2024 at the Miniaci Performing Arts Center (Fort Lauderdale, FL)
• This was the third episode in Inanimate Insanity to be shown in a theater, following Tri Your Best and Spring on the Breakfast (during the 2023 BFDI x II Experience).
• The challenge gives the episode's name, Truth or Flare.
• After Lightbulb was eliminated...
  • she became the first Inanimate Insanity II team captain to become eliminated.
  • there were no more members of the Bright Lights left in the competition, leaving only contestants in the Grand Slams in the Final 3.
  • Suitcase became the only female contestant left in the competition.
  • Knife became the only contestant with arms left in the competition.
• After Baseball was eliminated...
  • there were no more Inanimate Insanity II team captains left in the competition.
  • Knife became the only Season 1 veteran and the only male contestant left in the competition.
  • Suitcase became the only armless contestant left in the competition.
• The finalists are both nodding to Season 1, Suitcase being Taco (though Taco does have arms), and Knife being OJ.
  • Coincidentally, both the latter are able to have stuff inside of them. (Taco being a food, holding lettuce and tomatoes, while Suitcase being able to store items in her, hence her appearance)
  • Also, this is the third time characters from the same team were in the finals, the other being from Season 1's OJ and Taco being on Team Chicken Leg, and Technically, Cabby, Silver Spoon and Balloon being on The Pinkers after the team swap.
• Since Lightbulb and Baseball are not only both team captains, there were the 2nd and 3rd characters respectively to be eliminated in a meetup episode. The first one who ended up this fate was Bot in Season 3.
• This is the fifth episode to feature a musical number in Season 2. Following songs such as Keep On Cleaning, A Party, Afterlife in The Limelight, and Just Like Me! (might count as six songs since Just Like Me! has a reprisal)
• On a Jazzy Oliver stream, Justin Chapman confirmed that a previous draft of this episode was originally going to have a "body swap", but it was scrapped earlier into development.
• This the second time that Taco cries, and the first time she died.
  • Although this is Taco's third death. The first two times she died were both back in the Season 1 episode The Tile Divide, where first, when confirmed safe, she got a chainsaw slicing her in half, then later, she falls into the lava as her tongue got stuck in the spikes.
• This is the first time Knife had killed someone since Season 1.
• The flying hovermobile that Taco used bears a resemblance to the Eggmobile.

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