Rewatching ratfish

So ik this episode has been discussed a lot when it originally came out, but... I wasn't on this sub yet and now I am.

So I love game changer ofc, and I've rewatched most episodes many times, but this is the first time I've rewatched the ratfish episodes, despite remembering that they had a lot of very funny moments, because... The guest, Eric, just puts me off so much 😭 I'll be the first to admit that I do not know this man or his work so I'm coming at it with a blank slate, but while rewatching, I really tried to keep an open mind and reminded myself that he must be a comedian that the cast would either know or respect. However, his vibes were just so off. I don't know if he maybe just wasn't familiar with the platform at all, or was, but his persona just wasn't a good fit, but he just felt so NEGATIVE.

I'm sure a snide persona works in some formats, but at times, I felt like he was just condescending and very disinterested in the game as a whole. I also didn't find him very funny, but I know that's subjective and it's not like I find every cast member equally funny. But beyond not being my taste, he just felt like such a bad matchup. I think the platform and the editing had some real reverence for him, which I can get, but man, some of the cutaways to him just dragggged. I don't know if maybe he's the kind of guy who's funnier in real group settings? I can imagine it must be very difficult to essentially create and flesh out bits while sitting alone, especially if you don't know anyone, but they gave so much screentime to him adding VERY little in my opinion. Some of his cuts felt like they wanted to show him off, but didn't have a lot of good material to work with, if that makes sense.

Besides all that, I felt there were a lot of game mechanics that were unfair or confusing, and I think he had too much influence over the outcome, but that alone wouldn't prevent me from rewatching. It's just disappointing to me as I feel these episodes could've been REALLY fun, but they have these interruptions in them.

Especially comparing Eric's appearance to Ben Schwartz, their respect for the games they were in were SO contrasting. I know this could be due to their personas and the fact the games were different, but it was so clear that Ben was happy to be there, tickled by the premise, and respected the other players, and I just didn't get any of that from the ratfish. Honestly, same goes for guests like Wayne Brady, and Pete Holmes especially, as I think he has a more similar persona to Eric, but meshed better with dropout's usual vibe.

Anyway I'm fully just ranting cause I'm fresh off a rewatch and bummed I didn't come around to Eric this time either. Again, he may be way funnier in other formats, but I just think he was a poor match for this game (which isn't even his fault).