Set a little while after “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” the show opens in a world safe from Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), meaning everyone can relaz. Knuckles, who doesn’t comprehend what R&R is, treats everything on Earth like a gladiator pit, looking for his next glorious battle to fight. Sonic (Ben Schwartz) tries to convince Knuckles to enjoy Earth and its joyous customs. However, Knuckles doesn’t consider the planet his home, admitting he only stays because he made a vow to Sonic and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey). When his adoptive guardian, Maddie Wakowski (Tika Sumpter), grounds him for being so warrior-pilled, he’s visited by the spirit of his tribe chief, Pachachamac (Christopher Lloyd). He assigns Knuckles to find a mentee to train to become a warrior in the ways of the Echidna. Out of all options, Pachachamac points out deputy sheriff Wade Whipple (Adam Pally).
Whipple is preparing for a national bowling tournament in Reno in hopes to reconnect with his bowling prodigy deadbeat dad, “Pistol” Pete Whipple (Cary Elwes), who abandoned him at a young age but still looks up to him. Enthused over bowling being Wade’s tournament of champions, Knuckles joins him on his cross-country quest. Together Wade tries to teach Knuckles the ways of Earth’s joys while Knuckles trains him to become a warrior, meaning that Knuckles will soon learn how to deliver pop culture references too.
Meanwhile, a black-market buyer (Rory McCann) with nefarious intentions enlists two rogue GUN agents, Mason (Scott Mescudi) and Willoughby (Ellie Taylor), to hunt down Knuckles. The buyer seeks to exploit Knuckles’ electromagnetic power to fuel his robotic creations, a motivation reminiscent of Robotnik’s in the first movie.
Knuckles is the first Sonic movie if it were broken down into six parts, re-using many of the same buddy road trip beats, plot points, and structures. Much like the features, Knuckles is another “fish out of water” story where the titular Echidna slowly gravitates towards Earth’s customs and learns a thing or two about belonging, this time through the guise of a Judd Apatow protagonist archetype. The miniseries tonally aligns with the movies but on a sillier wavelength, lending to stylish ambitions.