#//even season 1. mixed bag that it is. has at least some stories on the more mature-r side
Text
Chloe & Heroism
Chloe Bourgeois as a hero early on is a premise that often evokes either questions, like "How" and "Why". Or expectations that she is either already on a path to self improvement, or will be forced onto within a short timeframe.
These are not bad questions and the former definitely are necessary to consider for a story. However the expectations I tend to feel a bit murkier and while I have no issue with how some authors handle this topic.
I want to outline why I think you could do a good "Hero Chloe" story before she gets character development, but first, house cleaning!
1: I have not watched and largely ignore everything post season 3, so don't bother bringing up Derision. Remember, season 1 Kim was afraid of spiders.
2: In canon. Chloe only revealed her ID publicly because her abusive mother she is obsessed with pleasing (who killed her the day before) chose a girl other than her to take to New York & then tore her to shreds in front of everyone.
With all that in mind let's examine where Chloe's values and understanding of the world comes from and how she perceives them!
1 - Media/Social Media
This would be a mixed bag, because on one hand they have Mighty Majesta comics that try to instill good values, but also shows built around lying to and humiliating people are evidently popular television and the internet seems similar in regards to pranking VS trying not to be terrible. So she's gonna get mixed signals at best.
2 - Her family & Circle
This is where 90% of the problems come from. Of the important adults in her life, her father, mother, Gabriel and Nathalie are all varying shades of corrupt, abusive, cruel and ruthless, while the lesser evils like Jean and Emilie are largely consigned to the role of enablers.
Worse still, even if we ignore the emotional abuse, neglect and other elements that led to her both having trauma and her trauma response manifesting in aggression. We still have issues like Andre, during the brief periods he bothered to parent, explicitly teaching Chloe that, Stealing, extortion and threats are all appropriate ways to succeed in life.
IE, she isn't compromising her morality when she does these things, she is very much doing what she is taught was right at least consciously. This isn't helped by a 24/7 Audrey impression as Audrey deems being in her vicinity as reason enough to hurt people unless she deems them useful.
Long story short, the values and people she was brought up around are all explicitly some shade of bad, or enabler, or outright teaching her to harm others.
3 - Societies & Class
However, we know from season 2 that Chloe is not entirely unaware that there are issues with this. Because while she spends much time boasting of how she's beloved and brilliant, when stripped of that and exposed to someone she trusts she is entirely willing to confess that she knows everyone hates her and that she feels she has no worth. She may not be able to articulate why or how this came about but she knows something is wrong.
Despite this, school is not the best place to figure this out, especially for someone who obviously struggles with social cues and the like. The teachers run the gamut from indifferent and unpleasant, to extremely gentle and accommodating, to simply not wanting any form of drama and usually caving to whoever makes the most noise and none of them have the authority to do much outside of class hours.
The class is not significantly better, because students like Kim and Alix can and do casually throw around snark or do pranks and at worst only get brief bursts of anger while Chloe's garner a more intense response. This is because her relationship with the class and motives are varying shades of different, but for someone with issues reading social cues, it's just going to seem like a confusing double standard.
We can also see all this demonstrated in her relationship with Adrien, as Chloe clearly takes the lead in their relationship in Origins and outlines her logic behind the pranks, but is then surprised when Adrien seems to turn against her. What's more, it seems Chloe is aware that Adrien is more gentle/naive than her given she tried to educate him on these matters & turns to him for comfort and protection at times, while seeing no inherent contradiction between her expectations for their relationship and how she treats others.
Adrien does not help matters with seeming indifference to how she treats staff.
Thus, while she knows 'something' is terribly wrong, actually being able to understand it and work through it is another matter.
4 - Chloe's Conclusion
So, what is the conclusion Chloe comes to in order to square all of these circles when she isn't just in full denial mode? The answer is quite simple and even demonstrated in the show itself, playing one's role.
IE, Chloe the mayor and style queen's daughter is different to Chloe the hotel owner's daughter and we see this in her being able to stamp down on her usual instincts and slap on a customer service role when Jagged Stone enters the hotel and guide her father into doing the same. VS how she conducts herself during a class election, IE explicitly threatening and extorting people, to how she conducts herself day by day with her Audrey impersonation.
A separate example and way she'd view this for others would be that Marinette the baker's daughter of course has to be nice and sweet and giving because that is how customer service roles work, while Marinette the aspiring fashion designer or would be class president is sneakier and will lay traps so people trying to steal from her are sabotaged. This isn't wrong, this is how she expects people to behave when in these circumstances and roles.
Final Conclusion
Which is why Chloe could easily play the role of a successful hero, because she would not be "Chloe Bourgeois, mayor's daughter, hotel heiress and Style Queen's daughter" as Queen Bee, she would just be Queen Bee, a superhero.
They have wonderfully defined roles that would be easy for her to pick up & follow through on: assure the public, save people from danger, protect allies, defeat monsters, all things Chloe was shown doing very well when chosen as a Miraculous Holder.
I think that eventually the contrast in how she is received as Queen Bee VS Chloe Bourgeois would start grinding on each other and bleeding through both sides of the mask.
But the infectious nature of empathy and a larger support network that don't have the worst impression of her would give Chloe the room she needs to explore and grow.
If she is too snippy as a hero, or shows a ruthless side, these won't be taken in the context of "Chloe that person I dislike" but "Queen Bee my ally" and can allow for more honest and even handed reactions that give her the necessary breathing room to grow and change.
So yeah, I think season 1 Chloe could have, under the right circumstances, done a great job as a hero be it Queen Bee or another hero even before any outside circumstances or internal changes might have forced her to chart a new course in life.
Provided the role of Chloe and the role of hero do not intersect and become one almost immediately, because in that case it gets a lot harder for her.
#chloe bourgeois#miraculous ladybug#Meta#Analysis#Text Post#My thoughts#No shade on anyone who does things differently#Queen Bee#Though it could be any means of being a hero or any Kwami#Miraculous Holder Chloe
75 notes
·
View notes
Note
Tbh it's clear that S2 of HB is soft rebooting pretty much everything from S1, which is quite....sad frankly and why everything seems disjointed. Let's see here....
The Grimoire? Well that's pointless now, because of the introduction of Asmodean Crystals. If they were there the whole time, then the book is a paperweight(put a pin in this for now.)
Stolas and Stella's relationship? Well at the start, seemed a bit of a mixed bag sort of thing, there was tension obviously between them, but they still shared a bed. Octavia seemed at least by implication of dialogue, good memories of her parents when they weren't fighting. BOTH VAs for Stolas and Stella, seem to think there was more going on with their characters(kind of a red flag, so it seems they didn't even know where their own characters were going). Stolas' song to Via and the lyrics of "I used to think that I was bold, I used to think love would be fun." Sorry but that's clearly referencing him and Stella having had SOME kind of relationship before everything went sour, boldness as per definition suggests that Stolas was the one who initiated and wanting to be with Stella. His lyrics of "now my stories have been told, except for one..." Also implies that he was extremely old.
Oh but S2 shoots all that in the face, with the laziest plotline ever and absolving Stolas of any wrong doing by his Family, by making Stella an evil bitch, as well as a dumbass. This plotline is so boring, considering Stolas already stood up to her and kicked her out of the house and is getting a divorce....there's nothing left there. He can't have been bold for his and Stella's relationship, considering he was forced into it and all his stories? That's bunk, considering the guy is only like in his 30s..
Blitz big vocal grievances to Stolas at the end of S1? Pointless now, because in blink and you'll miss it texts, Stolas doesn't even understand WHY Blitz was upset despite being flat out told to his face.
Stolas and Blitz' relationship? Back to square 1 apparently within Seeing Stars and moreso Stolas has no character growth, it doesn't matter that he's going to give Blitz a Crystal....because he doesn't even seem to understand what he's done wrong.
Also side note, why is Stolas the one getting the Crystal and not Blitz? Why is Stolas having to be the one to give it to him, can't Fizz and Ozzie just you know...mail it to the address of I.M.P.? Ozzie has Blitz' phone number, just send it directly to him.
Blitz and Stolas' deal? Completely pointless due to the afore mentioned Asmodean Crystals and the fact that I.M.P. was killing in Hell before the Grimoire. You can now completely REMOVE Stolas from the show, due to these factors.
Season 1? Since Blitz mentioned to Crimson that they killed in Hell before in Exes and Ohs, why not have some of the episodes build upon that? Why not expand upon the worldbuilding of Hell this way, only for the crew to find out that maybe killing up on Earth would be far more lucrative and thus find a way to get an Asmodean Crystal? There's a catch though, the only one who can(Fizzarolli) hates Blitz for past actions against him...
So now...Blitz goes on this arc of making amends with those of his past, including Fizzarolli, Verosika and Barbie. This is where S2 picks up.
Oh look at that, I removed Stolas entirely from the show and now gave room more to explore Moxxie, Millie and Loona as characters with Blitz as they navigate through Hell in trying to keep their assassination company afloat.
I didn't mean for the long winded ask, don't have to post it up...but yeah S2 clearly seems to reboot S1 and the more hilarious sad part of it is, you can remove Stolas entirely now because of it.
Yeah… and how is it that this crystal is so hard to get that Stolas has to get them from Ozzie when they’re presumably handed out like hotcakes to every succubus in hell? Either that or Verosika being on the surface in spring broken is a world-breaking plot hole.
#helluva boss criticism#helluva boss critical#helluva boss#helluva boss neg#helluva boss critique#helluva critical
23 notes
·
View notes
Text
My Rant against SNL: Part 1
I don't like SNL, and I'm going to try and dissect why. This will be divided into three parts. Part 1 will cover SNL from 1975 to 2000 or so (Warning: I've only seen episodes from seasons 2-3, 6, 10 and some compilation videos from this era). Part 2 will cover SNL from 2000-Present (Really, it'll be focused on 2018 to Present, as that's the only era of SNL I've seen on TV/remembered seeing). And Part 3 will be my angry rant about Lorne Michaels. Let's start, shall we?
Part 1: SNL's First 30 Years I've only seen some of SNL's earliest years, but even the stuff I've seen has been a very mixed bag. I've seen like 5 episodes from seasons 2-3 of the show, and only one was good all the way through. I am inclined to blame the writers for this, cause most of their performers seem really good and funny. But they clearly were dealt a bad hand by their writers, who wildly swing from good to terrible.
I've seen two other 1970s Sketch Shows (SCTV and The Carol Burnett Show) and both were funnier. SCTV had a lot more consistent level of quality in it's first two seasons (I've found season 3 slightly more iffy), and The Carol Burnett Show was always fun (I've seen episodes from every season, pretty much). Those shows both had one thing that SNL has always lacked: Consistency. SNL has never been consistent. In one episode alone, there'll usually be like 3-4 good things and 5 bad things. With SCTV and The Carol Burnett Show, I never had that problem. It's unique to SNL.
Really, SNL's writers just seem worse. They certainly didn't write at a consistent quality, like the writers at SCTV did. And that's a real shame, because both shows had an origin in the Chicago theatre circuit. But somehow, one was just vastly superior.
My least favorite performer from that era was John Belushi. He was loud and obnoxious, and not in a funny way. He's the worse Chris Farley. (I'm a bit biased because my mom liked Chris Farley, however). I still think it's a deep shame he died so young, but I'll save my vitriol there for my segment on Lorne Michaels.
Also, SNL was too surreal for me. SCTV was more story based, even if it only had a loose story. That may have helped as well.
Anyways, let's move to season 6. I only saw 1 episode of season 6, and it wasn't bad. I didn't laugh uproariously a lot, but it was pretty good. I honestly like Jean Doumanian and Dick Ebersol a hell of a lot more than Lorne Michaels. Poor Jean was dealt a bad hand, and that's all there is to it.
Besides, her cast was pretty good. Joe Piscopo was very funny, and Eddie Murphy was also always funny. Gilbert Gottfried was amazing, and Charles Rocket wasn't as bad as some make him sound. It was hard to differentiate between the three girls (besides Denny Dillion, because she was blond and the other two were brunette or something), but they all seemed okay. Certainly not as bad as the press made them out to be.
10 notes
·
View notes
Text
Great Star Trek Rewatch - The Animated Series S1
Originally posted on Twitter 8 January 2021 - 11 January 2021
Star Trek: The Animated Series Season 1 is up next in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. As with ENT, DSC, STX, and TOS, mini-reviews will document my progress.
Beyond the Farthest Star: Immediately establishing the creative possibilities the animation format affords, this is a solid re-introduction to our live-action heroes. The alien's pleas at the end are truly pitiful and sad. 7/10
Yesteryear: The single best episode of TAS, bar none. Tightly scripted and well acted, it shows how TAS could be more mature and complex than its other cartoon contemporaries. 10/10
One of Our Planets is Missing: A nice callback to TOS with Bob Wesley, this episode is otherwise reminiscent of “The Immunity Syndrome.” Again, the animated format allows for expanded vistas and areas of the Enterprise we never got to see on TOS. 7/10
The Lorelei Signal: Uhura and Chapel get their moment in the proverbial center seat, but this episode is let down by the sexist reinterpretation of the Sirens from Homer’s epic. 5/10
More Tribbles, More Trouble: A direct sequel to a TOS classic, featuring the original Cyrano Jones himself, and the return of Koloth (sadly, not voiced by William Campbell), written by David Gerrold, this is a solid TAS entry with classic TOS energy. 8/10
The Survivor: A poignant love story crossed with Romulan intrigue outweighs the abrupt tonal shift of the tag, and the cliché of having Carter Winston’s fiancée coincidentally aboard the Enterprise. A great vocal performance by Ted Knight adds to the score. 7/10
The Infinite Vulcan: Walter Koenig’s script really takes advantage of the animated format: giant clones, plant-based life forms, etc. I’ve always had a soft spot for this one, from childhood. 7/10
The Magicks of Megas-tu: Besides providing Swear Trek with nigh-limitless material, this episode has a fairly provocative denouement. No other mid-70s animated show would tackle God, the Devil, and Salem in 25 minutes. Magic being real is inconsistent with TOS, however. 6/10
Once Upon a Planet: A sequel to TOS “Shore Leave,” we learn more about the mysterious planet, and Uhura gets some things to do besides operating the communication console. Kirk talks down yet another computer. I’m not a fan of “Shore Leave,” so I’m not high on this outing. 5/10
Mudd’s Passion: Harry Mudd on TOS is a mixed bag: expertly performed (here, once again by the late Roger C. Carmel), but gross and misogynistic. While I applaud bringing Carmel and writer Stephen Kandel back, I don’t like this one, except for its camp value. 5/10
The Terratin Incident: Only in animated format could our heroes be convincingly shrunk. This episode establishes that the transporter can reverse or cure most maladies, something seen again in TAS, and then several more times in the Berman era. 6/10
The Time Trap: Shades of “Day of the Dove,” wherein our heroes must work with the Klingons to get back to our reality. Wisely, the Bonaventure is more or less retconned out in First Contact. The starship graveyard and Elysian Council are great concepts. 7/10
The Ambergris Element: Another planetary disaster story so soon on the heels of “The Terratin Incident” feels repetitive. While it’s fun to see the aquashuttle and the scouter gig, I’m not sure what the point of this one was. At least it embraces the animation format. 4/10
The Slaver Weapon: The only official crossover with another franchise (Larry Niven’s Known Space) in Trek’s long history. A solid script and interesting backstory is only held back by the half-hour runtime. 8/10
The Eye of the Beholder: Shades of “The Cage,” though the unaired pilot did more with the criticism of incarceration than this TAS installment. It’s ultimately forgettable, which is an even worse fate than being memorably awful. 3/10
The Jihad: A problematic title for an episode that most closely resembles the excellent late TNG two-parter “Gambit.” Again, excellent use of the animated format, but constrained by the brief runtime. 5/10
And with that, Season 1 of TAS comes to an end in my Great Star Trek Rewatch. Final score: 6.25/10. Highest score(s): “Yesteryear.” Lowest score(s): “The Eye of the Beholder.”
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Mandalorian Season 3 Review
Hey what's going on everyone? Dan here and today I'll be reviewing The Mandalorian season 3 on this May the 4th be with you day!
Even though the season has ended weeks ago, I'll give spoiler warnings for those who do not have Disney Plus because these streaming services add up.
Now I love The Mandalorian, I've watched all three seasons and Star Wars content is the only reason I wanted Disney Plus in the first place. The Mandalorian is indeed Disney Plus's number 1 show and there is a reason for it. I enjoy the series greatly and in my opinion, season 2 is the best of the three. Season 3 I'd say is on par with season 1, it's rough in some areas, but overall still enjoyable story and entertaining to watch. I'll be going through what I liked and what I dislike about season 3.
One major complaint that I and several others have is that they intertwined the Mandalorian with the Book of Boba Fett show. They're doing what Marvel is known for and connecting everything in a universe but the issue here is that Book of Boba Fett happens between season 2 and 3, meaning that if you're new and trying to watch The Mandalorian then you're gonna be confused about what happened between seasons 2 and 3. A newcomer wouldn't know to go to Book of Boba Fett for context so it loses points off the bat just for doing that. Book of Boba Fett was decent imo, but everyone else doesn't find it entertaining and find it redeemable because of Mando so a newcomer would likely stay away from that show. It's not good when you have to intertwine two shows to get the full context of one or the other, it's inconvenient and just unnecessary to me unless it's meant to lead to a universe which if they plan to cool, if not, unnecessary.
Now with the Book of Boba Fett stuff aside, I do enjoy the continued story of Din Djarin and Grogu on their adventures, this time around we actually get to see them amongst the Mandalorian tribes and culture. I love the lore of Mandalorians and this is a great addition to the series and the lore. I especially like Bo Katan, I think of all her varients, this version of her is by far my favorite only matched by her Clone Wars version. Din Djarin played by Pedro Pascal is great and his character continues to get fleshed out with each season. Grogu, I can't say much because it's puppetry and effects and it's done well enough, it's adorable as well. I also like how we get the return of Moff Gideon as the Antagonist, is he finally gone? we'll see.
Now the episodes this season were a mixed bag. Don't get me wrong, most of Season 3 episodes are fun and action packed, but I'd say there were two episodes in the entire season that were just filler for the most part. Episode 3 was kinda boring to follow because it was literal filler about reformed villains because it barely served any connection to the plot. Episode 6 filler was Mando and Bo on a wild goose chase of a mystery finding defective droids for Lizzo and Jack Black (I love Jack Black but this is definitely one of his weaker roles) and the villain turned out to be Christopher Lloyd and makes it like we care but it felt so rushed and phoned in. These two episodes are definitely lackluster compared to the rest but at least the other episodes make up for these two so I won't hold it too hard against season 3.
I loved the last two episodes where the Mandalorians all band together to take back Mandalore from Moff Gideon and his Beskar Stormtroopers. It did Kill off one of the Mandalorian characters we came to know and respect but at least he went out in true Mandalorian fashion fighting till the end. Gideon got wrecked the third time around and Mandalore was taken back and Mando himself has settled on his land with Grogu as his new adopted son/apprentice where they're gonna go on many more adventures together. This makes me excited for a Season 4 and hopefully we will get a season 4. Though if we do get one, maybe if should be the last one but also the best one yet. Though this is Disney, so it is possible they will try to milk the Mandalorian until its dry but maybe I'm wrong there, who knows?
Overall, season 3 was pretty good and while I still think season 2 was better, season 3 still added to the lore and world of the Mandalorian culture. I would like a season 4 but we will see what happens in the not so distant future. Jon Favreau, you busted out another banger of a season here!
rating this season I'm giving it:
8/10
While I don't think it's the best season, I still think it's great and adds plenty to the story of Din Djarin. I would recommend this season just as much as 1 and 2 and you'll definitely need to watch the last few episodes of Book of Boba Fett to figure out what happens between seasons 2 and 3. Here's to hoping for a season 4 and make it the best and last one.
May the Fourth be with you all
See ya!
#dans den#tv show review#the mandalorian#may the fourth be with you#din djarin#bo katan kryze#moff gideon#star wars#season 3#disney plus#din grogu#jon favreau
3 notes
·
View notes
Text
Notes 12/24/22
Good afternoon everyone,
Well my 40th Birthday yesterday was a real mixed bag in so many ways. For one my mom's first radiation treatment was cancelled due to the inclement weather. So that's been pushed back to Tuesday. If you would like to donate to help with some of the medical expenses, you can do so at https://gofund.me/6adf8354. In fact we had one donation during yesterday's stream that pushed the total raised so far past the $1,000 mark. Thank you very much!
As for the stream, we started at 1:30 PM, and it's a good thing we did, We started with DKO Divine Knockout, getting several wins as Athena over the course of the first two hours, then after a break to check up on my mom, we played Ghostbusters Spirits Unleashed, and was getting into a good groove until 4:55 PM when the weather started causing havoc, as I experienced a noticeable inability to keep a steady upstream connection. .
We switch the stream over to Just Chatting, doing a couple of games of APBA Baseball, made a Mass Effect squad member tier list, but at 7 PM I ran out of things to do under a Just Chatting format, and with the constant stream resets. Bandwidth tests using TwitchTest showed no 0 quality, which only occurs when there was an major issue. I called Xfinity, and was was told that numerous people were starting to call in reporting the same issue.
So needless to say my Birthday ended up being a real downer. At the very least, the Twitch VOD version of the first 3+ hours is in the archives.
I do want to thank those who kicked in 600 bits during the stream and to scotchboxvr for the raid, following their stream of Evil West over at twitch.tv/scotchboxvr
Getting back what we managed to do in terms of games, we did get a couple of achievements.
Divine Knockout Achievements
Traveler’s Tall Tale: Achieved 'Traveler’s Tall Tale'
KO Collection Gold: Achieved 'KO Collection Gold'
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed Achievements
Right back at ya: Break a tether and down the buster who tethered you within 10 seconds
Stream Clip Links
Triple Knockout... 3 for 1!
Just being a Teddy Bear
The Eagle Has Landed?
For the raid, we dropped in over on the official twitch channel for Mystery Science Theater 3000 over at https://www.twitch.tv/mst3k
Because my birthday stream was cut short i went and did some writing on the sixth chapter of the Mass Effect series of short story commission requests.
Also made some more progress on the Overwatch season 2 battle pass, though my latency was all over the pace until things settled down around 12:30 AM.
Today's Fitness Boxing 2 daily workout featured Defensive Combo #2, Triple Combo #2 and Intermediate Combo #1 for 31 minutes
How can you make seven an even number? Just take away the "s"!
Song of the Day: Jingle Bell Rock by Bobby Helms
For tonight's stream, the plan is to start the story mode of Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. Here's hoping Xfinity gets things sorted so we can have a full stream.
1 note
·
View note
Text
/Continually baffled by how so many people say stuff like ‘Season 3 is the best one! It’s so mature!’ or ‘Season 3 is when the Lion Guard stops being a show for toddlers and actually gets good!’
When 90% of the dialogue is like “I’m not evil!” “Oh no! Kion is turning evil!” “Don’t worry Kion, even if you do turn evil I’ll still be your friend”
#ooc.#//it's just so funny to me how many times they actually say the word 'evil'#//as if 'evil' is just a switch you can flip once you hit a point where you stop being good#//and not a series of bad actions done for the wrong or selfish reasons#//its literally like a child's understanding of morality#//honestly Season 3 is the MOST toddler-orientated one IMO#//cause its very straight-forward in its storytelling. like it tells you more than it shows#//'Lets help this animal! Oh no the bad animal didn't like that! Don't be evil Kion!'#//even season 1. mixed bag that it is. has at least some stories on the more mature-r side#//'your heroes might not be what you expect them to be' 'violence isn't always the answer' 'don't make assumptions' 'own up to your mistakes#//etc. The one where the old lady lioness dies is really good though that one gets a pass#//like I can extend my disbelief enough that the venom is making him irritable and lashing out more#//(I know some people can't but it's like the roar and the shoulder marks for me where I can overlook it)#//but the whole 'slipping to the dark side thing' wasn't...well done#//and also everything that Fuli does in that season shouldve and couldve been given to Bunga#//like taking charge when Kion's out of comission and being the concerned for him and challenging him when he gets out of line#//that should've been Bunga's job. but Fuli is a fan favourite so she got to do it all#//and people didn't like Bunga so he gets to be a caricature of his former self instead of getting to grow and develop#//...I'm STILL thinking about this shit#//but I think the fan response honestly makes me madder than how season 3 actually ended up
15 notes
·
View notes
Text
GX Seasons Ranked
Unlike the original Yugioh, this show divides much more nicely into seasons than arcs. With the exception of season one, every season begins its main conflict early and the rest of the season proceeds to focus on that single story arc. I’ve seen some people divide season one into the slew of slice of life episodes that started it off and the seven stars arc, and seasons three into the Dimension World and the Yubel stuff. To put it simply, I don’t agree with dividing it like this. First off, season one has things after the seven stars arc that aren’t their own arc and don’t fit with either previous arc. So dividing the season into those arcs leaves out some actually pretty good episodes (or divides it weirdly in my opinion). Second, dividing the Dimension arc and the Yubel arc just feels weird to me considering how tightly knit they are. You technically divide them but you can’t really divide any of the other seasons in my opinion so I’m just going to rank them based on season. Also, I did watch the show entirely in sub and have not seen much of the dub outside of clips that do not spark joy. So I will be discussing the sub here.
4) Season 1 (The introduction and the Seven Stars arc)
This season isn’t bad, it’s just in last by default since the other seasons have much more interesting stories. I actually don’t mind the fact that a big story takes a while to take form. I think it’s important to establish the characters and their bonds with each other before they’re thrown into some huge story. This is something GX improves upon over the original and so far Zexal. Due in part to the slower pacing, the side characters in GX are all allowed to have their own stories and character development rather than just being lackeys to the main character. They have their own stories to tell and flaws to overcome and that started as early as season one. I particularly like Manjome’s short story arc in the northern school but Asuka, Sho, Judai, and Hayato are each given good stories of their own this season. They even gave a character arc to one of the adult characters, Chronos, having him develop from an annoying villain only there to cause minor conflict to a teacher who genuinely cares about his students and sees that they all have worth, whether they’re “elite” or not. We have this season to thank for beginning the emotional developments of all these great characters. I also do like some of the lighter stories. Hayato’s duel with Chronos was a really touching episode, and Judai’s final duel with Ryo was a good way to end the season. The Seven Stars arc is what everyone remembers about this season and yes, it is pretty good as well. I particularly like the duels against Camula and the stuff with Daitokuji. It’s very fun and thrilling. That being said, this season has its weaker episodes. The first twenty or so episodes are a pretty mixed bag. It was after those episodes that I took a months long break from the show because I just wasn’t interested. I grew to like Rei a little bit in seasons three and four when she came back but her introduction episode does not do her any favours. The same goes for Tania. Thes episodes have a very similar flaw: they creep me out. You can argue Rei’s feelings for Judai were just a celebrity crush type thing but Tania flirting with Misawa when she is clearly an adult and he is a first year in high school was just creepy. I also hate Majome’s “love duel” with Asuka, it’s like the only thing I don’t like about his character. And the fact that his overly strong advances are encouraged just disgusts me. Honestly, Yugioh should just stop writing romance. They’re all either creepy or cringe-worthy and they only managed to make it work once (so far at least, Yuma/Astral is cute but I’m not sure if it’s canon in the anime and I haven’t seen any Yusei/Aki yet but I hear they’re cute.) There are also times when the show is just a little weird that it’s alienating, like that episode with the dueling monkey. I don’t know, I generally allow Yugioh to be weird but that was just… a little too much. Overall, this was a good start to the show although it can be a little too slow at times.
3) Season 2 (The Society of Light arc)
Let’s get one thing clear: this season is a hot mess. It tries to tell three stories at once: the imminent destruction of the Red dorm, the genex tournament, and Saio starting a cult within the school. On top of that, there’s Edo and Kaiser’s stories. So there are five story arcs going on in this season at a time and as you can imagine, it makes the season feel all over the place, especially when certain story arcs overshadow others when they really shouldn’t. Here’s a good example. Saio duels Manjome in the woods and ends up brainwashing him. You’d think that would be a dramatic event that would come up in the next episode and cause conflict but it doesn’t. The other characters don’t seem to care about Manjome’s switch in personality and nothing comes of it for a few episodes as they focus on the Red dorm side plot. It takes twenty episodes for Judai to consider helping Manjome. I know it’s supposed to be a slow-burn realization but it comes off more as the characters not caring about their friends. All these arcs are also very different tonally so slapping them together makes the tone of the season absolutely all over the place. Here’s an example of what I mean: Sho and Kaiser’s duel. It’s amazing, Sho is desperately trying to bring his now jaded brother back to his senses and also keep himself from getting shocked by the collars they’re both wearing. This is a very emotionally intense episode. So how do they follow it up? Judai dueling a rando and Misawa stripping nude and running around the school. Seriously, I posted about those things back to back. Talk about tonal whiplash. That’s another thing: Misawa. I was never that attached to him and some of the meta lines about his fade from relevancy were funny but even I can agree this season did him dirty. There was potential for a good story arc with him but that potential is thrown away in a single scene. The other characters are treated well enough, I loved seeing Chronos fighting to defend the Red dorm and they do a good job showing how far Manjome and Sho have come since season one. Also, Edo and Kaiser’s story arcs really should’ve gotten more focus but when they are the focus, they’re the best episodes of the season. I talked about Sho and Kaiser’s duel with the shock collars nearly making me cry but Edo’s mini-arc season where he does avenge his father and his later connection to Saio are also very powerful. Saio in general was a really good villain. He’s a classic anime case of someone being controlled by some evil force (this time the Light of Destruction), which I’m honestly a sucker for. It lets the character in question be over the top evil but still make them forgivable by the end, so we get the best of both worlds. I love fun, over the top evil but I love tragic evil and redemption arcs as well and Saio balances the two pretty well. He’s not as good as some, one of which I’ll be getting to, but he’s still fun. Overall, this season is really fun but it’s a complete mess. Structurally, season one is the better season but I enjoyed this one more so that’s why it’s getting the higher rank.
2) Season 4 (The Darkness Arc)
Yeah, I love season four. Yes, it’s rushed. Yes, the beginning is boring. Yes, Yusuke Fujiwara should’ve had more development. Yes, Yubel is underused. Yes, Ryo returning was weird. But you know what? I fucking adore this season. I love seeing the culmination of Asuka, Sho, Ryo, Manjome, and Chronos’s growth. I relate to their post high school anxieties and LOVE how they were tied into the final confrontation with Darkness. Those scenes where Sho, Asuka, and Manjome were subconsciously creating their own personal hell in the darkness are so similar to my own anxious thoughts about life after high school that it hit a very personal chord with me. Seeing them overcome it and say the things I personally needed to hear was genuinely inspiring and cathartic for me. It’s only been a week since I saw this and I already think of that triumphant scene where they overcome the darkness when I have my own anxieties about this stuff, it’s that good. From a personal standpoint, it’s my favourite thing Yugioh has ever done. It made me empathize deeply with the characters and goddammit, Asuka’s graduation speech dragged some tears out of me. I’m so proud of how far these characters have come: Sho, Asuka, Chronos, Judai, these are some of my favourite characters in any show. I love the cast of this show so much. For favourite characters from the original, I’d struggle to make a top five but for GX, I could easily make a top ten. Also, about Judai. I’ve discussed him in length but I cannot emphasize enough how much I love his growth, especially in this season. It makes sense that he would be more distant and serious after the events of last season but he evens out by the end, reconnecting with his friends as they go through their stories and regaining his enthusiasm for Duel Monsters after dueling Yugi, which is one of my favourite duels in the season. It doesn’t make much sense but it is so damn cool seeing these two legends clash. The problems with this season do hold it back from being the best but I still really love it.
1) Season 3 (The Dimension World and Yubel Arcs)
What can I say that hasn’t already been said? This is the darkest Yugioh has ever gotten. I’ve seen some dark shows and I went in knowing this arc was messed up but even I wasn’t expecting to go as far as it did: having the main character being forced to kill his friends and fall to evil and kill even more of his friends. Watching the Supreme King, I could hardly believe that was the happy go-lucky Judai I’d known in the previous two seasons. It was shocking but made enough sense with the way they built it up. Not to mention Amon and Echo’s messed up relationship and Ryo’s death. Yes, the latter was reversed but it still felt permanent at the time and was enough to make me cry. His duel against Yubel was nothing short of epic and his sentiment of wanting to leave behind a permanent legacy before his death so he isn’t forgotten is really identifiable to me as a writer. I’m passionate about my work and want it to leave some sort of mark on the world so even when I’m gone, my spirit will still live on in a way through my writing. I can also understand him wanting to feel alive and not just waste away from his heart condition. Overall, it was a fitting end for his character so I was a little disappointed that season four brought him back with little explanation. Still, it doesn’t ruin the scene for me. The Yubel arc is the better of this season by a lot but I don’t want to sell the Dimension World arc short. It was really cool seeing this new world and built up the reveal of Yubel really well. I also really love Johan. He is a total sweetheart with a cute connection with his cards. Honestly, as a side note, the connections the characters have with their decks feels so much more genuine/deep in GX than any other series so far and that is especially evident in Johan. He can actually speak with his cards and considers them his family, hinting that he doesn’t really have any human family. It’s really interesting to me. The other characters are pretty good too. Jim Cook and O’Brien have their own little stories and while they aren’t as good as the mainstays from the previous seasons, they’re still endearing enough, especially Jim. Amon is a hateable douche but in a way that makes you really want to see him defeated, so that was done really well. Seriously, sacrificing Echo was the point of no return for him in my mind. I was happy to see Yubel call him out on that and kick his ass. And then there’s Yubel. They're a really fascinating character. While it is due to their mind being corrupted by the light of destruction, Yubel believes that the only way to share love is through causing pain. They also have a depressing backstory that is slowly pieced together as they appear more and more. I didn’t mention this in my original post about season three but I actually believe in reincarnation. So I really loved the story of Yubel and Judai having loved each other in their past lives, implying that they’re soulmates. It was interesting, strengthened the final resolution, and it was nice seeing my spiritual belief being accurately depicted. Also, I mentioned earlier that Yugioh can’t write romance. Judai and Yubel are the one exception to that so far. Yubel hurts him out of a misguided desire to show him love and because of the fact that their mind has been warped by the Light of Destruction. Of course, that doesn't mean Judai is obligated to love them or forgive them. However, it was completely his decision to fuse with them. He had the opportunity to defeat/destroy Yubel but after remembering his love for them, he instead chose to save them and show Yubel what true love actually is. Honestly, I just thought it was sweet and a phenomenal way to end the season.
And that’s the list. As I’ve said, I liked GX more than Duel Monsters so if this list seems more positive than the original list, that’s why. GX was more consistent in quality and had a more well rounded cast. Seriously, Anzu and Honda were there since episode one and had hardly any personality and got no development whatsoever. Compare that to this show’s long lasting side characters: Sho, Asuka, Manjome, Ryo, Chronos. They were completely different people by season four than they were in season one. Hell, they changed immensely between seasons one and two alone. GX’s characters are better than the original and the stories, especially of seasons three and four, are just as good. What’s there not to love?
#yugioh#yugioh gx#ygo#ygo gx#judai yuki#jaden yuki#asuka tenjoin#alexis rhodes#sho marufuji#syrus truesdale#jun manjome#chazz princeton#ryo marufuji#kaiser ryo#hell kaiser ryo#zane truesale#chronos medici#vellian crowler#yubel#yubel yugioh#have I mentioned that I love this show?#it's my second favourite anime now
89 notes
·
View notes
Text
Oh no! It's time for more obligatory ✨Heartless Headcanons!✨ This one is more about the groups as a whole and their interactions with one another.
All these fellows belong to @abd-illustrates !
Again, gonna be long. So feel free to scroll past! Also happy April fool's ig, there ain't nothing in this post for it, just ✨Heartless Headcanons✨
TW: brief mention of torture & execution, dissections, and blood
Heartless & Company
Also colloquially named the Protag Team.
-The Jury runs a high-end casino somewhere, which led to everyone finding out that Alchemy and Eira are incredible at gambling, and the rest of them suck.
-To add onto that last one, Alchemy is good because they're good at controlling their facial expressions, and Eira is good because he just has resting poker face.
-Meanwhile, Heartless and Flint suck at gambling because they can't pull a straight face to save their lives, Glass and River physically cannot lie, and Doppel probably shouted out his hand before he even played it. He thought they were playing Go Fish.
-If you lose in said casino, you work for The Jury until you can pay off your debt. Doppel had to clean a lot of toilets, but he did get some good intel out of it.
-Heartless likes frogs and squirrels.
-Frogchamp is the Protag Team's pet. River found him, Heartless named him, Eira was strongly against it, but the rest of them were adament on keeping him. Frogchamp usually sits in one of the Doppel's bags.
-Eira and Heartless can both sleep anywhere at any time. Heartless because, well, we know why, and Eira because he's in the Royal Guard and has had to sleep in some real bad places.
-Doppel has tried to kidnap pigeons on more than one occasion. Has been caught on all of those occasions since it's illegal to "capture wild birds." Has complained about it to Heartless & Co. nonstop. Most often at 3 in the morning when they're just trying to sleep.
-Flint and Eira take turns telling stories (sometimes scary) around their fire when they can't find a hotel. Eira once told a story that had the entire group sleeping in one tent.
-River is still trying to get Flint to go vegan. She makes him eat at least one (1) salad a week so he isn't surviving purely on meat skewers.
-Flint gives everyone a nickname. Heartless is Pikachu, Alchemy is Hot Pink, Eira is Baby Blue, Doppel is Heather, Glass is Lavender, and River is Daisy.
The Jury
-Nobody ever wants to go to Creed's office, willingly or not. For one, it's like a fucking escape room in there (I will elaborate if interest is shown) and two, it smells like cobwebs and old books.
-Anyone is free to leave The Jury at any time. The rules only state that they report to Alastor and give him their reason for leaving so he can "relieve them of their duties." Nobody knows what that means.
-If someone does try to leave The Jury without doing what is previously mentioned, they are to be apprehended and punished, which usually involves torture and/or execution.
-Lance has a catchphrase. It is: "Loving yourself is totally hardcore" usually accompanied with finger guns. Alastor has a catchphrase for after Lance says his catchphrase. It is: "Every day I can feel my sanity slipping away from me."
-Alastor has a throne. He's not a king by any means of the word, but it makes him feel powerful and it makes others scared of him. He did not give Lorelei a throne. Out of spite, Diana and Bandy helped her make one.
-Lorelei once gifted Creed a stuffed elephant to help with his insomnia. He took the gift, but called it childish. Rumour has it that it's still sitting somewhere in his office. (Spoiler alert: it is)
-Speaking of stuffed animals, Dock has several to dissect. He likes to shape the stuffing inside into organs.
-Dock has Massive Mommy Milkers™. The person who spawned this idea in my head definitely knows who they are.
-Alastor, Lorelei, and Dock have a permanent ban from the kitchen. Alastor because Lorelei doesn't want him around anything that could hurt him, Dock because he's probably going to dissect something on the kitchen island, and Lorelei because she once gave everyone in The Jury food poisoning by mixing MnMs and Peeps into canned chili.
-Diana is shockingly good at taking care of plants and has a massive collection of succulents and cactuses.
-Bandy once switched all of the ink in The Jury's headquarters with cow's blood. During tax season. They got a lot of angry and confused letters from the tax people and forensic scientists.
#heartless#abd illustrates#alchemy valentine#flint solveig#eira hale#doppel/glass#doppel glass#river dial#alastor creed#dock heartless#lorelei#bandy bellamis#diana shikari#lance lothaire#Heartless Headcanons
90 notes
·
View notes
Text
Pokemon SwSh GPL AU: Get to know ______
Guys, it’s time for my favourite pokemon ship. Prepare for loads of fluff.
Get to Know Gloria x Hop (Postwickshipping/Hpyu):
1: Who spends almost all their money on the other? I headcannon that Gloria really likes pokemon plushies, so Hop is always unconsciously checking the stuffed animal section of stores to see if there’s any she doesn’t have. Gloria tries really hard to get him books that pertain to his research, but she really has no clue what he studies aside from the fact that it’s legendary pokemon (Legendary Pokemon are his focus).
2: Who sleeps in the other’s lap? Gloria! They are the cuddliest couple ever. There’s about a foot size difference between them, so she fits perfectly in his lap. (Hop is def the little spoon, tho).
3: Who walks around the house half-naked and who yells at them to put on some clothes? TBH, they would both walk around the house half naked. They’re comfort first babies, so you know Gloria’s bra is coming off and Hop is discarding his work clothes the second their door is closed. I think it’s kind of a casual thing for them, though. They’ve known each other long enough that this kind of thing doesn’t bother them.
4: Which one tells the other not to stay up all night and which one stays up all night anyway? Gloria has to drag Hop’s ass to bed pretty much every night. They’re both busy people, but we all know that Hop would lose track of time while working on his thesis. It is a fact that if Gloria doesn’t come to get him, he will fall asleep on his desk.
5: Which one tries to make food for the other but burns it all by accident and which one tells them that it’s okay and makes them both cookies? They’re actually both pretty good cooks (Gloria’s mama owns a restaurant in Wedgehurst and Hop’s mom is obsessed with cooking), but I think Hop would probably be the one to burn all the food. The only reason why is because he has a harder time focusing solely on cooking instead of trying to multitask. Now, baking is a whole other story. They’re both terrible at it.
6: Which one reads OTP prompts and says “Oh that’s us!” and which one goes “Eh, not really”? Gloria would be the one to read the prompts and Hop would be the denier (he secretly thinks it’s really cute whenever she does it).
7: Which one constantly wears the other’s clothes? Gloria. 100% Gloria. She is constantly cold and has a passion for stealing Hop’s hoodies. He thinks its adorable because they’re always really big on her.
8: Which one spends all day running errands and which one says “You remembered [thing], right?” Hop would be the errand runner and Gloria would make sure he remembered everything. It goes back to Hop’s mind being a million places at once and Gloria hyper focusing on one thing at a time.
9: Which one drives the car and which one gives them directions? Hop would drive and Gloria would give directions for similar reasons to the question above.
10: Which one does the posing while the other one draws? Hop doodles Gloria sometimes to keep his hands busy. It’s kind of an absent minded thing for him to do while reading an article/book. Once Sonia caught him doing it, and when I say she teases him relentlessly, I mean it. Hop absolutely does not let Gloria see these doodles (they’re very cutesy and he’d die of embarrassment).
11: If they were about to rob a museum, which one does backflips through lasers and which one is strolling behind with a bag of chips? Hop would be the backflipper and Gloria would be the follower. Think back to their GPL season: Hop was blazing ahead at all times without a care in the world. Gloria is the slowest traveler in the world because she likes talking to everyone and visiting all the stores.
12: Which one of your OTP overdoes it on the alcohol and which one makes the other stop drinking? Neither of them can hold their alcohol, but Hop at least has more body mass than Gloria. They’re a pair of lightweights and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. (Let’s be real: Bede has to be the one to make sure they get home).
14: Which one keeps accidentally using the other’s last name instead of their own? Gloria. I actually believe that Gloria would keep her last name even after she and Hop get married because it belongs to her mama (after the divorce, they both changed their last names to match her mama’s maiden name). Hop is also a proud Hoffman, so he wouldn’t use the name Park. However, everyone else will mix it up. Gloria gets called “Mrs. Hoffman” all the time if she’s arriving for restaurant reservations or something of the like. Newer reporters/young children call Hop “Mr. Park” because they just assume Park was his last name.
15: Which one screams about the spider and which one brings the spider outside? Neither of them are scared of bug pokemon.
16: Which one gives the other their jacket? HOP. I mentioned it earlier, but Gloria is always cold. Bede asks why he doesn’t just make Gloria bring her own jacket and Hop replies that he likes it when she wears his jacket (they’re freaking sappy).
17: Who keeps getting threatened by the other’s overprotective older sibling? Pft. Leon? Please. By this point, he’s become the big brother of Gloria as well. The League members are a completely different story. They all like Hop, but since Gloria is one of their younger members and the biggest sweetheart, they’re a protective bunch (Especially Melony and Gordie).
18: Who’s the first one to admit they have feelings for the other? Gloria, but it didn’t go well. It was right before he was leaving to finish up high school studying abroad, and the timing wasn’t right (aka Hop turned her down because he hadn’t yet realised his feelings for her). Gloria tries her best to move on but never truly gets over him. Luckily, his feelings hit him like a bag of bricks to the stomach when they reunite a couple years later.
19: How good would your OTP be at parenting? The best. They would definitely be the cool parents (I mean, come on. They’re the freaking heroes of Galar!). I think they’d also be super supportive of their child’s choices. 10/10. They’re made to be parents. (Hop would especially want to be a good dad. He’s initially nervous because he never knew his dad and thinks he might mess up, but Gloria reassures him that he’s doing a good job).
20: Which one types with perfect grammar and which one types using numbers as letters? Hop would be Mr. Perfect Grammar. Gloria would use mostly good grammar, but her texts would be littered with emojis.
21: Who gets attacked by a bully and who protects them? Hop is the more confrontational of the two. Gloria tends to believe that people are only mean to others if something bad is happening in their life, but Hop will jump from 0 to 100 if someone even looks at Gloria funny.
22: Who makes the bad puns and who makes a pained smile every time the other makes a pun? Gloria likes Hop’s bad puns, so everyone else has to cringe in discomfort at the oblivious pair.
23: Who comes home from work to see that the other one bought a puppy? Hop. Gloria likes catching pokemon and sending them on poke jobs, so there’s a new member to their family at least once a week.
24: Which one gives the other a piggyback ride when they’re tired? Hop. He’s the only one she would show vulnerability to, and he makes sure not to make her feel ashamed of it. (also, Gloria absolutely could not carry Hop. He’s like, a foot taller than her).
25: Which one competes in some sort of activity and which one does the overzealous cheering? Both! They’re very supportive of each other to help ease the other’s insecurities. Hop gets really invested in her pokemon matches and Gloria throws him a little celebration every time he finishes a project.
26: Who takes a selfie when the other one falls asleep on their shoulder? Gloria. Since Hop never goes to sleep at night, it is very common for him to take 5 minute power naps without even realising it. Gloria definitely takes pictures when it happens as a reflex (They were long distance for the first 4 years of their relationship) because she wants to be able to look back at their memories together. Like Gloria doesn’t know about Hop’s doodles of her, Hop doesn’t know about her phone album of him.
27: Which one would give the other a makeover if they asked? Gloria? I think they both grow into their separate styles as the get older, but Gloria would push Hop to wear more colourful things. Sonia once told Hop that a man should never tell a woman what to wear because it’s rude. I don’t think Gloria would mind if he suggested something, but he is way too nervous to do it (Sonia scarred him).
28: Which one owns a pet that the other is absolutely terrified of? Hop is very nervous around Urshifu and Calyrex. Urshifu because he’s terrifying, large, and very protective of Gloria. Calyrex because the pokemon will take over his body without warning to tell Gloria something.
29: Which one holds the umbrella over both of them when it rains? Hop! If Gloria held it, Hop’s head would be in the umbrella.
30: If your OTP went on vacation, where would they go and what would they do? Who would take the pictures? Oh my gosh, they’d go everywhere. I think that after Gloria steps down as champion, they travel to all the different regions for at least a couple of years. Gloria would be the one to take pictures and make a little scrapbook when they return home.
#pokemon#pokemon sword and shield#pokemon swsh#swsh#postwickshipping#GPL AU#hpyu#pokemon hop#swsh hop#pokemon gloria#rival hop#swsh gloria#gloria x hop
99 notes
·
View notes
Photo
TL;DR warning: TFATWS Ep. 6 / Finale
There’s a lot to unpack in this series finale, and I sure as hell am not the expert to do this, but I thought I’d highlight some particular issues I have. Much of this, admittedly, will be coming from the high character tenors of the previous episodes, whereas this episode is really where the “MCU kind of movie denouement” kicks in. If you can call/criticize something as “Disney formula” writing, this might be it. Did it hamper/dampen my enjoyment of this series? Not THAT much, but it really stands out and suggests it could have been better.
So let me do a few numbers.
1. PRO: A very acceptable execution of selling not only Sam’s first outing as ‘Captain America’, not only the affirmation of Bucky Barnes’ commitment to heroism, but the apotheosis long-denied to Isaiah Bradley.
I’m getting the impression much of the gushing here in Tumblr will be focusing on that--and to an extent, I am in agreement. their characters were very well fleshed out and to be honest, I wouldn’t have it any other way. There may be still other things I would recommend as a better laid-out recognition for Isaiah (something more faithful to the Truth comic miniseries), but that’s a minor quibble compared to the others below.
2. CON: Falling into the trap of a “GOT-layout” series ending
Ok, that description might be too harsh. After all, point # 1 is near perfect.
However, and this is a very big HOWEVER...
A really good show does not rely solely on giving your main characters the best ending possible. Their supporting cast deserves at least a fair amount of character development (understandable motivations, a good appreciation of their character arcs, more moments which make you empathize with them especially if you are trying to experiment with moral ambiguity on their characters). The fact that the action sequence ate up more than half of the final episode’s near-50 minute runtime really prevented any further character development moments.
How, to some extent, this became insufficient with Karli Morgenthau and John Walker become really apparent in the end.
3. CON: Under-served Character Denouements
Karli and the Flag-Smashers, in practice, were basically given the “Killmonger” treatment: they’ll have to die, but the validity of their moral argument will be recognized. As someone with a very limited set of fandoms I follow, the only other place I’ve seen this done is Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans. The protagonist cast was left to die, but the tragedy of their situation led their world to improve things for the better. (For those familiar with this fandom, many will understand that this did not go down well.) Compare this, in turn, to how Breaking Bad gives even the supporting cast and side-characters understandable character endings.
The reason of complaint here, being, that this kind of story flow robs these characters of agency not only in their tragedy--but also how they choose to go out. Sympathetic tragic characters, to an extent, are at least given some dignity in how they go out. The fact that Karli and the Flag-Smashers are practically disposed of by a) Sharon, now fully revealed as the criminal Power-Broker and b) Zemo, whose butler is no less capable in extreme action even while he was in prison further highlights how they are basically reduced into ‘plot elements’, not a fully-realized group/faction of people.
John Walker, for his part, is also given very little to do (and indeed, what little he was able to do in the entire fight sequence is laughable). Even his one spark of “good choice” (seeking to save the falling vehicle’s occupants), even if he failed, was ultimately overshadowed by Sam’s more flamboyant rescue.
One might be able to make argument, perhaps, that that is the point: Walker’s arc in this episode, perhaps, is to finally learn why exactly he can’t become Captain America: because he remains primarily a soldier, and only good at that. Witnessing Sam arguing and pontificating in front of the cameras, perhaps, is what hammers it home to him--and why perhaps his last scene in the series is him accepting his new role as U.S. Agent. If his world is going to be small and he is going to be pigeonholed into what he is good at, so be it. If he can’t be Captain America (now that he knows why exactly that symbol is powerful, and what is required of it), he’ll find his way with people who will let him be what he can be.
Notice, however, how even between these two underserved characters, John Walker has a more understandable progression. I don’t think I’ll really be able to fault ‘left-wing’ viewers of the show who will be left dissatisfied by this ending (especially those who are sympathetic to the Flag-Smashers’ demands--especially as to some extent (due to my own line of work and leanings, I’m kind of one of those).
And then there’s the reveal of Sharon as the Power-Broker--its own can of worms, but I’ll fold it in the next item.
4. MIXED BAG: How the show’s social layout closes
The fact that the MCU’s undercurrent politics remains to be “institutions are bad, mob/grassroots action will always be misguided, let media-chosen/private individuals and orgs show you the ‘right way’ of doing things”--it isn’t really as helpful as it could be. The show basically ends with Sam and Bucky’s individual arcs and moral world-views affirmed. It is definitely a happy ending for them. It is, however, pretty difficult to swallow that it ends well for them when the bigger picture is left unaddressed. (For those who may be interested in this line of critique, this video essay, “Imagining the Tyrant” by Kyle Kallgren / Brows Held High / oancitizen should be helpful.)
Nowhere is this better illustrated than in 2 instances: the setting of Walker’s rechristening as U.S. Agent, and Sharon’s “pardon” scene--now that we know she is in fact the Power Broker. Both events happen in the U.S. Senate Committee hearing hall--basically making the statement that even with a new Captain America that is more ‘home-grown’ and closer to the ground and common people (even as he literally flies high), the institutions of the U.S. government is still as impervious and clueless to its corruption and enabling of crime and injustice. Criminal elements like Valentina de Fontaine and the Power Broker foster the underground economy with impunity, and the U.S. government allows them to for a number of unbuilt/unestablished reasons.
It’s a valid/backed-up argument to make, and with historical/real life basis at that, but this is the kind of plot development difficult to credibly sell within a 6-episode miniseries already crammed with character arcs--and it shows. Compare this, for example, with how the Netflix series The Punisher built throughout its Season 1 run how exactly can black market profiteering grow under the CIA in a believable way. There, you see exactly what needs to happen for a previously-established upstanding character living in a grey environment to turn grey--even full on black (be it Frank Castle/the Punisher himself, Dinah Madani, or even Billy Russo).
I’d want to chalk this up to the possibility of merging/reintroducing that world--and by god, imagine Jon Bernthal’s Punisher returning in this kind of gray area--interacting with Captain America AND the Winter Soldier, as this series is now likely to be titled--should be very interesting.
----
These are the top points in my head after my first watch of this finale. I may be rewatching this again--who knows if I get to come back. Still, it’s been a pretty meaningful ride.
P.S. I should probably admit to my Filipino background here again, but it’s hilarious how the closing shot of this series (Sam and Bucky having a party with their family/community near the Louisiana seaside) is basically how mosts 80′s/90′s era Filipino action and comedy films end (either a beach party or a wedding/outing near a beach/swimming pool). The presence of Pinoy shout-outs in this series (”Amatz” and “Isang Tao, Isang Mundo”) really emphasize how this might not be an accident.
#tfatws#the falcon and the winter soldier#sam wilson#bucky barnes#james buchanan barnes#sharon carter#helmut zemo#marvel cinematic universe#mcu#john walker#us agent#isaiah bradley#truth red white and black#philippines#the punisher#gundam iron-blooded orphans#breaking bad#game of thrones#karli morgenthau#flag smashers#power broker#contessa valentina allegra de fontaine#erik killmonger#black panther#captain america#marvel
50 notes
·
View notes
Text
chin fucking up, amigo.
Titans 3.02
... eh?
SPOILERS ahead.
1. you know that music video for billie jean where michael jackson would dance along the pavement and the tiles would light up under his feet in different colours? yeah? me too.
titans hasn’t met a table top or a support arch that it doesn’t want to light up in a headache-inducing blue like the world’s most boring nightlight. i mean, i’m not an expert on lighting or cinematography or just... colour by any means, and the quality of the video i’m watching is poor given that i can’t access hbo max, but all the orange and teal and neon is making it very difficult to really differentiate between say, the batcave and the gotham police department and hell, the titans tower. i feel like there’s oftentimes a gap between idea and execution with titans, with gotham being this almost otherwordly hellscape with an aesthetic pulled from a gothic horror novel, but the colours and design just... leave it flat and dark and dull.
1.5. like what really frustrates me is that titans has a delightful mix of tones--the fights often remind me of schumacher-era batman camp, with the contrived quips and the start-stop rhythm and krypto just sallying in and ending the fight with a fucking SuperBark (tm) but in the same episode you have red hood just casually pulling out severed heads out of a duffle bag and desperate people blackmailed into killing themselves out of drug overdoses. I MEAN. it’s wonderful! but it looks all the same. it sounds Absolutely Bonkers on paper but on screen both Quip and Murder happen in the same washed-out blue and i wanted to be excited about the batcave, dammit!
2. things re: red hood have happened at such a breakneck speed that it feels like there’s so much that’s happened off-screen that we’re not privy to. a real proper mystery!
things that are intriguing about the red hood arc so far:
a) what was that chemical he huffed just before going to fight the joker? is it a regular old performance/adrenaline booster or is it something more lazarus-juice adjacent? if it’s the latter, i can’t imagine he got that much information from a lone chemistry textbook. and where is he getting the resources to set up his little chemistry lab? is somebody else orchestrating things behind the scenes?
b) the red hood persona, costume and mask, plus the elaborate plan he’s putting in place to both string along gotham’s rogues and enact his revenge against the titans seems too... fully-formed and elaborate to have been concocted in just a few days. how long do you think jason’s been planning this? just... stewing in resentment and building rage, dismissed and passed around and underestimated and realising that the power he thought he would get by being robin is no power, no protection at all, but something that’s left him even more vulnerable than before?
c) do we think that the scarecrow is at least partly behind this transformation? because yes, it was batman that set up this whole hannibal lecter-esque situation with him, and he would be irresponsible enough to have jason-as-robin go talk to him regularly regarding “~profiling~” criminals. it’s not too far of a leap to assume that scarecrow could’ve been manipulating jason at a very vulnerable time, and that he could’ve passed along some of his chemistry know-how, too.
d) ... or fuck, i wouldn’t put it past titans to introduce ra’s al ghul in a fucking ten second aside
e) anyway, the thing that won’t leave me alone is jason seeking out the joker not necessarily to fight him, but to orchestrate his own death. the whole thing has to have been part of a bigger plan. he broke batman with it, after all. and he’s starting to break the titans, too.
f) i love it! i mean, it does re-tread some of the storybeats we had with deathstroke last season (turning the titans against each other as revenge, etc) but it’s... tighter, this time, and at least for now seems better-executed. and as a red hood story it’s different enough to be really interesting, and i appreciate the ways in which its reframed the revenge story to focus on the titans rather than just the batman. like fuck everything up, i say! turn it on its head! slash the innards out of that sacred cow and strew it like garlands in the path of the Story You Want To Tell!
(and yes i am fully aware that by the time i post this review, there will be a whole lot more information out but if i come across like a fool then goddammit i will be a fool!)
2. i love how every season of titans starts off with, ‘oh dick, you thought you were settling into a role and a life and a pattern of relationships? well fuck you, here’s a terrible and traumatic thing, tons more responsibility, and circumstances that will lead you to uproot your entire life and move somewhere else.’ and dick’s just like, ‘well, ok. fuck you, but all right’.
can you imagine? the man was just settling into leading a team in sf and smiling for the first time in years, and now he has to deal with jason’s death, bruce experiencing a full fledged breakdown, coming back to a city that represents more bad memories than good, red hood, and a frightening new case that seems to be targeting him and his team. it’s a testament to dick’s growth that he’s not reacting to this stress like he did last year, shutting everybody out, making irrational decisions and experiencing sharp, short bursts of anger. (not to mention a full fledged psychotic episode.)
2.5. but i’ve also talked about dick performing a fair amount of unwarranted emotional labour for his team(s) in that he just lets them take out their frustrations on him and... does nothing. be it his team exploding at him for jericho (both in flashback and present-day) or donna and hank needling him for handling deathstroke poorly or barbara berating him for not handling the bank situation as well as she thought batman would though just the previous episode she had talked about how fucked up it was that bruce just expected dick to step up and replace him in gotham without any real notice. i mean it’s all perfectly understandable and sympathetic from their end--and i’m not trying to bash them here!--but hank, my man, the same chin you’re asking your amigo to keep up is the one that you punched last year and never apologised for. just sayin’.
2.75. @superohclair did a wonderful breakdown of what the ‘fear’ contract could imply here and there’s not too much i could add to that. it’s just really interesting that fear ended up being such a defining feature of their lives, albeit it’s the fear of seeming less than invincible in the face of bigger, more tangible fears. am i making sense? dick feared loss, and abandonment, and the more existential concept of turning into something that he didn’t want to. bruce so feared being alone that he’s scouting kids to replace robin within days of jason dying.
it also goes some way in explaining the tense sort of... restraint that bruce and dick show in the wake of loss and tragedy, like anything less than complete control of your emotions can lead to tragedy. it’s conditioning that dick couldn’t shake off when he was at his lowest in detroit, hating his legacy but unable to let it go either.
2.775. but i definitely appreciate the softness that dick displays with his team now, checking on them after a mission-gone-bad, welcoming back old members with no caveats or resentments (and kory’s delight in seeing hank back! hank and dick hanging out together and hank trying to prop dick up!), and appreciating their teamwork in solving cases. that’s always been the essence of dick as a person, and the beating heart of this show: flawed and traumatised people coming together to a place that will always be open to them, where they can be their worst and be supported still, allowed to make mistakes and grow from them. that’s family.
2.8. coming back to bruce for just a sec, it’s interesting how that gotham rogue was so certain when he said that ‘batman doesn’t kill’ but it’s not a rule that either jason or dick put much store by when they were robins. the ‘no-killing’ rule clearly didn’t mitigate dick’s fears about turning into batman and jason’s never been seeing giving two shits about it. it seems to me of a piece with bruce’s distant, second-hand sort of parenting that we see in dick’s flashbacks from s1 where the fear was never about personally disappointing batman, but taking lessons from him on finding a place in gotham’s hellish ecosystem and surviving.
3. kory having waking flashbacks! i don’t buy the bullshit parasomnia episode explanation from fake!HPG (because c’mon, justin has to be some sort of tamaranean ruse) because for one, you have to be actually asleep for that diagnosis.
(and here i was, hoping against hope that HPG would actually end up as the team’s therapist)
curiouser and curiouser! i wonder if these flashbacks are from the time between kory landing on earth and the beginning of season 1, when she was completely amnesiac? it’d be cool if the show was considering repercussions from that time, and if kory hasn’t gained all her memories back.
4. i just love the vibes between gar and conner and kory. gar Having Things To Do is only one part of my wishlist for him, however: other parts include having an actual story arc, and actually bonding with members who are not conner and kory. (dick! dick! hank! dick!)
anyway. time to move on to watching ep3 and seeing this family bond and nothing terrible and tragic happening at all, nope, nosiree.
#titans#titans spoilers#meta#dick grayson#jason todd#red hood#koriand'r#garfield logan#bruce wayne#his name is justin.#a byronic cupcake#a tragic jalebi#badass strawberry truffle#manic pixie pop tart
12 notes
·
View notes
Note
i plan on watching the original star wars movie trilogy so basically can you rank the sequels, prequels, and shows on how worth it is it to watch? thank you
oh man, even though i do love star wars, i'm nowhere near as die hard as some people. everyone also has really different opinions on star wars. my opinions may be a bit unpopular so please take them with a grain of salt!! this isnt so much a ranking as it is a list of my opinions
original trilogy (OT) - it sounds like youre already watching this. it's a classic that i think everyone should experience at least once.
prequel trilogy (PT) - it's funny because when these first came out they were very unpopular. now everyone who didn't like them has gone away, and everyone who is left LOVES them. now personally, i liked them as a kid, but nowadays they are hard for me to watch simply because they are not well made. the pacing and the acting and most of the story is just... not very good. i may be offending a lot of people with that statement. that said you may want to watch them once as they provide a lot of context for other stars media. ewan mcgregor's performance as obi wan might make it worth it at least
sequel trilogy (ST) - another controversial one lol. personally i like the first 2 and found the last one very disappointing. other star wars media isnt usually based around this so it is skippable. but i do think as movies they hold up better than the prequel trilogy, though the story is all over the place. the visuals are really great too imo.
rogue one - standalone movie that takes place shortly before episode 4 (first in OT). it's very good and worth watching i think! a fan favorite as well
solo - a movie about han solo that takes place before OT. some people like it. i found it pretty forgettable and very skippable lol
SHOWS:
the clone wars (TCW) - animated show that takes place during the PT (between episodes 2 and 3), so you will need to have watched that for context. it's kind of a mixed bag, some episodes/arcs are awesome, some are totally weird and mundane. i honestly watched it mostly as a background show. it introduces the character ahsoka who is a dan favorite (i love her too!)
star wars rebels - i actually never finished watching this lol but not because it wasn't good! takes place before OT. i think i liked it better than TCW bc it had more structure to it. it's got some cool characters and interesting story lines.
the mandalorian - my FAVORITE star wars thing. season 1 is top tier. i love season 2 less but it still has its moments for sure. totally worth watching. season 1 you dont really need much star wars knowledge to enjoy it, but season 2 they start bringing in characters from TCW and other movies.
book of boba fett - this show turned out to basically be the mandalorian season 2.5. a bit of a mixed bag but overall good..... but I have a lot of Opinions i wont get into here 😂
everything else out there i haven't watched and can't give an opinion. i hope this was helpful!! it really depends on how dedicated you are to getting into star wars and what your preferences are really. it's hard for me to say what order to watch them because a lot of them are based in the context of other ones which can be overwhelming. like if I had to pick the bare bones approach, it would be the OT and the mandalorian and then everything else is optional lolol. but maybe start with the movies and then go from there. if you have more questions you can message me :)
#ask#anon#the funny thing about star wars is basically no star wars fans can agree on what is good star wars#long post
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hannibal Episode-by-Episode Meta/Analysis: Episode 1, Season 1 (Apéritif)
The series start with Will Graham in a crime scene doing what he does, which is resurrecting crime scenes for further evidence and possible insight into the criminal’s mind and motives. What is interesting about this first scene is that for a first-time viewer, for the first a few minutes, it is not clear if what we are watching is a possible reenactment or it is actually a memory. That doubt gets cleared in a minute but until then, we don’t know if he is imagining or is he remembering. Is he a guy with a powerful imagination helping FBI who literally puts himself into the killer’s shoes or is he the killer itself, hiding in plain sight? To my thinking, the very first opening to the story does say a lot about the end of it all as well.
“This is my design”
Why not say plan, but design instead? Planning is something mechanical, strategical. It is the result of motive and effort of a rational brain rather than an acted-on urge. There is no much room for subjectivity or creativity since efficiency is the ultimate goal. However, design has a more artistical ring to it. It is like, its prior aim is not to be useful, but to be beautiful. Designing is done when aesthetics is of concern. We would say, Michelangelo designed David, plan would not look right there. It would be accurate as for explaining the mathematical part of it, the disciplined and patient hours that has been put into it, but it would not do justice to the inspiration, passion, and desperate need of the artist for his creation to materialize. A planner would not adore his work, but a designer would. And Will understands the difference a bit too well.
Later, talking with Jack Crawford, we learn that Will finds the name of Evil Minds Research Museum “hammy”. I do not think there is anything hammy about the name, it’s quite literal. It is not an ennobler name but why does Will find it so though? Does creativity and originality need to be perceived as abhorrent just because it was given birth by someone evil? This all-cautious way of approaching and overthinking things is a reflection of something dark within. Afterall, what is seen has at least a little to do with the seeing eyes, if not more.
Jack exhibits a disturbingly dominant way of communication with Will. He corrects Will’s eyeglasses, the guy who he knows is not comfortable with any kind of interpersonal interaction, within the minutes of their chat and holds down his bag to slow down his moving on. He is trying to make sure that Will feels Jack is the alpha and also that deep down, Will does not have the option to not cooperate. And more Will gets convinced to help for one step, stronger Jack drags Will into it for one more.
The first time we see Will interacting with any victim-related people, it is confusing. Being an empath and claiming that he can not only relate to narcissists and sociopaths but anyone, he does not seem to empathize much with the victim’s parents, cutting into the conversation about parents’ doubts on their daughter’s likelihood of being alive with a non-emotional, case related question. It almost makes you question if his ability to emphathize is just stronger with the dark side of the force than it is with the light one. Yes, the primer focus is to catch the killer and stop whatever malice is going on but after all, Jack came to Will with the need of help, so Jack must care about the case resolving more than he does. Yet, Jack seems more understanding of the parents’ feelings than Will, although Will is an ultimate empath. We even see Jack’s disapproval when Will cuts into the conversation. It is a brow mover.
Next, we get more insight about Will as he meets Winston. He finds him on the road roaming, tries to get close to him but cannot, so he drives all the way to his home to get something to lure him with and comes back to the dog. He is willing to go lengths to add a new dog to his pack, to his ‘family’, to his ‘social circle’. Something he is not willing nor comfortable to do for a person. Will's preferring an animal's company to a person's may say more than obvious. Afterall, he chooses Hannibal over Jack too, doesn't he?
Will who has already started to get traumatized by the case, is ambushed in the bathroom by Jack with an unforgiving mobbing, forcing ideas out of Will and stirring him up in the expense of his stability. Later on in his little chat with Alana, Jack’s intentions and priorities are further put into perspective. The way he talks about Will shows that for him, Will is more of a means to an end than an actual colleague. His insistence about “putting Will out there” despite Alana’s warnings and his admission of not being absolutely capable of protecting Will’s mental health just crowns that he does not genuinely care about Will. In fact, he even knows the risk of what he is doing, and he is trying to draw Dr. Bloom in to share, if not all together blame it on, the responsibility if something may go wrong.
We finally meet Hannibal in his office in a therapy session with his patient. The look Dr. Lecter throws when Franklyn blows his nose and places the dirty napkin onto the table… Up to this scene, we were not given any clue to suggest that Hannibal Lecter is a killer but after all, we do know who he is. And him being the first actual predator in the series we meet, we do not see him acting on brute violence or inelegant butchering. His first reaction depicted is unrest against rudeness. So the audience is welcomed into the mind of Lecter with an easily apprehensible act that can be shared by almost anyone. Almost to suggest that, this act of Franklyn’s may be enough to justify a wrath that may come upon him.
Jack shows up in Hannibal’s office unannounced and mistakes Franklyn with Hannibal. Hannibal, of course slightly annoyed, tells Jack to wait in the waiting room and invites him in with his own timing. Being a bossy and dominant guy he is, this takes Jack by surprise and it also tells us that there is an even stronger alpha here. So Jack realizes he cannot dominate Hannibal into his will like he did with Will. He may have to try something else. As Jack asks questions that are getting more specific and personal as they come, we see Hannibal getting cautious. Taking his scalpel into his hand and eyes widening. He lowers his guard only when he learns that he was referred to Jack by Dr. Bloom, his eyes visibly getting smaller, which are almost the only window to his thoughts anyway. So after seeing the sophisticated aura leaking not only out of Hannibal but everything around him, Jack chooses to sweet talk him into cooperation.
When Jack, Hannibal and Will first come together in a room, it is the first time in the show where Will makes such a long, non-blinked eye contact with someone, that being Hannibal. And we see mixed emotions and thoughts on Hannibal’s face. He is amused, intrigued and curious at the same time with the way Will thinks. He makes a quick analyze of Will which results in making him fling out of the room. Being the controlled, non-impulsive, strategic guy he is; even Hannibal himself is a little surprised with the sudden blurbing of his perception of Will. So maybe this first scene having Will and Hannibal together is another kind of first as well with both men doing something not typically them.
Hannibal, telling Jack that “he may help Will see the cannibal’s face”, he copies the crime of Minnesota Shrike. At the first look, this looks like an attempt of toying with the FBI and confusing them. But considering Hannibal’s last conversation with Jack, this feels more like a tribute, a helping hand for Will. Hannibal knows that Will would know that this is not the same killer the second he sees the crime scene. As Will later says to Hannibal, this was done to show Will a negative so that he could see the positive. So, we see from this point on that Hannibal’s wit does not focus on FBI, it does on Will. We see Hannibal eating and smiling, joyous of the fact that he now has an object of interest. Will imagining of a stag right after this, as stag will be the subconscious symbol of the Chesapeake Ripper / Copycat Killer before Will knows who he is and later when he does, of Hannibal; it shows that Hannibal literally entered his life and mind in more than one way.
Hannibal shows up in Will’s house very early and obviously very impatiently. So he does not only plan to interfere Will with being the Copycat Killer but through his ‘person suit’ as well. Feeding Will the meat of the girl he killed is also exciting for Hannibal as this manipulation game he has set to play with Will gets to be sicker for a normal human perception.
The breakfast scene is also the first time where Hannibal is looking for some ill-intent or killing inclination in Will, while Will denies having so. He wonders how much being able to empathize with killers say about Will’s own potential to do so. Hannibal suggests that Jack is treating Will as he is “a fragile little teacup, only used for special guests”. And that he himself sees him as “a mongoose that he would want under the house when snakes slither by”. He suggests that Will is not a pray that should be afraid to get hurt, that he is the predator. By that Hannibal does not only encourage the destructiveness Will may be trying hard to keep buried to come alive, but also the false perception that Will’s mind is strong enough to take any challenge Jack may throw his way.
Hannibal warning Garret Jacob Hobbs is literally setting the pieces in position of his will to get Will where and how he wants. He does not know what will be waiting in Hobbs’ house for Will but in the end, it does not matter so much since he just wants to see what happens.
When they arrive at the house, seeing Hobbs leaving his wife on the threshold her throat cut, Hannibal stands still. Is it because he is so confident that Will will be too frantic to ever look back and notice that, or is it because deep down he just does not feel like putting his person suit on in front of Will? I think both. When Will shots Hobbs and tries to tend Abigail on the floor, Hannibal walks in and sees Will caring hard for the girl. Hannibal’s face looks curious about what is going on but more than that, again, his focus is on Will more than it is on anything else. He sees all these humane emotions that Hannibal himself has always been somewhat stranger too on Will, those emotions that he thought, cannot come in a package with all the destructive ones. But maybe they can. And those emotions may even look nice. Because it almost does on Will. Although how the events would turn out Hannibal did not know, it was certain that the way he pushed things, there would be blood and there would be Will doing something that will change him one way or the other. After all, they have undergone a traumatic (for Will) and exciting (for Hannibal) circumstance together and it is a known fact that people who experience a significant situation together tend to develop emotional bonds. Maybe this was the least of what Hannibal hoped for. If that was the case, he got more than he wished. Will got to kill someone even if it was for a just reason and there happened to be an orphaned girl that Will desperately bonded the moment he killed her father, who maybe a manipulative tool for Hannibal in his game. The last scene where Will finds Hannibal holding Abigail’s hand in the hospital room highlights this perfectly. Now, Hannibal and Will has a mutual asset that Hannibal may use to draw Will closer to himself despite of Will’s initial reservations to do so.
#hannibal#hannibal lecter#will#will graham#hannigram#brian fuller#nbc hannibal#hannibal meta#hannibal analysis#hannibal and will#mads mikkelsen#hugh dancy#murder husbands#will and hannibal#jack crawford#hannibal loves will#will loves hannibal#aperitif
41 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Witcher: Season 2
Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove to be more wicked than the beast he hunts.
Please be warned that I am someone who has not read the books but is very familiar with the world through the games. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Season 1 of The Witcher was pretty good. Despite there being some problems with the worldbuilding and the storytelling, the series easily showed that it can improve with more seasons and a larger budget. Yet, somehow, the second season has taken a mighty dip in quality despite having a more straightforward story. It is somehow more convoluted than the first and feels like a pitiful melodrama trying to replicate Game of Thrones rather than the world of The Witcher. Nothing within this series screams the world that author Andrzej Spakowski created.
Oh, where do I begin? The majority of this season feels like filler. Many of the plotlines truly go nowhere in this season, and when the plot does develop, it happens so quickly that it's over in a blink of an eye. This makes pacing makes the story feel incredibly uneven and convoluted. The writing has also taken a massive dip in this season as well. I am personally fine with cursing but this series went from mostly elevated dialogue to every other word is "fuck". Furthermore, what book fans have told me is that this series takes a massive turn from the novels. With Eskel being killed, I was immediately insulted, remembering him from the games and I know he plays a big part of the story later on in the novels. The showrunner's explanation is bullshit and felt they killed him because they can and they actually don't care about Spakowski's work. The action scenes are okay but nothing really fancy. The dramatic camera movement was more annoying than anything else. Overall, this series is a massive disappointment.
The acting overall in this series is also a mixed bag. Henry Cavill proves yet again he is the best thing about this series. I truly feel sorry for him because he seems to be the only person working on the series who truly cares for the world of The Witcher. Anya Chalorta and Freya Allan both gave pretty good performances in this series. Kim Bodnia feels miscast as Vesemir. Mecia Simons is okay has Francisca, but they turned her character into an irredeemable one and ruined her. What is even more frustrating is that they are clearly going to make her into a misunderstood character. However, the biggest miscasting of this series is easily from Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla. If you have read the books or played the games you clearly know why she is miscasted, but even the actress can't pull off Fringilla in any convincing way and was cast simply to check a box. Overall, it feels like one massive disappointment this season.
With the bigger budget, it is clear that the production value increased within the second season. However, nothing within this series feels Slavic. The music tries its best but it is just hollow and meaningless. Even though the series does have some good soundtracks, they just don't mix with The Witcher. The costumes are fine, but they have no identity to them. They just feel like standard fantasy garments but with no real culture to them. The visual effects are much better in the second season, but still feel cheap at many points. The only point where they don't feel cheap is in the first episode of the second season. Overall, I would expect this series to have at least some cultural identity to it but instead feels like a generic fantasy.
The biggest problem I have had with this series since day one is that it completely shits on the cultures that influenced The Witcher. If you are unaware the world of The Witcher is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology and culture. The games by CDProjek Red near-perfectly capture this wondrous culture. However, in the series, it is nowhere to be found. Slavic culture has no representation in Western media and this series could have brought this culture to western audiences. Instead, they forced modern and forced "representation" requirements in order to please the people of Twitter. They completely threw out the culture and the people these stories came from in the name of representation. The showrunners have proven they are massive hypocrites and really don't understand what representation really is.
I am sorry if this review feels like a rant but it needs to be stated. It feels like no one within this series except for Henry have shown that they care about the world of The Witcher. I hope Netflix reads this and starts making some changes to the show leadership.
I am giving The Witcher: Season 2, a C-.
#television#tv#streaming#streaming service#filmmaking#cinephile#film stills#filmmaker#cinema#cinematography#netflix#netflix origional#netflix series#fantasy#the witcher#geralt of rivia#yennifer#ciri#witchers#the witcher netflix#laura schmidt#henry cavill#anya chalotra#freya allan#kim bodnia#mecia simson#mimi ndiweni#the wild hunt
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
About MML season 2
So after rambling about one season 2 episode, I now want to rant a bit. So here’s a list of reasons why I find season 2 weaker than season 1. Obviously, this post is mostly me complaining about some stuff so, if you don’t want to hear about it, don’t read.
Note that this is a personal opinion and you have every right to disagree with it. Also, the points given aren’t sorted in any particular order of importance.
For those who don’t want to read the post (because you don’t have time/aren’t really interested/ can’t stay focused for too long etc) or if you only want to see certain points, here’s a list of what I will discuss here :
- Murphy’s Law seems weakened
- Dakota and Cavendish are like looney toons characters and more time is spent on them getting hurt rather than on their interactions with each other, which makes their plot boring
- Compared to most Dwampyverse couples, Zack and Melissa have no development
- Doofenshmirtz is annoying but does have his few moments
- A few jokes take too much time; in particular, “Cavendish Unleashed” makes me straight-up angry because of that
- They wanted to make a plot for Zack but it goes nowhere
- other smaller things like the lack of time spent on the school characters
Now, onto the longer version (very long post ahead) :
1. Less Murphy’s law
So in season 1, Murphy’s law was a main focus for the story, in the sense that it was pretty strong. Most episodes had stuff blowing up or getting destroyed. And often, you end up thinking that people got hurt by such mess. Take episodes like “Worked Day”, “Family Vacation”, “Murphy’s Lard”, “The Little Engine that Couldn’t” or “Milo's Halloween Scream-a-Torium”, to cite some of the most extreme cases. And yes, not every episode is like that, and some are even pretty chill when it comes to Murphy’s law like “The Race” or “The Substitute”. Also, Murphy’s law was conveniently turned off except when convenient for the story in major episodes like “Missing Milo” and “Fungus Among Us”. But overall, you really had that impression that Milo’s life was chaotic and explosive and hard to live by.
In season 2, there definitely were episodes in which Murphy’s law was strong, like for example “Freefall”, the ending of “Teacher’s Feature” and any episode with the aliens, in particular the last three episodes of the season. But for the most part, Murphy’s law mostly felt like an inconvenience rather than an actual problem. For example, you have “Walker, Runner, Screamer” in which like one problem happens or “Disco Do-Over” in which Milo very easily solves his parents’ problem. It also doesn’t help that both episodes have at least one character make a big deal out of Murphy’s law.
But aside from that, there are also episodes in which Murphy’s law doesn’t even seem to really happen. Like in “Lady Krillers”, “Spy Little Sister” (I’d argue that the lightbulb accident would have happened regardless of Milo’s presence) or even “Cake ‘splosion” in which Murphy’s law is there but overall it feels more like Milo overcoming the show’s obstacles.
So yeah, Murphy’s law is still present but at the same time it doesn’t feel as strong as the first season. And while it does give more time for Milo and co to have some character development I guess, overall it just feels kind of off. And now that I think about it, this lack of a mess in the A plot in a show that’s meant to be chaotic might be the root for my next complain.
2. Dakota and Cavendish are too cartoony
So in season 1, the B plot was my absolute favorite thing in the show. I couldn’t and still can’t get enough of these two idiots and how they play off of each other. But in season 2…let’s just say that I barely watch their plot during the first half of the season, and the reason is simple : Cavendish and Dakota are a joke in this first half. Their plot is all about them trying to get something and stupidly get hurt by it, and it just feels boring.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not against these two getting hurt. After all, they failed basically all their missions in season 1 and looked dumb while doing so. But the thing is : 1. In season 1, it was mostly because of Murphy’s law so it wasn’t always their fault and 2. The main thing about them in season 1 was their interactions. The most interesting thing about them has always been how they act with each other, at least in my opinion. Heck, my favorite B plot (not episode but B plot) is from “Abducting Murphy’s Law”, an episode in which all Dakota and Cavendish do is talk to each other in different places. It’s just two guys talking, and yet I absolutely love this plot.
So yeah, you don’t need to make Dakota and Cavendish be incompetent idiots for them to be great, you just need to make them interact with each other. That’s also why, out of all their “collecting trash” plots, my favorite is in “Lady Krillers”, because I love the first half with Cavendish complaining while Dakota is being baby while listening to music + their dumb argument over moving the bag and then Cavendish getting scared and Dakota immediately getting protective. This is fun ! This is cute ! This is very dumb and I like every second of it !
On the same note, I can’t stand the B plot of “Disco Do-Over”. The idea isn’t bad and the old lady is a great one-of character, but overall the plot is just urgh for me. The only thing I like is when Cavendish says that Drusselstein sounds made up (I guess Professor Time never wrote an autobiography) and Dakota starts listing made-up words, only to end up smiling at Cav while saying his name slowly in a borderline flirty way, as if he enjoyed every syllable of it. But thing is, I consider that, when shipping is the only thing I care about in an episode/plot, it means that it’s bad. And “Walker, Runner, Screamer” is in the same vein. I can’t stand the plot.
There are actually two things about these plots that I thing really pisses me off (the fact that these plots don’t have much of the duo playing off of each other doesn’t really pisses me of, it just makes the plot boring) :
First of, it makes Dakota seems completely incompetent. Yes I know he wasn’t a first-class agent and even in season 1 he wasn’t that athletic or anything but there was still the feeling that he knew what he was doing. He always managed to steal from Brick and Savannah or know where the duo was, he was able to save Cavendish hundreds of times and finally who knows what the Mississippi purchase was. So while he wasn’t the best, there was some competence. But in season 2, it’s more or less gone.
And for my second pet peeve : Cavendish’s mortality. In season 1, it was established that Cav had a hard time staying alive and could die from tons of different ways, including falling from great heights or getting sent through a wall by a horse. And while we do see him survive a giant rolling rock in “Murphy’s Lard”, Dakota still makes a comment asking if Cav is alive.
But is season 2, it seems like they completely forgot about this part of his character. The worse has to be in “Loot at This Ship” in which he somehow survives when messing with the ship. But earlier in the season, there’s also “Lady Krillers” in which he survives a bull attack three times ! Though, what really pisses me off with that isn’t just the fact that he survives for the sake of comedy; it’s Dakota. In this episode, Dakota has no problem just running away and letting Cavendish get attacked by the bull ! And it’s the same thing in “Disco Do-Over”. When Cav tries to sneak into the garden and gets attacked, Dakota just panics and runs away ! I swear the first time I saw this I was like “Excuse me ?!”. Because you’re telling me that Vinnie “sacrificing himself over and over again with no regrets for Cavendish” Dakota is now ditching Cav in situations he finds dangerous in order to save himself ???
I’m sorry but it pisses me off. It might just be me overreacting but seeing two characters whose main strength in the story was their banter now interacting less and getting hurt more, with one of them going against everything he did in the first season; this just angers me. And so when I watch season 2, I tend to skip most parts of the B plot (which makes me watch like 1 min of episode for “Lady Krillers” because the A plot is very meh. “Disco Do-Over” has an adorable A plot tho).
And last note about these plots, I didn’t mention “Field of Screams” and “Managing Murphy’s law” because I tend to forget about the first one that I find pretty meh (the entire episode, not just the B plot) and the second one has a B plot based on cringy humor and I’m not really into it, though I do really like hearing Jeremy getting more and more tired of Dakota and the hug at the end is such a cute and underrated Dakavendish moment. Also Dakota makes a dad joke near the beginning and I absolutely adore that.
I also didn’t mention “Freefall” because it’s fine. Dakota is being Dakota (and I adore this dork), we start to see Cav get genuinely angry about his job which sets the root for the second half of the season, there’s one scene in which the two are clearly very bored and for some reason it makes me laugh, and the action scene is fine (also damn Cavendish knows how to fly a plane !). But I find “Freefall” to be a good episode in general so yeah.
3. Zack and Melissa
First thing first : I have nothing against the ship itself. I’m not a big shipper when it comes to child/teens characters but I completely understand why people ship them, and I agree that they have personalities that mix well together. And honestly, this point is probably my most minor complain.
That being said, I do believe that their relationship has basically no development. Or at least, if you compare them to other couples in the Dwampyverse. Because thing is, Dwampy tend to have pretty high standards when it comes to couples. I mean, if we look at every canon couple + a few fanon (aka “here’s my need to infodump about random stuff nobody cares about”. This part will be in italics so, if you want to skip it, you can see where it ends) :
- Phineas and Isabella : since the first episode, we see that Isabella is attracted to Phineas. And throughout the entire show, these two are always willing to help the other, with Isabella always wishing to help in any way she can with the project of the day and Phineas always wanting to make the best projects when it comes to Isabella (just look at how he gets upset in her birthday episode when the finale doesn’t go according to plan). So yeah, they’re two kids in love with a very sweet friendship that you know will evolve into a relationship once they get older and understand relationships better.
- Ferb and Vanessa : Ignoring “Act your Age”, this is the usual trope of a young kid falling in love with an older person. And just like with Phina/bella, it’s made clear that Ferb likes Vanessa and is willing to do anything for her.
- Candace and Jeremy : Same kind of relationships. Candace is clearly head-over-heels for him, Jeremy often gives her presents since the beginning of the show and overall is always patient and understanding to her. It’s very sweet and it’s satisfying to see them get together and know that they will stay that way.
- Linda and Lawrence : While we don’t see much of them, it’s made clear when they’re together that they genuinely love each other. Same for their respective parents.
- Vanessa and Monty : A very organic relationship. It’s two teens who find each other attractive and, after randomly finding each other in the same place, decide to talk and learn more about each other, eventually deciding to start dating. It’s pretty sweet.
- Sara and Neal : These two are just fucking adorable ! They’re two awkward nerds in love and the episode when they get together really plays onto this and it’s the most adorable thing. And while we don’t see much of them, at the beginning of “Love Toboggan”, it’s made clear that the two have seen each other enough for their respective families to know that they like each other.
- Amanda and Milo : Another duo of cuties. The idea of a relationship between them is hinted very early, in “Smooth Opera-tor” in which we see that Milo likes her. And throughout the show, we see them getting closer as Amanda learns to accept Murphy’s law and becomes a genuine friend to Milo. We also see that Milo really likes her and is always willing to help her in any way he can.
- Brigette and Martin : Probably the most underrated characters of the show. I simply adore these two ! They’re just really wholesome people, especially Brigette. She knew full well what she was getting into when she decided to marry into the Murphy family and it’s clear that she doesn’t have a single regret. Like the Flynn-Fletcher parents, they aren’t around that much but when they do you can tell they love each other.
And for some fanon ships :
- Buford and Baljeet : Basically an enemy to friends to lover trope. They start off as bully and nerd but, the more time they spend with Phineas and co, the more Buford shows off his sensitive side and learns more to respect Baljeet’s boundaries while Baljeet learns to stand up for himself. And by the end of the show, the two are genuinely close. Heck, even in “Act Your Age”, despite the canon ships, there’s one scene in which the guys tell Phineas that “guys don’t talk about their feelings”. After they say that, there’s an awkward silence and at the end of it you can see Buford and Baljeet look at each other before looking away with a sad expression, as if they did have feelings for each other but never talked about it because of the “boys don’t talk feelings” thing (which, in real life, is complete bullshit. Let men be emotive, dammit !). But yeah, these two have a friendship that grows over the show and is sometimes teased as if something else was going on there.
- Heinz and Perry : Fun fact : when I became an adult and started getting back into the show, I couldn’t help but laugh as I started to ship it because this is such a crackship on paper ! Also, everything related to Peter the Panda, especially “Time Out” and “Lost in Danville” is fucking hilarious because of how ridiculous it is. I love the Dwampyverse ! (and I just realized that I didn’t talk about the humans/objects canon couples but given that only one person can evolve in these relationships…yeah)
But looking at the show and the books, yeah, these two are like two people thrown into an arranged marriage and having to figure everything out. Even if they start off as enemies, they eventually get accustomed to each other, to the point of being each other’s most important person. We really feel it in season 4. In a lot of ways, these two are a lot like Buford and Baljeet (which a lot of people had already pointed out).
- Candace and Vanessa : This one is mostly based on how much Candace admires Vanessa in “Night of the Living Pharmacist” and honestly, it’s pretty alright. I can definitely see why people ship it as there’s definitely some material there and there with Candace trying to impress Vanessa and look cool in front of her.
- Cavendish and Dakota : Act like an old married couple 24/7 ; often have physical contact and never react to it, showing that it’s normal to them and that they’re very comfortable with each other, almost to the point of having no notion of personal space when it comes to each other ; call each other “partners” most of the time ; have known each other for at least 10 years given Cavendish’s change in appearance from “First Impressions” to ‘now’ ; have to share a room most of the time due to their work ; are compared to Perry and Heinz, aka Dan’s favorite fan ship (or at least it seems to be) ; would die for each other and are willing to do anything to keep their relationship going, including stopping a “break up” (Dakota’s words). What else is there to say ?
So looking at all these relationships, including the fanon ones, it’s pretty clear that Dan and Swampy like to give out tons of shipping material. But Zack and Melissa ? They act like friends for most of the show. In season 1, the only episode that’s really shippy is “The Math Book” with how they play off of each other.
The saddest part with this relationship for the shippers is that in the PnF crossover, we start to get hints that they might be a couple, only for them to keep the exact same dynamic as season one up until the very last episode of season 2 in which suddenly they act like a couple most of the time. And before you point out “Escape”, it’s probably just me but the way Melissa tells Milo to hurry because “It starts to seem like a date”, followed by Zack saying “You wish” in such a neutral tone gives off the impression that they don’t want it to be a date. So yeah, by the end of the day, it feels like they only got together because 1. Disney likes straight people and 2. They’re the hero’s best friends.
Seriously, on youtube, there’s a video that’s a Zalis//sa compilation, and not only is the video only 6 minutes long, but most of these moments could come off as two friends acting like two friends. And for the video length : reminder that there’s a Milan//da video from the same person that’s 17 minutes long, Amanda being a character that appears like ten times less than Zack and Melissa; and there are also two Daka//vendish videos, both 10 minutes long each, and they barely cover like 1/3 of the episodes the duo show up in. Seriously, a fanon ship has a hundred more shipping material than a canon ship ! Honestly, Zalis//sa shippers were robbed.
I think the only other ship that has that little development (and by that I mean way less development) among major characters is the one between Baljeet and Ginger. Honestly for this ship : Ginger shows that she’s interested and it’s taken as a joke in season 1; in the bees episode, Ginger listens to Baljeet and, while Baljeet is happy that she’s listening, he’s mostly happy that someone is listening, regardless of who it is. Then we see them dance a few times in the background, including in a Halloween episode in which Buford and Baljeet were sharing a costume and, as Baljeet and Ginger start to dance, we have a shot of Buford not looking happy about this. And yet somehow they became a canon couple.
With this forced ship, I tend to accuse Disney being homophobic and refusing Buford and Baljeet to be both single at the end of the show (seriously Disney seems to be so homophobic that they allowed couples between humans and objects but refused any gay couple. At least they seem to have started to be more accepting with recent shows from what I’ve seen).
4. Heinz Doofenshmirtz
So I know it’s been talked about but it’s still a major point in this season so I have to talk about it. So : in Phineas and Ferb, Heinz is a motivated inventor who was able to make inators that worked, though his poor planning and some of his ideas often got the best of him. But overall, he was just a nice guy with a certain genius and who was trying to cope with his childhood trauma in the only ways he knew. He’s also one of the best fathers in all of animation, especially given how much baggage he has, but that’s not the topic here.
Then, when Dwampy made “The O.W.C.A. Files”, they decided to change Heinz’s personality. Suddenly, he was a complete klutz who’s can’t do anything right and just pisses people off. And when they made MML, they kept this personality trait. It also doesn’t help that quite a lot of focus is put on him, which renders him even more annoying. I won’t develop much on his flaws because, again, others already did before. Instead, since so many people already talked about what was wrong with Doof in this show, I actually want to talk about the good moments that Heinz has in MML.
So, to cite a few : First off, the PnF crossover. Yes he does mess up his time machine with orange juice but that’s like his only mistake. Overall, he’s seen to be a great inventor who quickly understands the Pistachions’ weakness after spilling juice on a plant and immediately creates a plan around it. And speaking of which, I also really like how, when he meets the group at the beginning and is told to be a hero, he asks “What do you base your assumption on ?” (not a direct quote), which really shows that yes, he’s a scientist who thinks like one.
The moments where he butts head with Cavendish are also pretty good, especially with how what he says is only the truth : he’s not Professor Time, he’s just some random inventor, and Cavendish feeling so much deception is his own fault for idolizing someone. Thinking about it, it might actually be the only moments in the show in which he’s seen as more mature than another major character.
And overall, he’s just his PnF self in this episode. Like, there’s also how he talks to Diogee and, later, when Milo puts some pressure on him by reminding him of the stakes, he goes “I’m going to go back to talk to the dog”.
As for some other good appearances : “Spy Little Sister” has Heinz show up for a very little and it really works with making him a lot like how he was in PnF (honestly the lightbulb accident seems like something he’ll do in PnF. Heck, in the first part of the episode, he reminds me of how he is in “Doof 101”, episode in which the problems are caused by the annoying bugs and not him).
“Disco Do-Over” does a clever use of the “I am a superstar” video, though Heinz is a bit obnoxious in this episode.
The season 2 finale has Heinz once again act like a scientist when he asks the Octalian about shape-shifting.
Finally, I really like the friendship between him and Dakota. The two are definitely bad for each other and that’s what makes their interactions interesting. Though, I would have loved to see some time spent on pointing out the fact that Dakota grew up seeing Heinz as a hero. And on that same note, I would have loved to see a bit more of Cavendish interacting with Heinz, especially after Heinz and Dakota became “friends” (the last episodes give off the feeling that now that they made up with their respective partner, they aren’t going to hang out with each other).
So yeah, Heinz does have his moments in which he works pretty well. But most of these moments are in episodes in which he’s a minor character. When the show starts to focus more on him, he’s just annoying and immature, which is really sad given how great he was in PnF.
5. The humor
Now it’s time to get the claws out. Seriously, this part was meant to be short but I can tell from what my brain has in mind that I’m going to give a long rant. To be honest this wasn’t even really supposed to be a big thing to point out, like I could’ve put this at the end with the other “minor complains”. But one thing pisses me off so it’s now its own part.
So to make things clear first : when I talk about the humor, I’m talking about one kind of joke that the show has done since season 1 but that feels off in season 2. I’m talking about the jokes that go on for a while, sometimes too long; especially too long in season 2.
I think a good example of a long joke made right is in “Party of Peril”, when we have to watch Elliot get attacked by a duck for like 50 seconds. It’s a joke that probably goes on for too long but let’s be honest it’s hilarious, along with creating the recurring joke of ducks hating Elliot.
In season 2, they kept trying to make these kinds of jokes there and there; but for some reason it doesn’t really work. I have two examples : the first one is in “Teacher’s Feature” in which we spend 20 seconds on Scott dancing in a cringy way while the kids comment on it. And I swear as I’m writing that I’m considering checking the length because it feels like 40 seconds, not 20, and that’s the problem. Watching the scene, they could have easily cut out 5 seconds of him dancing with music to go directly to the part where there’s no music but he keeps going. Seriously. They definitely could have made this joke shorter.
But the worst to me, the absolute worst, is in “Cavendish Unleashed”. OOOH BOY the fucking waste they did there.
So in this episode, there’s a joke that plays out 3 times, two times the same way and a third time with a slight difference. The joke is about people wanting to sign a paper to destroy then protect the forest, only to get crushed by the alien and being unable to use their hand. To put it simply, this joke is boring. It doesn’t even feel like a joke ! It’s just 15 then another 15 and then a whole 20 seconds (more or less) wasted on this shit. And I swear I also want to go check the length because I remember that when I first saw the episode, the third joke felt like it went on for two minutes. It’s not fun, it’s just boring.
But what’s the problem with that ? Simple : the ending of the episode. At the end of the episode, Cavendish talks with the main trio, learns that Milo was the abductee and then tells the teens to leave. And they just leave, asking no questions whatsoever. Like hello ???? Cavendish has been missing for days, maybe weeks ??? Dakota is desperate to find him ??? Haven’t Dakota told the kids that Cavendish was missing ??? Hadn’t they noticed during “Cast Party” and even before or after that Dakota wasn’t with Cavendish anymore ??? WHY IS NOBODY ASKING QUESTIONS ???? Why didn’t the kids go like “Oh yeah, we saw Cavendish today” to Dakota ??? Why waiting DAYS before telling him ??? Hell, in “Escape”, he talks about finding Cavendish like the kids knew ! So what the hell was that all about ?!
Seriously. Would it have been too hard to remove that dumb recurring joke and instead have an angsty scene in which Milo points out that Cavendish is considered missing, only for Cav to feel bad about it, making us feel for him, and then tell the kids that he’s doing what he believes is for the best and then ask them to keep it a secret from Dakota ? How come the only time we see Cav feel bad about leaving is in a fan animation ?
This seriously pisses me off. The whole arc about Cavendish going rogue could have been one of my favorites. We could’ve seen him struggle to live, think about what he’s doing and why, feel homesick or missing Dakota and the others. Hell, he’s been stuck alone and conscious in an ice cube for who knows how long, so why did he never take the time to reflect during that time ? And yes he was conscious. When he gets trapped, his eyes move and when he’s saved, he’s able to protect his face the very moment the ice break, showing that he was well-aware of Dakota breaking the cube.
But no. Instead, this arc spends like 30% of its screen time on Cavendish doing a Candace-like joke about trying to show the ship and 70% of the screen-time on Dakota sulking. And in the last episode, there’s a scene in which Cav complains about Octalia, only to be remembered that he can save the planet; and then he goes on a rant about how he’s going to be the hero of Octalia, showing that he didn’t learn a fucking thing from his arc.
This pisses me off. This really pisses me off. No wonder I wrote like 5 oneshots around that arc. I need to get that “Cavendish is struggling” angst juice one way or another.
And speaking of bad arcs…
6. Zack’s plot
So in the first episode of the season (not counting the crossover), the characters talk about how Zack is a coward who tries to get over his fears. Ok so first question : since when is Zack considered a coward ? I mean, he’s very cautious when it comes to Murphy’s law, yes, but being cautious is not the same as being a coward. Besides, Murphy’s law is dangerous. And for most of the episodes, his reactions are the same as Melissa and Milo, when Milo gets scared. As for his fear of fish, anyone can have these kinds of irrational fears. Also there’s the Halloween episode in which it’s made clear that he doesn’t have much fears aside from the fear of dying from the unpredictable, hence his usual resentment with Murphy’s law.
It’s also worth mentioning that MML follows the trope of having a group with two guys and one girl; with one guy being the main character, the girl being the smart one and the second guy being the coward or the forgettable one in certain shows. I think this might be one of the reasons why there’s this idea that Zack is a coward.
But aside from the fact that, in my personal opinion, this plot comes out of nowhere, there’s also the problem that we barely see it at all. I mean, in “Snow Way out”, it’s put into the story. Then they completely forget about it and Zack goes back to act chill and cautious until “Freefall” whose entire plot revolves around Zack being fearful (again, rightfully fearful given the situation). Then it’s dropped again until “The Mid-Afternoon Snack Club” with the idea that Zack feels overshadowed by Milo (which, honestly, sounds like a more interesting arc than the whole fear thing). And finally, it’s dropped yet again until the very last episode in which they keep insisting that he has no fear anymore.
Seriously, am I the only one seeing this ? Or am I just bad at noticing the character growth ?
7. Smaller pet peeves
So that last point is a list of small things that bother me in this season but that I don’t see myself write 10 paragraphs about :
- Most of the supporting cast needed more screentime. Seriously, characters like Neal and Veronica basically don’t exist this season, Sara also has a much more minor role, Bradley desperately needs some kind of character arc, most of the school characters and staff are also pretty absent (we miss you Drako !), Brick and Savannah only appear twice, once being a cameo in front of a pistachio cart, and I’m sure there’s more that I forgot.
- A very personal opinion so it’s not really a pet peeve but time travel was much more interesting than aliens, though the plots were pretty similar with the people involved trying to get to Milo, only for Murphy’s law to occur and ruin their plan. Also, while I really like the captain/leader, the two guys sent to capture Milo are your usual comedic duo, like the two small devils in Disney’s Hercules (I don’t know their name in English, I only know that they’re named “Peur” and “Panique” in French).
And fun fact, “Spy Little Sister” is probably my favorite episode of the season, and while watching it, I really had a feeling of “god I missed that” when time-travel occurred. Though, I’ll admit, the aliens plot does a much better job using Murphy’s law, not only with the aliens failing constantly because of it but also especially in the finale with each character having their own backpack to “fight against it”.
- Bob Block. There was some potential with that character (*cough* villain *cough*). Though, I won’t develop here because I already did at the beginning of another post.
- The episode “Game Night” is weird to me. Like, it’s not a bad episode, on the contrary it’s a great one, but at the same time I find myself not liking it. I think the main problem is that it should’ve been a season 1 episode due to the whole thing with the deadly vortex and how Cavendish and Dakota somehow knew what it was. Also I feel like there’s a waste of characters. I mean, we get the Murphy parents, Neal and Cav and Dakota and yet it feels like the episode is mostly focused on the main trio + Sara. Also Veronica was robbed. They could have easily removed the whole vortex thing, hence removing Cavendish and Dakota from the story, and have Veronica with the group instead. Look I love the two time-travelling idiots but other characters deserve some spotlight too.
Besides, thinking about it, it’s a bit sad that Cavendish and Dakota don’t really interact with the others when they’re on screen. There’s like 5 people in the room and yet we either see them talk to each other or to the group in general (though to be honest this disconnect between characters even when they’re in the same room is also in the crossover and the season 2 finale).
So yeah, this episode is weird. It has tons of elements that should make me love it (the Murphy parents; Neal; Melissa being Melissa; Dakota being Dakota; some Daka//vendish, including a 3 seconds argument that has some of the biggest “old married couple” energy we’ve seen in this show; Milo and Sara being overly dramatic babies; the Veronica cameo). And yet, I somehow can’t find myself really liking it. It’s weird.
So, overall, it was still a pretty good and solid season. Most episodes were pretty fun and enjoyable. But they were still a lot of small issues that, in my opinion, makes season 1 much better; and when I decide to watch random moments of the show or watch full episodes, I tend to mostly pick in that first season.
#Milo Murphy's Law#mml#mml spoilers#season 2 spoilers#long post#VERY long post#rant#I guess#negative#?#Flor talks#hey look I'm rambling again#I actually wrote this one before the previous ones#but my brain wanted to post it afterwards#for some weird reason#this is probably the last big post#for this fandom#I think#and if you ask why such a post was made#infodumping#just pure and simple infodumping
21 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
xanny101
A Concept
theartistisme43
The Hall of Gay
skinny-cheeto
"Now That's A Boy I Can Get Into!"
avvattev
av vattev