#the first two episodes were great lots of plots on the surface
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The only positive with Charles being dead in X-Men 97 is that Magneto can now permanently unleash his glorious mane onto the world
#x men#x men 97#magneto#erik lehnsherr#the first two episodes were great lots of plots on the surface#great cliffhanger to end ep 2 too#and the power plays are awesome Storm Magneto and Cyclops all got some badass moments#and ofc the classic opening (though I do also like the JP song that Honest Trailers opened my ears to)#seriously what is his hair routine?
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1st quarter of 2024 shows ranked
n° of shows watched from january 1st to march 31st: 13
1. analog squad: 9/10
I deeply regret not watching this one in 2023 when it was released bc it would've been my number one favorite show of that year ;_; it's such an original and touching show with one of my favorite tropes (found family) and some of the best characters I've ever seen. definitely already an all-time favorite and a comfort show for years to come <3
2. cooking crush: 8,5/10
y'all know how much I love offgun, and while this was no not me or theory of love, this show really brought me back to my early days of watching thai dramas and freaking out over any cute interaction on my screen & I love it for that! while this show has a lot of flaws, most of them are easily forgettable when faced with such great characters & one of the cutest relationships ever! I truly thought offgun's chemistry had reached its peak in not me but I was wrong, these two never cease to amaze me they really can play any role to perfection <3
3. ready set love: 8,5/10
this show really surprised with how pretty much flawless its execution is! it's hilarious but also deals with very deep & interesting topics well, and day might be one of my favorite female leads ever! a super solid show that is honestly gonna become a classic for me, I can feel it :)
4. love for love's sake: 8,5/10
this was a super sweet show that's very well done, I was dubitative of the plot at first but it really managed to pull me in & make it worth my while! one of the best kbls out there :)
5. the believers: 8,5/10
this is definitely one of the most innovative thai shows out there, dealing with a topic (religion) that I didn't think anyone would dare touch. the story had me hooked all 9 episodes & the acting performances were amazing, however I have to say this didn't pack as much of a punch as I expected it would. it's a very good show, but it stays a little surface level & doesn't explore its characters enough for me...
6. sing my crush: 7,5/10
this was very much adorable, however two things bothered me: 1) I didn't like the time jump from ep 1 to ep 2, I wish we could've seen the friendship between the characters developed more, and 2) I feel like them not revealing their feelings for each other felt a little forced & random. apart from that it's a very cute show!
7. intern in my heart: 7,5/10
this was a really enjoyable romantic comedy that I had a lot of fun in front of :) is it much more than that? not really. pretty basic but with charismatic performances that carried the show well!
8. perfect propose: 7,5/10
really sweet show that I wish was more developed & gave me more, but a good time nonetheless!
9. sukiyanen kedo do yaro ka: 7/10
this show got me, lost me then got me once again lol. I thought the chemistry for an established relationship was some of the best for a jbl, and the story was simple but endearing. but tbh something was kinda lacking for me, which made this ultimately very forgettable imo.
10. the outing: 7/10
I was SO looking forward to this show without much expectation but it still managed to disappoint me lol. the acting was very solid but there's too many characters that get introduced too late & I failed to really understand what the point or purpose of the show was. it seems to me as if this show took all of the worst points from remember 15 (the sex, the chaos, the betrayals & annoying characters), without the substance that remember 15 actually had. it's not a terrible show, and I was intrigued during it, but tbh it could've been so so much better.
11. love class season 2: 7/10
this had some of the strongest and most interesting ships I've seen in a kbl, however the writing & execution of the show was very frustrating. early on the characters barely get introduced & we struggle to understand how they're all linked together, leading to a lot of confusion on my part. it's sad bc it had a very solid story but bad execution imo :(
12. chaser game w: power harassment: 7/10
this had me very excited but sadly didn't deliver at all for me. the story is kinda all over the place & while the chemistry was really good and it's important to have japanese characters clearly labeled as lesbians, I found the acting kinda over the top as well... but it's a start for gl I guess 🥲
13. sahara sensei to toki-kun: 6/10
this is the kind of show that I managed to watch until the end... for whatever reason. but the age gap icked me out & I found that the main ship didn't have much chemistry. overall this story is very empty & didn't add anything for me, but I really liked the character of toki & would've loved to see him in a better show & ship.
#bypiningbisexuals#thought I'd try something new since my reviews have been kinda abandoned#cooking crush#ready set love#analog squad#love for love's sake#sing my crush#intern in my heart#perfect propose#sukiyanen kedo do yaro ka#the outing the series#love class 2#chaser game w#sahara sensei to toki kun#the believers#the believers netflix
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PJO Series Overall Thoughts + Pros and Cons
Disclaimer! First of all, there are a lot more cons than pros here, and if you loved the show and don’t want to hear my criticism just keep scrolling. Second, I’m not someone to complain just because it isn’t exactly how it was in the book! I have quite a range of feelings about story changes. In regard to the ones I’ve listed as cons, i’m just irritated that they haven’t been able to match the book in frankly any capacity. I believe that if you’re making changes, it should be a) out of necessity, b) to improve upon the material, or c) taking positive creative license to try a new spin on an element from the source material. But the changes I’m complaining about, for the most part, haven’t met any of those requirements.
Pros:
Sets and Visuals
It was so magical seeing camp come to life!
The Underworld looks fantastic, the visuals are super cool, especially the Fields of Asphodel. That was a really cool spin on the books- the CGI was pretty good, and the concept there was really interesting.
Olympus was very cool looking too! It reminded me of Asgard.
Overall I Just Think There’s Lots of Potential!
Since the leads are fairly inexperienced (and kids), you can’t expect them to be incredible. They’re doing just fine, but I think they have a lot of potential, and I’m excited to see them grow over the course of the series!
Generally I still really like the casting and have high hopes for these actors, I just wish (for our sake and theirs) that they had better material to work with.
Plot Changes
This ones kind of a pro AND a con: Generally, I really like the flashbacks! They add a lot more depth to Sally, and her relationships with Percy and Poseidon. That being said, the episodes typically feel far too short to be adding material that wasn’t in the books. I thought it was fantastic in episode 7, but in other episodes it didn’t quite work when so much else was cut, or there were opportunities left untaken as a result.
I also liked that they included a few flashbacks with Luke in the finale- there was so much training and time at camp that didn’t fit into the first two episodes.
They got rid of the “names have power” stuff which is great (never made sense in the books).
They did a really nice job humanizing Medusa, but still creating conflict with her, and simultaneously setting up further issues with the gods.
I also agreed with their decision to move the fight from Santa Monica to Montauk, to save time.
Cons:
Dialogue and Writing
The dialogue is definitely less charming than in the books. It’s a huge part of what makes them fun, and the dialogue here is honestly pretty bland. The characters don’t totally feel like themselves, but it isn’t only the acting. Forcing the characters to be explaining stuff to each other nearly every time they have a conversation makes them a lot less personable.
Honestly, this series feels kind of elementary in comparison to the middle grade books. I’d imagine that, like the books, they were aiming to create something that could be enjoyed by young kids and adults alike. But I didn’t find it as successful as the book in this regard.
And the dialogue is consistently so surface level! Stiff, boring, and above all, CONSTANTLY telling over showing. This affects the likability of the characters, and the ability of the actors. Both parties are deterred by the info dumping, as they aren’t really given as many genuine lines or interactions as they should have.
Honestly, it kind of feels a bit like they gave some of Percy’s personality to Annabeth in parts of the show? I saw someone else point out that they’re kind of giving Annabeth the Hermione treatment (ie giving her some of the other characters good moments), which I kind of agree with. However, a lot of that was towards the beginning and middle of the season and has somewhat improved since.
I posted a whole rant earlier about the Lotus Casino episode, which I’ll just summarize: theres a consistent pattern in the show of having the characters figure out what’s going on immediately, removing the danger, and more importantly, not allowing the characters to make mistakes, which weakens both them and the plot. In addition, I didn’t like that they brought up May Castellan already, primarily because it was just another info dump, which (in my mind) gets lost amongst all the other info dumps and removes the poignancy from the reveal. Now, there’s absolutely time to fix the May Castellan situation and ensure that it still packs a punch later on, but for this season it wasn’t great. Go check out my last post if you’d like to hear the rest of my argument on that episode!
Some additional examples of the ‘not letting the characters experience danger’ thing: Procrustes (obviously), and Kronos- forget whether or not Percy should know who Kronos is, the biggest issue is that there’s very little evidence or buildup, so (again) there’s no tension or shock at the reveal. And finally, with Luke. I was so annoyed when Percy figured it out! I could’ve believe that they were doing it AGAIN. I still enjoyed that scene because Walker and Charlie were great, but that was disappointing for sure.
The thing with the pearls honestly amounted to nothing, and there was no reason for Annabeth to not be present in the underworld: that was just a tearjerker for the sake of being a tearjerker (manufactured drama).
Lowering the Stakes
I just wish they’d made it SLIGHTLY more mature- don’t get me wrong, it’s a kids show! I’m very well aware of that! But this feels a lot tamer than a lot of kids (PG) movies involving monsters and stuff.
Gabe was a real piece of shit in the books, but in the show they just kinda made him look lazy and turned him into comic relief. And I don’t believe in the argument that they had to make this change to benefit a younger audience- they didn’t really need to change anything there.
Throughout the majority of the season, I felt like they weren’t allowing the gods to be truly intimidating, or powerful. First with Ares, who wasn’t BAD but generally didn’t have that kind of dramatic presence that he had in the books. Again with Hades, who wasn’t shown as being REMOTELY intimidating, and perhaps the biggest offense of all- Zeus. Having the deadline pass with seemingly zero consequence or threat of consequence does absolutely nothing (and certainly doesn’t increase tension like I’m pretty sure Rick Riordan said was their reason for changing it). Up until the finale, viewers had very few reasons to fear the Gods. Even Dionysus and Hephaestus! In the books there’s a clear line- you can interact with them, but you DONT want to offend them. There’s a clear threat of power, and that just wasn’t remotely present for a while.
And again, I just want to clarify- this is an overall writing problem! It’s not that Ares, or any other one of the gods I just mentioned has a different personality than in the books, it’s that a show like this (KIDS OR NOT) should still be compelling, and part of that includes having real danger and clear stakes.
I would add that they did a much better job with this in the finale! Lance Reddick gave such an amazing performance, and truly made Zeus an intimidating figure. The fight on the beach with Ares was great as well. So I’m optimistic about this criticism moving into season 2, but I stand by the idea that this was an issue for the majority of the series.
Overall, it felt like they weren’t taking the serious parts seriously, AND they didn’t take the comedy as seriously either? So it isn’t as lighthearted OR as impactful as the books. It feels so much more bland and watered down by comparison.
Episodes Were Too Short
Everything just flowed really well in the books, here the pacing is off and the dialogue isn’t as natural (again, they’re forced to rely on a lot of telling instead of showing which takes away from genuine moments). Many character details and personality traits were cut for the sake of additional verbal explanation
As many others have pointed out, the fight scenes also feel pretty rushed, and haven’t quite conveyed the sense of urgency that they should. It all just lowers the stakes.
This Ones Kind of a Joke, but the Casting for Hephaestus
It’s mostly my book bias. This guy was NOT giving Hephaestus. Mainly because Hephaestus is the god of the forge, and I can’t picture this guy anywhere near one of those. He kind of looked like one of Santa’s elves, he’s giving tinkerer not GOD of the FORGE. This is also something they can absolutely fix/win me over in time lmao
Changes
I already mentioned most of the changes (good and bad) already, but there’s one more. I kind of wish they had kept Percy’s dream about Tartarus, especially given that they decided to have Percy figure out Kronos is behind it all earlier- it just would’ve clicked a little easier.
Finishing Thoughts
I don’t want to totally sound like a hater! I’m still enjoying the series, and I really hope it gets renewed for season 2! I was just disappointed in the weak writing. I hope that the writers will be able to recognize these flaws and improve for season 2.
Alright, I don’t really expect anyone to read this whole thing, but if you made it: thanks for reading! I’m curious to hear your thoughts, so I’d really appreciate comments, just keep it civil!
#percy jackson disney+#percy jackson#percy jackson and the olympians#pjo#pjo show#percy jackson show#pjo tv show#pjo finale#percy jackson finale#percy jackson and the olympians review#pjo series#pjo spoilers#pjo episode 8
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This is my (unasked for) review and critique of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I’m not expecting much of a response, I just have so much to say and no one to talk about it with. I’m putting it here so it doesn’t fester in my brain and it’s my blog, I can talk about whatever I want.
I am going to divide it into two major sections, the first being a review of the show as a stand alone, the second being a comparison to the source material. Each section will have smaller headers so I can stay on topic and organized, I’m going to try really hard not to obnoxiously rant or flood my review with unsupported opinions. I have a lot to say, but I want to make sure I articulate myself well and don’t fall into venting without reason. If you see me doing that, please let me know.
I want it to be made clear now that these are my thoughts on the show, I’m not forcing anyone to think the same as I do or insulting anyone for having different views than me. I also want people to know that this is an extensive detailed review, I’m going to be covering a lot of very broad and very narrow topics. I’m not trying to nitpick inconsequential details, this review is supposed to focus on important and fundemental aspects of the show. I will be harsh, but I’m going to try not to be unreasonable.
This is going to be extremely long. If you’re not interested in reading it all, I completely understand and I’m going to include my initial rating and a summary of why I gave it that rating here.
My overall rating of the show: 4/10
Review Summary: While the visual effects and environments were for the most part really great, the quality of writing fell behind drastically in comparison. There were major issues with characterization, consistency, and plot development that will pose a challenge in future seasons. The dialogue was often dry and overly expository, it allowed no room for nuance, subtlety, or complexity because they’re constantly telling us what everyone is doing, thinking, and feeling. The acting was mostly subpar, but I think that was because the writing suffered so greatly rather than through major lack of talent or skill from the actors. The pacing was abysmal, 8 episodes was never going to be enough time to tell this story. For me, it has a very surface level amount of entertainment but as soon as you try to look a little closer, try to answer questions or search for any depth, the quality drops entirely.
Extensive in depth review below. Because I’m not watching the show as I’m writing this, please let me know if I’m misremembering any major details so that I can correct myself if/when needed.
Sorry in advance for how obnoxiously long this is, I tried to give clear headers so you can bounce around any specific topics that interest you.
NETFLIX ATLA as a Stand Alone Show
In this section, I will not be making any comparisons or references to previous Avatar content. I will do my best to strictly speak on what Netflix gave us and its quality in different categories.
Costumes/Makeup
Overall, I thought the design of the costumes and styling was really solid. They felt really unique and representative of the different cultures, which is always appreciated. There was an issue for me though that took me out of the show sometimes. Nothing looked lived in. There was no dirt, stains, wrinkles, or wear and tear of any kind and the colors were so bright. The actors sometimes looked like they were doing a theater play or dressing up for Halloween, not living in a struggling world at war. Overall, costuming and makeup was really good, just throw some dirt on there!
Yue’s wig was terrible, I think we can all agree.
I do have a gripe with Zuko’s design though. His scar looks like a bruise or an eye infection, not a gruesome burn scar. I know I’m not the first person to say this, and I’ll keep saying it until they listen. It needs texture, it needs to be larger, and for the love of god shave his eyebrow.
Environments and Locations
I thought the locations looked great, especially the artful cgi on the wide shots of places like the Southern Air Temple, the Fire Nation and their ships, and Omashu. Good cinematography and just really well done work as a whole. There’s a few times when the backgrounds during scenes looked more like stage sets than lived in cities or villages, but it was rarely anything so drastic it harmed the show for me. I really liked the amount of background clutter and knickknacks that helped with realism and there was always a lot of people that helped these places feel populated. Zuko’s room on his ship especially was so cool, it told so much of his story without ever needing explanation. Having a collection of avatar artifacts and plastering his walls with drawings, research, theories, maps, and plans was genius. I loved that they included animals, once again it helps with immersion and realism, and it would be really easy to just not include them for simplicity sake. Especially the funky animal hybrids, I hope to see more going forward! The use of ice, wood, furs, and bone for the Southern Water Tribe was so good. The massive rib cage for the community hut in the tribe was fantastic. I could go on for a long time. For me, the settings were probably the best part of the season.
Bending Graphics
The strongest elements of bending visually were air and fire. They really captured the movements of each, the fluidity and speed of air bending, and the aggression and passion of fire bending. Earth bending looked okay, the actors did a pretty good job of making it look heavy, but overall it felt like it was moving too slowly to me. I think the scene at the beginning of the first episode was the best example of earth bending. The fight with Bumi was very underwhelming for me.
Water bending looked terrible almost the whole time. The way the water physically looked was pretty good, but there was absolutely no weight behind it. Every time Katara hit someone with water, it splashed with the force of a Nerf water gun. The movements were slow, clunky, and so nonthreatening I probably wouldn’t have tried to dodge a single one of her attacks. Her battle with Pakku was one of the most boring battles I’ve ever seen. There was no haste or desperation in either participant. I’m hoping they’ll figure out how to do this better in the future. The ice was decent though.
As a whole, the fight choreography looked pretty good. Certainly moves I could never do. There were times when characters were completely cgi to account for difficult or impossible moves and it was really obvious. Aang in particular looked very wonky when he was fully cgi during his Avatar State moments or when he was flying around like his introduction scene. So passable but definitely room for improvement, I think the artists who work on these aspects of shows and films are very impressive.
Dialogue
The dialogue is 80% exposition, 19% repetitive conversations about responsibility and duty, and 1% misplaced poorly written humor. It’s unnatural, it’s dry, it doesn’t allow for any nuance, and there’s no room for character growth or connection when they have to waste all their words on making sure the plot is on track.
When the introduction of your main character is him looking directly into the camera and telling us the kind of person he is, there’s a dialogue problem. When so much happens off screen that you have to have characters talk to fill in plot holes because there’s just not enough time to tell the story, there’s a dialogue problem. When you put intentional pauses around bad jokes for people to laugh, there’s a dialogue problem. When characters have to say over and over that they’re family but they don’t feel like family in the slightest, there’s a dialogue and characterization problem. I’m not going to script the bad examples, I don’t have the time or patience for that, but I was very unimpressed. It felt like the first draft of a script to me.
And I dare anyone, of legal drinking age of course, to take a shot every time a character says the words responsibility or duty. I swear the floor and ceiling will switch before you reach episode 3. If characters have to keep shoving their responsibilities down our throats without actually doing anything to solve them, there’s a dialogue, characterization, and plot problem.
Also one of my biggest pet peeves with a series is when the first episode or movie ends with a line like “It’s only the beginning” and then plays crazily dramatic music. But that’s a personal preference, not an actual issue.
Acting
First and foremost, I have nothing against any of these actors. I’m sure they’re perfectly wonderful people and they deserve opportunities to prove themselves. My goal here is not to shame or insult or belittle any actor on this show. That being said, none of their performances were perfect and I do have critiques. This is not meant to be a personal attack on any of them or on anyone who enjoyed their performances.
I think the dialogue and overall writing really worked against the potential these actors had. I don’t know how involved the director was in the filming process or helping them with their performances, but there were definitely some failures here.
The strongest performances to me were Sokka, Iroh, Lieutenant Jee, and the Earth bender that threatened Iroh when he was captured (I couldn’t find his name, but he had an unprecedentedly good performance). By far the best was Jee, I felt his emotion more than any other character on the show and would love to see a lot more of him. Sokka balanced well enough with what he was given, but he also had the most character opportunity (which I’ll get into in the next section). Iroh I think filled the mentor roll pretty well, the writing for him leaned a little to close to fortune cookie, but he did feel wise and powerful when he needed to be, mostly. For a comedian though, his humor fell really flat to me, I wish they had given Paul Sun-Hyung Lee some freedom to improv, I think he would’ve done a good job if he could play with the character.
Katara and Azula were awful (so was Mai, but she didn’t get a lot of screen time so I’m not going to focus on her). Katara was so dull and emotionless for the majority of her role, her delivery felt so unnatural. Again, I think the writing was an obstacle, but I felt no connection from Katara at all. And certainly not between her and any of the other characters, which is a major problem for one of the main cast. Her and Sokka felt like strangers half the time, like they were getting to know each other as much as we were getting to know them. I swear Azula’s actress was reading off a teleprompter the entire time, she was somehow robotic and overacted at the same time (I’m sorry, I know that’s harsh, but she just isn’t a good actress, at least not in this).
Zuko had some really solid moments, his scenes with Iroh in particular were great, but overall I didn’t love him. A lot of people seem to be upset at his “tantrums” but honestly I think they fit the character well, though there was one or two too many. He’s an extremely troubled teenager estranged from his family and home, tantrums make sense. Again, I think the dialogue really got in the way of his potential and I don’t think he pushed his acting range enough. Almost every actor needed to show more emotion in one way or another.
Aang has some of the best moments and some of the worst. I have a lot of respect for young child actors, especially ones taking on the challenge of such a massive beloved character or franchise. It’s a lot of pressure for someone still growing up and learning how to be his own person. He handled the few childlike moments Aang was given so so well, he has the brightest little smile and playful attitude. The disconnect came with his more serious moments, he’d get these long monologues and, like Azula, sometimes seemed like he was reading off a teleprompter. I do think it’s a character he’ll grow into really nicely though as long as the writing lends itself to that.
It’s very important to remember that the director signs off on everything. Every performance, every scene, every script (that is also signed off by the lead writer). If something is off, it is not strictly the actors’ faults and should never be treated as such. Do the actors need more experience? Sure, but they more importantly need better direction, scripts, and support from the crew than what they’ve gotten. I’ve seen interviews with the main cast and they all seem wonderful with a lot of potential, particularly the actor for Aang, so clearly the director and lead writer are the ones that are slacking.
Characterization (of the main cast)
Aang
He goes through no change or character development from the beginning to the end of this season.
His water bending training hasn’t even started and he has no further control of the avatar state, so power wise he’s remained completely stagnant.
He constantly says how important Sokka and Katara are, because they’re his “friends”, but there’s been no bonding or development of their relationships. If they didn’t tell us so often, I wouldn’t even think they knew each other beyond first day of school ice breakers.
His most profound moment was his conversation with Gyatso in the spirit world, which I actually really liked. I think he really needed support from someone who knew him before. The home being deserted when Aang goes back to see him definitely hurt.
It feels like this show really really wants us to hate this 12 year old boy. Every adult or authority figure is constantly yelling or berating Aang for something he didn’t even do, it was an accident he didn’t come home and got frozen in ice. Especially from the avatar spirits who should know for a fact he didn’t purposefully run from his responsibilities. The tone is all off and I’m not sure the writers understand what they wrote.
Aang’s biggest mental hurdle will continue to be his guilt for disappearing, which he didn’t even do on purpose so the guilt is unjustified, at least the amount others are thrusting on him.
He looks confident at the end of the season, but I don’t buy it because he hasn’t earned it, there was nothing that he did or said that showed why he would feel so confident when he hasn’t learned anything and he hasn’t proven himself capable beyond getting possessed by the right spirits.
His reaction and aftermath to the death of his entire culture was very underwhelming. His grief sent him into the Avatar state and then he mutters a bland apology and the others are mad at him for falling apart when he’s literally lost everything and everyone he’s ever known. It’s something that needs to be handled far more delicately and it’s not.
As the titular character, it kinda sucks how sidelined his character development has been.
Sokka
If I had no knowledge of this series going into it, I might assume Sokka is the main character because he has the most developmental moments in the season and is easily the most well written character.
Physically handing over the protection of his tribe, while small, was a profound moment for him because he was not only going against his father’s orders, it was the first step to realizing he could be something more than a fishing boy from the south. Which is pretty much his whole emotional arc.
With Suki, he was able to prove himself as someone willing to learn and better himself as a warrior. He learned too fast considering it felt like they were only there for a day maybe, but they were on a time crunch with pacing.
In Omashu, Sokka found that his hobby for invention shows he has a talent for engineering and being a tactician. These are pretty important traits that make him a well rounded character.
By the end of the season, he’s gone through pretty profound loss and change to become the beginnings of a leader.
He was kind of supposed to be comic relief as well, but honestly to me it was done as a sloppy afterthought and almost none of the humor landed. Not just with him, but with most comedic moments.
Katara
I’m sorry, I’m about to rip this poor girl to shreds, the writing for her was awful.
She has absolutely no personality beyond the thousand yard stare she gets every time her mom comes up. Every emotion she has is weak and downplayed by exposition, she’s mostly passive and has almost no effect on the characters around her (besides Jet sort of? And I guess Pokku during the most boring fight of the show).
She adds almost nothing to the team besides being a water bender. It’s literally her only characteristic beyond dead mother.
Speaking of water bending, she did absolutely nothing to earn the title of master and no one can convince me otherwise.
She learned six moves from a scroll, trained off screen so we have to take her word for it, made one move that she copied from another bender, and never once had a single second of instruction from an actual master. Getting that title when she’s done nothing to earn it is crazy.
Teaching herself with no support or guidance is not empowering like the writers seem to think it is. It’s just lazy and so unrealistic it’s laughable. She doesn’t have any of the training necessary to be considered a master.
Also I just really dislike how every obstacle for her to be a better water bender is a mental one, first with Aang and then with Jet. Like yes, clearly emotional state matters, but it’s still a physical discipline that requires technique and training of which she’s had none of besides pictures in the scroll.
The fact she was so dismissive and disrespectful of healing bothers me too when it’s a very valuable practice. She didn’t stay for that training either, so how is she going to use the oasis water in the future? Oh wait, Katara’s “a natural” which is just so infuriating because she’s barely struggled to learn a thing the whole season. As soon as she’s in a good mood, her bending works just fine. That’s not how learning or mastering a discipline should work.
Sorry, I know I’m getting into ranting, I’m backing off. It’s just such poor character work for someone so important to the story.
Zuko
Episode 6, “Masks”, was by far the best episode and largely because of Zuko’s character work. Outside of that episode, he’s pretty consistently narrow minded and angry which doesn’t offer him a lot of depth. But it’s all packed into “Masks”.
I loved that the 41st division was his crew as it was physical proof of his sacrifice and compassion for life. Obviously his scar is also proof, but seeing the people he saved alive hits different. And the fact that he didn’t try to take any credit is very modest and honorable for him.
However, I wish he had chosen to make the 41st his crew rather than it being forced on him as an additional punishment to his banishment. I think if he had made that choice, it would have showed even stronger resolve.
His moment with Aang in the shed after rescuing him as the Blue Spirit was very well done and showed how hard it’s going to be for him to overcome his father’s influence.
Lu Ten’s funeral was a wonderful moment meant to build on Zuko’s relationship with Uncle Iroh, it was quite beautiful.
Unfortunately, outside of the moments I mentioned, there wasn’t much other opportunity for character growth because it had to be so exposition heavy.
Although he did choose to go after his Uncle instead of the Avatar in Omashu and that’s an important value in family that Zuko has.
I do appreciate that they cemented his ideals around honest and honorable glory, but it did get a little preachy and repetitive.
I think overall he has a lot of potential for growth in future seasons.
Pacing
Whoever thought 8 episodes was enough to tell this story is extremely delusional. Having more minutes does not equal having more time, 8 episodes offers no wiggle room for such an expansive story no matter how long they are. I’m so sick of production companies thinking it’s okay to so heavily compress storytelling, let your characters breathe and give them some time to develop. It’s one thing when it’s something like Queen’s Gambit (which is fantastic, if you haven’t watched it you should!) that only focuses on one person vs Avatar which is balancing four or five main characters, extensive world building, and complicated plots. It’s something that needs time, but is instead rushed so drastically there’s barely any time to comprehend one conflict or character before another one is expositing in your face. Netflix is one of the biggest offenders of this, but HBO does the same. The Last of Us could have used an extra episode or two for Joel and Ellie’s relationship to solidify more (I’m not going to get into TLOU though, so please don’t come for me for this opinion, it’s not the focus and if you want a more extensive review of that, let me know). It feels like writers think characterization and development just happens and they don’t have to take the time to actually write it in.
With 2-4 more episodes, they could have had the time to really explore the things they needed to without overloading on exposition. Ask yourself how much time did you feel like passed between episode one and eight? Did it feel like the few months it was supposed to be? To me it felt like maybe two-three weeks, and that’s not the fault of watching it so quickly. There’s never any indication of how much time passes, which is its own issue, but also ultimately confuses audiences if they have to guess.
Every interaction and conflict is rushed, why are these writers so scared to take their time? If Netflix isn’t offering more episodes, then you need to adjust your writing to compensate, not condense everything like a sardine can and then act surprised when it’s a structural problem. It’s a fundamental issue that affected the entire potential of the show.
Plot
Aang should have, at the very least, started mastering water bending. It’s stated several times in the season that he needs to in order to fully become the avatar and be powerful enough to end the war. That is the overarching plot that is integral to the story. And yet he doesn’t bend a single drop of water the entire show until he’s forced to after being possessed by the vengeful ocean spirit (and when Kyoshi also possesses him, but again that wasn’t him, that was the avatar state). Because of the time skips that’ll have to happen between seasons, he’ll probably do most, if not all, of his water bending training off screen. Which is, say it with me, bad writing!
They kept hinting at the comet but never outright said what it would do or when it would arrive. Not giving any kind of timeline for the biggest conflict of the show is really worrisome for their future plans. I understand they have to allow a certain amount of time flexibility to account for the younger actors aging, especially Aang, which I completely understand and respect. That’s why time skips will happen. But to not give any kind of timeline shows really poor planning.
Also, please tell me if I’m misremembering or if I somehow missed it during my watch through, but I’m pretty sure Team Avatar still doesn’t even know about the comet, what it means, or when it’s coming. That’s a pretty big thing to overlook when it’s the catalyst for the Fire Nation’s power.
The fact that the show kicked off with the genocide of the Airbenders, who are all conveniently in the same spot, and Aang just happened to escape it because he essentially went for a walk to clear his head and got caught in a storm that came out of no where is way too coincidental for believable circumstances. It’s, louder for those in the back, bad writing!
They had four years to plan this all out, I don’t understand why it all seems so unfinished and thrown together with pieces from different jigsaw puzzles!
Comparisons to Source Material
In this section, I will be comparing the Netflix adaptation of ATLA to the original animated series. This will be about things that stuck out most to me as consistencies, changes, and valuable moments in each rendition of the story.
Consistencies
Writing-wise, obviously they got a lot of the big plot points down, and I’m not going to list them all. If you’ve watched both, you know what they are. Pretty much the essentials…sort of. The great divide even got a shoutout which I thought was funny.
I mentioned above how “Masks” was by far the best episode of the Netflix season, well it’s not a coincidence that it also has the most parallels and consistencies with the episodes it was based on (“Storm” and “Blue Spirit” which are also arguably the best episodes of Book One). I was going to be so mad if they took away the Blue Spirit part of Zuko’s character, but clearly it’s a fan favorite and for the most part I think they did it justice.
I loved that they kept in a lot of the hybrid animals, at least in dialogue if we didn’t actually get to see them. It would have been a really easy thing to just get rid of for simplicity sake. I hope we get to see some more CGI versions of these animals because the ostrich horse looked really good. Momo and Appa for the most part looked good, sometimes a little wonky but nothing crazy, I just wish they had more screen time. They don’t feel like characters yet, just a pet and a vehicle (essentially).
I was really pleasantly surprised to see Hei Bai, I was honestly expecting them to scrap him. He looked really cool too. I do wish we could have seen him turn back into a panda when Aang helped him, but overall I’m just glad we got him at all.
I didn’t love what they used him for, but Kho was visually amazing and everything I hoped for. Absolutely terrifying, will haunt my nightmares again.
June was also a pleasant surprise, I hadn’t looked too deep into the cast list and wasn’t sure if she’d be included. I did think it was a little weird she was flirting with Iroh vs the other way around (like what was the point of that? just take out the flirting entirely if you’re going to be weird about it) but overall she’s pretty much one to one the same and I still liked her a lot. Nala should have been a little more anteater/mole-like instead of wolfish but overall not bad at all.
We got the Cabbage Man. They teased him a little a first, but we got him.
My Favorite Moments from the Netflix Version that Change or Expand on the Original
I sang its praises above, but again Lu Ten’s funeral scene was just so beautiful and really built on Iroh’s fatherly affection for Zuko. I know it’s mostly a replacement for the leaves from the vine scene in “Tales of Ba Sing Se” because they’re never going to be able to fit in that episode. So it’s nice that they deemed it a moment worth capturing in a different way.
I’m not going to reiterate exactly what I said above so go see Zuko’s characterization again if you need to, but making the 41st division his crew members was a constructive choice that I liked a lot.
I don’t know why but just the idea of Gyatso sticking around in the spirit world to be able to speak to Aang one last time hit me so hard. I absolutely loved it as an addition to building their relationship. Aang always deserved a goodbye, and even though this wasn’t exactly that, it was what Aang needed to cope with his immense loss and the pressure he was under.
When Iroh was arrested by the guards of Omashu and being taken to the pit, he had a really intense but moving interaction with one of the earth bending soldiers. I think it was such a good way to portray war and perspectives from both sides. The soldier rightfully and angrily blamed Iroh for his brother who died at the siege of Ba Sing Se, which Iroh was responsible for. He accused Iroh of being evil, of having never gone through loss, which we as viewers know isn’t true, but he doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t defend himself. Doesn’t reveal his own loss to get even. He takes the abuse and the blame and just utters that enough people have been hurt. Great performances all around, really solid writing. I wish more of the show had followed this example.
That lady hitting Zuko with a brush to stop him from attacking Aang, a child, in Omashu’s marketplace. That was one of the funniest scenes in the whole show. Bring her back!
“Everything I need is on this boat.” - ‘nuff said.
Major Character Differences (I’ll try to keep this concise)
Aang
He lost the majority of his lightheartedness which made him so lovable in the first place. He does a lot of monologues and speeches to intense music now. He’s still 12 guys, let him swim with giant elephant koi and dress up as Pippinpaddleopsicopolis the Third to get into Omashu!
I really don’t like that they changed him actively running from his title and responsibilities to just going for a jaunt with Appa to clear his head. That removes so much depth, guilt, and fear that he should have. In the original, it was his choice to run away with the intention of hiding and never coming back, in the Netflix version, it was an accident he never came home. That’s a massive character change.
People called him a coward, but he literally isn’t when it was a very coincidental accident that forced him into the ice in the first place rather than his choice to actively run from his destiny. He’s yelled at and screamed at and insulted constantly, even by people who are meant to help him, when he didn’t even do what they’re accusing him of. He didn’t deliberately run away, he accidentally got caught in a storm. And he just takes all of that guilt and blame and anger from everyone when he genuinely did nothing wrong.
Getting rid of his crush on Katara is a problem, but I’ll get into that more later.
I don’t care why they think they did it, but making Aang agree with Pakku in any respect about not letting Katara train or fight was so extremely disrespectful to both characters.
His reaction to losing his people was way underdeveloped, they gave him no time to grieve. And the fact that Katara doesn’t help him out of his initial Avatar State spiral is so damaging to the friendship they’re supposed to have. Their friendship always came first, let them interact and build that relationship!
Sokka
His small sexism arc that everyone is up in arms about. Do I think it should have been included? Yes. Is it the end all be all of his character? No, like I mentioned above, he got the most character moments in the show. But it was really important in its own way. I saw someone say, “Sokka may not be misogynistic, but Netflix’s ATLA adaptation certainly is.” And they’re right.
What I really didn’t like was what they did with his relationship with his father and ice dodging. Sokka had a great relationship with Hakoda built on trust, mutual admiration, similar tactical mindsets, and strength of character. He passed his ice dodging test with Bato with flying colors. There’s no reason to completely flip those dynamics, there’s already enough other conflicts to explore without giving Sokka daddy issues he didn’t have in the first place. Whoever made that choice was projecting hard.
Hakoda eventually trusts Sokka to lead the invasion in Book 3, but none of that exists here and it doesn’t feel like there’s a path yet to lead to that. (I have a lot to say about the invasion later)
They have Sokka take over a very paternal role with Katara instead of her being maternal, and he is constantly very overbearing, patronizing, and talking down to her as if she has no (or does not deserve a) mind or agency of her own. They (as in the writers) are acting like the age difference between them is 10 years instead of 1-2 years.
Also taking out the very important moment when Sokka was the one who saved an entire Fire Nation village from Jet was just wrong. Not only was it an important stepping stone towards leadership and diplomacy for Sokka, but it also showed that even on the “bad side” of the war, there are innocent people who deserve protecting.
Sokka wasn’t nearly as funny as he should have been.
Katara
Everything about her was wrong, scrap it and try again.
She had none of the passion she should have had. Katara gets mad, she yells and insults and waves her arms around to make her point. She gets jealous and petty. But she’s also so unbelievably kind and caring, she’s the only reason any of them take proper care of themselves. She’s lighthearted and fun when she can be, she plays and laughs and cares so incredibly deeply.
Katara inspires people in a way none of the other characters can, although Aang does learn a lot from her in that regard. She’s incredibly hardworking, loyal, and dedicated to those she loves. And yes, she feels immense pain and sadness for her mother, but that’s not all she is.
LA Katara felt like a hollow shell 90% of the time used for exposition, 5% mom trauma, and 5% sort of emotional. The writing just didn’t lend itself to complexity, flaws, or character depth.
She’s one of the first well written and well rounded female characters a lot of us encountered as kids and they stripped her of everything that made her who she is. Someone for young girls to look up to. It’s shameful.
For some reason they made her explicitly and directly responsible for her mother’s death, which is a very strange and damaging change to make that I don’t think they totally understand the difference of from the original.
They took away all of her maternal behavior, which just tells us what they think of maternal behavior, that it’s a weak trait for a leading character and not worth exploring in a person that had to take that role in her family and village as a whole at such a young age. It’s like the writers thought that Katara being motherly was problematic and sexist, which is a mindset that is itself problematic and sexist.
They’ve essentially turned bending into a magic that relies solely on emotional and mental stability instead of a martial arts form requiring discipline and training. I don’t even think the writers realize they’ve done this, which in and of itself is a massive issue.
Although I will say the water whip on the flaming arrow was a good use of water bending, it just didn’t feel earned to me.
For as much as they focused on her mom, they never once brought up Katara’s necklace?? They took out Pokku’s connection to Gran Gran and never mentioned anything about betrothal necklaces. There’s just so many changes they made, large and small, that feel pointless or contradictory to the source material for no reason.
Zuko
Frankly, so early into Zuko’s character arc, there isn’t a lot of difference here. Most of his development starts in Book 2. I do like the animated version a lot better, though. I am biased, but I also think that even though they hit on almost all the same points, the original just handled it with far more nuance, care, and time. With the Netflix version being so rushed, any payoffs we had just didn’t feel totally earned.
I do think it was a big shame that they had Iroh kill Zhao instead of allowing Zuko’s attempt to save him from the ocean spirit. It’s a pretty important character moment that shows how Zuko wants to help people, save people, if he can regardless of how they’ve treated him. They can make this point again if they do “Zuko Alone”, but I’m honestly really scared they’ll cut it.
Having Zuko fight back during the Agni Kai against his father in the flash back was way out of character and takes away from the severity of the punishment and the trauma of the abuse. He was a 13 year old child terrified of not just disappointing his father, but of suffering harm from the one person he should trust most. And Ozai convinces him he deserves it, so there’s no world where he would have fought back in that scene. And it changes the meaning from a father violently burning a child that has surrendered and begs for forgiveness to a soldier winning a one-on-one battle against another soldier and branding his victory, no matter how dishonorable it is.
Also, at this point, Zuko is an amateur fire bender with barely any experience or progress in his training. Him getting the high ground over Ozai for even a second is ridiculous and diminishes Ozai’s skill level. It could be argued Ozai did it on purpose to give Zuko an opportunity to prove himself as ruthless as Ozai wants him to be, but that completely goes against the precedent set by Ozai that he hates being questioned or otherwise made to look weak in front of anyone. I think I understand what they were going for, but honestly it came off as an opportunity to show off the actor’s fighting skills rather than holding the weight it should for the story.
I DO like that Zuko has a war journal (*diary*) about the avatar, history, and essentially a map of his journey. I DON’T like that Team Avatar uses it as an expository tool and excuse to not properly explore the world and learn things for themselves or through other people.
I don’t think Zuko said the word “honor” once, but please correct me if I’m wrong.
Iroh
Similar to Zuko, they hit a lot of the same surface level points with a few misses here and there.
They didn’t show us Iroh’s connection to the spirit world, they just told us right before the battle at the North Pole and we’re supposed to believe it, which we do because we’ve seen the original, but that was kind of lame. (Not including Roku’s dragon was also lame, but I digress).
They expanded on his past in a few different ways which I did like a lot and mentioned above.
The Netflix version comes off more preachy and gimmicky to me than wise, which is disappointing. I think the actor could have done amazingly with the right script.
They didn’t show him redirecting lightning, which is arguably one of the most valuable skills in the entire show and extremely important for the finale for both Aang and Zuko.
And just like Sokka, he was not nearly funny enough.
Bumi
His characterization was all backwards and wrong and I hated it.
Visually, his makeup and design was pretty good, but that’s the extent of any positives with the Netflix version.
Bumi would absolutely never ever ever have made a joke about the genocide that took Aang’s entire people. That was disgusting and disrespectful to Bumi and Aang.
He was never mad at Aang for disappearing, he was actually extremely understanding and only hoping to teach Aang further about his duties as the avatar. He quite literally welcomed him back with open arms.
The way he treated others, especially his servants, was appalling and borderline cruel.
He never stepped down from protecting his people or became complacent in a way that put them in danger, Omashu was thriving beautifully under his care. When he surrendered to the Fire Nation in Book 2, it was the best way to protect his people without bloodshed and he knew he’d eventually get their home back. He was literally waiting for the Solar Eclipse to do it (which I’ll touch more on later).
This also means that by having Bumi actively fight and lose, instead of surrendering with neutral jing, he won’t be able to realistically give Aang the advice that is supposed to lead him to Toph. Wait and Listen.
I did appreciate the lesson he was trying to convey to Aang about the difficult choices that wartime forces on us, especially leadership (like who gets what food or medicine), but they did it all wrong.
Shame on the writers for what they did to Bumi’s character, I could write an entire essay on everything they screwed up just with Bumi.
Suki
They made her into a lovesick day dreamer instead of the strong warrior and leader she was meant to be. She’s going to go off to war, don’t diminish her strength. Her being a fighter should be the forefront of her character, not a lonely girl pining for a boy and dreaming about the big world.
Her and Sokka’s relationship should have been built up over time, their kiss was so misplaced. When not much time passes before Sokka falls for Yue, it makes him seem like a player.
And that moment Suki’s staring at him shirtless is cringy and yucky, they’re teenagers. Don’t do that.
We’ll see how she is when she shows up again…I actually liked the actress quite a bit, but her writing wasn’t good. That seems to be a theme here though.
I do wish her hair was still auburn instead of black, that’s personal preference though.
Gyatso
They did him so dirty with his death, it was anticlimactic with none of the power or savagery that was implied in the original. His skeleton was literally surrounded by dead Fire Nation soldiers, I wanted to see that dangerous potential on screen and am very disappointed not to get it given how explicitly they wanted to show the genocide of the airbenders.
Jet
Jet’s vendetta is specifically against the Fire Nation. On some level I do believe he would resort to violence against a traitor giving the Fire Nation information, but I don’t think he ever would have put Tao or other innocent (non-Fire Nation) bystanders at such great risk. Maybe that’s splitting hairs though since in the original he was prepared to drown an entire village, of Fire Nation people specifically, as a whole he felt pretty consistent.
I just don’t like Netflix smashing so many plots and characters together, they deserve room to breathe in their own stories.
I hate that he was the catalyst for Katara’s bending training though, instead of her own hard work and practice or training with actual masters. Jet knows nothing about bending or how it works. It’s another instance of stripping Katara of her skill and work ethic.
Yue
As a personal preference, I hate that they made Yue a water bender. She has part of the spirit of the moon in her, so logically I understand where they’re coming from giving her those abilities. But she’s not a water bender! The spirit was working to keep her alive, not to give her powers she shouldn’t have had in the first place.
She’s a princess dedicated to her people and wanting to learn how to lead but also buckling under the pressure of expectations, particularly around her arranged marriage. I saw none of that in the Netflix adaptation, except that she likes to make desserts when she’s stressed, so there’s that I guess. It’s just still missing the depth, but again they don’t have time to really explore these topics.
They make a point with Pokku about the role of women in the Northern Water Tribe and yet somehow Yue is allowed to just call off her arranged marriage. That’s a pretty distinct cultural contradiction. It just shows me the writers don’t know how to portray misogyny as a narrative tool or how to do consistent world building.
Her wig looked awful.
They should have used what happened to Momo (which ouch, that wasn’t necessary) as an opportunity for Katara to prove that she knows how to heal, because she hasn’t done it yet and she’s supposed to bring Aang back from the dead in Book 2.
Azula
I appreciated her introduction scene where she exposes a coup against her father while undercover. It was a little cheesy with her reveal, but it does establish her character decently well early on. And the cover she chose, dead brother and mother, is really interesting narratively.
The writers for Netflix went off about how they didn’t want to portray sexism, through Sokka specifically, but then they stripped the main female leads of most of their agency (Katara, Suki, and Azula all fit this category, I’m worried what they’ll do to Toph).
Azula has almost none of the arrogance that she should have, certainly none of the calm calculated intensity that made her so fearsome and intimidating. Azula should be scary, and she’s definitely not here. She just came off as such a brat with a twitchy face and prone to tantrums.
Her fire isn’t blue, that bothers me a lot. Blue fire is hotter than red fire, it’s supposed to be an indication of not only her fire bending strength but also her temperament. Plus it’s supposed to help us differentiate between their powers when she’s fighting Zuko.
Lightning bending requires so much skill, precision, power, and focus. I don’t believe for a second Netflix’s Azula should actually be able to do it. She was only able to do it because she was mad, and that’s not how it’s supposed to work.
She definitely didn’t earn being able to overpower Bumi and takeover Omashu. Although granted it feels like they nerfed a lot of Bumi’s power, he certainly doesn’t feel like one of the most powerful earth benders in the world.
Ozai had originally sent her out to collect Zuko and Iroh, not to lead an army in a battle against one of the greatest (or what should be one of the greatest) strongholds in the Earth Kingdom. It’s unrealistic and silly. And it’s not like Bumi gave up like he did in the original, he literally said “We’ll be ready to fight” when he revealed that the Fire Nation was headed their way.
Ozai treating her like a nuisance is also way out of character. He’s supposed to feed into her ego and inflating all of her more dangerous traits because he sees them as powerful and necessary for the future leader he expects Azula to be. Zuko should be the disappointing son with no faith or support from Ozai, and Azula the gifted prodigy given every opportunity and surpassing Zuko in Ozai’s eyes. As Zuko said, “He used to say Azula was born lucky, I was lucky to be born.” Somehow that dynamic has almost completely switched and Azula suffered the most from it.
She’s very miscast, the actress was awful. I’m sorry, but not sorry enough not to say it.
Ozai
Ozai should despise Zuko, he’s far more terrifying that way. It’s way more compelling watching a son that’s been so manipulated by his traumas try to win the affections of his father that don’t even exist than the same daddy issues we see in almost every movie or show where the son is trying to live up to his father’s expectations unhappily. Ozai should have no expectations for Zuko, that’s the difference. He sent Zuko on a mission he wouldn’t come back from on purpose, to get rid of him.
That’s terrifying, how disconnected he can be from his son. Trying to make Ozai more human or sympathetic by making him care for Zuko takes away from the monster he’s supposed to be as a villain. They’re not making him more complex, they’re making him more generic.
I just kind of generally don’t like that they’ve revealed so much about him and Azula in Book 1 because part of the well written structure of avatar is that the “villains” escalate from season to season, going from Zuko to Azula to Ozai as the main antagonists. I’d rather they had kept that structure and given more time to better plot and character development.
Plus revealing him so early took away a lot of his intimidation factor for me. Mystery and intrigue is good you guys! You don’t always have to lay all your cards on the table right away.
And at the end when Ozai more or less says that the attack on the Northern Water Tribe was a distraction to take Omashu makes zero sense to me. Not only is it an arbitrary copy of what Sozin said in the beginning about attacking the Earth Kingdom as a distraction for killing all of the air benders (which is also stupid), but thematically and structurally it doesn’t make any sense. The timeline doesn’t add up at all, not that they gave us any indications of timeline. And at this point in the war, the different nations, tribes, and kingdoms are so segregated that the Water Tribe probably wouldn’t have gone to help Omashu in the first place, certainly not in time.
Also I refuse to ignore the blatant contradiction they put in Zuko’s scar story. Zuko is punished extremely severely for INDIRECTLY insulting Ozai, when he’d literally been asked what he thought of the war plans, but when Iroh DIRECTLY questioned Ozai in front of the entire court and spectators (interrupting the Agni Kai, a sacred type of battle in the Fire Nation), there’s no punishment at all. I really don’t understand what the writers are doing with the amount of contradictions.
Roku
Botched, I hated what they did to Roku.
Trying to make him funny? That, right away, ruined his character entirely. I won’t ever be able to take him seriously. He would never make jokes when Aang is desperately looking for guidance and understanding. He’s not a funny silly character, it’s like the writers forgot to add in some levity and chose literally the worst character to force humor onto.
Roku is one of the coolest and wisest characters in the series with some of the most badass scenes and they took away all of them. The future of his portrayal does not look bright.
Kyoshi
Now, I love Kyoshi as much as the next person, but she got way too much screen time.
Not only did they give Roku’s badass possession moment in the Fire Nation Temple to her for absolutely no reason on Kyoshi Island, but they made her the leading influence of Aang’s spiritual journey (he’s constantly trying to reconcile with the advice she gave him) which makes zero sense.
The hundred year war is the consequence of Roku’s legacy and mistakes, it has literally nothing to do with Kyoshi. Roku should be the one mentoring Aang spiritually and guiding him through the remnants of his choices as the Avatar.
Giving her weird future vision for the attack on the North Pole was really weird and made no sense to me, and completely shifted Aang’s motivations from learning water bending (which he never does even once) to warning the Northern Water Tribe, which they end up not even needing him to do because they’re already prepared to fight. Just a convoluted mess narratively.
She isn’t supposed to be that agro of a character, she’s pragmatic and diplomatic. They based her off the memes far more than her source material and it shows.
Making Kyoshi so much more prominent feels like such an insincere thing to do for the sake of “girl boss strong female characters hoorah” that ultimately hurts the writing.
Kuruk
I don’t really know why they decided to give Kuruk so much screen time when it should have been given to Roku or any other character for some development, but I would say it was a decent portrayal. Just an unnecessary one.
They actually used book material for him, which is surprising given the changes they made, but it was specifically for the “spirit killing knife” which was stupid and no one can convince me otherwise.
Having spiritual conversations with so many of the past Avatar’s this early on feels like they’re going to be removing, or at least drastically changing, the Lion Turtle scene in the finale which has me very concerned.
Egregious and Potentially Detrimental Changes from the Original
Removing Jeong Jeong and Aang’s First Experience with Fire Bending
Aang’s terror of fire after hurting Katara when he got too confident is vital for his development. It’s the main reason he eventually accepts Zuko as his fire bending teacher because they both struggle with having hurt people and wanting to fix their mistakes.
This was also supposed to be Katara’s first use of healing, which again I think is something really important for us to actually see she can do. Because all they’ve said is she’s “a natural” just like everything else and that’s such bad storytelling.
Jeong Jeong is a member of the White Lotus and a really important factor in Iroh’s endeavor to take back Ba Sing Se in the finale. Could they do it without him? I guess, but it’s really disrespectful to me to just not include him.
Taking him out will affect plots all the way in season 3.
Not only that, but Jeong Jeong is a valuable example of someone born on the wrong side of the war wanting to make a difference and change his ways. It’s realistic nuance for war!
What Seeing Wan Shi Tong in the Spirit World Means to Me, the Implications for the Library, and Consequences
Wan Shi Tong, similar to Tui and La (the moon and ocean spirits), came to the physical world with the express purpose of bettering humanity. He made the personal sacrifice of staying away from the spirit world so that the human race would have access to his vast and wonderful knowledge. He couldn’t go back and forth between the physical world and the spirit world because he had to be there to keep the Library standing in the physical world in the first place, it can’t stay there without him. The fact that he’s in the spirit world, to me, means that the library may not be in the physical world at all.
Other indications that his library isn’t in the physical world are that Zhao didn’t get his knowledge of Tui and La from the library, he got it from ancient Fire Nation scrolls and records instead (which doesn’t make a lot of sense), and the sun dial that Sokka would have used to discover the solar eclipse and begin the plan for the invasion is now located in the Fire Nation instead. How is Sokka going to learn about the Day of Black Sun now for the invasion? (There’s a lot of setup for the invasion that they’ve screwed up and I’ll talk about it more in a couple other sections).
So assuming we’re no longer going to have the library, there’s a lot of follow-up implications and consequences. This means that we won’t have Appa’s kidnapping which causes a few problems.
One, Appa’s kidnapping directly leads to Jet’s death, the only major on screen death (or injury that leads to death) in the entire show. I guess you could also count Combustion Man, but Jet’s was infinitely more emotional and important to the story.
Two, Appa’s kidnapping and subsequent rescue is vital for proving to the Earth King that Long Feng is a traitor and the Dai Lee has been compromised. This leads to the Earth King trusting Team Avatar’s word implicitly about the Kyoshi Warriors which allows Azula to infiltrate, learn about the invasion plans, capture Katara, and ultimately “kill” Aang at the end of Book 2. Can the writers work around this? Probably. Do I trust them to? No.
Three, protecting Appa is how the Kyoshi Warriors get overpowered by Azula in the first place and Azula is able to infiltrate the Earth Kingdom in disguise. It’s how Suki is captured and ends up at The Boiling Rock prison.
Four, Zuko being the one to let Appa go is a massive character moment as he struggles to let go of the burdens that Ozai pushed onto him to capture the avatar at all cost to others and himself. It leads to his “metamorphosis” as Iroh calls it, leads to him giving up the Blue Spirit identity, and is what makes his later betrayal so painful. Plus, Appa likes him now which is a stepping stone later for Aang to trust him when Zuko wants to switch sides.
And five, Appa’s brief stop with the guru as he’s trying to get back to Aang leads to how Aang gets any instruction on controlling the avatar state. Which also leads to his “death” at the end of Book 2 when he tries to reopen his chakras like he was taught during the fight with Azula. Again, do I think there’s a workaround here? Yeah, but I don’t think they’ll do it well.
Where’s Haru and What it Means for the Future
Removing the “Imprisoned” storyline takes away Katara’s first and one of her most important moments of being an inspirational leader, learning how to speak up for others, and how to make connections with people outside her culture. But they’ve already stripped Katara of so much of her depth, I’m not surprised they took it out.
The more important issue is that Haru, his father, and their people (all Earth Benders) that she helped rescue were very prominent foot soldiers for the invasion in Book 3. Where are they going to get alliances to build an army against the Fire Nation now? My bet is either they won’t, which is concerning for many reasons, or it’ll happen between seasons off screen which is a massive writing problem! Vital events and plot points happening off screen shows extremely poor planning.
Indications of Removing the Swamp and More Poor Planning for the Invasion (are they cutting it out?)
I’ve pretty much convinced myself that the writers are cutting the invasion out of the plot. I’ve listed many reasons above why I think that’s the direction they’re going, but the last straw was when Sokka and Katara were in the spirit world.
I’m almost 100% sure they’re getting rid of “the Swamp”.
When Sokka and Katara are in the spirit world, they are confronted by their worst memories and most difficult emotional obstacles the same way they had been in the original when they were in the swamp. It wouldn’t make any sense to do that again, so they’re probably getting rid of the swamp entirely.
Which means Team Avatar will never encounter the Swamp Water Benders, which then means they lose even more foot soldiers and allies for the invasion. That’s two major allies that just won’t be involved. Between the potential changes to the Library, the lack of allies, and the fact that Hakoda has no trust in Sokka as a warrior, I don’t see how they’re going to realistically be able to do the invasion. If they do, I’ll be shocked and skeptical of how they manage it.
And as another personal pet peeve, taking out the swamp also removes another facet of water bending, being able to control plants by the water in them (which additionally leads into blood bending).
Other Changes That Really Bothered Me
Exposing the Genocide of Aang’s People and the Comet in Episode One
While I did appreciate (to a degree) getting to see the attack on the air benders and how the fall of the Air Nomads happened, I really don’t like that it’s the first thing we see. Like I mentioned earlier, it’s okay and often more beneficial not to reveal everything right away! I much preferred getting bits and pieces as we went along to put together the whole puzzle and have the time to process each new facet of the war. Giving it to us all at once and as the first thing we see takes away so much intricate story telling.
I really didn’t like that all of the air nomads were in the same place for the attack, that’s so unrealistic that they had to create an arbitrary festival to make it happen.
Originally, the Fire Nation attacks all four Air Temples with the power of the comet to back them up for the initial attack. It shouldn’t take one night where they’re all conveniently in the same place (except Aang) and kill them all, it should take one night to deal them such a severe blow that finishing them off over the next few years is easy. Because of course some would get away and were hunted down, that’s how war realistically works.
Removing Aang’s Crush on Katara and What it Means
Oooooh this bothers me for so many reasons, but I’ll try not to be too crazy about it.
I don’t know why they got rid of it completely, unless they’re just waiting until Aang and the actor are a little older for it to be more appropriate. But with what they did with the “Cave of Two Lovers”, I think they’re scrapping the love between Aang and Katara entirely.
Which they haven’t done anything to help them bond at all as friends in the first place except like two moments of bending instructions from Aang and a lot of dialogue about how they’re family. Aang and Sokka have had way more bonding moments together, I can believe they’re friends at least.
One of the biggest issues will be, if they somehow manage to trick Netflix into letting them adapt Korra as well, Aang and Katara’s kids and grandkids are fundamental to the plot there. But that’s getting way ahead of ourselves, let’s just focus on ATLA.
Aang’s feelings for Katara are very important, particularly for being the sole reason he stops trying to master the avatar state, only to attempt it again later to protect her, and then he ends up “dead” for it. He admits to loving her out right in those episodes.
The thing about Avatar is almost every detail is valuable in some way and dominos into a larger plot point. Their love for each other isn’t a major focal point of the show but it does matter, I just really hope they’re not planning on changing love interests.
Moving Anything from Other Seasons into Season One
I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this, but bringing anything from other seasons into season one when you already have such limited time is really irritating because that time would have been better spent on actual character development or including more vital points from season one.
Changing Lore
Aang accidentally bringing both Sokka and Katara into the spirit world with him just because they were in close proximity is ridiculous. He shouldn’t be able to do that. It makes much more sense that they’d be stolen by Hei Bai than piggybacking off Aang when neither of them are spiritually inclined.
Making Avatar shrines the only way for Aang to access his previous avatar is so limiting and irritating, he gets better at it as he becomes more spiritually connected to the avatar state (like in the ocean during the first episode of Book 3 when Aang contacts Roku, or on the Lion Turtle when Aang contacts four past Avatars). Also they completely contradict this rule letter in the season when Aang sees Avatar Kuruk for a few seconds just outside in the Northern Water Tribe. Like they specifically said it, and then completely contradicts themselves, that’s a pretty big consistency error when it’s a change they made.
They removed any significances of the solstices. Once again, giving us no timeline or indication of time passing in the world.
The reason Roku is able to control Aang’s body and powers as much as he can in the Fire Nation Temple is because of the winter solstice when the veil between spirit and physical world is thinnest. But now any Avatar can do it as long as Aang connects with them at their shrine. Kyoshi should not have been to do that to him and it replaced Roku’s very profound moment at the temple.
I don’t like that they said Tui and La are only in physical form one night a year (I think that’s what Zhao said, or something about an ice moon, whatever), and then that night just happened to be near. I can’t think of a single reason why they would make that change. There’s just too many convenient coincidences happening in this version of the story. Tui and La specifically gave up their spiritual forms for vulnerable physical forms for a reason, learn the lore!
The special spirit killing knife was stupid. I don’t know if it’s in the novels and I missed it or if the writers (more likely) came up with it, but it’s seems like really convenient and silly lore that actively contradicts a lot of what was originally set up about the spirits. And added a lot of unnecessary exposition that didn’t even tell us how Zhao got it.
In another similar vein, the MacGuffin of the statue of the many faces goddess spirit that Aang took from Roku’s artifacts to save Katara and Sokka from Kho was just so weird to me. He just eats people now? What happened to him stealing faces if you show an emotion? That was what made him so terrifying, and it was just another moment they stole from Aang and showcasing his potential. It wasn’t his negotiation skills or his self control that saved his friends, but a very convenient object just sitting on a shelf waiting for him.
None of their lore changes made sense or had a purpose to me other than to arbitrarily be different from the source material.
Mature ≠ Graphic
The writers said repeatedly in interviews and articles that they wanted this live action adaptation to essentially be a more mature version. They even likened their vision to be something similar enough to appeal to Game of Thrones fans, which to me was a massive red flag going into the show. Please, do not mix up maturity and graphic violence.
The only thing more “mature” about the live action is that we actually see people being burned alive and killed throughout the season. The original has far more mature writing because of how delicately and intricately it handles very serious concepts. The Netflix writers either do not trust audiences to pick up on subtle and complex ideas, do not trust the actors to portray subtle and complex ideas, or they do not know how to write subtle and complex ideas. Or some combination of the three. Everything is exposition, which I’ve said so many times before, but I will keep saying it until they learn not shove plot right in our faces with no nuance.
The writers simply think they’ve created something more mature because it’s sometimes violent and not a cartoon, which isn’t how that works.
It’s not mature, it’s graphic. Know the difference and you’ll be a better writer for it!
Humor
Yes the humor in the original leans a little more childish, but you don’t solve that by stripping the humor entirely in the adaptation! Almost any attempt at humor, to me, felt like an after thought and was mostly misplaced in a scene (like with Roku, I’ll never get over that). Just overall lost a lot of the whimsy. I understand that animation lends itself to way more expressive, cartoonish, and childish humor, but there’s plenty of funny live-action films and shows. Why did it have to take such a back seat? Again, that’s not a sign of maturity, it’s a sign of a very surface level understanding of how writing works and of what the original ATLA had to offer.
What Was The Point and What Could They Have Done Instead (imo)?
Being brutally honest here, I really don’t think there was any point to making this live action adaptation, especially with the limitations they put on themselves. I think it was, overall, a waste of money and resources. In theory, it was really exciting to have the opportunity to see the world come to life. And in a lot of ways I think they accomplished that between the location designs, costumes, respectful and accurate casting, and environments. I just think that was their main focus, making it look right, that the writing took an unfortunate back seat that made the whole show suffer.
There are two directions I think they could have taken instead.
One, I think they should have planned for six seasons. Every book of the original has a roughly mid season event that could act as really solid season finales. They would be able to stretch out the story and not compress or rush their writing so much. It would be structured more like this:
Season 1 Finale - The Winter Solstice and Discovery of Sozin’s Comet
Season 2 Finale - The Siege of the North
Season 3 Finale - Getting to Ba Sing Se and The Drill
Season 4 Finale - Aang’s “Death”
Season 5 Finale - The Day of Black Sun Invasion
Season 6 Finale - Sozin’s Comet and Confronting the Fire Lord
I understand that doing this doubles the length, and subsequently the cost of the show, which is a big ask. But I also think if they don’t have the resources to do it right in the first place, then they shouldn’t have done it at all. Is it better than the 2010 version we got from Shyamalan? Of course, but please allow yourself to have higher standards than literally scraping by the bottom of the barrel of quality.
I don’t expect anyone to have as in depth opinions or critiques as me, and I don’t begrudge anyone for enjoying the show or even liking some of the changes! But I will say that we all, no matter how critical a viewer you are, deserve better than mediocre quality.
The second direction I think they could have taken, and I really think they should have, is to write something completely original within the world setting of Avatar. There are quite literally dozens of avatars that existed before Aang that have no story yet! They had an opportunity to write some original that actually fits into the 8 episode limit they had while also further expanding on the history and world we all love so much.
I just think the audience, that mostly consists of fans of the original, would have been far more accepting and open to an original story rather than a middling attempt at retelling a story that’s already so beloved.
If you made it this far, I am extremely impressed and also worried for your health! This was mostly me needing to get all of these thoughts and critiques out of my head without ranting to friends and family that have no idea what I’m talking about and would get annoyed.
Anyway, that is my very extensive review that nobody asked for! If you need clarification or further analysis on anything I said, or if there’s something I missed that’s a critique for you on the live action, or if there’s anything you disagree with that I’ve said, please let me know in the comments below! But be nice, I will block anyone being mean about people opinions or thoughts. This is an open friendly space, I won’t tolerate bullying.
Thank you for probably far too much of your time!
#avatar the last airbender#atla#netflix#netflix avatar#avatar live action#my review#please don’t be mean to me if you disagree#I know this is obnoxiously long but no one is forcing you to read it
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An Admittedly Harsh Review of Good Omens Season 2
~ obviously contains spoilers for Good Omens s2 ~
Let me start off by saying that I absolutely ADORE Good Omens, both the book as well as season 1. I love the story, the characters, the writing, the acting, all of it. I'm a huge fan of Crowley and Aziraphale. So trust me when I say that it breaks my heart to leave anything but a glowing review of the second season.
That said, I feel like the second season has received a lot of praise. Fans seem to be generally happy about the way the show went, though obviously 'upset' about the events at the end of the season, as was intended. There were definitely fun things about the show that deserve some praise. However, I don't feel like the show has received the criticism that it is also due. And because of how much I love the first season and the ineffables, I feel like I owe it to myself to give voice to these criticisms. They are as follows:
1 Lack of Emotional Depth
Compared to a first season brimming with emotional depth, meaning, and complexity, the second season of Good Omens is incredibly lacking in multiple ways. Not only is the plot almost virtually void of meaningful emotion, the characters are regrettably emotionally dry. With a big caveat for the final emotional confrontation between Crowley and Aziraphale in the last episode (to be discussed again later), the rest of the show feels quite shallow. Aziraphale and Crowley have little meaningful conversation throughout the entirety of the series; they've just come out of the world almost ending and major upheaval in their realities and in their relationship with one another at the end of season 1, yet the two seem oddly distant from each other, and not even purposefully. Crowley is largely emotionally checked out most of the season, and Aziraphale is just stressed about Gabriel, but gives no thoughts whatsoever to Crowley, which just reads as characterization and dialogue poorly done.
What makes the lack of emotional depth in, and connection between, Aziraphale and Crowley even worse is that the other characters in the season are also horribly lacking emotion. I'll give a pass to Gabriel given it's part of his characterization, but the introduction of Nina and Maggie was disappointing. I was all for the intro of new characters with side romance plots, but the plot between these two feels contrived and, most of all, rushed. Their development is rushed to the extent that it's impossible for these characters to develop emotional depth that would resonate with the audience. Whereas we had extensive scenes of Newton, Anathema, Adam, etc in season one, we barely had scenes dedicated to exploring these two a bit more in depth. I found myself unable to really care about them at all which is a true shame because, as a sapphic myself, I was pretty excited about them.
What makes the ending confrontation between Aziraphale and Crowley so much worse is the fact that they had so little emotional interactions prior to this throughout the season. They were very surface-level, status quo, emotionally neutral through the season except for the tiniest whispers of something romantic before BAM this final dramatic confrontation. That scene was, unfortunately, the only time the entire season I felt like I was actually watching the Crowley and Aziraphale I know and love from season one. Talk about traumatic.
2 Inconsistent Characterization
This is largely intertwined with lack of emotional depth, but it deserves its own focus, too. Some of the character decisions simply do not make sense. Case in point: Crowley living in his car and Aziraphale not knowing and/or not offering him a place to stay. That is so unlike Aziraphale that it hurts. Crowley does something equally offensive by throwing Aziraphale's books around when Aziraphale isn't around. Given that he went to great lengths to save Aziraphale's books in season one and respects his angel with soft adoration, I find it jarring that Crowley would do this. Aziraphale doesn't seem as reflective as he did in season 1. Crowley, who we could always read behind the glasses, seems cold and closed off this season. I felt like I was watching a sad alternate universe version of them.
3 Painfully Slow Plot & Filler Content
To be fair, characters can't shine when the story they're in is sorely lacking.... everything. Each episode I watched became more and more nonsensical, boring, and painful. Flashback scenes were drawn out, the entire fourth episode was drawn out and flat, and the Hell vs Bookshop 'fight' scene towards the end was equally drawn out and anticlimactic. Towards the end of the season, it felt as if I were very slowly having a tooth pulled, and it just ended in the worst way possible. Compared to the brilliance of season 1, season 2's plot and content was disorganized, drawn out, rambling, and frankly felt like filler. The entire Nazi-zombie arc was... painful. The magic scene went on for a lifetime. I truly don't understand how the show managed to do so little with so much time.
Some Concluding Thoughts
The fact that all this culminated in a very intense and dramatic scene between Aziraphale and Crowley makes that interaction even more painful. While there are perhaps some reasons I could see Aziraphale making this decision despite the lessons he supposedly learned in season 1, this again just reads as poorly done to me. Crowley went from showing almost no emotion the entire season to having this very dramatic moment... I would have liked to see consistent hints of this. Without build-up this felt disproportionately unexpected and shocking. The scene undoubtedly has potential and is a very interesting consideration for the characters, but I struggle to care about this scene when it feels so utterly lacking in context.
Overall, as a huge fan on Good Omens and Aziraphale and Crowley, I'm quite disappointed with season 2. I had a lot of hope and excitement for it, but this... this brought disappointment and hurt. The writing felt rushed while also somehow grasping for content. Previously rich and developed characters felt flat. No emotional context existed to draw me in. Each episode, I slipped into a lower level of disappointment.
I'm not a fan of praising things for doing the bare minimum, and that's what this felt like. Just because side-plots geared towards some of the interests that the audience has expressed are included, it doesn't matter if those side-plots and characters end up lacking the context and depth they deserve. If there wasn't enough content to create a second season, better to not make it, in my opinion. Just because we got ~ the kiss ~ the rest of the show doesn't matter. To me, it feels as if they thought that was enough and that everything else would be overlooked as long as this one thing happened.
But... I'm not just going to overlook it. Compared to the fun, emotionally rich, exciting first season of Good Omens, season 2 is barely an echo of that original energy. This season deserves to be critiqued, so I'm going to say it.
I'm wary but cautiously hopeful about a third season. I'm hoping that that story and season would be more reminiscent of the first season's emotionality and meaning, and that we would see depth to our characters again. I could almost forgive season 2 if we got a genuinely well-done conclusion to the story.
// End Rant
#good omens#crowley#aziraphale#aziracrow#ineffable husbands#ineffable idiots#ineffable bureaucracy#go2#good omens season 2#critique#media criticism#discussion
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could you tell me (without major plot spoilers -- details about characters and character dynamics are fine) what you loved most about 13's era? <3 I've started my first major who rewatch since I fell off the bandwagon (somewhere along season 11), and I'd love to know what I can look forward to!!
Oh my days hello!! Welcome to my blog! :D Be careful scrolling around because there are a LOT of spoilers (one character in particular is a walking spoiler rip) but oh man hMMM this is such a good question okay because I'll be 100% honest with you, I wasn't actually the biggest fan of s11? Like, don't get me wrong, there are certain episodes that I absolutely love (The Woman Who Fell to Earth is a prime example) and I know there are a lot of people who love it a lot, but on the whole I was pretty 'meh' about that season. It's a great set up, though, for what comes next - because you know how in s11 the Doctor is very much, on the surface, all happy go lucky and everything about the universe is wonderful? Well, that's one hell of a façade, and I really love s12 and 13 because we gradually get to see that mask start to crack under pressure, and it's SO good to see how the Doctor just...steadily losing her ability to keep it up. And she's so SO terrible with vulnerability - I said it in an ask yesterday, but I'm certain that a LOT of that comes from Grace dying so fast after she met her, newly regenerated, as well as losing Bill at the end of s10, and it means that she keeps everyone else at arm's length and won't let anyone see her vulnerable, because she has to keep everyone safe and she can't let anyone else die she can't lose anyone she can't do that again. And in s12 and 13, you get to see some of the consequences of her not actually being upfront about everything with her companions.
On a similar note, I really REALLY love the key thematic threads in the last two series! There's a lot about memory, identity, trauma and grief in s12 particularly, but also in s13 too, and I absolutely LOVE stories that delve into those. For me, it's been such a treat to have storylines that really dig into these ideas and explore them. There's also a general anti-imperialist theme, especially in s12 and 13, which I really enjoyed. There is some pretty divisive additions to Gallifreyan/Doctor Who lore in s12 and 13, but I personally really REALLY love it - I think it really adds to the story and expands the sandbox, so to speak, whilst also doing this INCREDIBLE job of 1) adding new layers of angst to old episodes of Doctor Who reaching waaaaaay back into Classic, whilst preserving the episodes as they were before so you can read them either way, as well as 2) taking odd bits of canon that didn't make sense and weaving them into a coherent storyline. It's genuinely really cool, to me at least. So I would say go into that with an open mind.
There's also some WONDERFUL characters in s12 and 13 - I won't say who or what or where, but there's a lot of fun stuff. I don't know how you found my blog, so you might not know that I write a lot of fanfic, and I've had a whale of time exploring some of the side/recurring characters in s12 and 13, and they're such a joy to write :) But of course the MAIN characters are so SO fantastic - I absolutely ADORE thirteen, she's awful and a massive hypocrite but also just doing her best and trying to keep herself together (and failing), and she's so great to write. I've written over half a million words (literally) about her now, so I think that should tell you how much inspiration Thirteen and this entire era has given me. And the companions are just fabulous. ALSO!! There's a LOT of telepathy and other tropes in this era that I've reaaaaally really loved.
Also - and this is just a little thing, but whilst I love Moffat's era, he did have a tendency to overuse the TARDIS cloister bell - which, I mean, that's fine because I love it HAHA but in Chibnall's era, I think we only hear it......once? I think? I may be wrong, but I remember the one main time we hear it is pretty far into his era and I was like YOOOOOOOOO because we hadn't heard it in so long, right? And so to suddenly hear it again.......it was like 'oh frick, this is REALLY BAD then', and it just gave me chills, yknow? So I liked that a lot!
There are probably a bunch of other things too, but I reckon that gives you a sense of it. I think one thing to really remember with Chibnall's era is that the more you dig into the stories and engage with them, the more you discover and the more it rewards you. A lot of storylines that can seem really simple or sparse on the surface can end up being SO rich once you sit with them for a few minutes. I think I've particularly discovered this as I've written fanfic, but also just thinking about stuff and how it all connects - within itself as an era, but also back into previous eras too! It's such a celebration of the entire show - especially the last episode - and it's very VERY obviously been made by a team of people who had an absolute blast making it, and were all very supportive of each other. I've also really appreciated that there's been a genuine strive towards diversity, both in front of and behind the camera, and whilst there have definitely been some pretty blatant missteps, from what I've seen and heard (for example, during Gally One panels) these efforts were done with good intentions behind them, and all the time actively striving towards something better? And I personally think that a flawed end result is much better than one that plays it safe with no diversity at all. It's a step in the right direction, at least - and, post Doctor Who, Chibnall pretty much immediately went to set up a project that trained up new producers because he said that 'too many showrunners are people like me' - so I think that suggests (to me, at least) that his money is where his mouth is.
ANYWAY that ended up being long....hope this helps, though!! And I really hope that you enjoy watching this era as much as I did!! :D I've loved Doctor Who since 2005, but s12 and s13 just catapulted me into being absolutely obsessed with it again, and it's been so wonderful to get so much joy out of something that I've loved since I was a kid
VERY QUICKLY THOUGH - list of some of my favourite Thirteen episodes, in no particular order:
War of the Sontarans
Spyfall (parts 1 and 2)
Village of the Angels
The Woman Who Fell to Earth
Survivors of the Flux
Ascension of the Cybermen
Fugitive of the Judoon
Eve of the Daleks
The Power of the Doctor
#taka replies#anon#long post#doctor who#chibnall era#thirteenth doctor#thirteen#the doctor#uhhhhhhhhh idk what to tag this#but man!!!#i didn't go into my personal feelings about the doctor#and how she was the first time i really felt SEEN in another character#because that's something that's pretty open to interpretation anyhow#but yeah she means a huge amount to me augh#and this whole era is just....very close to my heart
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Ramblings About Ep. 1 of the New ATLA Adaptation
Okay, so the other day, I watched the first episode of the new live-action ATLA adaptation (only episode 1, I haven't seen the rest and don't really plan to), and I felt like I should probably share my thoughts (a large part of this is just me hyper-analyzing story-structure stuff).
I'm not quite sure how to feel about the fact that they started before the Air Nomad genocide and at the start of the war, but I kinda like it. It is a major change from the OG show and affects the flow of it, but it's not a terrible decision, and is actually kind of interesting. It also adds something very interesting to the viewing experience and perspective of the show's story.
On the one hand, starting with Sokka and Katara added a bit of mysticality to Aang's appearance as an airbender. We start with the knowledge that airbenders are rare/unfamiliar to a lot of people now, and the idea that they haven't been seen for 100 years is less of a surprise. But that makes Aang all the more surprising. He is a mystery, someone only heard of in stories. It makes airbenders as a whole a more grand reveal.
"The Storm" is also an excellent episode, and makes our perspective on Aang change in an interesting way. We start out viewing him from Katara and Sokka's perspective. He is a silly kid who is slightly mysterious, but is also the savior people have been waiting for for generations. But then the episode "The Storm" comes, and we see a whole new side to him. He goes from "goofy kid" to a really tragic character.
Imagine if we were first introduced to Katara when she was a kid and before her mother died, then saw the Southern Water Tribe raid. Or if we were introduced to Zuko starting at the meeting where he yells at the general, then see the Agni Kai with his father. The emotional impact of both those events would be very different, and out perspectives on those characters would be very different.
Instead of seeing Katara as a motherly and kindhearted, yet inexperienced young girl, then slowly realizing there is a lot more under the surface that she is hiding from everyone, we would start out seeing her as a tragic character who is hiding a great loss. Instead of seeing Zuko as some asshole prince, then learning his backstory after establishing him as an asshole, we would start out on his side and see his downward spiral from there. Our expectations for who they are as characters would be completely different, because our introductions and starting points would be completely different.
But the fact that those would be different doesn't mean that those would be inherently bad. Just a different way of telling a story. It gives the viewer a completely different perspective of the character as a whole despite telling all the same events. Telling the events in a different order changes the viewing experience drastically, but it doesn't mean either method is wrong.
The fact that we start out with the war makes for an interesting plot-twist for those who haven't seen the original show and know nothing about it. When we start out with the war and the Air Nomads, it makes airbenders feel like a part of the norm. They are not quite as mysterious, and are much more familiar to the audience. When we learn of the war, that obviously becomes the point of interest for us. However, if you go in completely blind, you may expect for the plot to partially be about stopping the war before it starts, or preventing the Air Nomads from getting attacked. Your expectations for what will happen in the show are completely different.
We see the Air Nomads as a natural part of the world, and our starting perspective/main introduction to the world (the first two scenes before that are a bit to vague to be used as proper introductions to the world, while the Air Nomads are a bit more solid). They are the norm, and while we likely don't expect to stay with the Air Nomads forever, we likely expect them to remain a part of the world. They are essentially "home" to us, the same way the Southern Water Tribe felt like "home" in the original, even though we were only there for two episodes.
They are still home to our main characters and the starting setting, and thus, us. It is the familiar since it is the strongest point of introduction to the world. So every new location introduced after that will feel unfamiliar, while the starting location will not. This is the case with the Air Nomads. Everything outside of them feels unfamiliar because they are not our starting point of reference. So when the Air Nomad genocide occurs, it is a lot more shocking and upsetting.
Imagine if, in the original show, the reason Katara and Sokka had to leave with Aang wasn't just because they were helping him, but because Zuko and the firebenders burned down the entire village after beating Sokka in the duel. This killed everyone inside, and left Katara and Sokka homeless, with nowhere else to go. It would be a whole new degree of horrifying.
Going back to the point on the Air Nomad genocide and the airbenders in general. We were introduced to Monk Gyatso early on, not as a mysterious mentor we hear about secondhand or in flashbacks, but as one of the major characters who we know a bit more personally. Maybe we expect him to die, but not exactly like this. And more importantly, we don't expect for all the other airbenders to die (unless you guessed based on the title of the show).
These were our main characters. This isn't supposed to happen. And yet, it does. We can understand the anguish that Aang feels, because we lose our main point of reference at the same time he does. Monk Gyatso's death also has a tiny bit more impact and feels more like, say, Obi-wan's death. While I think his death-reveal was a bit more emotional in the original, that's because the acting and music and directing was better. If those elements stayed the same, then I think his death would likely be even more emotional than the original (I will touch on this more later). He is our starting point not just for Aang, but for the viewer as well. He feels like our mentor rather than "Aang's old teacher." He is not a past-tense or flashback, but a present tense character who is killed off.
This all puts us into Aang's shoes a bit better, and we experience the loss alongside him. It feels less like seeing a loved one grieve and hearing about the one's they lost secondhand, and more like grieving with them. But that's not the only thing we experience alongside Aang, or the big value of starting before the timeskip.
Remember how I brought up plot-twists? Well, this is the other interesting advantage of starting with the beginning of the war and the Air Nomads. First, we have already experienced the loss and tragedy of the Air Nomad genocide. While Aang doesn't know about it until a bit later, we are still essentially grieving the loss alongside him.
But not only did we not expect the Air Nomads to all get killed off, we definitely did not expect a 100 year timeskip. And the best part (which I was hoping they would do as soon as I realized they were starting with the Air Nomads) is that they don't actually tell us until they tell Aang. We get a period of time where we don't realize that that much time has passed. We are likely expecting it to take place soon after the Air Nomad genocide, and that it will be a recent event. At most, it could be a couple of years or so. Maybe even just a year. They've been at war, but not for that long.
We can even assume for a bit that maybe this small village is just so remote that they've never met other benders before, or at least airbenders. Maybe they heard about the genocide, and didn't expect there to be survivors, but it would still be relatively recent. We think that they are in the same period as us, and maybe not the same exact situation, but generally a similar international one. We expect Aang to still be in his time. The framing is actually perfect for this. Sure, there will be a few moments that will feel...off...but everything can be excused.
So when they reveal that actually, this is a 100 year timeskip, it is worldshaking. Imagine that in most other shows. A character gets knocked out and is found in a new location by a few other characters, and things seem mostly normal. But then they throw us and the character a curveball by revealing that they've been missing/unconscious for 100 years and everything has completely changed. That's absolutely wack.
I will admit, based on how things were set up, I was a little disappointed with the payoff of the "plot-twist". The most interesting part of starting at the beginning of the war before the genocide is that the 100 year timeskip becomes much more shocking. We are mainly seeing things from Aang's perspective, so the shock of this revelation should be just as impactful for us as it is for him.
But it doesn't feel like a big enough moment. It feels a little rushed over. I think this is due to the same problems as Monk Gyatso's death. The music/sound design, direction, and acting aren't as good and don't have the same punch to them, thus taking away the impact of what should be a powerful moment. I think it was an interesting idea, but the payoff kinda defeated the point.
~~~~~
While going to the air temple makes sense in terms of character logic, I feel like the story-structure automatically took away the impact of Aang discovering Gyatso's body. Yes, as I've been saying, I kinda like them starting with the Air Nomads and then showing the genocide, but since they changed the story structure and emotional beats, it changes what scenes are and aren't necessary.
The episode "The Southern Air Temple" is very specific in how it tells its story, and the buildup to discovering Gyatso's body really only fits with the original episode. I think that maybe this could have worked if Aang coming back to the Air Temple was its own episode like in the original show and it took place a few episodes after episode 1. Like, we've already been on one or two adventures with Aang, Katara, and Sokka, and while they aren't besties yet, they are still beginning to establish a bond. We also see Aang still being at least slightly hopeful about there still being other airbenders around, which could be pretty sad since we already know that they're gone and it hasn't hit him yet.
Then, there is an episode where he is wandering around the Air Temple like in the original, and there is an intense tension throughout the episode as he gets closer and closer to Gyatso's body. We know Gyatso's dead, but Aang doesn't. We know that him seeing Gyatso's body is inevitable, but there is still a lot of tension in waiting for the inevitable. So it could be a really heartbreaking episode, because we know exactly what's going to happen, but we can't stop it.
So when he finally discovers Gyatso's body, it's like a gutpunch. And that's when the OG scene plays. The fact that it's a few episodes later also adds an impact to Katara's line about her and Sokka being Aang's new family. We experienced the loss of Aang's old family, and then we realize that the water tribe siblings have become Aang's new family. It makes it more heartwarming. Yes, Aang has lost, but he has also found.
~~~~~
I will admit, despite the controversy, Sokka's actor is pretty good. Maybe that's just because the movie lowered my expectations by a lot, but he was the most entertaining character. I laughed at a few of his jokes, and he was fun.
I do see people's problems with the sexism being taken away. The first episode works well enough without the sexism, and introduces a new, pretty interesting arc for Sokka (being a teenager expected to lead when he's not ready. That was slightly the case in the OG, but it more focused on other elements of this) which slightly parallel's Aang's arc of responsibility and putting expectations on kids/teens that they shouldn't have to handle. But Sokka's sexism arc was already pretty interesting and unique, and his toxic masculinity made his arc very intriguing. His character was very fun to look at through that lens, and slightly played into the idea of expectations.
I'm also unsure how this will work for the rest of the series. I mean, Kyoshi Island. What will they do with that? Legitimately. What is there to do? That was half the point of that episode, and it was awesome.
~~~~~
People were right when they said the special effects looked great, way cooler and cleaner than the movie. The opening scene with the earthbender is a great example of how to adapt bending into a live action form that captures the spirit of bending and does it service. It feels just as grand as in the original show. While I know the the bending moves in the OG were based on real martial arts, it can be hard to recognize just how natural the movements looked in relation to bending when watching a cartoon. But the live action bending made me realize and appreciate the way the elements actually flowed with the movements. They didn't felt random, they felt like there was legitimate physics to it.
I still have one problem with the airbending, though. I know Aang is the Avatar and a prodigy, but he was basically flying at multiple points, specifically when he was first introduced. I feel like he should only be able to do stuff like that with either his glider or when he's in the Avatar state. I was really getting into the episode and was slightly enjoying his introduction, but then he started floating down way too slowly without anything to fully support him (like a glider or even parachute), and it immediately broke my immersion and suspension of disbelief.
Despite being a show about people with either hyperspecific telekinesis or pyrokinesis, as I mentioned above, ATLA feels surprisingly realistic and grounded in its magic system, and bending feels natural with a physics of its own. I don't actually have to suspend my disbelief too hard, because though it can't happen in the real world, it doesn't feel unbelievable. Aang gliding around without a glider or other device to help carry him? Far less believable. Also, where's the airscooter? That made more sense for Aang and felt a lot less weird, and was more in-character. It's also very fun to watch and I'd look to see him do it. Give us back the airscooter.
So bending in the show still has a few minor flaws, and we're only on Episode 1.
~~~~~
Now, obviously, I do have some criticisms. I just like to get the positives out of the way first (though even then, I did mention a few negatives). The main problem that immediately stood out to me (and even my ever optimistic mom) is that the acting felt really stiff most of the time. That was one of the major problems with some of the emotional scenes I mentioned, like Aang finding out how long he'd been in the iceberg, or him discovering Monk Gyatso's body. I think everyone has probably already mentioned it, but I still felt the need to mention it. I respect the actors and feel bad saying this, but the acting lowkey ruined a lot of the first episode for me.
Like, do these characters feel anything ever? I get subtly in acting, but for characters like Aang, he often wears his heart on his sleeve and is very expressive. I actually wouldn't mind at least a little bit of exaggeration, at least for Aang. And while I said Sokka was okay, he could be a little bit better, and like Aang, he could be a little more exaggerated. Like when he's frustrated or annoyed (or most anything really), he seems like the type to have big, physical reactions. He talks with his hands and does things like throwing them up in the air in exasperation. He lets out big groans as he slouches and throws his head back. He's a silly guy, even when he is trying to act tough and serious. Basically get the most naturally funny guy you know and cast him as Sokka.
Katara, like in the movie, basically felt like she wasn't even there, or was standing around all the time. At this point, it feels like nobody will be able to capture the essence of the OG Katara, or they don't know how to. I saw a post recently that mentioned that Katara is actually a pretty angry person sometimes, and while she is very sweet and caring, she is a 14 y/o girl who is prone to outbursts and moments of pettiness. I actually like her best when she is yelling at people and getting annoyed and emotional. She is very flawed and more than just the motherly caretaker.
It feels like they need to add more emotional Katara, and not just the kind who cries. A Katara who is still a teen girl at the end of the day and has childish behaviors like the others. She will have moments of emotional immaturity. She will get overeager and impulsive (like when she stole the water scroll). She will be playful and silly. She will be angry and protective in a way that makes her reckless. She will make poor decisions. She will become strong and badass. She is so many things.
And yet, it feels like she is never given the spotlight, attention, and variety she deserves in these adaptations. Sorry for rambling about Katara, I just have so many Thoughts™ on her.
~~~~~
I don't have too much else to say, but there is one moment that unintentionally made me giggle, and I need to mention it. In the final few minutes of the episode (possible part of the final shot or something), Zuko runs over to his desk and starts furiously painting something on a piece of paper. He pins it to the wall in front of him, and it is a very shitty ink painting of Aang. And I find it so funny for some reason? I think it was because he was painting with such passion and intensity like it was the most important thing in the world, only for it to be contrasted by a poorly drawn scribble.
~~~~~
Anyways, that's all I have in my brain rn (or at least all that I care about enough to say anything about). These were just random, slightly disconnected ramblings rather than a properly written review, but I hope you related to them anyways or at least think they are interesting.
#atla#avatar the last airbender#atla netflix#atla live action#atla aang#aang#netflix avatar#atla fandom#avatar aang#atla review#live action atla#avatar the last airbender review#critique#media critique#review#show review#monk gyatso#katara#sokka#first episode#new show#first watch#reaction#animation#animated series#cartoons
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Duke Nukem 3D
Duke Nukem 3D, developed by 3D Realms is a showcase for Ken Silverman’s Build engine. It was not the only game to use the Build engine, nor even the first but it was the most popular and successful game to use it. It wasn’t even the first Duke Nukem game, but it’s success overshadowed the two platform games that preceded it.
At the core of Duke Nukem 3D is solid Doom-like “boomer shooter” action. It’s a game about shooting things, more than plot. The plot is, aliens have invaded and kidnapped Earth’s women, and now action hero Duke Nukem must stop them, it doesn’t go any deeper.
And the levels don’t deviate that far from the Doom formula either. Functionally it’s about exploring the often complex and maze-like levels, defeating the enemies, and finding key cards to unlock doors to progress and find the exit to the next level.Duke Nukem 3d also has the episodic structure of the original Doom, so the game is divided into sets of levels. The game originally shipped with three episodes in January 1996, but 3D Realms developed a fourth episode released first as an expansion pack and later bundled with the main game in december as Duke Nukem 3D: Atomic Edition released in December 1996. That’s the version I bought and played for this review, using eduke32.
Duke Nukem 3D massively expanded on the Doom formula in ways that were very innovative for the time, and allowed it to compete successfully with ID Software’s own Quake, released that year, despite that game featuring actual 3D.
The Build engine wasn’t real 3D, in that it couldn’t do proper “room-over-room”, which is the hallmark of true 3D. Instead it was 2.5D, like the Doom engine that inspired it. In such an enginethe level designer can’t create a house with two floors, one floor over the other, or a platform that the player character can both walk on and walk under. Things can have different elevations, but the engine can’t actually handle all three dimensions fully.
Except the Build engine allowed the devs to fake room-over-room with various means. The basis o this trick is that two different sectors or rooms could overlap on the map, as long as they weren’t seen at the same time. Using portals to other sectors and seamless teleports of the player, including on stairs, it could fake 3D space. And this is used to great effect in Duke Nukem 3D. The level cans often feel like true 3D, and knowing that it really isn’t only makes the design more impressive.
The Build engine also allowed for basically all of its levels to be modified on-the-fly, which is also exploited very well in Duke Nukem 3D. Years before Red Faction, you could destroy parts of the environment to proceed, like blow a hole in the wall to create a new path (often marked by Zelda-esque cracks in the wall), or blow up entire buildings to proceed, both to find secrets and as part of required progression through the levels.
In addition, Duke Nukem 3D had a more realistic level design that earlier FPS games. Both Doom games were fairly abstract mazes, even when Doom II tried to depict cities on Earth it was more a suggestion than anything meaningfully detailed. Even Quake, which came out after Duke Nukem 3D and was actually 3D used a Doomesque abstract level design. But Duke Nukem 3D succeded at depicting realistic locations more so than anything that came before it. You get a cinema, a bookstore, a bank, a hotel and a subway station. Like they are not entirely realistic, but there are clear representations of real-life things and realistic enough to work. It does indulge in Doom-like space techbases in episode 2, but otherwise the settings are more realistic
Duke could do a lot more than most FPS protags bar maybe the System Shock hacker (who also had a true 3D engine to work with). You can put on scuba gear and go swimming (going from the surface to underwater is maybe one of the more obvious teleports, but still pretty seamless.). You can find a jetpack and fly around the level and find secrets. You find a shrinker weapon that can shrink even the toughest non-boss enemy to a harmless tiny creature that Duke just steps on with his boots. And you can be shrunk yourself and go through tiny crawlspaces. Also Duke could talk, and specific situations triggered situation-appropriate oneliners, impressive for 1996.
There are some problems. Gameplay-wise, the levels can be very maze-like, and it can be confusing and frustrating to find your way. There are also some really dumb switch puzzles which give you 3-4 on/off switches and it’s just inputting combinations, bruteforcing the puzzle, until you find the right one, a waste of time. But overall the level design holds up, how the levels twist in on themselves is sometimes really fun and engaging to find out.
Of course, maze-like level design and dumb puzzles isn’t the whole extent of Duke Nukem 3D’s problems. Let’s talk about the babes for a minute, the portrayal of women in this game.
Of course the traditional defense of Duke Nukem is that it’s all a joke. And yeah, Duke himself definitely is meant as a joke, a parody of 80s bodybuilder action heroes, complete with one-liners stolen from other movies. He’s an obvious example of 90s-era irony. And some of the humor works. My favorite joke in the game is that Duke leaves each level by finding and hitting the level’s self-destruct button. It’s bombastic on a literal level, but a subtle enough comment on the violent destruction of action movie heroism that it’s still funny. Way less subtle, but still fun is the fact that one of the most common enemies are pig cops, once human cops who have been turned into literal anthropomorphic pigs.
Still the joke doesn’t go far enough to truly subvert the macho misogyny of Duke. If Duke views women as sex objects, the game doesn’t contradict him on that point. Women in this game exist literally to be sexy décor scattered around the levels, and not much else. The sexy scantily clad women in this game are silly, but they are probably meant to also be unironically titillating.
Still, again it’s not too bad. Duke is played with enough self-aware humor to not be totally obnoxious, helped by Jon St. John’s charismatic and rightfully iconic voice acting. And the sexy ladies are so silly that it takes the edge out of the offensiveness. Strippers continuing their dancing oblivious while an alien invasion is literally going on around them are just too silly. The game overall is so light on plot that both the babes and Duke as a character only appear occasionally. It’s a game focused on the gameplay, and the gameplay is good.
Duke Nukem 3D is ultimately just fun to play. There is some great action here, with a nice weapon and enemy variety to keep you going. And it’s impressive how the game pushes against the technical limitations of its engine.
The best way to play Duke Nukem 3D is buying the Atomic Edition on the obscure but legit digital games store Zoom-Platform, which sells the game without drm and also includes pretty much everything officially released for Duke Nukem3D. This includes all four episodes made by 3D Realms and the official expansions made by other developers. And while you can play the original game by emulating MS-DOS via Dosbox, the best way is probably the eduke32 sourceport which allows you to play the game natively on modern systems.
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Oh, I love puppets! / I'm just passing through, like fish in the night
It's The Girl Who Died/The Woman Who Lived tiiiime, and this is one of the big recurring thematic episode holders of the season, and possibly... possibly I should watch them again at some point, when I'm not over-inundated with what in hindsight was a bit of a bonkers schedule of getting through M*ffat-era in a relatively short space of time, because I think some of it lost me a bit. not the plot, just a couple of Things here and there, which actually goes back to the first couple of episodes, where they were mentioning a Hybrid, but I'm like. wait did I miss something? was this Hybrid relevant or did it just Appear as another legendy type thing? why is it being mentioned like everyone knows what it is out of the blue?
this not because I remember the Hybrid being mentioned in these episodes, but because "Me" mentioned them in the finale episode and I was like... wait, hold on a second, I missed all this build-up, does it tie back into these episodes... I cannot tell you, I honestly can't, I cannot remember, I didn't note when the Hybrid was mentioned. but I will rate what I do remember!
sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10
sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored, or given agency to her emotional interiority): 3/10
interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 7/10
furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 5/10
companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 3/10
the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 8/10
doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 7/10
isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10
internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 8/10
Politics (how conservative is the story): 6/10
FULL RATING: 67/100 (if I can count….)
this season is so far pretty consistently in the high 60s. it's a good season, but a few things are definitely starting to look like A Pattern (this is why it's great to have a System, I can be like "it's not just vibes, see I have a System, and if people tell me the System is highly subjective, I can knock over a water deliberately and run away in the confusion)
OBJECTIFICATION: as far as I can remember there's nothing here on that front. we've been cured at this point, I tellya
PLOT-POINT: Clara isn't really going through an emotional journey in the first episode (the Doctor sure is though boy oh boy) and straight up isn't in the second one, unfortunately. we'll get to that.
COMPLEXITY: okay so on the surface, these are quite simple, chill plots, I enjoy them both. the snag is... what the fuck just happened with Me??? immortal Me???? really immortal Me???? I wrote way more about that in the point below, but yeah I think they should have made her... less immortal. durable perhaps. long-lived. but ooh that was... that was very very immortal huh
CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: one thing I've noticed, that I dunno which point to put on and so has ended up here (but maybe it should have been on the "plot point" point, is that several times throughout this season we've smash-cut to "Clara is in danger in some way/close to death and then the Doctor gets her out of the situation"
I note this because I feel like it's there as a recurring joke, but also it comes up in "Face The Raven" that Clara seems to be enjoying herself too much with these life-and-death situations, but... I don't think it's clear enough. Idk if I'm being pedantic or not, I really really don't, but I'm not a fan of these "insights" into their adventures being uniformly about danger as a Joke
couple of times, sure, but... do you ever go somewhere just for the joy of the experience? why no snapshots into fun/beautiful/joyous experiences? like back in Rings Of Akhaten, it felt like yes there was danger because of circumstance, but the point of the journey was to experience, in fact the thing that tends to keep companions coming back is "anything could happen next that is wondrous, despite the danger (although the danger could become intoxicating, this isn't the goal from the outset, and how companions interact with that danger when it appears in balance with the joyous experiences gives a lot of the tension of their individual stories)."
this is a thing that happens at the beginning of this episode and is irrelevant to the rest of it. Clara's relationship with danger beyond "she weirdly doesn't care much" isn't as explored as I'd want it to be. genuinely why do we never see them setting out to have a good time? what do these scenes tell us about their dynamic, and are they telling us this On Purpose, or am I reading too much into them?
I'm jaded I tell you, jaded!!!! I never know when M*ffat is doing something because of "fun setpiece opening" or when it genuinely Means something. Fuckit I'll read into it: Clara has a weird fucking relationship with danger, because she seems to have been casually on the verge of death several times and brushed it off in a super chill way within the same episode! there we go, read into it
the other way to read into it is Clara has a weird fucking relationship with danger, because the Doctor's influence has made her believe she is literally invincible and nothing really bad can happen -- this despite her boyfriend yeeting himself into the atmosphere after becoming a cyberman
anyway, there is actually some real ongoing Plot stuff in this lol, I went off on a tangent to begin with because of that being the beginning: this plot is not... really related to Clara. it semi-is because of the end of the season, but I do think it's weird that this double-episode about Me -- who will later travel with Clara -- doesn't really cement a bond between Clara and Me. like yeah, they get on in the first episode, but in the second episode where we meet Me properly -- the Me we'll know moving forwards -- Clara just isn't there. I genuinely don't get it, because I've said that there are episodes where it feels like Clara is redundant from a thematic and lore/plot-building perspective, but this episode which sets up Me, doesn't also set up little threads that could make us look back end-s9 and say "ah yeah, I can imagine what kind of co-travellers these two might become"
but back to Me. IIIIIIIIIIIIII have questions. I actually think this is way bigger for some reason than a lot of more commonly discussed lore-building. like, sure, Time War, granted I was 10 or so so maybe that's just in my read of the story as indelible, but then bringing Gallifrey back, yeah, makes sense, it's a show that goes on forever, Timeless Child, yeah why not, [spoilers for the last special in case you haven't seen it] doesn't change much, but the Doctor just... made someone immortal? Immortal immortal???? meet them again end of the Universe immortal??? just travelling around in another Tardis immortal???????? you can just do that?????? why does this shock me so much, idk. maybe it's because with the Doctor you can really fuck with stuff, they're already an alien who can change their face, I get you wanna shake that up sometimes
this just casually happened midway through a season and is -- as far as I can remember -- irrelevant outside of this season of the show. it's sooooooooooo. can we talk about how this works please??? what. what was that for??? so many questions about Me-as-concept, but I guess she's just... out there. still potentially immortal?? she's gotta be more immortal than the Doctor is, how can she be totally unharmed after whatever the fuck trillions? trillion tillions??? of years???? okay stop thinking about this now, brain broken
fuckn Jack was made immortal by the time vortex itself and is less immortal than she is, okay I'm over it now. so many questions
COMPANIONS MATTER: Clara kind of does in the first one, in that she's the point of contact with Ashildr. but then she's literally not in the second one at all. I wonder if JLC had a commitment, it feels like a commitment thing. RIP because that was genuinely an episode I think Clara should have been in
“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: this is a turning point for the doctor, and I do note it's happened roughly halfway through his run, in which he basically realises that he has to save this girl, because this face -- in turn -- was saved back in Fires Of Pompeii. truthfully I don't think anyone questioned Capaldi looking exactly like... well, Capaldi, but fuckit, it's Doctor Who, fuck around a bit + it's for good and not evil! (+ hi ten hi donna!!!)
the point is that the Doctor's been having a bit of an identity crisis ever since this face arrived, and spent all of s8 running around seemingly just dissociating from themself and everyone else in the Universe, and s9 they've sorta been going. oh hey people. I don't want to be an asshole anymore. I got flashcards! (I wish actually the flashcards had been there from s8, I think they would have made s8 Doctor much more fun to engage with for me)
these episodes really feel like the episodes to fully nail that, although s9 has been going in that direction from the start. can I trace it back to anything particular in s8, yeah, I guess, it's sort of thereee in certain interactions, especially in the last few episodes. truth be told, now I'm a little away from s8, it's like I can't quite remember just how pissed off and distant he was all the time, I've just got to trust my notes saying he was (this is why we take notes kids -- the kids are me, I did not take notes for s9 so now there is a very limited amount of time I have to write these reviews before it stops existing for me)
I think this works. I have... questions... about the "can't travel with another immortal" bit which I'm putting here, because while I like the Doctor finally voicing their thoughts on some of the internal stuff that's been going on (which, notably isn't to Clara, but then again the Doctor often doesn't tell their emotions to companions, because they must be Spared, get some therapy king, and apologise to Martha Jones someday) -- while I like the Doctor and Me having that conversation about "the mayflies" (which I'm also into as descriptor), I feel like it's a bit of a cop out, similar to back when River Song was like "naahhh can't travel with you because scheduling issues uh Real Plot Reasons I swear" and just like then, I feel like they wrote their way into a corner with this one
I think personally Me should have flat out refused the Doctor. Or have it be like with Jack Harkness -- You Feel Wrong To Me, because Me is frankly a nightmare creature according to season 9, and by this I mean not in personality (remarkably chill considering linear immortality spent Alone until the end of the Universe???) but simply wait what you can just make people immortal like that??? Doctor Who Explain!
I think the Doctor should have been wahaaaay more disturbed having created a fuckn Creature, not just because she may do immoral things because she forgets what it's like to be mortal, but because it's some fuckn Horror Shit that's going on here. I mean, it's there and I'll read more into it, but it's so. "oh yeah, this is a thing I can do, and I chose to do" and not "wait was this a really really really fucked up thing to do??? am I the bad guy???????????? do I remember life and death as concepts???????????????????????????" this is noooot Fires of Pompeii where they handy-dandy yoink out some people so they don't burn to death, this is bringing someone back from the dead and MAKING THEM IMMORTAL. this is more Time Lord Victorious than Just Save Someone
I can tell this will be in my head for awhile....
PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: looots of fun references in these episodes, generally just a good time. the only thing is... immortal Me. is. so. immortal. the most immortal. I spit on your other immortals. how did you immortal so hard?? harder than any other immortal character??? did it have to be so, for writing reasons???? (you can probably tell at this point I will be returning to this concept in the finale review!)
“SEXINESS”: I... genuinely do not remember. I don't think there's anything weird here. I should've taken notes, but past me was having a time.
INTERNAL WORLD: there's two worlds here and both are actually fine. I feel like we're not just in these times as set dressing (like I often felt with the paternoster gang and the victorians). the Vikings are a coherent village and I care about them (maybe not totally historically accurate but that's not the point with this, it's the feeling that they belong in the world set up for them) and the 1600s part 2 was given enough to feel lived in. I think it especially helped in both cases that we were seeing people around the leads who felt real -- that's what has often been missing in the past of this era, that it's not just the Super Impressive Immortals And Aliens And Important People but that people exist in these kinds of stories (and they're all important)
POLITICS: this was super unintentional and I'm mostly having a laugh but...
Lady Me: My chosen name is "Me."
The Doctor: No it's not [deadnames her].
Doctor Stooop you literally chose your own name in canon!!!
generally, okay, I'm being a meanie here in over-analysing, but I do wish what is very similar to an orlando-type storyline were more queer. orlando is like. my jam. and this character is basically orlando. and she crossdresses. but a queer writer would have been soooo much juicier with this narrative. it's especially noticeable as we've got a couple of literal gender-crossings with Time Lords, but I do think the show is still in its... not infancy but let's say toddler-era when it comes to queer intersectional feminist vibes. it's basically still doing the "girls rule, boys drool" type thing
FULL RATING: 67/100 (if I can count….)
I CANNOT STRESS HOW PERTURBED I AM BY CASUAL HALFWAY THROUGH A SEASON IMMORTAL CHARACTER CREATION. fuckn. who knows when I'll have finished rolling that around in my head
they're good episodes, this is a good season, but. and I write this having recently finished said season. the things it's setting up will not be paid off for me, which is a shame. I enjoy this season, but I enjoy it more for its parts than its whole. I like a lot of the ideas it's putting out that will end up coming back in the last episode. but it's. the way it casually does things and asks me to go along with them, when I'm going, "no nonono wait, I have questions about this one, you can't throw away the rule book entirely," and just adds plot and emotional beats without build-up to those beats. I like those beats, but why didn't you build to them??? (this was a problem in the first double-episode, it's a problem in this double-episode, and I know it'll be a problem in the last three episodes, post Sleep No More)
mayflies though. I do like the mayflies
#im watching nu!who#im watching capaldi who#episode the girl who died#episode the woman who lived#the measurement#oooh i started this write-up at 10 and it is now 1am.. go tf to sleep
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My weekly roundup CW 11
Well, I watch a lot during the week, as you all might know. I really want to write a little bit more about the stuff I watch, but time and work kind of get in my creative way. So I try to write down my thoughts after watching stuff to create a little weekly ranking on my, most of the times, quiet sundays (and because I love lists and this is a good excuse for me to create a new OneNote journal!).
☼ 1. Chains of Heart (Epside 5)
The series I am looking forward to the most every week. I just enjoy it to a healthy amount. Well, slowly but surely everything becomes a little clearer. The biggest mystery for me is indeed Mr. Lue's gloves! Why are you wearing them? What can people tell from your hands? And dude, yeah, you're scarred, I get it, but come on! It's warm and humid in Thailand and you're walking around with a turtleneck and jacket over it. I'd melt! But well, the plot, I don't really care much about it. I just celebrate Ken and Mr. Lue. I think they're cute together and I enjoy that awkward shyness between them! At least there was a confession. Now Ken just needs to finally take a proper look. And yes, the series looks just awesome! There were so many great shots again this episode too! Beautiful!
☼ 2. A Shoulder To Cry On (Episode 1+2)
A strong start. The character of Jo Tae Hyun is at first unsympathetic, even if you can notice that there is something grumbling under the surface. As a reader of the webtoon, I know roughly what will happen, but I hope that the series manages to change some elements and show some of the "love" between the two, which the author herself said was not so easy for her to create. The two members of Omega X make a good first impression and you can already tell that they feel comfortable with each other.
In the second episode, the chemistry of the two is just great and I like how they get closer, almost become friends, how Jo Tae Hyun becomes calmer and nicer and Lee Da Yeol lets other people into his life, makes friends. We learn something about Tae Hyun's past, nothing really revealing yet of course, just that he seems to have a dark past. I like the two of them together.
☼ 3. Our Datin Sim (Episode 3+4)
I really like these two. They are awkward and cute together at the same time. We finally have a confession from Eddy at the end of the fourth episode, which of course we've known since the first episode, that he likes Wan too, still! The only fear I have is that Wan will run away again, but Eddy already said he won't let him go now. That's it, hold on to your man!
☼ 4. Unintentionally Love Story (Episode 1+2)
I love it. Could be because of the main character, but whatever. Our protagonists get to know each other and there is definitely attraction on both sides. Now the only problem is that our cute Ji Won Young just plays his future love interest. Sure, he wants his job back, but nope, that's just drama! I don't want drama with them, I just want cotton candy and smitten grins! Damn. Our second couple will provide enough drama I guess..
☼ 5. The Promise (Episode 4)
I love the series. Phu and Nan aren't really progressing at the moment and I could slap them against the wall. It's obvious that they like each other. So obvious! And I already can't stand the drama arising from Phu's secrecy. Granny's friend was definitely correct: lying gets you nowhere. Now Phu just needs to take a cue from Granny and her posse and put his balls back in his pants and finally talk straight to Nan. Otherwise it will really hurt in the end. Everyone sees it, just Phu apparently not quite yet…I still like the two of them together. However! Should Nan have enough of Phu at the end and look else where for a new partner and seek comfort in the arms of Party, he has my blessing!
☼ 6. Bed Friend (Epsidoe 5)
Okay, King marks his territory in front of Krit, the new boss - don't know if this was a good idea...he just woke up a hunter. I'm confused about the status of King and Uea. Are they no longer just friends with benefits, just because King kissed Uea in the parking garage? What is certain is that King is a bit in love with Uea and that Uea is not permanently rebuilding his walls and granting King access. Nice. Uea's mother? Not so nice. I wouldn't have a problem with her disappearing from the scene.
☼ 7. Jack o'Frost (Episode 5)
I knew that it would be unpleasant when the truth comes to light. Can trust be restored, can we start over together? We were left with these questions and I have no idea how it will turn out. I do indeed understand both sides, doesn't mean I approve of Fumiya's concealments. I liked that Ritsu listened to him, not everyone would have and I respect his decision in the end and didn't expect anything else. Let's see what next week's finale brings.
☼ 8. A Boss And A Babe (Epsiode 3)
If the intern takes you to the shower during a video call, I think you can be sure that he won't be embarrassed easily. It's a scene that sticks in the mind. The development between the two is surprisingly quick, after all Gun is just introduced to Cher's mother already. The two are definitely cute together, and I like the scenes in which Gun is a bit cooled down the best. He's a bit of a pain in the ass when he yaps without point or shame.
☼ 9. The End Of The World With You (Episode 8/FInale)
I have only one thing to say about this finale, and that is a gif:
That sums up the absurdity of how this ended quite well. The series started really well and I was excited, but as it progressed it became a bit fantastic and that just wasn't implemented that well. Was Yuma a little god now and did he know it all along or was he a retelling of the little prince? I don't know. Was it a fever dream? Who knows. The end is open and gives room for reflection, all in all a quite positive end, in which it was once again shown that it is worthwhile to live on, even if the future may not look so rosy (I leave out here that you would have to have the perfect partner, because even without him you can come to this realization).
☼ 10. All The Liquors (Epsiode 5+6)
The alcohol, the alcohol…I can't quite get my head around the concept of this series. Now the previously abstinent boss wants to change and happily drinks alcohol along, has no problem ordering alcohol or with drunk guests. I don't really know. Yes, love can move mountains and if your crush is a heavy alcoholic (sorry, but I can't see him as anything else), then you have to change and start drinking yourself, right? This is a normal conclusion. After all, that's what etiquette wants. A beach scene could not be missing. Yes, the two are quite cute together, but somehow the alcohol brings me again and again away from liking this series…could be personal experience with the subject that I can not approve of this excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages…
☼ 11. Tin Tem Jai (Episode 3)
This was not the worst watch of the week! I am surprised myself and would not have expected it. But with episode three and Tin's cheerfulness dialed down a bit, the series is actually quite cute. The subtitles don't make sense some time, the dialogue and characters are a bit…simple-minded (you act so manly, I didn't think you had your period…), but it was quite okay this week.
Tin can be really annoying with his flirting with Park, but you can also tell that Park isn't all that resistant to it. I still don't get a lot of the relationships, and I still don't understand why so many little girls are left alone somewhere by their mothers, or dropped off at the next best thing. And I also don't understand Tin's painting lessons.
☼ 12. PasSenger (Epsiode 2)
The series shines for me on an unimaginative script and acting performances that I already feared would not pick me up. The only positive was the portrayal of Bamee and his developing crush on Kiao. He did a pretty good job with that. Other than that…anyone who has seen My gear and your gown or My engineer will notice that not that much has changed in the acting power of the two mains…It's just not my cup of tea. I admit it, I watched it in double speed…not a good sign, maybe I drop this soon….
#josi watching bl#chains of heart#a shoulder to cry on#our dating sim#unintentional love story#the promise#bed friend#jack o' frost#a boss and a babe#the end of the world with you#all the liquors#tin tem jai#past senger#sunday charts#bl series#bl drama
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A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 007 - Archer's Comet
I've done a week worth of these now!
Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 1 Episode 8 - Breaking the Ice
So, the Enterprise has stumbled upon an undiscovered comet. A huge undiscovered comet. Naturally, the human members of the crew want to get close, because it is beautiful. The effects used to make it are beautiful to. This comet really does look stunning.
So anyways, this comet has large quantities of a rare mineral that not even the Vulcans have been able to study.
Apparently, for the last few weeks, Vulcans have been lurking about places the Enterprise has been, and now they want to observe the Enterprise on the comet. I wish this mystery was dwelled on slightly longer, because more or less in the next scene we are confirmed T'Pol had been messaging them. The main mystery of the episode seems to be the nature of T'Pol's personal message, which Trip accidentally read. T'Pol's actress is really good at acting just slightly off through her cold logical exterior. Apparently, T'Pol is due to marry a Vulcan called Kos (Not sure on the spelling). The scene between T'Pol and Trip discussing the wedding was really good. T'Pol is super in denial about the arranged marriage, and I can't wait to see her work through that. "Vulcans Don't change" is denial off the charts
Outside the main plot, there's this kind of cute sub-plot with Archer sending a message to a primary School, to act as an inspiration. When a question from one of the kids about dating came up, the camera kinda focussed on Trip, which makes me wonder if I've been missing some subtext, because aside from his lizard gf a few episodes back, I don't think he's had any romantic encounters. I'm kinda oblivious to that kind of thing though, I didn't even figure out my two best friends were dating eachother for like 2 months. This little scene did reveal some nice plot details, like Trip's description of "Waste Recycling". Phloxx is still my favourite character, delightful ray of over-enthusiastic sunshine!
Seeing Malcolm and Travis having fun on the comet's surface was great. I love their stupid little Snow-Vulcan.
On the whole, this episode was a lot more chill, there wasn't really a major threat, but it was nice seeing character dynamics play out. Plus, Archer learned to trust Vulcans just a tiny bit more at the end was great.
#star trek#whovian watching star trek#star trek enterprise#star trek ent#enterprise#star trek: enterprise#ENT
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*Crawls onto your posts* I've had feelings about Wasp since 2008, tell me all about your thoughts.
Oh my God, okay. Buckle your seatbelts, everybody, a lot of thoughts under the cut:
First and foremost, I’d like to take a moment to say that TFA Bumblebee kinda sucks. Like, to such an extent that if any of the Bots were to go bad, I might call it predictable that it was Bee. I get that he’s the kid-appeal character, has been since his G1 iteration, but in TFA, I’d go so far as to say that he’s got something that resembles an inferiority complex. Most, if not all, of his episodes revolve around dealing with or changing some aspect of himself, setting up rivalries with other characters (Nanosec, and to a lesser extent, Blurr). He’s trying his best, granted, and the shenanigans work out in the end (because this is a Y7 children’s cartoon we’re talking about here), but he’s far from the paragon of heroism Optimus seems to be striving for.
Up until Autoboot Camp, we haven’t witnessed much of “peacetime” Cybertron or Bee’s relationships with any Autobot that’s not a part of Team Prime. Giving us an opening scene with Sentinel getting outsmarted by a little green bot that looks a lot like Bee is a great setup for what’s to come over the course of the episode, like a terrible inverse of Optimus and Bumblebee. Bee flashing back to boot camp gives us a look at just how militaristic Cybertron was in the past and still remains to this day. The class of cadets doesn’t even have names until Sentinel assigns them one. And that’s not even getting into the first exchange between Bumblebee and Wasp.
Right off the bat, Bee’s trademark, usual upbeat enthusiasm is cut off at the knees (and literally is too later) by Wasp. They’re set up as equals from their first scene on, something that we’ve never seen before. This is the first time the concept of two mechs sharing the same body type is put into any kind of focus. Starscream’s more major clones haven’t been introduced yet, we’re nine episodes away from the lore about protoforms shared from Yoketron, so this whole “equally matched” thing is immediately kind of an attention grabber. Their first scene together gives a super clear picture of Bee and Wasp’s dynamic, as well as giving us an unexpected amount of insight into Wasp’s personality pre-Stockades, something of which we see precious little.
Wasp drops the line “It’s not how you were forged, but who you know.” To me, this sounds like a mindset that was brought on by experience. To quote a friend, we can basically translate this as “If people decide you don't fit in, you're dead meat no matter how good you actually are.” The very next we see of him is buddying up to Ironhide, who was, up until Bulkhead’s arrival, the strongest-looking bot there. Wasp does this in a stupid, boys-will-be-boys way, granted, but still.
Autoboot Camp, on the surface, appears to follow a rather formulaic trope plot, you know, about a bully character that gets their comeuppance, alongside Bumblebee learning to appreciate Bulkhead’s friendship. While yes, I do agree that Wasp and Ironhide were dicks and they definitely should not have done what they did, I feel as though it is worth mentioning that from their perspective, they don’t know about the spy that Bee is trying to catch. From their point of view, Bumblebee is purposefully pulling pranks on their drill sargent, knowing full well that the entire platoon suffers every time he does something wrong. It doesn’t excuse their actions, but it sure as hell explains it.
For all intents and purposes, the plot of the episode is resolved. Our spy is caught, karma is dished out, and we even get a sweet little look at how Longarm, now a Prime like he always wanted, is doing! Everything is relatively fine!
And then we get the scene of Megatron and Shockwave. And get hit with the “oh shit, that was wrong.”
I say that TFA uses implication well, and this is where it stands out. When we first see Wasp, he’s a snarky, smart-mouthed little jerk, but otherwise sane. When we see him after the Stockades, his paint is discolored, his optics are purple, he’s buzzing and twitching and talking to himself, swearing revenge on the bot who ruined his life. That is, to put it mildly, fucking horrifying.
I feel like all of the affection that the writers intended to go in Bee’s direction is, for me, getting channeled at Wasp, because he gets fucked over so indescribably badly. There is a fifty year timeskip between Team Prime’s first fight with Megatron and when they awaken from stasis, and in the Allspark Almanac, Shockwave attests to working with Highbrow Prime, the former Intelligence Head, for “a few hundred stellar cycles” before killing him and taking his place. This gives us an extremely rough timeline, but tells us for certain that Wasp was in the Stockades for a crime he did not commit for several hundred years, and was tortured to insanity in that time frame.
Let’s go through that again.
While I do not see Bee and Bulkhead as children by any stretch, they (along with Soundwave, Jetfire and Jetstorm) fall into the category of “very young adult relative to their species” for me. Boot camp seems roughly analogous to high school, and given that, by the time Where is Thy Sting rolls around, Wasp is a teenager who was falsely accused of treason, thrown in prison and tortured to insanity.
What breaks my heart about that is the difference in him pre and post-Stockades, and how differently things could have turned out. He didn’t just want to be a member of the Elite Guard, he wanted to be a Commander. He smiled after nailing the targets while shooting. He calls people “numb-nodes” as an insult. He’s a little asshole, yes, but I do not believe it warranted centuries of false imprisonment like the show seems to think it was.
I want to hug him. Final answer.
#I could go on but then we’d have an academic paper on our hands#I want to hug him. and protect him#I… sad#asks#tf#tfa#transformers#transformers animated#maccadam#wasp#wasp tfa
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I think my issue with The Rings of Power is that I just wanted it to have really good writing (even if that meant deviating from Tolkien) so badly
What I mean by that is that I wanted us as the audience to be intentionally mis-led and deceived and double-bluffed... especially the Tolkien fans. While yes, they're trying to attract casual viewers, they also knew they'd have a big Tolkien audience and didn't cater to us at all in terms of giving us anything interesting/exciting re: plot
Like yes, it's awesome to see Númenor & Khazad-Dûm & all these 'unseen' things visually but for Tolkien fans there's not a lot plot-wise that's as exciting as the visual interpretations
I almost didn't care how much they changed up lore, if the trade-off was good TV writing... then I could accept that because we all went into this knowing it would be a bit of a bastardization of Tolkien's works
But this season finale was just so bland it's actually a little sad
The Mt. Doom reveal a couple of episodes ago was much more interesting and shocking than either the Sauron or The Stranger reveal which is pretty sad given they based the entire season upon the premise of "who is Sauron/The Stranger???"
Like if the reveals shocked you then great, but honestly both identity reveals were seen coming a mile away by pretty much anyone with a passing knowledge of Tolkien's works
They were basically hitting us hard on the head with a hammer in regards to the clues they left each episode which I was basically fine with because I expected the finale to be a be a big "gotcha! we were tricking you the entire time! It's actually not them at all!" rather than what it actually turned out to be which was just "why yes... it was exactly what you thought/predicted 6 or 7 episodes ago"
As a pretty die-hard Tolkien fan, I'm not as down on and harsh about the show as some others are and have enjoyed it for the most part but like... this episode broke me simply because the major plot twists they've been hinting at all season weren't twists at all by the end
I wanted it to be a big shock and that moment you get with good writing where all the puzzle pieces suddenly click into place and you're like "how did I not see this coming??" rather than reading the clues and knowing where you're going before you've even really left for the destination
In fact, I much preferred other theories we ourselves came up with while watching the first two episodes. If they had ended the series with the Mt. Doom eruption reveal (or something as suprising like it) it would have been a great cliffhanger shock ending. This ending just felt really weak
Really this big disappointment made me reflect on what bugs me the most about the series as a whole:
1) the fight in the Southlands that was like a bad tribute/homage to the battle of Helms Deep. It made it really obvious that the writers were struggling to find Tolkien's voice in the script and that they don't know how to come up with an original battle that still feels like a Tolkien battle
I feel like this is a good summary for the series - a wink and a nod to Tolkien's work with some referential dialogue or a visual scene or a specific important item scattered through-out episodes here or there to mask the fact that coming up with a Tolkien show when you can't write like Tolkien and haven't really captured his voice is hard
It's a very superficial and almost like... surface-level/lazy way of writing a Tolkien-based show imo
2) the whole 'mithril has special Silmaril powers now'/dying Elves plot is just SO BAD AND DUMB. Why would you change mithril like this???
The only good or interesting part about this plot is the tension it creates between Durin/King Durin and the Elves & Dwarves as a result. The actual idea of the plot itself made me laugh because I thought it was a genuine joke in the first few eps but now that it's not it just makes me angry
3) the fact that it was so obvious like 4 episodes ago (if that) who Sauron/The Stranger are lmao
4) there was literally nothing impactful in this entire season finale that made me go "I need more now!!" which is literally the exact opposite thing you want to do when you make a season finale of a TV show
5) the pacing and weird time-skips depending on which group of characters we're following is really weird through-out the entire season which I can mostly ignore but like... you're also just gonna have Celebrimbor make the elven rings overnight like that? alright lol
Theories we came up with early on in the season which would have been so much more interesting:
a) make Halbrand the King of the Dead
b) tbh I don't really care who The Stranger is just don't make him Gandalf because that was obvious the second we met him
they won't do it but even if it was Saruman I'd be like well... at least this makes for an interesting juxtaposition to his treatment of Hobbits in LotR/makes his corruption much more heartbreaking
my personal faves that were so unlikely but were thrown around in this category have been Tom Bombadil, a Blue Wizard or like a pre-Balrog Maiar(??)
c) have Gil-Galad think that the Elves are dying and mithril will save them (and in turn make Elrond etc. and us the audience think so) but have it all turn out to be a massive mis-direct where Gil-Galad has been unknowingly tricked by Sauron into getting mithril from the dwarves
d) I can't remember the episode number but a personal favourite theory early on that emerged during the ep where Elrond finds out Durin is mining mithril is that Sauron is actually in disguise as Elrond all along in order to gain access to mithril/Celebrimbor (though what that means for real Elrond in terms of his whereabouts I dunno). it only made sense during that episode really and look, it practically doesn't really work at all... but you can't say that wouldn't have been an exciting plot twist
TL;DR Yes, Amazon needs to cater to casual viewers who don't know much Tolkien, but the way that they have done so has made the plot immensely boring/predictable for anyone with a decent knowledge of (or background in) Tolkien's work
They demonstrate a basic understanding of some of the core central themes of Tolkien but their inability to cater to Tolkien fans beyond referential moments shows that they have a very shallow understanding of how to build alongside Tolkien's work/story-crafting style (or perhaps an innate inability to do so)
e.g. if you're gonna bastardize something at least make sure it's not extremely predictable and boring for a good 1/2 to 2/3 of your audience - you may as well just go all in
#sorry to take a break from the usual but look i just need to vent#look i am still not super against it and enjoyed in as equal measure as i hated it#but that being said there are major issues lmao#and this ain't even half of them!!#the rings of power#rings of power#trop#spoilers#trop spoilers#the rings of power spoilers
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Wayfarer Episode 2 launches tomorrow! (July 1st)
alright friends, as you may have noticed, I’ve been absolutely feral about Wayfarer the last month or so (I’ve been playing the patreon pre-release), so I’d thought I make a small post especially for all my Dragon Age friends about why you should play this game.
Wayfarer is developed and written by @idrellegames, which is a one person team of Idrelle / Anna. Idrelle used to be very active in the Dragon Age community, and was one of the first persons I connected with when I poked my head into the fandom - she’s a great friend and this is both a disclaimer and selling point. She’s great people.
Wayfarer is not a fanwork, but is inspired by Dragon Age (among other things). It’s a piece of interactive fiction, a text based role playing game of action and consequences, where you choose your own adventure.
I’m new to IF, in fact I only play a few (as I’m quite picky), and maybe you’re new to IFs too. But I will promise you, if you’re a Dragon Age fan, there’s a high likelyhood you will like Wayfarer.
Wayfarer is a plot focused game. I really want to emphasize this. Many IF/Choice games are romance centered, and of course that can be super fun, but what I really love about Wayfarer is the broad scope of the game. It’s a lot more like Dragon Age game. The Main Character is part of a story, and the story is at the center. You have companions, some of which you can romance, but it’s not the end goal to end up in a romantic relationship - you can develop deep friendships too and skip romance entirely.
Because of the text based medium, however, the game’s branching and consequences of your actions are much wider than in a video game. There is so much possibilities, it’s incredible.
This is getting super long, so let me list some of the things I love about Wayfarer
the writing is amazing. Idrelle is an amazing writer, that’s just a fact
the lore and worldbuilding is staggering. There are so many fun details to discover and discuss. This includes unique fantasy races along with elf-human-dwarf stable. (yes you can play as a pink half-mer person).
the story itself and the plot you’re dumped into is intriguing. In the first two episodes, we’re barely scratching the surface, and yet my brain can’t stop thinking of all the plot points and speculation.
the emotional impact of the writing is just very good, and there is so much more to come. Prepare to be devastated, I am.
the characters, both major and minor, are just so wonderful. Unique, interesting and I want to keep them all.
the game is inherently queer, not just the Main Character (you can choose your gender identity and pronouns), but the whole gallery of characters. Gender identity and a wide spectrum of sexualities are all present in the characters you meet, seamlessly fitting into the world and the worldbuilding. This includes an ace romance option, and for the MC to make their own romantic and sexual choices as the story unfolds.
lastly, the discord community for the game is really fun, and everyone loves talking about their choices (of which there are many and it’s always surprising to see how many variations there are!), their MCs, the wild theories and speculations about the plot.
I’m going to tag @noire-pandora, because you say you were intrigued, and @galadrieljones, because my friend I think you’d enjoy it and also I’d love to scream to you about this 🤣
#please do yourself a favor and play wayfarer#wayfarer#listen prepare for me to talk about this a lot#join me#I'm not going to be normal about this
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Kyousougiga Watchthrough
Episode 1: A Family's Circumstances and its Background
uhm... holy shit
Obviously, the first thing here is that the show feels very FLCL. Same kind of sporadic style of storytelling, with Gainax (like) visuals, lots of hints for stuff to be explored later that have few explanations now, and awesome music (tho obviously not the same type of music).
I'll admit, it was a bit difficult to keep track of everything that was going on, cause a lot happened very fast, but I think I followed along pretty well.
Visually, it is just gorgeous. Narratively; super fun concepts, already got some solid emotional hooks, and all around just felt like a fairy-tale come to life. I'm not sure what I'm getting into here, but I'm here for it.
Episode 2: What Came Was a Little Sister
Kyousougiga continues to be one of the most stunningly directed series I've ever seen with its second episode. Watching this show is like magic.
Narratively, it's still a bit difficult to keep up with, but I think it's more of an experience rather than keeping up with the plot specifics.
It seems like the show is structuring this with each episode centering around one character's PoV and then we'll pull it together in the second half.
I think it did a good job of tying us into Koto's backstory and motivation, but it's really just the gorgeous art direction, Shiina Gou's orchestral score, etc, which makes it so special. I can't tell if the story yet will come to match, but I'm here for it.
Also, great opening. Awesome visuals, but I really love the song too.
Episode 3: The Eldest and his Happy Science Team
Not much to say about EP 3. It continues to be a beautifully directed show, and while I'm not blown away by the story or anything yet, I am interested in seeing where it'll go, as it's obviously still laying out the groundwork, establishing our character motivations.
Episode 4: The Second Daughter and her Wonderful Monsters
EP 4 is Yase's episode, who doesn't care as much about going to the outside world, but just wants her Mother back. Like all the siblings really, it's about their love for their parents and the desire to be with them again. It's a very emotionally warm theme.
Episode 5: The Worries, Beginning, and Ending of the Young Third Son
I'm not resonating overtly with Kyousougiga or anything, but presentation-wise, it is just the best anime has to offer. Solid, emotionally based themes as well, so might pull something together for me a bit later on. Had a good time with EP 5 as well either way.
Got Penguindrum vibes from the cardboard cutout-like people.
Episode 6: A Story Where Two Plan and One Worries
EP 6 confirms that Myoue is suicidal because he never got over it the first time. He loves his "parents", but at the same time, they brought him back and made him unable to die, without his consent. I'm expecting their reunion to not just be a jolly good time.
A lot of previously unspoken resentment rising to the surface all at once between the siblings here.
Episode 7: Mom's Back, and Oh, Dad's Back, Too
EP 7 has their mother returning, and the siblings react perfectly in character. Yase is overjoyed, Kurama is a bit distant as he's suspicious, and Myoe is distant as well but because of his personal resentment. Good stuff.
Episode 8: Troublesome Talks Here and There
EP 8 introduced a bunch of world-building drama with all the planes at the risk of being destroyed, which I don't really care about as much as the family stuff, but still some good stuff there and I'm not too worried about it or anything. Looks nice as usual.
Episode 9: Let's All Think about What We Can Do
It's sweet how the fake siblings Inari created to keep Myoue company were the ones that ended up helping him more than their dad ever did. They might've been created to comfort you, but that doesn't mean their feelings aren't true.
Episode 10: A Manga Movie About People Who Have a Fun, Busy Life!
Kyousougiga's finale wrapped everything up pretty much perfectly.
Overall Thoughts:
What a directorial debut Kyousougiga was for Matsumoto Rie. Can't say the narrative resonated with me especially, but it's still a good story about family love. Its gorgeous aesthetics, rich direction, and spectacular soundtrack make it that much of an experience either way.
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The Green Death
Wow. Just, wow. What an amazing serial
Not going to lie, while I did enjoy the entire story, up until the very end scene I wasn't going to place it above Silurians or Mutants for me but Jo's departure was so well done that I really think it elevated the entire serial to stand with my favorites from the era, and Classic as a whole
A huge part of why her departure was so good (the first one in Classic Who to actually make me tear up) is that the entire serial *felt* like a goodbye story for her. Like a lot of past companions, her romance with Jones did come from nowhere, but unlike past departure stories the chemistry between the two actors felt genuine (they were engaged in real life) and her leaving had been set up before she ever met him, not just in this story but throughout the whole season. Even if I hadn't known before watching that this was her final story, I would have known right from the start of this serial. So, when Jo and Jones (lol) announce their engagement and the Doctor quietly leaves her behind to live her life without him, it's a truly heartbreaking moment but also feels like a natural end to their journey together
In a way, Jo's character growth makes me feel bad for Carole Ann Ford because Jo was everything Susan could have been (if the whole alien princess stuff was off the table.) She began her arc as the damsel in distress who rarely contributed, but over the course of the series she became more and more independent, resourceful, and active in the story and I really grew to love her as a character. So when this story began with Jo refusing to go on a trip with the Doctor because there was a climate protest she felt was more important, it was a believable change in her
Which, yes, like all the best Pertwee era stories this serial was also extremely political. And while there were some elements of the political storyline that I thought could have been improved on (I think BOSS would have been a more intimidating villain and compelling allegory without the mind control stuff or the random human emotions thrown in) you can't really fault the story when what saves the day is a mushroom protein replacement. One little thing that I particularly liked was the way that the main danger was unintentional, but avoidable had Global Chemicals been willing to not seek out profits above all else
I hate to say this, but throughout the serial I was comparing it a lot to Series 11 and its abject failures when compared to this one serial, specifically Arachnids and Kerblam. Those two stories deal with similar issues that Green Death does, pollution and corporate greed specifically. But where the Series 11 stories only barely touch their topics on a surface level (and ultimately comes out in favor of corporate greed in arguably the most out-of-character episode the Doctor has ever had,) Green Death really shows its viewers the impact these issues have.
This was definitely one of the stronger seasons, but I still gotta rank the episodes haha
The Green Death. Just, what a powerful story. Political in the ways Doctor Who does best but with more character work than I've seen in Classic Who ever before
Frontier in Space. A really great political thriller with the Master working as an agent for the Daleks to start an intergalactic war, what's not to love
The Three Doctors. I love the fanservice and the world mythos building, but I do have to admit the actual plot is fairly basic
Planet of the Daleks. I actually quite liked the story of this serial, but its politics weren't great and also it having a romance subplot for Jo just doesnt make sense considering how her story ends
Carnival of Monsters. While a fun idea with some really wacky character designs, the story itself just wasn't strong
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