what are ur thoughts on the ‘almost no parents alive/around’ lore? is it just convenient to have them out of the way to let teenagers and kids save the world… or is there deeper lore? or a happy medium of both? 👀

i don't think sega honestly intended for it to be involved in lore or whatever. there was not worldbuilding in mind with that. since the sonic games are aimed at tween audiences, who want to see themselves portrayed as confident and able to take on grand adventures, because they're just mini adults and want to be treated as such, it of course makes sense not to have a bunch of boring adults bogging down their adventure.

however lore wise they drive me bonkers

there's two ways i like to interpret it and that either the mobian society operates like pokemon or sonic and his friends are the insane outliers. like either its super common for kids to just wander around unsupervised, going on fun adventures, like in pokemon, or its NOT the norm but sonic and his alien/dimensional counterpart/future/god friends are just. exceptions. like okay technically amy should not be renting her own apartment however she has been involved in numerous plots to stop eggman from basically turning the world into a giant pollutated wasteland and/or amusement park. so sure. also who's going to be the bastard that tries to take the kid who fights gods and robots for fun to like, an orphanage. nope.

i am VERY interested in the parents they do mention. like vanilla. i want her lore so badly and DO NOT GET ME STARTED ON JET"S FATHER. literally everything about the babylons drives me insane but thinking about the generation right before jet *shakes*. also the fact that they gave rouge a mom is so fucking funny even if she's only mentioned. i love it so much.

i think a lot of them not having parents makes sense, anyway. what parent in their right mind is letting their kids go kill god for fun.

anyway i don't have like super cohesive thoughts on this concept but the few parents we've seen in the sonic universe do interest me greatly.... especially the ones that are still obviously in the picture.

Hannah Baker Analysis - Devil's advocate

*SPOILER ALERT

Clay - she pushed him away and then expected him to run back to her...after knowing that he's afraid of awkward social interactions. Sheri - took Hannah home from a party because she was too drunk to go home herself and accidentally ran over a stop sign while driving (which sucks but it's really not the end of the world) Justin - "let" his best friend rape his girlfriend, clearly he didn't want him to do that and Hannah was in the room while that happened and still didn't do anything about it... So she can't put all the blame on Justin when she was on the same side of the door as the rape(she could have called the cops or told Jessica afterwards). I'm not justifying what Justin did, I'm explaining how hypocritical it is of Hannah to blame him. Justin also did some pretty shitty things but not nearly as bad as what Hannah did by blaming her death (which she did) on all the people on the tapes. Zach - Was a genuine guy who got angry after Hannah pushed him away. He feels remorse and should not have been held accountable for her killing herself. She wrote to him about killing herself but he didn't actually believe she was going to do it. Yeah her life sucked but in the beginning she sort of embellished her problems. Zach didn't crumple up the piece of paper, he read it and kept it (it wasn't even crumpled). Clearly, she was seeing things the way she wanted to see them. Courtney - She was a real bully who had friends, surprisingly. (Personally I think she was the third worst person on the list, right next to Marcus) Alex - was a real asshole, but he obviously had issues of his own at home. His dad wasn't really a warm guy. Alex probably didn't even really believe in love because he never learned what it looked like. For instance, he calls his dad "sir". He felt so bad towards the end which is why I don't think he could have been capable of doing what he did if he knew what Hannah was going through. If Hannah wrote the note to Alex I feel like he might have actually done something about it. Zach was just scared because he was never in this situation. It's a lot of responsibility and especially coming from someone who people think is a bit of a romantic, drama queen. (obviously she's not after hearing the whole story but they didn't know that) Tyler - was a real creep, but I don't think he meant to hurt Hannah. He was the one who got the most crap and I have no idea why. Bryce freaking raped someone!! Why was a misunderstood creep blamed more than a freaking rapist!?!?!? Marcus - He probably feels the worse because he knows that he was a big contributor to her killing herself, but doesn't want to admit it. He was a real bully as well. Bryce - Obviously, this was what drew the line and it's a horrible thing to go through!!! And I'm not going to excuse what he did, because he deserves to go to jail for a REALLY long time. However, the worst part of it all is, I'm not sure he even realizes what he did was wrong. He needs help. When someone tried to hurt Alex, he helped him out and felt bad. Which shows that he does care about people to some extent. He's truly an awful person but it may be psychological; meaning he might be crazy. He also has family issues believe it or not. People have a tendency to think that all you need is money, but that's not the case. He lives in a big house but that doesn't fill the space in his heart where his parents should be. *You never meet his parents because they're never there. Perhaps if he had a real family besides Justin, then maybe he would understand what consent is and the value of it. Perhaps he would be able to treat women with respect and dignity. Jeff - He was a really nice guy and what happened to him was awful. Hannah can't blame Sheri for that night, she wasn't even drunk driving. She should have called the police to fix it, but she didn't know what was going to happen. Hannah made it a much bigger deal than it was when she ran to the supermarket. It was a small street in a small town, what were the odds that two cars would collide right after the stop sign was crashed into?!? When Hannah told Sheri that you have to fess up to things when you do the wrong thing that was hilarious! Who was she to make make Sheri feel bad about not coming clean? Sheri didn't know someone would get hurt, whereas Hannah was in the same freaking room as a rape and didn't do anything about it!!! Hannah left the world without even writing to her parents. That was a very narcissistic thing to do... Obviously she was the person who needed the most help but still she didn't only kill herself. She was no saner than "Gone Girl." If anything she was just as bad Amy, finding ways to blame everyone else for her death not realizing that just because she's dead doesn't mean there are no consequences. She is the reason why Alex tried to kill himself in the end and she never told anyone that Jessica was raped. She's just as bad as everyone else on those tapes. She also almost made Clay kill himself. Every single day you make choices that define who you are a little bit. Killing yourself should not be an option! If you ever feel like it is the only option, talk to someone or call a hotline! There is ALWAYS someone who will be affected if you do!!!!! 

Everything You Need To Think After Watching Black Mirror: Season 4

By Keith Gatchel

You put off watching it until now. I did, too. In my case, I make it a point to watch the episodes in order, so I'm not tempted to skip one because I'm afraid of the concept. But, this season of Black Mirror seemed to benefit in that way, like an album, more so than previous ones. So, let's go through each episode, with the calm, cool academic composure fans of speculative fiction are known to keep. 

SPOILER ALERT!! EVERYONE DIES. BUT, BY THAT, I MEAN, WE ALL DO. IT'S THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. ALSO, THIS TO KEEP FROM SPOILING WHAT HAPPENS IN THE FOURTH SEASON OF BLACK MIRROR, WHICH I ASSUME YOU CONSIDERED FROM THE TITLE ABOVE. BUT, STILL, IN THE END, DEATH COMES FOR US ALL. SPOILER ALERT.

"USS Callister":

To start off, stand-up comedy, and specifically The Daily Show, helped me call out my own beliefs, with scalding hot comedy, that made me question why I had them in the first place. Having said that, USS Callister burns so damn hot that I love it. To keep it simple, I have enough in common with Robert Daly to relate to him (…to a degree) who’s probably also had him as a friend (but, none of you, of course…). I, too, thought the episode would be the usual "guy gets girl from jock" scenario, perhaps with a Back To The Future-like uppercut, or a riffing on it of some kind. But, instead, Daly turns into Billy Mumy in It's a Good Life and gets called out on his control issues. When it turns out the characters in the game were live-avatars (is that what we're calling them?), I was worried we'd get a retread of the "White Christmas" episode.

But, really, it just used a concept. That seems lazy at first. And, the more episodes Black Mirror has, the more it’ll tend to stretch their concepts. But, seeing as it's already an anthology show, and one that's earned its stripes, let's not ding it when other writers want to play with the toys, too. What sold it and brought out the originality was how lived-in the concept was: gameplaying aside, what else do people do with genetic-memory-scanners? Do people save their deceased souls in the cloud and talk to them? Can you save multiple copies of them to sell or hand out? Can police use this to interview murdered victims from the dead? Haven’t these all already been episodes?

But, specifically, how the episodes rifted on Star Trek until the end. I thought the “cloud of code” was a bit shoehorned in, but it worked. Also, making Cristin Milioti’s real-life counterpart steal the extra DNA needed an ending of some kind, too. The subplot was too good not leave out, but did it really have an end? Did she stay and watch Robert die? Can the live-avatars still contact her, or her them? Did anyone see her leave Robert’s place, seeing as how she’s the last one to see him alive? But, to wrap up, the nihilist in me loved the fact that victory for the little people in the computer was the sweet release of death (“I really hope we die”), and the Star Trek fan in me loved that they flew into a reboot (and finding Aaron Paul).

“Arkangel”:

Black Mirror has a tendency to ride some of their concepts too long in an episode, spending too much time establishing or reestablishing it. Usually at about the 15 minute to halfway point, you know what the story is and you just want to get it going. In this case, it felt like they kept starting different stories that just introduced new concepts: the girl goes missing, she gets a tracker implanted, she gets violence censored to her, her grandpa has a heart attack, but it’s not fatal, then it flashes forward to when he does pass away, and so on…

They’re all well-written scenes, but the story keeps stopping once a new concept is introduced to start on another. Plus, I’ve always thought Black Mirror’s idea of “blocking” people is weird, where you’d just see a hazy pixilation and muted sounds. Wouldn’t that also be terrifying, especially to a child? Can't they still hurt you? I like that the effects it had on the daughter once the parental blockers were removed, but I couldn’t tell how that really effected her as a teenager (angsty, yes, but not too much more than a normal teenager).

I also really liked the scenes of Rosemarie Dewitt looking through her daughter’s eyes, like Being John Malkovich, and I like everything she did here (and, just her in general). And, slipping contraception into a shake is plenty reason to get your face beaten in. But, much like “Shut Up And Dance”, that other episode where everything turns out to be a game show, and the one where the husband yells at his cheating wife for an hour, this one was well done, but needed to fill in a lot of gaps.

“Crocodile”:

The more I think about this episode, the more I find what I think it was trying to do, and then realize it didn’t do that. What the episode did right was start off on a great murder scene and subsequent disposal. I have a personal affinity to scenes where characters have to get rid of bodies, and it’s shown as realistically as possible. I’m going to assume I’ve just watched too many super-hero and action movies, where thugs and henchmen are thrown about, but I find it hilarious when the time, weight, and reality of cleaning up your own murder is depicted. Make it as boring and inconvenient as possible. I love it. Even once it became clear that the episode was going to be about a series of murders, I got into it.

And, I like a story where our protagonist spirals deeper and deeper into evil, or misfortune, and never gets out in the end. Or, I love stories where the killer gets away. Just the fact that it’s unexpected can be enjoyable. However, this never seemed to achieve it’s goals. It never really became a series of causes and effects, because there were too many coincidences with memory readers and pizza-vans (and a blind baby). It never really became a showcase for technology because it’s too specific (or are you a successful developer who’s 2 murders could be discovered after a car accident 3 stories down and perfect mind-reading?). Even when they tried to show Mia in a dark hood under back-lighting, resembling the Angel of Death, it felt underwhelming.

It never became a story of a killer getting away, because she’s about to get caught at the end. Plus, we never really got to know Mia very well in the first place. And, while the scenes with the investigator are well directed, and the devices are fun to see in action (the investigator carries around beer!), the fact that you only get a weird flash of a person leading out if they’re trying not to think of murder undercuts that technology as well. In fact, aside from being well shot, can anyone think of anything this episode achieved?

“Hang The DJ”:

This was another perfect balance of story-telling and concept, and another example of the show upending that concept halfway instead of riding it. The whole thing starts off with a familiar date, but with armed guards, and then sleeping over in a house neither of you own (did anyone else think those houses looked like the bathrooms you see at parks?). The whole thing felt natural, but raised questions from the beginning. Specifically, were these people on a dating website? Or a part of some social club? Or part of a closed community?

I loved how it became a streamlined romantic comedy, with “The System” playing matchmaker, best friend counsel, and by the end, the controlling parents the kids have to run away from before the arranged wedding. In this case, though, you start to wonder what else these people do, and why they are never talking to their friends. I assume we all realized it was a simulation once Amy noticed the rocks always skipped “no more or less than 4 times”.

But, that didn’t diminish how I identified with the characters (although, I’m going to assume they are also live avatars, because that’s how this show rolls). Their ruminations on love kept things going to the point that by the time Amy wants to get the hell out, I was on board with them pulling a Logan’s Run and booking it.

“Metalhead”:

Probably the most original episode this season, and the one each Black Mirror season seems to have where they throw off the ties to the rest of the episodes (I’ll get to whether it’s an anthology or a shared universe below). This is a pure cat and mouse chase with any semblance of background or world-building getting run over by a either a survivor or a Terminator-Dalek.

First off, anyone who isn’t scared of an unstoppable killer robot has apparently never had a nightmare, ran for their life, or done both. I’ve read/heard some people complain about the black and white, or how that’s just used to make it seem original. But, it makes the light pop and helps with the fact that, yes, the “dog” wasn’t great CGI. And, while I feel like too many times lately we’re expecting our action movies to be more and more streamlined, this episode earned the right to leave out exposition so we can imagine why they’re risking lives to get one, or a box of, teddy bears.

“Black Museum”:

Overall, “White Christmas” was better. But, it also had the advantage of being first (and Jon Hamm). In both cases, it’s great for the show to have place where it can dump a few ideas together that won’t all fill around an hour, even though the narration of Rolo Hanes took away from scenes that could have really stood on their own. But, we all jumped up when we saw the red sucker in that display case (…there’s a sentence).

So, this brings us to the well-suited cigarette-smoking narrator in the room. Black Mirror tends to get referred to as “the new Twilight Zone”, and while it very much holds up to that title, most people tend to just use that as short-hand for “anthology”. However, the Twilight Zone tended to also lean towards the supernatural and science-fantasy, whereas Black Mirror is all about technology’s affect on us. So, is Black Mirror a shared universe like some people are starting to think? Charlie Booker officially said “No” to that… and done.

What Black Museum did was not show us a world where all the other episodes are intertwined, but, I think, showed us a world where those particular events happened. If the universe is part of a multiverse and everything that can happen will happen, this is one where the Black Mirror episodes happened together. Thus, if you’re watching any other episode, that is in it’s own universe. It just so happens something similar ended up in the Black Museum (also, there’s a universe where Hitler got the atomic bomb first, so maybe let’s not jump into multiverse travel when we get to it). The reason I bring up the connections/lack thereof, is because at the end of it, after Charlie Booker is done playing “Night Gallery”, the new kid burns it all down.

I hope this is the show acknowledging where it’s gotten repetitious, making this it’s version of a cliffhanger episode. They know it’s the last one most people will watch. So, even though I do love the live-avatars (really), I hope this is the show promising to shake things up going forward. Or, even if it doesn’t, it’s still an amazing show. I barely even mentioned the music.

Rankings, best to worst:

USS Callister Metalhead Hang The DJ Black Museum Arkangel Crocodile