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popculturebuffet · 2 years ago

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Jason David Frank Tribute: Power Rangers Wild Force: Forever Red Review (patreon Sign ON Review for Brotoman.exe)

In Loving Memory of Jason David Frank: 1979-2022

"May the Power Protect Him"

Like many around my generation, I met Jason David Frank one afternoon as a Teenager with Attidue. While any chlid worth his salt loved power rangers, it had teenagers in bright colored outfits beating up monsters in stock footage, what's not to love?, it really kicked into gear when a new kid kicked his way into town: Tommy Oliver, a cool new kid who swept Kimberly off her feat, actually beat big beefy lead boy Jason inc ombat, and then got brainwashed because of both of those things, becoming the rangers greatest threat as Rita made her own.. and then once freed of his mind control becoming the greatest one of them. Across three classic seasons, multiple returns, and another season down the line as a mentor to a new generation, Jason David Frank was THE Power Ranger.

Thus it was tragic that we lost him. My relatoinship with the franchise may of been "I watched the first five seasons as a kid, then dropped off, saw an episode or two then watched history of power rangers as an adult", but Jason always seemed like a nice guy who genuinely loved the franchise and us the fans. He was never too ashamed to step into bright spandex and his sudden death a few days ago was a blow to us all.

So it was a sad serendepity that this long scheduled patreon sign on review for my new friend and patreon Brotoman happened to end up on this week and he was more than happy to make it into a tribute to jason. And given Tommy is the most prominent red ranger besides Wild Force's own ranger in this episode, it was perfectly approraite.

For those either only casually familar with Power Rangers or familliar with the Zordon era but not so much what came after and if so I HIGHLY recommend Linkara's exaustive History of Power Rangers series on Youtube, but for now stick with this one: Wild Force was an end of an era as it was the final Power Rangers series aired on Fox Kids, before moving to ABC Kids (the former one Saturday Morning), and an era ender.

As such this episode, which is thankfully a standalone heavy on fanservice, serves as a nice caper. To celerbate the 10th anniversary, they got back ALMOST every red ranger. Rocky, the second red morphin ranger was absent. Why? He missed a phone call. No really, they didn't have the right phone number for him and by the time it was sorted out it was too late. And the galling thing is he was supposed to be just a backup for Austin St. John… which strikes me as odd given the aquatar ranger is right there. Just replace him. Still despite this it's a huge gathering of franchise faviorites.

The special was a bit rag tag, basing itself on a similar sentai special but using mostly new footage. It was INTENDED to both be an hour long special and have a much snappier climax.. but both things were shot down by new owners Disney wondering "Why are you spending so much time to promote old toys"

But what we get is a fun, cheesy half hour ride through the franchises history up to that point. So come with me as we honor Jason David Frank and may the power protect us all as we look at Forever Red.

Forever Red opens on the Moon, where a bunch of robots from the Machine Empire dig up a giant robot dragon named serpentera entirely missing the moonlander colony Yup this is power rangers: cheesy as heck, but gloriously and unafraidly so. For those needing a refresher the Machine Empire were the main villians of season 2, a giant unstoaple machine army.. that translated to the usual "send a giant monster to get his ass kicked by teenagers" formula, but still were neat. So using a few spare suits from another bit of my childhood, whose title must be said in song as is in my contrast

youtube

Which was dope.. and far more insane than I remembered. Though the comic strip bit always bugs me anytime I listen to this. There.. two diffrent mediums guys. Their both some of my faviorite mediums, but come on.

They had some remnants of the empire surivive to ressurect serpentera, Lord Zed's giant murder dragon WMD who is on the moon because it was in the writer's fanfic.

Luckily for earth, Andros, the red space ranger, is there, in a cloak because he generally likes to cloak around when he's being sneaky even if it dosen't remotely work as camoflage here on a robot covered moon. He plans to go warn the others but accidently trips a rock and then gets CHASED ON HORSEBACK BY TWO OF THE MACHINE EMPIRE GUYS, whose names i'm not bothering to learn as they all have the same personality of

But let's not bury the lead; TWO ROBOTS ARE CHASING AS SPACEMAN ON HORSES. I now want a full graphic novel from boom detaling why the machine empire has horses, what these majestic space horses can do, and why we never saw them again after scenes. I also applaud whoever was on set, saw they could get horses and decided "fuck it i'm going to have these big bad beetle borgs chase Andros on horseback". That person deserves a nobel for their contributions to humanity.

So we go to Bulk's poolside hangout spot, probably built where Ernies used to be, where he's regaling Skull with tales.. tales he was there for because they got into all kinds of weird shit together and tails he'll undoubtly pass on to Skull's own child when he raises him for a year as a samurai because he saw some power rangers do it and thought it'd be badass.

They get a call for Tommy, whose identity some cut stuff confirms they DO know now and it does make sense: it'd be easy to connect the dots from the space rangers unmasking in the finale of that series, to the guys who directly mentored them. Probably. Look I just like the idea they and tommy were friends. Tommy also has some very pointy frosted tips because clearly Jason tried out for Zoolander and didn't get the part and hadn't been able to wash them out when they filmed it.

We cut to.. wherever Wild Force is where Cole Evans, this series red ranger is picked up by Carter Grayson, Lightspeed Red Ranger and certified badass. How Carter does it is hilarious.. he just comes up to him in a park, says "are you the red wildforce ranger" and flashes his morpher like a badge to assure he's not some creepy weirdo who figured it all out.

Cole is also a lot. He looks like this

He looks like he escaped from the set of Miami Connection and it is glorious. His actor.. less so. I'll comment on this so no one else brings it up: Cole's actor murdered a man with a replica conan the barbarian sword, pled guilty to it, and while he's served his sentence he's understandably not being invited back to any other series after he ran a man through with a sword. I brought it up to get it out of the way. Granted even if he hadn't commited murder, i'd still be making fun of this guy for his hammy acting, hilarously awesome bandanda, and sleeveless vest, all of which is both cheesily enjoyable and gloriously stupid, but the fact he ran a man through with a fully functional replica conan sword just makes it go down easier. I limited myself to one Jason David Frank's frosted Tips Joke since he just died and all, I gotta get my laughs where I can.

So Cole runs off with a stranger and alone

And they meet at a Nasada warehouse where most of the other previous rangers show up: TJ from Turbo and In Space, Wes and Eric from Time Force (Whose quantum ranger was also red), and of course the king of all rangers, Tommy Olvier, former green and white mighty morphin ranger, red turbo ranger before TJ, future Black Dino Ranger and for this special Red Zeo ranger. Three are missing with Leo Corbett being later shown grabbing his sword that turns him into a ranger back, and picking up the Aquitian ranger because they had the costume so why not.

Tommy, naturally taking point as a living legend among the others as he damn well should be, has Andros fill them in: Serpentera is on the moon, the machines need to be stopped from using it to wipe out earth as it's that powerful and they got a fresh pack of triple a batteries for it, and he united all the red rangers and not every ranger he could get for such a mission.. because it was all Disney could afford and it gave them a badass looking group theme regardless of how many diffrent teams are represented. They plan to blast off in a recreation of the astro megaship, but their one short…. until Jason, the old son of a bitch rides up on his motorcycle. I planned to make the joke that we were just one handclap shy of the "you son of a bitch" scene from predator.. only for him and Tommy to FUCKING do it. I love this gloriously stupid franchise, bless you writers for just going ahead and doing it.

So our heroes head to the moon, and meet up with the other two and we get a truly badass sequence of EVERY ranger present having some morphing time as we get EVERY morph sequence. I'm convinced a good chunk of the budget went into this and it. was. worth. it.

What follows is about 5 minutes of awesome fight scenes. We get Jason and Cole back to back and they get the most actual character interactoin: there was more planned but you know

With Jason chiding the rookie.. but also clearly mentoring him a bit: sure he's ribbing the guy a tad, but after saving his ass gladly lets him get some shots in and fights along side him. He may give the rookie crap as he's going through some things while his actor goes through some criminal charges, but their both rangers through and through and he knows that.

We also get cool swordfight with thankfully not coll, but TJ and Leo, as well as a fun gun fight with Carter and one of the time force rangers. It's a solid bit of power rangers action. We also got an unmorphed fight I almost forgot about earlier that just.. kinda happened so fair enough me. I saved the best for last though as Tommy kicks off the fight.. literally by SUPER KICKING ONE OF THE MACHINE EMPIRE SO HARD HE EXPLODES. If anything summed up Jasons glorious long tenure with the franchise, it's Tommy Oliver super kicking a robot to death. That or him kicking Goldar while scremaing "out of your mind!".. which I couldn't find a clip or gif of.

The finale.. is infamously stupid. Like I said they wanted to maybe break out some zords, the astromegazord.. something.. instead to promote a toy Cole flies into serperntera, gets a zenkai boost or somethinga nd blows the fucker up. It's hliariously dumb to see Beef McLargehuge do this.. but kind of an antic climax after some really good fight coregraphy that showed off the various rangers skill sets.

Still the ending is nice as Tommy literally walks off into the sunset, Cole rightfully calls him the greatest ranger ever, and we get a fun scene of the other rangers piping in all the insane shit they did caping off this episode.

Forever Red is a nicely paced anniversary showcase, throwing in everything from nasada, to the machine empire to serpentera. Even Alpha gets a cameo and my boy Richard Steve Horvitz gets a paycheck. It's a loveletter to power rangers and while cheesy as hell, it's in the best way possible. Wethere your familiar with the franchise or not, it's a fun, bonkers 20 minutes of action, heart, and tommy oliver being badass. If you can think of a better way to honor jason than watching him do a predator handclasp and super kick robots ont he moon.. there probably is , but this is certainly one of the best. May the power protect you jason…

#jason david frank #power rangers #forever red #power rangers wild force #mighty morphin power rangers #disney #abc #foxkids #sentai #Youtube

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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years ago

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TV lovers, you made it: You’ve survived another calendar year of COVID-19 quarantine, which gave you bingers a bevy of options when it came to streaming content directly to your favorite devices. HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and others joined Disney+, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video in this concerted effort to inundate fans of moving pictures with #content. That means many things—old ideas get recycled, franchises expand, and passion projects are greenlit. Many don’t survive, and most of it is mid, but each year, there are a fair number of quality television programs that interested parties should be sinking their teeth into.

Having so many options became one of those good problems this year; for example, not too many networks could boast new seasons of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Insecure, and Succession running at the same time—HBO is doing that right now. Starz and Showtime are churning out content that is speaking directly to the culture on a regular basis, and Disney+ is set to give you theater-quality episodic television every week, and all of it will be MUST SEE. The only real issue is finding the money to afford all of the services you’ll need to satisfy your hunger for new series.

That said, we’ve watched the shows and made the hard decisions. Without further ado, here are the best TV shows of 2021.

8. ‘Loki’

Image via Marvel Studios

Network: Disney+ Season: 1 Genre: Action / thriller / superhero Where to Watch: Disney+

One of two major wins for Loki series creator Michael Waldron this year (the other being the pro wrestling-focused Starz series Heels), Loki is what fans who, like me, were low-key sad that Loki got iced in what Infinity War so desperately needed: a real Loki tale. Taking from numerous strands of his comic book history, this series brought back the alt-Loki who escaped during Endgame into an ultimatum: do some good fixing the broken timeline or be eradicated from ALL timelines. Wisely choosing the former, we ride with Loki as he tries to figure out what the hell is really going on at the good ol’ Time Variance Authority, but really, a series like this can (unfairly) hinge on what we get in the closing sequences of the season. Loki fell into that trap, but it had to—Marvel wasn’t letting an opportunity like this skate by without distributing another clue to the larger “what’s going on” nature of the current MCU. We’re lucky Tom Hiddleston was able to slide back into the driver’s seat and steer this series into becoming the best Marvel Studios series released, so far. —khal

#Loki #best of 2021 #Complex

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insanityclause · 3 years ago

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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the first five episodes of Disney+’s Loki, & maybe the finale. Maybe.

As always with almost any project from the Kevin Feige run studio, that ride could continue, at least in some form or another. Certainly, the June 9 ‘Glorious Purpose’ premiere of the Michael Waldron penned and Kate Herron directed Loki proved to be the Disney+ and the MCU’s biggest small screen success so far. Also with any Marvel project, past Emmy winner Hiddleston was elusive on what could be coming next, be it in the Loki finale, another season or another appearance in the movies as the MCU shifts into its next phrase.

One thing is clear, after a decade playing the God of Mischief, Hiddleston still has a lot of Loki on the brain, in the best way.Leading towards the finale, I chatted with a UK-based Hiddleston about returning to play Loki and the search for who or what controls the seemingly all knowing, all powerful Time Variance Authority. The Night Manager star also spoke about filming during the coronavirus pandemic, working with Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant, and Sophia Di Martino, who portrays variant and soulmate Sylvie, and his upcoming AppleTV+ series The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes.

DEADLINE: There’s a great line in this season’s penultimate episode where your Loki and Sylvie are stunned at watch Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki recreate Asgard to distract Alioth and you say “I think we’re stronger than we realize.” There seems to be a great resonance in the line that there’s a whole lot of Loki coming in the finale and probably more …

HIDDLESTON: I suppose it resonates with the theme that we all wanted to highlight about purpose and about meaning. Loki’s someone who’s probably been deluded by the idea that he’s burdened with glorious purpose, and that perhaps that purpose has been revealed to be fraudulent or meaningless, and maybe his self-image or the role that he has condemned himself to play is redundant.

His experiences through this story have shown him that there are actually more opportunities available to him, and you know, it speaks to this idea, like, can we change? Can we evolve, and in that evolution, is there room to grow? You know, so, I think the stronger than we realize I think is Loki finally understanding that, really, by caring for other people, that maybe there’s power in that, and I found that very touching, and the whole thing is an extraordinary dream.

DEADLINE: Speaking of an extraordinary dream, you have been playing Loki for a decade now, since the first Thor movie, We know you are going to do some voice work in the animated What If…? series, but how has it been having this series directly centering on him, in all his variants, so to speak?

HIDDLESTON: You know Dominic, I have enjoyed it so much, because I felt it was a gift and a privilege to be invited to come and sit at the table and think about what the show might be. Also, I suppose so many of the things that I’ve discovered about Loki as a character in the comics and a character in the Norse myths, in the canon, aspects that I’ve always thought were interesting, and understandably, there hasn’t been time or space in the movies to explore them.

DEADLINE: In terms of who he is?

HIDDLESTON: Those aspects of him have been externalized and embedded into this new story about identity itself and about integrating the disparate fragment of the many selves that he is or perhaps the many selves that we are. You know, we contain multitudes. Loki certainly contains multitudes. We have met many of those multitudes, including Alligator Loki (laughs).

DEADLINE: Sounds like you’re not done with those multitudes yet. From your POV, from conversations with Kevin (Feige) is there more that you see for the character as the MCU heads into its next stages?

HIDDLESTON: Well, I certainly don’t have Kevin’s brain or encyclopedic knowledge or capacity for invention. I’ve been on the ride for a while, and it’s been the most extraordinary journey, and to have lived through different iterations, different phases of the MCU, and I’m so grateful that I’m still here, and it’s been amazing to watch. I feel that the MCU is even more expansive, is even braver, more inclusive than it’s ever been.

DEADLINE: How so?

HIDDLESTON: I think the stories are getting really exciting. Not that they weren’t before, but I think they understand that the investment of the audience is very deep, and they don’t take it for granted for a second. So, yeah, I suppose the perspective I have on how Loki might affect the ongoing course of the MCU is this idea of the multiverse. People have already understood it when Miss Minutes is introducing Loki to the TVA. She talks about the multiverse and the war and that the sacred timeline, which is reality as we know it.

DEADLINE: It opens up the aperture certainly for new stories from all opportunities, doesn’t it?

HIDDLESTON: It raises questions of, well, maybe there are other parallel or alternate universes. Maybe there are other realities, and the possibilities there are endless. I feel that at the end of episode five, Loki and Sylvie are close to discovering the answers to the questions that they have of who is behind the TVA and that, somehow, this will provoke even more curiosity about…

DEADLINE: …Because in the Marvel Universe, answering one set of questions always leads to another set of questions, in many ways.

HIDDLESTON: Right. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that there are lots of, you know, interesting titles of movies that’ve been announced, which kind of hint at where it might be going.

DEADLINE: One of those that hasn’t been officially announced, but is rumored is a Season 2 for Loki, in gear under the temporary title of Architect on call sheets and the like …

HIDDLESTON: Well, yes, maybe, as I say, all the kind of multiple alternate realities are …it’s taken me 10 years to get a handle on this sort of mono timeline. The idea that this might be a multiverse is actually beyond my knowledge of physics.

DEADLINE: Well, I doubt that, but let me ask, and no spoilers for the finale or further, but if Kevin, Marvel, Disney asked you to do more Loki, are you game?

HIDDLESTON: (laughs) I have learned, at this point, having said goodbye to the character more than twice, two and a half times maybe, to make no assumptions. So, I’m also aware that I’m only playing him because of the audience, really. So, it’s not up to me. But I do love playing him, and every time, I seem to find new, interesting things about him. So, yeah, I’m a temporary passenger on Loki’s journey, but we’ll see. We’ll see where the ride goes now.

DEADLINE: On the ride, as the finale looms, there’s a ton of fan speculation out there and so much that people have hooked on to from the show. So, as the man at the center of it, what was your favorite part of Loki the series?

HIDDLESTON: That there was meaning in the making of it.That we crossed the finish line in the middle of a global pandemic and could create something, and more than ever, I felt really grateful for being able to do this job. I think in this there are some of those questions that we were all asking ourselves in the last 18 months in the show, you know, what do our lives mean?📷I love taking Loki in new directions. I love the contributions of my fellow actors, of Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and Richard E. Grant and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Wunmi Masaku, they all brought so much to the table, and I’ll always remember that. You know, I’ll always remember just being in Atlanta with all of them and making our bonkers show. Yeah.

DEADLINE: Making your bonkers show in Atlanta as the world, as America was still in the heat of the pandemic. What was that like, because you were in production and then everything stopped and then you came back, right?

HIDDLESTON: I mean, people have used this word a lot, but it really was unprecedented. I think we did six weeks of filming before the hiatus, and then the production was suspended for four or five months, and we came back. At first, it was unfamiliar because we had to make adjustments, but the thing I remember most of all, quite honestly, is the diligence and resilience and spirit of our cast and crew.

DEADLINE: Really?

HIDDLESTON: Yes, and it remains extremely special for me, this project, for that reason.For me, it just demonstrated the character of these amazing people. It took a huge amount of planning and care and looking after each other. By that, I mean, being in the bubble. So, for many of us, the only other human beings we saw, really, were each other. So, we came to work, and we became a team, and the circumstances fostered this extraordinary team spirit, and so the memory of making it is really my incredible and deep respect and affection for my fellow filmmakers. People like Trish Stanard, our line producer. Richard Graves, our first AD. Kristina Peterson, our second AD. Autumn Durald, DP. Kevin Wright, our supervising producer, and so many others making sure everyone could stay safe and look after each other.It’s really…I find it…it’s very moving, and it’s remarkable, and I just want to salute them all because I couldn’t have done any of it without them.

DEADLINE: In that vein, you have just come off filming The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes for AppleTV+. Very different from Loki, and yet also a tale of what is real and who we are. Is that what attracted you to it on some level?

HIDDLESTON: I read it and immediately connected to it. Read the screenplay, the adaptation. It’s based on a novel by Sarah Perry, which was published in 2016 and is set at the end of the 19th century. It’s an extraordinary story about uncertainty and about our deepest fears and how sometimes our fears can distort our imaginings and how our minds can lie to us. About how we have to guard against that, and Perry sets it in this extraordinary time with a beautiful leading character of Cora Seaborne, played by Claire. Anna Symon adopted it.

There’s this community on the east coast of England who believe that an ancient beast has been awakened by an earthquake and that it’s dislodged all these fossils. But perhaps, it has also dislodged this ancient underwater monster, which has been used to explain certain unusual phenomena. This was in the era when Darwin had just been published a few decades before and people are starting to think, this Charles Darwin, he’s onto something. Still, fear spreads very quickly, and it’s a very fascinating time where science and faith are in conflict.

DEADLINE: When you describe it like that it sounds very Loki indeed.

HIDDLESTON: Maybe the themes are very Loki. Maybe that’s where they join up, but I’m playing a 19th century vicar who is trying to contain his community. You feel very destabilized by all these rumors. So, yeah, to go from Loki to a vicar was definitely new, a new territory.

DEADLINE: Literally and figuratively?

HIDDLESTON: Well, it’s my first significant time in Essex, where we filmed, which I feel embarrassed about. I’ve been to Essex before, but I’ve never been to the very, very eastern, most eastern coast of Essex. It’s the Blackwater Estuary, which then feeds into the River Thames, and it’s a very ancient part of England. It’s so marshy, it’s where in Great Expectations, that’s where Pip meets Magwitch for the first time. It’s all foggy and muddy and marshy and quite atmospheric and a perfect place to set a story about of uncertainty and fear and gothic romance. Clio Barnard directed it, and working with her has been amazing.

DEADLINE: You know, it occurs to me that of all the main Marvel characters, Loki has been such a constant, yet so ethereal in so many ways too. Is it jarring for you to jump back into the role with all the uncertainty it brings?

HIDDLESTON: You know, I’ve always seen it as sort of an extraordinary and surprising constant in my life for a decade. But, I don’t take it for granted because I don’t often…you know, it may end. It has actually ended, and those endings have been conclusive. I really thought a couple of years ago, after I made Avengers: Infinity War, you know, we all know what happens in that scene, and I thought, that’s it.I thought it’s over, and I was really proud to have been part of it. I was grateful for my time, but I thought that, my work would go off in a different direction. So, the idea that I got to come back and have another go was a complete delight, it truly was.

#Tom Hiddleston #Interview #Loki #The Essex Serpent

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miraculouscontent · 3 years ago

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(non-Miraculous asks)

Anonymous said:

Ok this may just be me but I hate deconstructions. I feel like they are always mean spirited and try to be dark and edgy and thinks that every single person is an asshole because that’s “realistic” when no it’s not. This maybe because I like superhero stories and love it when the heroes overcome their struggles.

I can agree for the most part. Whenever I hear “okay but what if it was dArK--” I’m just okay, gonna stop you right there.

Anonymous said:

I swear, nothing bothers me more than people who want Miraculous Ladybug to literally just be Yandere Simulator(with Marinette as Ayano, Alya as Info-chan, Adrien as Taro, Chloe as Osana, Lila as Kizana, Kagami as Megami, and Luka as Budo). It just grinds my gears, especially because they're, once again, framing Marinette as a stalker, which just makes her look bad, AND pits all the girls against each other for Mr. Generic Harem Protagonist, once a-fucking-gain. Just go play the actual game, ok?

All I'm hearing is that now I have to ship Ayano and Budo and write a fic where the ghost girl uses fancy fantasy magic to merge her soul with Ayano and lets her actually have emotions, healing her from being a yandere while the ghost girl (in a way) gets to live a life she was cut short of, also allowing Ayano to be happy and go onto be friends with all the rivals.

Extremely convoluted but that’s the only way we get happy endings in this house.

Anonymous said:

I remember how, when writing Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi refused to bow to older male writers wanted, say, for the girls to be stereotypical manga characters, with one being overweight, one being a stereotypical nerd, etc. But Naoko wanted each of the girls to be beautiful and feminine. While I don't like that they all share a body type, I admire how she didn't listen to grown men when writing for and about young girls. And I can't help but think about how Madoka is the antithesis of all that.

I can appreciate writers who put their foot down to stick to their values. There are limits of course, but yeah, a women writing women probably shouldn’t be listening to a man’s input. I’m sure good advice exists buuut...

Anonymous said:

What is your ranking of the seasons of the year from most to least favorite and why?

Summer - I work best in the warmth

Spring - Always brings images of flowers blooming to mind

Autumn - Things are getting cold and I don’t like it

Winter - It can go choke for all I care

Anonymous asked:

Someone on TV Tropes actually said that the name Feminist Fantasy should be changed because "feminism excludes men the same way meninism excludes women" and actually had the nerve to link that to the "Not So Different" trope, as if women haven't been excluded throughout the history of almost every human society. Fortunately, someone responded to them in a way that technically amounted to "do your damn research" but I'm still facepalming so hard at TV Tropes' "what about the men" rhetoric.

I feel like I lost braincells reading this.

Anonymous asked:

I feel like in fiction written by men there are only three flaws that female protagonists are allowed to have: clumsy, boy-crazy, or ashamed of their flat chests. I hate it.

Don’t forget, “having to listen to the men for how they’re supposed to feel.”

Anonymous asked:

Jatp. Nominated. For. Seven. Emmys. SEVEN!!!! Miraculous could NEVER. Literally.

omg!! Congrats to Julie and the Phantoms!

Anonymous asked:

WHAT ARE YOUR FLASHBACKS TO EVER AFTER HIGH?? I GOTTA KNOW? OMG?

Oh, I’ve seen basically the whole series, though the one I remember most is definitely Epic Winter. It was my favorite one though Beauty and the Beast is my favorite Disney movie so I’m biased.

I also like a lot of the “twists” and just--crazy concepts they rolled with, like with Red Riding Hood’s story and how Apple White gets woken up from her slumber.

Anonymous asked:

You're gonna be happy to hear this...I just started watching Cardcaptor Sakura today, and holy shit not only do I love it, but I also love how freaking META it is! I know you said you're not all that knowledgeable about Magical Girl, but this show is AWARE that it's a Magical Girl show! From Tomoyo(the main reason this show is so meta, tbh) realizing Sakura is a Magical Girl and asking if she has a transformation pose, to designing outfits for her(more on that later) to videotaping her(aka literally making a Magical Girl anime out of her Magical Girl friend), it just has fun with itself and plays with Magical Girl tropes without making a mockery of them like all those "dark" male-aimed ones do(lookin' at you, Madoka Magica and Yuki Yuna!).

And not only is it hilarious and adorable(especially with Sakura's crush on Yukito, Tomoyo's crush on Sakura, and Touya picking on Sakura, but playfully), but I love how it's riddled with girl power. While watching some of the first episodes I was looking forward to seeing Syaoran(partly because I love male Tsunderes and partly because I can't pronounce his name), and was surprised that he wasn't in the first few episodes, but more importantly I was so happy to see a show that treats its female characters with respect and shows women unironically receiving support from other women and being shown possessing power and authority.

I love Sakura and Tomoyo's friendship even if I hate the trope of "Lesbian Never Gets The Girl"(not that I think she's entitled to Sakura's affections or anything, but still.) and watching her support Sakura in her magic endeavors without being jealous or vindictive, I love that they're allowed to be independent and smart but that the show doesn't forget that they're kids, instead of making them like Manon and Chris, and I love that the show passes the Bechdel test in pretty much the first or second episode, and that pretty much every important and unimportant character we meet that's not Sakura's family members, Kero, or Yukito(plus maaaayyybe the Shadow Clow Card) are female.

Even little things, like all FOUR of Tomoyo's bodyguards in the second episode being female without there being a "reason" or the show making a big deal of it(either in a "yay girl power!" way or a "what but women can't x" way or an objectifying way) fills me with insurmountable joy. Also, I love that the show follows the Magical Girl trend of pretty much admitting that femininity is power, since frilly dresses are stated to be the most "fitting" thing for a Cardcaptor to wear, as without it, they might not be mentally up to the task, and this is an unironic truth rather than a joke(although Sakura is shown to be embarrassed, but it's much more likely that she's simply not used to that kind of gear due to not being rich as Tomoyo is.) or a gag.

I just thought I should tell you this because I know you like Cardcaptor Sakura, and with the crappy episodes that just came out of this show, I think you deserve to read an ask that's about a GENUINE girl power Magical Girl show, instead of yet more Miraculous Ladybug salt or Madoka Magica hate(not that there's anything wrong with either of those two, but it just gets grating after a while.). Overall, I'm looking forward to watching this show, since I've been looking for a Magical Girl show to watch nowadays(I've been meaning to watch Star Twinkle Precure but I can't find the third episode and all of Cardcaptor Sakura is on YouTube now, so.). So excited!

Hey, I’m glad that you’re having fun with it!

Though, just a warning, you might wanna steer clear of the Clear Card arc. It’s a sequel to the original series made waaaay after the original (think the equivalent of Yashahime for Inuyasha, though continuing with the original characters) but omg I hated it.

Anonymous asked:

With the crappy Season 4 episodes that just came out I'm glad I got into Cardcaptor Sakura when I did. Who needs "Marinette needs to make a mistake every episode and learn something from it" when you can have genuine girl power and sweetness incarnate?

Alya could never compete with Tomoyo, I’m just sayin’.

Anonymous asked:

Your comment about white men feeling "disenfranchised" because more shows are about black people and/or women(I say and/or because the two aren't mutually exclusive.), as if there aren't a million other things they could be watching instead is so true! It reminds me of how I was talking to someone recently about the new generation of MLP, in which I stated that we didn't need a male mane pony(spoiler alert: they have one, sadly.), and he claimed that it would be beneficial since many shows aimed at boys at least try to include at least one main girl, and that it would be good for G5 of MLP to have at least one strong male lead so that boys could have a role model and know that the show isn't "girly".

Okay, so far, so good, but this I could chalk up to just unconscious internalized misogyny, especially since he didn't say it in any sort of "way". So I respectfully told him that the scale regarding representation is already not equal and that boys can look up to girls and that a show being girly is not a bad thing and all that stuff that you already know about. Then he responded claiming some stuff about how he keeps trying to pitch stories about straight white male characters and how nobody is accepting his offers and so this means that straight white men are underrepresented compared to everyone else. He even explicitly said, and I quote "White people are actually critically underrepresented in media right now. Especially boys."; I swear to the Goddess above.

At this point I was officially upset as a black girl, to hear this white(and presumably adult) man telling me that he was underrepresented in media compared to me, even saying that the media execs are practicing "quotas and tokenization"(and yes, he repeatedly used those terms for any instance of representation, even when I asked him politely to stop.) by replacing women with men or white people with pocs and are making white men look like incompetent doofuses.

He also kept saying stuff about how shows are always shoehorning people of color in where they don't belong by casting them in settings such as Shakespeare and medieval times when "realistically" there were no people of color during those time periods(which is obviously not true, it's just not what the history books show us.), and made a really insensitive comment about how black children in the USA today don't know the significance of having the first black president because the media supposedly already shows them black people in various professions(despite also claiming he couldn't speak to the "black experience" and yet here he is whitesplaining that shit.).

It got to the point where he was seriously and unironically using the word "blackwashing". When I pointed out to him that white men aren't underrepresented and that it's just his self-centered ego telling him that they are, that the word "blackwashing" isn't a thing, and that mis/underrepresentation in media DOES affect black kids negatively(even citing myself as an example) he went on to claim that I was being tone-deaf and that "blackwashing" is just as bad as whitewashing, and that making Ariel black is just as bad as making Jasmine white.

At this point I had to bang my head on the table and explain to him the difference; his ass still wouldn't get it. Eventually he started saying some really skeevy and hypocritical shite that white men say all the time when whining about how "oppressed and underrepresented" they are: that black people and/or women

(it looks like there might be an ask missing here, in which case, sorry if Tubmlr ate it!)

avor of supporting the commonly believed LIE that "women and/or minority groups don't have as much history worth learning about, so there's no point in focusing on them." He also kept using patronizing, condescending, mansplaining language such as "let me explain it to you" or "you still don't get it do you?", and when he said women had nothing to contribute to society because "oppression" he even had the nerve to tack on "welcome to the unequal society" as if I hadn't been lecturing him about just that.

Because obviously only white men did anything worthwhile or important in history. At this point, I had to block him. I couldn't take it anymore and this was on an MLP site of all places(although I'm probably just as guilty of that part, but at least I wasn't an ass!). I just can't stand white men who "want to be oppressed so bad" but still want to claim that their achievements are more important and deserve to be more prominent. Honestly, so many white men are so fragile the second they're not in the spotlight. I can't help but think that despite all the privilege afforded to their class being a white man sounds like the worst thing ever.

“he claimed that it would be beneficial since many shows aimed at boys at least try to include at least one main girl, and that it would be good for G5 of MLP to have at least one strong male lead so that boys could have a role model and know that the show isn't "girly". “

I might be looking too deep into that but I don’t like the idea of, “Well WE squeezed in a girl and therefore YOUR SHOWS--” like it’s some sort of matter of “fairness” or that boys’ shows aren’t putting in girls out of a genuine like for them but because they “need” one or it’s some sort of obligation.

Also, we need to stop this idea that boys can’t look up to female characters and vice versa for girls. You already said it but yeah.

And yeah, I hear "quotas and tokenization" and I officially tune out of whatever the person is saying, lol. White men are critically underrepresented???? Newsflash, maybe it’s just because others are being represented more??

Just the whole thing about whites being “underrepresented” boggles my mind. White people don’t have some sort of special ability or skill that other races can’t do themselves unless you count the “superpower” of white privilege.

Like, oh my god, all that “whitesplaining” and having to read the word “blackwashing” was physically painful. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry. I don’t know how they got hold of the technology to communicate with you from whatever time period their from, presumably the Stone Age.

Don’t even blame you for blocking them. There’s just a level of absolute... blindness? Arrogance??? That comes with the territory with them sometimes, I swear. You had every right to be upset; other races come to ask for equality and fair representation and suddenly you have these white men (not all obviously but damn) coming by and crying that they’re being oPpReSsEd. U_U

Like, honestly, my father in particular is absolutely that kind of person so I’ve heard that kind of stuff before. it’s all gross.

On a slightly unrelated note (trying to end this with some positivity), I hadn’t even heard about a fifth generation of MLP until I read this, and just wanted to let you know that I really hope you have a really good time with it! Hopefully the male character isn’t... well, you know.

#other: ask and answer #other: non ml talk

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twh-news · 3 years ago

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‘Loki’s Tom Hiddleston Teases Marvel Series Finale, What It All Means & Is There More Of The God Of Mischief To Come?

By Dominic Patten | Deadline

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the first five episodes of Disney+’s Loki, & maybe the finale. Maybe.

EXCLUSIVE: “I have learned, at this point, having said goodbye to the character more than twice, two and a half times maybe, to make no assumptions,” says Loki’s Tom Hiddleston as the hours tick away to the finale of the Disney+ series drops early on Wednesday morning. “We’ll see where the ride goes now,” the Marvel alum adds. As always with almost any project from the Kevin Feige run studio, that ride could continue, at least in some form or another. Certainly, the June 9 ‘Glorious Purpose’ premiere of the Michael Waldron penned and Kate Herron directed Loki proved to be the Disney+ and the MCU’s biggest small screen success so far. Also with any Marvel project, past Emmy winner Hiddleston was elusive on what could be coming next, be it in the Loki finale, another season or another appearance in the movies as the MCU shifts into its next phrase.

One thing is clear, after a decade playing the God of Mischief, Hiddleston still has a lot of Loki on the brain, in the best way.

Leading towards the finale, I chatted with a UK-based Hiddleston about returning to play Loki and the search for who or what controls the seemingly all knowing, all powerful Time Variance Authority. The Night Manager star also spoke about filming during the coronavirus pandemic, working with Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant, and Sophia Di Martino, who portrays variant and soulmate Sylvie, and his upcoming AppleTV+ series The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes.

DEADLINE: In terms of who he is?

DEADLINE: How so?

DEADLINE: It opens up the aperture certainly for new stories from all opportunities, doesn’t it?

DEADLINE: …Because in the Marvel Universe, answering one set of questions always leads to another set of questions, in many ways.

HIDDLESTON: Right. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that there are lots of, you know, interesting titles of movies that’ve been announced, which kind of hint at where it might be going.

DEADLINE: One of those that hasn’t been officially announced, but is rumored is a Season 2 for Loki, in gear under the temporary title of Architect on call sheets and the like …

DEADLINE: Well, I doubt that, but let me ask, and no spoilers for the finale or further, but if Kevin, Marvel, Disney asked you to do more Loki, are you game?

HIDDLESTON: That there was meaning in the making of it.

That we crossed the finish line in the middle of a global pandemic and could create something, and more than ever, I felt really grateful for being able to do this job. I think in this there are some of those questions that we were all asking ourselves in the last 18 months in the show, you know, what do our lives mean?

I love taking Loki in new directions. I love the contributions of my fellow actors, of Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and Richard E. Grant and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Wunmi Masaku, they all brought so much to the table, and I’ll always remember that. You know, I’ll always remember just being in Atlanta with all of them and making our bonkers show. Yeah.

DEADLINE: Really?

HIDDLESTON: Yes, and it remains extremely special for me, this project, for that reason.

For me, it just demonstrated the character of these amazing people. It took a huge amount of planning and care and looking after each other. By that, I mean, being in the bubble. So, for many of us, the only other human beings we saw, really, were each other. So, we came to work, and we became a team, and the circumstances fostered this extraordinary team spirit, and so the memory of making it is really my incredible and deep respect and affection for my fellow filmmakers. People like Trish Stanard, our line producer. Richard Graves, our first AD. Kristina Peterson, our second AD. Autumn Durald, DP. Kevin Wright, our supervising producer, and so many others making sure everyone could stay safe and look after each other.

It’s really…I find it…it’s very moving, and it’s remarkable, and I just want to salute them all because I couldn’t have done any of it without them.

DEADLINE: When you describe it like that it sounds very Loki indeed.

DEADLINE: Literally and figuratively?

I thought it’s over, and I was really proud to have been part of it. I was grateful for my time, but I thought that, my work would go off in a different direction. So, the idea that I got to come back and have another go was a complete delight, it truly was.

#loki #loki series #tom hiddleston #interview #article #deadline #loki spoilers #spoilers #loki series spoilers

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loustyleshtommo · 3 years ago

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Tag nine people to learn more about their interests! Thank you for tagging me @bitnotgood28 Sorry it took me so long to do this 🥲

MUSIC

Fav genre? country, rock, folk, r&b, pop, bossa nova, classical, musical, movies soundtracks. I CAN’T CHOOSE.

Fav artist? Louis Tomlinson & Taylor Swift

Fav song? It’s a tie for Ronan by Taylor Swift & Two of Us by Louis Tomlinson.

Most listened to song recently? To Us It Did by Mitchell Tenpenny

Song currently stuck in your head? Always You by Liz Huett (Sorry, Louis. But this is the superior Always You. Please don’t kill me.)

5 fav lyrics?

“The high’s too high and the low’s too low when you love someone and they let you go. Don’t you let it kill you even when it hurts like hell.” (Don’t Let It Break Your Heart by Louis Tomlinson)

“And I’m back for the first time since then. I’m standing on your street. And there’s a letter left on your doorstep and the first thing that you’ll read…” (Tim McGraw by Taylor Swift)

“Remember me. Don't let it make you cry. For even if I'm far away, I hold you in my heart. I sing a secret song to you each night we are apart.” (Remember Me, from Pixar’s “Coco” by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez)

“Circle me and the needle moves gracefully back and forth. If my heart was a compass, you'd be north. Risk it all, 'cause I'll catch you if you fall. Wherever you go, if my heart was a house, you'd be home.” (If My Heart Was a House by Owl City)

“ความหวานในใจฉันเหมือนมันต่ำไป กลับมารักกันทีได้ไหม ขาดเธอแล้วฉันอยู่ไม่ไหว คิดถึงเวลาที่มีเธออยู่ใกล้ กลับมาหาฉันทีได้ไหม เติมความหวานให้ใจฉันที” (ความหวาน/Sweetness by LULA. Translation: the sweetness in my heart seems too low. Please come back and love me. I can’t live without you. I miss when you’re near. Please come back to me. Add on the sweetness in my heart, please.)

“กี่ปีแสงจะผ่าน จะกี่ความทรมาน จะอย่างไรก็คุ้ม ถ้าปลายทาง ตรงนั้นฉันมีเธอ จะรอฉันรึเปล่า ที่สุดขอบจักรวาล หากมีเธอที่รัก ที่รออยู่ จะทำทุกๆ ทาง ไกลกว่านั้นก็จะไปให้ถึง ฉันขอแค่เพียงอย่างหนึ่ง แค่ยังรักฉันก็พอ” (กว่าจักรวาล/Than Universe by Atom Chanakan. Translation: No matter how many light years has passed, or how painful it is, it will be worth it if I have you at my destination. Will you wait for me at the edge of the universe? If you’re waiting for me, darling, I’ll do anything to get there. Even if it’s further than that, I’ll reach you. I have only one request. Just still love me the same.)

Oh wait that’s six. AHHHH. What is wrong with me? Math, man.

BOOKS

fav book genre? Fantasy, Adventure, Mystery, True Crime, Psychology, Romance, Fanfic, Comics/Manga

fav writer? Arthur Conan Doyle, Malcolm Gladwell, Enid Blyton, Jennifer Rowe

fav book? Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

fav book series? Sherlock Holmes, Doraemon, Detective Conan, Deltora Quest, The Famous Five

comfort book? Dr Seuss’s Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

perfect book to read on rainy days? I used to live in Seattle where it rains ALL THE DAMN TIME. And I’m easily bored, so I don’t like to read the same thing twice. But textbooks = SO EXPENSIVE & I couldn’t afford to buy more books for entertainment. So THANK YOU to fanfic writers. You were my lifelines. Please excuse the long list, here are incredible fanfic writers I adore & remember by username: Dysonrules, Faithwood, Reiya, Ars_Matron, alykapedia, Anonymous1313, AL_KILLER, persephoneggsy, thehoyden, astolat, whatsup_buttercup, marguerite_26, dia_dove, ajwolf, Adrianna99, cuttlemefish, CreativeSweets, Pangea, and many more who share their talent for FREE. Currently, their works are up on AO3 ;)

fav characters? Draco Malfoy, Hattori Heiji, Hermione Granger.

5 quotes from your fav books that you know by heart? I’m surprised to realise just now that I don’t have any. Every quotes I know by heart are from what I’ve HEARD, not read. Interesting…

TV & MOVIES

fav tv/movie genre ? Sci-Fi, Sitcom, Cartoon, Documentary (Space/Ocean/Nature/Technology/Historical Inaccuracy lol).

fav movie ? Harry Potter. PIXAR anything. STUDIO GHIBI anything. MCU. Disney princesses.

comfort movie ? Coco

movie you watch every year ? none.

fav tv show ? Last Week Tonight, Doctor Who, Yuri!!! On ICE

comfort tv show ? Brooklyn 99

most rewatched tv show ? BBC Merlin

ultimate otp ? AMY AND RORY. “I specifically remember not noticing them.” “Great. The one time you can’t manage it.” “Together or not at all.” “It’s called marriage.” “Raggedy man, goodbye.” There. Five quotes I remember by heart from Amelia Pond & Rory Williams to make up for none from any books. Lol.

5 fav characters ? Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle, Makkachin from Yuri!!! On ICE, Merlin from BBC Merlin (Colin Morgan), Eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who (Matt Smith), Terry Jeffords from Brooklyn 99 (Terry Crews)

@the-soul-in-the-sixth-sense @mushroomlouu @karou-livesineroda @vintageumbroshirt @smellofrainn @allmytales @just-a-donut-who-reads @destieliscanonnow @thecarnivorouskitten @boobearlarry please consider yourself tagged!💗

#I just wanna know you better #cuz all I know is we said hello #tag game #wait that’s ten #not nine #UGH MATH

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seddm · 3 years ago

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Hey Seddm! from italian to italian, what are your thoughts on Amphibia? It's been a day and I can't stop thinking about the last episode, and I want to be sure that I'm not the only one that thinks Amphibia is an insanely good show

POTENTIAL SPOILERS FOR AMPHIBIA S2 FINALE

I'm enjoying it a lot, gonna have to wait for it to be complete, but I'd say it's one of my favorite cartoons. It comes with the same issues that plague all Disney shows (namely having to dedicate most of the season to self-containted, self resolved fun stories: which doesn't mean I'd want all the season to be just PLOT LORE and nothing else, just that it'd be nice for the writers to be less constrained by what the channel wants, able to make more 20 minutes long episodes if they want, or more two parters and all that, but nope networks want most of the seasons to be enjoyable by kids while watching episodes out of order and for ten minutes at a time, so can't serialize too much), but it still manages to work around them better than most.

The S1 finale was extremely well done, nowadays most series start slowly, with plot and lore building up over time, for the first finale to be more of a heavy hitter, bringing some "oh snap shit got serious" moments to the table, so that in itself is nothing unprecedented, but they delivered a quality, both in pacing and emotional weights of many scenes, that usually doesn't happen that early into a production, when the writers and boarders and everyone in the team still has to properly understand what they want the show to be about and what the viewers might like the most. S2 finale was kinda rushed in the first part - I feel like it'd have worked better as a two parter, or even just a 30 minutes long episode (which is rare, but not unprecedented, Gravity Falls got one with the Stanford past episode), but the second half hit hard, and had some excellent composition.

I love the artistic direction, both characters designs, backgrounds and colors (some of the S3 humans seen in the new intro look a bit underwhelming to me, but I fully recognize it's way too early to form a proper opinion), and the characters themselves. Anne, in particular, started a bit slowly as far as having to learn a lesson multiple times for it to stick, but fully bloomed in S2 and grew a lot as a person: clearly she still has a lot of development to undergo before all the plots and friend-issues in the series can be solved (even more for Sasha and Marcy, even if in their cases it's clearly going to be more condensed since they have less screentime), but her words in No Big Deal truly reflect what the series managed to do so far, she found herself and it's clear and apparent from her actions, not just something we are told to take at face value. Grimes is another excellent character, he might have been made a bit more of a comedic relief in S2, compared to his S1 threatening self, but his relationship with Sasha is beautiful: it stemmed from unhealthy desires and ambitions, and led both of them to make some morally bad choices, but in itself is genuine and rooted in genuine care, and it's easy to see how it's going to play a big role in redeeming both characters. Hop Pop is a treasure and his voice actor is illegally good, every line he delivers is gold.

I'm not going to get into Amphibia as I got into SVTFOE, becoming active part of the fandom and letting it monopolize my thoughts for years, but the S2 finale still gave me a kind of hype to see what's next that I don't experience that often with TV series, and it certainly left quite the strong impression. I'm too bitter and salty about the whole state of the industry to imagine S3 being some incredible gift from the heavens that uproots the style of DTVA shows itself, but I'm eagerly expecting a fully enjoyable ride - and, naturally, a happy ending for all the characters involved. Bittersweet finales are for suckers, let Amphibia and Earth be forever in easy contact and Anne and Sprig to be forever friends and have slumber parties every other weekend.

#seddm answers #amphibia spoilers

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talesofafangirlwithadvr · 4 years ago

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March 2021 Picks!

Okay, this is pretty shocking. I am actually starting this review with two weeks of March left! However, you will notice that I haven’t watched a ton of stuff this month. Instead I’ve been reading more for my program. I have continued with some favorites though, and even finished some series.

Here come the spoilers....

NANCY DREW

I HAVE to start off talking about the CW’s Nancy Drew because I am LOVING IT this season. Wednesday’s cannot come fast enough (as you have probably seen on this page already). I am SO obsessed that I have actually started re-watching season 1 again (got it as a X-mas present, but available with HBO Max). It’s just SO GOOD! Obviously, I remember how that mystery concludes, but there’s things I’m noticing that I didn’t the first go round and even a few things I forgot. Some of those episodes feel like a lifetime ago because it was a pre-Covid world. Watching this show just makes me so happy. There’s great writing, plot, and THIS CAST! They are AMAZING. It is rare that I can say I like an entire show’s cast. That’s how you know you have a hit. I love the pairs. George and Nick are such a good match and make so much sense. I know they are not canon in the original series, but this show is its own thing and I think the choices they made with George and Nick’s characters are great. I just want George to be alright. She’s been through so much already. I also LOVE the potential of Nancy and Ace and I seriously think we’re headed there with the show. So many breadcrumbs and I am loving them all. I often re-watch a lot of the episodes instantly to make sure I have found them all. (See my page lydia-yougowith-stiles for more gushing on that.) Now we just need Bess back with Lisbeth and everything would be golden.

WANDAVISION

I LOVED the ride that was Wandavision. I have never watched anything like it and I don’t think I ever will get that same experience again. It was so tough to wait for a new episode every Friday and it’s crazy that we haven’t had a new one for two weeks because it’s over. (Haven’t started Falcon and the Winter Soldier yet, but plan to.) I can definitely see myself re-watching the series as a whole in the very near future. I loved all the speculation and fan theories out there after each episode was released. I know some people are upset that they decided not to include some stuff, but I was okay with it. I feel there’s so much potential and we’d love to see it all, but there’s also the hope we can see more of it with Wanda’s character in the future. For an Avenger who was underrepresented in the MCU she FINALLY has the recognition of being one of the strongest people out there. I cannot wait to see where she is headed in Dr. Strange Multiverse of Madness. I feel this is not the end of “Vision” and the boys either. I seriously loved their family and the scene (which I chose the above picture from) was one of my favorite moments of them. We got to see them fight as a family, which made it even heartbreaking later.

SUPERMAN AND LOIS

From one super family to the next, I have been pleasantly surprised with how much I have enjoyed the CW’s latest additional to the Arrowverse: Superman and Lois. While I am feeling the burnout of the CW’s superhero shows, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel specifically for Superman and Lois. The trailer didn’t draw me in, but I decided to still record and watch the pilot. I am very happy that I did. I love the tone of the show and the decision to show an older Clark and Lois raising their twin sons. (Even though I am continually feeling like Tyler Hoechlin is far too young to have 14 year old twins. He’s 33, so that “would” have made him 19, but it still feels like they try to make him look older as Clark.) As a lover of Smallville (which was my first real experience with superheroes), I love being back in the small, farm town and seeing Clark at his roots. Lois is great and very Lois like in her wanting to take down Morgan Edge. The couple has great chemistry and they feel like a family with the boys. I liked the twist (even though I felt it coming) that Jordan has powers and Jonathan is “just” athletic. While I liked that this was a way for Jordan to bond with his dad, I am hopeful that Jonathan will get something later down the line. If not then I hope he becomes more like the Stiles and stays human but can be apart of the team in another way. I don’t want him to go evil or anything because of his lack of powers. I really enjoy his character and how supportive he is for his brother.

BLOWN AWAY SEASON 2

The second season of Blown Away came to Netflix at the perfect time. I was missing this show after watching the first season in the later half of 2020. Glass blowing is something I knew nothing about, but was drawn in by the trailer of this competition show. It was so mesmerizing and satisfying to watch (although, I would never try it myself). With the season being so short, I was ecstatic to discover the show got renewed for a second season. This latest season was just as fantastic and we tried to drag out watching the episodes as long as we could to make it last even longer. Seriously, check this show out if you love interesting competition shows that you’ve never seen before. You’ll be wanting to book a trip to visit the Corning Glass Museum in NY.

VIOLETTA

Well, your girl did it! After three seasons of 80 episodes a piece, I FINISHED Disney Channel South America’s telenovela VIOLETTA. What a fun ride it’s been. From eagerly awaiting the next season to be released on Disney Plus, to adding the songs to my phone. I feel like my Spanish improved, but I’m sure once the subtitles are removed I’ll be hopeless. This was such a fun time with some out of this world stories, but they were so entertaining. While there were times I wanted certain plots wrapped up, I understood why they were dragged out because of the length of the show. Season three as a whole wasn’t my favorite. While the beginning was very strong, the middle was rough and I found myself taking a lot of pauses. (I really felt I needed to finish when my sister-who started long after me-finished the show and I was still on like episode 50.) Despite, all of this, it did pick up in the last 20 episodes and I just wanted to marathon through because it was so good. Once I was finished I felt so accomplished and a bit sad. I want to continue watching South American Disney shows available on Disney Plus, but due to the long commitment I think it will be some time before I do. Plus, right now I would definitely compare it to Violetta a lot because I just finished it and it was my first experience.

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rueitae · 4 years ago

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Writing Roundup 2020

This is a writing reflection I’ve been doing for myself every year for the last four years. Its a positive boost to myself see how far I’ve come and look back on my progress for the past year and look forward to the new year.

Everyone is welcome to use this same format if they’d like to do the same!

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Stats:

Words written:

330,000, which is nearly half of all the words I’ve written on Ao3 in the last three years.

One Shots Posted (all fics plance unless otherwise stated):

In the Arms of the Ever(pink?) Tree (4463 words)

For the Plance Secret Santa exchange. Post s8 date/not date on a snowy moon. Love confession.

Birthday Treats (2129 words)

For Pidge’s birthday this year! Domestic family fluff, breakfast in bed, plance kids.

Begin Again (Together) (4805 words)

Canon divergence from before episode one! Pidge and Lance are established dating when alien intervention brings them to where they are supposed to be: with the Blue Lion. Just a brief look into what the AU would look like.

Common Ground (4521 words)

A treat for my friends who introduced me to Magic Knight Rayearth and pointed out some fun character parallels. There is this beautiful art Arya made to go with it because we’re all trash for both series. Plance meet up with Fuu and Ferio post series for both couples.

Bonded To You (1808 words)

For the Langstron Halloween Exchange! Established plance with a baby Lance is trying to keep safe from a witch who would take advantage of the child’s heritage.

It Tasted Good (6785 words)

Pikelavar for Pikelavar Month! The premise is crack, but it's mostly treated seriously. Pike ate the Jewel of Jitan by accident and doesn’t realize it until Haggar finds them. Meklavar gets Protective.

The Remainder of Days (3188 words)

Part of my Bad Things Happen Bingo. Fantasy AU where Pidge is a minor forest goddess and Lance is her neighbor mortal farmer.

I Love You a Lily More Each Day (3232 words)

Another of the Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon compliant where Lance is undercover at a flower shop and knee deep in an illegal smuggling operation.

Lease on Life (4978 words)

This one was also part of Bad Things Happen Bingo and was an experiment. It’s POV of an oldest plance kid, canon verse. Her parents’ Paladin days come back to haunt them one night. Some cute family stuff too in there.

Ready to Dance (4135 words)

For the Valentine’s Day exchange! Post series. Lance tries to get back into the party scene and Pidge rescues him from a disastrous night.

Loopholes (5476 words)

Technically I didn’t write this fic this year, but a very kind reader asked if I would post this to Ao3, so it was my first fic of the year on Ao3. It’s Lotura! Originally a gift for a dear friend I’ve had since elementary school. It’s a fantasy AU where Lotor stumbles into Allura’s kingdom needing help.

Next to Me (7311 words)

Also for Bad Things Happen Bingo, this is probably one of my favorite fics of the year. This is the canon verse AU that went all wrong in s7, and Sendak succeeds in destroying Earth. Lance and Pidge end up not only his prisoners, but also two of the last humans in the universe. Ends open ended, but it became a series in the end!

Into Me (14248 words)

The sequel to the above fic. There are two versions, this and the one below. The title tells all. Lance and Pidge come to terms with their new life aboard Sendak’s flagship and do their best to keep the other comforted.

Into Me (non-explicit version) (7228 words)

Exactly the same as the fic above, only this one is SFW

Sunshine (3831 words)

A Bad Things Happen Bingo! One of my favorite concepts. Canon verse. Pidge gets sick while she and Lance are on a scientific mission.

Showoff (635 words)

A really short fic for a friend on their birthday, featuring their plance kids!

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

A fic I have been wanting to write for a very long time. I love the concept of Pidge as a Disney Princess in the sense she has the forest guardian theme and all these animals love her. So there’s some play on that as the Paladins stop for lunch on their journey back to Earth in early s7. Lance comes to a realization and they have a chat surrounded by the animal friends. @anchoredtetherart did a phenomenal piece to accompany it. Please look at it in awe here.

The Hardest Part (3960 words)

For Bad Things Happen Bingo! An AU of the episode The Reunion where Pidge doesn’t return when she’s supposed to.

A Planned Sacrifice (4988 words)

Another Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon verse. Pidge assumes that being a sacrifice for the ‘forest god’ is strictly ceremonial and at worst a wild animal. It’s actually Sendak, who no one has seen since Shiro shot him out of the Castle. He remembers Pidge and is far too pleased to see her again, tied up on a silver platter.

Almost Forgotten, but Not Gone (3946 words)

Bad Things Happen Bingo. AU sometime in s1 where Haxus isn’t as dead as Pidge thought.

Touch (7519 words)

Written for the Lance Goes Boom bang! It was inspired by @fenixseraph ‘s amazing art here! It’s a different take on The Way Forward, where Pidge and Lance are separated from the rest of the team and placed in their own cell. And the Red Lion causes issues.

Chaptered Fics started/added to:

Wolf In Thieves’ Clothing (4516 words)

An AU of The Castle of Cagliostro from Lupin the Third series. Lee, you have my thanks forever for making me watch this finally. Pidge is a literal princess whose kingdom is in the middle of an internal coup. Lance is a gentleman thief who rides with his best buds Hunk and Matt. Their paths are destined to cross again when Lance goes back to the castle he used to call home.

Game of Love (4593 words)

The most crack of the bunch. AU of Fall the of the Castle of Lions where Sendak and Haxus get away with it all. Pidge and Lance are prisoners on Haxus’ new ship, and Lance finds an opportunity for eventual escape when he learns that Haxus has a crush on his second in command. Operation matchmaker begins. (happy ending planned for all)

What Tides May Bring (20704 words)

Collab with the fantastic @anchoredtetherart for MerMay! Established plance as mermaids and guardians of their elements with adorable mer child. Then angst because they are all captured by a ‘research’ institute.

Seasons of Magic (16546 words)

I actually added a chapter this year! Ongoing collection of one-shots with mage Pidge who lives in the country and cultivates her plant magic and makes potions with the assistance of her dragon familiar, Lance. Mostly domestic fluff.

Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words)

Added another chapter this year to my Keith-centric AU. It’s basically VLD but five years early and they’re all literally child Paladins. Keith gets to meet Krolia earlier and its fun to go into tween friendships as they try and navigate the reality of their situation.

Seeds (48833 words)

Added a ton earlier this year. A collection of plance fics all or mostly under 500 words. All meant to be adopted by others if interest strikes. Covers many genres.

Chaptered Fics Finished:

Resolve to Fly (75799 words)

Written for the Pidge Angst Bang. My artist @alchemie0 did an outstanding job capturing the feel of the fic. Look at the art here! Canon verse AU where Pidge encounters Haxus, who has crashed on Earth. She helps him repair his ship in excitement and good faith, which he pays back by kidnapping her. For two years she survives as little more than a housepet on Sendak’s ship. Gen.

Who's Protecting Who? (28989 words)

Also technically not written this yeah, but posted. A collab with Hush waaaay back in 2018. It's a plance Altean AU with Pidge as distant royalty and Lance as a bodyguard.

A Dish Served Cold (21533 words)

Finally finished this one! Canon verse in which Pidge accidentally runs into Sendak on an isolated planet. Sendak takes advantage of this encounter and tries to return to the Empire with her in tow. Much Pidge whump. Gen

Reflections:

Best title

I still really really love Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words). Because it's too soon for the Paladins to be Paladins, and for Keith it's not nearly soon enough for Krolia to return. It just feels like it has a lot of heart to it. I hope I can keep it going, but my ideas are incredibly scattered for it.

Worst title

Touch (7519 words). Yeah it’s a play on ‘Don’t you touch her’ but it feels soooo dry.

Best/worst last line

Best: This was really, really hard choice this year, but ultimately, making up for the terrible title, its Touch (7519 words)

“It feels good to escape the ship with all of his teammates, secure in the knowledge that he has a way forward not just as a Paladin, but also with Pidge.”

- Not only did I manage to fit the title of the episode in there, it's got that hopeful tinge to it and reflects on personal growth both internally and with Pidge.

Worst: This one isn’t necessarily bad from Begin Again (Together) (4805 words), but it could be better. It didn’t get quite the epic sense I was hoping to pull from it.

“Okay,” he smirks, hand firmly on the throttle. “Operation save Earth starts now.”

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

Definitely wrote way more. Even with posting two fic that are essentially the exact same, I still ended up writing nearly half of my total Ao3 word count this year. (330,000/670,000). Doing Bad Things Happen Bingo was a bit part of that - I was very inspired at the beginning of this year - but also there were many events I participated in (8 total!!) on top of my personal projects.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

A really hard decision this year, because there are several that make me really happy. I think oddly enough though, it’s Game of Love (4593 words) because of its potential and how much crack it is. It has such whacky rom-com energy to it but also that underlying angst of the situation I can fall back on. My favorite trope to explore is what happens to the characters when they’re captured. I just really enjoy the concept and the challenge to make such a concept believable with minimal suspension of belief.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Using kudos as my gauge (and not counting the chapter fics), the winner is:

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

Not surprising because Ivy’s art is STUNNING.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

I think that’s It Tasted Good (6785 words), the pikelavar fic. Pikelavar is underappreciated in general

Story that could have been better?

For all I was excited to write Sunshine (3831 words), it didn’t quite fall the way I had imagined in my mind. I don’t know if it was the structure or I was running out of steam or what. All i know is that I wanted more but all I could concentrate on was that scene where he’s caring for her in bed. Maybe I was just too ambitious.

Sexiest story?

No brainer it's Into Me (14248 words). Literally. Which really shocked me that it happened. Didn’t think I’d write any smut at all, let alone this year. This particular fic just kinda called out for it

Saddest story?

The prequel to the above fic: Next to Me (7311 words). How much more sad can you get than Earth being destroyed, being Sendak’s prisoners all while trying to tell each other ‘i love you’ without seeming weird because you’re the last humans in the universe.

Most fun?

I think it's Ready to Dance (4135 words). Just Valentine’s fluff and impromptu slow dancing in the park at night.

Story with single sweetest moment?

I’m picking What Tides May Bring (20704 words). Listen, mer Lance and mer Pidge playing with their mer baby in their domestic paradise is probably one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Dad Lance has my heart.

Hardest story to write?

The last chapter of A Dish Served Cold (21533 words) was like pulling teeth. I’m pretty happy with it in the end but at the time man it was so hard.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I wrote smut. It was...weird? But also strangely calming. I wrote more for another fic but it's still a WIP. I definitely need to be in the mood to write it.

Proudest Achievement:

The Pidge Angst Bang. Resolve to Fly (75799 words). Look at that word count. I only wanted something under 3k at first, so it was just going to be Pidge meeting Haxus. But by the time I finished that part it was already 10k. So even though I was going through a rough part of my life, I just kept going and it ended up being my therapy. I’m really proud of the fic and I love my artists’ pieces. It really lifted my spirits. (You should all really go check out the Ao3 collection of all the bang stories and art they are AMAZING you won’t regret. If you love Pidge angst they are all must reads.)

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

I’d like to finish my Bad Things Happen Bingo card and then focus on my current WIP, that includes the Seeds collection. There are days I still feel a bit overwhelmed, and I’m still trying to find a routine after moving. I’d like to do more events too, but I think I need to be more selective about which ones I do. I don’t want to burn myself out.

Apart from that, I’d really like to try and give back to the community more. I’d like to start consciously writing fics for others without an event to go by.

Past Years:

2017

2018

2019

#plance #pidgance #rueitae #writing roundup #my writing #vld #2020 writing roundup

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rachelbethhines · 4 years ago

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TTS Songs Ranked Worst to Best

Someone asked me to rank my fav and least fav TTS songs a while back, but I’ve since then relistened to the soundtrack and there’s a whole bunch of songs that just forgot about, so here’s a more accurate ranking now that the songs are more fresh in my mind

32 . Life After Happily Ever After (Reprise)

This song is infuriating, because the finale is infuriating. Listening to this song just makes me angry all over again because it reminds me just how unsatisfying the ending to TTS was. I wanted to turn it off at several points. I barely can get through it despite it being so short. It doesn’t help that the soundtrack leaves all the dialogue in there and fails to actually end the song. It just cuts off before the final note.

31. Hook Foot’s Ballad

Does this even count as a song? Why is it here on the soundtrack but not the Hurt Incantation? Did Menken really waste his talent writing a joke and did the showrunners really waste money and limited resources on this?

30. Friendship Song

Bland, boring, and pointless. It was clearly written as a marketing stunt for the radio disney charts and not as anything to do with the plot of the series. They just throw it up on screen to fill out the running time and don't even let the whole song play through. It’s pitiful.

29. Waiting in the Wings (Reprise)

I didn’t think much of the original song one way or the other, but the reprise is soooo dumb. The plot twist it introduces winds up ruining the whole show and sabotaging both Cassandra’s and Rapunzel’s characters. It’s not even a nice sounding song on it’s own. The kid’s voice is irritating (who I’m sure is doing her best, but really little kids shouldn’t be made to sing professionally as a general rule) and the melody just as bland as the first time it was played. The only reason to like this song is if you’r a mega fan of Cassandra’s or her VA, which I am not. (Note: this is not a criticism of Eden Espinosa, I just don’t happen to follow any of the VAs in this show)

28. Through It All

I like the instrumentals in this song, and that’s about it. Everything about this song is wrong. It doesn’t fit the story, it’s a misuse of the cast and songwriters, it’s a waste of valuable screen time, the melody is dull, and the dang soundtrack had to throw in that lame dialogue about ‘greatest threat ever’ at the beginning. If you want a pump up song in your story then you got to earn it. You can’t just tell us things are bad, you got to show it. A joyful horseback ride and everyone sitting in a bar safe and sound isn’t threatening or depressing enough to warrant a cheering up session. Plus the song itself doesn’t add anything to the overall story.

27. The Girl Who Has Everything

Sometimes I think the writers were willing trying to sabotage themselves. It’s as if they were determined to make the only two main female characters in the show unlikeable bitches in season three. Don’t believe me? The creator Chris has said this song only exists to highlight how much easier Rapunzel has things than Cass and went onto say that Rapunzel was in the wrong during their conflict because ‘she held Cassandra back’. (Oh yeah she totally ‘held back’ the grown woman who left on her own accord, returned on her own accord, and then assaulted and tried to murder a bunch of people for no reason of her own accord.) But this song does succeed in furthering season’s three narrative that Rapunzel is a spoiled selfish brat. Shame the story fails to address this setup and never has Rapunzel learn to be a better person. Rather the narrative bends over backward to tell us how special Rapunzel is without any sense of self awareness and this song falls into that same trap; making it both irritating and pointless.

26. Listen Up

Yeah, I talked about this on my salt marathon, but I just don't like this song very much. The melody is fine but the lyrics are a real miss in my mind. It doesn’t help matters that the song is indeed pointless in the grand scheme of things.

25. Livin’ the Dream

This is much on the same level as Listen Up as it features the same problems. It doesn’t add to the narrative and the lyrics kind of let it down. I placed it higher just because I like the melody a little more.

24. More of Me

This song is a lot like the Friendship Song in that it was created to be an end credit song for the pop charts and you’d be forgiven in forgetting it even exists. However, it at least got to actually play all the way through. I think this song was a real missed opportunity. I honestly believe that it should have been the opening theme song of the show instead of Wind in My Hair. It’s more built to serve such a purpose and it’s a waste of resources not to actually use it. Alternatively, I would have accepted it being reworked into the actual series as a character song. Especially since we’re missing a song in season three due to budget cuts.

23. Wind In My Hair

Speaking of theme songs, I think I would like Wind In My Hair a lot better if i didn’t have to listen to it every episode. On its own it actually has a lot of things going for it; a nice melody, interesting instrumentals, good singing, ect. Unfortunately it’s just over exposed, and none of those elements lend themselves naturally to an intro song for a tv show. In fact the theme song feels really out of place and is edited oddly to fit the shorter intro.

22. Wind In My Hair (Reprise)

Honestly the theme song is mostly comprised of this reprise, but it has the opening instrumentals from the OG song frankensteined onto it. This means that the version that plays before every episode is on fullblast all the time to keep the energy up, but that’s not how the song is suppose to go. The actual reprise that plays in the pilot builds to a crescendo, starting soft and melancolony and getting louder and more hopeful and determined. It sounds a lot better in full because of that. It’s still too overexposed though. Both these songs would probably be higher on the list of not for the theme song version.

21. With You by My Side

This song is fine. It’s nothing special, but it’s not bad either. What knocks it down the list is the fact that Lance isn’t in it, despite Lance being right there. Like don't bother hiring a famous Broadway singer if you’re not going to have him sing! But that speaks more to the poor writing of season two than anything else. This song also doesn’t really add anything to the narrative as, contrary to what the writers intended, it doesn’t actually enhance the emotional impact of Cassandra’s betrayal later in the episode. The song itself is just tacked on and doesn’t take the opportunity to lay down any foreshadowing for that plot point.

20. Next Stop Anywhere

Another perfectly serviable song. It’s not bad but nothing outstanding. It gets the job done. It’s also really ho-hum and the soundtrack keeps all the unneeded dialogue, which is a pet peeve of mine.

19. Waiting In the Wings

Despite it’s hype, I never thought much of Waiting in the Wings. It’s got nice instrumentals and Eden Espinosa gives it her all in the singing department. The problem is it’s too generic. It’s a bare bones basic ass ‘I want song’. Cassandra's movations are weak and unsupported by the narrative, the melody is boring, and it honestly doesn’t add anything to her story. I mean it should, it’s her character solo, but because she’s written so poorly the song just winds up undermining the character in the end. All I’m saying is that, this is not the song from season two that I would have nominated for the Emmys. But it’s still Alan Menken, it’s still nicely performed, and given the rest of the competition for that year, it did deserve to win.

18. If I Could Take That Moment Back

This song is also pretty generic, but it’s less boring than I See the Light, (yeah, I said it, I See the Light is boring) so that’s a win in my book. Ergo this holds the title of the only New Dream duet that I enjoy. But there’s better stuff on this list.

17. Next Stop Anywhere (Reprise)

Well no, I take that back. The reprise of Next Stop Anywhere is also technically a New Dream duet. It’s still not anything amazing, but it works for what it is. Plus, Adria’s opening dialogue in the soundtrack version doesn’t bother me quite as much as some of the other dialogues choices that were kept in.

16. Stronger Than Ever Before

I really enjoyed this song in the moment. It’s catchy and fun, and it finally has Lance doing something rather than ignoring his existence. However it is borderline unnecessary in terms of story placement, and I’m slightly mad at it now that I know that we could have gotten a Rapunzel and Varian duet but it was scrapped for this instead.

15. Crossing the Line

Keeping with the theme of ‘songs I have conflicting emotions about’, we have Crossing the Line. This song is confused. It starts and stops, the melody isn’t clear, the orchestration is playing tug of war with the singers for dominance, and it’s basically Alan Menken and the show’s creators ripping off Frozen. (I guess he’s kicking himself for leaving that particular project?) But it’s interesting. I never heard anything quite like it. It’s memorable even if it doesn’t fully work. It’s got these interesting bits and pieces to it that just never quite comes together as a whole. Some of the lyrics are some of the best Glenn Slater has ever wrote and is far better than the story actually surrounding the song. Yet there’s other lines that are total cringe. Sometimes the song is bold and catchy and gets you all hyped up, and then other times its limp and staggering and feels so awkward to listen to. Yet it’s not boring or generic and so I have to place it higher than the rest of the songs that’s come before. (Also, there’s some amazing orchestral covers out there that really pulls together the various parts really well, just fyi)

14. Nothing Left to Lose

I really don't like this song. I’ve been one of its biggest critics ever since it was leaked by the marketing team earlier this year. And yet... I can’t in good conscience place any lower on this list. All of the problems I have with it are the exact same problems I have with Crossing the Line. It’s confused, the various pieces don't line up, the instrumentals are competing with the vocals, the song’s progression is weird with it’s constant key changes, some of the lyrics are good while others are absolute shit, ect and so forth. It also actively works against the story it's trying to tell. The song wants you to sympathize with Cassandra, but her lines are as shallow as a puddle and makes her look like a sociopath. Especially when she’s physically attacking Varian through out for no reason. Also neither character learns anything from the exchange and it fails to impact the story. By all accounts this is a bad song. But I’m Varian trash. There I said it. You happy? Varian’s parts in the songs are fine, good even, and the song is anything but bland. I would rather listen to a mess then be bored to tears by a competent yet standard four chord pop song.

13. I’d Give Anything

This song is nice to listen to. Story wise it absolutely sucks and shouldn’t have been in the finale at all. But it sounds pleasant. This is one of those songs that could pop up randomly on the radio and I would just think it it a nice sad break up song. I can’t say that about some of the other misplaced songs in the show. This one however, you can very much, absolutely divorce this song from the narrative and it would be fine. Now that’s not good writing, and it’s very much a waste of limited resources, but I’m rating the music here first and story second.

12. Buddy Song

The Buddy Song also absolutely did not need to exist but it also sounds nice. Plus, it makes use of Lance so I’m a little more lenient towards it. I can’t however place it higher since it really is just Alan Menken ripping off Alan Menken. Like, I would not be at all surprised to find out that this was originally a deleted song for Aladdin or something.

11. Bigger Than That

What can I say, Lance just gets good songs. When the show bothers to give them to him. Unfortunately, it’s not the best placed. It kind of interrupts the more important drama of Be Very Afraid, and probably should have been saved for a later episode. Especially since it hinges on a plot point that is contradictory to Lance’s character. We should have gotten a Varian and Rapunzel duet here and given Lance his own episode in the second half of season three. This song could have easily been refitted into being a bonding moment for him and the girls. That would also have filled out the season’s original songs to the usual eight instead of only seven.

10. Life After Happily Ever After

Now we’re getting to the good stuff. The top ten. The best of the best. This song makes the cut for three reasons. 1. It lyrically and musically interesting 2. It does the job of furthering the story and the characters and 3. Eugene’s part is so damn good. Like this song could have easily fell down into the ranks of ‘fine but generic’ if it wasn’t for the bridge with Eugene. That puts it over the top and to my mind makes it better than anything from the OG film. (well almost anything, Mother Knows Best is still great) This is the barometer by which I measure all of the music in the series. Is it better or worse than Life After Happily Ever After? Because this is the level that I equate good musicals with. What keeps on the tenth spot and not higher is the dialogue that still left on the soundtrack and the lack of a Cassandra introduction. That and also the rest of the songs are just flat better.

9. Hurt Incantation

Hurt, Decay, Reverse, whatever you want to call it, this was such a cool fucking concept. One that was utterly wasted by the show. I place this so high because it just sounds awesome! It looks good too, and it offered up so many possibilities from a story perspective. What lets it down is the lack of follow up for it and it’s too short. There’s needed to be another verse. It also should have been on the actual soundtrack instead of Hook Foot’s Ballad. (The Heal Incantation also was sung in What the Hair, but I’m not counting it since it was written for the film)

8. The Girl Who Has Everything (Reprise)

I hate the initial song and the set up that it took to get here, but I love this reprise. It’s perfect. This is what the story needed more of. Rapunzel taking her life into her hands, and her proposing to Eugene would have been the perfect capstone for her arc. In fact I’m angry we didn’t actually get that. There’s absolutely no reason why Rapunzel couldn’t have done so and we could have had her and Eugene engaged during the second half of season three. How much better would have it been if Cassandra threatened their wedding plans and that’s why they couldn’t go through with it until after the series ended? So much more tension that way.

7. I Got This

This is a really good song that actually futhers the characters and the narrative. Moreover it’s refreshing to see the heroine not be perfect and to fail sometimes due to her own inadequacies. It’s just a shame that the series didn’t follow through with this set up, but I appreciate the attempt all the same.

6. Set Yourself Free

This is the only song in the series that’s an actual satisfying pay off for anything. Music wise it’s nothing too special, but in terms of context it just works. We were sorely deprived of such resolutions and songs with actual meaning in the show.

5. View From Up Here

This song is too good for the episode it actually appears in. We needed something like this back in season one to introduce Cassandra with. It also sadly doesn’t fit with the wider narrative after season three. However I shall still appreciate it as a ‘what might have been’ type song.

4. Let Me Make You Proud

The only reason why this song isn’t higher is just overexposure and I’ve no one to blame but myself for that. I’ve listened to this song way too many times. As such it tends to alternate between this, View from Up Here, and the next song on the list. But make no mistake it is glorious. Fantastic instrumentals, set up, and of course amazing vocals.

3. Everything I Ever Thought I Knew

Yes, I know this plot point didn’t lead anywhere, but it works for this song at least. Also Eugene’s VA is a really underrated singer. He sounds nice and he emotes really well. Though I’ll be honest, this jumped up to third place because it was fresh in my mind after listening to the soundtrack before making this list. I’ve always liked the song and I do rate it highly, but it can change places with Let Me Make You Proud and View from Up Here at anytime depending on my mood.

2. Let Me Make You Proud (Reprise)

This song is heartbreaking! Story wise it probably shouldn’t exist because it gives away the twist too soon, but who cares, it’s awesome! Varian’s arc is the most compelling in the show and the only thing that saves TTS from falling into mediocre obscurity; and it’s songs like this that help make the arc stand out even more than it already does.

1. Ready As I’ll Ever Be

I said it before and I’ll say it again; Ready As I’ll Ever Be is the greatest thing Alan Menken has ever written in his entire career! If you know anything about the multiple award winning songwriter then you know that is no faint praise and I do not dole it out lightly. This song is the reason why this show even has a fanbase. People are still getting into the series because of this song. And no matter how many times you listen to it just rocks! It’s complex, layered, moody, and with a fantastic beat and energy. The performances are wonderful and the instrumentation glorious. It belongs in the hollows of Disney’s greatest hits and not regulated to a spin-off tv show that failed to make its money back. I weep for the lost potential that this song and this show had. It hurts to know that so many people will never see this flash of brilliance that has come out of the House of Mouse, will never know the wonderfulness that is Varian. Ah, ‘c'est la vie’, I suppose. Tangled the Series got what it deserved, but it's crew did not. While I can not in all honesty recommend the series in full; I do sincerely urge any Disney fan to check out the songs at the very least. Especially this one. And that’s it. There’s my official ranking of all the songs, and I hope those of you read my Tangled reviews appreciate the hours it took into making this.

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzel's tangled adventure #varian #rapunzel #eugene #cassandra #lance #alan menken #Disney #disney music #disney songs

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popculturebuffet · 3 years ago

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Owl House and Amphibia Weekly Reviews: Edge of the World/The Three Armies/The Beginning of the End

Hello all you happy people! I’m Jake and I do anylitical reviews and i’m feeling a bit misty eyed, both because these episodes are geninely emotoinal.. and because I”ve realized we’ve almost reached the end of both shows. Amphibia has fully entered it’s endgame with these two episodes starting one long push to the end, which will conclude next week with all-in and be given a coda with The Hardest Thing after that. It’s been a heck of a ride with this show, from binging the first season with my Nephew, to covering every episode as it’s come out since season 2 started: i’ve covered tedious road trips, gay as heck reunions, sonic unleashed homages, spider-man homages, satam homages, gravity falls homages... there’s a lot of other things dna in here and i’m all for it. We’ve also had an absolute feast of guest stars over these past two seasons covering this: Kermit the Frog, Alex Hirsch, Kristin Schaal, Zeno Robinson, Whoppi Goldberg, Kate Miccuci, Wallace Shawn, Ru Paul, Jason Ritter, and of course sexiest man alive Keith David as Andrias. It’s been a long, wonderful trek and it’s sad to see it go.

The same goes for owl house: The show is at it’s creative peak and instead of begging for a fourth season.. disney cut the third short due to homophobia and with a long enough lead time their stupid shit couldn’t be underdone before they had a change of heart.. in that they realized their homophobia was going to cost them more money than pr than they expected so they’d better act contrite or else. It’s ending sadly though clearly Dana will pull out all the stops to make it satsifying and given Season 2 is not only the best this show’s been but one of the best animated shows of the 2020′s and a high bar for shows to overcome in the future, it’ll if nothing else have a legacy of great tv.. and be yet another show in the hall of “shows execs screwed over and then regretted later when it blew up in their faces”.

So with a few more miles to go for owl house and only about one or two for amphibia, this week was.. okay. In Owl House’s case it didn’t give me AS MANY heart attacks.. but it still had a massive revelation that broke a child’s spirit and ended on a sizeable cliffhanger, so it’s glad to see some things don’t change, while amphibia had some issues but still pulled out a great cliffhanger of it’s own as we approach the final battle next week. But the short version isn’t as fun for me so join me under the cut as I go a bit more in depth into this weaks highs, lows and creamy middles as we begin the end of Amphibia nad continue owl house’s breakneck ride to the Season 2 finale.

Edge of the World

As usual Owl House delivered.. not as much as last week but when your last episode is one of the best episodes of the year so far and will go down as one of the show’s most iconic moments... you have to grade on a curve and Edge of the World, while not one of the top tier episodes of the season was not only still pretty great.. but managed to pack in ANOTHER massive, series changing reveal that was expertly foreshadowed when you look back.

Yes in a row. As I correctly figured last week Hollow Mind was the start of the season’s endgame: While season 2′s pacing is already excellent, making every episode feel important and every one important to the bigger picture (somethign the show did TRY to do in season one but still fell on it’s face once or twice thanks to the studio mandates and general early series awkardness). But now we’re in the final sprint of the season said pacing has taken a mountain of cocaine and and thus we’ve gone from steady but still well done plot developments to INCREDIBLY well done plot developments build on that steady pacing coming at you fast in your face and as painful as that sounds. While I can’t say if the next few episodes will have MORE giant reveals, I can say they’ll probably pack in more big moments and plot development as the clock ticks downt ot he day of unity and the stakes just get higher and higher as our heroes scramble to save the worlds from a genocidal madman and his equally mad god.

And this week packs another whallop by answering one of the season’s biggest questoins in a way I didn’t see coming, but in hindsight shoudl’ve because it was obvious. And i’m not going to take the sidedoor on this one, i’ll come up front and knock: King is a TITAN

Yup. In hindsight it makes sense. he’s not a race we know.. but neither is the titan. The titan’s head, which I never saw clearly LOOKS like kings. And we never saw his blood drawn nor the sample... .in a season where a titan’s blood is a vital resource. Not to mentoin his dad was pictured as massive... and the only creature of that size we’ve seen.. well you get it by now. The clues were all there and if you were presitant enough, like moderator of the owl house server i’ve made my home in Bogs, you could see them. I didn’t because I just enjoyed the ride of wondering what he is and didn’t think about it too clearly, so this blew me away, and how it’s revealed like hunter is fantastic: Luz, King and my boy hooty find a lost island thanks to the letter hooty finally threw up with a key that takes them to a pocket dimension. And thigns are tense since.. it’s VERY clear that whatever’s going on here.. ti’s not what king thinks as he finds the titan hunters, a society deciated to finding and slaying titans.. and to luz’ horror.. worshipping the collector.

And how their leader bill, which had the people I watched this with worrying it was our old friend..

And the reveal that titans are hungry from birth, tyranical by nature and go weh... it turned a running gag, King’s fun noise, into terror... and they don’t hold back either. Despite the head of said hunters seeming friendly.. he’s more than willing ot kill a child. He makes it pleasnt as he can for the boy.. but once Luz and hooty save him he’s willing to kill them. It also reveals more about the collector: that they were seen as a great hunter, who those people hleping them capture the owl beast were, and that king may be another key to let them out.. meaning the doorway may be involved diffrently than we thought given it needs said blood to run and Belos has shown no need to find a titan for this so far. Whatever the case we learned a lot without having it shoved down our throats: all of it is revealed organically, including them clearly beign sealed to protect king.. by who we don’t know, but it’s clear they CANNOT be let out and King sealing them barely works. The episode is tense, if again not as much as laast week, thank god for that, and pretty good. My only weakness really is how obvious it is: yes king finds the titan hunters.. but even without promising shocking revealations in the solicit.. it’s VERY clear whatever’s going on here isn’t good and even if king wasn’t a titan and one of them.. it still woudln’t be. This plot’s been done a LOT, and to good effect but here.. it just feels pretty by the numbers: creepy cult, one of our heroes gets indorcinated but is to be sacrificed, they either die, become part of it or, int his case luckily, barely escape. It’s all pretty standard.

King really is what elevates it. Alex’s acting for him continues to be some of his finest work, and this episode shows just how much he wants a family.. and why. He opens up that he KNOWS, or at least feels, luz is going to leave him: after her promise to her mom seemed to be a non issue, it comes back heartbreakingly: for amity and eda it sucks.. but they belivie luz can beat it. Btu for a kid who risks loosing his sister.. it looks diffrent. To him there is no hope and he has to find SOMETHIGN to fill the void. It’s also masterfully foreshadowed: ther’es no real reason at first king gave himself siblings in his fantasy at the start.. until you realize he WNATS More. He wants a family beyond what he’s got.. and he’ll never have it. HE’ll never have answers or traditions.. all he has is a corpse that nobody knows much about and the painful void inside that’s onlyg rowing bigger. Alex’s heartbreaking delivery at the end of that high as the boys irisies shrink is soul crushing and it’s only through his support system the poor kid dosen’t break down like poor hunter.. whose still mia but with only four episodes left and a week to go... i’m sure he’ll be back soon enough.

Outside the main stuff we have one more important thing to break down before we move on to frogs: Eda and Luz’s mental states in the opening scene. Given she just found out the one person in the world she thought she could to is a genocidal madman, one of her friends ran away mid-panic attack, and that she’s now one of the only things standing between Belos/The Collector the mass execution of EVERY coverned person on the isles shoudl she fall.. it’s clear she needs a lot.. and Eda’s response is to have Luz’s surrogate brothers hug her and try to calm her down and try to stop her sisters own guilt trip when she shows up, as Luz dosen’t need Lilith’s own guilt overlaping with her own, with Luz teaching phillip the light glyph having made ALL of this possible.

It’s then we get something intresting and complex: Eda pouring her heart out to Lilith that Luz SHOUDLN’T have to deal with this. Her first priority is getting her daughter away from her. And I had an equally intresting conversation with new friend @loosescrewslefty over this, as I pointed out how Eda’s actions are.. ultimately pointless. Belos is going to come for her no matter what and with VERY few allies to turn to (Adult wise she ONLY knows about her family, The BATS if she can free them, and tiny nose) , she HAS to let Luz fight as the alternative is the genocide of EVERYONE on the isles from the person she loves, to her family, to even the old friend who turned her away last episdoe. innocent people whose only crime was joining the system out of necisity or fear.

Lefty wasn’t wrong in their own point though: Luz SHOUDLN’T have to do this. She’s a child, already dealing with a lot and just trying to get home. She shoudlnt’ have to fight an evil overlord, she shoudln’t have to fight. Eda’s instinct in getting her away from danger while she handles it with lilith SHOULD be how things go. A child shouldn’t have to fight this war, shouldn’t be targeted by an all powerful jackass. She should be goofing with her friends, going on dates with her girlfriend, recocling with her mom.. she dosen’t need the weight of the world on her shoulders, once again rewriting her own memories to be worse because of the guilt she feels. She shoudln’t have to do this.

And with just accepting this and bring this to the fore.. it deconsturcts this entire genre, a genre that children’s tv has been built on: they shoudlnt have ot do this. Steven shoudln’t have had to end a thousand year war. Anne and Sasha shoudln’t have to wrestle their friend free from an ageless monsterous superintellgence and it’s lacky. It shoudln’t of been on Mable and Dipper to stop the apocalypse or start it in one of their cases. Finn shoudln’t of had to watch his own brother die. Star shoudln’t of been in the place to make the impossible choice between causing one genocide to stop another. And Luz shoudln’t have the weight of a world on her shoulders. None of them should’ve ended up like this but by circumnstance.. here they are. This is the first show i’ve seen since steven universe future to just come out and say how fucked up this is. And don’t get me wrong I love this genre.. but this is what good desconstuction does: show WHY this has to happen.. but show it happening is still not a GOOD thing. This scene .. and this show is brilliant and I will miss it. Also calling it now, i’m calling it now, Lilith and Eda either aren’t in the house and even if they are, their ready fo rthem. The shows already done an eda rescue arc, they arne’t going for two

The Three Armies

Onto frogs.. and... as always i’ll come right up front and knock: this episode is bad.

THE IDEA isn’t bad: Sasha and Anne have to find some way to get the three armies, all of which are simmering with decades of racial tension from the newts opressing the toads, to the toads hating the newts for opressing them to both opressing the frogs and all slinging sterotypes at each other. Also for some reason Tritonio is head of the newt resitance

Like I love the guy dont’ ge tme wrong, and I get most newts are deferintal to andrias and the two who’d be most likely to head this side are.. occupied. We’ll get to that soon enough. But it still feels weird for an outright criminal to just.. magically manifest an army of robed newts for our heroes or, given his own multiracial crew, give a shit about sterotypes.

The message of the ep is a good one: You can’t FORCE people to stopped being prejudice idiots who go against their own best intrests. They have to choose to make the effort. That’s a good thing to teach kids, and some grown adults, and having Anne shout it in blue form was impressive. The problem is to get there just about EVERYONE on all sides comes off as...

Anne and Sasha NEVER thinkign to deal with prejudice because teenagers does fit.. but everyone ELSE never assuming that is pushign it. We had an ENTIRE EPISODE, one of the best of this season, on them recurting the toads. Did the frogs just... think they weren’t going to have to talk to their allies in the army? Did sprig think recurting Tritonio meant not working with an army of robed newts?.. because that’d be correct in most scnearios but is suprisingly wrong today. The plot requires EVERYONE to be stupid, and while again I get it: prejudice isn’t rational and makes people act against their natural impusles, siad prejudices are so cartoony (Toads are stupid, Newts are weak, Frogs just plain suck), it dosen’t land. Star vs by contrast , for ALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL it’s faults.. at least portrayed prejudice more realistically, using a brilliant metaphor int he ep puddle defender iwth both sides having the same game.. but while the Mewman version has the monsters are ravenous beasts, the monster version has the mewmans in teh vilian roll.. because that’s their roll in history. It showed how prejudice is carried down. Amphibia HAS the tools to explore this with it’s inbuilt caste system and years of stuff.. but it choooses to sidestep the issue despite direclty bringing it up: having everyone work together.. but not acknoeldging this is just step ONE, and one brought about by change. There’s no telling if this will last when the dust clears and in a better written ep, this would be used to give the happy solution a bittersweet dose of reality.. here it’s just “Whelp we’re all together now”

I also have to say.. the momentum going into the final battle.. is fairly week. While 3B has mostly been about building to this war it’s mostly just been getting new troops. While that’s not bad it hasn’t felt like they made any progress towards, andrias, his castle, or his plans, and ONLY come up with ap lan thanks to remmebering marcy’s faviorite film. And it’s hard to ignore when in contrast with FOUR episodes to go owl house already feels like every episode is one step closer to the day of unity and is vital to what’s going to happen next. Here we’re in the end game.. but it feels like we have more episodes to go before we’re actually ready.. only to be told

Overall.. a mess.

The Beginning of the End

TBOTE is more like it, giving us an epic battle as the plantars, sasha and grime break in while the army distracts.. And it DOES use what’s so far been a weakness of this season as a strength: our heroe shavne’t actually dealt with core marcy to this poitn and what FELT like a stupid omission on the show spart.. ends up working brilliantly. BECAUSE we know about the core, we feel tense durign the entire castle raid: to our heroes they think this is it and with andrias occupied ont he battlefield (And getting a hell of an entrance line “don’t stop on my account”), they’ve won and the only obstalce is an awesome fight with olvia and yunan who have been collared sense, with sasha and anne DANCE FIGHTING THEM. Every time I think this show can get wonderfully, miraculously gayer it suprises me.

And the Core utterly decimating them is heartbreaking.. granted I do not like how easiy the troops just.. flee. THey just.. give up the second anne is captured even though they coudl you know.. try resucing her? Guys? Hello.. oht heir gone already.. anne REALLY coudl’ve used their help. And this COULD pay off in the finale, we’ll see, but it feels like a waste of build up to have this brave army of good men do nothing while evil triumphs.

Anne talking her way out of it is awesome though pointing out since neither she nor the core know how the energy works, they coudl oose it if they kill her... it’s only a stay of execution but the promo, and just common sense, tells me she’ll be free soon enough. The final shot IS geninely awesome though... the flying castle and tons of MOBILE factories entering earth as Andrias and the Core WIN.

That said while the main plot had weaknesses the fights are gorgeous and we do get somethign REALLY good with Marcy. A flashback shows Sasha and Anne, while they loved her.. often ignored her needs: sleeping during her films, ignoring her hobbies, and generally just “tolerating” what she loves instead of engaging, somethign we’ve seen proven time and again: even after she’s better Anne is constantly baffled when Marcy brings up thigns she’s explained at length, oof can relate. This has been coming and it makes sense for Anne, the more empathetic one to have to Argue marcy’s case to sasha: Yes she screwed up, yes she needs to make up for it but not only did sasha do both those things... but they wren’t the best friends. It dosen’t make what they did okay.. but maybe if they actually listned to her she might not of gone so far to keep them. It’s nuanced , it’s well done adn it makes me look foward to the final clash next week And on that note

Next Time: We get the climax of Amphibia as the battle for earth commences! Meanwhile over in owl town gus episode! Bria probably coming back! Hutner maybe! The Coven at the school! THis can’t end well!

If you enjoyed this review please consider joining my patreon and i’ll see you next time. Thanks for reading.

#amphibia #the owl house #luz noceda #king clawthorne #marcy wu #anne boonchuy #sashannearcy #the three armies #the beginning of the end #the edge of the world

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lokiondisneyplus · 3 years ago

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A review of “Journey Into Mystery,” the penultimate Loki Season One episode on Disney+, coming up just as soon as I paper cut a giant cloud to death…

Journey Into Mystery was the title of the first Marvel comic to feature either Thor or Loki. It began as an anthology series featuring monsters and aliens, but Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, and Larry Lieber were so smitten with their adaptation of the characters of Norse myth that the Asgardians gradually took over the whole book, which was renamed after its hammer-wielding hero(*).

(*) The early Journey Into Mystery stories treated Thor’s alter ego, disabled Dr. Donald Blake, as the “real” character, while Thor was just someone Blake could magically transform into, while retaining his memories and personality. It wasn’t even clear whether Asgard itself was meant to exist at first, until Loki turned up on Earth in an early issue, caused trouble, and Blake/Thor somehow knew exactly how to get to Asgard to drop him off. Soon, the lines between Thor and Blake began to blur, and eventually Thor became the real guy, and Blake a fiction invented by Odin to humble his arrogant son. It’s a mark of just how instantly charismatic Loki was that the entire title quickly steered towards him and the other gods.

But once upon a time, anything was possible in Journey Into Mystery, which makes it an apt moniker for an absolutely wonderful episode of Loki where the same holds true. Our title characters are trapped in the Void, a place at the end of time where the TVA’s victims are banished to be devoured by a cloud monster named Alioth. And mostly they are surrounded by the wreckage of many dead timelines. Classic Loki insists that his group’s only goal is survival, and any kind of planning and scheming is doomed to kill the Loki who tries. But this ruined, hopeless world instead feels bursting with imagination and possibility.

There are the many Loki variants we see, with President Loki, among others, joining Classic, Kid, Boastful, and Alligator Loki. There are the metric ton of Easter Eggs just waiting to be screencapped by Marvel obsessives (I discuss a few of them down below), but which still suggest a much larger and weirder MCU even if you don’t immediately scream out “Is that… THROG?!?!?” at the appropriate moment. And all of that stuff is tons of fun, to be sure. But what makes this episode — and, increasingly, this series — feel so special is the way that it explores the untapped potential of Loki himself, in his many, many variations.

This is an episode that owes more than a small stylistic and thematic debt to Lost. It’s not just that Alioth looks and sounds so much like the Smoke Monster(*), that it makes a shared Wizard of Oz reference to “the man behind the curtain” (also the title of one of the very best Lost episodes), or even that the core group of Lokis are hiding in a bunker accessible via a hatch and a ladder that’s filled with recreational equipment (in this case, bowling alley lanes). It’s also that Loki, Sylvie, their counterparts, and Mobius have all been transported to a strange place that has disturbing echoes from their own lives, that operates according to strange new rules they have to learn while fleeing danger, and their presence there allows them to reflect on the many mistakes of their past and consider whether they want to, or can, transcend them.

(*) Yes, Alioth technically predates Smokey by a decade (see the notes below for more), but his look has been tweaked a bit here to seem more like smoke than a cloud, and the sounds he makes when he roars sound a lot like Smokey’s telltale taxi cab meter clicks. Given the other Lost hat tips in the episode, I have to believe Alioth was chosen specifically to evoke Smokey.

Classic Loki is aptly named. He wears the Sixties Jack Kirby costume, and he is a far more powerful magician than either Sylvie or our Loki have allowed themselves to be. He calls our Loki’s knives worthless compared to his sorcery, which feels like the show acknowledging that the movies depowered Loki a fair amount to make him seem cooler. But if Classic Loki can conjure up illusions bigger and more potent than his younger peers, he is a fundamentally weak and defeated man, convinced, like the others, that the only way to win the game into which he was born is not to play. “We cannot change,” he insists. “We’re broken. Every version of ourselves. Forever.” It is not only his sentiment — Kid Loki adds that any Loki who tries to improve inevitably winds up in the Void for their troubles — but it seems to have weighed on him longer and harder than most.

But Classic Loki takes inspiration from Loki and Sylvie to stand and fight rather than turn and run, magicking up a vision of their homeland to distract Alioth at a crucial moment in Sylvie’s plan, and getting eaten for his trouble. He was wrong: Lokis can change. (Though Kid Loki might once again argue that Classic Loki’s death is more evidence that the universe has no interest in any of them doing so.) And both Loki and Sylvie have been changing throughout their time together. Like most Lokis, they seem cursed to a life of loneliness. Sylvie learned as a child that a higher power believed she should not exist, and has spent a lifetime hiding out in places where any friends she might make will soon die in an apocalypse. Our Loki’s past isn’t quite so stark, but the knowledge that his birth father abandoned him, while his adoptive father never much liked him, have left permanent scars that govern a lot of his behavior. The defining element of Classic Loki’s backstory is that he spent a long time alone on a planet, and only got busted by the TVA when he attempted to reconnect with his brother and anyone else he once knew. This is a hard existence, for all of them. And while it does not forgive them their many sins(*), it helps contextualize them, and give them the knowledge to try to be better versions of themselves.

(*) Loki at one point even acknowledges that, for him, it’s probably only been a few days since he led an alien invasion of New York that left many dead, though due to TVA shenanigans, far more time may have passed.

For that matter, Mobius is not the stainless hero he once thought of himself as. While he and Sylvie are tooling around the Void in a pizza delivery car (because of course they are), he admits that he committed a lot of sins by believing that the ends justified the means, and was wrong. He doesn’t know who he is before the TVA stole and factory rebooted him, but he knows that he wants something better for himself and the universe, and takes the stolen TemPad to open up a portal to his own workplace in hopes of tearing down the TVA once and for all. Before he goes, though, he and Loki share a hug that feels a lot more poignant than it should, given that these characters have only spent parts of four episodes of TV together. It’s a testament to Hiddleston, Wilson, Waldron, and company (Tom Kauffman wrote this week’s script) that their friendship felt so alive and important in such a short amount of time.

The same can be said for Loki and Sylvie’s relationship, however we’re choosing to define it. Though they briefly cuddle together under a blanket that Loki conjures, they move no closer to romance than they were already. If anything, Mobius’ accusations of narcissism in last week’s episode seem to have made both of them pull back a bit from where they seemed to be heading back on Lamentis. But the connection between them is real, whatever exactly it is. And their ability to take down Alioth — to tap into the magic that Classic Loki always had, and to fulfill Loki’s belief that “I think we’re stronger than we realize” — by working together is inspiring and joyful. Without all this nuanced and engaging character work, Loki would still be an entertaining ride, but it’s the marriage of wild ideas with the human element that’s made it so great.

Of course, now comes the hard part. Endings have rarely been an MCU strength, give or take something like the climax of Endgame, and the finales of the two previous Disney+ shows were easily their weakest episodes. The strange, glorious, beautiful machine that Waldron and Herron have built doesn’t seem like it’s heading for another generic hero/villain slugfest, but then, neither did WandaVision before we got exactly that. This one feels different so far, though. The command of the story, the characters, and the tone are incredibly strong right now. There is a mystery to be solved about who is in the big castle beyond the Void (another Loki makes the most narrative and thematic sense to me, but we’ll see), and a lot to be resolved about what happens to the TVA and our heroes. And maybe there’s some heavy lifting that has to be done in service to the upcoming Dr. Strange or Ant-Man films.

It’s complicated, but on a show that has handled complexity well. Though even if the finale winds up keeping things simpler, that might work. As Loki notes while discussing his initial plan to take down Alioth, “Just because it’s not complicated doesn’t mean it’s bad.” Though as Kid Loki retorts, “It also doesn’t mean it’s good.”

Please be good, Loki finale. Everything up to this point deserves that.

Some other thoughts:

* Most of this week’s most interesting material happens in the Void. But the scenes back at the TVA clarify a few things. First, Ravonna is not the mastermind of all this, and she was very much suckered in by the Time-Keeper robots. But unlike Mobius or Hunter B-15, she’s so conditioned to the mission that even knowing it’s a lie hasn’t really swayed her from her mission. She has Miss Minutes (who herself is much craftier this week) looking into files about the creation of the TVA, but for the most part comes across as someone very happy with a status quo where she gets to be special and pass judgment on the rest of the multiverse.

* Alioth first appeared in 1993’s Avengers: The Terminatrix Objective, a miniseries (written by Mobius inspiration Mark Gruenwald, and with some extremely kewl Nineties art full of shoulder pads, studded collars, and the like) involving Ravonna, Kang, and the off-brand versions of Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor (aka U.S. Agent, War Machine, and Thunderstrike, the latter of whom has yet to appear in the MCU). It’s a sequel to a Nineties crossover event called Citizen Kang. And no, I still don’t buy that Kang will be the one pulling the strings here, if only because it’s really bad storytelling for the big bad of the season to have never appeared or even been mentioned prior to the finale.

* Rather than try to identify every Easter egg visible in the Void’s terrain, I’ll instead highlight three of the most interesting. Right before the Lokis arrive at the hatch, we see a helicopter with Thanos’ name on it. This is a hat tip to an infamous — and often memed — out-of-continuity story where Thanos flies this chopper while trying to steal the Cosmic Cube (aka the Tesseract) from Hellcat. (A little kid gets his hands on it instead and, of course, uses the Cube to conjure up free ice cream.) James Gunn has been agitating for years for the Thanos Copter to be in the MCU. He finally got his wish.

* The other funny one: When the camera pans down the tunnel into Kid Loki’s headquarters, we see Mjolnir buried in the ground, and right below it is a jar containing a very annoyed frog in a Thor costume. This is either Thor himself — whom Loki cursed into amphibianhood in a memorable Walt Simonson storyline — or another character named Simon Walterston (note the backwards tribute to Walt) who later assumed the tiny mantle.

* Also, in one scene you can spot Yellowjacket’s helmet littering the landscape. This might support the theory that the TVA, the Void, etc., all exist in the Quantum Realm, since that’s where the MCU version of Yellowjacket probably went when his suit shorted out and he was crushed to subatomic size. Or it might be more trolling of the fanbase from the company that had WandaVision fans convinced that Mephisto, the X-Men, and/or Reed Richards would be appearing by the season finale.

* Honestly, I would have watched an entire episode that was just Loki, Mobius, and the others arguing about whether Alligator Loki was actually a Loki, or just a gator who ended up with the crown, presumably after eating a real Loki. The suggestion that the gator might be lying — and that this actually supports, rather than undermines, the case for him being a Loki — was just delightful. And hey, if Throg exists in the MCU now, why not Alligator Loki?

* Finally, the MCU films in general are not exactly known for their visual flair, though a few directors like Taika Waititi and Ryan Coogler have been able to craft distinctive images within the franchise’s usual template. Loki, though, is so often wonderful to look at, and particularly when our heroes are stuck in strange environments like Lamentis or the Void. Director Kate Herron and the VFX team work very well together to create dynamic and weird imagery like Sylvie running from Alioth, or the chaotic Loki battle in the bowling alley. Between this show and WandaVision, it appears the Disney+ corner of the MCU has a bit more room to expand its palette. (Falcon and the Winter Soldier, much less so.)

#Loki #spoilers #episode 5 #review #Rolling Stone #Alan Sepinwall

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nileqt87 · 4 years ago

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More thoughts on how to resurrect the Indiana Jones franchise post-Harrison Ford

Perhaps a proper, modern television show would be a good way to bring back a younger, but adult Indy (with perhaps flashbacks littered throughout). You can also get away with a lot more content (definitely aim for TV-14) and characters who are allowed to be flawed. Relationship dramas are serialized storytelling's forte in a way that is disappearing more and more from blockbuster films. Complicated characters are better left to television, as the audience expects and allows for it because of the nuance and depth the serialization affords. The complicated, messy story of Abner and Marion is a story best left to being explored only after the characters have some real complexity and development. It also wouldn't be forced to play to the mass audience of under-13s that makes modern PG-13 often meaningless. In comparison, TV-14 actually pushes up harder against its limits regularly--not just violence, but also with innuendo and sexuality minus nudity. The amount of historical-style, pulpy violence, not to mention potentially comically gruesome deaths, in Indy would also necessitate the rating. Indiana Jones might be niche enough at this point with an audience veering towards adults who grew up with it (Gen-X and the older end of Gen-Y), while Gen-Z has little awareness of it, that Disney wouldn't be forced to make it a total kiddie property. It's not the same situation as back in the early '90s with Young Indy being aimed at older kids who had recently seen Last Crusade in the theater. They could reboot it for television with a young adult Indy who potentially could grow into a fully adult version. And I wouldn't try too hard to not step on the trilogy's toes with the timeline. Just let it live in its own developing continuity.

Use of long-running supporting cast (parents, Remy and returning guest stars aside) would also be a big difference from Young Indy. Characters like Belloq (could potentially go from friend to antagonist, akin to how Smallville handled Lex), Sallah, Henry, Brody, Abner, Marion, etc... could actually be around a lot more than just for an adventure here or there. These are all characters Indy had clearly known for years. Actually put the show into a seasonal, serialized format that isn't a new cast every episode. You could also stick around in locations a lot longer this way, which would help with budget.

Another thought I've had since watching an absolute ton of fantasy/sci-fi dramas in the last few years is that the influence of Indiana Jones is actually pretty apparent in a number of pretty famous characters, sometimes overtly and sometimes a bit more subtly. Harrison, Indy or Raiders in general are outright name-checked in quite a few places, often by scrappy action hero types who tend to take hard beatings (the kinds of characters who should've died a hundred times over) while in situations they're way over their heads in or literally impossible odds they can't win. Like Indy, the intended prize isn't won at the end and, outside of a few gruesome baddie deaths, the shady, corrupt or evil barely get a dent. Fox Mulder and Dean Winchester are two characters who name-check the comparison overtly and you can see the writers and actors both having the influence in mind. It's obviously a male fantasy, too. The influence on The X-Files and Supernatural is definitely there. Supernatural is chock full of biblical MacGuffins (not to mention having angels and demons as most of its recurring supporting cast), so it would be a hard comparison to avoid. Raiders came up in the WWII Nazi submarine episode with a piece of the Ark onboard (it's subsequently a show to raid for Indy ideas, because they pretty much mined everything biblical), for example. The X-Files likewise was dealing with shady government officials and pretty blatantly copied the huge warehouse of government secrets loaded with alien relics (and then repeated the Cigarette Smoking Man's warehouse reveal with the tunnel of filing cabinets stretching on forever). Mulder was also very much a one-man army a lot of the time when it came to the alien conspiracy (no offense to Scully). Moments like him climbing/riding the tops of sky rides, trains and escaping the spaceship were total Indy-esque moments. Sam and Dean had literal God-tier levels of plot armor keeping them alive (repeated resurrections included). Angel is another one that, unlike Mulder and the Winchesters being very human, is a supernatural character (subsequently his level of pain tolerance and durability is at the level of regular impalement, defenestration out of skyscrapers and being set on fire), but the comparison still holds because of how often he's getting decimated and fighting forces way beyond his pay grade. Wolfram & Hart, the Shanshu and seeking redemption with the Powers that Be, like the mytharc conspiracy/alien takeover and literal God a.k.a. Chuck, is another endless, unwinnable fight that is so far beyond all the protagonists that there's no win/happily ever after and they'd be lucky just walking away from it with nothing. Angel also name-checks Indy with a blatantly Indy-inspired fantasy dream episode (Awakening in season 4) with Angelus making a crack about the Raiders fantasy. George Lucas actually visited the Angel set back in 2000 and was interested in how they were making mini movies every week and doing some pretty huge stunts on television. David Boreanaz had lunch with Lucas and has talked about it a few times over the many years. I mean, these are all shows starring action-oriented leading men and writing staffs of relatively similar age. Mostly Gen-X males with a few Baby Boomers (more so on the writing staff) with an audience that's primarily Gen-Y but appealing to a pretty broad age range (and probably a lot more female than originally intended!). Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Harrison Ford films in general were very formative to that generation. Harrison Ford is the ultimate leading man action star to a certain generation. Gen-Y got their familiarity with all of that by being the original home video/VHS generation and subsequently a lot more familiar with retro media (including things that were made before they were born or around that time) than Gen-Z. '80s movies have a lot of currency and familiarity still with Gen-Y, even if Baby Boomers were the stars of them and Gen-X were the ones who saw them in theaters. Gen-Y fangirls absolutely dominate the fandoms of many iconic television supernatural/sci-fi franchises (many are admittedly aging franchises). The WB/CW have catered to this group of fans for the last two and a half decades. If you're going to be reviving the character as a mid-20s-to-30s version (if the show lasts long enough, it probably will be stepping on the trilogy's toes timeline-wise by the end), I'd absolutely be aiming for this same audience and their tastes. They're also the audience who would be most receptive to and familiar with the character, IMO. If I were going to reinvent Indiana Jones for the television landscape, I would definitely be looking at those sorts of shows that have influence from the character already in their DNA. I think for the target audience, they'd definitely need to be aiming it at the same fanbases. Young Indy mostly tried to avoid stepping on Raiders' toes (despite Temple of Doom and Mask of Evil already making it ludicrous) by limiting the amount of supernatural elements, but I think a show would have to go all in on it. Indy would have to be transformed a bit in regards to trying to line him up with a character who would still be skeptical after all he's seen. Young Indy ended up forced into being a straight period drama with educational elements, which is very counter to what the audience wanted. There are things to keep from that approach (meeting historical persons, being a WWI veteran and witnessing history could absolutely be mined as backdrops to the stories), but the supernatural elements would have to exist in a revival now to get the audience who I think would be most receptive to it. While I would aim for a serialized drama format that would mean the globetrotting wouldn't have to completely change locations every episode (have it instead in arcs with some bigger MacGuffins and baddies perhaps crossing entire seasons), it's true that there would probably have to be more location filming than good, ol' Vancouver, but Disney is one of the few who could afford it (though Covid certainly would throw a wrench in it and political situations could potentially kill off certain locations). There's only so much green screen that Indy could get away with, though I imagine that a fair amount of it would have to be used for period piece reasons alone. There are a lot of modern intrusions even in historically-intact cities (Eastern Europe comes to mind as having a lot of its architecture intact and is affordable to film in) and around iconic landscapes to paint out. But at its core, it probably would need to bulk up its focus on the relationship dramas. Indy tends to have a girl at every port and to a degree you would introduce some of these love interests, but there's still a lot of relationships of every kind that could be developed and serialized. Certainly throw in a few femme fatales and tragic losses, given the Smallville-esque situation of there being an inevitable Indy/Marion endgame that should be kept--it thus becomes about the journey when it's a set conclusion. Absolutely have a strong recurring cast of Henry and friends new and old. The films actually have a lot of characters that Indy didn't just meet yesterday and could be developed to a huge extent. For a show to work now, there'd have to be a lot more connectivity to how often the recurring cast appear. Young Indy had a lot more of an anthology format with little chance of us getting attached to most of the revolving cast outside of a very tiny few. That's the biggest thing I'd change. You need characters to become regulars beyond just Indy if it were revived for modern cinematic television (the true successor to the film serials of the '30s!) in a way that isn't necessary for film installments.

#indana jones #harrison ford #lucasfilm #indy #young indy

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nellie-elizabeth · 4 years ago

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The Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Star-Spangled Man (1x02)

Oh boy. Things are getting juicy.

Cons:

Can we be done with the joke of "wow, I'm surprised this incredibly strong fighter is a woman"? Like, at first it didn't bother me that Bucky thought the woman was a hostage, but then it turns out she's the head of the Flag-Smashers. That could be a commentary on Bucky's outdated way of thinking. But then later, during the fight, Sam says "that girl beat you up!" like a fun banter joke, and I'm just... sick of it. Sam, aren't you an Avenger? I know there's a dearth of ladies over there, but you've met Wanda, right? And Natasha? They were part of your little family unit along with Steve, weren't they? Jeez. You know there's no reason why a woman can't be a dangerous criminal just as much as a man. #feminism. (But in all seriousness, that was a disappointing joke.)

I will repeat my concerns from the first episode, about how we're positioning our good guys and our bad guys. See, the bad guys don't want to let the same people have the power, the way it all was before the snap (or the "blip", as I guess it's known). They want to redistribute power, to break down these harmful systems. And then you've got Sam, getting denied at the bank, being harassed by the cops, showing that he too is victimized in this current system. So... is the ultimate solution really supposed to be Sam-as-Captain-America, taking on the mantle of a system that has rejected and hurt him and other people like him, for as long as (and long before) there even was an America? I want them to take this to a different place, an unexpected one, but I'm nervous about the optics.

Pros:

God, let's talk about Bucky and Sam, though.

So, first of all, and I want to state this super clearly: Bucky does not have any right to tell Sam what he was supposed to do with the shield. His behavior was entitled. It was also coming from a place of deep trauma and grief. The only thing you need to see to prove this, is the look on Bucky's face when he's watching John Walker being interviewed on Good Morning America. He's hearing this man who didn't even know Steve, calling him a brother. And he runs to Sam. Sam describes how he also felt "heartbroken" seeing this stranger being called Captain America. They are so united in their grief, and so surprisingly willing to talk about it, to let it into the air between them... but at the same time, there are resentments that run deep, and they can't quite bridge that gap.

Sam is right, and also Bucky is not entirely wrong. It's done beautifully, and reminds me a bit of why I liked Captain America: Civil War so much, because even though I had complicated thoughts about who was behaving poorly and who was in the right, I completely understood everyone's motivations. Why they were defending what they were defending, what they were fighting to preserve and protect.

Because I think, honestly, there's a very visceral part of both Sam and Bucky that wants to be partners, wants to be united and fight side by side. There's a hole in their hearts, and it's not just Steve, it's all the people they've lost over the many battles they've fought. There's an affinity between them, and you can see these glorious moments where they banter and joke and actually enjoy each other's company. And these moments of unity, like when they look at each other, silently agreeing to accept Walker's ride, or when they're united in turning away from him and saying they'll work alone, thanks.

That therapy scene was excellent, the way they slip into needling each other like brothers, to trying, at least for the sake of saying they tried, to do things sincerely... and then they hit a wall. I loved Sam saying "thanks for making it weird" to the therapist, because... yeah. Clearly they're not in a place to connect, to be in the same place emotionally, but they do have a job to do, and so they'll put the rest aside, like soldiers. (Side note, I appreciated the lack of a no homo joke when the therapist said they should use some couples' therapy techniques.)

The Isaiah scene, and then the scene with the cops stacked right up on top of it... man, that was brutal. I know it's Marvel, I know it's Disney, and far be it from me to pat them on the shoulder for delving into this subject matter, but I am glad it's being treated seriously. There's a real subtlety to the ways in which Bucky is a good guy, but he can't quite understand it, right? Like, during the scene with the cops, Bucky wants Sam to just hand over his ID so there won't be a fuss. He then says "don't you know who this guy is?" basically counting on Sam's fame and hero status to get them out of a spot of trouble. Bucky's instincts are to help, but it reveals his lack of understanding. Same with Isaiah. Was Bucky right to never tell anyone, not even Steve, about the way the super serum was being used? Well, we could debate about that. But his instinct to protect a man who had already been through so much... it's a compassionate instinct, if nothing else.

Let's talk about John Walker. I don't have a lot of respect for the armed forces, truth be told, but I want to be clear that individual people who operate within a system I despise, can still believe they're doing it for good reasons. I like that they didn't make Walker an obviously slimy villain. We see his high school, we see his friends, we see how nervous he is, and I believe that he has good intentions, by and large. And at the same time, every time he says "Bucky" like he fucking knows him, like he has any right to address him with familiarity? Or when he says he wants Sam to be his "wingman"? Man, I want to punch the guy right in his chiseled jaw. I'm ready to hate him entirely if he makes the wrong move, and I'm also prepared to cut him some slack as a more sympathetic character, depending on which way the wind blows.

In a strange way, I think the final moment of the episode, when Bucky has his idea to go talk to Zemo, was my favorite. He has this plan, to go talk to a man who literally knows the code words for his brainwashing with Hydra. He talks about going to him for information, and Sam just says... "so, the plan is for you to sit across the table in a room from that guy?" Bucky hesitates, then says "...yes". And Sam just says "okay." To me it speaks so much of their shared history, shared trauma, and that under the bedrock of all the issues they have between them, there's definite trust. I can't wait to see how that all plays out.

I'm already sad this is only going to be six episodes... do you think I should hold out hope for a season two?

8.5/10

#review #the falcon and the winter soldier #the falcon and the winter soldier review #fatws #fatws review #falcon and the winter soldier #falcon and the winter soldier review

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aaronmaurer · 4 years ago

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TV I Liked in 2020

Every year I reflect on the pop culture I enjoyed and put it in some sort of order.

Was there ever a year more unpredictably tailor-made for peak TV than 2020? Lockdowns/quarantines/stay-at-home orders meant a lot more time at home and the occasion to check out new and old favorites. (I recognize that if you’re lucky enough to have kids or roommates or a S.O., your amount of actual downtime may have been wildly different). While the pandemic resulted in production delays and truncated seasons for many shows, the continued streaming-era trends of limited series and 8-13 episode seasons mean that a lot of great and satisfying storytelling still made its way to the screen. As always, I in no way lay any claims to “best-ness” or completeness – this is just a list of the shows that brought me the most joy and escapism in a tough year and therefore might be worth putting on your radar.

10 Favorites

10. The Right Stuff: Season 1 (Disney+)

As a space program enthusiast, even I had to wonder, does the world really need another retelling of NASA’s early days? Especially since Tom Wolfe’s book has already been adapted as the riveting and iconoclastic Philip Kaufman film of the same name? While some may disagree, I find that this Disney+ series does justify its existence by focusing more on the relationships of the astronauts and their personal lives than the technical science (which may be partially attributable to budget limitations?). The series is kind of like Mad Men but with NASA instead of advertising (and real people, of course), so if that sounds intriguing, I encourage you to give it a whirl.

9. Fargo: Season 4 (FX)

As a big fan of Noah Hawley’s Coen Brothers pastiche/crime anthology series, I was somewhat let down by this latest season. Drawing its influence primarily from the likes of gangster drama Miller’s Crossing – one of the Coens’ least comedic/idiosyncratic efforts – this season is more straightforward than its predecessors and includes a lot of characters and plot-threads that never quite cohere. That said, it is still amongst the year’s most ambitious television with another stacked cast, and the (more-or-less) standalone episode “East/West” is enough to make the season worthwhile.

8. The Last Dance (ESPN)

Ostensibly a 10-episode documentary about the 1990s Chicago Bulls’ sixth and final NBA Championship run, The Last Dance actually broadens that scope to survey the entire history of Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson’s careers with the team. Cleverly structured with twin narratives that chart that final season as well as an earlier timeframe, each episode also shifts the spotlight to a different person, which provides focus and variety throughout the series. And frankly, it’s also just an incredible ride to relive the Jordan era and bask in his immeasurable talent and charisma – while also getting a snapshot of his outsized ego and vices (though he had sign-off on everything, so it’s not exactly a warts-and-all telling).

7. The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

This miniseries adaptation of the Walter Tevis coming-of-age novel about a chess prodigy and her various addictions is compulsively watchable and avoids the bloat of many other streaming series (both in running time and number of episodes). The 1960s production design is stunning and the performances, including Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role, are convincing and compelling.

6. The Great: Season 1 (hulu)

Much like his screenplay for The Favourite, Tony McNamara’s series about Catherine the Great rewrites history with a thoroughly modern and irreverent sensibility (see also: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette). Elle Fanning brings a winning charm and strength to the title role and Nicholas Hoult is riotously entertaining as her absurdly clueless and ribald husband, Emperor Peter III. Its 10-episodes occasionally tilt into repetitiveness, but when the ride is this fun, why complain? Huzzah!

5. Dispatches From Elsewhere (AMC)

A limited (but possibly anthology-to-be?) series from creator/writer/director/actor Jason Segal, Dispatches From Elsewhere is a beautiful and creative affirmation of life and celebration of humanity. The first 9 episodes form a fulfilling and complete arc, while the tenth branches into fourth wall-breaking meta territory, which may be a bridge too far for some (but is certainly ambitious if nothing else). Either way, it’s a movingly realized portrait of honesty, vulnerability and empathy, and I highly recommend visiting whenever it inevitably makes its way to Netflix, or elsewhere…

4. What We Do in the Shadows: Season 2 (FX)

The second season of WWDITS is more self-assured and expansive than the first, extending a premise I loved from its antecedent film – but was skeptical could be sustained – to new and reinvigorated (after)life. Each episode packs plenty of laughs, but for my money, there is no better encapsulation of the series’ potential and Matt Berry’s comic genius than “On The Run,” which guest-stars Mark Hamill and features Laszlo’s alter ego Jackie Daytona, regular human bartender.

3. Ted Lasso: Season 1 (AppleTV+)

Much more than your average fish-out-of-water comedy, Jason Sudeikis’ Ted Lasso is a brilliant tribute to humaneness, decency, emotional intelligence and good coaching – not just on the field. The fact that its backdrop is English Premier League Soccer is just gravy (even if that’s not necessarily represented 100% proficiently). A true surprise and gem of the year.

2. Mrs. America (hulu)

This FX miniseries explores the women’s liberation movement and fight for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and its opposition by conservative women including Phyllis Schlafly. One of the most ingenious aspects of the series is centering each episode on a different character, which rotates the point of view and helps things from getting same-y. With a slate of directors including Ryan Bowden and Anna Fleck (Half-Nelson, Sugar, Captain Marvel) and an A-List cast including Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Sarah Paulson, Margo Martindale, Tracey Ulman and Elizabeth Banks, its quality is right up there with anything on the big screen. And its message remains (sadly) relevant as ever in our current era.

1. The Good Place: Season 4 (NBC)

It was tempting to omit The Good Place this year or shunt it to a side category since only the final 4 episodes aired in 2020, but that would have been disingenuous. This show is one of my all-time favorites and it ended perfectly. The series finale is a representative mix of absurdist humor and tear-jerking emotion, built on themes of morality, self-improvement, community and humanity. (And this last run of eps also includes a pretty fantastic Timothy Olyphant/Justified quasi-crossover.) Now that the entire series is available to stream on Netflix (or purchase in a nice Blu-ray set), it’s a perfect time to revisit the Good Place, or check it out for the first time if you’ve never had the pleasure.

5 of the Best Things I Caught Up With

Anne With An E (Netflix/CBC)

Another example of classic literature I had no prior knowledge of (see also Little Women and Emma), this Netflix/CBC adaptation of Anne of Green Gables was strongly recommended by several friends so I finally gave it a shot. While this is apparently slightly more grown-up than the source material, it’s not overly grimdark or self-serious but rather humane and heartfelt, expanding the story’s scope to include Black and First Nations peoples in early 1800s Canada, among other identities and themes. It has sadly been canceled, but the three seasons that exist are heart-warming and life-affirming storytelling. Fingers crossed that someday we’ll be gifted with a follow-up movie or two to tie up some of the dangling threads.

Better Call Saul (AMC)

I liked Breaking Bad, but I didn’t have much interest in an extended “Breaking Bad Universe,” as much as I appreciate star Bob Odenkirk’s multitalents. Multiple recommendations and lockdown finally provided me the opportunity to catch up on this prequel series and I’m glad I did. Just as expertly plotted and acted as its predecessor, the series follows Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman on his own journey to disrepute but really makes it hard not to root for his redemption (even as you know that’s not where this story ends).

Joe Pera Talks With You (Adult Swim)

It’s hard to really describe the deadpan and oddly soothing humor of comedian Joe Pera whose persona, in the series at least, combines something like the earnestness of Mr. Rogers with the calm enthusiasm of Bob Ross. Sharing his knowledge on the likes of how to get the best bite out of your breakfast combo, growing a bean arch and this amazing song “Baba O’Reilly” by the Who – have you heard it?!? – Pera provides arch comfort that remains solidly on the side of sincerity. The surprise special he released during lockdown, “Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera,” was a true gift in the middle of a strange and isolated year.

The Mandalorian (Disney+)

One of the few recent Star Wars properties that lives up to its potential, the adventures of Mando and Grogu is a real thrill-ride of a series with outstanding production values (you definitely want to check out the behind-the-scenes documentary series if you haven’t). I personally prefer the first season, appreciating its Western-influenced vibes and somewhat-more-siloed story. The back half of the second season veers a little too much into fan service and video game-y plotting IMHO but still has several excellent episodes on offer, especially the Timothy Olyphant-infused energy of premiere “The Marshall” and stunning cinematography of “The Jedi.” And, you know, Grogu.

The Tick (Amazon Prime)

I’ve been a fan of the Tick since the character’s Fox cartoon and indie comic book days and also loved the short-lived Patrick Warburton series from 2001. I was skeptical about this Amazon Prime reboot, especially upon seeing the pilot episode’s off-putting costumes. Finally gaining access to Prime this year, I decided to catch up and it gets quite good!, especially in Season 2. First, the costumes are upgraded; second, Peter Serafinowicz’s initially shaky characterization improves; and third, it begins to come into its own identity. The only real issue is yet another premature cancellation for the property, meaning Season 2’s tease of interdimensional alien Thrakkorzog will never be fulfilled. 😢

Bonus! 5 More Honorable Mentions:

City So Real (National Geographic)

The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)

How To with John Wilson: Season 1 (HBO)

Kidding: Season 2 (Showtime)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs The Reverend (Netflix)

#tv #television

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