#'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic' - The Police(like magic alonso you get it you get it??)

[skitskatdacat63]

2023 Bahrain Grand Prix - Fernando Alonso(ft. Max Verstappen, Checo Perez & Lance Stroll)(my personal post-race highlights)

[chriscdcase95]

Reposting for TLDR reasons. 

To see the full rant, click the “Keep Reading”, but this covers what I consider an example of a show taking shipping wars too seriously, giving fans and how it can potentially pull a show down the tubes. Especially at the expense of character development and their stories.

It’s kind of a follow-up to another post I made about canon and non canon ships, and how there’s some ship based stories better left to fanfiction.

Disclaimer: I generally don’t like Ship Policing (bullying, and badgering other people for liking “the wrong ship”) despite this being one of my biggest NOTP’s. I don’t intend to bully people who like this ship, and this analysis is based on my observations and opinions. 

So here I am talking about a barley known show and ship that’s barely relevant anymore if at all. This is a follow up post on a Loud House post regarding a non canon ship called Luaggie. I mentioned on that post , how it was an example of a fanfic ship and it’s best to be left a fanfic based ship. I now bring to you it’s antithesis; Jemma of Every Witch Way. Originally this was strictly about why some ships and stories that are best left to fanfiction, but there are so many problems with this ship, that I don’t really know where to start. I guess I’ll start with an introduction to the show.

Edit: I also had to revisit to trim this down, and correct misinformation.

Edit Edit: Twice. I had to edit it twice!

“What is Every Witch Way ?”

Every Witch Way was a comedy/drama series on Nickelodeon. Anyone who heard of it would know it is an Americanized remake of Grachi, a Latin American Nickelodeon series. The less educated may dismiss it as a Wizards of Waverly Place knockoff. The series focuses on Emma Alonso, a teenage girl who moves to Miami with her father and discovers she is a witch and chosen to one day lead the magical realm. With a group of muggle friends, the enthusiastic tough girl Andi; Emma’s queen bee rival Maddie also being a witch; a subplot about Fantastic Racism that ended with the wiping out of all but two of an entire race; we got ourselves a simple little TV show that could be a passible watch.

Coming from a post iCarly, Victorious and Big Time Rush era of Nickelodeon, where most of their shows were marketed to the younger kids and barely anything for teens to chew on, Every Witch Way was a breath of fresh air. Taking cues from previous Nick shows such as H2O Just Add Water and House of Anubis, and aimed for a teenage audience, it was more interested in telling stories than telling jokes.

I would have called the show an underrated cult classic series to get nostalgic over, like The Troop (a show which I’ll also talk about one day)…then comes seasons three and four and it becomes clear that Every Witch Way is more interested in ship war than it was telling stories. Maybe I was giving the show too much credit or had too much expectations for it. Let’s just say this was no House of Anubis or the Avatar franchise. I don’t know what pulled the show down the tubes; it was either the character Jax Novoa and his story arc, or his relationship with Emma. But they overlap with eachother so I might as well cover all of them.

“What kind of relationship is Jemma ?”

Imagine if you will; a high school drama, that involves a loving, kind and empathetic girl meeting a dark brooding bad boy, who does bad things. But because he has a sad past and bad parents, anything bad he does is immediately forgiven and brushed aside, or justified. And it is by the love of this girl, and only because of this love, does the bad boy get redeemed. 

It’s the kind of story you see in mediocre romance stories or fanfics; the idea that the dark and brooding love interest with a bad past or history can be changed for the better with the love of the protagonist. This describes the relationship Emma and Jax’s relationship to such a tee that it’s borderline parody. The kind of reationship you’d at least put some kind of spin on.

So how does this compare to Jax and Emma’s relationship ? A quick description is that Jax is a new student and a dark seeming wizard introduced in the second season, who immediately displays an arrogant personality and behaviour while befriending Emma and putting the moves on her (and making a quick rivalry with Emma’s then boyfriend Daniel). Emma has a good heart, and a loving empathetic girl, so of course she likes to see the good in people and Jax was no exception. Jax eventually “changes” his darker ways and becomes more altruistic, mainly to get back and stay into Emma’s good graces. 

Normally, I have no issues with an Enemies to Lovers story, but it’s the context and overexposure that puts Jemma in a bad light.

Emma continuously forgives, or ignores Jax’s flaws to near absurdity, mainly because Jax has a dead mom and an emotionally distant, controlling and seemingly abusive father…which is shown to be false in the many retcons season four gives us.

“What are the problems with Jemma ?”

I said in another post that a friend of mine defined toxic relationships differently than I did; one definition was that a ship is toxic based off of fans behaviour in the name of the ship; I define them for how much it romanticizes problematic behaviour. How does Jemma fall into either of these ?

Back when Every Witch Way was on, Jax x Emma fans were pretty rapid, and became the most loud and vocal part of the fanbase. Any attempts to criticize Jax, his behaviour or relationship with Emma is bombarded with “HE CHANGED! HE CHANGED FOR HER!” ad nauseum. 

It’s gotten to the point where they literally vote their preference to make them the shows official couple. This can be partially blamed on the writers because they went about asking their audience what they want to happen in a TV show, having them vote for wat hey want to happen and in turn made season four into a Jemma based AU fic that rewrote the entire show. Kind of lacks integrity if you ask me. It also had to have been one of most one sided and manufactured shipping wars I’ve seen. By the end of the series, Jemma fans were pretty sore winners.

So Jemma fans could be pushy, but did Jax and Emma’s relationship entail toxic ideals I listed above ? On the surface, “no” since Jax doesn’t physically abuse Emma or the like…but Jax is manipulative person, and is rather possessive and entitled towards Emma all things considered. And what else can you say about a relationship where this partner has manipulated and gaslighted nearly everyone around him to get in, and attempts to destroy the world over a breakup ?

There’s so much to cover that stems from Jax that I might as well write a section on Jax himself. The worst that can be said of Emma here is that she was too forgiving and empathetic for her own good.

“Jax and how not to write a redemption arc”

So Jax is an overwhelmingly popular character on the show, so much that season four retconned him into the main character behind Emma. It’s easy to call him a Gary Stu character since he’s a seemingly perfect character who gets his way all the time and soon becomes the center of the show. This trope also fits; “Draco In Leather Pants” where a villain tends to get romanticized or woobified in fanfics regardless of how sympathetic or redeemable they are in canon; mostly because they are cute.

When Jax was introduced, he was the de-facto Big Bad of season two, being the most prominent, and personal antagonist and direct source of most of the drama that occurs in the season. Throughout the season he befriends and puts the moves on Emma with the intent on using the power coming Fool Moon (long story) to take over the world and rule at her side. Jax eventually falls in love with Emma, but when she breaks up with him when she makes right with Daniel… Jax’s response was aiding in an attempt to destroy the magic realm; something they make clear would kill all but a few magical beings in the world and this is something Jax is very aware of In the final showdown Jax makes it clear to Emma that he doesn’t care about what could happen to their loved ones in this magical apocalypse, so long as Emma is with him.

Again, I wouldn’t take this as seriously if the show didn’t treat it as seriously.

Now in his defense, I was originally rooting for Jax to reform himself. No joke, I genuinely wanted to see how Jax would make good with those he manipulated, pushed around and tried to fucking kill. I like a good redemption stoy as much as the next guy, but Jax doesn’t really go through one; he just turns Face at the last minute, apologizes to Emma about not wanting to hurt her, Emma immediately forgives him and Jax wastes no time putting the moves on her and antagonizing Daniel. What punishment does Jax go through ? What atonement did he have to suffer ? He’s put through a boot camp with the threat losing his powers, all the while he agonizes that those who he wronged still resent him. To be fair he does have genuine good deeds in season three; such as heping a dying friend, and even riskiig his life to save another But even then, the sho treats Emma as his prize for being a Nice Guy, and he admits this to Emma during the third seasons finale in a scene we are supposed to find romantic. And when he gets the girl, its all rendered moot in season four.

Helping or not helping with Jax’s character is that in season two he is given multiple “excuses”; controlling and abusive father, seemingly dead mother. They worked back then in making Jax sympathetic. The problem is when we get the actual revelations of his family and in turn make him unsympathetic in retrospect.

“The Mess That Is Season Four”

I don’t like the Fanon Discontinuity trope - where fans refuse to accept an istallment as canon out of a dislike of them. I generally don’t apply this trope with very few exceptions. But let me tell you this; when I say season four isn’t canon to the previous seasons, that’s not me talking, that’s the show itself talking. 

It isn’t a continuation of the previous seasons, it’s a reboot. When Emma and Jax become the shows OTP, the universe literally changes around them. Season four introduces a plot point that where an SCP style anomaly exists called a Continuum Break, in which as a direct result of Emma’s decision, the universe casted Daniel out of everyone’s lives, and their friends memories, and retroactively replaces him with Jax. Subsequently, the events of the previous seasons and their conflicts revolve around Jax and Emma’s relationship. 

One reason why these retcons don’t work is that because the world was altered in Jemma’s image, Jax here isn’t the same Jax as we knew through season two and three. The retcons fail because Jax’s previous sympathy is erased in retrospect, because Jax would hide behind his parents as an excuse for his actions (the dead mother wasn’t dead, but in fact, secret villain; and Jax’s abusive father wasn’t abusive). Jax being sympathetic hinged off of these excuses, and they either never applied, or was hit by the reset button, and thus irrelevant to his development.

And I am left asking myself why the writers came up with the Continuum Break in the first place ?Where Jemma fans that pushy about making their ship canon that they had to make it the only canon relationship in the show ? If so, that’s how wildly Jemma shippers are, if not that’s on the writers for being that much fan slaves. What other point could there be in portraying the Continuum Break as the way things should be ? Not to be pesimeistic, but it feels like this is the show throwing a character under the bus for the sake of rewriting the previous seasons and making Jax the new protagonist.

On top of that, other characters and arcs get thrown under the bus too

Mainly, Mia Black, who was introduced in season three as the de-facto main antagonist, and is added as another member of the love triangle. Mia is also affected by the Continuum Break as she is also cast from everyone’s memories and lives, to live an alternate life with Daniel. This is arguably more jarring than Daniel being taken away because Mia ultimately doesn’t sacrifice her morals for what she believes in and ultimately wasn’t that much of a threat and her own redemption arc is foreshadowed throughout the season by bonding with Daniel and Diego, and the added empathise on how lonely she is. This culminates in Emma reaching out to her in the season finale, and declaring herself her protector.  Like Jax, I was looking forward to seeing where they would take Mia and her arc the next season. Well as a result of the Continuum Break, she’s out of everyone’s lives, and living an artificial alternate one the universe spat out. Like Daniel, she may have been happy with her new life, but it still renders everything they foreshadowed for her and what she’s been through for nothing.

Personal conclusion

I reiterate my first statement Every Witch Way was a great show (first three seasons, at least is IMO). It was a breath of fresh air in a time when most of Nick’s shows were targeting a younger demographic in a post iCarly, Big Time Rush, and Victorious era. I’d call it an cult classic series, but I still feel that season four keeps it from being one of the great ones. I do recommend checking the series out, the story arcs are mostly good. Unfortunately by the time season four rolled in, it seemed pretty clear the show was more interested in shipping wars than it was in telling it’s stories.

I can’t really pinpoint what caused the show to drop in quality; the manufactured ship war ? Jax as a character ? Jemma’s pushy fans ? The writers for bending to fan demands ? Either way, season four’s Continuum Break was something the show could have done without. I won’t say that Jax is the most unlikeable character on the show (that would be Emma’s father) and he isn’t the most evil either (that would be Torres). I consider Jax and his blunders more so the fault of how he was written than anything else.

I will give Jax and Jemma this; the character and ship has so much going for it, I can’t help but compare and contrast them to other similar characters, story arcs and ships. I use it as an example of not to write a redemptive romance, and why some things are best left to fanfiction. But above all else, I hold it as an example as to why writers and creators shouldn’t sacrifice their stories blindly cater to fans and popular ships.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 22 April 2019

Quick Bits:

A Walk Through Hell #9, like many issues before it, does its damnedest to break your mind. Garth Ennis, Goran Sudžuka, Ive Svorcina, and Rob Steen continue to deliver one of the best horror stories every month that just seems to get stranger and more complex with each subsequent chapter. This issue yanks the rug out from under us.

| Published by AfterShock

Action Comics #1010 raises a million and one more questions as to what’s actually going on with Leviathan and whether some things are supposed to be clues or if Brian Michael Bendis is just changing continuity. Maybe a little of both. Stellar art from Steve Epting and Brad Anderson who continue to deliver a solid mood and atmosphere for this espionage-heavy story.

| Published by DC Comics

Amazing Spider-Man #20 changes the game a bit as Black Ant reveals more of what Kraven has planned. Wonderful art from Humberto Ramos, Victor Olazaba, Edgar Delgado, and Erick Arciniega.

| Published by Marvel

Amber Blake #2 has some incredible artwork from Butch Guice as this action-packed thriller continues. Some interesting twists that ultimately are going to be crushing when they come to light.

| Published by IDW

Ascender #1 is pretty damn great. Jeff Lemire, Dustin Nguyen, and Steve Wands kick-off this follow-up to Descender with what feels like a complete counterpoint to its hard science fiction. This delves deep into a universe taken over by magic and vampires, with technology either gone or kept under strict control. Even the art has shifted tone, from the dark inkiness from before to a greater reliance on white spaces here, to give it a different visual aesthetic. 

| Published by Image

Avengers #18 is a single issue story, tying in to The War of the Realms, spotlighting Coulson’s new Squadron Supreme of America (it’s unclear as to whether these are new versions or existing ones being manipulated, but there’s shadowy shenanigans), from Jason Aaron, Ed McGuinness, Mark Morales, Justin Ponsor, and Cory Petit. Marvel’s Justice League analogue just got their Max Lord.

| Published by Marvel

Bad Luck Chuck #2 sees Chuck recount some of her cases and a bit of how her “powers” work, while forces around her conspire to bring her down. Nice character building from Lela Gwenn with some great artwork from Matthew Dow Smith and Kelly Fitzpatrick.

| Published by Dark Horse

Batgirl #34 begins “Terrible”, the three-part finale to Mairghread Scott, Paul Pelletier, Norm Rapmund, Jordie Bellaire, and AndWorld Design’s run on the title. Some nice detective work here as the Terrible Trio hatch a new plan.

| Published by DC Comics

Black Panther #11 builds off of last issue’s shock turn and the direct involvement of Bast as we get some answers about the Intergalactic Empire of Wakanda and some of the machinations that are unfolding. The art from Kev Walker, Marc Deering, and Java Tartaglia continues to be a highlight.

| Published by Marvel

Coda #11 gears up for next issue’s finale as Murk unveils another stage in her plan and Hum does something incredibly stupid. This has been one of my favourite series over the past year and the build to the conclusion is wonderful. Absolutely phenomenal work from Si Spurrier, Matías Bergara, Michael Doig, and Jim Campbell.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Criminal #4 tells a haunting single issue story of a very messed up day in the life of Ricky Lawless. I love the mosaic that Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, and Jacob Phillips are crafting out of these different time periods, building something larger out of an already sprawling world.

| Published by Image

Dark Red #2 takes an interesting turn as Chip is given a pitch to become the face of a new American heartland vampire nation. Interesting to see how racism also extends through to vampires. Very entertaining stuff from Tim Seeley, Corin Howell, Mark Englert, and Marshall Dillon.

| Published by AfterShock

Detective Comics #1002 continues “Medieval” with some really great art from Brad Walker, Andrew Hennessy, and Nathan Fairbairn. There’s a weight and gravity to the art that elevate the story nicely. Also, it’s interesting to see an antagonist who thinks that he’s a hero above Batman, especially as he goes about trying to recruit Damian. It should be interesting to see who Arkham Knight is under the mask.

| Published by DC Comics

Dial H for Hero #2 is probably even better than the first issue, and the first issue was one of the most fun debuts I’ve read in a while. Sam Humphries, Joe Quinones, Jordan Gibson, and Dave Sharpe capture a zany energy amidst the real, emotional drama that the kids are experiencing and it leads to some highly entertaining storytelling. Also, the art is phenomenal. Quinones is really stretching his artistic muscles, throwing in incredible different styles as the heroes emerge. This issue gives us pastiches of Dragonball Z and Gundam Wing and the transformation is amazing, the entire creative team perfectly capturing the style.

| Published by DC Comics / Wonder Comics

Doctor Strange #13 continues to force Galactus into the world of magic, delving further into some familiar faces from Strange’s past, in the second part of “Herald Supreme” from Mark Waid, Barry Kitson, Scott Koblish, Scott Hanna, Brian Reber, and Cory Petit.

| Published by Marvel

Fearscape #5 concludes what has been a highly ambitious, inventive series from Ryan O’Sullivan, Andrea Mutti, Vladimir Popov, and Andworld Design. Sadly, Henry Henry doesn’t get punched in the dick, repeatedly, but there are some tragic twists that change the landscape.

| Published by Vault

The Forgotten Queen #3 delivers more of Vexana’s history, revealing she’s responsible for Dracula in the Valiant universe, along with a few other twists. I’m really liking Amilcar Pinna and Ulises Arreola’s art here. The odd angles adding something unique to the feel of the story.

| Published by Valiant

Invisible Kingdom #2 sees G. Willow Wilson, Christian Ward, and Sal Cipriano continue to build a richly developed, intriguing world essentially founded upon a bedrock of an Amazon analogue, both in support of and opposition to. Gorgeous artwork from Ward.

| Published by Dark Horse / Berger Books

Justice League Dark #10 outlines the Lords of Order’s plans for the multiverse and magic and why they’re initiating an assault on all of the magic wielders. James Tynion IV is doing some rather impressive world-building and story seeding all throughout his work, but it really comes to a head in this series. Also, the art from Alvaro Martínez Bueno, Raul Fernandez, and Brad Anderson continues to be impeccable.

| Published by DC Comics

KINO #15 begins a new arc, tackling some messy current events throughout Europe in a rather interesting fashion. Alex Paknadel, Diego Galindo, Valentina Pinto, and Jim Campbell did some amazing things reinterpreting KINO in the last arc, delivering an intriguing thriller, and that doesn’t seem to be letting up any with this new arc. The politics and the manipulation are at an all time high and this is something you really don’t want to miss.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

The Lollipop Kids #5 is the final battle between the kids and Morgan Le Fay and her army of monsters for all the lollipops. This has been an imaginative series from Adam Glass, Aidan Glass, Diego Yapur, DC Alonso, and Sal Cipriano with consistently some of the most beautiful art in comics. There’s a hint of what’s to come and I hope we see more of this story in the future.

| Published by AfterShock

Punk Mambo #1 is another great debut of a limited series for Valiant spotlighting one of their less used, but highly interesting characters from Cullen Bunn, Adam Gorham, José Villarrubia, and Dave Sharpe. The set up for supernatural intrigue delving into Voodoo belief is very entertaining, with some impressive artwork from Gorham and Villarrubia.

| Published by Valiant

Queen of Bad Dreams #1 is another highly imaginative, impressive debut for Vault. This time spotlighting a world where dreams can jump from the mind of the dreamer into the real world. Danny Lore, Jordi Pérez, Dearbhla Kelly, and Kim McLean offer up some interesting, fleshed-out characters in Daher and Viv, that elevate this from just a unique take on a police procedural to greater interpersonal drama. Also, a mystery that’s going to hook you immediately.

| Published by Vault

Spawn #296 features some absolutely stunning artwork from Jason Shawn Alexander, FCO Plascencia, and Greg Menzie for this first part of “History of Spawn” as the march to the 300th issue gets closer and the stakes get raised as the powers that loom through Spawn’s life gather to try to put an end to him. 

| Published by Image

Star Trek: Year Five #1 to me feels like it has perfectly captured the spirit of the original series, delving deep into Star Trek lore and pulling forth a captivating story that showcases a lot of what made the television show great. Jackson Lanzing, Collin Kelly, Stephen Thompson, Charlie Kirchoff, and Neil Uyetake are off to a great start.

| Published by IDW

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge #1, like Tie Fighter from last week, is a tie-in to some of the new stuff in the broader Star Wars universe with some new characters and locations. In this case it ties in to the new attraction opening at the Disney theme parks. This first issue introduces us to the seedy underbelly of the world shortly before The Force Awakens, from Ethan Sacks, Will Sliney, Dono Sánchez-Almara, Protobunker, and Travis Lanham, weaving in an entertaining flashback with the familiar faces of Han Solo and Chewbacca. 

| Published by Marvel

Stone Star #2 is as impressive as the debut issue, developing a couple more complex characters and spinning forth a political situation that makes the arena world of the Stone Star itself a bit more suspect. Jim Zub, Max Dunbar, Espen Grundetjern, and Marshall Dillon are telling a tale here that really shouldn’t be missed.

| Published by Swords & Sassery

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #93 is part one of “City at War” from Kevin Eastman, Bobby Curnow, Tom Waltz, Dave Wachter, Ronda Pattison, and Shawn Lee. It’s mostly a gathering storm as the forces prepare for the oncoming onslaught, with an absolutely harrowing spark to kick off the conflict.

| Published by IDW

Thanos #1 begins a new mini from Tini Howard, Ariel Olivetti, Antonio Fabela, and Joe Caramagna that offers up a look at the formative years of Thanos raising Gamora, along with other bits of early history. This first issue paints a rather intriguing picture of Thanos as a deranged serial killer, building his own Winchester House out of his space station, which certainly is a different take.

| Published by Marvel

Wizard Beach #5 brings an end to this fun series from Shaun Simon, Conor Nolan, George Schall, Chad Lewis, Meg Casey, and Mike Fiorentino. It’s wonderful to see Hex learn and grow these past couple of issues and we get an interesting resolution to the nefarious schemes that were popping up on the beach.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Other Highlights: Black Widow #4, Books of Magic #7, Delver #3, Dick Tracy Forever #1, Elvira: The Shape of Elvira #2, Fantastic Four #9, Fight Club 3 #4, Firefly #5, The Flash #69, Freedom Fighters #5, Ghost Tree #1, Ghostbusters 35th Anniversary Special: Extreme, GI Joe: Sierra Muerte #3, Goddess Mode #5, Hardcore #5, Invader Zim #42, Ironheart #5, Jughead: The Hunger vs. Vampironica #1, Little Girls, Mae #12, Marvel Comics Presents #4, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #38, Princeless Book 8: Princesses #1, Punks Not Dead: London Calling #3, The Realm #13, Redneck #19, The Replacer, Rick & Morty #49, Runaways #20, Sex - Volume 6: World Hunger, Sharkey: Bounty Hunter #3, The Silencer #16, Star Trek Waypoint Special 2019, Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #31, Star Wars: Vader - Dark Visions #3, Superb #19, Superior Spider-Man #5, Turok #3, Venom #13, The Warning #6, The Wicked + The Divine #43, Wonder Woman #69

Recommended Collections: Aliens: Dead Orbit, Backstagers - Volume 3, Black Order: Warmasters of Thanos, Despicable Deadpool, Dick Tracy: Dead or Alive, Exorsisters - Volume 1, Fissure - Volume 1, Full Bleed - Volume 3, Jessica Jones: Purple Daughter, KINO - Volume 3: The Man in the Iron Mask, Livewire - Volume 1: Fugitive, Marvel Action: Avengers - Book 1, Marvel Knights, Scarlet - Volume 1, Shuri - Volume 1: The Search for Black Panther, Supergirl - Volume 1: The Killers of Krypton, Unstoppable Wasp: Fix Everything, Venom - Volume 2, The Warning - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy likes lemon cranberry muffins.