#AND he can keep some thematically dramatic stuff that maybe I will reveal later on

[erradox]

Zappy frost.

[safetypinsymphony]

“Is it a plot twist, or is it just lying?” and brief thoughts on the SPN road so far

To paraphrase an exchange from Bob's Burgers: Is it a plot twist, or is it just lying?

This seems to be an evolving theme of Supernatural's Season 15. I haven't been keeping up on my reviews here, dern it, but after some mild kerfuffles I've experienced between various fans (including myself), I'm re-inspired. Or perhaps incensed.

“Writers lie.”

When we first learned that God is a right asshole and as such, opened a rift in Hell before checking out to leave our intrepid heroes to deal with the undead invasion spilling forth—and then decided to check back in just to start fucking with the Winchesters again—I wasn't overly bothered, but nor was I particularly thrilled by the implications. I was begrudgingly interested to see what was evolving.

Well.

Kinda like watching a slo-mo train wreck, as it turns out. We're witnessing how this canon ret-conning is already starting to fray. How playing fast and loose with what the show has established as the rules of its universe is creating this “It was all just a dream” Dallas-esque meta embarrassment.

Seasons back, when the show first shattered the Fourth Wall by introducing the SPN books and conventions into its own mythos, that self-awareness was a really risky move. To this day, you either love it or hate it, but it managed to hold together because of the infrequency with which it was explored, and the skills of the writers at the time. (Even then, we got Season Seven, Time for a Wedding, arguably one of the more tasteless episodes of the whole series.)

As Dabb and company are choosing to further explore Chuck-as-God-and-puppetmaster, one of the show's important thematic cornerstones, that of the value of <i>freewill</i>, is taking a big hit. And the show knows it. They've had Dean come right out and air his disgruntlement with it several times already. So we get it, yeah, it's a thing. It's what Dabb is using to propel this last season (along with rampant fanservice and as many returning characters—dead or alive—that he can shoehorn into 43 minutes).

Now, I do loves me some fanservice on occasion, and there are certainly quite a few characters who died in rather inglorious ways and probably deserved better send-offs than they got, but I'm not sure 'hanging a flag on it' does enough to compensate for what this means in regards to the past 14 years of the show. In asserting that all of the past canon has been little more than Chuck's manipulations, it also means that the viewers' investment into the whole of the SPN universe has been hung on a lie within its own framework. “Ret-conning” doesn't even come close to describing this level of narrative dishonesty. (Wow, that sounded dramatic, but it's kind of true, you know?) By undermining the canon of the past 14 years, the current show creators have made Gamble, Carver and yes, even Kripke unwittingly complicit in this snake oil operation.

If SPN were just a movie, two hours designed from the jump to play out this way, I might think it was a little cheesy but oh well. I'm not that invested. (See 'Cabin in the Woods', which was a helluva fun neo-horror romp, in a similar vein.) But this is FOURTEEN YEARS we're talking here. That's a loooong time to be invested in a narrative, just to have the latest showrunner unseat all the canon that came before him. The only thing that matters one iota now? Season 15. It, apparently, is the only “true” canon. The only canon where “Chuck” is revealing his hand and operating with any in-world narrative legitimacy.

Thanks, I hate it.

I'm not going to pretend I like what Dabb is proposing. The segment of fandom hungry to bust Sam and Dean's so-called co-dependency is pretty stoked about it, naturally; they see classic SPN as toxic and unhealthy (and let's be real, in the way of a certain ship).

But here's the thing that gives me The Feels™, and it's not turning the Winchesters (or Cas, for that matter) into domesticated, well-adjusted Hallmark Channel leading men. (That's what, you know, The Hallmark Channel is for.) And it's sure as hell not invalidating the canon of the show I fell in love with.

It's urban legends, black humor, the endless highways and guttering neon. It's two brothers raised on the fringes of society, their unbreakable fidelity, finding comfort wherever they can since tomorrow, they may meet the business end of a rugaru. It's the colorful characters they meet along their travels. It's Led Zeppelin, greasy spoons and ancient tomes. It's faith and heart and sacrifice.

Unless Dabb dismantles these things too. At which point, a pox upon him and his house. Writers may lie, but this would be universe assassination.

●●●

Oh! I was going to mention some episodes too, lol. Here are a few quick take-aways, since I've already blabbed on enough.

Episode 3: RIP, Rowena. I looooooved the line, “But I believe in prophecy. I believe in magic.” That was SO her. Of course an ancient witch, the most powerful in the game, would live (and die) on those words. And kudos to the show for remembering it put that Sam gun on the mantel in Season 13, iirc. Pretty sure we'll see Rowena again before the grand finale, though.

Big happy for the suggestion that Sam is a witch-in-the-making. Also glad Cas finally got his brain wrapped around the fact that Dean was pissed at him but he didn't need to take it anymore. Dean has some valid reasons to need space from Cas, and it's a handy way to get Cas off doing his own thing (as Misha is not contracted for every episode).

Berens did a solid job writing this episode, but I'm glad we've wrapped the customary 3-episode season premier. I had high hopes for myriad crusty, decaying dead shambling around a grim world, but instead we got a handful of ghosts, literally running around in broad daylight. The first two episodes were … clumsy.

Episode 4: 'Atomic Monsters', was written by my favorite current SPN writer, Davy Perez, and he did not disappoint! Something about the way he writes dialogue sounds so naturalistic to me, and he manages to tap into authentic feelings in the characters without feeling rushed or contrived. I believe his stories. I never get thrown out of his episodes.

The episode was lovingly directed by Jensen Ackles. The guy flat out knows what to give us. That whole beginning red scene, with Dean and his John Wick bad-assery and then … then we get a Sam who has never eschewed his demon blood addiction. It was chilling and gorgeously actualized and I might have watched that bit more than is healthy.

And we got to revisit Becky Rosen, who is now a fangirl—like many of us—but she's grown up and assimilated fandom enjoyment into her daily life. Perez did a great job in saving Becky, as a character. She isn't the butt of anyone's joke anymore. She isn't a dangerously unbalanced fan. She's just … one of us. Thank you, sir.

Episode 5: Fun stuff in this one! Brotherly banter, Sam and Dean dressed as sort-of Fish and Game employees, a brilliant turn by actress Anna Grace Barlow reprising Lilith (no one saw this coming!), werewolf brothers as yet another example of monsters that aren't as cut-and-dried as hunters might like, and more 'visions' from Sam wherein Sam is Lucifer again, and Dean still has the Mark of Cain. YUM.

But there were also a couple some not-so-fun things. The girls glamping in the beginning was just plain silly, the fight scenes had too many jump cuts (imho), but mostly, why on earth would they leave the God gun in the glove compartment of the Impala?? I noted that back when Dean put it in there, Episode 2 I think it was, but I seriously doubt they wouldn't have locked it up safely after that. Please, foo. Don't make our characters stupid.

By episode's end, Dean is clearly frustrated and demoralized by their predicament. It's clear Sam and Dean will be taking turns buoying each other's flagging spirits this season. As co-dependent as ever. I am here for this.

●●●

This post has gone on long enough, so I think I'll hold Episode 6 ruminations for a separate entry, and maybe dish about where we think the series is heading, for a finale. Anyone reading this probably has a numb butt by now. Anywho, thanks for hanging in with me, gang! Talk at you later...

[sieben9]

“and they lived…” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

You know. Season finales tend to do a number on me. Show finales, turns out, are even worse.

Or better. Depends on how you want to look at it.

Shouting of various kinds under the cut. And spoilers of various kinds. Also, everybody should watch Wonderland, it’s straight-up excellent.

Ho. Ly. Crap.

This was fantastic. Like, I didn’t have much time to watch this episode, and I thought “well, maybe I can watch ten minutes now to take off the edge of the cliffhanger and watch the rest tomorrow” and nope, I absolutely could not. I mean… how do I love this finale. Let me count the ways:

We have symmetrical storytelling.

We have a thematically appropriate defeat of the villain.

and with a Disney mythology gag thrown in there, as well

We have some tragedy…

…but not pointless tragedy.

We have True Love’s Kiss!

<TLK>

And we have all the Happily Ever After.

Just all of it. This is so good. In thirteen episodes, these characters have been through so much bullshit, and now their story ends in what I’d almost call a “maximally happy” way. (With one exception. I’m getting to that later.)

Apart from all that, we had a zombie army, grand speeches, hilarious banter, and some quality Rabbit Family content. I love it. It’s wonderful. Absolutely no pun intended.

“And this is where Cyrus’s spleen fell out!” —actual dialogue, no joke necessary

Alright, since I could spend the entire evening gushing about this show, I’ll try and narrow it down a bit to maybe two or three things that were The Best:

Amara’s swan song and the defeat of Jafar, the conclusion to Ana’s and Will’s story, and the Happilogue, which is absolutely a word and you cannot convince me otherwise.

Amara’s part in the finale was both awesome and heartbreaking. Because she knew, right from the first moment, that she was going to die soon. If they said it oud loud, I must have missed it, but it was still pretty clear that the moment she returned the water to the well, she’d die herself. (And Cyrus seemed to suspect something, at least. Him grabbing her hand wasn’t “no, what are you doing”, it was more “wait, I’m not ready to let you go” and yes, I cried.) She knew she wouldn’t live to actually be Alice’s mother-in-law, and she was trying to find out as much as possible about this woman her son wanted to spend his life with. And she clearly liked what she saw. (Which proves she has functioning eyes, but never mind that.) Like I said. It was sweet.

Some special love to the resurrection scene. Mostly because of Mrs. Rabbit’s “Well, if you’re going to do it that way…”, because that’s honestly some good composure when someone is violating the laws of reality on your living room floor.

And, of course, there was the whole scene at the well.

is it just me or is there an awful lot of water imagery in this show?

::sad noises:: Look, I knew it was coming, but that doesn’t mean I was happy about it. Still, the way they defeated Jafar was pretty amazing. Not only was it a clever plan that utilised Jafar’s own hubris/overconfidence, it also contained a nice little Disney-mythology nod (Jafar becoming a genie) and had Alice at her most badass, even though—or maybe especially because—she wasn’t hitting people with a sharp thing at a time.

facing the realms’ most powerful wizard with nothing but a cocky grin. Will would be so proud.

Although, in maybe one of the better instances of having your penny and your bun, Alice still got to do the dramatic Speech to the Troops™, neatly juxtaposed with Jafar’s. I’m not complaining, mind. “Alice the Action Hero” is an important facet of her character, and comparing her and Jafar this directly made for good groundwork before going into the final act.

And when they came back to the palace and Cyrus’s brother asked if it had been “all for nothing” and he replied “no, it was for everything”? Dead. I was dead. If the rest of the episode hadn’t slain me, that would have been the moment. Goodbye, cruel world, and all that.

So, what was the bit that actually murdered me, you ask?

Well, take a wild guess.

God. These two. Just… everything about them, especially this episode, because even after the big damn kiss last episode, there was still some amazing emotional payoff to be had.

The whole Scarlet Queen sequence, I have to say, kind of stole the show from Alice’s earlier defiant declaration that not even Jafar changing the past could ever destroy her love for Cyrus, maybe because it… didn’t happen. If there’s one thing I can fault this episode for (well, one other thing; please see below), it’s that Jafar never went through with his threat, instead just turning to Ana for answers.

Oh, this also answers my question: yup, Jafar does just like to see people in pain. Especially Will, for some bizarre reason, though I suppose that’s just because Will is completely at his mercy and can’t really fight back

Still, enough complaining, because overall, I loved this storyline. And Will got to summarise their relationship in this beautiful, earnest, and completely heartbroken speech.

“You had real love once, and you know it’s not that simple. Love is messy. It means arguing and making up and laughing and crying and struggling, and sometimes it doesn’t seem worth it. But it is. And at the end, when you’re in love, no matter what happens, you forgive each other. I forgive you, Ana, for what you did to me. Because I love you. And if there’s any part of you that has a shred of love left for me, then please, help us.”

And more than just summarising their relationship, it’s also one of the best “takes” on True Love this show has ever provided, as well as a short version of Will’s own arc. He was rightfully angry at Ana for what she did to him, and he was just as right in forgiving her. And he knows that. I also love how this little speech is set up, because Will tries to distract Ana with some ridiculous and very transparent trick before, and when it doesn’t work, he immediately starts pouring his heart out. And obviously part of that is because he has a heart to pour out, but I think a larger aspect is that… well, the worst thing possible has already happened to him. He’s seen Ana die and wasn’t able to save her. No point beating around the bush, is there?

And that little “yup, she’s back” on his part was all kinds of adorable.

Now, I’m not 100% happy with Ana’s second resurrection, mostly because Nyx giving out the water wasn’t on-screen. It’s emphatically not a deus-ex-machina, because the properties of the water were well-established, and we’d seen the wrong use of it already bring down punishment twice, so showing the stuff work as intended was only fair. But it still felt a little out of nowhere and could have easily been fixed with a thirty-second extra scene. I suppose it was a time-issue, and it didn’t really hurt the story, so I’m hardly going to complain, though. These two have suffered enough. They certainly deserve an “easy” out for once.

One thing was left unresolved, though, and it will just bug me to the end of time.

Hey. Hey, writers. Writers? You gotta get her out of there. Listen. Listen. You can’t just leave her there! She wanted to be free! She wanted to stop being a monster, how can you just leave her there?

Somebody fix this, or so help me, I’m gonna do it myself.

Leaving the unhappy monster behind… the Happilogue!

OK. Look. I’m… ambivalent on big, cheesy weddings, for several reasons, but I will freely admit that this one was set up well, and executed in a way I can absolutely get behind. Because while Alice and Cyrus never complained about their unquiet life of adventure—after all, they were together, so what more could they want?—it was established early on that Alice never wanted anything so much as a stable home where she was welcome and loved. They always wanted to settle down, and now, after being through hell together (as the Rabbit very aptly noted), they finally get to do that. It’s good! I like it! And I love  that the wedding was as weird as you would expect from two people who came from two completely different worlds, fell in love in a third, fought to protect that world and came out of the whole thing with lifelong friends everywhere.

And all in all, I am very glad the show took the time to show all of the characters in this happy moment. They’ve been through a lot, and so has the viewer, and watching them like this is like a chance to exhale. It’s good now. They made it.

Oh, and for some more crying:

OK, I wasn’t completely sure about this one at first, because Alice’s father realising that his dream was so much more than that could have been such an amazing on-screen moment, but I also get the need to keep up momentum (generally speaking, the defeat of the bad guy, reconciliation with the relationship character, achieving the story goal, and bringing down the curtain should happen in as quick a succession as possible), and this was still a beautiful moment. Not only that they’ve reconciled, but also that Alice’s father still recognises how badly he fucked up, and how much effort it was for Alice to forgive him. The “it was all a dream” reveal was an excellent bit of storytelling, and could have used its own conflict resolution, but I still adore this little scene for showing the result of their reconciliation.

And then there were the goodbyes.

so many tears. and in the show, too.

I don’t even have that much to say, except that I loved to see how cordial they all were with each other, how Ana made clear that this wasn’t forever, and they would see each other again, soon, and…

“Hold on to your heart this time.” “You hold on to yours” —these two goobers, clearly not talking about the hearts in their chests

This. So much this. From the first perfunctory “alright, goodbye then” hug to Alice running after Will and barrelling into him, because they are one of the most important people in each other’s lives, and they’ve been through so much together, and just… ::happy sigh:: Have I mentioned that I adore their friendship? Because it’s really, really good.

The actual epilogue was very sweet, but almost unnecessary. We already knew these two would live happily, and possibly ever after, but seeing what became of Will and Ana, and that Alice really does still visit Wonderland from time to time, was a nice bonus. Also worth it for this precious little bean:

It’s weird. On the one hand I can’t believe this show is over, because I really don’t want it to be, but on the other, it’s been such a wonderfully concise, well-crafted storyline that I also absolutely can believe it. So, just as a closing note, thanks to everyone who got me into watching this. It was (pun fully intended) wonderful.

[onestowatch]

Huron John Welcomes You to the Kaleidoscopic World of ‘Apocalypse Wow’ [Q&A]

John Conradi, also known as Huron John, is taking the world by storm… again. We first saw the likes of him last year, when he teased the release of Apocalypse Wow, a nine song, longform project that was fully-realized on April 22, Earth Day. 

Since our initial discovery of Huron John, he has broken up this piece of work into three singles and two volumes, accompanied by three visuals, all of which help tell the out-of-this-world story Conradi is painting for his listeners. Apocalypse Wow has seen some major Spotify love with playlisting on the likes of Lorem, Bedroom Pop, POLLEN, and All New Indie. We were able to chat with Huron John via e-mail to get a glimpse into the kaleidoscopic world of Apocalypse Wow.

How did the Apocalypse Wow project begin? 

Huron John: It kind of synthesized itself organically from another project that I scrapped. Back in spring 2019, I wanted to make an album-style project called Sleeping With My Socks On. There was some cool ideas, but It just wasn’t coming out the way I wanted it to. I felt like I was really trying to force a longer-form project to get myself out of that Bedroom Pop box that my first single “Friendzone” was kind of pushing me into. 

I always come up with titles before anything, and my favorite idea from that Sleeping With My Socks On project was a song called Apocalypse Wow. That title really struck me, and I wanted to do something with it. It was originally going to be another four song EP to complete a trilogy kind of thing between my other EP’s Never Inside and Fanta Fantasy. I got back to Chicago for summer break, and it went from a four song project to a five song one, then six, then six. You get the gist. 

Why break it up into volumes, to then have all the music combine into one? 

The greater story of the project is double-sided. On one end, you have the emotional end of it, which is the whole “breakup album” thing. I wanted to make an album about youth “breaking up” with you, throwing you into adulthood. Then there’s the other side, the whole comic-book-style narrative thing about the kid Andy who saves the planet from giant robots. I wanted Volume 1 and Volume 2 to tell pieces of each of those concepts without giving everything away at once. 

The last song on the project, “Use The Birth For All It’s Worth,” serves as the “conclusion” to the Apocalypse Wow part of this larger story. The lyrics from that last track are supposed to be Andy persuading the aliens to spare the Earth even though we can be a fucked up species sometimes. I wanted that to serve as a cinematic conclusion in a way, so the “Volumes” definitely played a big role in providing that narrative suspense. The other day a friend told me “You made it seem like the same album dropped eight times” hahahaha. 

The shift in tone from your earlier bedroom-pop tinged tracks, such as “Friendzone” or “Yoko,” to the Apocalypse Wow stuff is pretty dramatic. What inspired this shift? 

I had a lot of fun making my earlier stuff like that. Not even to say “had,” like I’ll never make shit like that again, I will. I guess once those songs started to see some success, I was faced with a dilemma. Music is all I’ve wanted to do my entire life, and I thought to myself, “The style of these quirkier ‘bedroom pop’ songs is cute and trendy at the moment, but this won’t make people know me in 20 years. This won’t cement me as an artist people enjoy for years to come.” 

I wanted to offer a little something more, while still keeping that fun and accessible feeling the old stuff had. I wanted to keep the same characteristics of what I know my listeners come to me for, while pushing the envelope a little bit and getting more serious substance wise. Hopefully that landed. At the end of the day I just want to make people's lives better with my shit, whether they come to me for more concept and substance or just fun / casual music. 

Why did you choose a more concept-based long-form project as an artist who is still completely DIY? 

I guess it’s just what I know. Not that anyone needed to prove this, because these types of projects certainly are out there, but I wanted to show kids who want to make music that they can be project artists. Especially in the whole “indie” world, whatever that means, there’s way too much emphasis on singles. An artist will pump out 10 singles in one year, like what’s that about? I understand it from a business perspective, and some could criticize me saying that me splitting up my project into “Volumes” before the full release was completely business oriented. Fair critique hahahaha. I guess I just wanted to show that to be a successful “DIY” musician in 2020 doesn’t mean that you need to pump out a million singles that sound the same until some corporation thinks you’re worthy of becoming “theirs.” 

The range in moods / genres on the project is very wide. Was this intentional? How did this wide range in styles making up the project come about? 

Totally intentional! I wanted it to have something for everybody. “Why Do People Grow” can be appreciated by alt-rock fans. The people into more electronic music can fuck with “Death By Flying Saucer.” “Andy and Butter” give that alternative R&B edge. Etc., etc. It was really important to me to make it enjoyable by everyone. 

On your website, there’s a section about how within the musical project, there is a narrative about a boy who saves the Earth from an army of aliens and their Godzilla-like robot leader. What inspired this? Does this narrative relate to your pre-Apocalypse Wow catalogue? 

Hahahah there sure is. I’ve always been a huge fan of concept albums. Whether they have concept in a linear storyline or they’re just thematic, I’ve always been obsessed with that whole thing. Wolf, To Pimp A Butterfly, Machina: The Machines of God, the whole anime movie thing behind Daft Punk’s Discovery, etc. Loving albums like that since I was a little kid definitely inspired the desire to move in that direction. I owe a lot to my influences and all the amazing work that has inspired me. 

This narrative totally relates to my pre-Apocalypse Wow catalogue. I plan on releasing some type of document that grows with every release involving the storyline. Before all the Apocalypse Wow music, you can interpret EP’s like Never Inside and Fanta Fantasy as the character arc of Apocalypse Wow’s protagonist–the experiences that shaped who he is, I guess. You’ll hear more on that later. 

Will Apocalypse Wow forever play a role in the “artist narrative” that you frequently speak about? 

Yes it will. Apocalypse Wow is the first official building block towards getting to the endgame. The first book in quite a long fucking series. It’s going to forever play a role in the stuff that I’m going to make, I want to think that my entire career will tie back to this project in some way. Whether it’s extremely vague, or very blunt, it will. 

You completely conceptualized and edited all of the visuals behind Apocalypse Wow, an eye-catching one being the “Project Teaser” video. Describe the creative process behind your videos. 

Visuals are an extremely important part of all the Huron John shit, for sure. The “Project Teaser” video I made with some of my friends throughout all of fall 2019. The whole project (the music) was completed and ready to go by mid-October 2019. I was supposed to drop it on Black Friday all as one thing, but some shit went down, and I wanted to rethink it all. The “Project Teaser” was a sort of introductory step into the narrative shoes that I wanted the project to fill. 

My process when creating visuals is a glorified clusterfuck–I have no formal training in editing or film, and it kind of shows hahahaha. But in a charming and sincere way, I hope. I used to fuck around in iMovie a ton when I was like 10, and me and all my friends from middle school used to make goofy ass sketch-comedy videos and BMX edits. I’ve always loved visual stuff. Making the cover arts, the music videos, or whatever else has always been an extension of the music for me. That’s really important. I definitely do want to break out of that DIY box though and work with some video-people who actually know what they’re doing. 

Where is your music going next? 

I know, but I don’t know. I want to make dance music. But I also want to make even more emotionally vulnerable and revealing shit than what was on Apocalypse Wow. Maybe I can find a middle-ground. I’m just now in the early stages of experimentation for my next project, so we’ll see where it all goes. The only thing I currently have for it is a title. All I know for certain is that I will use that title for the project, and it will fit into the Apocalypse Wow storyline.

Listen to Apocalypse Wow below: