#Also: i know why but why is Netflix splitting the season in 2? It's a very bingeable show

[wah-pah]

The release of the trailer for the new season of 'Emily in Paris' is a good time for me to yell again into the void about how the re-awakening of the Emily x Gabriel situation is twenty unnecessary and inorganic steps back both for the characters and the story.

And convoluted to boot, even by this show's history.

[cuntylestat]

i know a lot of people worry about iwtv being canceled because of low ratings. idk maybe i'm delusional but i don't think it will be. i'm not an expert on the tv industry, but these are just some thoughts i have on it.

i think people look at companies like netflix and hbo under david zaslav as a model, but amc is not the same and has shown in the past to keep shows going even if initially they are not mega successful (e.g. breaking bad only started getting major attention in s3). amc still works more like a traditional network than other companies do, and they don't tend to cancel things immediately because they do not have the same glut of content that e.g. netflix does.

amc has invested a lot of money and attention into building "the immortal universe" and even if the ratings aren't high, iwtv is still the one with the highest name recognition (the movie is still pretty well known) and far more critically acclaimed than the mayfair witches. they have emphasized over and over again that they are trying to build this into their next big thing for their company akin to the walking dead, so giving up after 2 seasons on the biggest show in that universe's roster would not really fit with that, especially as they're already building more shows out of this (e.g. talamasca). everything they have said is that they believe in this universe they're building and are willing to invest in it. this is from the variety article on mark johnson, one of the producers:

then, there is also a precedent from other networks (who are not primarily streamers but more traditional cable networks) keeping shows going despite bad ratings, e.g. crazy ex-girlfriend had the actual lowest ratings on tv for multiple seasons and still got 4 seasons because it was one of the cw's most critically acclaimed and only awarded shows next to jane the virgin. this does show that sometimes networks will keep a show going because of what it means for their network rather than just the bottom line. what i think also helps is that amc owns the rights to the books and is the studio producing the show. there have been cases in the past where shows got canceled mostly because it was just no longer profitable/advantageous for the network to keep a show from a different studio or vice versa (e.g. shadowhunters allegedly only got canceled because it was split between three companies and netflix pulled its funding and the others were not willing to put up the rest of the money for it).

overall, i understand why people are concerned about the ratings, although i also want to point out that we do not have access to how the show is doing on amc+ as far as i know, so we don't have the full picture of how it's performing. however, i have a good feeling about the s3 renewal (i know some people are speculating that we'll get a tvl show instead of a third season which i really hope is not the case because that's a marketing disaster to me).

[whatspastisprologue-blr]

Because 2 of my biggest hyperfixations are Interview with the Vampire and The Amazing Devil, here we go....

"Little Miss Why So" is, to me, based on my interpretation of the song, very much applies to Loustat in S1. To me, Madeleine is singing from the perspective of someone who is very depressed and who has a partner who is trying to cure her by, basically, loving her out of it. This is, to me, confirmed by the few lines that Joey sings, as though if he does enough good things for her, if he just shows her how much he loves her, she'll snap out of it. (And it doesn't work and they split up.)

I've been thinking about it a lot but especially in relation to the animation in S2E7 that depicts Lestat constantly doing things to make Louis happy/cure him of depression, while it doesn't work and Rue Royale gets more and more dilapidated until they can't even see each other over the mountain of newspapers, books, and other things. (I am completely sympathetic to Louis, btw, but I also know how scary and helpless it is to love someone and want to help them but you can't.)

Throughout LMWS, Madeleine lists all the things Joey's character has said or done and she sounds so exhausted, and there's this repeated "he said", and then she starts going into a mantra of sorts: "It's so boring, it's so boring, it's so boring....." And she caps it off with "et cetera" like she's just too bored to keep going but she could if she wanted to.

There's a few parts I want to call out specifically:

"I don't know how to reach you when you get like this. I've been waiting for you to come home."

This is Lestat's frustration, basically. He keeps trying to reach Louis and nothing is working. Even when Louis is home, physically, he's not present (I've seen great meta about Louis having a disassociative disorder). Special mention here to the line, "It's daylight again and you look like I've failed you." Lestat is a provider; it's something that he takes pride in and enjoys, whether it's his human family eating food that he hunted, or how he sent money and gifts to his human family after becoming a vampire, or the things he buys for Louis and Claudia.

"If I'm good, will you come back?"/"Stop asking why I'm sad, just know it's enough to know I'm sad." Madeleine and Joey are literally singing over each other here, singing at the same time. Their characters are speaking past each other. They're not listening to each other. Joey's character just wants to know how to fix her, what he has to do to get her to come back for him. Madeleine's character is just exhausted from having to provide reasons why she feels the way she does. Worse, her character continues (as though quoting Joey's), "Yeah, but why?" He's still asking her. He's not leaving her alone about it because he's obsessed with figuring out the problem so he can solve it. And it's driving her away.

"Why don't you just tell them all to fuck off, love, and be mine?" ("Them" probably being "those wankers that you serve all night".) For Lestat, "them"/"those wankers" is probably all of Louis's human connections.

As others have pointed out, "The Rockrose and the Thistle", another of TAD's songs, is a good example of how to love someone through depression instead of trying to love them out of it (too bad Lestat couldn't have heard it back then).

And while I could probably relate several other songs from The Amazing Devil to Interview with the Vampire, I'll just leave ya'll with this line from "Battle Cries": "This isn't a breakup, dear heart, it's a season finale!"

(Also, if you've listened to Little Miss Why So and you think that Joey sounds like Jaskier from Netflix's The Witcher, that's because it is! The Amazing Devil has 3 albums out, in case you want to hear more of his and Madeleine's phenomenal voices. Now, off you go, to be spellbound by these beautiful lovely Fae creatures!)

[bridgerteon]

This is going to be an extremely long thread of my opinion about Bridgerton S3, especially Polin (and comparing Polin to a certain ATLA ship). So, good luck reading it.

I knew there are a lot of mixed opinions about Bridgerton S3; I have too. Around 50-60% from the book, Romancing Mr Bridgerton, has adapted to the show, which I, as a book reader, am happy to see. I also love the changes from the book that showcases Penelope (and Nicola Coughlan) to shine with awesomeness and deserves a lot of love and recognition after what she's been through.

I can understand why Netflix split into two parts. Part 1 is entertaining, pining and rom-com. While Part 2 is anxiety, emotional and romantic drama. Probably to let viewers breathe. But please don't do that again; I like to binge the whole thing without waiting!

There are:

- Great scenes -> Portia reconciling to Pen and being supportive (thanks Colin!) and Pen having the confidence to reveal herself as Lady Whistledown (LW), instead of letting Colin steal the spotlight for her. Also the Francesca/John romance as they "match their freak". There's actually a lot of great scenes, from Keeping Up With The Featheringtons to Peneloise reconciliation.

- Revenge scenes I like -> Penelope telling off Colin for being an asshole. Also, Lord Debling courting Penelope, making Colin jealous. The Vindication™ for Pen because that's how she feels.

- Some I groaned -> a threesome? Like really? I find it funny, but cringy.

- Some I am suspicious -> Michael Stirling [man] is gender-swapped to Michaela Stirling [woman], but I'm more cautious than angry about the change. Michaela is so goddamn pretty though, heh. I don't mind inclusivity, but it should be addressed with care if it's done for a main Bridgerton character. Besides, I like Francesca's story from the book, When He Was Wicked, and how it explains about grief, guilt and second chance of love. If the storyline from the book is shown, regardless of a lesbian love story, I'll be satisfied. I'll see how it goes and hope for Francesca's season to be heartwrenching and beautiful.

- And others that make no sense -> the lack of Kanthony, like where are they!? And why do they disappear all the time!? This is not them as they are always attentive. They were excellent in managing the Bridgertons and their mess. I love Kanthony so bring them back!!!

What I will analyse and defend is Show Polin.

When I read negative reviews about them, I shake my head in disappointment because the fans didn't understand it. It's like some people have a lack of media literacy. I'm open-minded and I like to analyse critically how and why it happens rather than comparing with other seasons of Bridgerton; I see the show as a separate entity from the books and I still enjoy it as it is. Therefore, I have better comprehension. I also read an article where Luke Newton explains why Colin is Jelly, as shown below. His insight justifies my point.

Since I read RMB, it does give me first-hand insight on the up-and-down relationship between Colin Bridgerton and Penelope Featherington-Bridgerton. I also included a favourite ship of mine from Avatar: the Last Airbender (ATLA) for comparison and how Polin's dynamics makes sense to me. (There's no need to have knowledge of ATLA).

So here's my opinion about Polin:

To be honest, I was expecting Katara/Aang tropes in Polin, as they are both friends-to-lovers ships obviously. What I don't expect is that show Polin is more related to Katara/Zuko (Zutara) instead, which is awesome (as an unfortunate Zutara shipper)!

I find Polin's love story to be as realistic as possible, knowing that a love story is not all sunshines, lollipops and rainbows. There will be disputes, doubts and secrets; I'm satisfied that they are addressed. However, there are some scenes from Polin that I am mad about or feeling something is missing.

Also, I DON'T CARE that Polin does not have the CHEMISTRY similar to Kanthony or Saphne(?) (Simon/Daphne). They have the CONNECTION with each other. Friends-to-lovers don't need chemistry; it rarely exists in real life. Friends-to-lovers stories are messy, awkward and full of disagreements, but the connection and their love for each other is always there between them. They are there since Season 1, are always seeking each other and are always themselves around each other. That's as real as it gets.

Themes I like from Polin and how it compares to Zutara:

1. Hiding their true self: Colin having some swag, being impassive, nonchalant mood, and goes to brothels; I find it weird. However, someone analysed that it's a facade because Penelope doesn't write to him, so he went on a teen girl phase and lost his damn mind, heh. Eloise, Pen and Violet know that that is not the Real Colin, who is a soft boi. He mentions that he is yearning for home and wants to feel like he belongs somewhere and to be seen for who he truly is.

This is similar to Zuko when he was sad/mad that he was banished and his father didn't love him, so his personality became antagonistic. Iroh knew that's not the Real Zuko, who was a gentle boi. Therefore, Iroh planned to nudge Zuko to a different side rather than following Ozai's goals.

Additionally, Penelope disguises herself as Lady Whistledown, Katara as The Painted Lady, Zuko as The Blue Spirit, and Colin as The Travelling Englishman/Pirate.

2. BETRAYAL: (I can't emphasise this enough because this theme let's me understand and love Polin). Penelope is anguished about Colin's comments that he don't give a 💩 about her and will never court her (Le Asshole 101 😒). Colin is heartbroken that Pen is LW*. Katara and Iroh were shattered that Zuko joined Azula to fight against Aang in Ba Sing Se. All of these events are unforgivable.

*(The fact that Luke Newton cried in the LW reveal scene as well as angry portrays Colin as heartbroken than enraged, which makes the scene more heartwrenching. I like that so much better than Colin having a temper like in the books and Katara just enraged when Zuko attacked her in Ba Sing Se. Thanks, Luke Newton, for making me feel sorry for Colin 😏).

Another one is that Colin argues with Penelope that she wrote negative comments on LW about his family, Marina Thompson (in my opinion, she deserved it for being deceptive), himself, herself and everyone else. He also feels that she has a "planned entrapment" for him to marry her, even though I knew he didn't mean it; he is devastated that she is not who she seems to be. Colin wants to feel needed and really yearns to love her fully because he wants to provide everything for her. But he doesn't think he's enough or unworthy for Pen and that he's not sure he'll ever accept Pen as LW, which makes me sad. Also... he's envious that she's more successful than him since she's rich as hell, an experienced writer and got her 💩 together; something he wants to achieve. But dude, you married a Sugar Mama! Similarly, Katara argued with Zuko after the Ba Sing Se fiasco and told him to bring her mother back; I found it absurd too, but I knew she was upset for being deceived and hurt as well, like Colin.

3. Self-confidence and accountability: Pen has brought her own voice to address the whole Ton that she is LW and to let them judge her. Nicola Coughlan has done it perfectly in that, as a shy but confident woman. She understands that people are hurt from her comments, but she wants to have a purpose - not as a spy though, heh. She wants the world where women, especially shy wallflowers, are seen and shine brighter as well in a patriarchy world. Also she understands that Colin is upset that she is LW, but she's adamant that she is and nothing will separate LW from her. LW is power and it helps women like Penelope earn her place in society, besides dilly-dally.

Also, Colin pushes Lord Debling away so that Colin can have a moment with Pen to change her mind and make her pick him, choose him and love him. He doesn't care that the Ton sees them, he just sees Pen. Also the way "he ran!" (thanks Dallas Liu 😏) to Pen's carriage just to confess to her. He is confident of his feelings for her, but respectful if she rejects him.

Same goes with Katara that she wanted a world where women can choose to learn waterbending to fight and men to learn healing, or both. And to Zuko that he had redeemed himself and wanted to end the war as the Firelord with ideals that brought all nations together in peace and harmony.

4. Accepting flaws and empathy: Colin accepts that Pen is LW, because he finally realises why while begging to Cressida: the isolation, the bullying, being ostracised and unappreciated, and the anger that no one will ever recognise, listen or stand up to her. But he knows she's not heartless and does regret her words that are published. Also, her letters to him amplifies that she is a great writer and that her and LW are the same person. After Pen reveals herself to the Ton that she is LW, apologises for it and explains why, Colin is more proud and in love with her.

Zuko saw Katara bloodbending (manipulating bodies through their blood). He was surprised. He didn't question it. He didn't chastise her that it's bad or that she's not herself. He accepted it as part of herself. He just wanted her to face her past and let her choose her fate. The End.

5. Conflict: Colin and Pen love each other so much, despite a Great Wall of Anger and Doubt separating them. Katara knew Zuko was not evil, but had to separate Zuko the Fire Prince with Zuko the Awkward, Caring, Flawed Boi.

Also, Katara and Zuko saw each other as legit rivals during the 100-year war. Meanwhile... well... Colin does see Pen as a rival... indirectly though as she's LW, while he is... just a Bridgerton... with no accomplishments... and a loser, heh.

6. Partnership: Pen agrees with Colin that he'll help her find a husband (even though he hired himself as one, heh). Also, Colin and Pen become writers together, as an author and columnist respectively. All hail Lord and Lady Whistledown! 🙇‍♀️ Meanwhile, Katara and Zuko became partners to find the one who killed her mother, fought together side-by-side during training and trusted each other to defeat Azula.

Extra: There's also a lot of love confessions and moments from Polin that made me giddy with joy, sad and amused (and jealousy for being single). Especially... That carriage scene, heh.

Now for the things I'm disappointed about Polin:

1. Colin doesn't tell Penelope that he forgives her verbally. Like since when did he forgive her? Katara told Zuko verbally that she forgave him, so why doesn't Colin say it to Pen? Same applies to Pen: where's her forgiveness to Colin? Unless I forget.

2. There's a quote from the book I like that Colin says “I love you. I love you with my past, and I love you for my future. I love you for the children we'll have and for the years we'll have together. I love you for every one of my smiles, and even more, for every one of your smiles” to Pen before he leaves to beg Cressida as Pen's distressed about Cressida blackmailing her. I'm sad that one is excluded.

3. Colin being an asshole for not allowing Penelope to let her fix her mess nor asking for his support at the start. Saying that "it is not up to you what we do", probably because he wants to be a hero. Dude, calm down, listen to your wife and compromise. Penelope can handle herself and does not need him to fix it for her, like she said "I do not need you to save me, I just need you to stand by me." I think it makes him feel useless as he likes to help and being needed 24/7. Besides, he makes it worse after begging Cressida, heh. Zuko survived listening to Katara's rants and death threats against him, and he still wanted to make it up to her, so Colin should do the same.

4. Colin being a Drama Queen™ for not sleeping with Pen because he's an idiota; he reminds me of both Katara and Zuko since they were both Drama Queens™ as well, heh. However, it broke my heart for Pen; she deserves better and deserves to have a wedding night full of love, not doubt. Fortunately, he does sleep near their room - like Zuko waited for Katara outside her tent - because Colin still deeply loves Pen and wants to feel closer to her, despite being pissy with her. Also, he sleeps on a chaise lounge where they made love because it reminds him of the happiness they have shared before the LW mess. Additionally, he ignores his lust for her while pissed, but I think it's a good idea not to have angry sex as it's just not healthy emotionally and mentally for them.

5. It would be nice if Colin allows Pen to read or discuss his journals more, like in the books. I want to hear his thoughts more. Or maybe the backstory of how Penelope becomes LW.

6. I really want to see more of the lovey-dovey happy Polin moments without any doubts or lies between them; it's not enough. Where's the Polin sex?! Gimme more happy Polin!!!

So that's my long analysis about S3 and why I like Polin, the good and bad. Also, Polin did change my whole opinion about friends-to-lovers stories after I had a sour taste of it from a ship I'm not supportive to, but that is for another story to tell. 

[alicent-vi-britannia]

The Divine Comedy and Code Geass

Did you know that Lelouch is reading Dante's poem The Divine Comedy in the first episode of Season 2?

Lelouch is actually reading the Purgatory passage when we get a brief glimpse of the page he had open.

Considering that the poem is an allegory of the soul's ascent to God (at the beginning of the poem, Dante says that he's lost in the dark forest and is unable to find the right path; that is, he leads a life of sin and finds no salvation), I think the book works here as a foreshadowing of what we'll see at the end of the season. Lelouch is not free of many, many sins either, however, he will be able to atone for his sinful soul with the Zero Requiem.

Purgatory, in fact, is "a transitory state of soul purification and atonement in which, after death, people who have died in a state of grace suffer the temporal punishment still owed to forgiven sins and, perhaps, atone for their unforgiven venial sins in order to access the beatific vision of God" (according to our friend Wikipedia). So, if Dante's heaven and hell exist in the Code Geass universe, Lelouch went there after he died.

By the way, enough of the joke "The Divine Comedy is not funny." What is not funny is this silly joke that is too worn out. Words change meaning over time and this is the case of "comedy" which in the past was the term used to designate works with a happy ending (and a happy ending is what Okouchi and Taniguchi consider Code Geass to have). That's why The Divine Comedy was originally titled "Comedy" and it was the Italian poet Giovanni Boccacchio (the guy who wrote The Decameron, a collection of poems that had a Netflix adaptation this year) who added the adjective "Divine" to it. Here's that good fact for you.

Additionally, when the Ragnarök Connection begins in episode 21 of R2, we see for a split second these words that in English translate as "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." This is the scary (and famous) inscription that appears at the entrance to the hell passage in the Divine Comedy. In case it's not clear to you why the Ragnarök Connection is a shitty plan and is bad for humanity, I did an analysis of it here.

Also, In the first season, Lelouch is reading Hamlet and there are many parallels between Shakespeare's tragedy and Taniguchi and Okouchi's work. I pointed them out here:

[catoperated]

It’s hard for me to search the tag given all the other similarly named characters and things with scavenger or reign in the title, but I have to express this idea before I explode.

If you haven’t seen it on Netflix yet, please do. I’m not hopeful on their promise to greenlight a second season if it does well, but nevertheless I have a theory…

(under the cut)

Kamen and Hollow. The creators have already talked about how Kamen makes Hollow worse by introducing it to greed and gluttony, but what if this exchange of minds worked both ways? Especially after Kaden is inside Hollow.

Anyway, their split happens with the 2001 moment, separating and reducing Hollow back to its small form, easily scared off with Azi throws a rock at it.

When we last see Kaden he’s tending to a garden, and all the compliment on his work gets is a side eye. Something Hollow used to do a lot. Those beady little eyes were expressive.

And then a three legged creeps out from the fruit tree, the same kind of thing Hollow first tried to subjugate with goo, and Kaden gently takes it and relocates it.

So either Kaden has grown a lot since his time with Hollow… or that’s not Kaden. What if they swapped bodies when cut off. What is Kaden the small, pathetic thing he was made out to be in his final hallucination of Fiona with the spooky anime glasses glare (something I think alluded to Hollow communicating directly the few times it happened, but I could be wrong).

So what if Kamen is now whatever the hell Hollow is, near bottom of the food chain, and Hollow, having been at the top thanks to him, is just… done with that. People don’t question why he never speaks, must be trauma from the isolation. And he’s so good with plants and gentle with the animals.

I just think that after all that, the impression a terrible person had on the native creature was turned into something good (by Levi) while Kamen learned nothing and it’s still not fair bad things keeping happen to him for no reason (as he whines like Alex Yiik even at the end)… but now he also has mind control powers. Oops.

idk Levi is new to the whole planetary caretaker thing mistakes happen

Anyway, hope there’s a season 2 cause I wanna know what’s up with that mysterious ship even more.

[polinspen]

i’m going to state my opinion on things that i’ve been observing lately… im not doing this to start any arguments i simply want to get this off my chest and feel free to not agree with it of course but i certainly will not have people come and bash me for my opinion.

I know we are all very anxiously waiting for more bridgerton s3 content and the wait can be very excruciating. I won’t be a hypocrite and say i am not inpatient for new content because i very much am… but something that i’ve been seeing on the bridgerton socials lately is some fans of the show, who are also inpatient, pushing at the page admins for more content whether it be in a nice way or negative. Not to defend Netflix co. or anything but… there’s a reason why they haven’t given us content right away. this is the first time this show has split a season in two parts due to the strikes. new content had to be modified and timed accordingly as to prolong the hype. i know us polin stans have been waiting 2 years for their time to shine but march is literally almost over… im counting on the month of april to be full of promos. plus, in my opinion, i like that we don’t get much of polin so we don’t lose that element of surprise when it comes to their special moments together. we already got two wonderful scenes with them and it was everything. we could do with waiting a bit more to take in everything polin is to give us. im not saying this to change the way some fans wait for content. you do you. I personally am not gonna go my way to demand more (unless they give it to us first) because it’s all in due time and it’ll be much more sweeter when the time comes to receive all the polin juice we’ve been waiting for. 💛

[melonteee]

Honestly, as a long time one piece reader, I really liked OPLA; I don t know, it just has a certain charm to it, but that s my personal opinion and I still think the og version is far better. It s been really interesting reading your opinions on it, bc even if i don t agree with everything I still think several of the things you have critized should be applied in the future seasons (which I honestly can t wait for). And yeah, some people are very weird about OPLA, just attacking people who don t like it without even thinking about what is being critized. Well, I just think you are great at making good arguments and analysing media, and I really love your videos (especially the Vivi and the Sanji ones, i haven t agreed more with anything in my life)

As always everyone is free to have their own opinions, so you can like what you like!

BUT anon, I say this genuinely, don't expect Netflix to take any criticisms nor change or improve anything. The script was 100% already written for season 2, they 100% bought probably 16-20 eps and just split it into 2 seasons to pay everyone less. And besides, why would they change or 'fix' anything when they were met with OVERWHELMING praise? There's literally no reason for them to 'fix' a damn thing when everyone seemed too scared to speak up about what they didn't like due to a weird fandom pressure to love it no matter what.

I'm saying this to soften the blow, but when season 2 is exactly the same as the first season and hasn't bothered to change a thing, don't be surprised jghjhgh

Also thank you so much LMAO sorry for the sour answer, this just really needs to be thought about on a Netflix business level since...as I always say! Netflix don't care about their creators HHH

[anotheruserwithnoname]

Some good news and some bad news regarding Season 3 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. The good news is that now that the strikes are over, production of Season 3 is set to begin next month! This is good because there have been rumours swirling around possible cancellation in the wake of Star Trek Discovery being ended after its 5th season. But SNW continues (Lower Decks has also been renewed for Season 5). The only caveat to that is Paramount Plus still cancelled Star Trek Prodigy even with its Season 2 complete, so nothing is a guarantee anymore. (And even then, it's been reported that Prodigy S2 will at least get some sort of Netflix release).

(Further good news is Season 2, with its amazing musical and Lower Decks crossover episodes, is set for Blu-ray release before Christmas.)

The bad news - though this is likely educated speculation on Screen Rant's part - is the possibility that the 10-episode 3rd season my be split, with only 5 episodes airing in 2024 and having to wait till 2025 to see the rest. Aside from that wrecking viewer momentum, those 5 weeks will come and go very quickly. If this news is correct, though, they could be telegraphing some sort of 5-episode story arc, which should be good but I actually prefer SNW's episodic format as it better supports the type of experimentation we got with not only this past year's musical and part-animated episodes, but the episodic format is what made TOS what it was. No official word on any cast changes, though I will be surprised if S3 doesn't reintroduce Dr. McCoy in some fashion.

I haven't written much about SNW but it's my favourite of the live action modern Treks. I stopped watching Discovery and Picard but SNW has kept me. I've had songs from the musical earworming for the last week or so after I rewatched it. And I greatly appreciated the time-travel episode "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" for finally canonizing an explanation as to why the prequel series haven't always lined up with what we know as canon from TOS, TNG, etc. which as far as I'm concerned frees the writers to deviate and retroactively serves to rectify canon issues dating all the way back to some episodes of DS9, never mind Enterprise, Discovery and SNW itself. I will explain for those who don't know but I will put a spoiler break here for those who might be waiting for the Blu-ray or haven't had a chance to stream season 2 yet. If the break doesn't appear below, stop reading now if you don't want the spoiler.

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The episode reveals that due to the many time travel events over the years (including ones we haven't seen on screen by enemies of the Federation; the episode relates one involving Mary Queen of Scots (in-joke for the actress) what we have been seeing in SNW etc. is an alternate timeline. Maybe not as extreme as the Kelvin timeline of the films, but events such as the Eugenics Wars - indeed, the birth of Khan himself - were delayed by decades. This major change to the timeline - and then you fill in the blanks by factoring in even minor changes such as the guy who accidentally killed himself with McCoy's phaser in City on the Edge of Forever, Sisko replacing Gabriel Bell in the Bell Riots, the Voyager crew going back to 1996, Archer and T'Pol heading off agents of the temporal cold war in the early 2000s, etc. - and you can see how it's possible that things progressed differently resulting in SNW and Discovery being more technologically advanced than TOS-era ships should be as established in TNG, DS9 and Enterprise that used the original tech and designs. Also character differences, like Pike's crew being aware of T'Pring and Khan when Kirk's crew in TOS did now despite Spock having worked with La'an Noonien-Singh and Kirk being aware of La'an's feelings for him. Or the lack of reference to Kirk's brother, who dies in a famous TOS episode, having been former Enterprise crew. And it literally stems from two lines of dialogue. It's exhibit A of how quickly and simply a show like Doctor Who can fix things.

[goatwithaplan]

If you are one of my mutuals im going to assume you have a similar taste in things that i do, like demons, apocalyptic settings, and stuff like that. AND OH BOY DO I HAVE A MANGA FOR YA'LL, and its called Dorohedoro. This review is 100% spoiler free dw

so Dorohedoro its about Strong women a dude with a lizard head and amnesia,named Kaiman, living in a world called Hole, not a literal hole, but its a place that would be called hole. The dude knows he is actually human and he was attacked by a sorcerer who turned his head into that of a lizard. So the manga revolves around this dude trying to find the sorcerer who did this to him with the help of his friend Nikaido. But there are several catches, first sorcerers come from a different dimension and only go to hole to train and second in the search of the misterious sorcerer they get involved with the En family, who is pretty much the strogest sorcerer, this people will act as the main antagonist of the manga for a long while.

This manga is wild, like i cannot even begin to describe how crazy it is in a short summary, and i also think its better for you to see the weirdness develop on its own. Like this is the literal first page.

As you can see the manga features a pretty messy art style, very different from your average manga. It really helps settle the feeling how dirty and messy of a place is Hole. And since this is a megaten blog you might recognize this art style because this is the person who did the maken x manga.

But the reason why i like this manga so much is the characters. The manga will split its time among not only Nikaido and Kaiman, but also the antagonist will be a lot on screen which will make them also very interesting characters you will be invested in. Even more minor characters are very interesting to read about. One of my favorite characters is a demon and at the beginning he can feel kinda minor on the grand scheme of things but like everything in this manga it ties with the things that follow.

If you are interested, i recommend the manga over the anime, not only because the anime is not finished (SEASON 2 ANNOUNCED,LETS GOOOO) but because the art is more enjoyable and the anime does skip some parts, this is one of these manga were everything is important, and its on netflix.... Just read the manga trust me. And because art really sells the manga and i don't want to talk much more about it, here is a little showcase:

[jorality]

I watched Lolirock and I gotta say what interesting timing.

So there I was having the most cursed 2 weeks of my life, my (only) cornea fucking split open rendering me blinder than I already am, my dog literally went missing for a week and during that week Aunt Flo decided that 30 would be the age she would finally kill me. Cornea is still better, I have my dog back and for once Aunt Flo only lasted the promised 7 days, but I'm pretty sure I'm anemic now. Can't bounce back from immense blood loss like I used to.

ANYWAY, between putting a thousand eye drops in, having my throat close up due to stress and cramps I found Lolirock's youtube channel and decided to give it a go. I like watching cartoons because even if my glasses don't work I can see cartoons well enough without them. Lolirock's distinctive artstyle was super easy to see so I binged seasons 1 and 2. I had been kinda aware of the show but it never fully got on my radar. At first I thought it was a Canadian cartoon, but it's French, which explains why I kept thinking about Miraculous Ladybug every time the opening theme played. i also saw that it aired while I was in college. It was on Netflix but again it somehow avoided my radar, which is for the best because season 3 was announced last year which is awesome because season 2 ended with the perfect set up for a third season and I was surprised there wasn't a season 3 despite the show's age.

So here are some of my thoughts:

I was glad my hunch about Aunt Ellen was right, can't believe the reveal took so long tho.

I really thought they were going to find a way to make Nate into a fighter or something. Like when the twins unleashed that spell that made all those dark crystal spikes capture people I thought Amaru was gonna swoop in and scoop him up. Though Nate will probably be the main focus of Praxina's rage in season 3, so let's see if he'll get a chance to use magic. If not, I love a male damsel in distress. Too bad he forgot about everything after Iris turned back time with Izira's...brooch? Brooch.

Speaking of love interests, bring back Kyle, I was so surprised to see him and Mark come back. More on Talia and Auriana's love lives please! Can't let Iris have ALL the smooches.

I truly hope Mephisto is alive. I definitely preferred him over Praxina, and the episode where Praxina lost her memories threw me for a loop. I was low-key hoping Mephisto would take the opportunity to defect from Gramorr because frankly it seems like his heart wasn't really in it when it came to being evil. With Praxina's bloodlust lowered I'm sure the princesses would've accepted their help, but alas. He mentions getting a reward from Gramorr in the season finale but Gramorr ignores him.

Also, who the fuck is Banes? That is the shiftiest big cat in animation since Scar. He is absolutely primed to be the ultimate Big Bad, once the princesses fix Praxina and reunite her with Mephisto they can all take down Banes. (Not sure if that's really the route they'd go since Banes is supposed to be more like a familiar the way Amaru is)

I would also love to know Mephisto and Praxina's backstory, in the episode where Mephisto uses their family heirloom Praxina mentions the relative it belonged to was the Court jester.

(Also, sorry about not knowing episode names as mentioned above I could see the art but I couldn't read.)

Doug came out of nowhere but I like him.

I like the songs, although Celebrate seems to be in the wrong key during the chorus. Other than that the songs are super fun, I especially like Higher, Party Talking and Reach the Stars.

I'm interested in the lore, can't wait for that to be expanded. I poked around the fandom a lil bit, will be poking again.

[bohemian-nights]

I feel like this season has similar issues the last season had. Like am I wrong to say that? Because the way that people are acting like season 2 under a different showrunner didn’t also have the SAME issues is odd. Kathony had the better book as well and I’ve heard nothing but bored reactions to Polin’s book. So I’m just I’m a bit confused. I definitely think Jess needs to drop the extra storylines, but that’s why Chris needed to do as well, previously. Hopefully she listens to the critic and Shonda steps in season 4 and then maybe Jess could take the reins again in the next seasons after that. I feel like this season is getting EXTRA flack because no one is feeling Colin for real, the extra storylines that feel unnecessary and it’s a repeat of issues people had with last season as well. Also me, personally, I do think Colin could’ve done some more yearning. But that’s fixable, Jess isn’t a lost cause. I just really do believe Shonda needs to step in next season and teach her some things, before she does this again.

This is probably going to come as a shock considering I don’t particularly care for Polin, but Romancing Mr. Bridgerton and The Viscount Who Loved Me are like neck and neck for me. I think they are both pretty boring and have no interest in ever re-reading either 🤷🏽‍♀️

That being said, when it comes to the show I did like season 2 more than I am liking season 3.

However, you’re right that the actual problems with both seasons are pretty much the same.

I think where the criticism comes in for season 3 is from the season being split up(this is Netflix’s fault), the lack of screen time for certain characters(I’m looking at you my beloved Benedict), too many side plots, and the lack of chemistry between the leads.

My honest-to-God opinion is that Simone and Jonathan had/have more on-screen chemistry, which is what to me makes season 2 better than season 3 so far.

Now I’m not going to blame Nicola because I think she’s doing a lovely job, but her costar is leaving a lot to be desired.

Again I have to be honest, Newton and Nicola do not have chemistry. Nicola had more chemistry with Lord Deblings actor than she does with Newton.

I don’t know how true this is, but I heard that they didn’t chemistry test those two back when they were casting for season 1, and it shows big time.

Season 4 I'm sure won't have this issue because there is no way they didn't chemistry test Luke T and Masali (or whichever actress they selected to play Sophie).

So the main thing they need to focus on going forward is getting rid of the side plots.

One or two are fine since this is an ensemble show, but we need to focus more on the main couple.

And yes, Shonda needs to supervise Jess, especially since Sophie's actress will be Black.

[agentemo]

Quickie Review: Netflix's Avatar the Last Airbender aka NATLA

Now, these reviews are usually a few short sentences followed by a rating but I don't think that would do my experience with NATLA justice. Two people who I'm close to from different avenues of my life that also grew up with the animated series chose not to watch the Netflix adaptation and the reason they both separately gave was that the original was "perfect." So why make a new series? Well, because the original was not perfect. We're all just wearing childhood nostalgia glasses. Nickelodeon's Avatar the Last Airbender is magnificent and an important animated series of its time and one of my favorite television series period. But as a grown ass grown up, I would love an adaptation that addresses some of its flaws while keeping true to what made the original special -- though I can't name what exactly that is right now while still processing NATLA and having accepted some changes they made.

I started out excited for the show all those months (if not years) ago but as time went on and I learned more about it, that excitement morphed into doubt. Still, I went in with an open mind, knowing that a lot of people - including fans of the original - worked hard on the show. And if I was looking for something to make me feel exactly like the animated series did, I should go watch the animated series.

I'm not going into specifics. I am going to speak on what generally went right and what generally went wrong. I wanted a season of television that fixed flaws from the original while being able to stand on its own. They did not succeed in this, though there were some decent attempts at the former. Major reasons for that include some awkward acting and writing. I hate to give young actors a hard time but it is what it is. The writers have no excuse. THE major reason for the failure was only having 8 episodes. It was sometimes too rushed. I think they did well to trim some excess from the original, combining storylines and putting characters in places I wouldn't expect them but that actually worked for me. A couple of episodes did it so well, I genuinely loved them; one episode was so clunky, I wished they'd split it in two. I won't harp too much on the CGI. Sure, it wasn't great at times, but it mostly worked for me especially with the creatures and spirits. It got scary! A lot of the huge changes worked for me too; I see the vision and it's a cool interpretation. I was confused at times, not knowing if what I knew of the original applied or there were new rules at play. This is bad. But I did laugh and cry and jump off my seat and want to watch the next episode desperately, each more than once. This is good.

I don't know if I want a season 2 but I know I'll watch it. I doubt there won't be one; this is surely doing numbers and that's what Netflix cares about, not quality. I just felt there was something fundamental they didn't do in this season that absolutely needed to be done (and another episode or two were needed to do so). For this reason, it feels like this was not a good first season. That said, I'm going to rewatch it so I can really wrap my head around the specifics that I loved and disliked and liked and hated.

Rating, I guess, right now: 3/5, and that is generous. But I generally enjoyed it. It wasn't terrible. The bar was low after the film that shall not be named. But if you have some time to spare and an open mind, I'd say give it a chance. There are moments that it shines where the original didn't. It's just unfortunate that these moments were rare.

[pholiabanna]

Confession time; i kinda hate the st writers. They are the reason why the pride was ruined during the vol2 waiting, the reason why we face constant homophobia from mlvns and the ga for shipping byler and all bc they refused to break up mlvn and also included that shit ass monologue. Now we have to wait years to see the conclusion meanwhile ppl gradualy start lose their interest. They ruined Nick's career and reputation for no reason when his site was there for years. The way they say nothing against the apparent fandom homophobia even though it is not even a secret since ppl sharw homophobic comments left and right. The way they use Will's car scene as a memeable moment even though many queer fans were devastated when the scene came out. The way they write these characters. The way they treate Will. The way they treated Robin. I have so much spite and hatred bottled in me and i am only starting to realize it after a year. If byler doesnt become canon i hope all st writers and the duffers lose their jobs and never manage to write ever again. I would even support Netlix going full bankrupt. My respect for the writers all depend on whether or not byler becomes canon and i dont care if it makes me stuck with byler or whatever. After everything the writers pulled, yes, my respect all depend on this choice for S5.

Honestly I see where you're coming from, so your feelings are completely valid. I do believe that the monologue and saving byler for the last season makes narrative sense because of the way they've written the story and how best friends to lovers stories usually work (they normally won't get together until the end of a movie, and you have to think of ST as a 5 season long movie).

I think most of those things you pointed out are more of a fandom problem, like Will crying in the van becoming a meme- I believe it was portrayed very seriously in the show and it was a certain sector of the audience who decided to memefy it. Also, the homophobia would happen even if byler became canon in season 4, sadly homophobes are everywhere in every fandom. I also believe a lot of those things you pointed out are more of Netflix's fault, because using Wills scene as a meme was something accounts like Netflix, Netflix geeked, Netflix UK and other did, but I don't recall strangerwriters doing that (but I may be wrong so please if I am let me know). Their executives were probably the ones who decided to split the season as well, and having vol 2 come out right after pride month (being a terrible coincidence because of the byler-Milkvan storyline and the homophobia that subsequently came from maloobans). If I remember correctly, the writers account has stated a couple times that everyone should be allowed to ship whoever they want. But as you pointed out, sometimes I feel like they could do a little bit more. They tanked Nick's reputation (which I can understand up to a certain point if they are trying to protect the show they are working on from getting spoiled, but maybe they should have made a less vague and incriminating statement), and they definitely could address the rampant homophobia in the fandom more frequently.

It sucks that we need to wait so many years to prove we were right, but think about how satisfying it will be once the season comes out and you watch all of those people have a breakdown, and hopefully you see interviews from the duffers explaining how that was the intention all along. If that's the case, then I'll be happy, but as you said, if all of these was for nothing and byler isn't endgame, I'll definitely consider it queerbaiting, because they have built up romantic feelings for Will on Mike's side, even if some people want to deny it. So yeah, queerbaiting in 2023 sucks, and it's totally valid for you to feel like you won't respect them anymore if they go that route. I think more people need to realize this is not a matter of whether the couple I like ends up together over the couple other people like, it's a matter of whether queer people get a respectful and deserved treatment or not. And if they don't, then they're terrible writers, because if the way they fucked up that storyline, and terrible people too.

But hopefully not. Right now, I'm really convinced byler is endgame and they know what they're doing. We have to deal with crazy Melvin stans meanwhile, but the wait will be over before you notice and they'll get really quiet and embarrassed once they realize how wrong they were. But I'd like for them to address some of the homophobic comments online a little bit more often.

[the-contemporary-critic]

Reviewing Netflix's "The Hollow"

The Hollow is a two season Netflix Original that came out in 2018.

Spoilers ahead.

The Plot

Adam, Kai and Mira wake up in a suspicious room. They have no memories and no way out — except for a vent near the ceiling. From here, they work together to get through what they find to be a video game. They compete against another team: Vanessa, Reeve and Skeet’s team. Each of the players has a power chosen before the start of the game.

In season 2, they all remain in the digital world even after completing the game. The characters investigate and go through the game again, but not as players. They find The Hollow used the memories of the past players for a developing game: the Hollow Life. The game consists of digital versions of the players.

A glitch caused their digital selves to be sentient. Their real world selves are still going through life. So, when Skeet dies, the real world version of him is fine. Vanessa caused the glitch by cheating using a contact lens that blocks access to her memory. After all this, the current game they were in ended and the Hollow Life was taken offline. At the end of the series, they live happily in their digital world.

The plot is definitely unique. The show had this one overarching plot, the video game and Hollow Life, while also having smaller moments, like Reeve and Adam’s conflict. It was fun to watch. The characters all had the same goals, yet there was a good amount of drama conjured up in each of the episodes.

Now at a certain point, the plot did bore me. I ended up dropping the show around episode seven of season two, but I picked it back up recently. I watched the show start to finish on 1.5x speed in two sittings.

After rewatching it, I don’t know why I ever dropped it.

Besides the creativity of the plot, the pacing is perfect. Every episode focuses on a distinct part of their quest, making it easy to plot when and how everything happens.

Some episodes have two small quests in one, some with just one quest and a larger quest might be split in two. There isn’t any point in the show where you feel like too much or not enough is happening.

The Characters

I honestly loved all the characters by the end of the show. At first, I didn’t like Vanessa, Reeve or Skeet much. But this makes sense as they were the opposing team. When they join forces with the main three, you enjoy them more.

Mira was my favorite character. She was this bold girl who was very smart. I loved her.

Kai was a very close second. He brings a touch of humor to perfect the show.

Adam is tied with Kai. I’m a very indecisive person, but these characters are making it even harder. He was a great leader and always had a good strategy.

They had well-balanced characters who all worked together well. The relationships between the characters were also done right. The dynamic between each of the teams, and then Mira, Adam and Reeve, were both interesting aspects of the plot to see.

Speaking of Adam and Reeve, I feel like there was this layer of romantic interest there. This is a common theory, but it really seems like they were exes. That’s just another thing I love about the show: the diversity & representation in both sexuality and race.

The Ending

Now, for some, the ending was confusing and needed some clearing up. To me, I understood what was going on pretty well. It took a little while, and I had to take a step back a few times, but I figured it out.

I liked the ending; it was nice to see them happy with the way things were. I feel like season two just left off on a clean & clear note, which is the best type of ending for a show.

The creators also ended season one nicely. There was an ending — the end of the game — but there was also something to hook the viewer into season two, aka Vanessa’s eye glitching.

The Artstyle

I loved the design of the character! I even went out of my way to re-create them in the game, Everskies. They were unique and fun.

It's not just the designs of the main characters, even the side characters and villains were designed well. It made the show even better for me. Mira had on my favorite outfit.

Overall

I loved the show and I would definitely rewatch it. I honestly wish it had a larger fanbase so I can see more fan edits and fanart of it.

Would I recommend to a friend? Yes.

Rating: ★★★★★

[dadralt]

I love this season so far and I’m so sad that this will our last season with Henry 😭. But because of this I was really disappointed and sad that we didn’t get so many interviews ,pictures with him and the rest of the cast for promotion together. I had the feeling he was kind of “split” from cast. You know what I mean? Netflix for example did some funny stuff with Anya and the others ( the Quiz thing ) but Henry wasn’t a part of it. Do you know why and do you think it was because he leaves the Witcher? Or maybe he had other stuff to do?

hey anon, sorry this took me so long to reply.

yeah i was sad they didn't let him do interviews either, i would've loved to hear his thoughts about certain things :( i definitely think it's netflix who didn't want him to talk. because he was available, and he was at the premiere and at tudum and everything but he just didn't do any promo.

i do think they will release a "making of" after vol 2 airs and he'll be part of that, we know that. so that will be nice!

it's also just ridiculous to me to not let him do interviews because the rest of the cast keeps getting asked about him anyway 🙄 clown behavior tbh