#Anti-Duel of the Fates

[themattress]

After watching the video in this post, I decided to look up the script for Duel of the Fates, Colin Trevorrow and Derek Connolly’s first pass at Episode IX before Carrie Fisher’s passing rendered it unusable. While I stand by what I’ve said previously about how its ultimate message (how it’s good to be a “Gray Jedi” who uses both Light and Dark sides of the Force and thus every Jedi prior to Rey got it all wrong) pisses on Star Wars and its core philosophy of the Force and what “balance” means far more than anything J.J Abrams or Rian Johnson could ever put out, I want to bring up another flaw. See, Duel of the Fates is praised by people who loved The Last Jedi and hated The Rise of Skywalker for being a far more “natural continuation” to The Last Jedi. The question I now pose is...is it? Is it really? 

I mean, in some respects it certainly is - it maintains the harsher tone, maintains certain beats like Rey having no special heritage and Rose being a central character, and isn’t afraid to risk fucking with sacred cows of the franchise’s mythos (even if they take it too far, in a way that lends a ton of credibility to every “Rey is a Mary Sue!” argument ever made, but I digress). However, look deeper and cracks begin to show to the notion that Duel of the Fates is an organic follow-up to The Last Jedi and would have satisfied everyone who loved that movie.

Yes, Rey would have stayed just a girl from nowhere with no special heritage, and one could argue that her Gray Jedi outcome fit with her trajectory in The Last Jedi where she’s basically perfect as is and doesn’t need to learn much of anything; in fact her “teachers” end up learning from her. However, the big “reveal” scene about her parents from The Last Jedi is still retconned. In The Rise of Skywalker, the retcon is that Kylo just saw what happened - Rey’s scavenger parents selling her - and assumed there was no deeper truth to it but then learns he was wrong about that. In Duel of the Fates, the retcon is that Kylo flat-out lied. He knew that Rey’s parents didn’t sell her for drinking money and were in fact hiding her...not from an assassin sent by Palpatine, but from an assassin sent by Snoke. Him. Kylo Ren. He himself killed Rey’s parents because they hid Rey from him and later lied to her that they just abandoned her. I have no idea how this works timeline-wise given that Kylo doesn’t seem that much older than Rey, but whatever. Also, Rey’s real name is “Rey Solana”. Yes, literally just “Solo” if the last “o” got taken out and the “ana” from “Organa” got put in. Um....poetry?

Speaking of Kylo Ren, The Last Jedi positioned him as the irredeemable Big Bad now that he’s Supreme Leader of the First Order. And Duel of the Fates kind of did and did not stick with that. Yes, he’s the Big Bad all the way to being the Final Boss (for a third film in a row), but his entire plotline is completely detached from the First Order he’s supposedly the Supreme Leader of. Rather than just being treated as irredeemable, damn near every good guy in the film is constantly trying to redeem him (above all Luke’s ghost, since “See you around, kid” was taken literally here instead of figuratively). And yet at the last minute, he kind of receives redemption anyway? He loses in lightsaber combat to Rey, then beats her anyway by killing her via his lifeforce-draining ability, only for Leia to contact him through the Force and tell him “Come back to the Light”....and despite everything he’s done up to this point where he has succeeded in his goal, this is somehow enough for him to immediately give his own lifeforce to Rey, resurrecting her and killing him. He did nothing good other than backtrack on something evil he’d literally just done, so I guess he isn’t redeemed, but then why does the script describe his passing as having light in his eyes and holding Rey’s hand while looking at her with love? How are we supposed to look at this? It’s beyond confusing! You can keep Kylo unredeemed or redeem him ala The Rise of Skywalker, but not both.

Finn, and Rose certainly get it better in Duel of the Fates than they do in The Rise of Skywalker, with Finn leading a massive Stormtrooper rebellion and Rose being one of the core characters instead of an extra. But there are three problems. Rose ends up largely contributing nothing beyond further social commentary and even gets captured and tortured, which doesn’t seem like it makes her starring role worth it. Finn and Rose are a romantic couple, and as it ended up John Boyega and Kelly Marie Tran had no romantic chemistry with each other. And funnily enough, The Last Jedi did not set Finn up for his Stormtrooper rebellion arc! It could have, but for some reason the version of his battle with Phasma that had build-up for this development wasn’t used in the finished film! So that’s a big whoopsie! Poe’s arc in Duel of the Fates actively backtracks on his arc from The Last Jedi! Whereas in The Last Jedi it was positioned that his hot-headed recklessness was wrong and he had to grow as a leader by taking Leia’s example, Duel of the Fates has him in the right over Leia by pointing out “rebellion IS recklessness!” and that Leia has had her time and now she has to let Poe take charge even if she has some reservations about his gung-ho methods. Hux, meanwhile, who was positioned in The Last Jedi as scheming to betray Kylo Ren so that he can become the leader of the First Order...never does that in Duel of the Fates. He basically IS the First Order’s leader anyway since Kylo Ren is busy with his own shit, and the farthest extent his “treachery” goes is just hoping Rey and Kylo kill each other rather than take initiative himself in any way. Oh, and he’s also randomly obsessed with learning how to use the Force and collects lightsabers, one of which he commits seppuku with at the end. Yeah.

As for the other characters, there’s honestly not that much difference from what they do in The Rise of Skywalker. Luke keeps with his turnaround on how he views the Jedi and his place in the universe and assists Rey as a ghost, Leia still reaches through to her son via the Force in order to engineer his change of heart, Han is a vision that confronts his son (albeit one that fails in Duel of the Fates), Lando is reluctant to get involved but then ends up leading the cavalry in the final battle, the sidekicks are still the sidekicks and one of the droids even has their memory wiped but later restored (though it’s R2-D2 rather than C-3PO), and despite all the fan bitching there is no instrumental role played by the ghost of “Chosen One” Anakin. The only other big difference is that instead of Palpatine, a character established as a master long-term schemer with a fixation on finding a way to cheat death, returning, we have a confusing character named Tor Valum who is apparently master of ALL THE SITH which breaks the Rule of Two, hints that Darth Plagueis in his entirety was a lie, and exists as a plot device to make Kylo Ren a formidable Final Boss after having been made a joke of in the climax of the previous two films. I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather have Palpatine.

So there you have it. Not much else to say but...

[themattress]

THANK YOU!

(Also, who even wanted Damerey to begin with?)

Y'all

JUST BECAUSE COLIN TREVERROW'S EPISODE IX SCRIPT HAD DAMEREY IN IT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER THAN RISE OF SKYWALKER

[liquidorcard]

"Steven Universe is a show about forgiving fascists!"

-The girl who thinks the Sith aren't evil

(Headphone user warning.)

[meldarkthrop]

Schedule of the antis:

Monday: "Elain will reject her mate and choose Azriel"

Tuesday: "Elain has two mates actually and she'll pick Az"

Wednesday: "Az is the only true mate of elain"

Thursday: "There's a cauldron mate, mother mate, classmate—"

Friday: "Elain will duel Lucien and save Az"

Saturday and Sunday: Repeat it all. And add "By the way, Gwyn is an evil lightsinger."

Them, internally: Haha we theorized every possibility, we can't be wrong teehee.

After Elucien, the canon fated mate pair, is endgame in a book written by a fated mates author:

[zenkindoflove]

"I want what Elain wants and she wants Azriel"

Is a claim I often see e/riels use to claim why they are "pro Elain" and implying that if you ship Elain with her mate because "she clearly doesn't want him" then you are anti Elain.

So yeah this whole post is why that's bullshit.

First let's get some things straight that we all can agree are facts.

1. Elain had a crush on Azriel. It's clear by their looks and touches and her showing body language that she wanted to kiss him in the bonus chapter. It's unclear whether that crush survived post her tears over his rejection and giving the necklace back as they had no canonical interactions post solstice.

2. Elain does not want to address the bond right now and avoids Lucien. Her feelings about Lucien specifically and what she thinks about the bond are unclear.

Now that we got that out of the way, the assertion that you are the most pro Elain because you ship her with Azriel is quite a stretch. I'm sure you like Elain, as do I, but you do not hold some moral high ground because of who you ship her with.

First, let's discuss the idea that you have to support who Elain wants. People can want all kinds of people who are not right for them for a lot of reasons. It's a common experience for many to want the wrong guy. To have a crush and think they're the best and it'll all work out only to have your heart smashed by the cruel reality that they were wrong for you or didn't want you the way you did. It's also common to hate your friends' boyfriends and husbands because they're assholes despite how much they "want" them.

People's feelings change. Feelings are fickle.

In SJM's canonical world, mating bonds are not.

It makes sense that Elain, after going through her horrible rejection by the man she actually wanted and loved, Graysen, would not be ready to face what having a mate means. I'm sure it felt like infidelity to her, especially if she does desire and feel a pull towards Lucien like every other female with a mating bond has in this series. Her avoidance of Lucien can mean a lot of things, including that she wants him even if she mentally isn't ready or feels she shouldn't.

It also makes sense that she would seek out and find herself in a rebound crush with someone who is in her proximity and is low risk. Azriel doesn't come with the pressure of being her fated soulmate. He's just a dude. A dude who is pretty and paid some attention to her.

So yeah, I get why she wants him. Doesn't mean I think he is right for her.

Why isn't he right for her? To make a long post short, Azriel often undermines Elain. He diminishes her need for help when she's clearly depressed (ACOWAR), and he speaks for her and directly contradicts her wants (ACOSF, scrying). He is entitled to her without merit (the third sister line, bonus). He ignores her wishes to avoid violence and wants to kill people who are important to her (wanting Graysen killed, saying he'd kill Lucien in a blood duel - we know canonically if a mate dies it is like losing half of your soul). He thinks very little of her past his lustful fantasies (bonus chapter) and even to the point of projecting his own self-hatred when he looks at her skin (bonus chapter). Elain is symbolic for him of the thing he covets most (a mate), and his crush on her is a manifestation of his psychological need to pursue unavailable females because of his self worth (friends who will never romantically love him or a female with a mating bond). Basically they are a recipe for a toxic relationship full of avoiding real personal healing.

So yeah sorry, even if Elain wants to kiss him I'm not shipping her with someone like that just because she "wants" it. I would rather see her have a story where she discovers who she is and what being Fae means to her, which means directly addressing not only her powers (hello let her scry) but also addressing her mating bond head on by getting to know the male that she will always have a pull to, no matter if she rejects the bond or not. Elain is a fictional character with a narrative arc. Her wants now will not always stay static.

For me, as someone pro Elain, I want her to give herself a chance at a forever kind of love, one with a soul to soul connection and an eternal devotion. I want her to experience that unconditional love she so desperately craves. I don't want to read her choosing just some regular dude who will probably drop her the second his mating bond snaps anyways. She deserves a mate. Even if she doesn't know or understand that yet.

And quite frankly, I think once Elain does learn not only who Lucien is but the way he thinks about her and how devoted he is to her and only her, she will want him soon enough. I don't ship for characters' frivolous crushes in the now. I ship for their potential with the right person. The person who will see them starving and depressed and worry about their well being rather than what their powers can provide them. Who will hear their vision and cross an ocean because they believe in it. Who will fight across a battlefield just to make sure they're okay. Who will even push down their own needs and wants to give them space because that's what they want right now.

You know what that means though. If you're pro-Elain for wanting what Elain wants, then Lucien is the most pro-Elain person there is. And why wouldn't he be? He is her mate after all, and he will do anything for her.

So yeah, that's who I want for Elain, and I think that makes me pretty pro-Elain too.

[ultraericthered]

*Sigh.* Let's check these off one by one, shall we?

Rise was straight up depressing, nothing about it was good. Duel of the Fates was, by comparison, not depressing

For one thing that is blatantly a subjective opinion (I and plenty of other audience members came out of it the opposite of depressed and found a lot of good to enjoy and appreciate in it), but far more importantly...I'd find DotF to be far, far more depressing, bar none? This is how a friend summarized it: "it literally turns the entire saga into a story that can be summed up as “a bunch of Jedi and Sith and Rebels and Empires fuck around and do nothing right until a random girl comes out of nowhere and discovers how to do things correctly”. Nothing in the previous eight films prior would have held any deeper meaning. Every Star Wars story that was ever told in any medium prior to Rey's story in this would've become, in retrospect, huge wastes of time thanks to Trevorrow's horrendous misdefining of what it means to achieve "balance in the Force". To me, that's depressing.

No return of Palpatine

Except there still would've been a "Palpatine has a part to play in this from beyond the grave" factor even in DotF. He'd just stay beyond the grave rather than actually return from it, which means the "looks to cheat death" factor of Palpatine's character that he's had ever since the opera house scene in Episode III goes with absolutely no payoff. I'm of the belief that if you want to close out a 9 film saga rather than just close out another 3 film trilogy, you sort of need Palpatine in there since he was the saga's Big Bad from the start. But as I've said before, a lot of folks just seem to think having this one guy serve as the overarching main antagonist, direct or indirect, for two trilogies (six whole episodes of the saga) and then having some completely different guy from right out of fucking nowhere with no link or connection to the previous guy nor anything from the last six installments step up as the main antagonist for the third and final trilogy to close the saga is perfectly fine storytelling so long as the second guy comes off sufficiently Big and Bad enough or whatever.

a tone and level of stakes befitting the end of the saga

The Final Order was an entire massive fleet of star destroyers with world destroying technology at their disposal, getting set to go out and decimate all free worlds in the galaxy so that the Sith could secure dominance once and for all. Sure screams "level of stakes befitting the end of the saga" to me, but that could just be me.

an actual role for Rose that respects her character

It'd be a better role than what we got in the final cut of TRoS, but that's not a high bar given Rose's minimal screen presence in that. It still wouldn't really do anything too new with her or tell us anything about her we didn't already know, and there'd be a period of time where she'd be held captive and literally tortured by the fascistic white bad guys, which does not sound like something I'd care to see.

genuine connections to other areas of Star Wars besides the original trilogy

TRoS made allusions and connections to other areas of all eight previous films in the saga, and even worked in stuff introduced in other areas of the franchise but knew to keep it subtle for the viewers who'd not experienced those other areas and wouldn't get too lost watching the film on its own and in relation to the preceding films. Which I'd gladly take over the reappearance of fucking Mortis, which has absolutely no business popping up in a Skywalker Saga finale.

a character arc for Finn

OK, this is still the only thing I will give Trevorrow and his script over what we got. The ST just really lost the plot with Finn following TFA.

Rey is still a nobody

Yet her parents and what happened to them still mattered enough to be brought back into play for the reveal that Kylo Ren killed them, that sure made that whole backstory super significant! And the thing is, Rey ISN'T "still a nobody" by the end. She's a girl of no prior significance to the saga from out of nowhere who makes everything about the Jedi, the Sith, and the Force itself all about her in the end. She is somehow successfully able to channel and wield the Force and the Dark Side of the Force in a perfectly balanced equalibrium like what Count Dooku wanted to do but naturally failed at, and all the spirits of the major Jedi characters we know and love sing her praises to High Heaven for it, talking as though she is the true Jedi Master who they have all learned from. Rather than Rey finding and accepting her family and her place in something bigger than herself that she grows to love and to champion for her remaining days as in TRoS, DotF has something as big as the goddamn Force contorted to magnify and consolidate Rey's super special awesomeness. Every "Rey's a Mary Sue!" argument would have been rewarded with the highest possible validity here! Is that something you'd want?

themes that actually meaningfully follow up Last Jedi

To its detriment, and it didn't even do that good a job of it either.

a villain arc for Kylo that doesn’t end with him being abruptly redeemed.

But...it did, though? The guy completely disassociates himself from the group he was supposed to be Supreme Leader of now. makes bad decision after bad decision and refuses to repent every time he's reached out to be anyone, is fully committed to becoming all-powerful in the Dark Side and evil beyond salvation, wants to burn down the whole galaxy, even wins the final duel in the story (thus in the whole saga) by nearly killing Rey...and then at the very last possible second, he's convinced by his mother to "come back to the light" by doing one good thing and trading his life for Rey's, which in at least one script draft is described as though it is meant to be redemptive on his part. Even Vader's last minute self-sacrificial good deed for his son that saved his soul from darkness had more build-up and weight to it in comparison. This would just be a nonsensical and self-contradicting mess, and not even the villain arc for Kylo that I'd be naturally set on seeing after the groundwork laid by TFA and TLJ.

if Disney hadn’t decided to base Rise entirely off of reactionary responses to Last Jedi.

There it is. That misconceived notion about TRoS that kills credibility every single time. The direction taken in TRoS was not entirely based off responses to TLJ, because EpIX had been given to J.J Abrams and solidified into being TRoS three months before TLJ was released in theaters. There were no "reactionary responses" to be catered to even existing at the time the big decisions were made in regards to TRoS, including Palpatine's return and Rey being of his bloodline. The reality is that Colin Trevorrow was unable to create a finale to Lucasfilm’s and Disney’s satisfaction since early in he initially envisioned an EpIX that would heavily feature Luke and Snoke (who both got killed off in TLJ), so he pivoted to DotF as his EpIX instead only for that script to be rendered impossible to put to film by Carrie Fisher's unexpected passing in December 2016. So at that point in the midst of 2017, again before TLJ came out, Abrams was called upon to steer the leaky ship and "save shit" as John Boyega put it.

So even if you feel like DotF would’ve still been a satisfying ending to the saga, it must be understood that from the moment Carrie Fisher left this world, it was not the ending we were going to receive.

I feel like all discussions about the positive and negatives of the Duel of the Fates script got kinda hijacked by a bunch of people saying it was embarrassing and making jokes about one line that wasn’t even spoken aloud the characters. I also feel as if people who simply read the script and thought it was pretty good, were overtaken by the people who knew the writer/director’s previous work and knew it to be bad.

I understand Colin Trevorrow is not well liked for many reasons, but I didn’t know that prior to reading it, so I overall enjoyed it prior to that. I don’t understand why no one could get past that fact and just take the script at more than face value and see past a couple of flaws.

Also I just feel as if people just… ignored how much better it was compared to Rise of Skywalker, like, by a country mile. Rise was straight up depressing, nothing about it was good, Duel of the Fates was, by comparison, not depressing, which is already an achievement before you get to specific details, and those details are No return of Palpatine, a tone and level of stakes befitting the end of the saga, an actual role for Rose that respects her character, genuine connections to other areas of Star Wars besides the original trilogy, a character arc for Finn, Rey is still a nobody, themes that actually meaningfully follow up Last Jedi, and a villain arc for Kylo that doesn’t end with him being abruptly redeemed.

And it’s not perfect, the relationship between Rey and Poe is stupid and makes no sense, and the introduction of Plagueis’ master is sloppy, but other than that, I loved the broad strokes of everything described.

But I think the thing that makes everyone seemingly rejecting it on principle without really thinking about it make me kinda upset is that it probably would’ve gotten better if Disney hadn’t decided to base Rise entirely off of reactionary responses to Last Jedi.

Idk, maybe it’s not as good as I think and it’s just better compared to Rise because almost anything is better than Rise, but idk, I feel as if Duel would’ve still been a satisfying ending.

[that-ari-blogger]

No Cat Can Walk Out Of Her Own Story (Once Upon A Time In The Wastes)

To those who have read my posts before, you may have picked up on my complicated relationship with the concept of genre, in that I don’t really believe in it.

Don’t get me wrong, genre is definitely a thing, it just exists from the perspective of a reader, not a writer. Genre allows audiences to categorise their preferences, and allows librarians to categorise their catalogues. But from the angle of a writer, I find that trying to stick to a genre often leads to restrictions that limit creativity.

The tricky thing is, this is my opinion. Art is not science, and does not jell at all with ubiquitous statements. There is evidence to back up my claim, but at the same time, evidence that completely contradicts it. Funnily enough, She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power count as both, especially Once Upon a Time in the Waste.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD (She-Ra and the Princesses Of Power)

First, a few framing devices for this post.

I have been analysing the series as a whole through the lens of tragedy, which isn’t quite a genre, but it’s close enough that I feel the need to explain myself.

Tragedy is a vibe. It is an end goal for the story, a trajectory that it will try to hit. She-Ra is most definitely on this trajectory for most of its runtime, which plays into its themes of trauma and the cycle of abuse. The core question of the story is whether love will be enough to overpower that trajectory. Agency vs fate, like Romeo and Juliet.

A genre, meanwhile, is a collection of tropes, which can include a plot structure, but it doesn’t have to. They are different concepts that relate to each other, and overlap occasionally, but they are distinct.

Now, genre is, first and foremost, a literary tool. Tropes give expectations and implications, and often have meaning ascribed. So a story written in a specific genre can make use of that for its own purposes.

Part of the reason I am so chwit-chwat about my position on this is that I have a friend who excels at writing genre stories, and that has benefited their work immensely. Their ability to subvert expectations is predicated on the groundwork that they are writing within, that being the framework provided by each genre.

Cliches have a bad name, but there is genuinely a place for stories that are exactly what you expect. Not every art piece has to be thought provoking. Sometimes you just want to sit down, relax, and watch an adventure, and the Guardians of Ga’Hoole movie is engineered to suit your every need. If you want to think about what you are experiencing, read the Guardians of Ga’Hoole books, because they really play around with the genre.

So, what is my point?

Well, I will come back to this at the end of the series, but I think She-Ra is on both ends of a spectrum, it can be classified as a ton of genres, but also none at all. Once Upon a Time in the Waste is a microcosm of this.

So, I’m going to argue here that this episode is a western story. As in, the archetype with lone wanderers and such. But I’m also going to argue that it isn’t.

Buckle up, this is going to get complicated.

Westerns are technically just stories set in outback America in the late 1800s. But we can all agree that there is more to the genre than that. Duels at dawn, train heists, riding into the sunset. Think Rango, the third Back to the Future movie, and the 1960 version of The Magnificent Seven film. There is a framework to play around in.

The genre doesn’t so much carry the theme of freedom as collapse under its weight. Protagonists in these stories are usually on the run from the law, or seeking a new beginning, and plots have a tendency to bear a distinct anti-colonialist message. Mostly. The golden age of the genre was between 1940 and 1960, and modern writers have, for the most part, got better at writing this over time.

So, this episode has an implied theme of freedom, that goes with series as a whole’s discussion of agency. It also draws on the idea of a new beginning and the promise of an empty world. All it has to do is make itself clear, and it does this off the bat with two of the most western shots ever to western.

The amount that is being communicated by these two shots is astounding. Obviously, the vultures are circling Catra, and she’s watching them. Catra is aware that she is at rock bottom, and that death is closing in on her. Or at least, she thinks she is.

However, the worldbuilding element is there as well. Multiple moons instantly signals that this is a fantasy setting, and if you look closely, those aren’t actually vultures.

So, this is a western story with a bit of that fantastical flavour, right? Or is it a fantasy story with a bit of western flavour? Yes. The answer to both of those questions is “yes”.

This episode is told from Catra’s perspective, and I think there is a bit of unreliable narration going on here. Not in the sense that events aren’t playing out as we see, but in the way that the cinematography surrounding those events influences us. This might not be a western story at all, those birds might have just found a column of air, but doom and gloom is what Catra sees, so it's what the audience sees.

On a side note, Catra’s dialogue in this episode is written like she has spent the last month listening to nothing but Linkin Park’s Crawling In My Skin on repeat. I have a deep love for angsty emo storytelling, but I think it is a stroke of genius to translate that exact energy into something so aesthetically at odds with being emo.

“You know what? It doesn't matter. Nothing matters anymore. You know what I see here? All my hard work, ignored because of one mistake. My dreams, turning to dust in front of my eyes. But mainly I'm looking at that?”

This is Catra’s first little speech of the episode, and she gets a few of these. Here, she is venting at Scorpia, which I will comment on in a bit, but it is important to note that Catra fully accepts responsibility for her fate. Yes, the world was against her, but she was the one who messed up. Which is interesting.

In my reading of this story, Catra has intellectually recognised that the Horde was abusive, but emotionally, not so much. She convinced herself that if she was perfect, she could just coast above, because the moments in-between the abuse were half decent. But that wasn't possible.

I feel it is important to understand that Catra doesn’t crave safety, she craves the feeling of being safe. She is chasing the high of security, and she was able to push through Shadow Weaver’s abuse and to ignore Hordack’s obvious red flags enough to obtain that feeling from authority. The high never lasted, but she has convinced herself that she could have made it work.

Back to the western thing. Protagonists in western stories are rarely good people, although they aren’t usually villainous. They are heroes, but their defining character trait is that they were capable enough to take control of the situation. Sometimes, they will save a village from some bandits, but half the time this is to save a love interest or because they have a grudge against the bandit leader or even just because the village pays well. Morality isn’t really a thing in western films.

In other words:

“There are only two rules in the Crimson Waste. One, the strong make the rules-” (Laughing) “So, here's the thing. I've done this. The whole “threatening people” bit, the intimidation. I've been there. And I just don't care anymore. Some people have a bad day. I've had a bad life. If I want something, it's taken from me. If I win a fight, I lose the war. Threats only work on someone who has something to lose. But me? I've already lost it all. And you can't be any good at this, because you just let yourself get distracted.”

What I said about Catra from before works here as well. This also meshes rather nicely with the western protagonist. Catra has rocked up out of nowhere and demonstrated her capability.

However, that capability lies in force of personality, and in her allegiance with Scorpia, someone who exists to prove Catra wrong. Catra still has her friendship with Scorpia, and thats what this episode exists to show her.

This episode actually show Catra getting to be happy with herself and the world around her, because her worldview is rewarded. She has no higher authority, she can be mean in the way that the Horde has taught her to be, and it pays off.

Granted, it’s not exactly healthy, but it's better than what she had before.

So, Catra can feel safe, even in a place that is objectively more hostile to her than anywhere else. The ground tries to eat her, multiple times, but she is fine, she has her force of personality, and she has Scorpia.

“We make a good team, that's it.”

Scorpia makes Catra feel safe, she protects her, and she raises her up to make her own choices. The only other person that has done that, was Adora.

Before I continue, however, I feel the need to stress something. How Catra treated Scorpia up until this episode wasn’t great. It will get worse after this episode, and I will talk about that when I get there (If you know the show, you know which episode will prompt my full diagnoses), but for now, Catra hasn’t seen Scorpia as an equal until this point.

This is based on her upbringing. Whether you like her as a character or not, it is hard to disagree with the fact that Catra is mean. But that comes from a place of fear and of discomfort. Catra has no idea how to socialise with anyone, because she has never had a parental figure to show her. She was nice to Adora, and Adora left, so being nice was clearly not the right decision, in her mind.

On a similar note, it never occurs to Catra that anyone might like her. As in, she assumes at all times that people are trying to one up her or outmanoeuvre her. She was betrayed by Adora, in her mind, and Shadow Weaver never treated her with any dignity. Why would anyone help her? She has to force her way through everything.

Except, here is Scorpia. Scorpia, who offers a guiding hand to Catra to save her from the quicksand, even when it would be wiser to let Catra die and take over. Scorpia, who will follow Catra into the desert. Scorpia, who makes Catra feel safe and asks nothing in return.

The episode even gets in the duel at midday and the standoff with the bandits, with the reward for victory being more underlings. Catra builds herself a support network.

The sartorial detail of the jacket. Catra starts the episode clinging onto the cloak from the Horde. But it's too big for her. She then sheds it and steals the jacket when she starts fitting into the Horde and finding belonging. The jacket fits her perfectly, and she looks really good in it. She then offers a similar jacket to Scorpia as a gesture of friendship. "I belong with you."

“A toast to driving Huntara out of the Waste! A toast to finding all this new loot, huh? And a toast to Boss Catra, best leader we've ever had!” “Scorpia! A toast to Scorpia!”

So, about that new beginning then. I spoke at length in a previous post about how character development and allegiance relate to location. Adora changes location and can develop as a person. Shadow Weaver makes the exact same decision, and refuses to change, mostly. Now we have Catra, who has likewise shifted scenery, and she is making big strides in terms of relationships.

There are people who cheer her name unprompted, people who will keep her safe. This is everything she wants, right? Hold this thought.

Also, correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the first actively altruistic thing Catra has done. Yes, she shared the blanket, but that felt more like paying back a debt than actual kindness. This feels like growth, like Catra is finding a new place to start.

Catra's body language in this tiny scene is really well done. She starts off clutching the sword like a teddy bear, like she is taking comfort in having it. Then it falls to her side as Scorpia gets through to her and she subconsciously stops needing to have that victory.

“We've got the most important thing right here. You heard that hologram. This is the key to the whole planet. When I bring this back to the Fright Zone, Hordak will see me for what I'm worth and I'll be back on top.” “Or, you know, counterpoint, we don't go back at all.” “What? Why wouldn't we go back?” “Uh... Because you hate it there?” “I don't.” “Hear me out, okay? Within like, a day, you've defeated the gangs ruling the Crimson Waste and made yourself their leader. This is the happiest I've ever seen you. Scratch that. This is the first time I've ever seen you happy, period. So, why would we go back? Let's stay here. Forget Hordak. Forget Adora. Forget all of them. We could rule the Crimson Waste together, just the two of us. We could, you know, be happy.” “I… I don't… I have to go check on the prisoner.”

I think Catra actually considers this option. Again, the idea that her emotions and her thoughts are at separate levels of understanding comes back. But in a very real sense, this is what Catra wants, she has her life’s goal. So why can’t she stay?

For that, we need to talk about why Catra and Adora are such good foils.

Catra and Adora are the two tragic heroes of this story, but they exhibit their hamartia in completely opposite ways. For clarity, hamartia is another term for a heroic flaw, the thing that causes things to go wrong. She-Ra has a really interesting way of writing that, simplicity.

Every character in this story has a greatest strength that is also their greatest weakness. Glimmer is unyielding, which means her courage is second to none, but her adaptability is lessened. Huntara is both idealistic and cautious, when balanced these traits carry the crew, when unbalanced, these traits cause trouble.

Adora and Catra are opposites. Adora thinks incredibly quickly, which means that she is a remarkably good short-term tactician, but she struggles to think on the wider scale. Catra, meanwhile, is always planning five or six steps ahead of everyone else, but she can’t see the moment for what it is.

However, there is one more facet to these two, and it is the thing that joins them. Both Catra and Adora have a binary worldview. Something is either good or bad, someone is either a hero or a villain. Or, in Catra’s case, affection is exclusionary.

“Catra, Shadow Weaver is in Bright Moon.”

Catra is wounded by Shadow Weaver, more than she can possibly imagine. She wants to feel safe, and even while she is in the Crimson Wastes, she is not immune from her abuser’s ability to take away her security.

The news that Shadow Weaver is with Adora brings back all of Catra’s insecurities. It reminds Catra that she isn’t good enough, and that she can’t be safe. Most of all, it coalesces the two people who left Catra into one force, the Princess Alliance. Now, there is a single entity that Catra can fight, and her desire to feel safe means that she cannot think clearly until that entity is removed.

The final sequence of the episode is so unbelievably well written. The heavy breaths and deep, foreboding music drowning out everything. Pair that with the revisiting of the episode’s early shots, but this time with a Dutch tilt, and you have a sequence of a character in inner turmoil.

This could be a western story. This could be a tale of two outcasts seeking out a living in the vast wilderness, disappearing and being happy. But Catra can’t ride off into the sunset.

When Catra looks up, there are tears in her eyes, and the camera shifts to punctuate her words and decisions by zooming in, until all you can see are Catra’s eyes, and the tears that weigh them down.

Speaking of trauma, this episode is also the introduction of Mara, and that happens in a really interesting way.

The comedy of Adora's wacky expression in this shot is pulling double duty here. It's funny, but its emphasising the fact that Adora's apparent success in finding answers is being undercut.

“Of course it's on a loop. Of course it is. Because why would a hologram ever give me a straight answer? Solve a puzzle. Train. Let go. I do everything they tell me, waiting for answers, And all I'm left with is... is... Why was I taken from my family? Why was I forced to become a soldier? Why did I come here if this was nothing but another dead end?”

Aimee Carrero is officially a god, because the line delivery of this is gut wrenching. This season has seen Adora spiralling downwards, and Catra gradually building herself up. That’s why this episode cuts between them both, its juxtaposing their opposite arcs.

So, here is Adora, shouting at her last hope of answers, and getting no response.

I want to point out that the monologue is the series’ thesis statement. The cyclical thing, the agency, the trauma. This is everything rolled into one.

The loop thing is a metaphor for the whole series, a metaphor made clearer by She-Ra itself.

When Mara is introduced, she is transformed, and she is a failure. She is the warning that Light Hope gives to Adora. When we meet her in this episode, we get that same image.

“I am Mara, She-Ra of Etheria, and I am gone.”

It towers over Adora, looking down on her. Adora is beneath the vision of even a failure like Mara. At least, until she lets go of the sword.

This is Mara. She’s small, about as tall as Adora; she’s wounded and dying; and she’s sorry.

“I couldn't stop them before, but I can now. Hiding is our only option. Maybe it's been a week. Maybe it's been thousands of years. I never wanted to be a hero. I won't be remembered as one.”

Mara’s character thematic can be summed up by one word: Legacy. Not how she will be remembered, but what effect she will have on the future.

Again, she is wounded, but she has managed to lock away an entire planet. Mara saved Etheria, once upon a time. I’d put that as pretty heroic.

But this also spins the perception of Light Hope. Adora can now see the alternate side of Light Hope’s words, and she can see the lies and the mistruths. So, by leaving a message, Mara pushed Adora away from destroying the world. She created a failsafe for Etheria, by telling the next She-Ra to think and take their own agency.

Mara was living in a tragedy, her fate was to die, but she twisted it. She broke free, and she saved people. I wonder if that idea will be revisited.

Final Thoughts

This episode could have been a season.

The second and third seasons of She-Ra are short, and I think the series would have been more interesting if they had been linked. Drop a few of the episodes, relocate some others, and make the whole thing about the Crimson Wastes. You get more time to Catra’s rise, and the fall feels more impactful.

I am mostly joking here. The series we got is the series we got, and this blog doesn’t analyse what could have been.

To that end, this episode falls short for me, because there isn’t enough of it. Catra’s improvement lasts for half an episode, and I think that if it had had a little more time to breathe, the gut punch at the end would have hit so much harder.

That is my critique, it’s a good episode, but it’s paced a bit too fast for me. You are welcome do disagree in the replies.

Next week, I will be looking at the absolute highway to hell (in a good way) that is Moment Of Truth, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

[mintyisms]

The Game Grumps Play Danganronpa V3

Chapter Two Starters

"I absorb nutrients through my hate."

"Oh, no, my HP warranty expired!"

"You're anti-goth girl, dude."

"I am a layered, nuanced character!"

"Everyone, come with me. Except you."

"That's the biggest saw I ever saw!"

"Could you imagine hanging out with someone who, after everything you say, just randomly says, 'That's not true!'?"

"Somebody's going to be found dead in one of those."

"Look at all these games!"

"I see you, but I'm not going to talk to you."

"If you're into it, then I'm into it, and I know you're into it."

"I know you want that big win before you stop, but. . ."

"That was the song of my people."

"It comes off as banal, but it actually has a lot of interesting things to say."

"Dude, you're dying in like forty minutes."

"I chose not to eat spaghetti anymore, a fate worse than death."

"Just let me get to my laptop and delete a few files."

"What, do I have Stockholm Syndrome? Why would I want to stare at my fucking captor?"

"I feel like I should get drunk before I watch these."

"Hey, man, did you get a video about my grandparents?"

"I'm about to sleep like nobody's business."

"Become the pervert that you were always meant to be."

"Good morning. Many are dead."

"It usually takes two days for muscles to get sore, but whatever."

"I'm tired of fraternizing with these weirdos."

"She reminds me of a Muppet."

"Am I having a stroke?"

"Didn't know this would turn into a screaming party."

"Did you invite us over to Netflix and chill?"

"I didn't realize I liked him until just now."

"We should check just in case there's a boombox in there."

"What you're saying is if someone had to die, it's best it was him."

"Maybe we should have fed him a little more."

"That would be a paradigm shift in our thinking of the world, so I'm going to stick with magic isn't real."

"It's not just about the trick. It's about the treat."

"Of course I was up to no good, but I wasn't going to tell her that."

"I was up late and I ran into a maid. We got into an argument and then she chased me for about an hour."

"It's plain to see I like plain bagels."

"Everyone's dying inside."

"Someone really should clean up all this drama."

"Strangle the small man. Throw him in the tank."

"I'm gonna vote for Mitt Romney!"

"Were you too busy being chased by a maid?"

"Wow, someone doesn't believe in the power of imagination."

"Those who use the word 'oft' are oft annoying."

"I levitated before I hit the ground using my magic."

"We're all gonna die, and I'm gonna murder someone."

"His hand was up in the air. I got the impression that he didn't care."

"You made donuts?"

"I'm about to drop my latest album on Soundcloud. Would anyone like a download link?"

"Bitchlet? Like the gum? Did you mean Chiclet?"

"Must have been an accidental handcuff piranha drowning."

"I can't think too much. The doctor told me it was bad for my skin."

"Do you think murderers obey rules?"

"Please, just let the rapture take me."

"The window, the wall, and something, something, something, my balls."

"On three, we turn and duel with finger guns."

"Why are we friends, again? We've known each other since like Monday."

"Those gloves were really holding the whole outfit together."

"She makes really good pasta."

"It was supposed to be bleak, but it was kinda funny."

[cto10121]

R&J (+WSS) Clown Takes Special Edition—Tony and Romeo Are Totes the Same Character, Right?

In which a whole twitter thread on Ansel Elgort being miscast for Spielberg’s film WSS leads to this R&J and WSS anti dumb, including Romeo hate dumb. Ahimè, but at least I get to munch on some rare-ish clownery.

I can’t believe I even have to say this…I resent even typing the words out…but *puts hands together, exhaling sharply* Tony and Romeo are two entirely different characters. They come from the same archetype, maybe, but the role each plays in its narratives is vastly different. Case in point:

Tony (both film versions)

Poor son of Polish immigrants, though clearly born and raised in New York

Was the founder of the Jets alongside Riff. Afterwards he left the gang and went straight, got a job, and altogether outgrew the gang. In Spielberg’s version, it was because of an epiphany when he was in juvie; there he does have a problem with his rage

Is reluctant at first to attend the dance at the gym, but then gets positive premonitions that “something great is coming!!!” Big golden-retriever vibes

Is reluctant to interfere with the rumble. Maria is the one who encourages him to interfere. (Spielberg: Wants to interfere in the rumble and persuades Maria otherwise)

Is egged on to fight Bernardo, but he refuses (Spielberg: He starts to fight him before he stops, appalled).

Kills Bernardo almost immediately after Riff dies in a rage

When he finds out Maria is dead, he sobs and seeks out Chino for a bit of assisted suicide. He instead finds Maria alive, albeit too late

Personality-wise, he is optimistic, energetic, positive, loyal to his friends, streetwise, and quick to anger and action. Tony seems more attached to his friends than Romeo, at least to Riff, especially the Spielberg version

Romeo (play only)

Only son to a noble Italian family, praised by Lord Capulet himself (!!) for being a “well-governed” youth

Is infatuated with Rosaline in the beginning, definitely is keen on banging her

Has a negative premonition about his imminent demise in going to the ball and only changes his mind when he leaves it all to God/chance

Interferes with the Tybalt/Mercutio duel, even pulling out his sword

When Mercutio is injured, he starts to wonder whether his love for Juliet had truly made him effeminate. Big if true!!!! When Tybalt returns to fight Romeo again, only then does Romeo fight and kill him

When he learns that Juliet is dead, he becomes coldly pragmatic and acts with effective ruthlessness and violence. Once he reunites with Juliet, though, he returns to himself, and even expresses regret for killing Tybalt

Personality-wise, he is intense, introverted, independent, passionate in love, quick to forgive, and slow to anger. Romeo is more self-reflective than Tony, if just because we see him deliberate more (“Shall I move forward when my heart is here?” “Shall I hear more or shall I speak at this?”etc.).

It’s clear Tony was meant to show the difficulties of escaping the gang life, even with actual reformation, if just through the continued association with friends. He was also an ex-gangster, so he is already has a long history of violence and delinquency. His romance with Maria is almost secondary to this purpose.

By contrast Romeo’s arc is more about being true to your authentic self in a shallow, hateful world. He goes from a smart but passive and aimless youth who avoids the feud to a brave and passionate youth in love to a broken one fucked over by the feud, who lost the love of his life. Only when he is reunited with his lady wife does Romeo return to himself. His arc intimately connected to Juliet’s in that they both begin as obedient teens who mature and go beyond their (gendered) socialization and be true to their authentic selves…only for fate and said society to screw them over, but y’know, that’s what makes it tragic.

[raehs]

ALL VERSES. will be updating as needed.

i really just wanted to post this so there's less guessing with my verse details lol. will probably add more tonight. there's also like zero formatting here so i apologize for that.

era : SEQUELS.

arc : jakku.

pre - the force awakens. will only be taking place on jakku. age range : 14 - 19.

arc : the force awakens.

canon compliant. age : 20.

arc : the last jedi.

semi divergent but mostly canon compliant. rey is with luke for a lot longer than 3 days, possibly more like a few weeks to a few months, maybe a year at the MOST. ( which does alter the movie a bit but i see it as the fighting doesn't happen at the same time as rey's training + tfa doesn't directly lead to tlj, there's time between and tfo doesn't attack right away. rey shows up at the end with the falcon. ). kylo + rey also bond over the months. (: age : 21.

arc : between the last jedi + the rise of skywalker. [ resistance reborn ]

the few years between tlj + tros. there's 2-3, possibly more years between where rey studied under leia and also helped recruit people to the resistance. compliant with resistance reborn + spark of the resistance. age: 21-23/24. GO TO SEQUELS VERSE.

arc : the rise of skywalker.

divergent. anti romantic re/ylo. anti rey palpatine. anti rey burying lightsabers in sand, anti spice runner poe ... etc. major points happen. (personally would love to replace palpatine w/ snoke or smthin ...) there's also 2-3 years in between tlj and tros. heavy influence from dotf. age: 23-24.

arc : post - tros.

age : mid 20s. anything directly after the war ends. lots of rey traveling, learning, searching, adventuring. GO TO SEQUELS VERSE NO. 2.

arc : rebuilding.

quite a bit after the war. rey is also in the process of or already has started to rebuild the jedi, though she teaches in a new, different way. in their own way. age : late 20s - mid 30s.

verse : [ duel of the fates ]

based on the duel of the fates script. the main thing i get rid of is rey mind tricking poe + some other minor stuff. i'm damerey neutral (really depends on the writing partner). 10 years after tlj, early 30s. honestly i like this more than tr.os but i wanna remain sequels - characters friendly + people who haven't read the script. will only put things in here if i know you know the details!

verse : [ smuggler ]

rey takes the job offered to them by han solo and never crosses paths with kylo ren.

verse : [ sith ]

rey is in fact found by snoke / palpatine and raised in the dark. wasn't actually raised by that weirdo but people working for him, maybe raised by snoke lol. some mara jade vibes maybe (idk legends dont @ me ). her anger is twisted and turned into something that is used against her, as is her loneliness and need for a family.

era : PREQUELS / THE REPUBLIC / MOVING TIMELINE.

found on jakku in the care of unkar plutt as a child (though born on hyberkarn -- her parents were being hunted by mercenaries and left rey in the car of plutt, but they died and never came back for her), rey is found by the jedi and brought to the temple. she's named kira by the jedi who found her, as plutt only referred to her as 'child' and 'girl'. she chooses rey as her names. she struggles with a fair amount of jedi things, as they're naturally a more aggressive and angry person, and struggle with being consumed by her attachments.

01 : rey is taken on as a padawan during the very beginning of the clone wars / prior to the clone wars / prequels era. she's at the front lines with her jedi master, who's very jaded at this point in his career but he pushes her hard to make sure she can survive the war and what happens after it. they took some time to warm up to each other but end up having a very close bond. (': [ also have an option for her to be obi-wan's padawan, or someone elses with plotting <3 i think she'd also be good as plo koon's padawan. ] she's also given the title of commander, which she hated, feeling that she didn't do as much as the clones who deserve it more than her. age range : 14 - 21.

02 : a slightly older rey goes through the clone wars as a jedi knight. she's a general with her own battalion and puts her everything in keeping her men alive. (': early - mid 20s. GO-TO PREQUELS VERSE.

era : EMPIRE / POST ORDER 66.

verse : [ order 66 survivor ]

01 : rey survives the purge as a padawan and only escapes because of her master. she escapes to an outer-rim planet and keeps her head down. she cuts off her padawan braid and puts her lightsaber away ... until the inquisitors (+ kylo) find her and she has to go on the run and constantly move. she's 14-16ish during order 66 but the verse spans 10+ years, or until she joins the rebellion. GO-TO POST ORDER 66 VERSE.

02 : rey survives as a jedi knight. dependent on the timeframe but is around mid 20s when order 66 happens. mid 20s - mid 30s.

verse : [ inquisitor ]

rey is turned to the darkside by the inquisitors and from feeling everyone she loved die. she's a ghost of a person, barely there, fueled entirely by anger and hate. but she starts to come back to herself. also her hair is white. 20s.

verse : [ rebel pilot ]

01 : very similar to the force awakens! from jakku, rey gets mixed up with a " rebel fighter " and they have to get off jakku due to being chased by imperials. bb-8 also needs to get to the rebellion because she has a list of rebel cells + people who are secretly working for the rebellion. no specific time frame, can be in the beginning of the rebellion or more aligned with a new hope / rebels. 19+.

02 : former padawan rey joins the rebellion as a pilot. around the age of hera + kanan. late 20s - early 30s. GO-TO EMPIRE VERSE.

verse : [ force shenanigans ]

basically the star wars holiday special but less ... chaotic? rey ends up traveling to any era of star wars due to a crystal that can travel through time. can take place after tr.os or any other point of time. mid 20s.

ERA : ANY.

verse : [ scavenger ]

basically just. rey is a scavenger on jakku and completely content in never leaving. -- this is not the same as the jakku verse, as that one is specifically pre - tfa. this one is for any era of star wars and / or rey never makes it off of jakku with finn and bb-8. 19+.

CROSSOVERS.

verse : [ avatar: the last airbender ]

takes place at any point of time in the atla universe (pref. during the original show or legend of korra), but rey is descended from air nomads. her father was earth + air but was a non-bender, while her mother was strictly from air nomads, but was also a non-bender. they found out rey was a bender when she was young and did their best to hide her.

WIP VERSES : supernatural ( werewolf / witch ), grishaverse, modern ( college ), modern ( archaeologist ), modern ( pilot ), superhero fandoms ( mutant ), multiverse ( any fandom ), bg3, general scifi ( star trek / dw / etc etc ), pjo ( child of zeus or apollo or hermes maybe ), mythology ( bia reborn ), misc fantasy, asoiaf, tinkerbell, winx club, royalty, green lantern, fallout, the 100, high republic (sw), mermaid au.

REQUEST ONLY.

verse : clan of three.

affiliated with @devoutgun.

found on jakku as a child, rey is adopted by din djarin when she's young. this verse can deal with rebuilding mandalore, rey being a member of clan mudhorn, rey finding out she's force sensitive at a much younger age, it's also likely that rey is taught by luke skywalker in the ways of the force alongside ben. -- events of the sequels can still take place but things are a bit different.

verse : rey skywalker. [ REQUEST PLS ]

rey (beru) is the lost child of luke skywalker who was kidnapped as a child in hopes of bringing her to palpatine. that never happened, and any leads their parents had to find them go cold. she picks a name for herself and believes one day her parents are coming back for her -- she doesn't grow up completely alone. force ghosts regularly visits her, teaches her things, reminds her that she isn't alone. tbh, this is very similar to regular verses so this is kinda specific to skywalkers but i’m open to writing in it with anyone. esp in combination with time travel.

verse : legacy of infinite sadness.

rey is the grandchild of obi-wan kenobi. specifics can be changed as i have multiple ideas. rey's story remains basically the same except that her grandfather is obi-wan ( doesn't have to be biological! can be force ghost adoption! ).

[themattress]

A good fair and balanced opinion piece on The Rise of Skywalker.

There is only ONE point of contention against the movie he has that I can not and will not abide, which is the tired “Wah, there was no set-up for Palpatine in the Sequel Trilogy, he was nowhere near it, him being resurrected and the Big Bad / Final Boss is nonsense that ruins the whole movie!” Beyond the points I have always made in the past about how regardless of how I wish there was some more explicit foreshadowing, the Empire being back and doing all this bullshit all over again as though Palpatine’s defeat meant nothing in TFA was kind of a gigantic set-up for his presence, I will always be baffled at how the Episode VII, Episode VIII and Episode IX parts of the Sequel Trilogy’s titles mean so little to people. The Sequel Trilogy doesn’t exist in a fucking vacuum; they’re called sequels for a reason. Palpatine was literally the Big Bad of Episodes I through VI; so having it so that he’s also the Big Bad of Episodes VII through IX, which are meant to conclude “the Skywalker Saga”, makes perfect sense.

It’s honestly really sad that he believes Duel of the Fates would’ve been preferable to himself and others simply because it “follows The Last Jedi better” and would give a better illusion of a cohesive plan for the trilogy, and because Palpatine wasn’t back in it. It’s sad because he could very well be right about that.....but that doesn’t mean it would be right for the series.

[mariacallous]

Another month to go: can we bear it? Brainless dishonesty, puerile insults, false accusations, the whole charade takes us for idiots. The more desperate they get, the lower the Tories drag down the tone of debate.

The week begins “woke”, with Kemi Badenoch challenging Labour to follow her into an anti-trans gesture to change the Equality Act to something the law already broadly does. It looks glaringly empty in the worsening cost of living crisis, when an extra 100,000 households will see their mortgages shoot up between now and election day.

Labour seeks to shrug off these diversions as it evades Tory attacks, while methodically staying calm and attempting to stay on message.

And for Rishi Sunak, the woke thing is a tough sell. Voters will not easily be persuaded that Keir Starmer is secretly a snowflake warrior while he talks defence of the realm, nailing down that “triple lock” on nuclear weapons, and promising that nuclear submarines will be built in Barrow. All that tells the electorate is that this party is no longer led by a man who refused to sing the national anthem at a Battle of Britain remembrance service.

Immigration is on Labour’s grid, too, with the plan to bring it down by boosting skills training at home. Forecasters expect it to fall anyway. So Keir the woke warrior? Good luck with that.

It may seem an age already, but voters are not yet concentrating on the election, say the focus-groupers. If you, the reader of political columns, are bored rigid by hearing of Starmer’s toolmaker dad and nurse mum, it remains true that most voters still say they don’t really know him. So, in Tuesday’s TV debate between the leaders, expect Starmer to use every chance to describe himself. Most voters don’t watch prime minister’s questions, so they’ll observe these head-butting duels with a fresh eye. Neither leader floats like a butterfly or stings like a bee, but Starmer usually prevails. Sunak plans to exploit some kind of underdog status, but that too is a tough sell when he is PM, he was chancellor, he is so obviously vulnerable on every flank and so clearly to blame – in full or part – for everything ill-fated in these wretched Tory years.

The runes are being read. Both parties were alarmed by the mighty electoral calculus MRP poll predicting just 66 seats for the Tories. It raised no cheers in the Labour camp, where there is gnawing fear that complacency will stop too many people from bothering to vote, or will give potential Labour voters licence to vote Green. It could also complicate the calculation in “blue wall” seats, where Labour people need to turn out and, as a way to oust the Tories, vote Liberal Democrat.

But that same poll caused flat panic in the Tory camp, where the campaign seems solely focused on stemming the flow of rightwingers to the hardline church of Reform. That panic will heighten after the screeching U-turn on Monday in which Nigel Farage took control of Reform and deigned to run as an MP, hoping it will be eighth time lucky.Sunak and his chancellor beseech elderly voters with wafted pension bribes, and tickle their fancies with absurd plans to force national service on Britain’s young people. Badenoch’s transgender pitch was a ploy to discomfort Labour, but more than that, it was a desperate attempt to head off further defections by those who prefer their extremism full fat rather than semi skimmed.

In many ways, this is the election we expected. But that is not the same thing as saying that – on the evidence so far – this is the election we deserve.

Amid the promises, there needs to be a reality check, not least about the public finances. In the Financial Times last week, the International Monetary Fund exposed the hitherto unmentioned, and unmentionable, gaping £30bn hole awaiting the next chancellor. A field of fiscal landmines has been laid by Jeremy Hunt, with zero expectation he will ever be expected to navigate them. One report suggests he sees a nicer post-election life for himself presenting at Classic FM. So be it: so long as they don’t let him present the financial reports.

Both parties in this election pretend not to hear the voice of Paul Johnson, truth-teller-in-chief at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, who warns that pledges of no new taxes and no spending cuts, while shrinking the national debt, are impossible to fulfil. Labour ignores him for now, promising to clear the backlog of people waiting more than 18 weeks for treatment, and raise employment from 75% to 80%, though Johnson warns “we never got close” to that rate. We need a reality check. We’re getting magical thinking.

Think, too, about all the issues that aren’t being properly addressed in this election yet. Brexit is parked, with Labour keen to avoid accusations of cosying up to the EU, and the Tories desperate to hide from their Brexit failures.

Also missing in action: social care, the plight of the 1.6 million frail people denied the help they need. Both parties bear the scars of Theresa May’s 2017 election plan and Andy Burnham’s 2010 scheme, both of which exploded mid-campaign.

The burning planet should be the burning question but it isn’t, despite Labour rightly making green energy its engine for growth and its prime spending priority. Sunak ditched net zero, warning: “Labour’s decarbonisation proposals will cost £3,297 per household.” That’s Toryism at its most despicable, lying about the need for climate action for no electoral gain. But one way or another, we should be talking about it.

Here we are again, at the pinnacle of our democratic process and yet, again, failing to find a way to grapple honestly with the great issues. Democracy is worshipped, but its potential is eroded and its practitioners reviled. Whose fault is that? MPs or the public? Voters who think they stand aloof from “lying” politicians might ask themselves how much they are to blame for demanding the impossible – Swedish-level public services on US-level tax rates.

I don’t blame Labour for this; it is up against the great Tory lie factory. Always facing that wall of sound from the howling, dominant Tory media – its volume turned up now by GB News. The wonder is that Labour ever gets a hearing, ever wins elections. If it is staying muted now, the process makes that sensible, because discussing difficult dilemmas thoughtfully would do little more than provide ammunition for the enemy. After years in opposition, an election – in this Britain, at this time – is a perilous moment for Labour to seek to reshape the entire way we do politics.

With polls swinging strongly towards a Labour win and a social democratic future, with voters apparently ready to rebel against the devastations of austerity, maybe there is scope for boldness. Maybe Labour should trust polls showing that a majority would pay more tax to revive public services. Maybe it should be more expansive in the knowledge that voters broadly agree with the party over Brexit, tax, social care, poverty, benefits and the climate.

But, with a great victory within grasp and the chance of a different future for this country, is it reasonable to demand that it take that risk?

[team-frightfur]

Obviously, all the Velgearians will come back to life in the end, the alternative is laughably family-unfriendly. But, IMHO, episode 98 was a genuinely well-done and tragic moment. It's got everything, the hero doomed by his own hubris, the broken promise leading to a reneged character arc, the death of a loved one, the darkest hour. It's almost beautiful.

Big dick ass move from Zwijo, but it was a consistent move. This guy has always longed for death (just look at his monsters!) because, to him, eternity was horrifying. Immortality was the ultimate proof of his artificiality, and his artificiality was the ultimate proof of being a 'toy', both in the sense of being a Karutamata, and in the sense of being played with by fate.

It''s implied, for example, that Velgearians have actually repeated their wars over and over and over, with their memories being erased every time they died. This was what Zwijo was so broken by. Remember that part where he tells Kuaidul to "Get out of my head!" I'm fairly sure he wasn't possessed (no green eyes or darkness mon), he was just referring to the psychological torment.

Yudias told him that 'it doesn't matter how we were born' and gave him hope, but, recently, it's been shown beyond a shadow of a doubt that it totally, definitely, definitively matters how you were born. Yudias failed to follow through on the hope he gave Zwijo, so it's natural for Zwijo to return to his old comforts -chasing 'realness/freedom' through death.

(Plus, it mirrors the Velgearian spirit that was embodied by Kuaidul: having fun and rush duelling until the very end).

Ironically, it's highly likely that Yudias is the only Velgearian who won't die. Note that, when he was attacked with the Anti-Karutamata beam, it didn't work. This implies that Zwijo's plan to make him real using earthdamar was a success. Back then, when he said 'it doesn't matter how we were born', he was (unknowingly) speaking from a place of naive privilege. Now, his punishment for that is to be entirely alone for what will feel like an eternity (imagine living a natural lifespan as the last human on earth). Under Zwijo's paradigm, he's the biggest cosmic chew toy of them all. Of course, Zwijo didn't mean it that way, but I think the point still stands.

Again, obviously, all the Velgearians will come back to life in the end, the alternative is way too horrifying to even consider. But this is a well-done, tragic, horrifying moment and I have no clue how Yudias can go on after this. If I were him, I think I may unironically have begun trying to rush duel myself to death.

[bestepisode]

The top 8 episodes from each season will move on to the next round.

Vote on the second half of the season here!

Episode descriptions are under the cut.

Welcome to Republic City

Seventy years after the events concluding Avatar: The Last Airbender, Aang has died and the Order of the White Lotus discovers the new Avatar, Korra, in the Southern Water Tribe. By the age of 17, Korra has mastered the elements of water, earth, and fire, but has not yet been able to airbend. Kept under lock and key by White Lotus for her own protection, she is frustrated by her isolation from the rest of the world, and eagerly anticipates completing her training with Master Tenzin, the son of Katara and Aang, and the only airbending master. However Tenzin also serves on the council of the United Republic (a new fifth nation created by Avatar Aang and Firelord Zuko in the period between the two series) and civil unrest in the capital, Republic City, forces him to postpone her training. Unwilling to live under the strict confines of her life with the White Lotus anymore, Korra absconds from her compound on her massive polar bear-dog Naga and stows away on a vessel bound for Republic City, a bustling and rapidly modernizing capital of world affairs. After a clash with local triads, she is arrested by Lin Beifong, head of Republic City's metalbending police force and the daughter of Toph, until Tenzin bails her out and allows her to stay with him. Meanwhile, antagonist 'Amon' is identified as the leader of the anti-bender "Equalist" movement--the movement's numbers are swiftly swelling due to inequities between benders and non-benders and its extremist militant arm is beginning to kidnap benders whose fates are initially unknown.

A Leaf in the Wind

Frustrated by her continued inability to bend air, Korra visits Republic City's pro-bending arena against Tenzin's wishes. There, she befriends Bolin and Mako, two brothers on the "Fire Ferrets" pro-bending team. Filling in for their absent third member Korra initially suffers due to her inexperience, but wins the match using airbending principles. Tenzin, impressed, allows Korra to stay on the team.

The Revelation

Trying to collect money for their pro-bending fees, Bolin is recruited by the Triple Threat Triads, but they are all abducted by the Equalists. At an Equalist rally, Amon demonstrates his ability to permanently remove the bending powers of the captive gangsters, but Mako and Korra rescue Bolin before Amon can do the same to him.

The Voice in the Night

Republic City Councilman Tarrlok creates a task force to capture Amon, and eventually recruits the reluctant Korra. Mako gains a paramour in Asami Sato, the daughter of industrialist Hiroshi Sato, who sponsors the Fire Ferrets in the competition. After some success on the task force, Korra challenges Amon to a duel. She is ambushed and captured by Equalists, but Amon, not wishing to make her a martyr, does not take away her bending but implies that he will eventually do so. Shortly after, Tenzin finds her, deeply traumatized and terrified as a consequence of the attack.

The Spirit of Competition

Mako courts Hiroshi's daughter, Asami, much to the annoyance of Korra, who spends an evening with Bolin instead. Later, she kisses Mako, upsetting Bolin and the Fire Ferrets' chances in the championship. By the end of the episode, the Fire Ferrets forgive each other and advance to the championship match against the three-time defending champions, the popular and highly arrogant Wolfbats.

And the Winner Is...

Amon threatens to attack the pro-bending arena if the Council does not cancel the championship, but Chief Lin Beifong promises to protect the stadium. The Wolfbats win the match by bribing the referees to ignore foul play. After the match is over, the Equalists, having infiltrated the arena in force, neutralize Chief Beifong's metalbenders using electric gloves, and Amon strips the Wolfbats of their bending abilities before a shocked crowd. Korra and Beifong free themselves and fight the Equalists, but the Equalists escape in an airship and the arena is heavily damaged in the fray.

[pluralsword]

if anyone tells us (again) knowing ourselves as a zoomdare is micro-labelling we would ask them why would I only use word woman for the love for wheels our body aches for and how that is synonymous to us to the love for recreational martial arts or for putting in time to do something communally useful physically or mentally, to a want to soar. its a fine word that can encompass those things if you think about it (or depending on the society or context you come from, it's a given) but its insufficient to us especially since a lot of us come from a framework of sparktion and hearths, not gender.

no one has used the word microlabelling towards us specifically but many times we've been told even for just saying we're polygender or xenogender that terminology being 'so specific' is 'too personal' or 'not what gender is' etc. transmedicalists weaponize anti-xenogender and anti-nonbinary stances to justify bioessentialism. binary trans people who need to hear it from a transfemme juggling more genders and aesthetics than we can name opposing xenogender and nonbinary terminology will not save anyone and only serves to hurt all of us. you need only read the news to see that fascism and other reactionary movements have and will continue to futily try to kill us all.

If anyone weaponizes the above statement against transfemmes consider yourselves challenged to a duel, which for legal reasons since martial duels are illegal in our country (although sparring and recreational combat is not) we will define as showing for one on one moderated online in either FATE 4th Edition or the E20 rule system minus MLP (we are removing the MLP sourcebooks to spare you) for a player character vs. player character duel.

yes the fact the 2024 election is not far off may have something to do with airing this out. like what the fuck are we doing how does it honestly help to take issue with someone having a bunch of terms, as compared to thinking about where the terms come from and if they are appropriated which is a legitimate concern to have. do you know how many enbies have given us the 'why are you so into gender' talk via micro-agressions do you really think nonbinary people having a bunch of terms is the problem and not society vilifying gender expansive people generally for being able to express their personal gender as if prose or poetry or math and especially being hard on transfemmes whether or not we settle for being a conforming gal (and don't get to be) or play around with gender in ways that reject oppositional sexism out of hand all-together come on now.

can we please for the love of fucking gods take a moment to think about how our untreated or not fully resolved traumas combined with not having unlearned the way hierarchies categorize result in lashing out at each other. for fuck's sake. it breaks one of our older headmate's spark and all our souls to hear this kind of thing

[acourtofthought]

I left that anon about Elain and choice, because it’s a genuine barrier for me in getting on board with the elucien ship (when I’d otherwise want to), and I was genuinely interested in your insight, and wasn’t going to reply further.

But, your own reply (and the other anon) kinda reminded me why I don’t really engage with this sort of thing. I never said I was an elriel, or that I’m rooting for Elain and Az - because I’m not. People in these ship wars seem to jump to such extremes… idk how you all endure it for so long, it’s exhausting.

My point is; I personally believe that so much of Elain’s character arc is about choice and agency (echoed by the Blodeuwedd mythology). I’m sure many of you would also agree. Because of this, it just doesn’t seem thematically fitting that Elain would then end up with Lucien. As I said, even if Elain believes she is choosing Lucien - how much of that is of her own free will, or because the Cauldron is telling her to? Fate is the opposite of choice. If everything we do is influenced by fate - or some higher power - that’s not choice.

And sure, it worked for other characters - but those characters seemingly didn’t have the same themes of choice and agency that Elain does (or at least not to the same extent). They weren’t stuck in a love triangle between their mate and another man (with that man asking “what is the Cauldron is wrong?” - quite literally questioning fate), as well as introducing the implications of rejecting the mating bond, the Blood Duel etc. And again, those characters had already established their relationships before the mating bond came into play; it was already clear they had chosen each other - or were soon about to - so the mating bond wasn’t forcing anything.

Which leads me to another point I have; if SJM plans for Elain and Lucien to be endgame, why reveal that they are mates so early on? Why introduce Az as a rival love interest - one of the most popular male characters in the series, beloved by the fandom (so it’s not like a Tamlin vs Rhys situation)? And most of all - Elain is a seer. If she can see into the future, then she’d be able to see her happily ever after with Lucien. So, then why does she avoid him? Why does Elain kiss and pursue Azriel, knowing full well that she’ll end up mated and married to the man who sleeps a mere couple of metres away from her? It just doesn’t add up.

I could potentially see it working if Lucien or Elain reject the bond, and are then sent on some sort of mission together, where they’d start from scratch, form a friendship (without the influence of the mating bond), and realise they truly love each other. Then you’d have an interesting story line about trying to get the mating bond back - or deciding you don’t need it at all. But that’s just my take on it.

It's interesting that you're making comments about others engaging in ship wars but you're doing the exact same thing with your Anons. Being anti a ship for whatever reason is still engaging in ship wars because you've taken quite a bit of time and put quite a bit a thought into why you don't think a ship will happen.

It's also interesting that you claim you have no interest in ship wars yet you come to a page that you know is 100% Pro Elucien and try to start a debate.

I'm open to debate that's not the problem. But don't climb up on that high horse and act like you're above it all while doing the exact opposite.

And you say you're not Pro E/riel but you realize Elain is ending up with someone right? These are romance books, it is confirmed Elain will get a book and that it will be a traditional romance so if you're not Pro E/riel or Pro Elucien then I'm a bit confused. Maybe you want a new love interest for her? I'm sorry if I assumed you're Pro E/riel but I have to say your Anons seem like you lean that way. And I definitely didn't get the impression you were interested in my insight regarding Elain and choice since you have to know how much I believe Lucien is still a choice whereas it's clear you don't.

Also, Elain's powers don't work the way you're claiming. She doesn't have clear visions and she doesn't decide what she gets to see. Otherwise she would have been able to tell Feyre and Nesta, "be prepared because you're going to be attacked in the library" or she could have easily looked into the future and seen whether they would win the war. Or she could have insisted her vision tell her where Koschei hides his soul. So no, I don't think she knows with any sort of certainty what her future with Lucien holds. If anything, she's had a flash of a vision that remains unclear.

I disagree that Elain's character is any more about choice or agency than any other FMC of an SJM novel. They all start fighting against what fate had in store for them and they grew into what was always meant to be but after the heroine accepted it because it's what she decided she wanted. Not because she was forced into it.

And Elain isn't stuck in a love triangle. She wanted Graysen and was rejected by Graysen but not yet over him. He is who she loved and had not yet recovered from when she fell into a minor crush with Az.

It is canon that Elain was not over Graysen in ACOFAS. She still silently mourned him and wanted a HUMAN MAN. Cue Az who she doesn't have a bond with, therefore has no strings attached. Az who looks decidedly HUMAN without his shadows and rounded ears (which Feyre notes) and whose shadows tend to disappear around Elain. I mean, I'm not a rocket scientist or anything but that math seems to math to me.

She developed a crush on Az because it's a distraction to the real things she's still not over.

That's not a love triangle, that's Elain not being ready to face the hard truths and really let go of her past.

Not to mention whatever she was willing to start with Az (which is not love, they had barely spoken and only shared a few glances as of late and were about to have a first kiss - again, not love) she walked away from considering he told her they were a mistake and she made the decision to return his gift to him versus her refusal to return her ring to Graysen.

Whatever was going on with Az was for the wrong reasons but that's ok because she's getting used to this new world and trying to decide what she wants and where she belongs.

But there's no love triangle right now because Lucien isn't involved. She hasn't been ready to truly get to know him but that doesn't mean it can't change in her book. And that statement right there PROVES she's had a choice. She has made the choice to ignore the bond right now. She could continue making the choice to ignore the bond for the rest of her life. However, she could also MAKE THE CHOICE to try and get to know Lucien to see what she thinks of him. Right now, the bond has no sway over her decisions which means if she gets to know Lucien, it's not going to be because the bond made her. I can be physically attracted to another person (without making the conscious decision to be) but I still have a choice in whether I actually hook up with them or get to know them. As I'm married, I'm obviously not going to do that but being drawn to something, whether through basic chemistry and biology or a mother blessed mating bond doesn't take away my ability to make decisions for myself. And that seems to be the problem with anyone who wants to cry that the bond takes away Elain's choice. She may not necessarily be able to help being physically drawn to Lucien but her mind is still her own. She can still choose what to do with that draw and right now she's proving to herself that she does have control over not giving into it. Which means if / when she gets to know Lucien it will be her brain making that decision.

"Which leads me to another point I have; if SJM plans for Elain and Lucien to be endgame, why reveal that they are mates so early on? Why introduce Az as a rival love interest - one of the most popular male characters in the series, beloved by the fandom (so it’s not like a Tamlin vs Rhys situation)"

A. I hate to tell you but Az is acting toward Elain exactly like Tamlin initially did with Feyre so you mentioning that to me wasn't helping your case. And he's not questioning Fate because he loves Elain. He's questioning Fate because he's jealous Lucien is breaking up the "brothers." His two brothers got sister mates and he got left out. That's ALL Azriel is focusing on. If it was love, he wouldn't care if he had a mating bond with Elain, his POV would have been spent talking about how charming Elain is (which he said about Gwyn), how much different she is since he first met her after her trauma (which he said about Gwyn), how proud he is of her standing up to Nesta or how she makes him laugh, maybe something about how Elain saved his best friend in the war. But there's none of that. He's put out because he can't understand why Lucien got something and he didn't. It has NOTHING to do with Elain as an individual and everything to do with Az being salty he was the last kid picked for dodgeball.

B. Az is not a rival love interest, he's a rebound, as I've stated above. Az and Elain aren't real with one another, they aren't open, they don't have the difficult conversations. He can't even confirm that he's over Mor to his friend of 500 years so I think it's pretty obvious Elain and Az are in denial and they just naturally used one another to avoid their problems. And it doesn't matter what near kiss they almost shared (between two main characters) because it will never be the thing Az needs to really move forward from. Az and Elain are a blip compared to his past with Mor and Elain is probably not even staying in the NC so there's no lasting drama there. An almost kiss means they can still revert to a friendship, no harm done. If Cassian can sleep with Mor than later say she's like a sister, I'm not worried about a lasting conflict between Elain and Az.

C. If SJM planned for Elucien to be endgame, why reveal they're mates so early on?

2016:

2017:

When did Silver Flames come out again? Oh that's right, 2021.

SJM announced all the way back in 2016 that the moment Nesta and Cassian sat down together, she knew they were endgame, even decided where they'd vacation yet in ACOFAS, she wrote this:

I mean gosh, why would SJM have ever told us Nessian was a sure thing so early on only to have her sleep with other males and tell Cassian she wants no part of him, his friends, or his life?

I'm sorry but every point you bring up has a valid counter argument considering she confirmed Elucien and Nessian all the way back in 2016 yet both sisters had a "thing" with other males after that and the one that got a book still ended up with Cassian as SJM originally planned. Elain and Nesta may handle things differently because of their personalities but it boils down to the same thing. Fate placed them in the paths of their Mates and they fought like hell against it. But that doesn't mean they can't decide it's what they do want in the end (for the right reasons which is WHO their Mate is as an individual and not JUST because they're Mates).

It doesn't matter how early SJM told us they were Mates because she was still planning on creating obstacles that led to a "will they, won't they?" Because she has half the fandom wondering if she changed her mind and the other half seeing the clues as to how they'll work out and why E/riel isn't a real love possibility.

Fate is not the opposite of choice. Fate is where life leads you and you decide what you're going to do with it.

I don't even live in New York but I met my husband there on New Years Eve, the busiest time of the year, while I was dating someone else.

Within an hour, I knew what a real relationship was supposed to feel like, went home and immediately broke up with my ex.

My husband and I have now been together since January, 2011.

I believe that was Fated. Had I been too scared to take a chance on someone who lived out of state, I may have missed out on this wonderful life I have.

It was still MY choice to accept where Fate led me just as it is still Elain's choice to accept or not accept the person Fate placed in front of her.

She's not ready because she lost something immeasurable when she was Made but when / if she is, it will be because SHE decides to accept Lucien. Not because anyone says she has to, not even Fate. Fate is not saying "I demand you be with Lucien else I will rain destruction upon your family!" All Fate did was say, "I believe this person is your match, do with it what you will". It's no different than a friend trying to set you up with someone they feel would be perfect for you.

Elain experienced some serious traumas and any reader who wants to focus on why she's not making decisions on her bond right now or thinking she's in any place to fall in love with Az is not allowing her to heal in a healthy way. She needs to grow into herself before getting to know Lucien and sure, maybe that growing includes nearly making out with a broody bat boy who isn't remotely close to having his shit together but, that's ok. It's all leading to her finally finding where she belongs and what she wants once she's in the right frame of mind to make those decisions.

SJM is a Fated Mates author so if you dislike the trope, that's your prerogitive, but you may want to look elsewhere for your reading material.

I personally think knowing Lucien is her Mate creates more of a choice than Feyre had with Rhys. Sure Feyre became friends with him but she tells us she was drawn to him even while with Tamlin. She had no idea why that was which means she fell for Rhys without the full picture of what was driving that. At least Elain will have the opportunity to really sift through what she's feeling and decide how much of it comes from instinct over her own heart.