#Even Gerald showed that Maria died

[welcome-to-green-hills]

This is in response to the tags of one of your previous answered asks- I also am baffled as to why ppl keep complaining that Maria's death was "not violent enough" in the movie. It's kinda on the same level as ppl cheering her death in theaters for me. What is even the need? To show that "kids movies can deal with heavy themes" like death? As if there aren't a whole bunch of other kids movies that haven't had heavy issues?? (Lion King, HTTYD, any Miyazaki movie, etc) The constant salivating of ppl for seeing a kids death on full graphic detail on screen is both annoying and very much uncomfortable at this point 🤢

I agree, my dear. Some of the things that have been sent to me since September (yes I’m counting when I gave breadcrumbs) have left me very concerned. I shouldn’t have to see people complain about the death of a little girl “not being violent enough” in a PG movie.

It just… worries the hell outta me.

[sonknuxadow]

my honest reaction

[jazbell]

.

hm well i didnt really like sonic 3. but feminism did win in the end so.

[comicaurora]

hi red!! just listened to the newest episode of the ospod and i have one question: did you and magenta enjoy sonic three??

TREMENDOUSLY

(spoilers below)

Maria playing a soft acoustic cover of Live And Learn on the guitar was Incredible

We both lost it when Sonic looked directly at the camera and quoted "talk about a low-budget flight!" word for word

Almost every Sonic vs Shadow scene in the trailer was from the very first action scene in the movie, which was absolutely the way to do it. They didn't spoil anything important AND they didn't drag out the opener.

That first action scene was KILLER. They hit every single beat they needed to establish exactly who Shadow was.

The pacing overall was fantastic. When Blue and I watched sonic 1 and 2, we concluded that sonic 2 had More Fun Stuff, but sonic 1 was far more tightly paced. I think sonic 3 got back to the pacing of sonic 1 - not an ounce of fat on there.

CHAO GARDEN TOURIST TRAP

Magenta called the movie cowards for not letting the GUN soldier actually shoot Maria

Extremely elegant way to take Tom and the ancillary humans out of commission and motivate Sonic to have his obligatory "I must go alone and Take Vengeance" darkest hour, BUT I really respected how they let Knuckles choose to back off and trust him, even if narratively we know Sonic is making the wrong choice. My boy Knux got a shockingly good showing this movie, considering all he really had to do was get worf'd to prove how badass Shadow is. They do some careful work making sure he still feels like a powerhouse even though he's outclassed by both super hedgehogs.

Making Shadow's motivation in this movie raw, fresh, suicidal grief was absolutely the right call, because that makes this whole Destroy The Earth thing the equivalent of an extremely understandable but short-lived temper tantrum caused by "from my POV my best friend died in my arms like YESTERDAY" and that means it feels like he could conceivably be talked out of with a little empathy and compassion, which is exactly what Sonic gives him, after the COOLEST FUCKING FIGHT SCENE I'VE EVER SEEN

This Sonic is cleanly growing from a good-hearted kid into exactly the kind of relentlessly compassionate paragon hero they're portraying him as in the IDW comics and it is Rad As Hell

And on the flip side, making Gerald's villain motivation slow and calculated and locked in over the course of fifty deliberate years was a very clever way to convince us that Shadow just needed kindness and a good example, but Gerald had made his choice and could absolutely not be redeemed.

"You're no Maria" is cold as ice and I'm still thinking about it days later

everyone's acting like Robotnik's dead but my man was wearing a nanotech suit that could turn into anything like if they want him back he'll be back

excited for Shadow to just Turn Up at some point in the future during a risky fight scene and for literally only Sonic to be happy to see him, As Their Dynamic Should Be

Magenta really likes Metal Sonic as a character so hopefully he's not just relegated to Interchangeable Army Of Minions status forever

A M Y

I predict that in Sonic 4 we will get Silver as the main first-half-of-the-movie misled villain and Shadow WILL reintroduce himself into the plot by kicking Silver in the back of the head and I WILL lose my mind

[lyricthecat-12]

Archie Sonadow is the most unfairly underrated version of the ship

A while back, I did a poll to decide which was the most underrated version of Sonadow across different media, and since the public has had their say, I'm now going to offer my own take and explain why from Archieverse Pre-SGW version is so good and deserves much more recognition.

The beginning of their relationship is practically the same that in the video games: Shadow is accidentally awakened by Eggman and decides to carry out his creator's revenge against the world for killing Maria. Sonic is mistaken for the black hedgehog and is chased, which leads them both to have a series of confrontations until they reach the ARK Space Colony. There is a curious change here; since in the comic universe, Amy was involved in another separate story while the conflict was taking place, she was absent during these events but, according to Shadow's own words some time later, Sonic made him see the light, interpreting that he made him change her mind and since Rouge fulfilled exactly her same participation by broadcasting Gerald's video, it could be interpreted that in this universe it was Sonic who made Shadow remember Maria and finally pushed him towards the heroic side. Something like what happened years later in the third movie. (STH 98#, STH 124# & SU 2#)

After this, Shadow sacrificed himself and also lost his memory when he hit Mobius. From here the events differ from the games, in this version Shadow falls and is found by Sonic and the Freedom Fighters, showing himself hostile at first due to his confusion, although soon after he ended up allying with them to face a greater threat, the Alien race known as The Xorda who also planned to destroy the world in an act of revenge, which ends up being stopped with Sonic's sacrifice and disappearance that leaves everyone shocked, including the black hedgehog, because it was thought that the blue hedgehog had died saving the world until his eventual return issues later (STH 124 # & 125 #)

It's curious how, despite not remembering it clearly, Shadow during this stage showed a certain appreciation for Sonic, admitting that he is a being different from any other he has ever met. Of course, that didn't prevent them from continuing to have confrontations in their following encounters but over time, Shadow began to gain confidence in Sonic and was willing to collaborate when the situation required it. (STH 146-149# and STH 157-159#)

Meanwhile Sonic, despite their previous battles, never believed Shadow to be evil, even in the brief time where he was working with Eggman for the second time, and was sure that he would eventually do the right thing. And when that happened, Sonic supported him and helped him without hesitation to discover the truth behind his origins. (STH 160# &STH 170-171#)

After this point, Shadow became an increasingly notable ally, occasionally appearing and helping the heroes when needed, over time developing a respect and even appreciation for those who helped him become who he is today, obviously including Sonic between them.

Throughout this continuity, the relationship between the two hedgehogs had a long but natural and well-carried development, going from rivals and occasional allies to gradually forming a bond of companionship where, even if their ideals remain disparate, they have generated a mutual respect for each other and a great synergy in battle. Which is spectacularly represented in the last issue where the two interacted within this continuity, in the Sonic Universe 2#.

And is for all of this that I think Archie Sonadow deserves more love, because I dare say that it is one of the best and most complete versions of their relationship.

[blackenedsnow]

IT'S ME AGAIN DON'T ASK WHY AM I HERE AGAIN?!?! I LOVED THE WAY YOU WRITE LIKE OMG?!?? I HAVE 3 IDEAS TODAY YOU CAN CHOOSE ONE OF THEM, OR YOU CAN CHOOSE ONE AND THEN WRITE IT DOWN, YOU CAN DO THE OTHER. IT'S ALL UP TO YOU!!

1-Do you remember the song Guess by Charli XCX and Billie Eillish in Collab? Yes, I have a request for it sooo reader we're so popular singer and shadow was her bodyguard he was her protection yk what I mean who hung out together all the time when they're alone anyway one day at a concert of hers when a group of guys tried to attack the people at the concert and tried to attack her and what was she going to do when shadow wasn't there, she couldn't run away because there were already a lot of people wounded, and suddenly a sword stabbed in behind her, and at that very moment shadow come to the shooting concert..but he was too late. (The man who stabbed reader was sonic and his team btw)

2-yk the comic the hungry hero which is sonic? Okay, I have an excellent second opinion because you can't convince me, that sonic was constantly eating human flesh, especially after Tails died, but after meeting the reader, his desire to eat human flesh increased his desire to eat meat for some reason..was he falling in love with her? but it couldn't have been possible! he couldn't have fallen in love with anyone! He changed his mind until the reader found herself eating human flesh in his house when he intived her and he fell even more in love.

3- Reader and shadow were created for Maria, but Professor Gerald had never paid attention to the reader,maria couldn't convince her grandfather to make reader spend time with her, but the reader was kept in the big glass all the time, and shadow cast doubt on that, After Maria's death, the reader had finally been freed by GUN, she had attack the city which is sonics team and shadow. She had begun to attack the city where the rain and thunder did not stop in the sky...But the color of the sky was mixed with purple and black. Finally, the reader showed herself on top of a large building.. pale skin, purple eyes with light blue pupils, and long, dark violet hair that becomes lighter at the ends,she also has a beauty mark below her right eye.. (The reader a game character named raiden shogun by genshin impact) she said "Inactivity serves no purpose whatsoever." sonics team tried to talk to her but not q moment later they found themselves a dark domain and she was the owner of that domain, she Said "we meet again,shadow." Would he be able to convince her?

project Raiden Ei,her purpose was make people feel safe and loved, after marias death..project failed to save the people and her beloved sister.

forgotten project

WARNING: Violence, emotional conflict, hurt/comfort

PAIRING: Shadow the Hedgehog x Raiden Shogun!Reader

NOTE: You again!! I absolutely love your ideas—thank you so much for trusting me with them again! As for your requests, I’m not super familiar with the first two (though they sound amazing!), but since I’m somewhat familiar with Genshin, I’ll go with the third idea. I know this isn't what you asked for, but instead of "Raiden" I made the reader Y/N. That way if anyone wants to self insert they can. But all of reader describes Raiden!!

SUMMARY: After Maria’s death, you, a forgotten project created alongside Shadow, are freed and seek revenge on the world that failed you. As you lay waste to the city, Shadow steps in, hoping to remind you of your true purpose before it’s too late.

The sky above the city churned violently, dark clouds swirling as rain lashed against the streets below. Thunder boomed in the distance, shaking the windows of the few standing buildings, while purple lightning split the heavens with terrifying force. Chaos reigned in every corner of the city, and in the center of it all stood a figure—cold, unmoved by the destruction that unfolded around her.

You stood on top of the tallest building, the storm your perfect companion as you watched the streets below. Your hair billowed in the wind, the tips glowing faintly as they lightened in color. Your eyes scanned the city as if searching for something—or someone.

“Inactivity serves no purpose whatsoever,” you muttered to yourself, your voice calm despite the chaos. You weren’t here to cause destruction for its own sake, after all. Your purpose was clear: make the people feel safe and loved. But after Maria’s death, that purpose had become twisted, lost in the storm of grief and confusion that overtook you. Your project—your existence—had failed.

And now, you were ready to make them all pay.

Far below, Sonic’s team had gathered, the weight of your presence pressing down on them like a physical force. They’d been trying to contain the damage for hours, but it was clear that this wasn’t just an ordinary disaster.

“What do we do?” Knuckles muttered, scanning the sky as another bolt of lightning flashed overhead. “Who is she?”

Tails shook his head, his eyes wide with worry. “I don’t know, but she’s powerful. We’ve got to find a way to stop her before the entire city gets leveled.”

Shadow stood a little apart from the others, his expression unreadable as he stared up at the building where you stood. Unlike the others, he recognized you immediately, even after all these years. His heart clenched in his chest as memories flooded his mind—memories of you trapped in that glass, forgotten and left behind while he was free to roam the ARK with Maria.

You were a project, just like him. Created for Maria, meant to serve the same purpose: protecting her, keeping those on the ARK safe, loved. But Professor Gerald had never given you the same attention, never let you experience the world outside of that containment. Maria had begged her grandfather to let you out, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.

After her death, everything had fallen apart. Shadow had been freed by GUN, but you—had remained trapped, your potential left to fester in the dark.

Until now.

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were still trying to reason with you. Sonic stepped forward, holding up a hand, his usual cocky grin tempered with caution. “Hey, look, we get it. You’re upset, but wrecking the city isn’t going to bring anyone back. We can help—”

He didn’t get to finish. The moment Sonic spoke, the entire world around them shifted. The bright city streets, the wreckage, even the rain—all of it was swallowed in darkness. The sky above became a swirling void of black and purple, and the ground beneath their feet felt unreal, like they were standing on the edge of an abyss.

They were in your domain now.

You stood before them, your form as solid as the storm, yet otherworldly in the way you seemed to command the very space around her. You raised a hand, and the air itself trembled with power. “We meet again, Shadow.”

Your voice was colder now, distant, as though you were speaking not just to him, but to the shadow of a past you had long left behind. Shadow stepped forward from the group, his crimson eyes locked on hers. Memories of the ARK flashed through his mind—of Maria, of the years spent protecting her. But you had been kept from all of that, trapped in isolation, your purpose unfulfilled.

And now, here you stood, the embodiment of a failed dream.

“Y/N…” Shadow’s voice was steady, though tension rippled through him. He could feel the power you held, and it was vast—far more than anything he had imagined. “What are you doing? You weren't created to destroy.”

Your gaze narrowed slightly, the storm above rumbling in response. “You speak of purpose as though you understand it, Shadow. But you—just like me—were created to serve. To be a tool. And like me, you were cast aside when you no longer served a purpose.”

Shadow clenched his fists. “That’s not true. Maria—”

“Maria is dead!” Yourr voice cut through the air like a blade, and the entire domain around them shuddered. “I was meant to keep the ARK safe, just as you were. But Professor Gerald never allowed it. I was left to watch from behind glass as you, the favored creation, failed everybody.”

The weight of your words hung in the air, heavy with grief and fury. For so long, you had been nothing but a failed experiment, a project abandoned after the one you were meant to protect was taken from you. And now, in your eyes, the world had to pay for that failure.

Shadow stepped forward, undeterred by the crackling energy that surrounded her. “I didn't fail her. I understand your anger. I understand the loss. But this… this isn’t what Maria would have wanted.”

Your eyes flashed, your hand raising as a bolt of lightning struck the ground between them. The force sent the others reeling, but Shadow stood firm. “I didn't even know Maria as well as you did.,” you hissed, your voice low and dangerous. “You were given the chance to be with her. I was left to rot in that glass prison.”

“I’m not the one you’re angry at,” Shadow said, his voice softening. “It’s not me. It’s not this world. It’s the people who kept us apart. You’re lashing out because you’ve been hurt, but you don’t have to keep doing this.”

Your expression faltered, just for a moment, before the steel returned to your eyes. “It’s too late for that. There’s nothing left for me now. Nothing except this… this power, and the destruction it brings.”

But as you spoke, there was a flicker of doubt in your gaze. Shadow knew that beneath the fury, the pain still lingered. He took a step closer, his voice low. “You don’t have to be alone anymore. I couldn’t save Maria. But maybe I can save you.”

For a long moment, you stood still, your eyes locked on his. The storm above raged on, the dark domain around them swirling with tension, but there was a shift in the air. The anger that had fueled your destruction began to waver, and for the first time, Shadow saw something other than fury in your eyes.

He saw fear. Fear of being alone. Fear of failing again.

And in that moment, something broke.

You lowered you hand, the power that had been crackling around you slowly dissipating. The storm above began to calm, and the purple and black sky started to fade into a dull gray. The domain, you domain, began to unravel, and the familiar cityscape of rain-soaked streets around them.

But you didn’t move. You stood there, your eyes staring at Shadow, as if searching for something—something you hadn’t found in years. “What am I supposed to do now?” you whispered, your voice barely audible over the sound of the rain.

Shadow stepped forward, closing the distance between you. “We can figure that out together. You don’t have to carry this alone anymore.”

The others—Sonic, Tails, Knuckles—watched in silence as the tension in the air finally broke. You, the weapon once created to protect, stood before Shadow, your power still immense but no longer driven by rage. And as the storm slowly died, there was a sense of quiet between you, as though the two of you had finally found some measure of understanding.

For the first time since the fall of the ARK, You weren't alone.

[lara-cairncross]

Sonic related question - What were your thoughts on the 3rd movie aka WAS I THE ONLY ONE LEFT IN EMOTIONAL SHAMBLES???

Also fanart possibly??? 🙏🙏🙏 I adore your art

can confirm that you are not, in fact, the only one left in emotional shambles. i don't think Shadow has left my mind for longer than ten minutes at a time since i first saw that movie a month ago bro

apologies in advance, this is gonna be a long read:

shadow did nothing wrong and i WILL excuse his every action at a level previously only witnessed in delusional dream apologists. i will defend him on my deathbed idgaf who cares if he killed people!!! he was having a bad day 🥺🥺🥺

no but actually. i have so many things to say about this. like, do we realize that before Gerald instigated the whole revenge plot, Shadow made no move to hurt or attack anyone that wasn't trying to hurt him first??? when he first woke up, he only attacked the GUN soldiers that were actively pointing weapons at him, but left the two guys up in the command station alone. when he was in Tokyo, he was surrounded by people and lights and cars and was probably really disoriented, but didnt attack ANYTHING until GUN showed up with tanks and guns pointed at him-- and even then he tried to tell them to just leave him alone before the fight started. when Team Sonic first showed up, he again literally just told them to LEAVE HIM ALONE even though they came from GUN, and only fought back after Knuckles attacked him first. even after his escape, all he did was try to return to his home!!! HE DIDNT WANT TO HURT ANYONE UNTIL THEY CAME FOR HIM FIRST!!! HES A GOOD BOY IDC WHAT ANYONE TELLS ME !!!!

and even with the revenge plot-- like, of COURSE Shadow was gonna do what Gerald said??? obviously he had a choice in the matter, but Gerald was also his one remaining link to both Maria and his past home, and he probably spent his whole life in the laboratory doing whatever Gerald told him to do. like, that's a fifteen year old who's sister just died, and the one person who's passed as a father figure/authority figure to him for his entire life is telling him to get revenge on the people who killed her. no SHIT he was gonna do what Gerald told him to. ik its speculation on my part but you cant convince me he wasn't conditioned into following orders in that lab like im sorry

EVEN WITH ALMOST KILLING TOM-- like ofc Sonic was rightfully mad, and I do think shadow needed to get sucker-punched to the moon for that one lmao i love Tom too much to see him go. but also, Shadow wasn't really attacking Tom-- he was attacking Walters. Like, the guy who let his sister die and then locked him away for 50 years. i feel like that's a slightly understandable reason to want somebody dead lmao

in short i wasnt lying when i said i would defend everything Shadow does AHSHDHAHDH. the one thing i am NOT happy about is Shadow leaving Stone behind when the crab got swept away, but he probably figured they'd all be dead in 24 hours, so like. efficiency? idk idk Stone will probably forgive him after he adopts him soooooooooooooo

okay enough of that. knuckles is my second favorite character in the movies behind shadow. hes so fucking funny but surprisingly emotionally mature and i love him SO MUCH. that scene where he's on the brink of fighting with sonic over the master emerald but calms himself down to prevent in-fighting??? saving sonic and tails' asses at the end??? thats my BOY my SON he did SO GOOD AUGHHHHHH im a sucker for older siblings acting like shields (Rise Raph, Vi from Arcane, etc) and Knuckles is just the latest addition to my collection of Eldest Daughter Syndromes

adding onto that kinda, i really liked how they used tails and knuckles in this movie :DD i was scared they'd kinda get shoved aside but NO!!! they both had great moments!!!! GOOD STORYTELLING HOLY SHIT I FORGOT HOLLYWOOD COULD DO THAT

ALSO the human characters continue to surprise me with how much i care about them lol, i wasnt as big on it in the second movie but i think thats cuz tom and maddie were separated from sonic most of the time that the focus was on them?? but in this movie, whenever tom and maddie were on screen they were usually WITH the boys or talking to them somehow, so i think i liked it better that way!!! they're both such good parents!!!! AND DONT GET ME STARTED ON STONE AND ROBOTNIK. GOD DAMN IT.

we need more Ozzie content overall. where is the good boy. i barely saw him

the shadow and maria moments were so well done and hit a lot of emotional beats for being such a short chunk of the film??? like they didn't have a ton of screentime together, but what they did have was PACKED. im an older sibling to a little brother and sibling relationships in media hit me so hard bro. i actually saw it with him in theaters the first two times i went and i was tearing up at maria and shadow's scenes together every time :(((( ark siblings you are so important to me !!! I NEED TO DRAW THEM

tbh i would've liked less of the Robotniks' shenanigans and a bit more of Shadow's backstory? i really enjoyed a lot of the Ivo and Gerald scenes, but it was starting to get a little old for me by the end, especially with some of the cutaways from the MAIN CHARACTERS. idk i just would've liked more shadow in the movie,,,, about shadow,,,,,, but also im biased so maybe its actually fine LMAO

That being said. i fucking LOVED ivo in this movie!!! PEAK EGGMAN BEHAVIOR OMG OMG OMG AND HIM SACRIFICING HIMSELF AT THE END??? AND THE FUCKING. DOOMED YAOI. STOBOTNIK YOU ARE SO IMPORTANT TO ME I NEED TO DRAW THEM SO BADLY I CANT WAIT ANYMORE IVE SEEN TOO MANY TIKTOK EDITS THAT REBOOTED MY BRAIN CHEMISTRY

having Live and Learn being a reoccurring motif was a galaxy brain creative decision and i applaud whoever did it

I LOVED the coloring they did for Super Shadow-- like, the rosey gold/platinum color??? PHENOMENALLLLLL IT WORKS SO WELL ON HIM!!!! I don't like Sonic's bright fucking yellow gold coloring as much, but I also dont think the model was as bad as everyone seems to think it was???? i dont know enough about it tho lol, in my eyes they both worked really well for the Super scenes :DDD

the moon scene . need i say more

also can we talk about how Shadow is like. blatantly suicidal. can we talk about that. does anybody want to share some thoughts about that. and maybe scream into a pillow. and have a crying session together. like i know *I* was suicidal at 15 but Shadow doesn't deserve that come on now

Sonic was great as always but -50 aura points for the second-hand embarrassment I felt every time "Konichi-WHAAAAAAAA" came up on screen oh my god i had to hide my face behind my fucking popcorn bag whenever that scene happened i couldnt handle it. my brother keeps saying it at random points during the day now because he knows it pisses me off. and its sonic's fault. ik hes supposed to be a cringe teenager but i do want to dropkick him occasionally /affectionate

tails is baby. tails is baby boy. i liked it when he flushed the crab. baby boy. did nothing wrong.

everytime i see a screenshot of shadow and his stupid wet-cat-kicked-puppy face i want to SCREAM. HOW DID THEY MAKE HIM SO CUTE. LIKE HIS MODEL IS GENUINELY PERFECT I CANT THINK OF ANY IMPROVEMENTS THEY COULD'VE MADE HE LOOKS COOL BUT CUTE BUT SAD BUT ANGRY ALL AT THE SAME TIME!!!!!! HES MY BABY AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH I HOPE HE SHOWS UP IN THE FOURTH MOVIE I HOPE SOMEBODY (coughs stone coughs) ADOPTS HIM AND GIVES HIM A HOME I JUST WANT HIM TO BE HAPPY BRO

where the fuck did the chaos emeralds go. im kinda hoping shadow fell to earth with them, cuz that could lead to a possible plot with knuckles (or the whole team) having to recover them and running into him again :D

definitely my favorite sonic movie out of the current trilogy!!! it definitely wasn't perfect tho, and i dont think it's the masterpiece everyone makes it out to be-- like, there were definitely some issues I had with the writing at various points, and sometimes the pacing felt off? I do think it should've been like, at least 10-20 minutes longer, especially with the cut scenes that have been released. Stone pulling Ivo out of the wreckage SHOULD have stayed in!!! I dunno why they removed it!!! that being said, i LOVED IT and it's the movie that's gotten me obsessed with the Sonic franchise, so in my mind it's now one of my favs :DDD PLUS I SAW IT WITH MY LITTLE BROTHER AND HE LOVED IT AND WE HAD SO MUCH FUN SO NOW ITS JUST A GIANT HAPPY FEELING IN MY BRAIN WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT IT RAHHHHHH

anyway. Gabriella should kill them both

fanart wise-- dude im cooking up so much i promise. tbh the biggest issue is that i have so many ideas and so many WIPS that im just pingponging between them all and not actually finishing anything LMAO

[edgy-ella]

The Sonic 3 trailer finally dropped!

You better believe I was ready

Here are my thoughts from watching the trailer:

First thing that jumped out at me is the GUN commander hiring Sonic to take down Shadow. Looks like they’re not doing the mistaken identity/framing Sonic subplot. Sonic saying ACAB (his win quote against the first boss in SA2 is literally him sarcastically saying “Hey GUN! Take care!”) was probably too edgy for a family friendly Paramount movie. Sadly, this means we’re probably not going to get a proper City Escape scene. Best I can see happening is Shadow driving The Truck™, which, to the movie’s credit, he does do in IDW.

Shadow looks like he breaks himself out of Prison Island rather than being freed by Eggman. More on that in a bit.

There’s this shot here, where Shadow and Gerald(?) sit crouched over something in a burning hellscape with military/GUN soldiers approaching them. If this is a flashback, my guess this is where Maria dies. She takes a bomb instead of a bullet.

Shadow just starts blowing up shit in Tokyo? Okay. His original motive in SA2 was to collect the Chaos Emeralds and “fire” the Eclipse Cannon (actually send it hurtling towards the earth), but with the new lore the movies gave the emeralds, I have a feeling that won’t be the case here. I’m curious to see what Shadow’s goals here actually are—I remember hearing someone on Twitter say something about “finding Maria,” but Shadow buddy you’re not going to find her by blowing up Shinjuku!

Admittedly Shadow’s skating animation looks really cool. Keanu sounds fine as him, even if we only get to hear him say one line (this was the same case for Knuckles in Sonic 2’s trailer).

Eggman. What the hell’s going on with Eggman. It looks like Sonic and co. actively seek him out for help taking down Shadow rather than Shadow and Eggman staying on the same team for most of the story. My guess is that this won’t happen after like, Shadow beats them up so badly they need to ask him for help—I assume they come to him wanting to learn more about Gerald and Maria. Still, I can’t deny this is a weird direction to take him for this story.

Even weirder than that: Gerald! Turns out Gerald is still alive, flesh and blood. He’s also played by Jim Carrey. He also gives Eggman a hug, proving he’s not a hologram or ghost.

Shadow gets to ride his bike!!!! Yay!!!! I’ve said it before but bike shadow is way cooler than gun Shadow. He even gets to do the Akira bike slide

I’m sorry but this orchestral cover of Live and Learn does NOT do it for me. Put some rock in your movie, cowards.

Notable omissions: Rouge, Amy, Biolizard. Black Doom can’t show up because Paramount legally can’t pull from Shadow 05 for the movies as per their contract.

That’s all I got for now, but I’m sure I’ll be posting extensively about this in the near future.

[official-sonic-team]

sonic movie 3 review

okay let’s discuss the major changes they made in this movie

gerald is alive and well: instead of execution, gerald was simply imprisoned for the past 50 years. he’s 110 and they don’t explain why he’s still alive. assumingly it’s because of shadow’s quill but they don’t actually explain it. he manages to vie for freedom by completeing the eclipse canon schematics for GUN to build. but gerald is very much alive and a very large, active player in this movie

Maria’s death: a GUN soldier does not shoot her. an accident during the shut down of the project shadow causes chaos energy to explode. maria is killed in the explosion. gerald, who was in the blast and roughly the same distance as maria, inexplicably lives. they don’t explain that. but the takeaway is 1) maria dies from an accident 2) she doesn’t even die trying to save shadow. worth noting there’s also no “sayonara shadow the hedgehog”

shadows backstory: shadow was NOT created by Gerald robotnik. a meteor crashed into earth and he was inside. the scientists were researching him as a power source. he is again 1) not created by Gerald 2) NOT a cure for maria. maria probably isn’t even sick they make no reference to it gerald just likes having her around apparently

the final story: ok where to start. 1) there is no space colony ark. shadow and maria and gerald are in some sort of underground military base and that’s where every thing happened- no ark. 2) there is NO biolizard/final hazard. he’s referenced one time as a Godzilla rip off and that’s it since gerald don’t make shadow. 3) the big final issue is that gerald set the eclipse cannon to destroy earth. Sonic and shadow manage to divert the cannon fire. however, the eclipse cannon’s power core becomes destabilized and if it blows, it’ll decimate the atmosphere of earth. Sonic fell from space during them pushing the laser away from the earth so shadow is the one who pushes the eclipse cannon far away from earth while eggman stabilized it long enough for shadow to do that. the cannon blows up and eggman and shadow are presumed dead.

there is no chaos control: shadow uses it like a handful of times during the initial team sonic fight and then it’s not really used ever again. they don’t chaos control the eclipse cannon they just push it around. no fake emerald either.

the moon being destroyed: is an accident. while they’re trying to divert the laser from hitting the earth they accidentally hit the moon. it is not an intentional show of power from eggman, it’s just an accident.

i think those are maybe the BIGGEST changes. obviously no rouge either. they also treat the GUN commander as a good guy who dies Heroically.

one of the other big differences is that there’s a super sonic & shadow fight. shadow critically injured tom by accident and sonic uses the chaos emeralds to turn super to fight shadow over it. sonic eventually decides to not get his revenge, and his resolve in his own character inspires shadow to help him stop Gerald’s plan of destroying the earth.

i think I’ll just break this into pros and cons

pros:

this was definitely better paced than the previous two movies. it felt a lot more like a sonic adventure

tails and knuckles have a meaningful role to play and aren’t completely shoved aside

i think they handled shadow vs sonic fights relatively well? im still not impressed by them not entirely being seen as equals but he’s not ridiculously overpowered, sonic manages to do a good job against him.

cons:

WAY TOO DIVERGENT FROM THE GAMES. they made so many unnecessary changes. shadow’s backstory is just an entirely different character

the gerald/eggman b-plot was actually unbearable. firstly i despise jim carrey as eggman so he was also never going to be good as gerald. it’s just slapstick everytime they’re on screen together and it’s SO dissonant to the shadow & sonic storyline it’s actually unbearable to watch.

incredibly stupid how they tied eggman to the major plot they very easily could have kept him releasing shadow

they just made no effort to explain anything about gerald. why is he still alive. how did he survive when maria didn’t. like if you’re going to change up your adapation you need to explain WHY and HOW this happened.

honestly im not super impressed with sonic’s revenge plot because shadow and sonic could have easily been tied together by the fact they both lost someone (maria and longclaw). i think it probably doesn’t help that i don’t like tom. also im not usually interested in revenge when the person isn’t even killed? tom still lives and isn’t even like…. permanently injured or something from shadow. so it looses its value to me in that way. i think sonic’s inability to work with a team also doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given sonic 2 and him working with maddie and Tom before. like i understand he has isolation issues but it’s been expressed that these movies have taken place over YEARS so this doesn’t feel like an entirely reasonable arc

all in all i think this is a 5/10. if i didn’t have any knowledge of sonic it could maybe be passable. but the gerald and eggman routine is genuinely unbearable when the movies tried to hit on some deeper levels and themes.

[hyrules-warrior]

Shadow's loss of Maria is still fresh for him

People seem to forget that he was in stasis for 50 years. That means he was not conscious, he wasn't aware, he didn't age, didn't process anything. He was frozen in time, I mean his vitals showed a flatline since in stasis your heart does not beat since you are in suspended animation.

So while Maria died 50 years ago to everyone else, including Gerald, Maria's death was like maximum 24 hours ago as far as Shadow is concerned. He has had no time to process her death let alone grieve. She died, suddenly and violently under horrible circumstances that were out of Shadow's control and he was forced away from her body and shoved into stasis immediately.

No wonder he is still in the anger stage of grief, he has barely started dealing with her loss. And to suddenly learn it's been 50 years for everyone else is just the icing on the shit cake.

Was there a funeral? Is she buried somewhere? Would he ever be able to find and visit it if she was? Who would even be around to know after 50 years?

[cloudofash]

Alright it's been a week, I'm gonna start writing my 1 million Sonic Movie 3 theories.

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD, DO NOT CLICK "CONTINUE READING" IF YOU HAVE NOT WATCHED THE FILM YET

Maria Was Actually Shot Theory:

I believe Maria actually does get shot and Shadow blocks out the memory with an explosion.

Here me out:

While Shadow is charging the Eclipse Cannon he flashbacks to the memory of GUN invading the military base and chasing himself, Maria and Gerald down. They run to the room with the explosive tanks, Commander Walters tries to stop the GUN soldiers from firing but they fire anyway, miss, and the shattered tank explodes and Maria dies.

We're left thinking this is what actually happened. Afterall, the next scene shows Gerald in handcuffs clutching Shadow's quill which leads you to believe Gerald was there beside them when it all happens.

But this scene is full of holes:

How did the explosion only kill Maria and not Gerald, as old as he was? Shadow is the Ultimate Lifeform and can withstand such explosions, but Gerald surviving it makes absolutely no sense. They were all standing side by side. In fact Gerald was actually standing a few steps ahead of Shadow and Maria and he was the one closest to the tanks. If anyone, he should have been the one to die first. Given his age and position it makes little sense for him to have survived the explosion.

Unless, of course, he was never there.

In the very beginning of the film when Shadow is still in stasis in the capsule his memory of the event is a little different. Shadow and Maria are the ones holding hands and running down the very long and very familiar hallway together. Gerald is absent altogether, and we know because the camera pans behind Shadow and Maria and in front of them and Gerald is not visible in either angle. Compare this to the other memory, when Shadow and Maria are running together Gerald is directly behind them. In this first memory we should have seen him behind them as we did the second, but he's simply not there. Even if the argument is that he was kept hidden until his reveal later in the movie they still should have shown enough of him so the viewer knows he's present. That doesn't happen, he's completely absent.

The scene continues showing a glimpse of the GUN soldiers chasing behind the two, guns raised. Maria accidentally lets go of Shadow's hand and falls slightly behind. The memory fades to black but we see Shadow visibly relive the trauma in his sleep as he furrows his brows and his heart beats rapidly until he temporarily flatlines.

We don't get to see the end of his memory, but we can see that the beginning of it doesn't match up well with the Eclipse Cannon memory. What it does match up well with is the flashback Shadow had back in very beginning of Shadow 05.

Aside from the The Ark being replaced by a military base in the movie, this chase sequence is 1:1 even down to Maria letting go of Shadow's hand.

If Shadow is reliving this very scene, then it explains the different trauma response he has with the Stasis Memory versus the Eclipse Cannon Memory. When Shadow recalls the memory in Stasis, he quite literally flatlines. When Shadow recalls the Eclipse Cannon Memory it outrages him and causes him clear pain. Both are bad responses but his heart temporarily stopping is significantly worse. The trauma from the Stasis memory is worse because it is the true memory: the memory of Maria getting shot down in the long hallway. The memory of the explosion is just what Shadow conjured up to mentally cope with watching his friend get violently shot down.

To understand why this conflation would even happen you need to understand two things about Shadow: he suffers from amnesia and has a habit of misremembering things, and he suffers from PTSD.

Shadow has had PTSD for a long while in this series, the earliest examples coming from Shadow the Hedgehog 05 up until Dark Beginnings and even Sonic Movie 3. His heart racing uncontrollably, his pained grunts as his chest heaves, his eyes dilating, he closes his eyes just from flashing back to the memory. Shadow has PTSD and the pain sometimes causes him to avoid memories of the past.

Naturally both memories are extremely traumatic, but which is worse? Watching a bullet pierce through your best friend and adoptive sibling's chest with your own eyes? Or a blinding explosion that knocks everyone out and when you wake up it's already over? It's clear to see which memory would be a tiny bit more bearable for Shadow to relive.

Also note in both SA2 and Shadow 05, when Shadow relives the memory of Maria getting shot directly in front of him the memory always cuts off. As if he can't view any more. He has never been able to bear reliving the memory of her getting shot. He always blocks the memory out.

Now couple that in with Shadow's bouts of amnesia and memory issues. In the games, Shadow only gets amnesia after he crashes back to Earth in SA2's ending however in SA2 Shadow misremembered Maria's wish of making people on Earth happy as a wish for revenge. Therefore, it's not just a matter of him crashing and getting amnesia- Shadow has a habit of misremembering things.

Even with Sonic 3 Shadow tells Maria that he doesn't remember or know anything about where he came from, pre-crash to Earth. So we have already established in-movie universe that Shadow has memory issues.

Also, consider the fact that in the explosion memory Shadow is clutching his head which would indicate a head injury and also potentially imply memory issues.

Ah, but I'm arguing that the explosion never happened, right?

No, I'm arguing that the explosion didn't kill Maria. In fact I argue that the explosion did happen and more than likely caused the head injury that led to Shadow misremembering everything in the first place. That on top of his trauma.

Either the injury to Shadow's head caused him to misremember Maria's real death, or the trauma he experiences reliving her death caused him to replace the bullet shooting through her with a blinding explosion that was easier to handle mentally.

Regardless of which memory is true or if both are true but have been conjoined together through misrememberance, the truth remains that Movie Shadow has 2 very different memories living inside his mind. And I'd like to think the writers didn't mess up these scenes, and included the first memory as a homage to us older fans to give us the possibility of them retaining the game canon in any way they can, through any workaround they can make as they work around the PG rating. And what more clever way would they get around not having Maria get shot by having Shadow mentally block out the trauma of that memory as he always has?

NOTE: I wrote this SO much better and more concisely in an earlier version but Tumblr didn't save it and all my work was erased. Sigh...sorry if worded poorly.

[sonknuxadow]

potential sonic 3 spoilers incoming if anyone cares. anyway . apparently there was an official survey about the knuckles show/scu in general and one of the questions was about what name you would use for an eggman/shadow/gerald teamup. which is a weirdly specific question. and also one of the name options was team dark …….. ?? even though rouge isnt mentioned in the question and theres no sign of her being in the next movie in general ? i was willing to accept amy being introduced a little after knuckles and tails but between there still being no sign of her being in the next movie and now this if they actually have gerald time travel or something and have him be the third member of the dark story trio instead of rouge then i will be fully convinced that theyre going out of their way to exclude as many already existing girl characters as possible. like i get cgi is expensive which could be part of the reason rouge might not have made the cut. but damn . assuming this is real anyway it could just be another fake leak but idk

[soullessjack]

talk about that stupid lil hedgehog. go hog wild (punintended)

oh my god i keep Trying to answer this and it keeps getting deleted somehow ok. deep breaths. and spoilers for the 3rd movie also.

SO.

sonic 3 is, naturally, a very loose adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2. and just like the other two movies there were details from the games that were either changed or taken out to better suit the movies, bc as much as they are sonic movies, they aren’t just beat-for-beat remakes. they’re definitely aiming to be their own thing while also respecting and keeping close with the source material they pulled from (and personally, I didn’t grow up with the games; I’m a watcher over a player; I’ve always had more interest in the game’a story than actually playing it—so just from a creative standpoint, I immediately respect any adaptation that does the same).

the 3rd movie has a lot of major detail changes for the sake of running with their own plot and trying to keep its PG rating, and it works fantastically. I’ve watched it twice already and there is no doubt in my mind I’ll watch it again bc it’s genuinely So Fucking Good. but one of the most important detail changes for me is how they handled Maria’s character. in the original SA2 game, and I don’t mean this as an insult or anything, Maria is frankly a non-character. she falls into the archetype of a character who exists just to die for the plot and doesn’t have much personality as a result. it’s not inherently a bad thing; it’s just a narrative tool. but the issue comes from how it’s done, because when it’s done right, it’s done right. but when it’s done wrong, it becomes lazy fridging (we as supernatural victims know this well).

I don’t think game-Maria was necessarily fridged; it’s her clear purpose in the story and pretty much a canon event that she and Gerald will always die (thanks gens), but it also makes her a little less interesting to engage with as her own character bc she isn’t really her own character. she’s like, the idea of shadow’s goodness. she’s this perfect paragon of love and kindness and forgiveness that, at 9-12 years old, somehow has a fully formed opinion on the nature of humanity as inherently good and worth being saved [by shadow]. it’s not bad storytelling, but it’s just a tad heavy handed.

movie-Maria, on the other hand, is an actual person. she still dies in the end, of course (canon event), but through shadow’s memories of her we’re able to see how she connected with him and what made that connection so important to him that it ruined him severely to lose. movie-Maria is just a kid. she’s curious, a little mischievous and plainly innocent. she doesn’t really know what shadow is or what his purpose on the Ark is, and she doesn’t really care. she just knows that she likes him and cares about him and that’s good enough for any kid. it’s all, “let’s watch movies together,” “let’s use your air shoes to roller-skate really fast around the colony,” “let’s dance to this record,”etc etc.

the actual scene is such an adorable little montage but it also shows how simplistically Maria connected with shadow and made him feel like more of a person. instead of directly asking shadow to be a good person and save the world, she encourages him to be whoever he wants to be. instead of sending him off and making a final promise with him, she just dies. suddenly and without any last words. which means shadow has no promise to remember like he did in the game. he doesn’t come to his senses because he finally remembered Maria actually wanted him to do good.

and that’s my segue into the second major difference of the movie! hooray for segues!

so, one of shadow’s final memories with Maria is sitting with her under the Ark’s dome and looking up at all the stars in space. just like the montage it is an adorable, even beautiful scene of them together all by itself and I had to pause the movie during my second watch to sob into my hands but the one thing I’m picking on today is when shadow tells her, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” again, very simple, but still very hard hitting because we’re seeing in real time what he’s doing without her. we’re seeing how much her loss has affected him because we finally saw exactly what it was like, what it meant for him to have her in the first place.

and, between the game and the movie, shadow’s end goal is still revenge for Maria. her…presence…(?) her memory, at least, is still with him at every step of his plan and fueling him to go even further. in a way, it’s almost like Maria becomes the face of her own loss, because each time he remembers something about her, it’s only ever painful and only ever makes him more determined to enact revenge. and then when he beats the shit out of Tom (sonic’s dad who’s also kinda boring) (sorry), and the flash between sonic kneeling over him to shadow kneeling over Maria, it starts a sort of…tipping point for shadow to doubt if this is what he really wants or has to do.

and the thing is, it’s not about right and wrong with shadow. he knows what he’s doing is wrong (i personally must disagree with revenge on the military for murdering a child being framed as wrong but this is a paramount produced kids movie so that’s how it goes). he knows it’s just pure, anger driven revenge for the sake of revenge and he doesn’t care. in his own words, it’s who he is internally, bc it’s all he’s had or known for the last 50 years. and then, when he and gerald are on the eclipse cannon together, shadow asks him, “is this really what Maria would’ve wanted?” again, it’s not about right or wrong for shadow (or even Gerald honestly). it’s just about Maria and avenging her and dying in the process bc nothing is worth living or saving anymore, including themselves. that is, until Gerald responds, “the question isn’t ‘is it what Maria would’ve wanted,’ the question is ‘what do they deserve?’ Remember what she meant to us; remember what they took from us.”

I genuinely think that was Shadow’s wakeup call (and I love how it was changed from Maria simply wanting Shadow to be good all along, to Shadow coming to that realization for himself). pretty soon after that exchange, the fight between him and sonic starts and the entire time it’s just shadow instigating and antagonizing sonic to do his worst and End It. Straight up kill him, bc he’s too far gone now and there isn’t even enough time left to begin processing any doubt or regret for it all, and the plan was always a revenge-suicide-genocide anyways (you know, for kids!)

let’s go back a few paragraphs to when I said that Maria had almost become the face of her own loss, her own absence, because shadow’s memory of her only fueled his pain and determination to destroy everything. just like her game iteration, she’s an idea now. she’s an embodiment of the past, for better or for worse, for both shadow and Gerald. and remember, in both the game and the movie, it’s Gerald’s need for revenge that sparks shadow’s. Gerald uses shadow’s grief and anger to encourage it and it does eventually become shadow’s own goal too, but Gerald always wanted it first. shadow was just a means to an end that he thought he wanted.

it’s Gerald who tells shadow to remember what Maria meant and remember how it was taken, while shadow focuses on her and how she would’ve felt. and I really think it’s that moment afterwards that pulled shadow out of it, just enough to try and instigate his own death since the cannon can’t be stopped and, again, even if he did regret his actions, it won’t matter after everything is done. he thinks he’s just as far gone as Gerald is with this need for revenge and anger and hatred. he thinks This is who he is, until sonic gives him the classic “it doesn’t have to be who you are. love is stronger than pain, and even if she’s gone the love you had for her is still there, so keep going on that instead of the pain.”

(paraphrasing like crazy but it is genuinely a very well written scene like all the others.. IT’S A CINEMATIC MASTERPIECE AND I AM DEAD SERIOUS ABOUT THAT).

I’m not trying to say the original game’s story is any lesser or not impactful, and if I did that would just be a straight lie bc that’s one of Sega’s most renowned games in the franchise to this day, but I do think it hits a lot harder for shadow to have this arc away from Maria, if that makes sense. no final promise, no idea of what she wanted him to be. she’s not the embodiment of all that was good in him, but she was the support system he needed to (eventually) realize he could be good and be more than his purpose.

[saria88]

Sonic 3 Impressions (Spoilers)

*Shadow was great in this movie and he really felt like a threat. He was earnest however and I like that really he just wanted to be left alone and in peace before GUN and Gerald got involved. Shadow not being created by Gerald and having arrived on Earth via meteor definitely hints at him being a full creation of Black Doom. It’s an interesting change, though it does alter the dynamic between Shadow, Gerald, and Maria a lot, especially considering Maria doesn’t seem to have her illness.

Maria and Shadow’s relationship remains as cute and endearing as ever however. Maria had a really fun personality and I loved the montage between her and Shadow. It warmed my heart but also had me tearing up knowing how it ends.

*Commander Walter’s apparent death was a bit of a surprise for me. I wonder if he really died, as it was never really confirmed. I feel like there’s a chance he survived and will show up again in the future. Director Rockwell didn’t stand out to me too much, but I did find her and Robotnik’s race to the key card pretty funny.

*Stone taking out the drones on a motorcycle was pretty badass. He is definitely a highlight and I really felt for him throughout the movie, especially at the end. I was feeling like him knowing that Robotnik likely wasn’t going to make it out of the Eclipse Cannon. I was sad but also in awe, seeing Dr. Robotnik fully realized in that moment. I’m so pleased we were blessed with his portrayal. I’m selfish of course and hope that we haven’t seen the last of him, but if we have I will always remember this portrayal of Dr. Robotnik fondly.

*I wish I could say I liked Gerald’s portrayal as much, but he was the only real weak part of the movie for me. I felt he was too silly. Some silliness was fine, given he is a Robotnik, but after the reveal I would have preferred he drop the act and show the true menace I expect from Gerald Robotnik. This was a guy who intended to wipe out humanity along with himself, but even his death was treated like a joke. I really didn’t like that.

*Super Sonic and Super Shadow’s fight was everything I wanted for the finale and thank Tyson Hesse that Live and Learn played. I was smiling throughout the entire thing, well except for the part where that scene came to a screeching halt to show Gerald spanking Robotnik. Could have done without that. The Moon accidentally getting damaged and Robotnik immediately passing the blame was funny to me.

After the credits I waited with bated breath to see where the movies would head next. Once the army of Metal Sonics appeared I was only slightly worried we would be left hanging at that point, so I was delighted when Amy showed up. She looks so good and I am happy she is finally in this universe. I can’t wait to see what she does in the next movie. Overall I was very satisfied. The fact we have a great movie trilogy for Sonic the Hedgehog truly is a miracle and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t wait to see more of this universe.

[beevean]

Seriously, I wasn't disappointed in them changing how Maria died because "The white gurl didn't get shot!" I feel like they pussed out on showing just how corrupt GUN could be, which I feel completely contradicts how not only the past films themselves portrayed them, but even how the Knuckles seeires framed GUN. That one big bad dude who only shows for a couple of minutes throughout all of the Knuckles series? Well GUN attempted to have him murdered when they were clearing out all info of Robotnik ever working for him! And Sonic X hammered home just how much of a corrupt and shady past GUN has, to the point where Gerald's execution is clearly audible - as in hearing the gunshots- in his message.

I don't want to hear "It's for kids!" when the franchise has never been a stranger to pulling punches.

GUN is treated weirdly in the third movie. Apparently Sonic trusts them enough to fly to Tokyo with them for a mission that they didn't bother to explain (since he was utterly confused to see Shadow), and then they meet up with Walters, he infodumps Shadow's tragic story (while omitting GUN's involvement, ofc), he gives Sonic the secret key before dying because he's apparently the only one who can be trusted with it, and then Sonic is all "we ain't trusting no military organization"??????? YOU WERE READY TO HANDCUFF SOMEONE YOU KNEW NOTHING ABOUT

And that reference to the infamous "talk about low budget flights" line? It was orginally meant to convey Sonic's attitude in the face of authority, as he took out the soldiers on board and jumped off the helicopter to do cool tricks, but in the movie it's just yet another of his quips after he readily agreed to help the organization that tried to capture him. Even Flynn would be like "bro maybe that one was a tad forced" 😭 just the worst example of a "cool" reference that misses the actual point.

I really must stress that SA2 got an E according to the ERSB rating and a 7 according to PEGI. It is a kids' game. The tone is generally lighthearted, with a funny dynamic between Knuckles and Rouge or Sonic yelling TERIAAAA when destroying the Egg Golem. Yet it had serious moments like Eggman destroying the moon (which in the movie was a funny accident), Eggman taking Amy hostage and tricking Sonic into a potential gruesome death in space, and everything related to Gerald and Maria. If you really want to adapt SA2, commit.

[sparkylilacs]

I LOVED Sonic 3, buuut

I wish they had explained more of Maria’s story in the film. Like I cried pretty much every time they showed her and Shadow bonding. That was beautiful. But they never explained why Gerald and G.U.N. were having the custody battle over Shadow. That even if she hadn’t died by the accident taking Shadow from them would have at least in Gerald’s mind sealed Maria to death since Shadow was their hope for curing her. It’s a little odd cause without the context Gerald running away with them is strange since aren’t they already all in a G.U.N. facilities? So instead of G.U.N. taking possession of Shadow it’s a different sect of G.U.N. trying to do so? It would also explain why Gerald was so attached to Maria, even to the point of forsaking the rest of his family. Spending so much time teaching her, trying to heal her, and living with her, she really became Gerald’s whole world.

And the movie makes her death an accidental casualty instead of her sacrifice to keep Shadow from becoming just a weapon, again even if she hadn’t been shot he was her hope for a cure, and she was letting him go. Choosing his life over her’s, or maybe that’s why it was so easy for her to do so, having lived so long with death just at the corners of her vision she wasn’t scared of it anymore, and found strength knowing Shadow could live on freely. So it also takes the extra sting of Shadow loosing his whole purpose for existing like the quote from My Sister’s Keeper “See, unlike the rest of the free world, I didn't get here by accident. And if your parents have you for a reason, then that reason better exist. Because once it's gone, so are you.” Making it much easier for Shadow to want to watch the world burn.

I swear this painting looks better in person, but photographing it was really hard and I gave up.