#I used to be against shows with low episode counts and I'm still sort of on the fence about it even now

[just-emerald-star]

Me writing 6-8 episode seasons for my projects

eight episodes is not a full season of television

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “How Santa Stole Christmas!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Colleen Evanson

Storyboard by: Sam King, Kathryn Marusik, Stephan Park

Directed by: Jason Zurek

The Last Christmas...episode of DuckTales 2017.

Twas the night before Christmas, and all throughout the night, The kids are reminded of Scrooge and Santa's fight. Previous episodes have brought up Scrooge's Santa furore And this is the episode where we get the whole story.

The episode starts with Della, tucking her children into bed, Feeding them stories to put in their head. It's not the usual story, as her children moan, but reasons for that old elf to not be allowed in their home.

But outside of Webby, the kids aren't Santa-haters Even if he's known by the McDucks for being among traitors They hear thumps on the roof, and the kids will go to the Manor's ceiling, where they see a shadow

As the figure shows himself, their childlike wonder was not blessed...

...as it was someone else whose name starts with S.

Scrooge was preparing his defenses against any reindeer, and ensuring on Christmas, no Claus will be near. He ensures the kids they don't need him, as he is rich. See, he's able to give them all hats that itch.

It's practical, he says, though the kids think it's lame As they wanted a trampoline, a cell phone, and a video game. Before Scrooge can explain, he hears the doorbell. Carolers, Scrooge assumes, and the lies that they tell.

He opens the door, Webby readying weapons she possessed and it turned out to be our jolly old guest. Scrooge grits his teeth, and the children shout with glee...

...and then Santa falls down, nearly crushing Dewey.

It's here that I realize this rhyming is annoying you, and that's okay, because I'm getting tired of it, too. I can really only do this for a short review-ey, So the rest of this are normal paragraphs, ah phooey.

So Santa falls down and breaks his leg, and even Scrooge, with his pretty low opinion on Santa Claus, is concerned for his well being. He even has to motion to Webby to put down her grappling hook that she was apparently was preparing to put into Santa's chest. She then slowly brings out a sword. It's a joke on the same level as that spork one from a previous episode; it's a classic Webby moment.

After hearing that Frank Sinatra-esque Christmas-themed opening from the last Christmas episode, now with 100% more Della, Santa wakes up near the chimney fire. I like the detail that it's barred up to prevent Santa's usual Christmas travel, though as I was told as a kid who lived in a house that didn't have a chimney and this episode proves, he can use a door just fine. In this universe, he's real, and he proves this by giving Huey, Dewey, and Louie their video game, trampoline, and cell phone, respectively. He tries to do the same with Webby, but she pretends to like her hat better. Got to look good for the man she idolizes, after all.

That man, Scrooge, decides to reveal exactly what Santa did to get his ire: he stole something from him. All but one of the kids can't believe it, and the one exception couldn't figure out exactly what that something could be. Don't worry, this is not going to become one of those Christmas Carol pastiches, as DuckTales 2017 is a lot more clever than that and didn't feel like competing with that rat that must not be named. Instead, it's more like Santa Claus is Coming To Town, where we get to hear the origin of the holiday that Scrooge says was stolen from him. The title isn't wrong, it really is actually Santa that stole Christmas this time!

Santa doesn't have time for this, as he needs to get Christmas finished before sunrise. It is still Christmas Eve, after all. He asks Scrooge, with his belt so tight, to drive his sleigh tonight, and it takes some begging from Huey, Dewey, and Louie for him to oblige. Well, that, and Santa offers him to never come to the McDuck Manor if he does the deed. That's not the only offer, as Santa decides to tell the kids a story I thought would be the noodle incident of the cartoon.

The story begins with Scrooge during one of his business stints, selling heat-giving coal to the populace of a snow-filled village, with no buyers in one particular cottage. He finds a polar bear with a sleigh singing about bells that jingle, and Scrooge comes over to help him out. Introducing himself as Santa Claus, Scrooge finds out that he does have similar goals, though Santa prefers to warm people's hearts with toys rather than coal. Santa tries that same cottage, offering a gift for free, and they happily let him in, and he was so kind that they even allow him to bring that guest that was yelling at them to buy his coal.

The big guy ends up being the life of the party at the cottage with his new hit song, filled with people of short stature with colorful costumes, until the fire burns out. Scrooge's coal ends up saving the party, though Santa had to use his own way of selling it by just grabbing it right out of his bag and throwing it in the fireplace. This warms the hearts and the house of the cottage dwellers, though Scrooge could tell it's more because he's a friend of that jolly guy than anything else. It's quite clear Scrooge has more reason to start his hatred of that red guy beyond being named after that classic Christmas-time villain.

The hatred doesn't start just yet, though, but he is a little bewildered by an idea that Santa Claus has: not only does he want to bring this heat source to this cottage and the people who were just visiting it, but to everyone in the world in one night! Scrooge knows this is impossible, but Santa feels he knows some way he can do this. This begins a brand new friendship, and this is where Webby is confused.

Webby: Wait, Scrooge doesn't have any friends!

Understandably, Goldie is more of a frenemy, being friends with Launchpad is far too easy to count, and it's debatable if anyone is Gyro's friend, either.

We cut to what's happening in the present, where Scrooge gets on the sleigh with all of the reindeer kids would know. All the kids know Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. If they think of any other reindeer's name, well, let's let another Christmas special sort that one out:

Olive, the other reindeer: By the way, where's Rudolph?

Comet: There's no Rudolph. It's just one of those urban legends.

Along with Santa and himself, Scrooge decides to only let the one kid who knows Santa is a fraud, Webby, on the sleigh. The kids protest, and Santa implies to them that if they go to bed, they would be on the nice list. They already got their gifts, and if Santa ends up doing his end of the bargain, it wouldn't even matter, but the nephews decide to go back to bed. One could argue that Santa could boop his nose and instantly turn the video game, cell phone, and trampoline into coal, and that one is confusing this episode with another special with siblings that wear the primary colors.

As the reindeer fly into the sky, Webby continues her anti-Santa creed, saying that she wouldn't be wooed by dolls, candles, or crossbows. That last one does end up piquing Webby's interest enough, and Santa does reveal that, yup, that's what she was getting. Scrooge tells Santa it's going to take more than that, and Webby isn't trying too hard to prove that's true. In fact, she actually blurts that she's worried that Santa wouldn't be able to finish Christmas in time, and Santa tells her, and it's all because of another artifact from that legendary Finch journal. No, I'm just kidding, there's no journal in this episode; along with the Halloween episode that also doesn't feature it, this episode was written before anything else in this season.

That artifact is the Feliz Navidiamond, a diamond that can slow down time to the point where the mission to give coal to everyone on Earth is a possibility rather than pure fantasy, and Scrooge happens to have a map that leads right to it. Said map leads to Cascabel Cavern, a cavern known for having creatures of legend defend it, including the Los Renos Voladores. Those who know their Spanish, as Scrooge does, may see where this is going. Santa didn't just have the flying reindeer show up at his doorstop one day, he had to encounter them at the cavern along with his new friend. While Scrooge attempts to use his cane to fend one of them off, he notices that Santa appears to be taming the flying beasts with his jingle bells. Again, the contrast between the charitable and caring Santa and the practical yet uncaring Scrooge shows itself here, along with the contrast between how much they're enjoying this partnership.

Webby says she can figure out why Santa decided to keep them, as reindeer are known for their long horns and good efficiency. Scrooge asks her why she even cares about this, and Webby, once again, tries to say that his fantastic flying reindeer aren't really her thing. For a super-spy in training, she is surprisingly bad at this. Her Santa hatred breaks throughout the episode as she slowly develops from someone who blindly goes with what Scrooge says to realizing that this elf may be a little more than what her idol says he is. I could see parallels with this character arc in this one episode and her development from the sheltered Scrooge fangirl who can't figure out how the real world works of Season 1 to the caring girl with some Scrooge fangirl tendencies she is in Season 3, and that's neat to see. I do think her just blindly believing in Scrooge’s stories in the beginning is a little bit of a negative, though.

While the story is happening, the episode decides it's montage time. To the tune of Scrooge's least favorite song, guess which one, we see Webby and Scrooge give gifts to various people, including Webby taking her time to give both Violet and the still-looking-like-she-did-before-that-one-episode Lena a kiss, though the latter is understandable because, as mentioned before, they wrote these holiday specials first. We also get an extended scene where Scrooge has to wade through all the Beagle Boys in the naughty list to give a gift to Bouncer Beagle, who somehow managed to get on the nice list. I did question at first how time appears to be flowing quite well in these scenes judging by the giftee's reactions, but I could understand that the Feliz Navidiamond only works when they're on the sleigh. After Santa saves Scrooge from the Beagle Boys, he says they're even, referring to something that happened after the taming of the not-Rudolphs.

In the Cascabel Cavern, we get to see the rise of a guardian, who some people might call Jack Frost though they don't call it that. No, not the Jack Frost from those guardians, I say to the people who still remember that movie exists.

No, it's a Jack Frost like the movie with the snowman. I'm sure Santa could sense that Michael Keaton film from nearly a century later, as he tries to calm the roaring snowman with a delightful gift. Hopefully it's Campbell's Soup, and then we'll find out inside that guardian was just a really, really cold little boy that's mother decided to leave out in the cold for way too long. Unfortunately, that too was the wrong Jack Frost, as this one's more like the 1997 one that had 100% less Michael Keaton and 100% more killer snowmen.

We get our big fight scene of the week, as Scrooge rescues Santa by pelting the snowman with his flaming coal, riding a flying reindeer. Which reindeer is it? It's so awesome, nobody really needs to care. With this help, Santa grabs onto the Feliz Navidiamond, slowing down time to the point where it almost seems like time has stopped, and they can just waltz out of the cave with it. In their words, they're running on Christmas time. I should point out that they don't create Christmas, as they refer to it all throughout this flashback, they just create the tradition that happens on Christmas. They don't go further than that, and that's all I will say on that subject. Rule of three dictates that there should be some other monster after this, and...well, let's just say the next enemy Christmas has to face may not be a monster or some animals with abilities beyond regular animals.

As Scrooge leaves to deliver one final Christmas present, telling Webby to keep a present as he's got it, Webby decides to ask one question that's been on her mind: why would Santa do all of this without getting paid? Santa replies that he gets the greatest gift of all, and I jokingly thought this was going to lead to him talking about the Santa Bills that he sends to the children's parents. Of course, that would deter kids from asking for those Disney playsets, so we get a heartwarming speech from Santa about Christmas being about the warmth of the heart one gets from giving gifts. A much better alternative, I'd say, it's a good speech and one fitting for a Christmas special.

There is one major thing in this Christmas origin story that hasn't been brought up yet: how did Santa giving coal to everyone to warm up their homes become only giving coal to the bad children and giving toys to the good children? They really only show the idea of the latter once, with Doofus getting a nasty looking box in his stocking, and even then, it doesn't look like coal.

The next Christmas, Scrooge barges in the door, singing his own version of Jingle Bells involving his favorite practical black rocks, and Santa has a small suggestion to make about Christmas. Instead of just giving out coal, why not bring them a special surprise on Christmas morning: a special gift for free as a promotion for their coal distribution business! Scrooge immediately balks at the idea of giving out handouts. Oh, rich people. This eventually leads to Scrooge getting into a big fight with Santa, and they break up.

This isn't the monster part, as that happens much later in the history of Christmas. In fact, they're remembering it right now, as they find that Santa's sack appears to be still filled with Christmas presents. If those are the presents with all the toys, what did they gave the children? No, not just a practical gift meant to warm people's homes rather than their hearts...

...but a practical gift meant to warm people's homes rather than their hearts and an invoice for it, too! We even fade to Scrooge, making a rather evil grin that feels like it came from another famous Christmas special. He really is a mean one, Mr. Scrooge. Now, being an outright villain may seem a bit out of character for him; he's usually only a villain when he has to play one in a wrestling ring. But, come on, do you expect a guy named Scrooge to be the good guy in a Christmas story, never mind give out handouts? I will say that his evil grin does go against any interpretation that he's doing this for good, as he implies. I mean, he's so much of a Grinch...

...he even has his own Cindy Lou Who named Jennifer, a poor girl in desperate need for anything, including warmth. She even takes this lump of coal he gives her and turns it into a toy. She's that desperate for some warmth in her heart, and no speech from Scrooge about how practical that coal could be to warm her home could change that. It doesn't take a genius to find out if this causes Scrooge's heart to grow three sizes.

To make a long story short, we get another speech from Santa about why he even bothered to have Scrooge help him, and there's even another twist about Santa here that makes this trip just that much more special. The ending is quite clever, too, and it does fit into the family side of the Christmas tradition. Since this is most likely the last DuckTales 2017 Christmas episode, it's a great ending in many ways.

How does it stack up?

I was greatly entertained as this episode arrived, As I humbly give this episode a Scrooge number of five. Now I'll say, to everyone reading this site, Happy holidays to all, and to all a good night.

Well, that's it for now, as DuckTales enters yet another hiatus. In fact, this is the last big review I'll make this year. Have a Slightly Better New Year, because it sure couldn't be worse than this one.

← The Fight For Castle McDuck! 🦆 Beaks in the Shell! →

[ridleykemp]

Battlebots Season 5 Episode 6: Now THAT'S what I'm talking about

It has been called to my attention that I do not adequately inform the reader that there will be spoilers in the following text, so please, let there be no mistake: I will absolutely spoil this episode starting with the next paragraph.

As if to make up for last week’s debacle, this turned out to be one of the most entertaining fight cards in the history of the show. Yeah, it was that good. There were a couple of duds, but even those had their moments. Let’s get down to it, boppers!

Fight 1: Rotator v. Valkyrie

This one promised to be wild, as both bots opted for similar configurations. Rotator went with a low bar spinner on the front and a big armored wedge on the back. It was slightly different than the one they used to beat Tombstone, as they needed to save a little weight to use the 30 lb. bar instead of the 20 lb. version. Valkyrie, as always, went with a low-mounted spinner, although they unveiled a new weapon, a three-pronged almost star-shaped affair.

Victor Soto kept Rotator’s armored backside aimed at Valkyrie as much as possible, working on the theory that Valkyrie would eventually run out of steam or injure itself. That was a pretty reasonable bet, but it didn’t happen this time. Both bots’ weapons kept going for almost the entire three minutes, meaning that there was an unprecedented number of hits and there was a constant stream of sparks in the battlebox.

Rotator had the early edge, getting under Valkyrie and causing it’s weapon to strike the box, but as the fight wore on, Valkyrie got cagier and managed to keep its wheels on the floor and started landing even bigger hits than it was taking. Eventually, the entire back wedge and right side of Rotator were torn off, while Valkyrie’s left armor plate was badly beaten.

It was three full minutes of hit after hit after hit and it was exactly the kind of fight everyone hoped for but no one expected. The judges unanimously called it for Valkyrie, leaving Leanne Cushing’s bot at 2-0 while Rotator fell to 1-2 with its only win coming against Tombstone.

Winner: Valkyrie (Unanimous decision)

Fight 2: Extinguisher v. Gigabyte

This fight featured two bots that just didn’t work at all in their first bout. The big question here was: Would Extinguisher be able to absorb a few blows to send Gigabyte’s full-body spinner flying into the wall and let it knock itself out?

The answer was a resounding “no.”

Extinguisher’s drive didn’t seem quite right, and the lack of mobility allowed Gigabyte to get to the center of the arena and pick its spots. The first couple of hits didn’t seem to do much, but the third bent Extinguisher’s hammer into an unrecognizable shape, ending any hope the fire engine-themed bot had of using its weapon.

It didn’t matter, though, as it something had been knocked loose inside it and it just sort of stopped moving while Gigabyte was hovering menacingly on the off chance Extinguisher got it back together.

Winner: Gigabyte (Knockout)

Fight 3: Slap Box v. Sharko

Another battle of 0-1 bots, this turned out to be a hell of a fight. Slap Box came in 0-1, but losing to Tombstone in your debut fight is nothing to be ashamed of and it held up better than anyone expected. Sharko lost a decision to Smee(etc.) in a really lousy fight between two bots that didn’t really have any way to hurt each other.

I’m not 100% sure what Sharko’s weapon can do. It’s a “biter,” a control bot, with the nose raised, but I think it’s also meant to flip the other bot by raising its nose. It can also spin tremendously fast and whip its tail, which isn’t terribly effective, but it looks cool. Anyway, we got see Sharko get an early “bite” on Slap Box and drive it around the arena a little without doing any real damage.

Sharko clamped down for a second time, this time grabbing Slap Box’s flipping arm, and Slap Box just lifted the arm and carried Sharko around before delivering a suplex. Again, it wasn’t tremendously damaging, but it was really cool to watch.

Sharko’s motor gave out and Slap Box got the well-deserved win by KO. Sharko captain and driver Ed Robinson immediately came over to congratulate team Slap Box on their first win and the suplex, demonstrating the kind of “love of the sport over just winning and losing” that you love to see.

Winner: Slap Box (Knockout)

Fight 4: Madcatter v. Malice

This was the fight I was looking forward to the most, as both bots came in at 2-0 and both, particularly Madcatter, had moments of looking like real contenders against all my expectations. Malice was still more about potential as its terrifying weapon hadn’t really been brought to bear.

Madcatter went with their flipper configuration instead of the vertical spinner, which was probably a good idea as I don’t think it would have survived contact with Malice’s horizontal drum. They set up as a flipper for this one, and it turned out to a better call than they could have anticipated.

The opening exchanges were all Madcatter as its superior mobility allowed it to get to the side of Malice and send Malice flying. Then, just like with Red Devil a few years back, Malice got knocked up into the air and it landed on it’s backside with no wheels touching the ground.

Madcatter was content to let its opponent struggle to right itself and the judge counted Malice out. It was a little disappointing to see the fight end this way, but you couldn’t really argue with Madcatter taking advantage of the fact that their foe couldn’t right itself.

Winner: Maddcatter (Knockout)

Fight 5: Atom #94 v. Tantrum

Yet another matchup of 0-1 bots, both of whom were the architects of their own demise in the first fight. Atom #94 couldn’t drive at all against Big Dill, and Tantrum’s batteries ran out too early in their first fight. The Atom #94 team felt they’d solved their drive problem, and Tantrum showed up without its signature fists but with more batteries, which was a good tradeoff.

Atom #94 still looked sluggish, but it got the first hit of the fight, knocking tantrum across the box. But, sluggish is not a good thing to be against a bot as quick as Tantrum and the little angry orange bot’s weapon was working for a change (and sounding eerily like Minotaur’s drum), and pretty soon it was Atom #94 that was being sent flying.

Tantrum finally got it’s first win as Atom #94’s drive gave out. Honestly, it was probably for the best that they stopped working as Tantrum was sitting right next to them with their weapon fully spun up. It was nice to see this fan favorite get a win and in such convincing fashion as well.

Winner: Tantrum (Knockout)

Fight 6: Pain Train v. Smeeee(etc.)

Pain Train came into this one at 0-1 after failing to move at all in their fight (dammit, I should have said “after the train failed to leave the station…gotta work on that). Smee(etc.) won a very unconvincing fight against Sharko so it was 1-0 but there was no real sense of whether or not the gimmick would work. The gimmick, for those of you just joining us, is that Smee(etc.) is a 14’ wide bot with small spinning bars on each. The idea is that other bots will get enveloped by the articulated center wedge, leaving the bars to attack their wheels.

This was not a classic fight. Pain Train struggled to move, and Smee(etc.) just always looks like it’s struggling whether it is or not. Pain Train did manage to tear off some of the plastic letters on the armored wedge before finally showing just enough control to get to Smee(etc.)’s right side and tear off one of the spinning bars.

Smee(etc.) then managed to go weapon to weapon against Pain Train and Pain Train’s weapon just fell off. It was now a somewhat-mobile push bot against whatever the hell Smee(etc.) is. There was some contact over the last minute, but no damage whatsoever. The judges gave the win to Pain Train which might have been mildly controversial if either of these bots were contenders.

Winner: Pain Train (Split decision)

Fight 7: Uppercut v. Sawblaze

Ah, the main event! And what a narrative, too. Uppercut’s Alex Hattori spent time as a member of Jamisonn Go’s Sawblaze team. Both bots came in at 1-0, although the wins were of vastly different quality opponents. Sawblaze absolutely took Whiplash apart in their first match which is no mean feat. Uppercut beat Gemini in their first fight, which can be pretty much taken for granted, but the speed and ease with which they did so was terrifying.

This always looked like it was going to come down to driving. If the bots’ weapons went head to head, Uppercut had a huge advantage. But, if Sawblaze could outflank the unwieldy Uppercut, Sawblaze would probably take the W. What happened, then, was not what anyone expected. Sawblaze had a momentary lapse of concentration and exposed its side to Uppercut. Moments later, Sawblaze was bouncing off the lexan walls of the arena.

The blow seemed to rob Sawblaze of its mobility, and without the ability to outmaneuver its opponent, Sawblaze was a sitting duck. In an incredible moment, Uppercut managed to hit Sawblaze’s fuel tank for their flamethrowing and…boom! Explosion! Uppercut landed blow after blow and it was over very quickly. Uppercut did to Sawblaze what Sawblaze did to Whiplash and I’m not sure anyone expected such a decisive KO in this one.

Winner: Uppercut (Knockout)

And that’s that for episode 6. A lot of good fights and one absolutely legendary one. If you watch only episode this season, I strongly recommend you make it this one.

[twilight-deviant]

I'm curious. What are the reasons Wyatt might not be good for Lucy?

You’re trying to get me in trouble, anon. lol. I’ve just been mumbling under my breath about it. I guess I shouldn’t be afraid to speak though, even if it is against the (for some reason) most popular ship. Um, I can’t tell from your tone if you ship it, or if you hate it, or if you’re neutral, so if I offend your ship, I apologize. I’m just calling it like I see it.

Can I make this a general post about Wyatt? Since the tag you’re referencing was mainly about my outlook on Wyatt. But I’ll tie Wyatt/Lucy back into it.

Under a cut because it’s really long and also so anyone not wanting to hear a more critical reflection of Wyatt’s character can abstain.

I should probably preface everything which follows by saying I don’t hate Wyatt. True, of the four main characters, he is my least favorite and the least interesting, but that’s neither here nor there. I think he’s an all right character (nothing groundbreaking) and that he is decently three-dimensional. But the reasons I find him to be a departure from the standard, cookie cutter hero character are, apparently, quite different than what everyone else cites.

So… despite what the fandom almost unanimously believes, Wyatt is not a precious cinnamon roll. He is not a good person. I’m not saying he doesn’t want to be one. And he definitely thinks he is. But he is also kind of a jerk. Which is fine. I like my characters with some depth. I just get a little frustrated by people ignoring his faults or sweeping them under the rug. And I definitely don’t get why everyone thinks him having a relationship with Lucy would be the most healthy and well functioning thing. (Look, I ship Flynn/Lucy, but I’m also calling a rose a rose. It is what it is.)

I leave my own preconceived hangups at the door. Ever since I first watched the trailer, I was already rolling my eyes at the inevitability of the show trying to force them together, like every. single. other. show. on. television. It’s boring, if I’m being honest, predictable. But then I watched the Pilot and was intrigued when they called themselves brother and sister. Actually, I was downright giddy. I couldn’t stop going on about it. I thought hey… maybe they’re actually going for a different dynamic, something unique. Then they did it again in the second episode, a third time in Stranded, and I became really excited at the idea that they would develop a sibling relationship instead. How cute is it for Wyatt to be younger than her and yet end up acting like a big brother? Plus, it’s a lot easier to overlook Wyatt’s faults when the relationship between them isn’t romantic. So, digression aside, I’ll answer your question now.

I’ll start off small and build up, kay?

Wyatt is not over his wife. He’s not. He’s still obsessed with her. He regularly prints out pictures of her and stares at them, tapes them to his wall with the newspaper articles. He sits at a bar looking at her picture and drinking. And his obsession isn’t going away any time soon. He isn’t going to wake up one day in the near future and move on. It’s already been four years, and he is still feeling it. And he’s not done yet. Lucy’s journal claims that Wyatt is still obsessed with Jessica. We don’t yet know exactly when Lucy writes the journal, but Flynn does say that it’s, “A few years from now.” So a few years from now, Wyatt is still obsessed with Jessica and her death. We can’t honestly expect him to be all in with Lucy until he’s over Jessica. That’s not fair.

Inappropriate/Inconsiderate. He’s a guy. Fair enough, right? Excuse it if you want, but what he does in the Pilot is still a jerk move. Wyatt and Lucy are locked in a cell together. They’re standing, they’re pacing around, he’s staring at her breasts. It makes Lucy visibly uncomfortable. She scoffs and turns away from him. Oh, but it was all tactical, right? He had to stare at her chest before his eureka moment hit. Sure. Whatever. Okay, but then (and there’s no excuse for this) he watches as she takes off her shirt and bra! That’s downright sleazy. And the fandom romanticizes this instance? How would you feel if this guy you JUST MET was leering at you and, oh yeah, you’re locked in a room with him? There’s a certain expectation of consideration where you don’t make people feel uneasy. Let’s just say “gentleman” isn’t a word I’m throwing around with Wyatt Logan, aight?

Unstable. There was that part in the beginning of The Alamo where Wyatt is being reassigned. And I have to admit, I was surprised. He handled it with integrity, maturity, and respect towards his superiors. Fiction is so full of loose canons, I’d never seen that before. I was impressed. But boy, he got me good. Because just wait until the adults are away. He immediately descends into an erratic mindset. He begins experiencing flashbacks that are one step away from full-blown hallucinations. He is tortured by survivor’s guilt to the point that it affects his decision making skills. He already had enough of that going on because of his wife. In the Pilot, he’s so distracted by saving Kate the first time that he lets Flynn get away. And then a second time. And then a third time. I have to wonder how Wyatt has the psychiatric green light to be approved for combat, much less such a vital mission whose outcome literally affects the fate of the entire world. The episode posed the question if Wyatt is the right man for the job, and somehow the answer was… yes? Come on. This would never happen in real life. Wyatt’s instability is a liability. Let’s be honest with ourselves, he’s about as unstable as Flynn.

Oh, speaking of…

He’s as bad as Flynn. Not “as” bad, but committing a lot of the same transgressions. You know the body count between them is about the same, right? Granted, several of the people Wyatt has killed are Flynn’s men, self-defense shots with a low impact on the timeline. But others?

That’s sort of… what Flynn does. All the time. And why he does it. 

And the justification here, why we shouldn’t care, is because the guy was a Nazi? Look, he wasn’t a member of the top brass. He was just a soldier guarding some random spot in the woods. He’s not making a lot of decisions about the war. Was most likely drafted. He was just a guy doing as he was told, and he got shot in the back. And any descendants he might have had disappeared. They certainly weren’t Nazis. He was just some grunt. I seem to recall Wyatt’s outlook on the life of a soldier as, “I don’t get trained in why. Just who, what, where, and when.” It’s a bit… heartless. It shows a lack of empathy. That’s all I’m saying. (No, I’m not a Nazi sympathizer. But I do consider the individual within the cause.)

Wyatt actually killed at least six people in that episode. But there’s really no telling how many more were casualties of the rocket he and Rufus set off. Most likely (and at least) there were the four who were next to it when it exploded. Which would bring Wyatt’s contributive body count in that one episode up to ten. But given the massive fire the rocket ignites, there were probably more. (And we can’t even calculate how many of their descendants were wiped.) Honestly, if I did a legitimate tally, he has undoubtedly killed MORE people than Flynn.

He also killed Lieutenant Louis Coulon’s son, which can’t have not had an impact somewhere. And he was a good guy who wanted to feed them. Poor fella.

Wyatt has killed other people in the past. Like Rittenhouse’s men, but those were in self-defense so we have to let it go. Even though an unscheduled death going back 236 years definitely affected a lot in the timeline. That’s dozens of people who weren’t born, though it could easily be a hundred or more.

Wyatt has NO concerns with preserving the timeline, which is Lucy’s primary mission. And it’s very disrespectful how he OFTEN changes events on a whim, ignoring Lucy’s advice (and sometimes her pleas) to be more careful, leave less of a footprint. In response, Wyatt tells Lucy that history is her job and expects her to be his damage control as he runs about doing as he wishes in his mission and changes almost as many things incidentally as Flynn does intentionally. Lucy is so passionate about history and maintaining it and… Wyatt doesn’t really care a lot of the time.

Wyatt is manipulative. To be fair, this is mostly something seen with Flynn. He does it three times in the Watergate Tape episode. He toys with Flynn a bit, makes him think that he’s really willing to listen him. Flynn expresses that he wishes Wyatt would believe him, and Wyatt decides to run with it, use it. I’d let this go because, hey, Flynn was threatening to kill him and that’s just survival. I actually like the idea that Wyatt was consciously trying to trigger Lima syndrome. It’s devious, and I like it. But there’s one instance that sits unwell with me. There’s the really great scene (Goran is such an amazing actor) where Flynn finally fills in the blanks and says what happened regarding his family’s deaths. It’s extremely raw and emotional, obviously a sore spot, to put it lightly. And after Flynn has basically overshared his soul, Wyatt says, “Look. If any of this were true, you have a time machine. Why don’t you just go back and save your family?” It actually took me a few viewings to realize how, well, insidious the suggestion really is. Wyatt KNOWS you can’t go back to a time you already exist. And yet he’s hoping Flynn doesn’t? So he took the heartbreaking story that was shared with him and he then tried to twist and exploit Flynn’s desperation and love for his family until he could convince the man to go back to the night it happened and, in the process, destroy himself. Wyatt tried to weaponize Flynn’s mourning. It’s just very… unsettling. It’s very cold.

And then a lesser instance with Lucy, though his motivations are conjecture. But I gotta be honest that, once again, it just doesn’t sit well with me for some reason. The scene in The Capture of Benedict Arnold where they find out Rittenhouse is one man and the team is trying to decide how they’ll proceed. Lucy isn’t on board, and Wyatt sort of says everything he can to bring her around, up to and including the illogical proposal that it might even bring Amy back. He wants something, and Lucy’s standing in the way of a united front. Keep in mind, Wyatt’s already on board. Flynn bought his cooperation from the beginning. So every point he makes here is for the sole purpose of convincing Lucy. He mentions all the people who will suffer if they don’t do it, and yeah, it’s a great cause but it’s not his cause. It’s not his motive for why he’s doing it. He wants Jessica’s killer. The plight of hundreds is his tactic for convincing Lucy. And the way he finishes it by saying, “What you really believe in is helping people,” it sort of feels like emotional blackmail. He presents the argument in such a way that Lucy can’t ignore that her disagreement and inaction will cause the deaths of all those people. He’s pressuring her to agree with them. Like I said, his motives there are debatable, but I don’t like it.

Temper. Wyatt is a great guy. So long as everything is going his way and everyone is doing what he says. Source? Just… any scene with him and Judith Campbell, honestly. He immediately flips a switch with her, and it’s somewhat frightening to know how quickly he can turn on a person. He has a temper lying in wait, and it can be unlocked with very minor provocation. It’s an overall bad episode for Wyatt with an unfortunate peek at the darker side he definitely has. He tries ordering Lucy and Rufus around the entire episode, snaps at them when they disobey or lose focus. Lucy even tells him he doesn’t give the orders, not that he gives it much mind. He tells her to take it up with Agent Christopher, which she obviously can’t do in the past. Wyatt knows and takes advantage of the fact that when they are isolated the past, he becomes the default power of authority. He doesn’t use it often, but it is a trump card. Lucy and Rufus cannot stop him physically. He’s a well trained soldier, and they’re nerds. Wyatt is aware.

And, ya know, just adding, he goes on to use Judith as bait, something he knows could be dangerous given his nonanswer when she asks if he would do the same with a woman he loved. Lucy told him Judith is important, and he still used her, risked her.

His temper ties in with this next point.

Everything! In! This! Scene!

Good lord. Red flags popping up like daisies. Can we extract the facts from this scene? Maybe if we’re not watching two people act, the story will shine through and hit a little better, a little clearer.

Wyatt and Jessica go out to a bar.

Jessica runs into an old boyfriend of hers.

Wyatt becomes immensely jealous. Even though he and Jessica are married. (Now, I don’t know the girl. Yet. But unless he has proven and established reasons to worry about her being disloyal, this is very insulting.) Wyatt is an over the top jealous, possessive person. 

Let’s add distrustful.

Wyatt’s jealousy leads to him drinking too much.

I’d like to mention the obvious here in that after drinking “too much,” he then drives them home. So… drunk driving added to the list of offenses.

They leave the bar, and, once they are alone, the fight begins.

The shouting becomes so unbearable that Jessica would rather get out of the car than stay in it with him.

Instead of letting it go, at least until they get home, he actually, legitimately stops the car.

He lets her out on the side of a highway. It wasn’t a city block or a rural street. Only highways have mile markers. Have you seen a highway? It’s typically a long stretch of road that might not have anything on it for miles. That’s why they have mile markers. He let her out there.

Because of this, Jessica is (predictably?) killed.

This isn’t a tragic backstory. Flynn has a tragic backstory. He was just a man doing his job and they killed his family. What Wyatt has is the consequence of his actions. The one redeeming aspect of the whole ordeal is that he does at least blame himself for it. I mean, he should. So at least he does.

I dread the day when (not if) they inevitably show us the flashback of that night and end up retconning so much of how the scene is represented. Because Wyatt is a fan favorite now, so they’re going to make every decision he made that night look like a natural course of events that could happen to anyone. You know they’ll do it.

Jealous. Related note to the above point, people think it’s cute every time Wyatt “gets jealous” when other men pay Lucy attention or flirt with her. Noooooooo. Once again, red flag. We’ve heard what happens when he gets jealous. WHY is this cute?

Did I ramble? Definitely. Is anyone going to read all of that? Definitely not. Sorry I couldn’t keep it brief, Anon. I’m a very contemplative individual who thinks too much about fiction. It’s dangerous to ask me a question. lol. No matter how simple it may sound when asked.

I think what we’re supposed to do with Wyatt’s character (which so few do– no one?) is acknowledge that he is a protagonist who is not 100% good. He is the mirror image of Flynn, an antagonist who is not 100% bad. They have so much in common, I truly believe we’re supposed to draw parallels between them. 

So for lots of reasons, I don’t think Wyatt is good for Lucy. Really, unless he changes himself drastically, I don’t think he’s good for anyone. His wife is literally dead because of his jealousy and his temper. And Wyatt just… can’t really handle it when people disagree with him, not when he’s too invested in his own idea. Lucy is too strong willed for something to actually last for very long between them. I hope it never starts. But I rarely get what I want in these matters so…

Once again, I don’t hate Wyatt. He’s still an okay guy. I didn’t list his positive attributes because it wasn’t relative to the question. And there are enough posts about that. But yeah, one day, the glass just sort of shattered and I noticed all of his bad traits that had been building up under our noses the entire time. They add up. He’s just a flawed, unstable hothead. But at least he’s three-dimensional.