#In my mind 'Twisted' is where Voyager frames their tension being put out into the open and thus ended
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Honestly, the fact that there's still this level of interpersonal tension between Tuvok & Chakotay FIVE YEARS into the Delta Quadrant (though it no longer seems to be affecting their working relationship) is so juicy and also kind of insane - it's REALLY a shame that the bad blood between Chakotay and Tuvok was never fully explored because again this is SO LONG into them knowing each other for this tension to exist where Tuvok still jabs at Chakotay (despite no longer being insubordinate to him and seeming to genuinely grow to respect him) and Chakotay openly admits that they don't like each other.
#Voyager Crew's terrible work environment is enviably in its complexity#Janeway: I'm so glad my two good friends Tuvok & Chakotay are getting along#Tuvok & Chakotay: -five years into an interpersonal cold war- Yeah.#In my mind 'Twisted' is where Voyager frames their tension being put out into the open and thus ended#<- in reality I don't think just stating that you don't like each other means the conflict is resolved but I don't recall it being addresse#past this episode?? If so - that's THREE YEARS ago and nothing's really changed#they're STILL at Chakotay saying 'I don't like you but I respect you professionally'#and Tuvok saying 'I don't like you either' (with the addition of perhaps an unspoken 'but I respect you professionally now too')#This is what happens when you don't have a ship's counselor and you're also the two most senior officers on aboard besides the captain#star trek voyager#Chakotay#Tuvok#st voy#Chakotay: (has known Tuvok five years and is part of a command trio with him) Can I ask your advice?#Tuvok: I don't know. CAN you?#I'd strangle him idk how Chakotay keeps the peace HEHEH I'd be shaking him
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OUAT 2X20 - The Evil Queen
Regina! What a pleasure to feature an old a-QUEEN-tance over here!!!
Once youâre done laughing from this exceptional pun, why not stay for the rest of the review below the cut?
Press Release With the aid of Hook, Regina attempts to put a plan in motion that will help transport herself and Henry back to Fairytale land. But her plan revolves around a fail-safe that was planted within the curse, which if triggered could wipe Storybrooke off the map - and kill all of its inhabitants; and Emmaâs suspicions about Tamara grow. Meanwhile, in the fairytale land that was, the Evil Queen asks Rumplestiltskin to transform her into an unrecognizable peasant in order to kill an unsuspecting Snow White, with the twisted aim of earning the love and respect of her subjects. General Thoughts - Characters/Stories/Themes and Their Effectiveness Past I think this segment was incredibly well handled in its framing. The segment is able to clearly show how Reginaâs reactions to her life and her impressions about her circumstances are dead wrong while still telling a tragic story for her. Like, it is very clear that the audience is supposed to laugh alongside Rumple (A framed mentor figure with a touch more moral ambiguity at this time) as sheâs decrying claims that sheâs an Evil Queen and be with Snow in abject horror when we see the destroyed village. That said, weâre also meant to also see the tragedy of Regina being on the cusp of real change, only to have her own remorseless history come back at the very worst moment.
Besides just the framing, the idea of neutralizing Regina and making her spend time with Snow in an alternate form was inspired. The resulting characterization of Snow and the effects of her kindness (Namely that all it takes is some one-on-one time with Snow in order to remember the potential goodness in your heart because she is honestly just that soothing and kind of a presence) is something thatâs honestly much smarter than it has any right to be. But whatâs better is that for all of Snowâs goodness, it DOES have a limit, and that is abruptly reached and more when she discovers the burnt village. Also, great job Ginny for a small bit at the end of her screen time where she goes through multiple expressions of anguish after letting Regina go, both as a show of her building frustration with the consequences of goodness and her frustrations with Regina. Iâm honestly willing to bet that right after this episode is when the grouchier Snow from âSnow Fallsâ shows up. Finally, Iâve just got to say that this is such a better handling of the possibility of Reginaâs goodness than the flashback in  âThe Cricket Game.â Here, Regina doesnât just fail a test she was all but bound to, but she crosses over a tangible line of decency and hurts countless others. Present The present does a lot more in terms of plot progression than story progression, but it comes with more than a few solid character interactions and moments.
I enjoyed seeing Regina and Killian working together. They have a good rapport and the betrayals and speeches between these two villains are just great. I love the little ways they screw each other over, but also this light bit of compassion they share too (Ex. Killian giving his condolences for Coraâs passing).
The Emma, Henry, Neal, and Tamara subplot was equally interesting! The search through the apartment makes for an engaging mystery, even though I know the outcome of it. Thereâs always this worry in my heart that theyâre going to be caught and when they do, it makes for a fun moment of realized tension. Everyoneâs characterization (Or somewhat fake characterization concerning Tamara in her scene with Emma) is fully in-line and the conflict is an understandable one with little nuances that make for compelling bits of dramatic irony.
The plot progression itself is fine. What we learn about the trigger and Greg and Tamaraâs plans is well spread out and interspersed between good character moments. Insights - Stream of Consciousness -âActually, I prefer with the lights on.â I bet you do, Captain! XD -âShe is his mother, despite all the horrors!â Very good, Snow! Look, as far as the current circumstances of this show and season have been thus far, Iâm of the mind that the Charming family is currently right: Regina does deserve to be able to see Henry, but given her history and especially her recent behavior, limiting her visitation while she continues to better herself is a completely fair thing to do. No oneâs denying that Regina is Henryâs mom and the one time it was done, it was appropriately framed as a wrong outburst. -âRumpleâs cell.â David...while still a supporter of the sentiment I just presented, thatâs...too far. -THE PANDA BLOOPER!!! -âBut I am not evil.â Regina, you just burned down a village! Thatâs pretty evil! -Damn, Rumple. Cutting off trade with King Georgeâs kingdom. Thatâs coooooold. ...but kind of awesome. -I love that when characters, itâs explained how theyâll look different to the world while still being played by the same actor! THatâs clever as hell! -âThey still see me as The Evil Queen which they made me.â Regina, no. -Regina, this is Henry. What did you expect when you were leading up to everyone dying? -Awww! Good job giving condolences, Killian! -I wonder what it wouldâve been like had Cora and Regina (And presumably Henry) went back to the Enchanted Forest and started fresh? -Snowâs actually giving Emma really good advice here! She knows no one wants Henry to get an incorrect impression about the circumstances of his parents. -I LOVE the music that plays as Snow saves Regina! It reminds me of a superheroâs theme! CAN WE GET SNOW IN THE NEXT AVENGERS MOVIE?! -Killian, how can you tell that thatâs Maleficent? I can hardly tell that thatâs Maleficent! It looks more like what happens when the Mummy fucks Loki! -OH SHIT! I FORGOT THE GLASS COFFIN COMES BACK!!! -âSomeone from another forest taught me. Long story.â HOLY SHIT! DID THEY HAVE HERCULES PLANNED FROM THE END OF SEASON 2?! I LOVE THIS SHOW! -âNot usually [Referring to how fun stakeouts are]. But this one? Yeah, kinda.â Awwww!!! Some cute Swan Believer! -I like how there is a direct consequence of Emma not heeding Snowâs words. -So I like how Regina has moments of surprise as Snow talks about how thereâs still good inside of Regina. It feels like itâs just as much of a surprise to her for her own sake as it is for Snowâs sake. -I wish past Snow remembered this destroyed village in âThe Cricket Gameâsâ flashback. Like this episode just makes that flashback even dumber. -Snow is perceptive as FUCK with the reflexes of a GOD! -I LOVE that look of frustration on Snowâs face as she lets Regina get away. It contributes nicely to her growth of disdain for the consequences of her goodness! -âStartling. Some people would say striking.â Is this a taco commercial, because why not both? -âThe one thing I excel at is surviving.â I guess this is the first aspect of that line (Other than maybe his second voyage to Neverland?)! Neat! Arcs - How are These Storylines Progressing? Reginaâs Redemption - Reginaâs regressing a lot in this episode and I kind of struggled with how I felt about it. On one hand, it does work on a character level. Reginaâs pretty dramatic and I can believe that would be her reaction to the idea of being stranded in Storybrooke would be a big one. However, watching this regression and seeing her say how she believes that the only reason sheâs The Evil Queen is because Snow and Charming made her that way is just annoying to watch and makes me feel barely sympathetic at all to her plight. Like, if Regina hadnât shown such strength in the first half of the season, Iâd have felt differently, and while get that Coraâs death and this bean incident changed things, this is such a dramatic change that I donât know if I can enjoy it (Especially when one considers how she was able to stop herself from forcing Henryâs love in âWelcome to Storybrooke,â an even more recent example of her strength). Jeez, she even ignores Henryâs pleas and memory wipes him! And I know she improves in the very next episode (Iâm having serious Dark Hook flashbacks or flashforwards, whichever they would be called), but in the confines of this episode, it goes a little overboard. Killianâs Revenge/Redemption - So I know that Iâm going off of a few lines here, but I love the setup for Killianâs realization that revenge isnât what it seems. The entire opening to the downstairs elevator scene speaks to the fact that while Killian values his revenge, its conquest essentially means that his life is over and the fact that he shows even the tiniest bit of doubt there shows that there could be more in store for him. That said, until he reaches that point, he still does want revenge and will fight to ensure it, no matter how unscrupulous and awful he has to be in the process. Greg and Tamara - Gotta say. While not super impressive nor memorable as characters, Greg and Tamara are pretty clever with the knowledge theyâve been given. Their plan to recruit Killian and neutralize Regina is pretty well thought out, and their covert nature was only partially exposed due to a complete accident! Favorite Dynamic Swan Believer. Look, this one is just fun. Seeing Emma and Henry bonding on a stakeout, sharing ice cream, and breaking-and-entering together is fantastic and cute. I love seeing the little bond thatâs grown between Emma and Henry, especially after the whole lying arc from a few episodes back. This is great payoff and plays into what one would naturally expect from an eleven year old when heâs helping his mom foil his dadâs fiance: could his parents get back together. I like how Emma explains to him very clearly that thatâs not the case (And I swear, thatâs not a shipping thing. Thatâs just a matter of being careful of his expectations) but also gets the added bonus of his speculations being a consequence of not listening to Snowâs advice. Writer Jane Espenson and Christine Boylan are our writers today! And I liked what they came up with. Snowâs character progression in the past segment is as smooth as peanut butter, and sheâs just the tip of the iceberg. All throughout the story are well-written character moments with mostly good dialogue. Itâs only failing is, as I said before, is some of Reginaâs present dialogue, specifically during her conversation with Henry. Rating 9/10. This was a good one! The story in the past is, as I said before, better than it had any right to be and draws far better lines for the characters of Snow and Regina. The present storyline is equally interesting, albeit with a touch of exhaustion from some of the more repetitive dialogue. But most of the character interactions and story progression worked very well, making it a quiet wonder. Flip My Ship - Home of All Things âShippy Goodnessâ Hooked Queen - Damn, Killian and Regina exchange some really nice and trusting looks in Reginaâs office! Hell, Killian even being here and offering his services is pretty great for them! Captain Swan - I donât think this has ever been pointed out before, but Killian kept the beanstalk cuff! While it didnât work for me, Killian certainly gave a touch of value to his time with Emma on the beanstalk! Swan Fire - At risk of entering anti-shipping territory, I want to point out how the whole projection of feelings that other characters have been putting on Emma about Neal works SO much better here than it did for Graham because (1) they have a past, (2) they actually spend time together, (3) thereâs a level of ambiguity to it which makes this time feel more interesting, and (4) those feelings are later believed to be true. Also, I just love Nealâs reaction to the door trick! XD ()()()()()()()()() Weâre almost done!!!! Thanks for reading and to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales.
Next time...though I sincerely doubt I will, I hope I wonât have to PAN this two-part finale! XD
See you then!
Season 2 Tally (166/220) Writer Tally for Season 2: Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitsis: (50/60) Jane Espenson (44/50)* Andrew Chambliss and Ian Goldberg (31/50) David Goodman (24/30)* Robert Hull (24/30)* Christine Boylan (26/30)* Kalinda Vazquez (28/30)* Daniel Thomsen (18/20)* * Indicates that their work for the season is complete
Operation Rewatch Archives
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Novel Review: Automatic Reload by Ferrett Steinmetz
Hei Hei and Welcome to MacroMicroCosm Literary ReviewâŚ
Novel: Automatic Reload Author: Ferrett Steinmetz Publisher: TOR Books (2020) Rating: 4/5 Stars
Today we are diving cautious as a paranoid quadruple amputee cyborg into the cyberpunk romantic kill zone known as Ferrett Steinmetzâs Automatic Reload published in 2020 by Tor Books. Strap into something, prepare your payloads and itâs time to dive in.
I borrowed Automatic Reloadâs audiobook from my municipal libraryâs Libby app, and will be critiquing the audiobook narration by Tim Campbell via Macmillan Audio with Steinmetzâ prose. Tim Campbellâs narration hit my auditory nerves with the same grit as a Private Eye in my spouseâs beloved old radio shows. Instantaneously, I was brought back to The Shadow, and Red Panda Adventures. Matâs internal narration was made vivid with Campbellâs grit. All goes as expected for a guttural masculine-led audiobook⌠until Campbell narrates female characters. The grit and gruff voice of our narrator and protagonist Mat (whose name I missed completely for the first few hours of audio storytelling), shifted to a nasal âquasi-feminine whineâ each a tad different for the few feminine characters in the novel. While off-putting to hear limp feminine audio, it didnât stop me from listening to the entire audiobook. I wish Macmillan Audio hired two voice actors, that Sylvia and Trish especially were voiced by a woman. I donât envy Campbellâs options with Sylviaâs voice, especially in the beginning, Sylvia is a panic-attacked whimpering victim and Mat the rough but conscience-bound redeemer. Maybe itâs a pet peeve of mine, when listening to audiobook narration with too âbreathyâ a character voice, or too much differentiation between a narratorâs timbre and the various dialogue, but it threw me out of Automatic Reloadâs prose a few times and elicited many a rant among our MacroMicroCosm discord server on the nature of respecting female characters by allowing them a more natural voice, and not a whining nasal whimper. Itâs unfortunate, because Tim Campbell had the perfect voice for Matâs rough narration. All in, this was the only issue with the audiobook version of Automatic Reload.
On to Steinmetzâs prose. While entertaining, and a fun way of portraying neuro-divergent characters, Automatic Reload is not making it into my top cyberpunk novels. As it was billed to be a cyberpunk romance, the choice to spend a vast third if not half of the novel in a first-person narrator-protagonist dry technological readout of the various guns, cybernetically augmented prostheses and associated weapons-come-defence programs felt stale as a slice of bread on the kitchen counter in summertime. Maybe engineering isnât my thing, I know of several friends who would love such attention given to the weaponry, and recommended Automatic Reload to all of them, but a good hour into the prose and all I knew of Mat was the amount of weaponry he possessed on his specialized limbs, that he was attempting to halt a kidnapping, and he was paralyzed with the incapacity to kill. A decent bedrock for a PTSD scarred main character, Matâs inability to take life becomes a mainstay of the manuscript. This is not in itself a negative. It makes for intriguing prose, and shows his caring, ethical side.
But I could not help feeling Matâs selfish delusions within the first few chapters. His first-person narration of saving the teenaged girl became more about saving the people, who caused her fear and harm at her expense. When I taught self defence in a university and martial art academy setting, one of the first lessons (especially to the female students) was a defender has the right to go home. The attacker has every opportunity to stop harming you, and them refusing to let go is them allowing you to defend your right to survive unharmed as possible. In the introductory arc, Mat rescues a girl from kidnappers, who are prepared to kill her. Regardless of how noble Mat was in his attempts of causing less harm, I could not stop thinking of the harm he was causing to the poor girl frightened out of her mind, with a knife against her neck. Steinmetz goes so far as to have the girl bleed from a superficial slice to the throat, before our âwounded heroâ intervenes in a kinetic fashion.
Mat is not a hero, his paranoia at preventing harm does not make him precisely good. It does, however, make him a fascinating study of an injured veteran compensating for the horrors of war. He reminds me of Perseus, played by Sam Worthington in the 2010 released Clash of the Titans, where Perseus discovers his demi-godhood and struggles to go about his mission as a normal man, not a god. As if his spectacular powers were to be feared or forgotten in self-hatred rather than used to othersâ advantages. Even when companions on his voyage begin to die, Perseus sticks to his selfish morals and refuses his inner power until it is all but too late. Just as Perseus could have saved multiple companionâs lives had he accepted his power, so too Mat could have saved the girl from trauma (injection of âanti PTSD drugsâ notwithstanding) if he hadnât attempted to wait the kidnappers out as long as he did, until a last second where she looks into his faceplate and knows she is about to die.
As protagonists go, Mat is an insecure, selfish moralist with his own set of obsessive edits, who passes it off as a sheriffâs bravado in the wild world of body hacking. When his contact and seemingly only friend Trish (whom I loved) gets him a job worth millions, Mat dives in to prevent collateral damage only after she cajoles his ethics, and that is noble. But this is where the novel takes itsâ turn. I wonât be going into spoilers much here, but from the moment Mat meets assassin-damsel in distress Sylvia, I could see where the novelâs plot was going, and for the most part I was 9 for 10.
Sylviaâs panic and anxiety disorder took centre stage, as Mat tumbled with her assassin-programmed artificial body, and the other body-hackers who were looking to bring her back and finish their job. The bonding between the two (through âold timey cinema) was ultimately endearing but fairly stock, between the constant verbal output of every single technological gadget Mat had on hand, or modified to work, or picked to replace old limbs, or because we were at another moment, where Mat needed to drone on about the tech as if to remind us that we were, in fact, in a cyberpunk setting.
My major criticism of the prose isnât Matâs struggle with harm reduction, but the sheer amount of technological data Steinmetz pushed into the manuscript, until I felt like half the novel was a sci-fi readerâs guide to emotionless guns, cybernetic components and threat awareness programming. At a fairly early point in the prose, the tech talk got so redundant if I hadnât been listening on audiobook in my car, Iâd skip pages. Yes, I can see this was a coping mechanism for Mat, and the best way Steinmetz had to frame the science fiction setting in a novel completely from the protagonistâs inner monologue (a literal âsubvocal recordingâ as we discover), but it threw me. Automatic Reload lacked a balance between the cold cover of Matâs obsessions and the emotionally gorgeous story of two wounded people falling in love⌠while being chased by psycho body-hacking killers.
Itâs unfortunate, because the relationship development between Mat and Sylvia is agonizingly sweet. Their ability to both freak out and help each other, the peppering of laughter to break the tension of their run with death were all wonderfully done. Trish, Matâs business contact and friend is the stand alone best character of the novel. Sassy, strong and incapable of selfish intentions, Trish gives Automatic Reload the backbone it needs to evolve both Mat and Sylvia and drive the plot forward, even through the constant re-hashing of the setting as Mat experienced it. I cared about Trish more than I cared about Mat or Sylvia, beyond their growing connection. The enemies, while trope-ish, were believable in their immensity, and brought me to the feel of a 1980âs action flick with Van Damme, or Norris at the fore⌠if their female lead happened to be more powerful than the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok.
Steinmetzâs plot in Automatic Reload is visible miles before the chapter headings, and that is unproblematic, if youâre looking for an easy, entertaining read similar to that 1980âs action flick. I wonât say the climax didnât take a twist, it did, but even when the twist occurred, I again called what would remain of the plot. If you want a cyberpunk weaponâs heavy cute-couple novel to relax with, this will certainly do it for you. Aside from itsâ flaws, Automatic Reload has a vulnerability and joy to its escapism, the clinging growth of a relationship in two freaked out, lonely people.
Mat does grow through his moments with Sylvia, but especially with Trishâs advice. If you like to know the technological readout of every warriorâs equipment, watched the Matrix and Maltese Falcon, and enjoy a good gritty radio-show, with romantic plot-line, Automatic Reload is for you. I give it four out of five stars, and imagine the ideal reader would be of the masculine or tech-minded variety who is woke enough to handle a gritty romance with more bullets than people, a transgender best friend, and heroes whose anxiety and PTSD cause as many problems as they eventually, and inevitably, solve.
For those who want something to listen to of a similar feel, I thoroughly advise listening to the Red Panda Adventures.
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