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marithlizard · 4 years ago

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Thoughts on RWBY v8c1, “Divide”

Summary: Much as expected! Top-notch animation and imagery, terrifying plot, sloppy writing.

(I am just going to have to accept that RWBY no longer cares if details make sense, or are strictly in character, as long as they lead to Something Cool. Which is frustrating! I’ve never been particularly a fan of most of the big story franchises for precisely that reason - I want a canon text that holds up to my obsessively analytic fangirl scrutiny.)

(Yes OKAY I know, they sent a dog through the mail way back in v2 and that should’ve been a clue, but the plot holes didn’t get big enough to actually annoy me until v5-v6. And I still love my favorite characters so I’m going to have to suck it up. Onward to the episode!)

CINDER BACKSTORY ALERT

Oh, now that's a lovely transition, present-day Cinder’s nails scratching in time with past-Cinder’s scrubbing of the floor.

Damn it, Neo, you should not be here. You're not evil enough for this crowd no matter how many people you may have killed. And you know it, from that look of fear. Roman would be yelling at you to run.

Did they - are those the murderwhale's gills? Turned into landing pads for small airships? And those are teeth. Salem's throne room/bridge is in its mouth. So cool.

Credit? No, you don't get credit, Neo. That's not how this works.

Oh, no. No, Emerald, don't - yeah.

I love the weird biomagical-Grimm technology Salem uses. It pulsates. Of course it pulsates.

"Without you I am nothing". I still don't think Cinder is delivering that line sincerely, not one bit. She just knows the situation.

And Salem just shoos them away with a little wave of her fingers, go away minion-flies. There are only two players in the entire world as far as she's concerned. Only two people, really. Humanity 2.0 doesn't count.

Oscar and Ozpin in a freezing little collection of hovels. Probably still the same quarry or mine they fell into. Oh YAY reunion approximately 1000% sooner than anyone was predicting! But...Oscar doesn't actually look relieved to see Ruby.

Yeah, he hasn't told them about Oz being back.

So they've joined forces with the Huntresses, excellent. And May Marigold on top of things as dispatcher!

AWWWW Nora didn't bowl him over. Hopefully it's not just that she has no exuberance in her, and she has actually picked up the clear signals that he doesn't like it.

Wanting to talk it out with Ozpin first is a good reason. Not done talking? You haven't even started. But...it's going to make the others mad all over again, and this time they'll be mad at you, Oscar.

Ozpin has had only two lines so far, but there's a different quality to his voice now. I think they changed up the sound effect but it's more than that. Oz used to always sound at least a bit smug and very self-assured. Every trace of that is just...gone. And Oscar himself is sounding very Oz-like, with the “every choice I’ve made has been the wrong one” angst. I’m starting to really worry we will lose Ozpin this volume. :(

Qrow and Robyn's arrest hasn't been publicized. But their pictures are gone from the wanted mug shots. Arrested or dead seem obvious conclusions - I guess they're too afraid of the second to make any guesses.

Ironwood's rationale last season for stopping the Mantle evacuations was that they were going to raise Atlas so there wasn't time. But that no longer applies, Atlas can't be raised without Penny. So he's just decided their lives aren't worth spending resources on. Which makes me wonder what's happened to the Mantle residents who have already been evacuated. Being warehoused somewhere in poor conditions with no one having a clue what to do with them? We probably won't find out. It's not the kind of detail RWBY is good at following up on, unfortunately.

Huh. I see the logic of the crater being warm and centralized...but when Salem attacks Atlas they're going to be directly underneath.

Ouch, that photograph and broken luggage are effective. I may have complaints about the writing but RWBY's storyboarders and animators do a stellar job.

Speaking of which, apparently we really ARE handwaving physics and major engineering projects so that Amity can be launched with Pietro's knowhow and a roll of duct tape. The only requirement is to push the equivalent of the big green button on a computer.

AND Ruby wants to go ahead with telling the world about Salem? Despite it having been acknowledged last volume that there would be global chaos and Grimm invasions? Ironwood's plan to "lend forces" after the fact was hopelessly inadequate and would have killed millions. Now there's no plan for aid at all.

ARGH - hm. Well. I guess I do see Ruby's point about feeling obligated to warn everyone Salem's army is on the move. But what defense can anyone else in the world mount? Atlas is the only place with a real army anyway. And the Beacon footage already triggered waves of despair and Grimm, I don't think Lionheart was lying about that. Ruby's plan just means people will die sooner. I'm with Yang, they should help Mantle and concentrate on fighting Salem here and now.

...wait,is Yang rebelling? Just like that? Is it v6c2 all over again with even less buildup? Ooh, no, because Ruby's not alone. It's a genuine party split.

Oh god, someone explain to Penny that she must stay out of Salem's clutches at all costs. That's a frightening level of naivete. In fact, they should be getting Penny the fuck out of Atlas and as far away as possible.

RNBWP and YJOR, Rainbow-P and, er, hm, the fandom will doubtless come up with a better name than "Orgy". An interesting breakdown. I'm just glad they were able to do it peacefully. (Although Nora sounds salty in the extreme and Ren looks betrayed.)

I'm just going to assume Pietro disabled the tracking on their scrolls, and that James can't find them using this phone call.

Oh, Ironwood. That is...not remotely convincing. But you think of her as a little kid still, one who was always eager to please before.

He's got a valid point from his chess-game perspective, it's true. If Salem gets all four relics, Remnant really is doomed. (He doesn't know about the summoning-gods clause, but even without that she could reshape the planet). But raising Atlas to keep it safe while she rains down destruction on the rest of the world is not a viable plan either morally or strategically.

Annd we cut to the Ace Ops without hearing Ruby's answer. Ace Ops looking variously depressed, impassive, and pissed off.

..er. Clover IS dead, right? Must be, or he'd be covered in IVs and monitors, but that we're standing in a medical facility next to Winter getting treatment makes it seem ambiguous. That's pretty cruel to the FairGame shippers, c'mon, they've suffered enough.

I wish I hadn't learned about the robot arm, because it would've been a nicely shocking reveal. It's not Pietro's work, James. Pietro left you and you'll be reminded of that every time you clench your inferiorly-made fingers.

Oof, Winter is tied to Ironwood by his sincere gratitude, as well as duty and loyalty. That bond is going to be tested further.

Okay the Councilors are acting like idiots. Martial law is a terrible idea 99% of the time. But when you have an massive Grimm army, a flying murderwhale and the queen of evil on your doorstep might be a reasonable time to contemplate the 1%.

did you - did you just kill a councillor

please tell me that was a warning shot

Harriet and Winter both have "my boss is going round the twist fast, oh shit" looks on their faces. And they exchanged a glance there.

And we end with the scene from the trailer of Salem ordering a flying monkey-bloodhound to fetch Oscar. She's talking to the lamp - I wonder if Jinn can hear? Probably not, it was definitely implied she was waking up from sleep in v6c2.

New opening! I've already commented on the dramatic title card of the others "turning their backs" on Ruby. Ooh, Clover's shadow is going to hang long over this season, apparently! And - whoa, THAT'S an unexpected juxtaposition of characters.

Are they going to team up? Is Harriet going to break Qrow out of prison, yell at him to stop being a lump and avenge Clover? Definite teamup for him and Robyn, unsurprising but good. (I don't think romance is in the cards for Qrow this volume, it'll be wall-to-wall doom, but for the record anyone who can give this man a happy ending is okay by me.)

It's just not looking good for Oscar and Oz at all. :(

Whitley and Willow in the credits! Yes please, they both have so much potential to grow out of Jacques' shadow.

Watts, you smug little fucker. Smug tall fucker. You know what I mean. Oh no - he’s going to hijack Ruby’s broadcast from Amity. It’ll be like Beacon but worse. That’s such a horrible idea that it is now my official prediction.

Interesting use of mirrors here.

That little glance between Yang and Ruby suggests they won't truly come to enmity, thank goodness.

I wonder if there's something significant in the relative positioning of Emerald and Mercury. Is he going to rise higher in Salem's ranks while she and Neo are reluctant, and possibly team up to escape?

"Some lives will end much too soon,some evil will never ever die" YES THANK YOU CASEY AND JEFF WE GET IT

Oh MY. RWBY falling into deep water just like Cinder, with golden sparkles that sure do make it seem a lot like the buried GoL pool of creation. The staff floating above out of reach. Is this hinting at an unwelcome transformation of some kind?

Scribbly outlines of weapons and Grimm and Penny, her colors changing. "HAPPY EVER AFTER" being crossed out and replaced by "HAPPY NEVER AGAIN".

hello yes I'm scared for the entire team, you can stop any time now.

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby v8 spoilers #rwby volume 8

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mysterylover123 · 6 years ago

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My Top 10 Favorite (and Top 5 least favorite) Izuocha moments

mysterylover123

OK, to explain that title and why I didn’t have a “least favorite” for any other ship: While I have moments for other ships that I don’t like, none of those ships are canon. I have no interest in making people feel bad about shipping things. I do feel it’s ok to critique writing choices you don’t agree with in the actual show, and there are a few big Izuocha moments I don’t like, so I needed to cover them. I do like this ship, for the record - but the canon handling was odd to me, so I thought I’d do a favorite and least for this list instead of just a favorites.

#10. Battle Trial Arc Teamwork

From: Episodes 7-8

What Happens: Deku and Uraraka are teamed up to fight Iida and Bakugo. Uraraka is very reassurring to Deku about their teamwork and at the climax of the arc, they work together to defeat their opponents in awesome fashion. Uraraka also goes up to Deku post arc with concern

Why I Like It: I do like me some battle couples. I love seeing Deku talk to Uraraka about his feelings (albeit for Bakugo) and Uraraka calling them a team and working hard because Deku inspires her to try harder. Deku showcases his scheming brilliant brain here too.

#9. Voting for Deku

From; Episode 9 “Just Do your best Iida”

What Happens: The voting happens. Bakugo pitches a fit that two people voted for Deku, and Uraraka whistles while thinking “I’ll just keep my vote to myself”

Why I Like It: Uraraka voted for Deku, like Shoto did for Momo, and keeps it a secret. I’m hoping we get a similar scene to the Todomomo one where Ochako reveals this, though I’m not sure how that would play out.

#8. Someone you like

From: Season 3 Episode 15

What Happens: Uraraka, embarrassed about her classmates grilling her on her love life, floats to the ceiling - and sees Deku out the window practicing ultimate moves. She seems very smitten.

Why I Like It; This is a more pure Izuocha moment as she responds to him romantically, reaction to how cool he is and how much she admires him. I’m not wild about Mina telling Uraraka she likes Deku, but I do like he actually acting like she does.

#7. Cavalry Battle Teamup

From: The Sports Festival Arc 2.04-2.05

What Happens: Ochako teams up with Deku in the Cavalry battle, hoping to as she later puts it “rely on him to get by”. She gets jealous of how much attention he pays Mei. Deku thinks about her support of him and all she’s done for him as he fights hard to win.

Why I Like It; This is actually more of a Deku on Ochako moment, since she later complicates her own role in this with her admission about Iida. But Deku says that he wanted her for his team, and thinks how cool she is, and is inspired by her support of him to fight Todoroki. It shows how much he values her support.

#6. Joint Training Arc Teamwork

From: Chapters 209-216

What Happens: Deku and Uraraka watch each others’ backs in combat. Uraraka saves him from his powers gone mad, hugging him to calm him down. Afterwards she blushes about it, and he possibly blushes too though it’s not clear.

Why I Like It: Again, love some teamwork pairings. I wanted a little more from this arc (Uraraka talking Deku down instead of Shinso) but we still got her hugging him and blushing about it while thinking about her new “who saves the heroes” motivation. Deku is also grateful to her for saving him. Uraraka works well with him, worries about him, but now she doesn’t let it distract her.

#5. First Meeting and Rescue

From: Chapters 2-4

What Happens: Uraraka saves Deku from tripping over his feet. Deku is attracted to her; she gets trapped in the fight and Deku saves her. This gets him into UA. She also offers him her points to Present Mic.

Why I Like It; It’s such a sweet first impression. He thinks she’s cute (she finds him plain, which annoys me - someone call Deku pretty before the series if over.) He saves her, she saves him, she offers him her points, he thinks about how she helped him before and tries to go talk to her. I like how he compares it to saving Kacchan from the sludge monster too - saving Uraraka is put in the same category as saving his lifelong acquaintance, despite having just met her.

#4. Deku means you can do it

From: Episode 6 Rage you Damn Nerd

What Happens: Uraraka greets Izuku as “Deku” based on Bakugo’s name. Izuku corrects her but she suggests Deku could mean “you can do it.” Izuku immediately changes his attitude on the name. Later that ep he takes her name as his “you can do it” motto, which she finds touching.

Why I Like It; The Deku name is one of my favorite Izuocha bits. I love how she gives his nickname a new meaning and he likes it, takes it for himself, and finds strength from this support. (Of course, this is one of many moments on this list that some how also connects with Bakugo. There’s a lot of subtle parallelism between Ochako and Kacchan, probably since these three were the first three characters designed for the series).

#3. Giving her a plan

From: Season 2 Episode 8 Battle on challengers

What Happens: Deku notices how upset Uraraka is before her match and offers her a scheme to use against Bakugo. She declines and heads out to her match; post fight, he comes in to comfort her and is touched again by her support.

Why I Like It; Deku noticed she was upset! He offered to help her, wanting to support her like she’s supported him! He roots for her and admires her techniques, corrects Bakugo about her hard work, and tries to be there for her when she loses. She’s so sad about her loss, and I wish she’d cried on his shoulder instead of shutting him out - one day, she will, I hope.

#2. The real Uraraka

From; Shiketsu High Lurking 3.16

What Happens: Deku, while fighting Camieraka, recognizes that she isn’t Ochako. He runs down all of Uraraka’s features and why Camieraka can’t really be her.

Why I Like It; Deku shows here that he actually knows Uraraka pretty well, understands her, knows what she would never do and guesses that Camie was impersonating her. I like when people show they know their dates - once again, he knows her by now to the same degree that he knows his lifelong acquaintance Bakugo (in S1’s BTA he also knows Bakugo’s techniques in the same manner). I like that kind of familiariity.

Extras

Movie

Filler

#1. Deku, that has to be my codename

From: Season 2 Episode 13 Time to pick some names

What Happens: Midoriya picks Deku as his hero name, explaining that Uraraka made him see it in a different way, and smiling about it. We see Kacchan and Ochako both reacting.

Why I Like It; This simple scene is my favorite Izuocha moment, because I love how much the Deku name means to Midoriya. It’s kind of a motif among friendships in the show, this “picking your hero name” thing, and while Bakugo did come up with the name, Ochako gave it its new meaning. I like seeing them happy.

Top 5 Least Favorite

#5. Putting those feelings away

From: Provisional License Exam Arc

What Happens: Ochako decides to put her feelings for Deku away instead of acting on them in a little monologue.

Why I Didn’t Like It; While I’m glad we get to focus more on Ochako being a badass, as a shipper I found her decision frustrating. It just makes no sense that she can’t just tell Deku she likes him, date him and be happy. All that buildup doesn’t seem to be leading towards anything but delaying the inevitable. I find it really annoying when series up off the inevitable get together till the end just because it’s expected.

#4. Running away at the mall

From: Season 2 Episode 25 “Encounter”

What Happens: Ochako, left alone with Deku, runs away yelling about bug spray. He gets attacked by Tomura while she freaks out about her feelings.

Why I Didn’t Like It; Well for one, we miss a chance for them to hang out one-on-one. Two, Uraraka indirectly calls Deku a “pest”, hurting his feelings. Three, we juxtapose her feelings with Tomura nearly killing Deku. Forth, she finds the idea of liking him so scary and off-putting, and this becomes her story for the next two arcs, which I find annoying since it just repeats the same thing over and over again.

#3. Because you like him?

From: Final Exam Arc

What Happens: During their fight with 13, Uraraka is thinking “what would Deku do?” Aoyama asks Uraraka if she likes Deku. This freaks her out and nearly gets her killed.

Why I Didn’t Like it: I don’t get why Aoyama did this. Why? What was he thinking, why ask this during their test, why does this lead to Uraraka beating 13, why was this the way we made Izuocha canon? I don’t get why Uraraka’s crush on Deku has to be something other people tell her she has, can’t she just figure it out for herself? Aoyama what is your deal? I legitimately don’t get what Horikoshi was going for her.

#2. Hey jealousy

From: Various

What Happens: Uraraka freaks out when Deku gets near Mei, Melissa, and Camie, burning with Jealousy. Most recently she punched herself in the face for doing so.

Why I Didn’t Like It; I didn’t mind the first time with Mei, because it was Deku complimenting Mei, or Melissa in the film. But the other times, Deku is getting felt up and creeped out by invasive girls who scare or harm him, and Uraraka reacts by getting jealous of him, instead of trying to defend him. Try flipping their genders and see how disturbing it comes across. Like a “Nice Guy” getting mad that his crush is daring to get felt up by other men. Even if she says it makes her uncomfortable.

#1. Himiko Toga’s monologue

From: Training Camp Arc

What Happens: Toga recognizes that Uraraka likes Deku and creepily tells her that she has “her smell”, that they’re both obsessed with copying and replacing their boys. She later says “a great deal of faith is placed in you”.

Why I Didn’t Like It; Toga is Uraraka’s evil foil. If liking Deku this way is Uraraka’s flaw, that places a really negative spin on Izuocha. It makes it seem like liking Deku is only going to lead Uraraka down a wrong path and make her fall. Why? Why does her main romance have to be something that apparently scares and hurts her? It’s Deku for crying out loud! He’s a sweetheart, he likes her, they get along. This implies that Uraraka’s feelings for Deku are similar to Toga’s for Stain - she wants to kill and replace the person she admires. Also, the “trust in you” line sounds like blatant Traitor-Uraraka baiting, like that line in her bio about there being no “hidden side to her”. I love Toga, I love Ochako, I want them to be great foils, but I don’t want that to be in a way that makes Ochako’s romance look creepy.

So that’s my thoughts - read my meta for the whole story. I ship it but I want the story to start handling it differently.

#IzuOcha #my hero academia #midoriya x uraraka #ochako x izuku #midoraka #ochadeku #ships #top 10 moments

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kathillards · 6 years ago

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rangerstop day two

HOLY FUCKING SHIT THE MEGAFORCE RANGERS SHOUTED US OUT AT THEIR PANEL AZIM TOLD EVERYONE ABOUT A GROUP OF FRIENDS FROM ALL OVER THE COUNTRY WHO MET BECAUSE OF POWER RANGERS AND POINTED AT US AND THE MEGAFORCE RANGERS ALL CHEERED AND TOLD US TO STAND UP OH MY GOD

uhhh sorry how do i move on from that how do i even think about anything else. the panel room was CROWDED people were FILMING kat and tabby had gone up to ask questions (which were HUGE hits) and come back and sat down AND THEN AZIM SAID THAT in the middle of a question about. i dont even fucking remember. something about what great community values power rangers has or something? and i guess we were related to power rangers being a community or whatever but bitch. BITCH. he said it and like pointed at us and they all started clapping (this sounds fake as hell i know BUT THERES VIDEO PROOF SOMEWHERE???) and everyone turned to look at us and we were like hi and then like two minutes later azim went “oh wait i have to make a correction, its not a group of girls its three girls and one guy because i think abigail isnt here? right?” and we were like ya so uh moral of the story... azim rizk i would murder ten hundred men for you

ok other things happened too, this will probably not be in chronological order bc i cant think right now

- mike ginn stopped when he saw me and looked for tabby who was hiding behind me when she saw him and he looked around for tabby and did his pointing thing again and it was so cuuute

- kat was talking to christina about how we avoided the cast all day yesterday and she was like “yes but i saw you anyway ;) and i was wondering when you’d come over to say hi!” shes so CUTE and then they talked about her rescue puppy and she was so happy to talk about her puppy

- ciara and christina made ben sign the art presents he gave them, ciara did it first and christina was like OMG WHY DIDNT YOU AUTOGRAPH MINE and made him sign hers too

- christina and i did a WHOLE photoshoot we did a normal pic then a silly pic but then she didnt like so we did a kissy face pic and she was like “oh i think i did a duck face” and im like thats ok so did i AND OUR PICS ARE SO CUTE AND SHE HUGGED ME SO TIGHT I. WOULD. DIE. FOR. YOU. CHRISTINA. MASTERSON.

- selwyn called tabby his girlfriend when i showed up without her he was like “wheres my girlfriend” bc he remembered us from last night and then she came over and he was like THERE YOU ARE and gave her a free selfie (and signed her space dvd with “tj is the real leader of in space” but refused to X out andros’ face bc that was mean) and he covered up najee’s face on her kevin t-shirt and then was upset bc it looked like he was touching her chest and tracy lynn laughed at him over it AND THEN HE TOLD US TO COME TO THE TGIF IN THE HOTEL AFTERWARDS BC THE RANGERS WERE GONNA GO THERE AND GET DRUNK AND HE INVITED US TO HAVE DRINKS W/ HIM but we stood him up because... we are tired... he was like “yeah we have this stupid vip dinner but like we’re gonna try to leave early and just go get fucking smashed” and we were like ur so valid selwyn. i love you.

- kat showed azim my tweets defending megaforce and he had to put the phone down to run his hands through his hair and be like “wow that was such a specific takedown” and kat was like “yeah she just says this shit all the time bc shes seen megaforce five hundred times” and he was like “she was so detailed though she didnt just say ‘you suck’ she put THOUGHT into her takedowns”

- (later when he signed my super megaforce green print he called me “my sista in social media smackdown!!!” complete with that many exclamation points)

- brennan said “i like your hat” to ben five times and he also signed tabby’s as well with his three catchphrases (she asked for him to write “awesome!” and he was like “i had more lines than that....”) he also told us he and the dino charge team were invited back for a dc/nsteel teamup but they kept cancelling them bc of budget reasons till it was just him and yoshi and he was finally like “i told them to just bring yoshi back because like thats his brother” and i was like “but then they didnt even INTERACT” and he was like “i KNOW”

- tabby’s tracy story: she asked tracy if it was uncomfortable fighting in crop tops and short skirts and tracy said “it wasnt uncomfortable but it was hard to not show everything” and she was like “idk why a power ranger would dress like that” and tabby told her ashley should have her own fashion line of athletic wear for fighter girls and tracy was like YES and tabby said she should have been leader of turbo bc she was into cars and tracy said that when they told her that ashley was gonna have a car plot she was like “ew no i dont want to touch greasy car oils” but that she was happy that ashley got to challenge herself

- kat was standing around azim the entire morning and he was introducing her to everyone who came up to him like she was his handler and at one point accidentally implied that she was his girlfriend and kat was like no im not and he was like “oh whoops it did kinda sound like that...” and his actual handler was like “why did u correct him” and kat was like “NO I LOVE HIS GIRLFRIEND”

- when i was taking my pics w/ the megaforce cast and andrew was the sweetest angel and he kept making poses over my shoulder while i giggled and then he asked me for a hug and KISSED MY CHEEK and hugged me so tight and was like “love you guys” I WOULD DIE FOR YOU ANDREW GRAY

- john mark is literally the funniest person alive and he was constantly going around the megaforce booth when we were there like (to ben when he was giving art to ciara and christina) “WHERES MINE” and to me when i was having them sign my megaforce prints “WHERES MINE” hes so funny and i love himmm

- ciara was signing my prints but she got distracted when we asked about her dogs and she stopped and opened her phone and started showing us pics and videos and she was soo happy to talk about her dogs too and then we took our pic and checked it to make sure it looked good and tabby was like “you look gorgeous” and she was like “we BOTH look gorgeous” i cannot believe. AND THEN she threw in a group photo for FREE and we all got in there

- kat was telling us and azim about some douchebag vendor who was like hitting on her and inviting her to an afterparty and was like “are you over 21″ when she was just trying to look at his spd toys and azim was literally “which guy. where. where is he.” HE WAS GONNA KILL THAT GUY FOR KAT HE LOVES HER

- we somehow got on the subject of azim SHAVING HIS BEAUTIFUL BEARD and he was like “oh well we went to the make a wish foundation to meet kids and the beard scares them so i had to shave” and i was like “thats racist” and he was like nooo but u could tell his mind was blown and i was like “cameron didnt shave” and he was like “well cameron is white” and i was like SO YOU ADMIT ITS RACIST and he laughed also im correct

- related but michael copon came over to jessica rey’s table while we were there and she was like “hi michael these are my FRIENDS” and they were talking about how they’re cousins and they’re both half filipino and tabby was like “why didnt they give you any scenes together in the teamup!” and jessica was like “because i was with erin!” and michael was like “because they couldnt have two filipinos together in one scene” power rangers got WOKE man

- kat to andrew: i have a huge troy plushie!

andrew: oh my dogs would rip that up immediately

kat:

andrew: do your dogs not rip things up

kat: i dont... i wouldnt let them...touch my troy plushies...

(we love you andrew. he doesnt even know hes at a con. hes just here to chill.)

- someone at the panel asked a stupid question about “if you could cameo in any other season which season would you pick” like they dont get asked this all the fucking time and the rangers were like hmm like beast morphers or dino charge and then andrew, my husband my light my life, was like “fuck power rangers, i wanna go to the dc universe” (he didnt cuss obviously) but like... king. legend supporting legends. AND THEN CHRISTINA WAS LIKE “oh mood i wanna be in the pokemon universe” and john mark was like “as what” and she was like “i dont know i didnt watch it” QUEEN OF POKEMON she kins jigglypuff

- tabby was at ann marie crouch’s booth and telling her how she loved that princess shayla was the wild force team’s mom and she was like aww yeah i felt such a maternal instinct even though that was before i had my actual child!! shes so cute!! shes so pretty!!

- jessica rey is literally SO WONDERFUL AND FUN TO TALK TO we went to hang out bc tabby wanted her wild force dvd signed and she was just telling us her stories of hanging out w/ the other boys and how she went to drink w/ azim just to keep him company (bc peter and yoshi were there and they were like “we dont drink” nerds) so cuuute and then she had that pic of her and peter and yoshi and they’re making stupid faces and she’s smiling like an angel and she’s like THEY DIDNT TELL ME IT WASNT A SERIOUS PHOTO and i asked her jokingly how much for it and she was like take it its $30 and i was like pls charge me more have my money take my soul

- tabby and kat were at the megaforce booths and jessica rey came over and was like “excuse me what are you guys doing with MY GIRLS” and john mark was like “uh they’re OUR GIRLS” and then cameron pulled jessica over and was like “actually this is MY babe” and then she tried to leave bc she was in the way of ppl in line and azim stopped her and was like “no no stay you’re part of our FAMILY”and uh basically the power rangers family is the cutest family in the whole world thank you good night

- taylor swift wrote gorgeous about andrew gray

#i also talked to peter about the ninja steel finale HES FRIENDS W/ THE CUTE GIRL WHO PLAYED EMMA #he said he told the girl who played emma that there was another ranger she could totally be and i was like IS SHE NINJA STEEL GREEN #because SHE SHOULD BE and he was like no i wouldve told you if there was a ninja steel green lol #hes a liar tho he would not have #and he was playing pokemon go the whole damn time #earth's defenders never shut up #hell clique takes rangerstop #im so tired i love powered rangers

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sieben9 · 6 years ago

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“heart of stone” impressions

{Quick request to anyone reading: I’m watching OUaT for the first time, and I want to avoid spoilers. So, if you want to discuss something spoilery, I’d be grateful if you could start a new post for that. Thank you!}

Wow, I wonder who that title refers to?

i lied, i never actually wondered. it’s her.

It’s more villain backstory! This show spoils me, and that’s just the truth. And this one hurt so good, too. Nothing quite like watching doomed lovers stumble headlong into disaster, is there?

…look, I just had a lot of fun with this one, OK?

More under the cut.

Before I get into anything else: someone please help this poor guy here.

for those who haven’t seen the episode in a while: there was some temporary dismemberment.

He is having the absolute worst time of it, and considering all the pain and misery going around among the characters right now, that’s saying something!

Yeah, that whole interrogation scene with Jafar was… chilling, to put it mildly. Did I mention that this show is kinda dark? Because it’s kind of a dark show. Oh, and don’t think I didn’t put two and two together on who that other person Alice loves is supposed to be. Look, her dad was obviously an emotionally neglectful dick, but that doesn’t mean I’d wish Jafar and his quest for All The Genies on him. Let’s just hope this doesn’t end horribly, shall we? (Though the narrative rhythm tells me it probably will. Still... ::fingers crossed::)

Now, please, someone save this rabbit.

Otherwise, this episode was an excellent character piece for Anastasia.

with some REALLY good scene changes. good and painful.

I feel like I owe her actress an apology for thinking her acting was stiff, because that’s not what’s going on at all. I mean, I saw that she could portray varied emotion in earlier episodes; this one just made me realise what was so “off” about the Red Queen. It’s not the actress who’s stiff, it’s Anastasia. She’s constantly wearing a mask, constantly keeping up appearances, and it didn’t really become clear to me until I saw her put it on.

Also, kudos to the king in this. He plays the “seductive practicality” angle perfectly, and it’s both fascinating and chilling to watch him convince Anastasia of his arguments. Especially when juxtaposed with shots of Will anxiously waiting outside. Just… guh. It hurt, but it hurt so good.

So. That’s what happened with Anastasia. There seems to be still some distance to go between “opportunistic queen” and “worrisome despot” (and I hope that gets shown, too), but this was clearly the beginning of her character’s downward spiral. It remains to be seen if she can spiral right back up, too.

I’d say things aren’t looking completely hopeless on that front, at least. (Look at how much trouble she went through to get this dust. Dust that she said she was going to use to get the upper hand on Jafar. To gain more power. And she used all of it to bring back Will. Yeah, totally over him. Not a single tender feeling left for the guy. Not a one. …someone shoot me, because when these two kill me with feelings, it won’t be that quick or painless.)

There’s also the fact that it’s really hard to blame her for not wanting to go hungry anymore. I mean, it wasn’t her only motivation, but there are worse motives than “I want a life where I don’t have to wonder constantly where the next meal will come from.”

This also is a sort of reply to the title of the episode. I’m sure Anastasia would like to have a heart of stone, but she very obviously doesn’t. Good for her. Eventually, I hope.

Being completely my completely predictable self, I obviously loved the hero/antagonist-teamup between Alice and the Red Queen.

you could cut the tension with a knife, but you probably shouldn’t. the situation is charged enough without bringing sharp objects into the mix.

What I found maybe most fascinating—aside from the scene at the bottom of that chasm, I’ll get to that in a moment—was how wilfully ignorant Alice seems to be about the fact that Anastasia is still clearly in love with Will. That’s not just something that comes to light when nobody can see her, it’s blatantly obvious to anyone looking for it. Especially after that tense standoff in the labyrinth.

I guess she’s got other things on her mind, but still. You’d think she’d recognise the signs.

Something else that stuck with me was this:

That’s Anastasia’s face when Alice takes that first successful step on air. Look at her—she’s delighted. Not just satisfied, because her plan worked, but straight-up beaming with joy over the sight of seeing this girl walk on thin air.

And it’s not just this scene. There's a childlike quality to Anastasia in her most unguarded moments that's so different from the usual mask she wears, and it's the most endearing thing. (Please note that "childlike" is very different from "childish")

Speaking of children…

Yyyyeah. Not creepy at all. The “this was a test” resolution wasn’t a huge surprise, but I did like getting this insight into Alice’s character. Both the fact that she seems to desperately want revenge and the fact that she’s not willing to get it like this—by striking down an unarmed woman, even one who has wronged her deeply. Still, the real heart of that scene was watching Alice and Anastasia face off like this, and the range of emotions they both went through. With special mention to this split-second here:

This is Anastasia’s face when she’s absolutely convinced that she’ll die and there’s no way to stop it. She doesn’t look composed or accepting, or anything like that, she just takes a last breath and closes her eyes, because why would she want to see that blow coming, after all? It’s a good moment.

As is this. I’m sure there’s some symbolism here that I’m too frazzled to notice, but it definitely seems important.

Oh, and I will admit: I was totally ready to be annoyed at Alice for not realising that she was the frog in the tale of the frog and the scorpion here, but I take everything back. She did know, and she took precautions.

I definitely look forward to the next time these two meet, whatever that may look like.

Oh, and Cyrus is out!

whee!

And apparently right into a fate worse than death. But then, what isn’t, these days? I really hope this show won’t engage in the really obvious keepaway-scenario, where him and Alice keep missing each other by inches. Let me see them work together, damnit!

By the way, the Melancholy Prisoner is totally the Sultan, right? That’s not supposed to be a huge surprise or anything? Because if he isn’t, I would have expected him to escape with Cyrus, only to die an ignominious death ten minutes into the next episode to show how very serious the danger is. He didn’t do that, so… yeah, I’m curious to see the payoff for that one. I doubt it will be pretty or pleasant for anyone involved, but I am looking forward to it nonetheless.

#ouat #once upon a time in wonderland #heart of stone #sieben watches ouatiwl

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idealisticrealism · 6 years ago

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Blindspot 4x02

I really need to get onto these recaps in a more timely fashion. Left it too late then had to rush through bc I have somewhere to be. Ooops. Anyway happy Blindspot day everyone! Wish I could watch live with you.

Reade: oh honey.Things aren’t really going your way today, are they? First your AWOL bff-slash-kinda-lover-slash-heartbreaker is ignoring your calls and being glamorous in Paris with a shady heiress, and then she’s possibly exploded in a plane crash. Ouch. At least you took a moment somewhere in there to subtly tease Rich by complimenting Boston, I mean it’s good to know your soul hasn’t been entirely crushed by the mess your life has become lol

Zapata: girllllll what are you doingggggg. You are going down the worst kind of rabbit hole, and fast. Though I guess this isn’t the first murder you’ve helped cover up, soooo.... But ugh even so I still wanna swoop in there and steal you away and protect you. I’m sure your whle storyline is gonna somehow prove relevant and important later and may even somehow save the day, but STILL. Even Keaton seems worried about you, though lbr no one knows what that sneaky bastard is really thinking (not even you). And I mean seriously you had such a great and loving team and somehow you ditched them to seek out progressively worse company. And now you’re in deep shit, bc what the hell are you gonna do with a child who has seen your face and knows you were involved in her mother’s murder??? (Don’t you dare call Reade lol)

Patterson: Ugh my adorable sassy baby. You were part of three amazing duos this ep and I could not get enough. I mean I am ALWAYS here for your adorable friendship and teamwork with Rich, but god I love the love/hate relationship you and Boston have-- like the fact you had to pause to consider if solving a tattoo and potentially saving a lot of lives was worth having to deal with him again haha. But lbr you guys are secret besties. He even calls you PatPat and you allow it, and you have your own fistbump I mean what could be cuter. And then there was your other teamup, heading out into the field with Remi. I was worried that Rich being in more eps would mean you would get less airtime, but I’m so glad that’s not the case. Also everyone forgets you’re also a badass FBI agent who can handle herself out in the field just like any of the others, so I’m glad these last two eps have given you the chance to kick some butt. Too bad you got screwed over by Remi and slept through half the action though lol. Oh also I loved the line “Would you like to make a transaction? Ugh not really” hahaha, you are the cutest lil sassy thing and honestly if you and Rich took over as the leads of this show I would be totally fine with that

Rich: holy crap, never in my wildest dreams did I expect to have an episode where you were literally in almost every scene. From cracking tattoos to sincerely comforting Reade (man you two never have scenes together and you both did so great with these) and even actually using Zapata’s name for once. That’s how we know shit is serious haha. And then going from a happy lil puppy when your bf Boston is allowed to come play, to a little kid acting out bc you’re worried that someone else is gonna steal all your toys, then sucking it up and attempting to be the proverbial bigger man (not entirely successfully, but props for trying). And of course, as always everything you say is amazing, as is every little gesture or expression-- like seriously who needs to watch stand up comedy when they can just watch you instead??? I love you the way you love this team, so I think you’ll understand when I say please never ever leave me. Ever.

Weller: welcome back to the team, buddy. Now you can proceed to be basically a background character for most of the rest of the episode apparently haha. Although that was a cute moment where you figured out the web address thing before anyone else, including two expert hackers. That was a proud moment. I do like how you handled the Jane-taking-photos thing, addressing it quickly and with gentleness and concern, and hardly any manly over-protectiveness. But dude you definitely gotta be recognising that something is off about Jane. I’m sure you’ve written it off as related to the ZIP poisoning, but by now you gotta wonder if it’s something more, right?? Oh and now the overprotectiveness has kicked in and you’re off to save the day. There’s my lil heroic hubby, I’ve missed you. I’m actually super impressed you took the shot when the spy guy had her hostage, that took some true guts and trust in your own abilities. Looks like the real Weller IS back after all.

Remi: Boston’s right, your hairdo does change your whole vibe. And with the lack of smiling, it even makes your face shape seem different. Which is cool, but creepy, bc man are you one vindictive little brat. To an extent I enjoy your sneakiness and watching this secret game of cat and mouse you’re playing right under the team’s noses, but every time you’re subtly mean to them or smile at their misfortune I wanna stand in between you and them and growl at you a little bit. I’m not at all happy about you betraying my precious Patterson like that. The little moment you shared with the spy dude was actually kind of interesting though, did we maybe see a little bit of depth to Remi just now? Maybe a small indication that she really does want to HAVE a family, not just get revenge for the one she lost?? Ugh also why did it make me so happy to hear you say “my husband’s FBI”? Maybe bc it sounded kinda genuine? Like you could have told the guy that it was your team coming and they wouldn’t risk you, but no you focused on Weller specifically. And then ugh that amazing parallel to the moment in 1x01 with one of you being held hostage and nodding for the other to take the shot. Did you remember that, somewhere deep down? Did you realise that you truly trusted him to do this?? I feel like this moment is gonna have deeper ramifications than you expected or intended and it’s gonna make your little vendetta a lot more difficult for you. And maybe that unwelcome emotion is exactly what triggered you cooking up a literal murder needle in your kitchen... seriously girl do you realise how Extra you are, or?? But lbr despite all your talk, you won’t be able to kill him. Something in you loves him, and that’s why you’re so damn grumpy all the time haha

Roman: Damn, son. Even as a hallucination you’re still such a grumpy little wounded puppy and I miss you soooo muuuuchhh. Also I’m so sad that when Jane/Remi is eventually cured from the ZIP poisoning you’ll probably disappear forever ughhh :’(

Keaton: ....why are you even here right now. Couldn’t you just give them this intel over the phone. And now you just gave Remi the opportunity to screw over Patterson ugh. Next time, just call okay

Boston: oh you sarcastic bitch I love you so much. Like not only do you basically solve the whole tattoo, you call Jane out on being different “Your whole vibe is...edgier. It’s a triumph.” (of course you like the more evil version of her lol) and “Awww, you got one, Limpy!” You do that mix of sweet and mocking so well, though lbr you actually kinda love these guys and you’re so happy to be here. I think you would love to have Rich’s job but you’d never actually want to replace him in it, because you know how much he really does love these people and how he’s found a family here. But of course that won’t stop you messing with him and making him worry about being replaced lol. Please leave but also please come back soon haha

Guy at the very start who looks like an older David: hey man you look like an older David thanks so much for making me sad

#Blindspot #Blindspot recap

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theladyragnell · 7 years ago

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Thoughts on The Last Jedi

As promised, since that anon asked me about Poe!

Everything under a cut this time.

1. Look, I loved this movie. I am gonna say some less than positive things, but I love it the way I love all Star Wars movies, and it was full of glory.

2. That being said, I’m gonna talk about my big problem. And it’s actually the same problem I had with Doctor Who before I fell out of watching it? Like, Moffatt has many, many (many many many) issues, but what kept nagging at me is that he always seemed like he was in a huge hurry to get to the plots he thought were cool before anyone else could. This movie had that trouble for me: first with Snoke’s death (not that I object, I actually thought it was a cool direction to go in, definitely unexpected and leading to interesting things, I wouldn’t have minded it so much if it weren’t for:) and then with Luke’s. I feel like Johnson got Luke’s arc to a place that felt satisfying for him and then just ... decided the effort would kill him? “Oh look, a double sunset, this time Luke is at peace instead of yearning”--I almost feel like his death came from that image? Johnson said “Luke’s arc needs to end like that, so I need to kill him.” I love/hate the “the Resistance is whittled down to this one ship full of people relying only on themselves” thing, but ... I don’t know. Like I said, I think Johnson was writing to get to what he thought were The Good Parts.

2a. I’m more okay than a lot of people are with what’s been done with the original trio in these new movies, I think--I know that for the new characters to have a story, the old characters had to have failed. But I objected in the first movie to Han and Leia having been estranged (they didn’t need to fail in THAT way, come on!!!), and Luke in this one ... I mean, he’s a drama queen, so I guess he was being true to that, but I don’t know, I felt sad seeing a childhood hero brought so low. Maybe that was the point, but Star Wars is about hope.

3. Oh, speaking of, this is the second Star Wars movie in a row where there’s been an amazing trailer line (”Rebellions are built on hope,” “We are the spark that will light the fire ...”) that in the movie is given to the character who says it in the trailer by another character, in a different context. And I love that? I love that these iconic lines, these heroes, are inspired by other people, who hear them when they need to hear them and remember them and pass them on.

4. Kyle put your shirt on.

4a. Look I love Force Bonds and may have guiltily hoped for something similar but Oh God Not Like This Never Like This Not With Him Involved.

4b. I came out of this movie totally seeing why someone would ship it and simultaneously knowing that I could never do so because of point 4c.

4c. Star Wars is about redemption. Maybe it will surprise me and redeem Kyle. But it’s also about choice, especially these new movies, and he has now chosen, at every step of the way, to harm. To kill. To blame others. To be selfish, to grasp power. Rey has given him so many chances, and may give more, but it’s hard to imagine a possible redemption that would feel real and true, even if it were a Vader redemption.

4d. I will admit that I really enjoyed the battle against Snoke’s flunkies where he and Rey were fighting together, though. That was a lot of fun to watch, and I really love back-to-back-badass fights.

5. Speaking of teamups, ROSE AND FINN ROSE AND FINN ROSE AND FINN. FUCKING UP A CITY FULL OF RICH PEOPLE. RIDING THE SAME RABBIT-HORSE. BEING SWEET AND BADASS AND DARLING. SHE SAVED HIS LIFE BECAUSE SOMETIMES SELF-SACRIFICE ISN’T THE ANSWER. I love this sweet spunky determined smart caring lady!!!!

6. POE AND REY MET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

7. A wild OT4 appears, basically. I have no particular ideas yet but ... you know. Add them to the rotation of ships for fic requests and stuff, because I LOVE THESE SWEET SPACE CHILDREN. The Dameron-Ticos are gonna retire and raise rabbit-horses and garden on the shore.

8. The Jedi Order is fucked up and I agree with Luke there. I refuse to say I agree with Yoda because he is a representation of many things about the Jedi Order that I don’t like. But I don’t know, I thought there were ways to go about that whole deal that weren’t this? And I feel like Luke saying “yeah, we’re done with this whole thing” was ... well, naive at best? People are going to have the Force regardless. (Well, use the Force, you know what I mean.) We got ample evidence of that. And if people have to stumble into it on their own, it’s not going to end well. Sure, distance yourself from the old legends, acknowledge that hubris was a failure of the Jedi, but, um ... to use American politics as a metaphor, this is repealing necessary legislation without a viable replacement to take over.

8a. This means Poe’s family has the only Force-sensitive tree still around. GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR A BABY FORCE-USER SCHOOL, RIGHT.

9. That ending shot!!!!!!

10. All I want for Episode Nine is the stormtrooper rebellion. COME ON, WE DESERVE IT. IF FINN COULD, SO COULD OTHERS.

Okay I probably have other feelings but this will do for now.

#shut up nell #like really #there are many words under here #and they are ALL SPOILERY MY FRIENDS #a long time ago in a galaxy far far away #star wars #star wars spoilers

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360degreesasthecrowflies · 7 years ago

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FarscapeWatch: 2.05 ‘The Way We Weren’t’

It’s been a minute, but we’re back in business. The season 2 reactions continue as I continue my first watch of Farscape!~

It's a flashback episode! This bodes well coming so early in the series after effectively a repilot as this season started.

Okay so we're in Moya...or are they just saving money by re-using the set, because either I'm watching a low-quality pitched-up version, or that's not Pilot??

Ladypilot? I like her. So something bad will happen no doubt. Just like Crais's lady second in command last season.

Are we watching a recording? Interesting flashback. Oooh yep they kill that Pilot and its...really quite brutal. Ugh Crais pfo.

And there's the stinger. Aeryn was part of the crew killing the previous pilot of that Leviathan. Which...actually is Moya. And it's Chiana that's found this recording, wuh oh. Good thing she and Aeryn have such a camaraderie and positive history so far... (Although we do seem to be retconning the character development in Taking the Stone away in these last few episodes).

So we enter the episode, and now we're all watching the tape...the whole crew, including Aeryn. Rygel right away stirs the pot, and I'm starting to see a Rygel-Chiana teamup connection. Rygel is somehow a lot more tolerable with someone else on his 'team', so to speak. So right away they all (minus John, I'm sure) jump to the conclusion that Aeryn has been deliberately concealing this past from them as some kind of long-held plan of her own, and really... I just don't think it's been seeded enough that Aeryn might be a traitor. She's been portrayed so far as The Main Girl even over Chiana who's had a lot of narrative focus, her entire character and arcs have been based around her being an outcast from her people, so what does she have to gain by playing what's by my reckoning now at least a months-long game against the rest of them and faking all kinds of emotional responses? Nah, not buying it. But the downside is that then makes the rest of the cast look bad, and I like those guys.

So they start to be paranoid that Aeryn might have come across - or even tortured! - them themselves in the past as they were on Moya at this time, three cycles - that is, three years, I think - ago. Aeryn denies it and John backs her up. Zhaan has a nasty little remark about being shocked that Aeryn would kill a Pilot but...Zhaan, she was ordered to, it would've been her own head on the block if she didn't. And Aeryn rightfully points out that Zhaan had no problem with cutting THEIR Pilot's arm off just out of her own selfishness. Chiana actually chips in as the voice of reason here and points out, had none of them actually thought to understand what it meant that Aeryn was a Peackeeper? She did bad things. So I wonder will this be an introspective episode about all that kind of thing?

Again, I imagine this kind of thing came up in the fandom at the time, but perhaps it's possible that Zhaan, D'Argo and Rygel, being the characters they are, just DIDN'T ever think too deeply about Aeryn's past - or even hid it from themselves so they could work with her. Chiana of course, the wildcard, has no such qualms. Being real though, they've all done plenty bad, Zhaan and D'Argo are canonically killers, even if they had reason, and Rygel and Chiana probably aren't squeaky clean either. Pot kettle much?

And we're into flashback with Aeryn ominously noting relationships. Romantic, perhaps? I'm just ready for John's whiny dudebro to rear its head again just as we'd started to move past that if it turns out she's gasp been with someone else before.

So the first thing that's established is that not only is Aeryn emotionless and focused because she's a Peacekeeper, her singlemindedness and adherence to procedure and policy are actually intense even by Peacekeeper standards. This Aeryn is very firmly Lawful Neutral, an alignment I'd say she keeps but adheres less strictly to at this point in Farscape real-time, veering into True Neutral. On that note, my imagined alignments for all our leads so far: Rygel = Chaotic Evil verging on Chaotic Neutral, Chiana = Chaotic Neutral, textbook, D'Argo = Neutral Good, Zhaan = True Neutral, John = Chaotic Good, Crais = Lawful Neutral. Pilot...hard to say, because Pilot's not been a character for long. Though going by last episode, perhaps that's due to change this season.

Flashback!Moya introduces a 'friend' of Aeryn's from the off. A male friend. Hmmm...

It's revealed that Aeryn also unknowingly facilitated the new Pilot, our character known as Pilot (this will get confusing fast >.<) being brought aboard Moya. It's decided that he should not be told about this tape and immediately the camera cuts to Chiana, hmm, I wonder if *someone* is going to show Pilot the tape??? Presumably he would not be happy to see Aeryn killing one of his kind, to be fair, would anyone be? This is going to go terribly wrong, isn't it.

Back into flashback. It seems that Aeryn's friend is a softly-softly approach kinda guy with his attitude to the imprisoned Pilot, but willing to change to overt violence in front of superiors like Crais. Peer pressure or looking after number 1? We also learn that Pilots are much more intelligent than human(oid)s, or at least, can handle a multipilicty of concepts far better than our brains could.

So we have a lot of Peacekeeper internal politics. Crais is a hard slavedriver who wants Aeryn's superior to work faster and do things ASAP no matter the damage that may cause. Aeryn's man disagrees, but has no choice as he's inferior. Also somehow Aeryn is always in the background in these scenes, although it seems to be the case that she's a lot lower down the chain. Just chance, perhaps?

Minor aside, a shot showing that Aeryn DID in fact see Zhaan while as a Peacekeeper and was not at all bothered to see her captured. So she didn't mention that. On that note, I'm unsure who's privy to these flashbacks - is she telling John in private, or just thinking of them herself and we viewers are looking in, or are we looking in as if we were there for the context of what she's feeling now, becoming privy to information np-one else on Moya is?

Okay so it's revealed why Aeryn is in the background; she's been trying unsuccessfully for a while to get Crais's attention to request a transfer, and has been rebuffed coldly every time. Here he just walks away while she's speaking, sheesh.

Back to present day. It's all weighing on Aeryn's mind and she beats her punching bag until her hands are bloody. John comes to her and they talk, we get some indepth on Peacekeeper culture. Emotions are just about forbidden, especially positive ones, and bonds are also discouraged. Romance is tacitly forbidden, but sex is fine as a biological need for stress relief. It's interesting, the latter - I wonder if that was shocking in the late 90s, because it feels like that's a more common or more accepted perspective on sex at least, today, emotional and abusive other parts aside.

CALLED IT. Aeryn and..Valorik? (I’m going to call him V) were totally bangin'. But possibly also developing feelings for each other, at least inklings of, maybe onesided, maybe both ways? Which is of course, the biggest forbidden fruit. So back then, baby Aeryn was playing on a knife edge of breaking the rules, interesting.

(Possibly slightly kinky sex too, there's a bit of grabbing there and chocking, wow)

ALSO CALLED IT. John seems dumbfounded that Aeryn used to be "lovers" with someone else, and is struck speechless and stammering. Sorry sunshine, but you're both at least mid-twenties, did you really think you were her first? You were ENGAGED or nearly it anyway back on Earth! Aeryn admits now that this guy was her something special that she'd had feelings for - which puts an interesting spin on her requesting a transfer earlier in the episode, and not for the first time either - perhaps easier to run from the situation than deal with the conflict in her vows and her feelings? (Also, still working out John and Aeryn's relationship right now...it feels like Official Couple, but it's interesting how John has now been very much accepted, even as a leader, if his partner is still privy to being outcast at literally a minute's notice...)

Well, now Pilot's seen the tape. "How did he get hold of that?" John asks. Well, John, you're on a ship with two wildcards and two characters who distrust Aeryn, is it rocket science? Pilot calls Aeryn - Officer Sun - in to see him, and does NOT sound happy.

Let me take this moment to note how different Aeryn looks with her hair down and long. She's like a different woman.

Aeryn claims to closer to Pilot 'than any other two beings on this ship' as she still has his DNA inside her. Guess she and John have been using space condoms then? (sorry)

So Pilot attacks her, and tbh, I'm Team Pilot on this one. Aeryn's view that being reminded of what she had done - tacit admission that she forgot, it mattered that little to her! - is just as bad on her as Pilot discovering she killed one of his kind coldbloodedly is pretty much not equivalent I think. "I killed someone which is bad, but it's hard on me too because I forgot and only now feel guilty!" is a pretty weak defence.

Now Pilot's having a flashback. Of being 'installed' into the ship, which is literally being inserted into the driver's seat...and then wired in so he's rooted in. Eesh.

So, we have some interesting ethical things arising. Moya's previous Pilot refused to do as she was told so was killed by the Peacekeepers. Pilot was installed, but was aware on installation that the ship had had a previous Pilot who was now dead in order for him to be installed. Moya was at the time unaware and Pilot fears he will be rejected. Also, the PKs are going to forcibly install Pilot, instead of going through a year-long bonding process, they aim to do it within approximately two days. That's a lot. In the present day, Pilot now refuses to fly the ship - echoing the previous Pilot - unless Aeryn leaves. But... I feel like the fact that it is the same ship that Pilot himself was installed in, also, perhaps, benefiting from the previous one's death, complicates things. He did not, in the flashback, seem to be under the impression that he would be the ship's first ever Pilot.

So Rygel showed Pilot the tape. And Chiana's mad at him for it, god I love her, you never know what she's going to do.

Zhaan and Aeryn scene. Zhaan tends to Aeryn after Pilot's attack on her throat, but is a little rough intentionally and makes some snide remarks too. Interesting little scene, at first Zhaan seems to be very angry with Aeryn, but when she starts to pack to leave, then, relents and apologises; Aeryn only did as she was told. An interesting time-wise parallel comes here, because at the same time as Aeryn was obediently following orders, the other leads were already imprisoned for grossly breaking what was expected of them by murder, theft, or rebellion. Who is right, though? Arguments can be made both ways. And what was John doing three years ago? Probably...similar to Aeryn, following orders, following the rules, and possibly not worrying about the ethics of the situation either.

Back to flashback. More ethics, which is interesting. Aeryn wishes to follow her orders, but her feelings - and what Mr V is telling her - are coming into conflict with those orders, almost suggesting the Peacekeeper system may effectively be two-tier. One rule for the grunts, another for those high up enough for High Command to turn a blind eye. V wishes for Aeryn and he to be assigned together again and stay as partners - and he can make it happen. He also badmouths Crais which horrifies Aeryn - outright "insubordination", but V justifies it to her as observation - likely something else she has learned to value in the military. I'm reminded of Asimov's robots realising that in order to fulfil objective #1 - prevent humans from coming to harm by inaction, humans actually have to be harmed sometimes to save them from themselves or each other.

To complicate things even more. V wishes to sabotage Crais to save the Leviathan, Moya, for fear that pursuing Crais's plans will kill it. V is telling Aeryn, his forbidden lover this - although hearing about it puts them both in danger and makes her an accessory. Tricky, tricky.

Just one little aside as well. V insists that he knows what Aeryn feels, and that if she does as he says and leaves with him, she'll be so much happier. That's a nice parallel to John - but not an all-out positive one, because in both, Aeryn's choice and what she actually wants is being subordinated.

Back to flashback with Pilot, and we learn that not only was Pilot's plugging-in to Moya painful, the pain *never went away* and he has just been living with it, accustomed to it, since then! Sheesh. Further, Pilot has only been accepted by Moya in the first place because she was tortured into submission.

Well this is good. Pilot, feeling guilty, has now unplugged himself from Moya by effectively amputating part of himself that was plugged in. Plus side, he's no longer in pain, minus side...he's no longer in control of the ship, so she effectively has no brain to maintain all the things that need done. Aeryn blames herself for this all and no doubt the flashbacks will let us know why...

Awh, Aeryn's solution is that Pilot needs to talk about the time back then, which is something she's learned from John, I quite like that. John of course seizes on this to pressure Aeryn to talk to HIM which...okay, but it's not all always about you buddy. Just let her do her thing, she's a grown-up.

Flashback to Aeryn and V, alone, intimate. She tells him she will go with him. She admits fear of the unknown, though, and he tells her she has it in her to be able to survive elsewhere - which is heartbreaking, because we know she since has, when she in the past didn't believe she could. She just never could have imagined the circumstances that would occur in.

So it turns out that Aeryn sold V out for his treason. PLaying by the rules and being good was more important. But it's understandable, it's how she was raised, and she was protecting herself, too. Even as he is dragged away, V tells her she's special, even in a proud tone - nobody else would have attempted this, that is, she has turned him in for the reward of being able to get her transfer that had failed so many times before. In a way, she has, ironically, gone about getting that through less than official, or typical channels.

Back to present, and it's heavily implied that V was tortured to death for his treason. Tough on Aeryn, tougher on him, of course.

Aeryn and John, present day, drop from above into Pilot's chamber, bypassing the sealed door. Pilot uses two DRD guards to attack, but John and Aeryn are able to shoot and disable them, approaching and holding Pilot at gunpoint, wow, that escalated fast.

Okay I love how Aeryn doesn't get his talking thing. So she pushes Pilot to talk by shouting at him and threatening to shoot him up here and now if he doesn't. Smooth. It's revealed that separated, Pilot will starve, life support will fail and the others will die, and only Moya will survive.

Aeryn offers herself to be killed by Pilot if he will spare the others. Pilot is humbled, and reveals that it is not just those brought up memories he's been struggling with; he feels just as at fault as Aeryn, because...

Flashback again. V on Pilot's planet, which again complicates good-guy-V that's been portrayed throughout the whole episode. It's revealed that Pilot was informed, and knew going in that in order for him to become a Pilot of that ship - at his young age, before he had been decreed ready - the existing Pilot would have to be killed and removed, and at the time, was although morally torn, happy with that. He was in effect, happy to facilitate another's death just so that he was able to see the stars - perhaps making him a criminal worse than any of the others on the ship in that sense, who killed in desperation or for the greater good. It is his guilt that was dredged up by the tape.

Aeryn convinces Pilot that they have both come a long way since they were those people. Pilot is convinced to reconnect with Moya in a rudimentary manner, but which will lead to a natural, non-painful bond, mutually between the two of them. He will though have less control now, a nice plot McGuffin for later no doubt, but it's thematic so I'm not bothered by it.

Coda, John and Aeryn alone again. Aeryn makes the point that V and John both said to her "you can be so much more" which I didn't pick up on, but hmm. Of COURSE John then tries to fish for a love confession out of her, and we close just on a positive musical cue as the two just look at, and then away from each other. Goddd just give her a minute dude. But they are cute together and I'm getting more a sense that she's just reserved about things of that nature this season than that she's actively not interested and he's pursuing obliviously because she's a humanoid who's the right colour and shape for him.

Okay, that was a lot! I quite liked this one, this season is shaping up already a lot stronger than this time in season 1. 7 to 7.5/10 for this one. Let's get into the breakdowns:

CHARACTER BEATS

JOHN

John...actually doesn’t have a whole lot to do this episode, except what’s required of him as the Designated Hero (be present for the solution of every plot element) and as the framing device for the flashback narrative. I feel like despite John’s prodding, Aeryn comes on her own to most of the solutions and means to reach solution in this episode. Having said that, he is a little more respectful of her this episode than he was last season (”Aeryn, do this, but I haven;t got time to tell you why. Obey me, woman!”) which is a pleasure. I still feel like his leadership hasn’t quite been narratively justified yet though, some more infighting from the others or incapability to work together in his absence would bring me more around to that viewpoint.

CHIANA

Chiana was, as usual, a delight, and for once this time actually wasn’t the progenitor of the plot through carelessness or not thinking about the impact of her actions. She didn’t have a whole lot to do here, though she did get the ball rolling. Still shows a tendency to be out for herself and crucially, only really rely on herself, as as soon as eyebrows are raised about Aeryn this episode she mainly makes herself scarce; interesting that her behaviour in ‘Crackers’ isn’t actually that far off her normal or baseline unlike the large divergences shown by the other characters in that episode. I wonder if that speaks to her baseline being madness or unpredictability, or if there’s a psychic strength there to her.

ZHAAN

First up, Zhaan ditched her horrible gold collar in this episode and looked a lot better for it, although the actress (I haven’t learned names yet) looked oddly shapeless in some scenes, almost like the gown was cut to cover up a pregnancy. No clue whether or not that was the case though, it may well just have been an unfortunate - or otherworldly, I guess - cut. I actually didn’t like Zhaan so much in this episode for the few scenes she made an appearance - she was unreasonably bitchy, I felt. Its possible she was just a little stressed out and acting out, but she didn’t feel like season 1 Zhaan - perhaps just wrongfooted by something she with all her foresight had failed to foresee. I felt Zhaan abused her power and influence in a few scenes here in a petty way I don’t expect from her, even if she did later show remorse. Still, character depth is always interesting.

D’ARGO

Shockingly, in this episode, D’Argo didn’t have a lot to do. This is becoming a recurring theme. There were some positive scenes of camaraderie with John (the rock-paper-scissors to decide who would intercede between Aeryn and Pilot was a nice touch) and I suppose tacit camaraderie with the rest of the crew by siding with them - although, I may have expected from history for D’Argo, the honourable warrior, to side with Aeryn, the honourable warrior. There’s some closeness with Pilot at the end, too, which builds on a (I think) season 1 scene where D’Argo played him music. Perhaps most interestingly, I don’t think he’s shared many scenes with Zhaan lately - yet is kissing her in the credits at the start of every episode, particularly interesting given the team-up with Chiana last episode. I will be keeping a close eye on proceedings.

RYGEL

I actually...didn’t hate Rygel here. Even though he caused the plot and stirred everything up by showing Pilot the tape, it did ultimately have good outcomes, allowing both Aeryn and Pilot to work through some trauma and improving Pilot and Moya’s in-the-background relationship. And he also at least claimed to have acted out of a sense of duty and honour, which...is fair, and also does in a twisted way fit with Rygel’s established perhaps old-fashioned traditional values. You’re alright, little man.

PILOT

This was...very much a Pilot episode, that actually gave surprising depth to, and made me care about a puppet. Two puppets, actually. I’m shocked at how formidable LadyPilot managed to be in her few seconds of screentime, and I’m actually a little sad for Moya - a character who’s literally a set - losing that connection and maybe still never knowing what happened. Dark. Lots about Pilot here; the big benevolent nonviolent alien turning out to be not only smarter than any of them, but also essentially a cold-blooded murderer worse than any of the rest of them was quite the twist. I’m also starting to wonder how far in advance and with what consequences the seemingly offhand monster-of-the-week plot of giving Aeryn Pilot DNA in season 1 was planned to have a lasting reach and effect on future plots. Perhaps it’s ironic to talk about a puppet becoming three dimensional.

AERYN

Woh boy, a lot to get into here. This episode is a little of an Aeryn character study, delving into her past alongside Pilot’s and revealing a past romance, unhappiness with how she was treated as a Peacekeeper, and a tendency to try and keep her head down and get on with it that remains in the Aeryn of the present day. A real duality is revealed in Aeryn in this episode; she has been tempted in the past and has resisted the temptation, but at the same time has cut herself off from happiness in favour of yes, safety, but also misery. She is not a risk-taker, though she is at the same time both a tactician and a warrior, which is an interesting combination of attributes and adds depth to the character she seemed to be early on this time last season. Seeing a Peacekeeper-heavy episode, we are also as viewers privy to how much of the Peacekeeper motto and policies are actually bent or broken by the people themselves and how Aeryn’s devotion to the rulebook is somewhat atypical.

WHAT THIS EPISODE ESTABLISHED:

Pilot actually has a history! And a dark one. John and Aeryn are actually not together despite hints pointing that way so far this series. Aeryn was rule-abiding even for a Peacekeeper, and everyone who isn’t John on Moya is still quick to distrust her. Crais was a dick even by Peacekeeper standards. And Peacekeepers aren’t as united a bloc of people as has been made out so far in the series. Also do we all just live on Moya now?

CHARACTER RANKING SO FAR AS OF 2.05:

1) Chiana

2) Aeryn

3) John

4) Pilot

5) D’Argo

6) Zhaan

7) Rygel

That’s us for this episode of FarscapeWatch until 2.06, ‘Picture If You Will’! (which seems to be perhaps a Chiana episode from previews!) Check out the #farscapewatch tag to keep up with the series, and/or read all my reactions in the masterlist which you can find here and linked on my blog’s main page

#farscapewatch #farscape #farscape fans #farscape season 2 #john crichton #aeryn #no spoilers #zhaan #d'argo #chiana #moya #sci fi #reactions #reviews #tv review #90s #throwback

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saiyanshewolf · 7 years ago

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Anyway so I’m apparently in the minority but I loved a lot about TLJ.

1. Rey.

I have never identified with someone so much.

Let me preface this with: Kylo Ren is a manchild with anger issues who throws temper tantrums where people end up dead. He is the EPITOME of “cool motive, still murder.” I am not making excuses for Kylo Ren.

Now:

Kylo Ren is a terrible person who has done terrible things, but Rey still thinks she can save him.

I get that that is exactly why people are pissed: the fact that a female character like Rey spends the movie trying to rescue an unbalanced, hateful man like Kylo Ren. The trope of pure-girl-from-the-archetypal-light-side rescuing the dark-broody-violent-boy-from-the-archetypal-dark-side with her Goodness and Love is a very tired one indeed, and what young girls take from stories like that is that if they are good enough, if they just love them enough, if they put up with enough, the man will change.

In reality, however, that rarely (if ever) happens, and girls are often left feeling like something is wrong - that they’re not doing enough and it’s their fault that the man they’re with isn’t healing.

In TLJ, however, the point is that Rey doesn’t rescue Kylo Ren. She doesn’t save him.

But she tries.

She tries because she is a fundamentally good person. She tries because she does not want to fight when there’s a chance she can make an ally. She tries because she wants to believe the best of people. Most of all she tries because she comes to understand what turned Ben Solo into Kylo Ren.

She tries, and for a short period of time they are allies (their fight scene teamup was gorgeous and I’m not sorry).

Their alliance is short lived, however, and then Kylo Ren asks her to join him. He tells her the truth about her parents and he does it with blunt cruelty (which could come from either a place of manipulation of a place or awkwardness, but it is cruel either way; intentions, the road to hell, etc). He tells her that she is nothing and then immediately tells her that he does not think she is nothing, perhaps the most manipulative line he has (again, intentions, road to hell). In a callback to Anakin and Padme, Kylo Ren begs Rey to stay with him and rule to galaxy. And yes, he does beg. Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley’s acting was lovely in that moment; I really felt how desperately he wanted her to say yes, how deeply they both wanted someone by their sides who understood them.

And yet.

(“You’re breaking my heart. You’re going down a path I can’t follow.”)

Padme’s words, not Rey’s, but they’re appropriate nonetheless. Rey cannot and will not follow Kylo Ren. She tried to help him. He failed her - like we all knew he would - but she tried.

What does she do then? What does she do when she realizes that Kylo Ren is refusing to change his ways, that he is, in fact, asking her to join him, to accommodate him?

She leaves.

Do you understand what that would have meant to my dumb, impressionable little 13 year old self?

To see a story where the girl actually leaves when the broken man she’s trying to save refuses her help?

A story where she leaves and doesn’t die shortly afterward (like Padme)? Where she doesn’t languish in misery and self-loathing afterward? Where she leaves him and makes an active effort to oppose him and all he stands for?

My entire life I’ve had a problem with wanting to fix men, to save them, because that’s what I’d been taught was my job. The media I passively consumed had normalized that kind of behavior to the point that I didn’t even begin to think twice about it until I was almost in my mid-twenties. I was made to believe that if I just stuck with them, that if I endured their bullshit and showed them how patient and loving I could be even when they were downright cruel, they would eventually change.

I endured years of shitty treatment, of straight up emotional abuse, and not a goddamn one of them ever changed.

Rey tries. She tries to help Kylo Ren because she’s a good, kind person, because she senses his pain, because she’s empathetic, and sure, maybe because she’s also a little bit naive.

She tries, and he fails her, and Rey leaves.

Rey leaves and finds the rebellion. She leaves and does something to combat the man she was trying so hard to save, because he refused her help.

It seems like a ridiculous thing to be happy about, I know. I understand if people think that the better message would be in Rey refusing to try to help him, period, and that’s certainly a valid point of view. For me personally, however, that would remove the main reason that I identified with Rey to begin with: her empathy, her desire to help others who are suffering, her ability to see the potential for good in others, no matter what.

Rey doesn’t save him. She isn’t killed by him. She isn’t destroyed by not being able to save him. It isn’t presented as some failure on her part that she doesn’t save him.

Little girl me DESPERATELY needed that particular message.

Rey trying to help Kylo Ren and leaving when he ultimately fails her is, for me personally, more powerful than if she had never tried to help him at all.

2. The multiple failures, narrow escapes, and near misses.

Rey isn’t able to break through Kylo Ren to bring Ben Solo back.

The legendary Luke Skywalker, in a moment of weakness, a moment of fear, a moment of humanness, raises his lightsaber against his sleeping nephew...and when he is caught, disaster ensues.

As a result, the Luke Skywalker that Rey finds is not who she expects him to be.

The rebels lose all their bombing fleet and are tracked across space by the First Order, having their ships picked off one by one.

Finn and Rose do not find the hacker they were looking for, and are betrayed by the hacker they do find.

Finn, Rose, and Poe’s plan to remove the tracker and escape the First Order fails.

The First Order picks off the rebels’ transport ships as they try to escape.

The base the rebels escape to is decrepit and they are essentially trapped there waiting to be killed; many more of them are killed as they try to take down the ram.

Almost every single turn of the story seems hopeless. General Leia herself admits to giving up hope.

Until Luke Skywalker gets his shit together long enough to exploit Kylo Ren’s weakness, buying them time to escape...and even then there is the disappointment that it isn’t “really” Luke, that the concentration required saps him so completely that he dies.

Even when the rebels do try to escape, their path is blocked, leaving them vulnerable.

Until Rey appears...and lifts the rocks.

There is very little hope to be had in TLJ, but there is hope. There is always hope, no matter how faint.

That, I think, is a very good and very important message...particularly given the current political climate.

Which brings me to...

3. The way TLJ paints its villains and the way it chose to portray the ultra-rich.

Snoke was a frightening villain. Snoke was an intelligent villain...to a point.

Snoke underestimated Kylo Ren...which ought to make Kylo Ren a more frightening villain, but that isn’t what happens.

Kylo Ren killing Snoke really illustrates the selfishness and self absorption inherent in the dark side, I think. Snoke didn’t believe that Kylo Ren would dare. He does dare, however, and he does kill Snoke. It’s almost too easy...almost anti-climatic.

Snoke was a frightening villain, but he was self absorbed enough not to see his own death coming...thus he is replaced by Kylo Ren, who is really not a frightening villain at all. We have only to look at Hux to see that: he refers to Kylo Ren as Supreme Leader only under the duress of being force-choked, and even after that he is barely able to conceal his irration with Kylo Ren’s petulant demands to fire everything they have on a single man; he even makes a snarky comment to the effect of “Do you think you got him?”

Would anyone speak to Darth Vader like that? (As in original trilogy Vader, prior to the context of the prequels.)

Darth Vader was terrifying. Kylo Ren is not. You’re meant to hate him, but...

A lot of people who are fond of characters like Kylo Ren don’t hate him because they understand why he turned to the dark side. I myself tend to fall into this category with a lot of villains. I don’t defend what these characters have done (cool motive, still murder) but I do believe that understanding the why makes them more interesting characters. I’m not going to get into a debate about “is it okay to like villainous characters” because that’s not something I’m interested in, but this view seems to focus on the fact that Kylo Ren is a fictional character, rather than who that character would be as a real person.

For others, I think that hatred of Kylo Ren as a villain manifests as a really dull, disgusted sort of hatred: he’s angry, volatile, angsty, and violent, a manchild who throws temper tantrums at the slightest provocation. There’s little real fear there, and what fear there is is full of that same disgust, almost as if you’re disgusted that you have to be afraid of such a person.

That being said...what kind of people are running our country right now? Yeah.

I also really enjoyed the scenes on the gambling planet and how all the ultra-rich assholes there were very obviously portrayed as exploitative assholes. There’s not much else for me to say on that point. It was pretty thinly veiled.

TLJ is, I think, a movie about not giving in, no matter what. (“Never tell me the odds.”) Rose and Finn don’t give in even when the First Order literally has their boots on the backs of their necks. Rey doesn’t give in when Luke first refuses her and she doesnt give in to Kylo Ren no matter how much she wants to help him; Luke gives in to his moment of fear, and then later on doesn’t give in to the fear that has been keeping him uninvolved for so long. The rebellion itself never, ever, ever gives in despite incredible, overwhelming losses.

...but all that’s just, like, my opinion, man.

#adrienne has opinions #tlj opinion post

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718rouge-blog · 7 years ago

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Random Assortment of Thoughts on Infinity War

. Brave, new, and goes against convention in more ways than anything constricted to the film. The movie ends on a total cliffhanger, but it’s weird because it doesn’t feel like one nor is it advertised as anything but an ending. The movie’s last shot is of Thanos, the heroes have no more plans or battles to execute or fight, and pretty much all plot points barring a few are closed up by the finish. The movie truly bears a kind of finality even though there is a “part 2″ coming next year, and it feels like this is now the new status quo which the Marvel universe operates under. I mean, Thanos’ job is done, the Avengers can carry on with their lives if they so choose. With a movie as big as this one, that’s a bold move

. I don't think its a coincidence that all of the original Avengers team survived (IM, Cap, Thor, Widow, Hulk, and likely Hawkeye). I think Avengers 4 will be the definite end for some of those characters

. An interesting bit of character development I think people could have missed: Star-Lord tries to hold back Drax from shortsightedly getting at Thanos, who killed his wife and daughter, in detriment to the plan on Knowhere. But once Star-Lord loses someone at the hands of Thanos, he's the one shortsightedly getting in the way of the plan and ruining things. Star-Lord's comment to Tony about being 50% human and therefore 50% "stupid" is important because of this - he's human, he's emotional, and does "stupid" things. I like Star-Lord’s character because of this, where his attachment to people he cares about (the most “human” trait one can have) is both his one true weakness and his biggest strength and driving force.

. Even though there’s next to no chance most of the deaths that occur after the snap are permanent, I think knowing the characters are coming back doesn't really take away from the impact those moments can have on someone invested in this universe. You might not be devastated/crying/shocked, but consider the compositions of those scenes: Complete silence, no backing soundtrack, pretty much no dialogue, utter confusion, stunned chaos, beloved characters crumbling and disintegrating into dust, Spider-Man begging for his life.... if those moments had no effect on you even if you knew it's a sham, you a robot. Good storytelling is good storytelling, and Kevin Feige + the Russo’s are masters of craft and execution

. Thanos vs. Dr Strange is the best live-action Dragonball Z fight you’ll ever see

. The things that keep the Marvel franchise from devolving into something like the Fast & Furious franchise are its commitment to nuanced thematic storytelling and how the movies fully flesh out their characters and their motivations so when things happen, there’s reason to feel something. Thor arriving in Wakanda isn’t cool just because of the way its built up, shot, and allowed to breath - although that’s a big part of why. It’s also cool because Thor is looking for vengeance after losing everything, and because his journey throughout the movie is documented so well, the payoff feels right.

My negatives about the movie:

Hulk - He starts off in the movie nicely. Even though he was mainly an expositional tool, he brought a sense of danger. Hulk, the strongest Avenger, gets brutalized by some person named Thanos to the point where he's emotionally traumatized is a crazy starting point. But it all goes downhill once his ED arc begins. I might have been fine with it had it been resolved by the end of the movie and they unleashed Hulk in the Wakanda battle, but it was just stupid and took away from the focus, plus some of the CG on Mark Ruffalo in the armor was laughable. Reminds me of Age of Ultron in the sense that it's trying to set up an arc for a future movie/story and it takes away from the movie we're watching right now

Some development issues - I'm not gonna say the movie had bad pacing, because everything moves naturally. In fact, most of the first half is pretty moderately and sometimes even slowly paced. But something about the Wakanda battle and almost everything on Earth felt really short. To me this is because no real arcs play out on Earth besides Witch/Vision and when the Avengers reunite at the compound. Character development and furthering of certain important arcs didn't really take place of a result of that, and so everything on Earth felt really rushed along and tertiary compared to the space stuff. You might even say it felt empty. The Avengers touchdown in Wakanda for like 5 mins and then Thanos' army comes through and they're shuttled to the battlefield. I wish they gave more time / development to the stuff on Earth and definitely added some more character moments for Steve and T'Challa. Nothing about Cap's character changed, when he had so much development through the 2 Avengers movies + his movies.

Potential for more - While the movie gave us a lot of satisfying moments, and I understand they couldn't do it all, there was still a lot more they could have done in terms of fan service (the whole point of this movie is fan service tbh). A Strange teamup with Witch, Tony and Steve reunion, some more characters meeting and/or interacting for the first time, etc... and yeah they're saving some of that for the next movie but I'm still really hungry for more And finally, the cheesy editing during Gamora's death. Those fade cuts with the dramatic music... nah b

I’m not sure where I’d rank this among the Marvel pantheon of epics. It’s a completely different kind of film from ones like Winter Soldier, Black Panther, Iron Man, even Civil War, which were more focused, character-driven pieces. One thing I can say for sure though is you can no longer claim Marvel doesn’t take risks with their movies, and when the risks actually work in this instance, it’s hard not to respect the piece of storytelling that was created

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