#What I thought was genuine change and growth turned out to be just a convoluted plan to hurt me even more

[omen-persimmon]

PSA to Akutagawa fictives out there: do NOT trust the Dazai fictive do not do not do not do not do not they do NOT care about you they will LEAVE YOU they do NOT want to be your dad they WILL NOT MISS YOU when they abandon you again

[yumeka36]

Frozen 2 review

I’ve seen Frozen 2 twice now and feel like I’m ready to review it (somewhat) objectively. Obviously there will be spoilers so read at your own risk.

I’ve looked at a number of reviews of the movie both from fans and general critics/moviegoers, and it made me realize exactly what kind of movie this is: pretty much all of the criticism I’ve seen has to do with the plot being unfocused and rushed at times, with points made about the convolution of the mythology elements. On the other hand, the praise I’ve seen has to do with the growth of the characters, how appealing Anna and Elsa’s development is, and the overall message of accepting change, righting past wrongs, and being who you’re meant to be. It’s almost like the critics who didn’t like the movie and the fans who did had completely different expectations for what they wanted to see, with the former expecting some intricate fantasy plot that all clicks together and is fully fleshed out, while the latter is expecting to see their favorite characters face new adventures while growing their relationships and personal identities. And this latter interpretation is the defining point of Frozen’s appeal, even more so in the sequel: the franchise is all about the story arcs of Anna and Elsa and how their bond as sisters helps them grow stronger together as well as individually. In Frozen 2, it’s the characters that are driving the plot instead of the plot driving the characters. And because of this, the movie would rather spend more time focusing on character songs and interactions (not just Anna and Elsa but Olaf and Kristoff too) than exposition and fleshing out of story elements. It would rather spend time showing Kristoff singing about his pining for Anna’s love, give Olaf scenes showing how his new-found knowledge has made him view the world, and give Elsa a follow-up to “Let It Go” in “Show Yourself,” than to spend time explaining, say, the Northuldra culture, how the spirits can make decisions like giving Elsa powers, or exactly how the magic of Ahtohallan works. Yes, this does make some story points lacking and hurried, but I feel that the filmmaking team relies on the fact that we’re so in love with these characters that not understanding every detail in the lore and plot won’t ruin our enjoyment. And, from the acclaim the movie’s getting, I’d say they’re right.

Frozen has always been about quality character story arcs as opposed to quality world-building, but the reason this is more prominent in Frozen 2 is because the first movie had a smaller scale story with minimal lore to focus on, so the character arcs stood out more. Because the sequel brings in more world-building elements, it’s easy for someone who’s not invested in the characters to focus on and judge the movie based on the fine details of the plot. Of course it would be nice if we could have both: intricate, solid world-building as well as character development, but that would probably make the movie too long – it could work for an ongoing series but not for a time-restricted Disney movie that only has a degree of creative liberties and still has to adhere to certain story flows and formulas. So then the questions are, did I feel enough was explained in Frozen 2 to make sense of the story even if a handful of things were lacking? Did the quality of the characters and their developments and relationships make up for a plot that was a bit messy and unfocused? I’d say the answer to these questions is yes.

With that in mind, as a fan judging the movie based more on how the characters are handled rather than the plot, and considering the hype the movie had to live up to and the insane number of directions they could have gone with the story, I think the final product turned out to be very good. The few things I had issue with are as follows:

-as I discussed in most of this post, I admit that the movie is a bit rushed at times, with certain scenes and plot points that needed more focus being glossed over. An extra 5-10 minute runtime would have benefited it immensely: a few more scenes of Agnarr and Iduna in Ahtohallan, more discussion in the finale of Anna becoming queen and what Elsa’s role as the fifth spirit is…even just another 30 seconds for each of these would have made a big difference. But at the same time I feel enough is explained to satisfy a general audience and the main appeal of the movie – the character arcs and relationships – is very well done.

-Kristoff’s failed proposal in the wagon felt way too forced. Anna was just way too quick to misunderstand him, making it feel very unrealistic and it only made their relationship look regressing rather than progressing. The other attempt in the forest was a bit forced too but not as bad as this one. These scenes definitely could have benefited from another rewrite. But thankfully they’re short.

-the new characters like Matthias and Honeymaren contributed virtually nothing to the plot: they could have been replaced with just nameless Northuldra and Arendelle soldiers and nothing would have changed in the story. I think the only reason these characters were made is because there’s some rule that Disney sequels have to have new characters and can’t just rely on the strength of the old ones, so these guys were created even if the movie didn’t necessitate them. Even the four spirits were more plot devices than actual characters. As cute as Bruni is, as soon as I saw him I was like “yeah, he’s just there to sell toys, not gonna contribute anything to the narrative flow” and I was right. This again goes back to what I was saying before about how Frozen 2 chooses to focus more on its (star) characters than world-building through new characters. So in a way, having these new characters isn’t a flaw and it actually shows just how good the original Frozen characters are: they still have so much depth and personality that hasn’t been explored that they can carry this new story on their own without the help of new characters.

But other than a few missing and rushed plot pieces and a little poor writing in Kristoff’s scenes, I thought the movie delivered very well. The love Anna has for Elsa is so amazingly conveyed in this movie that you don’t even need to see the first movie to understand it. All of their interactions and conversations felt so genuine. Olaf was very funny even if all of his jokes didn’t hit their mark. Most of the songs were great and really felt like they were written to move the characters and story forward and not just to be earworms kids will always want to sing. “The Next Right Thing” is one of the darkest moments I’ve seen in any Disney movie, but also one of the most emotionally moving and I have to give kudos to the creative team for keeping it in. “Show Yourself” is the true successor to “Let It Go” (why do they keep pushing “Into the Unknown”?) and is such a beautifully sung and beautifully animated sequence. Speaking of the movie’s animation, it’s gorgeous and it’s so amazing how far the technology has come since the first Frozen. There’s so much detail and nuances in the characters’ expressions and actions that only multiple viewings can pick up on.

Of course, I can’t complete this review unless I discuss the elephant in the room – the ending. Anyone who’s been around the fandom the past couple months knows how bent out of shape everyone got once a vague description of the ending leaked online. Now that I’ve seen it for myself and know all the context, I’m okay with the message: Because Iduna did the right thing and saved Agnarr despite him being her enemy, the spirits gifted their child with powers that could be used to correct the past wrong, should she choose to. And because Anna did the right thing by choosing to destroy her kingdom to save the forest, the spirits freed Elsa who, in turn, was able to save Arendelle. Elsa fully embraced herself and is able to live as she wants, but still able to see her family when she wants. It’s not that she didn’t like being queen of Arendelle and living with Anna and the others, but now that she knows exactly what she is – the fifth spirit – she wants to explore that, but is still able to have a life with her family too. Likewise, Anna has found a purpose she never had before. Even though it’s a major change, she’s happy because she knows Elsa is happy and they can still see each other whenever they want. But as I said, exactly what Elsa does as the fifth spirit should have been explained more (hoping it does in future installments). For what we got though, it was a happy ending, but I won’t say it’s satisfying until we get some more information in future books, filmmaker interviews, and, hopefully, future animated shorts and sequels.

I’m still trying to get over the shock, not just of the fact that a movie I’ve been speculating and daydreaming about for six years is finally here and known, but also the fact that it ended up being very different from what I ever imagined in my theories and headcanons. But now that I’ve watched it twice, I understand the direction the filmmakers went and can appreciate the message they wanted to convey even if the execution was a bit messy. I’m hoping I’m high on Frozen 2 for a while because once it wears off and, assuming, there’s no announcement of new Frozen content by then, I’ll have to figure out what to do with my life! This movie is all about coming to grips with change and I’ll definitely be doing that in reality depending on what the future holds for the Frozen franchise. But as of now, I’m still willing to follow Anna and Elsa into the unknown.

Art credited to @pacota22ma on Twitter

*Crossposted from my main blog, Yume Dimension*

[animebw]

Binge-Watching: Seraph of the End, Day 2, Episodes 13-15

It’s time for the second season of Seraph of the End! In which things get bogged down in unfortunate bloat, but our central twosome is still going strong.

Holy Exposition Dump, Batman

God dammit, I was worried this was going to happen. Seraph of the End’s first season was an excellent exercise in streamlining, paring the story down to the base elements it needed to work and letting it pass through the system as smoothly as possible. And I enjoyed it a lot for that. But if the story was going to continue make good on this set-up, it was going to have to start fleshing out its world and characters in more meaningful ways. In other words, this light, easily digestible action romp would have to start taking on excess weight. And it’s not like it couldn’t do it well if it really tried, but with how pleasantly breezy the first season turned out to be, the thought of it turning into some sprawling, epic story of complex machinations and even more complex plotting can’t help but feel disappointing in some way.

Unfortunately, I feel like those fears are being realized by the second season. There is so much exposition thrown at us in these first few episodes, trying to get us up to date on the world as quickly as possible. We’re hit with wads of info about the Hiragi family, another noble family, interparty conflict within the military, Shinoa’s sister being inside Guren’s sword, the secrets of human experimentation, Yu’s orphanage being a cover for a spell research facility, who knows what, who knows who knows what, Guren possibly having secret and secret-secret plans, the political backstabbing of the vampire hierarchy, and it’s just. So. Much. It comes at you way too fast and way too quickly, asking you not just to process this information but to care about the effects it has on the characters at a speed that would put Sonic to shame. I just barely get the gist of everything going on, but I don’t care about it. I cared about the simple story about teenagers going out into a dangerous would to slice up vampires and learn lessons about family and friendship. Not this overwrought, convoluted, nonsensical excuse for world-building.

It could be worse. At the very least, this isn’t an Aldnoah.Zero Season 2-level disaster. But the soul of the show I enjoyed is definitely clouded. Let’s hope it doesn’t last.

Yu Keeps Getting Better

Thankfully, even if the plot is becoming too byzantine for its own good, the characters and their emotions still find adequate time to shine. Which brings me to Yu, who is only becoming more and more likable since his growth last season. He’s the same sarcastic motormouth he always was, but there’s a noticeable change in the way he interacts with his friends: his edge is softened. He genuinely cares about them, and he’s getting better at expressing that fact. You get the sense he’s having genuine fun bickering with everyone, and I’m having fun right there alongside him. On top of that, he’s grown more mature in the way he deals with complicated situations. His struggle to accept the demon’s contract is over before it even begins, simply because he knows how it tries to manipulate him, and he won’t fall for the same tricks twice. How refreshing is that? Even more refreshing, he manages to win the demon’s trust by suggesting they be friends. Really think about that for a second. He’s going up against a dark being that feeds off of rage and lust, and he offers it friendship. Because he knows from experience how lonely it’s gotta be with only black emotions for company.

Seriously, I’m really impressed by how good Yu’s character arc has ended up being. As long as the show doesn’t fuck that up, I think we’ll stay on the right track. Just please, no love triangle bullshit. You know I hate that stuff, show. You’ve got an obvious (and really fun) OTP right there, just embrace it. You’ll be better off for it.

Mika Between Worlds

On the other side, meanwhile, Mika is in the process of, in scientific terms, losing his shit. The strain of not drinking human blood is getting to him, and resisting the temptation is growing harder by the second. He’s in a really complicated position; not quite human, not quite vampire, enemy of both, and doesn’t feel at home anywhere. All he cares about is getting Yu back and keeping the humans from making the Seraph any more of a threat than it already is. To that end, it seems he’ll be helping Krul with a mysterious plan. I’m a sucker (heh) for villainous infighting and antagonists toppling their own power structure for their own needs, so it seems like this’ll be right up my ally. Frustrations aside, Seraph of the End hasn’t lost me yet, and I look forward to seeing how this season pans out.

Odds and Ends

-”Are you looking at porn again? Typical men.” SHINOA STOP BEING THE BEST

-Ooh, he’s studying the possibility of turning vampires back into humans. Looking out for his bro even now, huh?

-“Worship me as much as you like!” Don’t even have to ask, girl.

-rofl “HE’S GETTING TAKEN OVER-” *faceplant* “Oh, never mind”

-Ey, they’ve got some spies on the inside! Though how they coordinated that with a kid I have no idea.

-Bedhead: The true enemy of every good soldier.

-I always appreciate anime men who can cook their hearts out.

-”Do you see a girl taking her clothes off out there?” Listen Shinoa I’mma need you to give everyone else a chance because you’re completely steamrolling them at this rate okay

And with that, I’m calling it a night. See you next time!

[aion-rsa]

Shameless Series Finale Review: Father Frank, Full of Grace

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This Shameless review contains spoilers.

Shameless Season 11 Episode 12

“We’re still here. We’re surviving, right?” 

Most people would likely not argue that Shameless’s best years are behind it. Showtime, its cable network, even briefly had a reputation for bleeding series dry long after they should have ended. However, even the most egregious examples of this like Weeds, Californication, and Dexter still pale in comparison to Shameless‘s episode count and none of them ever lost their series’ lead. It’s fair to say that Shameless is not as good as when it started or even how it was a few seasons back, but it’s always remained true to itself. It hasn’t resorted to radical time jumps or a revolving door of new premises and locations as a way to inject steroids into a withering corpse. 

Shameless set out to depict the flawed lives of a lower-class family and it’s done that for 11 seasons and allowed a full generation of characters to grow up before the audience’s eyes. Shameless might not have always been a top tier television program, but it’s emblematic of Showtime’s early ideology and the growth that they’ve experienced over the past decade. Shameless is their longest running program and with it gone there’s a substantial piece of Showtime’s past that leaves with it. The final lingering brick from the old guard is finally dislodged. 

In a way, “Father Frank, Full of Grace” becomes an even more poetic finale because the Gallaghers’ loss of Frank also functions as a metaphor for Showtime’s loss of Shameless. “Father Frank, Full of Grace” is a celebratory finale that’s emotional, beautiful, crude, and chaotic more than it’s a metatextual conversation about Showtime’s legacy. However, it all contributes to an overwhelming sense of closure and fresh beginnings, which is exactly what Shameless’ series finale needed to deliver.

Frank’s nagging mortality is a major catalyst for this series finale, but it’s also remarkable to see how most of the Gallaghers have already moved on. Frank may not technically be dead at the start of the episode, but he’s metaphorically been a ghost for decades. Any love is lost at this point and Frank’s belabored transition to the other side is treated like a temporary nuisance, as if it’s a toilet that needs to be unclogged. 

Frank lets out a surprised, “Well, fuck,” upon the realization that he’s not dead and that was also pretty much my reaction to this news. Frank’s death feels like a foregone conclusion and the cyclical nature of his story in this finale steps on the toes of the past few episodes. It’s an emotional moment when Frank does pass on, but it also turns this finale into a prolonged waiting game whereas last week’s conclusion came as a legitimate shock.

Frank’s detached actions as his ailing body moves on autopilot are a frustrating component from this finale. The material feels sloppy and like it’s just another opportunity to get more of a morose, haunting performance from out of Macy. I’m still not convinced that it’s the best decision for this last episode, but Frank’s out of body experience and his flashbacks contain some of the finale’s most touching moments. 

Frank’s thoughts on his family and these glimpses of the cast back in season one aren’t overused and their impact is felt. Even the brief return to a shut down Patsy’s Pies connects as Frank takes in the South Side with fresh eyes for one last time. It’s a messy storyline, but thematically it’s sound. It’s no coincidence that Frank is there, but he isn’t, through most of this episode. It’s the perfect distillation of his involvement as a father for his kids. Frank’s spirit is ever present, but he spends this final episode in a cathartic form of isolation. 

Frank spends this installment lost in the past while everyone else braces for the future. There’s still residual Gallagher drama, but “Father Frank, Full of Grace” largely waves a magic wand to either fix all of these problems or at least provide a solid roadplan for what lies ahead. This finale makes a very conscious decision to be about celebration and unity rather than stress and conflict. All of the Gallaghers’ dilemmas aren’t solved, but they never will be, and the acceptance of this allows this finale to confidently conclude and not get lost in the weeds. A lot of ground gets covered, some of which doesn’t necessarily feel like the best use of time in a series finale, but”Father Frank, Full of Grace” never feels rushed and it allows each Gallagher–even an unconscious Frank–several opportunities to shine.

Lip enters this finale with the most stress and arguably exits with the most support and prospects for the future. It’s genuinely nice to see Tami and Lip reach a place where they’re able to healthily communicate, listen to each other, and work as a team. Tami is almost a little too understanding considering how much recent instability has entered their lives. It’s a little convenient that several of Lip’s delivery runs are also situations where technologically impaired people benefit from Lip’s knowledge in the area. It’s left unresolved if this is enough to kickstart Lip into some tech-based job where he heads down a different direction in his life, but it offers a sliver of hope in the area.

This finale offers teases, not answers, for what’s to come for Lip and this open-ended attitude carries over to the rest of the Gallaghers. Debbie’s accelerating relationship with Heidi sticks out the most here and it feels strange to spend so much time on a completely new character in the series finale. The red flags from Debbie’s relationship get balanced out with how enjoyable everything is with Mickey and Ian. They engage in several real, vulnerable conversations here that reflect how functional they’ve become. The baby talk is really pleasant, but the surprise wedding anniversary is even better and not made super obvious.

This season of Shameless, more than any other, has pulled from reality for a lot of its material regarding Chicago’s social climate. This is typically strong material for the series’ satirical perspective and it’s naturally integrated into the story.  However, the injection of current politics and conspiracy theories that Mickey and Ian are briefly exposed to feels less subtle and like the show just wants to fit in some “Sleepy Joe” commentary before it’s over. Similarly, it seems kind of unnecessarily loaded that after a lifetime of recklessness it’s ultimately COVID-19 complications that takes out Frank and not his rampant alcoholism or drug use. These moments are brushed past quickly and don’t derail the narrative, but they feel awkward in the moment.

“Father Frank, Full of Grace” is a rather safe finale that doesn’t have any major surprises. Those that were expecting a Fiona cameo may be irritated over the finale’s direction, but it should have been pretty obvious that Shameless wasn’t interested in this type of finish. Fiona wouldn’t have radically changed this finale, but I’m genuinely curious if John Wells reached out and did attempt a brief return or if they’ve both fully moved on by now.

I’m also a huge Spoon fan, but even I thought it was jarring that the Gallaghers and the Alibi patrons just happen to know all of the words to “The Way We Get By.” I understand that it’s meant to offer some connection with the pilot episode’s ending, but diegetically the Gallaghers have never had a connection to the song. It seems like there would be plenty of more appropriate songs, with Chicago origins, that would actually have significance to these people. It’s still a very sweet moment for Shameless to end on, even if the logistics are slightly flawed.

All of this is to say that “Father Frank, Full of Grace” is a convoluted episode, but its final ten minutes where the Gallaghers are deep in the throes of celebration is exactly how this series needed to go out. All of these characters bask in each other’s company, demonstrate their appreciation for each other, and reflect on how much they’ve matured. Lip and Ian’s brief heart-to-hearts have been a highlight from this season and their final chat here where the gratitude for Lip’s role as a surrogate father figure for the family is conveyed becomes even more powerful considering the nature of the episode.

This series finale features Frank’s death and significant life changes for characters, but “Father Frank, Full of Grace” still has a very lowkey energy that makes it feel like many of its other finales. This is the end, but it’s not difficult to picture another season of the show that picks up these loose threads and everything reverts back to “normal” after a few episodes. Sometimes finales that check every box and go out of their way for endless closure can feel manufactured and contrived. It’s appreciated that Shameless doesn’t take this route. 

Hopefully these new decisions will stick, but the problem with Shameless is that it’s conditioned its audience to frequent changes and a return to the status quo. “Father Frank, Full of Grace” works hard to buck that trend, and it’s largely successful, but it’s also easy to picture these characters consumed with stress and doubt on the day after the events of this finale. This final season builds new futures for all of the Gallaghers and they all still have a lot to learn, but “Father Frank, Full of Grace” leaves most of the characters in empowered positions where lasting change feels achievable and not just a pipe dream.

Shameless’s final season has functioned as a showcase for Frank and it’s always been “his” show, even though he hasn’t always been the series’ focal point. “Father Frank, Full of Grace” underscores this and becomes a lowkey tribute to Frank with how it paints a bright and happy future for his family. The opening minutes of Shameless begin with Frank Gallagher’s voice over as he dotes over his family, all of which have become wonderful despite Frank. Shameless’ series finale concludes in the same manner of reflection and the Gallaghers are even united around another communal fire this time around.

The major lesson that Frank pushes in his parting words are to appreciate the time that you have, even if it’s stupid, and to not waste your life. Shameless’ final season didn’t always use its time in the most effective manner, but they clearly had fun every step of the way. Shameless’ final season is a shell of the poignant and challenging family drama that emerged in season one, but they’ve always appreciated their time and the stories that they’ve gotten to tell. Shameless, much like the Gallaghers themselves, was messy, but never lacking in love. That sentiment has never been more true than with “Father Frank, Full of Grace,” which goes out on its own imperfect terms.

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See you later, Shameless. Love you too, asshole.

The post Shameless Series Finale Review: Father Frank, Full of Grace appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[classykdlady]

Season 3 Thoughts

I’m going to put this under a cut to spare anyone who might not want to read this. Please keep in mind that these are my own opinions and they have no bearing on anything, whatsoever. I’m not here to harsh anyone’s buzz or tell anyone they’re wrong for liking what they like.

First off, I want to talk about some of the things that I liked, lest anyone think I’m just a Bitter Betty who hates everything. In no particular order:

Yi Tien Cho: I would like to thank god and also jesus that the show writers turned him from a super racist caricature (seriously, wtf Diana?) into an actual character with dignity and depth. Gary Young played him fabulously and made him a real favorite of mine. I loved his relationship with Margaret Campbell especially, but also appreciated his friendship with Claire. I’ll definitely miss him.

Murtagh: I definitely care about show Murtagh more than book Murtagh, so I’m glad they kept him alive. I’m curious to see what they do with his storyline since DG said that she doesn’t think they’re replacing Duncan Innes with him. 

The Geneva situation: I’m so glad that they took out the part where Geneva told Jamie to stop and he kept right on going. I know that whole thing has been rehashed to death, so it really was the best possible call to just eliminate that disgusting moment. 

Casting: Just a huge round of applause to the casting department on this show. They consistently knock it out of the park, and this season is no exception. Especially for several very important characters. Bless.

David Berry: On that note, let me publicly announce my love of David Berry as LJG. I think that even if I had hated John in the books, David’s portrayal of him on the show would’ve made me love him. He’s just so delightful. 

Frank: Yeah, this is not a Frank-hating blog, so absolutely miss me with that shit. I’ve enjoyed Tobias’s performance as Frank from the very beginning because he makes Frank feel like someone whom Claire would love very much. In the books, we’re very much limited by Claire’s perspective and I think she demonizes him in order to absolve herself of some responsibility and guilt. It is an absolutely human thing to do, but I’m so happy we got to see him trying to make things work and pushing back on her behavior. I detest unbalanced relationships because I don’t think it’s healthy when one person gets to act callously towards the other–even though I understand where it’s coming from and why it’s a natural reaction–and the recipient is just supposed to be 100% supportive all the time, with no regard for their own needs. Anyway, it’s been nice to be able to see his POV over the past three seasons, and to see why Claire tried so hard to get back to him and why she stayed with him after she came back. The racism is forever gross, though. 

Joe Abernathy: I like that he and Claire met in med school and went on to graduate and work together. Fight The Man, you two!

Adorable peanut Roger Wakefield showing up in Boston for Christmas

Jamie working the printing press: That was unexpectedly hot, so thank you for gifting it to us, whoever was in charge of that decision. 

Elias Pound: This absolute angel on earth was a bright light in an otherwise dark episode. He was such a sweetheart, who deserved so much better. 

The entire cast and crew: No matter your opinion on the season, the whole team worked very hard to bring us the best possible finished product. It’s not easy to make an adaptation from a book series, especially one with a long-time, passionate fanbase, so I genuinely appreciate the seriousness with which everyone involved is trying to take this. It’s a very fine line to walk between a faithful adaptation and making something your own, and it’s easy to sit in judgment when you’re not the one putting something out there. 

Wow, I didn’t think that list would be so long. 

And now, onto my more critical opinions. Now would probably be a good time to stop reading if you absolutely loved everything and are going to be upset that not everyone did. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

I think that most of my issues with this season can be summed up by one word: pacing. I honestly don’t think that their plan of doing one season per book is going to work out as well as they hoped, especially if they get past Drums. I go back and forth with myself about whether this season should’ve had more episodes (I understand the logistical and practical reasons why they didn’t. This is more of a theoretical.) The end of the season absolutely felt rushed–even with some of the more convoluted plot lines axed or cleaned up–while the beginning of the season kind of dragged. Yes, I do understand that we had to show Jamie and Claire separated to really feel those 20 years and we had to see all the things Jamie went through, but it still felt like a bit much to me. I also constantly felt like I just had to get through one thing to get to the next, better thing, if that makes sense. That might be 100% on me, but the big moments didn’t hit me as hard as in previous seasons. 

The in-epsiode pacing this season really made me grit my teeth. It just felt like the writers decided to spend inordinate amounts of time on some things to the exclusion of other events (*cough*character moments*cough*) that I would have preferred to see. For reals, though, why did we have that whole thing where Claire was desperately trying to save the life of the man who attacked her, only for him to die anyway? Or 15 minutes of Claire traipsing through the jungle on Saint Domingue? The audience is not stupid. We can comprehend things like montages and time lapses to illustrate the passage of time. But we got those things instead of Ian Murray, Sr. coming up to the brothel room while Claire was still abed or John and Claire meeting aboard the British ship. Yes, yes, I know they screwed that one up by having Jamie tell Claire about Willie and that John is his adopted father, but I’m still allowed to be disappointed about it. I always enjoyed that their first meeting was wholly independent of Jamie and that they genuinely liked and respected one another. I feel that the way it all played out in the show will alter their future relationship.

And now, for a truly unpopular opinion: I could’ve done with fewer or shorter sex scenes this season. I’m not 100% sure why, but they felt somewhat gratuitous to me this season. Especially in Print Shop, where it was obviously trying to feel like The Wedding. In Print Shop, the first one was necessary, but the second one could’ve easily been shortened/fade to black/whatever. Sometimes the sex scenes felt a bit fanservice-y to me. I’ve generally enjoyed the sex on this show in the past, so I’m not entirely sure what changed. Maybe it was that there was so much action this season and so few times when the characters had the time to just talk to each other, that the sex just felt like it was randomly thrown in, rather than happening organically. I don’t know, I’ll revisit this idea when I eventually rewatch the whole season. 

I would’ve liked to have seen more of the relationship growth between Claire and Marsali. I enjoy Marsali in subsequent books, so it would’ve been nice to see more of that evolution from distrust and suspicion to soliciting advice from Claire. 

On a similar note, I was displeased with how jokey the Fersali wedding was. Jamie officially granting Fergus his last name is a big moment for the two of them, but I feel like it got a bit lost in how ridiculous Father Fogden was being. 

I hadn’t really thought about it until I was watching the season unfold, but a lot of these issues may have come from the source material. Generally, I enjoy Voyager, but I do skip things sometimes when I’m rereading it. As a whole, it does seem kind of unfocused. It kind of veers off in the middle there into some side plots to the point where you almost forget about Young Ian’s kidnapping. 

These are just my first impressions and are subject to change after further reflection. As a whole, this season was kind of a miss for me. I’ll take the responsibility for at least some of that because I definitely let my expectations get out of hand. Also, I don’t have hyper-fixations like some people do. I have brief periods of deeply enjoying something, then it fades. I think I’ve almost definitely hit the fade, so that might be affecting things. I’ve never been the squeeing type, so I was never going to be at that level of enjoyment anyway. 

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. You don’t have to agree with me on any of it, but please don’t come on my post/blog and berate me about why I’m wrong for not liking something. I am always up for discussion or questions about my ramblings. I apologize for the disorganized nature of this post. I just wanted to write something about what I was thinking. 

[xsailormobian]

Puella Magi Madoka Magica : A review

I warn you right now : if you’re an unconditional fan of the series, you probably don’t want to read this. Likewise, if you expect nothing but mindless bashing on my part, you shouldn’t read it either.

To keep it short, I have a love-hate relationship with Madoka Magica. It does some things well, but there are some other things that don’t sit well with me. Remember : it’s just my opinion and I certainly don’t claim to be right on certain things, it’s just how it feels for me. Spoiler alert, and it’s quite long.

The premise

“Being a Magical Girl sucks.” Thanks TVTropes, you’re really helpful. But it’s basically how the series goes : we are introduced to a bunch of middle-schooled girls who contract with a cute mascot ; the contract grants them any wish they want and, in exchange, they become Magical Girls and must fight monsters called Witches.

Except for the whole wish thing, it seems like your regular Magical Girl show. The trick however is that in this universe, being a Magical Girl is an extremely dangerous job. You could argue it’s the case in Sailor Moon for example, but this series (which I like a lot by the way) is on the idealistic side of the spectrum. Madoka Magica clearly isn’t. The girls, who don’t get any reward whatsoever for their dedication, go from awful truth to awful truth, sink deeper into despair and, if they don’t die horribly first, they will sooner or later turn into Witches – the very enemies they must fight against. And generally, they don’t learn about it until the very bitter end. Surprise !

The concept was endearing to me at first, because I’m a sucker for angst and character developement. On my first watch, not going to lie, I loved the show. But after having rewatched it and read some reviews about it, I came to the conclusion that even if the premise was good, there was something that felt really wrong to me.

Let’s take Sailor Moon again. This is a series whose purpose is to empower girls and women ; the titular character has agency, she’s idealistic and with the Power of Love / Friendship, she fights for what she thinks is right. She can change things and she’s going to do it. It’s the case for most of Magical Girl series, so what’s my problem with Madoka Magica ?

Thinking about it, the show in it’s bare premise is the opposite of what a Magical Girl series is about. Let’s put aside episode 12 for a second and you have a Cosmic Horror Story where hope is meaningless and where the girls, no matter how powerful they are, will get crushed by an uncaring, cold universe. Which is fine, just not in a genre that’s supposed to empower girls. Here, Magical Girls have no agency, their fate is sealed and they can’t do anything about it – because if they don’t become Magical Girls, they’re totally helpless ; and by achieving power and allowing themselves to have a wish granted, they will inevitably turn into monsters while having the illusion of not being helpless, when in reality they are. That’s not empowering. That’s fucked up, and not in a good way.

I think a deconstruction of the Magical Girl genre can be a good thing. Taking apart common tropes to see how they would apply in real life is really interesting, especially if it can make you reflect on things you would otherwise take for granted. But deconstructing the very idea of girls having power, desires and agency by beating them with the angst stick with a “be careful what you wish for” + “selfishness is bad” theme is something that doesn’t sit well with me.

Then there’s episode 12, which I’ll come to later.

The characters

I’m going to link this post, where I explain how I feel about the characters. I still mostly have the same opinion on them.

I personally don’t dislike any of the characters, but I can’t say I felt any genuine affection for any of them (except Kyoko because she rocks. *throws constructive criticism by the window*) They work in the context of a series of 12 episodes where the plot and themes are more important, and I personally viewed them more as deconstruction of character archetypes than real, breathing characters. Madoka is the protagonist, yet she’s mostly a tag along ; Sayaka is an idealist and an ally of justice, yet she turns out to be a classical anti-hero and it clashes so hard with her high expectations of herself that she turns into a Witch ; Mami is the kind mentor, yet it's only a facade to hide how broken she is ; Homura seems like an antagonist, yet she’s actually a protagonist (albeit a creepy one) ; as for Kyoko, she’s a straight Dark Magical Girl.

As it is, it works. But as characters, they don’t really have any depth : they are, like I said, only tools to the plot and the themes. As such, the character arcs feel a bit incomplete at time and, considering the dark nature of the show, they tend to go into wangst territory real quick (which is why I thought Kyoko was a breath of fresh air among the cast).

The plot and themes

Now coming back to what I said on the premise part. The main theme of Madoka Magica is Hope vs Despair. For the majority of the series, the world kept shitting on the idea of hope, idealism and friendship. That’s the reason for Sayaka’s whole arc, even if it all started out because she wanted to help the boy she loved (well, she had ulterior motives but then again, if such petty selfishness wasn’t stigmatized so much by the show and instead treated a something human that needed to be acknowledged, it wouldn’t have been a problem. But I digress).

The series can be seen as Madoka’s journey to learn how the Magical Girl System works and how she can change it. She has seen horrible things, and she has learned that hope will screw over any Magical Girl who clings to it. And she doesn’t accept that. We knew that Madoka had enough potential to become a God, and we also knew that it took time to her to figure out how to change everyone’s destinies – at first she wanted to become a magical girl just because, then to help Mami feel less alone, then to save Sayaka and, in another timeline, to save Homura. The unfairness of the Magical Girl system plus everyone’s advices throughout the series helped her mature her wish so that she will be able to do what she wanted to do since the beginning : be useful to others. Except now she has a clear goal in mind and knows exactly how to achieve it. That’s what I like the most about her character ; sadly, she ended up being a tag along for most of the series and even if it was for internal growth, it was a questionable idea at best. But damn if that ending wasn’t impressive, as convoluted as it may seem.

So my complain about this series not empowering girls seems to have been nullified, right ? Well, yes and no.

Yes, because Madoka changed the system. Sure, Magical Girls still die in exchange for their miracle but at least they know from the get-go that it will happen, considering it is dangerous and that they need to cleanse your Soul Gem regularly (putting two and two together, one can assume that if they don’t, they will die). They don’t do anything against their free will since they no longer turn into Witches.

And no, because considering the themes and the nature of the story, the ending barely make any sense. In-universe, it was largely foreshadowed and and it made sense. But the thing is, it’s still 11 episodes or so of psychological torture that kept mocking hope, happiness, friendship and idealism, as well as the girls who believed in these values. As such, the ending still feels like a big 180 from a thematic standpoint. To quote this article :  “I’m sorry, but you can’t spend 11 episodes telling us that everything is fucked and everyone is doomed and reaching for power will only get you smacked down hard, and then suddenly turn around and go “Actually, everyone’s okay and reaching for power can get you what you want and it’ll even turn you into a god to boot!” The show spends 11 episodes punishing the blameless heroines for showing any shred of bravery, idealism, or love, shitting all over their dreams and laughing in their faces, and then in the final episode, it suddenly decides that bravery, idealism, and love are totally awesome and effective and will win the day and fix everything.”

The ending has a good message, sure. I wouldn’t say it’s empowering either, considering that in the world Madoka created, Magical Girls still have to fight for their agency in an extremely cruel world, but it’s at least better than “girls who rise for power and want things for themselves will turn into horrible monsters by throwing tantrums, and nothing can be done about that”. I just wish that the show would have tried to be less dark ; it can create Darkness-Induced Audience Apathy and, if there’s no hope – if the concept of hope itself is being mocked for the majority of the series – then 1) we will stop caring, and 2) it doesn’t do the theme of your ending any favours.

And if the theme of the ending is nullified, then we have the same problem than in the beginning : we have a series that is more about crushing girls who achieve power, than about actually empowering them.

To conclude

Even if I didn’t give it an easy time, Madoka Magica is till an entertaining show to watch.The animation is really good, the OST is simply stunning and if you get attached to the characters more than I did, it can become a really good experience. Sadly I found too many problems storytelling-wise, with the themes, the implications of said themes, the pacing and the occasional wangst. It’s still a series that I advise you to watch so you can form your own opinion on it. (Just be careful if you decide to watch Rebellion.)

[makarovspussy-moving]

I know that I don't count bc I'm your partner, but could you talk about some ideas for your CoD projects for #WIPWednesday?

;0;!!! You absolutely count!!! This is probably gonna be really rambly and disjointed. Also kind of long, so I'm sticking most of it under a cut. CW for mentions/discussions of death and abuse.

(also there's technically still an hour left in WIP Wednesday, at least in my timezone, so @onlycodcanjudgeme)

Honestly I've been fixating on Call of Honor hardcore rn so most of the stuff I have today are related to that. I'm now genuinely considering writing a High Chaos AU (because I love my convoluted multiverses lol), though it'll probably be shorter than canon COH (unless I decide to REALLY run with it) and I probably won't start actual work on it until I'm much deeper into COH.

Betrayal, grief, and trauma are themes that are pretty central to COH, as are trust, healing, and the importance of love (not like the weird amatonormative "romance fixes everything" sense, but like...family. Friends. A support system. Like these people probably could've gone through what they did alone but having a support system of genuine relationships with other people, friendly or familial or romantic or otherwise, is REALLY important to a lot of their growth and healing.) I feel like a High Chaos AU would kind of turn that concept on its head, and also everything is Worse. So that'll be fun.

I feel like I'd want to make a High Chaos AU really different from canon, too, even in terms of the events of the COD timeline. I was kind of playing with the idea of a Double Agent!Yuri AU (inspired by @saint-vulgaris!), because the concept is really interesting to me and I wanted to explore how drastically it would change the events of MW2/3. It kind of struck me to combine the two ideas so that the story is both darker and sufficiently different from the jump? Like, I was toying with the idea of Yuri being the one to kill Soap...but Soap doesn't know. He doesn't realize what hits him, just that he's dying and, in this AU, he's alone. Price isn't there to save him or even try to comfort him. So on top of the trauma he has in canon COH (dying a horrifying, slow death where his loved one was powerless to help him and he was robbed/robbed himself of the chance to say goodbye), he's also dealing with the highly specific trauma of dying an utterly disorienting, horrifically lonely death. Idk I think it would be really interesting to explore how the differences in how he died would affect his psyche in Dishonored 'verse.

I do have more ideas for them and I kinda wanna get into them but I'll save those for another post bc I wanna talk about other AUs now!

I know I mentioned this on Twitter, but idk if I mentioned here: I kind of want to make the Incubus AU (so, both the fics Midnight Kiss and As You Wish) into comics. As much work as comics are, I think writing this AU into one (or two, rather) would satisfy both my itch to storycraft and my unending desire to make art. I still need to figure out what style I want to draw my comic in, and finish my outlines so I have a solid idea of setting. I'm also gonna be stretching my 3D legs and maybe dabbling in Blender to streamline my workflow. It's a pretty big project and I'm really excited to start it, I just kinda...don't know when to (and I'm lowkey anxious to because I'm terrified of everything I write flopping, lol.)

You and I talked about Apoptosis a little, but idk if I shared my thoughts on this either? Publicly, I mean? So I'll do it now. Apoptosis was originally going to focus almost entirely on Price and the police side of the investigation, which is really intimidating because like...I don't trust my ability to write a satisfying police procedural that balances realism with artistic liberty. And I also hate cops.

But now that I'm planning to have more focus on other characters too (specifically Soap, Ghost, and Roach, who I like to call the Apop 141), who are conducting their own street investigation, it feels more approachable to me now. That, and it feels a little bit more similar to JJBA: Diamond is Unbreakable, which is really funny because I'm like 90% sure that it was a huge but unconscious inspiration for Apoptosis. Though obviously Apoptosis lacks that aspect of small town slice of life (and horror), since it's set in a much larger city.

But uh moving on!

I've mentioned this before on my writing/fandom blog, but I'm kind of drawn to the idea of a Soap-betrays-Price friends to lovers to enemies AU, but with an almost Caesar and Brutus slant to it? Not in the sense of actual history, but in the legend extracted from that history. Like Soap idolizes Price, loves him so deeply, transcendentally, unhealthily, just this...codependent admiration that's tangled up in a LOT of trauma and crossed wires. And Price feels similarly, though in a more authoritative sense; he's the one who Soap looks up to, and therefore he's the one who Soap answers to, the one who leads Soap around, the one whose shadow Soap stands in. And no matter how much he tries, Soap can't live up to this perfect ideal of Price. And things worsen from there.

Price goes on this paranoid, bitter downward spiral, and like...maybe the start of it is Yuri sowing seeds of doubt in Soap, not out of maliciousness, but because this is the same path he and Makarov went down years ago and he wants to try to save Soap from that. And in the end, it culminates in Soap betraying Price, and like...neither of them are particularly good people, especially Price (because he's gone completely off the rails), but they could've been, and maybe in another timeline they could've been good together, too. And Price genuinely loves Soap, genuinely trusts him (or at least, wants to trust him; I think by this point he would've long started to suspect something was up with Soap, but still wanted to have his cake and eat it too, so he didn't react as harshly as he might've if it had been, like...Yuri or someone). And just...the betrayal, the righteous betrayal coming from a man who isn't very good himself, and doesn't want to do this, and wishes it could've been different, but feels like he has no other choice and that this is what must be done for the greater good...idk I'm just rambling pure fucking nonsense rn but like "et tu brute?" and all that shit, you know?

And as for Venator. I haven't had many more thoughts on that AU. Mainly because I'm still agonizing over what the fuck I want Soap's hair to look like.