#also! i guess i didn't really answer the escaping censorship part of this but

[aquickstart]

thanks for the response! (i had the propaganda question) still haven't seen movie so will wait before digging for those spoilers but definitely curious about the writers/artists comments regarding the comic and arcs you mentioned! it's fascinating that the creators are able to pull off what seems like a very queer-coded relationship despite even in spite of extreme censorship which i think is very different from queerbaiting (again, not having seen/read the source material) but there's been a lot of recent discussion in fandom spaces about this with respect to chinese media as well so am very interested to learn about how creator intent faces off against state censorship and what people end up still picking up on after the fact :) thanks for your thoughts!!

of course!! i'm very eager to discuss anything Major Grom-related to the best of my abilities (and i leave room for doubt and correction because i am fairly new to the fandom, fyi). here's a brief summary of some relevant info; i won't be including creator names and links here so it's not searchable, and also because it's all in russian (again i can do it in dm's). AND i'm sure you can find it out on the Bubble Comics website!

re: canon text itself. according to official extras, one of the characters was initially supposed to be a generic bodyguard type, but the story required him to become a more important companion for the antagonist; to be very brief here, he ends up essentially what the antagonist values most in his life and is narratively mirrored to the protagonist's girlfriend in one of the story arcs. it all comes down to a very pointedly dramatic, tragic, and emotionally charged moment for Igor Grom with his gf, and Sergey Razumovsky with his bodyguard. you know. a very casual bro moment for the latter pair, obviously.

re: creator feedback. the main artist & co-writer of the series has a multitude of what you'd call fanart pieces of these two characters in, like, a romantic relationship. i can't quite say they're canon since they're not included in the actual printed versions, but nothing in the comics contradicts or discredits the possibility of these scenes existing in the canon universe throughout.

the main writer/producer/Bubble Comics owner used to be very much against any kind of non-canon shipping, but he's radically changed his opinion over the years, which he expressed just recently in one of the official Bubble Comics podcasts. him and chief editor/producer are both very open to fan content and encourage any type of fan interpretation, which, to me, doesn't come off as pandering to the audience as much as it does as genuine gratitude and understanding of how storytelling and fandom spaces work. kudos to them from me for that.

as a side note, i do have some uhh uncertain feelings about the chief editor recently being a bit too eager to support the queer ship in question. some people see it as sort of queerbaiting wherein he's playing into the hype, but to be honest he seems like a geeky guy himself who's just generally very comfortable with his own sexuality. do whatever you will with that. i think he's allowed, maybe would be cool to tone it down a bit, but also, maybe not. it's all within reason, i guess.

re: queerbaiting & censorship. here's the part i dread discussing the most because the very concept of queerbaiting is a bit blurred in fandom discussions. i personally believe it becomes even more complicated in places like russia; like you mentioned, i do think this specific case is something other than queerbaiting. like, how are you supposed to do queer rep in mainstream media if you can get prison time for doing it? i think it's very much the case of context and reception, and if you look at the core fanbase, it's got a lot of queer people and/or folks who support the opposition.

of course, it's important to examine the authors of the content and their possible motives: the aforementioned main writer/company owner is linked to pro-state publications through his relatives, so yes, his money does come from the state, technically, at least in part, or at least that is what some people believe and i have no way of proving either point. still, i personally differentiate that from Bubble Comics being state-sponsored (like, FondKino did not sponsor the Major Grom movie, and FondKino sponsors so much of mainstream russian cinema). some people don't, and i guess i get their point. i firmly believe i'd go insane if i filtered every creator i've ever been interested in through the lens of absolute moral purity especially in russia.

but i circle back to the fanbase aspect of it: at some point i think it's equally important to look at interpretation and reception of content as well as its creators. if queer people find themselves relating to the story and the characters, i think it's doing something right.

maybe not though. maybe we are all just being tricked into consuming pro-state propaganda because we are obviously all idiots and my donations to medusa and doxa and ovd-info are nonexistent and dissolve into the air <3

[gillianthecat]

The Devil Judge: Episode 13

I just finished The Devil Judge and something about this show compelled me to take copious notes - it had emotional intensity and layers of mystery. These are long and rambling, so they're likely not of interest to anyone else, but since I spent all that time writing it I decided, why not post it. Perhaps someone will find it interesting.

Below are my moment-to-moment reactions, predictions and analysis as I watched episode 13.

eps 1&2  ep3  ep4  ep5  ep6  ep7  ep8  ep9   ep10  ep11  ep12  ep13  ep14  ep15  ep16

I wrote about my initial impressions, up to episode 5, here and here.

This is cleaned up only slightly. I followed the spelling given in the Viki subtitles. I mostly don't explain what I'm reacting to, so this will probably only make sense if you've seen the episode recently. Occasionally I give timestamps. 

I have questions about this plague resurgence.  Is it even real? is it something the 2 representative businessmen made up? if it is real, did Ga-On just expose himself?  is this going to turn into a plague movie in the last 4 episodes?  i doubt it, but wouldn't that be awful. are these white PPE covered people actually from the govt. or is this bamboo spear guy's mob too?

wow. When this show wants to make someone's life fall apart they really go all in.

The delicate balance of power among everyone has been smashed to pieces and they're all going all in on destruction. I can't see how this will end well for anyone.

Mysterious Assistant 😥💔 My heart 💔 his whole life devoted to this mission.  I really liked him.  and was intrigued by his interactions with Yo-Han and Ga-On.  and i wanted to know him better

I've been watching a lot of lower budget stuff recently, so it stands out what a difference good editing makes.  like Su-Hyeon's reaction to Yo-Han's phone call.  it was just the right amount of reaction time

oh fuck. Elijah's not answering? Did Seon-Ah do something to her too? :-(

Are there only 3 people he would have trusted to call? his assistant (dead beside him), his Ga-On (estranged) and his 16yo niece?

Su-Hyeon would have saved him, but even if he knows that, he values Ga-On's life over his own, i think

even the middle class cop drives a cadillac, lol.  I doubt any police departments use those as official cars.

re. product placements: the weird focus on the instant coffee and those vitamins felt out of place, but oddly I don't mind the lingering on car logos?  I guess because it makes for a natural transition shot, and also fits in with the themes of wealth and power. Also, what an odd trio of advertisers.  If there are others, the product placement was so subtle I didn't notice.  

Oh no, Seon-Ah's team is getting all the conspirators.  Yo-Han didn't think to warn them? 

I'm confused. they escaped?

I think Elijah knows.  and she and Yo-Han are speaking in code.  or maybe not. but she is naturally suspicious

convo about morals at min 20

Theirs is a very chivalry based relationship.  she centers her life around him yes, but it doesn't feel like a misogynistic cliche because she serves him like a knight serves his beloved

He kisses her!? i was really thinking the show wouldn't go there.  i'm wondering if this will be portrayed as a romance, or if it will the last try before realizing it doesn't work

Apparently Korea fucks up on straight kisses too.  I presume it's supposed to be sad and not sexy, but even a sad guilt kiss would have some movement to it.  even an awkward still kiss would not have this weird posed feel

(I feel like there's this weird thing where even kisses that aren't supposed to be romantic are somehow required to be edited as romantic?  At least they didn't do that strange triple take, but the editing and all the cuts did not fit the mood.  is this part of censorship? they production team felt like they needed to err on the side of romanticism in portraying any sexual activity? is it becaause its the series only kiss and they felt they had to play it up regardless of intent? oh wait, there was Seon-Ah's kidnapping kiss.  but this was the only sweet one.

the aftermath of it is pitch perfect though, from them both

(min 24) - the den of power.  ah, it was cooked up by these 4.  so probably no plague at all

Seon-Ah looks so uncomfortable? which of the many possible reasons why?

oh good, he's finally getting medical treatment.  we'll just pretend that anything about that gunshot wound made sense.

~ min 30: guilt over the collateral damage in his war?

Judge Oh wearing a literal chain around her neck.

blue house thoughts...

hmm.  The thing is, I would really like this relationship if it wasn't for the homophobia behind it.  I like them together! it makes sense, Ga-On has this side to him too. I love her and want her to get everything she desires.  but you can't show us this incredibly romantic relationship between Y & G,  and then expect us to buy into this. so either the show will end with Su-Hyeon and Ga-On together, and will pretend that Y & G are just friends.  or they'll have to break Su-Hyeon's heart or kill her off.  I don't mind a love triangle, but it doesn't work if they don't openly acknowledge one of the corners. 

but all that aside, this scene is so incredibly sweet. I even like the hug, it feels right to them in this moment.

and I do believe him here.  Even though he's falling for Yo-Han, I also believe he's been in love with her and scared of it all along.

is this supposed to imply that they did have sex, or that they didn't?

She's in a chain necklace too.  and a black sweater that looks like comfort clothing.  She looks super stressed here.

How did he end up in the bed? does that mean they did fuck? ah censorship.  you make stuff so unnecessarily confusing.

Both these women were wearing heavy chains around their necks!

hmm. Is she being more clever than she seems?

I'm gonna guess it was her knocking on Judge Kang's door.

fuck yeah, judge oh!  (I'm assuming this was all a plan to take the tv people to the violent evictions in the slums)

I see you staring at your ex-almost, Ga-On.

oh fuck yeah all back superhero outfits!  Yeah! I'm glad Judge Oh gets to be part of the good guy conspiracy team now.

called it! I feel like this show is exactly the right amount of predictable for me.

aww. tv producer guy. He gets his little righteous avenger moment too.

oh, the PPE were disguises, not costumes.

Wow, I did not think the series could pull off making a public trial seem like an effective solution to this.  but they keep surprising me.

Attorney Go with your feet up! I love this mole from the broadcast station, even with his 10 seconds of screen time

Yo-Han and Su-Hyeon's identical reactions to seeing Ga-On injured.

I do feel like Pres. Heo would have called off the attackers soon after they started broadcasting. Also, even if not, rounding up unarmed civilians in this small area would take nowhere near this long.  but i'll forgive it for dramatic effect. and the show keeps surprising me, perhaps there is a good reason heo hasn't called it off.

god i hope that old man isn't dead.  but it does feel reasonable the judges didn't go - there's seems to be no pathway fast enough

i guess because he had a different solution

I love Yo-Han's strategic brain. I don't even know what he came up with, just love seeing him think. 

and I guess someone (y? tv producer?) realized that they would cut power?  or was the generator just because it was becoming night?)

fucking rockstar!

Yo-Han's face. 1:08:11 

i'm just going to pretend someone helped all those people down there

oh fuck of fuck, this better not be how they solve the love triangle.  noo  

they did. :-( this is very moving, and Jin Young and Park Gyu Young are both doing amazing acting here.  the "are you hurt" from the dying Su-Hyeon :-(     

BUT.  i'm too pissed they decided to kill her off to feel all the tender emotions they want to evoke in me.  if you hadn't tried to pretend Ga-On was straight.  or rather if you hadn't felt the need to deny the Y & G romance. you wouldn't have made them confess their love and then needed to kill her off. boo hiss fuck you.

also that no one tries to save her. Apparently with gunshot wounds in this world you just either survive or die and everyone knows medical intervention is irrelevant so they don't even try. Ga-On i get overwhelmed. but there are other people there who, if they weren't constrained by the narrative, would rush to try and help.  they probably wouldn't succeed, but they don't know that yet.

I cannot tell at all what Yo-Han is thinking here. He looks coldly observant.  

eps 1&2  ep3  ep4  ep5  ep6  ep7  ep8  ep9   ep10  ep11  ep12  ep13  ep14  ep15  ep16