#and ties up every character's storyline in a way that's extremely satisfying

[youwerethedefeated]

I'd say the "Haikyuu had a better ending" joke is getting overdone but like. 90% of the time it's just objectively true

I mean the biggest criticisms I've seen for the ending are either that "it's fanservice/too rounded up" (because everyone got a good ending apparently) OR "we didn't get to see their 2nd and 3rd years" (because people just wanted more of the story)

Overall, the ending just works. It ties up all the themes explored along the story perfectly. So obviously it's gonna overshadow the messier, author-couldn't-decide-what-he-wanted-to-do-with-it endings out there.

[hamliet]

Hey Hamliet on the new bnha chapter I am just as disappointed about the recent chapter as everyone else and angry at the series but I don’t want to make assumptions until I get the whole picture  I followed the series and it delivered perfectly so I have faith in the series despite its many shortcomings we haven't gotten the conclusion yet so it is too soon to assume anything until the ending

I actually do think the odds are that Shigaraki will survive, honestly! So I will be happy if that's the case. I'm not confident enough about it to write a "they will be fine" post though, alas.

I am thematically disappointed, though, and I'm not sure that will be fixed by Shig surviving either. At least, writing-wise it almost certainly won't work for me. But I will take what I can get.

And that said, as critical as I might be about it, I have absolutely zero regrets about loving the series and its characters nor of my investment. Time well spent.

Horikoshi has talent and is burnt out. I think he needs a hug, a rest, and a good editor for his next story that sticks with him from the start. I do think for Isayama, for example, having an editor stick with him and drill him with questions and worldbuilding and force him to plan the ending is key to why the ending was narratively satisfying, albeit not perfect.

BNHA's ending I'd compare with say Star Wars, although frankly it's better than SW's was so that says something. And GoT's final season, too--in that they took every fan theory and concern and tried to please everyone and wound up pleasing no one. The difference, though, that is BNHA's strength, is that it doesn't make me feel stupid for having cared in the first place. It's not aiming to be mean to the audience even if the themes failed completely, and some storylines are clearer than others. At least, I don't feel that way, even if others might.

I think the endings I've been most negatively affected by (Game of Thrones, Tokyo Ghoul) are also tied to extremely painful real life circumstances--like TG getting me through the process of my dad dying and dying right before it ended with the opposite theme it'd preached all along. No wonder I was so raw at the time--like it ended 2 months after he died, of course I was extra upset. Lol. Game of Thrones was at the year anniversary and also I will die mad, but at least I have the books.... or 5/7 of them.

[ridley-was-a-cat]

What I Watched This Week – 1/14 – 1/20

Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister! – Back when this series about a guy turned into a middle school girl by his scientist sister was airing in winter of last year, I watched the first episode, and it evoked the way grown men leered at me when I was in middle school so vividly that I was honestly disgusted. Now that the r/anime awards jury nominated it for Anime of the Year over shows like Pluto, Skip and Loafer, or Tsurune, I wanted to watch it to be a more informed hater. Having seen the whole thing now, I can see why it was popular. It’s wonderfully animated, the character designs are pretty cute, and the cast is entirely likeable. By the end of it, I was even enjoying myself, as it was basically a 2000s-era cute girls doing cute things anime with the occasional dirty joke. However, I do still have a million problems with the way it sexualizes 13-year-old girls, and remain contemptuous of the decision to shortlist it as the best of the year. I don’t begrudge anyone for enjoying the smut they enjoy, but the sexuality on display here is so one-way and nonconsensual that celebrating it with a mainstream award feels like normalizing something ugly. 6/10

Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Similar to Onimai, I watched this after the awards jury nominated a later entry from the series as an anime of the year pick to see what all the hype is for this ridiculous-looking show about horse girls. The horse girls in question are the reincarnations of famous racehorses from our own world, who largely look like normal girls aside from horse ears on their head and horse tails on their backsides, but can run as fast as horses. P.A. Works adapted this from a gacha game, leading to a mix of dozens of cute girl characters wandering in and out of the plot that you get with gacha adaptations, and a story centered on a starry eyed, gung-ho ingenue with big dreams who gets humbled by reality before picking herself back up and succeeding, like you get with P.A. Works originals. It’s fun and all, but it’s a little vapid. All of the story beats were expected and predictable, the idol singing was a little troubling considering how Japanese athletes are currently trying to do away with that sort of thing in women’s sports, and nothing really wowed me. I’ve heard, though, that season two goes extra hard, so I’ll definitely be watching that next. 7/10

Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz – I liked but didn’t love Gundam Wing, but figured I might as well just watch this movie and finish off the series. Taking place a year after the events of the series, as humanity is destroying weapons and mobile suits to show their commitment to peace, a breakaway group tied to Treize Khushrenada’s faction kidnaps Relena and threatens to drop a space colony on Earth. My main complaint about the series was the way it jerked around every four or five episodes replacing the people in power with coup upon coup. Separated into a movie, one of those storylines works a lot better, and it was satisfying to watch the guys come back to stamp out the smoldering embers of the previous war. The animation was mostly 2D cel animation with painted backgrounds, but there was some 3D CGI that was just extremely 1998 and charmingly janky. It’s not one of my favorite Gundam entries, but it was a pleasant enough time. 7/10

[shdo-xplosion]

CURRENTLY READING: the mountain in the sea

by ray nayler

THOUGHTS ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

while reading: very interesting concept. communication is the key to the story and is shown in so many different ways, so many different mediums. it’s a fun motif to watch out for. the characters are compelling, and i don’t get tired of the switching since i’m interested in every story being told. the writing style is easy to follow which isn’t to say it’s simple, but it isn’t overly-complex. i only start to get a little lost when they start diving into rustem’s science-y stuff, and i think that’s kind of the point. halfway through, and while i have an idea of who the “big bad” is, i feel like there’s room for more.

very much enjoying it so far and am already recommending it to my partner!

thoughts once finished (spoilers): i have conflicting feelings about this book. on one hand, i’m unsatisfied with the ending because it feels a little abrupt. on the other hand, it seems like the author ended it exactly the way he wanted to, like he saw something i don’t. and it’s a good ending, don’t get me wrong. loose ends are tied up. there’s a nice bittersweet lesson to be learned. and there’s hope! i guess my biggest hang up is that i want more. i could have read another 400 pages of the book and still not be satisfied, i bet.

anyway. the characters were wonderful. i very quickly grew extremely fond of evrim which was weird because ai actually freaks me out a lot. this book made me appreciate it a little more while also making me even more scared of the technology (lol). i liked ha a lot, admired her. that said, the secret she reveals toward the end is kind of underwhelming in my opinion, especially since it follows evrim’s big vision. that was probably the only scene in the whole novel that felt kind of weak, maybe a little ham-fisted. but then it ended with a wholesome holding of hands so it’s all okay!

rustem was fun to read about. i think i liked his storyline the best, but i enjoyed the interactions in ha’s sections. i’ve always been very interested in brains so his scenes were great, both because of his occupation and just the way his own mind works.

the mountain in the sea is categorized as sci-fi but i feel like this book could also fall under the mystery category because so many questions arise while reading, so many puzzles you want to solve alongside the characters. the concept of consciousness was intriguing and made me stop and think about my own idea of what it is. the communication theme is beautiful and something that everyone could stand to look deeper into. it’s also a very different and original take on culture as a whole, going past the limitations of humans and into a completely different species.

in the end, what i take away from the book is the fact that everything capable of thought has its own life and experiences. sonder. it’s easy to only think about yourself, but there’s so much more than just us in the world. science is amazing, yes, but so is nature.

a solid recommendation from me.

dove’s book club here (ෆ ͒•∘̬• ͒)◞

[revenge-of-the-shit]

Anyway now that the hype has long passed I do want to note (as I'm sure this has been noted in many other places) that Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was a double-edged sword in terms of Chinese American representation.

On one hand, it had a good story, some of the best choreography in the MCU, beautifully designed costumes and fantastical worlds, Tony Leung, Michelle Yeoh, and truly did portray Chinese American & Chinese characters as fleshed-out complex characters. There were quite a few elements of it that made me feel seen, quite frankly, for the first time ever in the Western superhero genre without leaving a bad taste in my mouth. The team did a good job with discarding the extremely racist comic book origins to come up with a new background and storyline that made the movie pretty enjoyable overall and left me feeling quite satisfied once I left the theatre.

That being said-

It was deeply, deeply sanitized for a (mass) white audience. It still falls into many stereotypes and tropes. Shang-Chi is a secret kung fun master with ties to a secret mystical Chinese crime organization. Katy has an H. B. from UBerkley and is a prodigy at archery. Xialing is ALSO a kung fu master. The entire storyline revolves around the return to China trope, and while it does take the characters back to America at the end, the overall storyline seems to hover around this premise: that China is where all the action must happen for characters of Chinese ancestry, that all Chinese people are secretly kung-fu masters or smart prodigies, that the East has this *woo secret mystical oriental flavour with dragons (because what Chinese media isn't complete without dragons haha amirite)!!* that can't be found in the West. As much as I did appreciate the film (and still do somewhat), it's undeniable that this is watered down so that a Western audience could consume it.

There's a reason mainland Chinese audiences didn't like it. The action sequences are like every other Jackie Chan or wuxia sequence you've ever seen in Chinese film. Given how these sequences are almost always extremely high quality, there's a reason this looks amazing compared to the MCU but pretty standard compared to what the usual Chinese moviegoer would see. The worldbuilding in Ta Lo is minimal and clearly written from a Western perspective, especially when compared to much of Chinese fantasy or xianxia media. Every time someone tells me that this film was made for mainland China, I laugh - this movie couldn't be more clearly targeted to a Western audience. Overall, while Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings certainly has its merits and is indeed a step forward in bringing Chinese American superheroes to mainstream media, it's also a continued step on the wrong path of stereotypes and overused tropes.

Anyway if you want a good film with Chinese American representation PLEASE go see Everything Everywhere All At Once that movie is better in literally every single way

[kissporsche]

VegasPete for the ship ask meme :)

thank yooooou!

Ship It

What made you ship it? What a great question. So when kp started airing we all knew Vegaspete was coming, and there was a healthy amount of fear over how closely the show would stick with the novels wrt them. As far as I remember I knew scattered bits of information and thought okay, i'll wait to see how they play this. Anyway that didn't happen lol by episode 6 or 7 I was champing at the bit for them, every week without more scenes felt like absolute torture (the bad kind). They were just so compelling, the way they didn't see each other at first and these slow, teasing interactions added depth in a way that left you wanting more. SO although there were many things that could have gone wrong, I was pretty much sold on them by the time episode 7 rolled around (which is when I lost my mind and made this sideblog).

What are your favorite things about the ship? OH BOY. They are so intense and complex and more than anything it just isn't the kind of story you see done very often, or at all, and certainly not this well. I think what I love the most is how they are both fully realised characters in their own right, so watching them collide is so extremely satisfying. Even though the audience is only really discovering Pete as their storyline unfolds, everything we see ties together so well and the more thought you put in the more you get from it. I'll leave it there or I won't shut up

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? I think i'll need to ask other people for this one haha. In one groupchat my unpopular opinion is i'm still pro-petplay. Ummmm OH my unpopular Pete opinion is that I hate his filmania styling, I think he looks like a fuckboi waiter and I can't stand it 🥲

[avaantares]

I'm about to be controversial, y'all.

So... am I the only one who's extremely unexcited to see RTD put back in charge of Doctor Who? I know lots of people have fond nostalgia for his era of showrunning -- and that's fair; my favorite DW characters and storylines also hail from those seasons -- but I keep looking back at his Whoniverse and remembering

the poor handling of season arcs: e.g. shoehorning the words "Bad Wolf" into every episode to suggest there's a continuing story and then... not having it signify anything except the fact that the words "Bad Wolf" were in every episode. Ditto "the bees are disappearing," et al. There was no building story, no progressive reveal, no real sense of continuity -- but then the season finale would throw out some supposedly-shocking revelation that pretended it tied everything together. Only it didn't feel like a proper payoff, because all we'd gotten was a random line once per episode to tick the requisite 'season finale reference' box.

what he did to some characters in DW, and his "defense" for it, which he then recycled for Torchwood: His stated reason for stranding Rose in an alternate universe/wiping Donna's memory/killing half the cast of Torchwood is because (and I can't find the exact quote right now, sorry) he's not interested in telling satisfying stories, but wants to do things that will shock the audience so they remember it and talk about it 50 years from now. (Sorry, but shock value alone isn't good storytelling. If I want to be angry/horrified/surprised/confused by events, I would just watch the news instead of a scripted TV show.)

the (frankly insulting) things he said about the fans and their attachment to said characters after their disappointing endings in DW/Torchwood. (Dude, you know we can hear you, right?)

what he did with the Torchwood sequels: His exact quote, cited by (I think) Scott Handcock in an issue of Vortex, was "Let's drive it off a cliff!" And then he proceeded to trash almost all of the established character growth from the previous decade's worth of series material.

the bulk of Miracle Day, which he wrote, and which was... You know, I've already written thousands of words detailing all the ways that series fails to support the continuity of the previous three TV seasons of Torchwood and the greater Whoniverse, so I won't reiterate all that here, but the fact that he directly contradicts his own previous scripts, scenarios, worldbuilding and characterization multiple times in that series really doesn't reassure me that he won't do something incredibly jarring and out of line/continuity with a new DW season.

Now, all that said, did RTD also do some things well as DW showrunner? Yes, he did. He certainly deserves credit for successfully resurrecting a franchise that had previously failed (more than once -- *cough*American Doctor Who movie*cough*). He established the Time War mythos and set up the Doctor's subsequent recovery arcs, which became a touchpoint for the series as a whole. He introduced numerous great characters, cast members, and villains, including several of my personal favorites. He created Torchwood, a show I love despite its many, many flaws. Some of the most iconic episodes of the new series were produced during his tenure ("The Empty Child," "Blink," "Midnight," "Silence in the Library," et al.). And in total fairness, as much as I loathed the execution of Miracle Day, I do think it had a solid premise and raised fascinating questions, and could have been a really good stand-alone sci-fi series if it hadn't tried to be a Torchwood sequel/spinoff.

I'm also not going to argue that DW is perfect right now and should stay just as it is, because the series has definitely been treading water lately; there have been numerous story and long-term continuity issues during Chibnall's era. But what it really comes down to for me is that despite those good, lasting innovations he made in launching the reboot series, I don't really see a new RTD-helmed season fixing the troubled state of Doctor Who as it stands, because the things he did well aren't necessarily what the show needs to regain its sense of balance after the uneven scripting and continuity-flaunting turns it took over the last couple of seasons. At best, it will be a hard reset to an early-series atmosphere that largely ignores the questions raised by recent installments, rather than a recovery from the continuity-nuking bomb dropped during the last season finale. At worst, he'll continue the problems delineated by the bullet-pointed list above, and the series will sink deeper into a hole.

To me, the RTD re-appointment really feels like BBC/BBCA trying to cash in on the early-NuWho nostalgia train to regain the viewership it lost during Jodie Whitaker's tenure (not her fault at all, but some whiny little boys viewers ragequit at her introduction because *gasp* a female Doctor?! how dare! while others lost interest because of the weak scripts or other failings of the past couple of seasons). I think the decision is motivated less by "what is best for the development of Doctor Who as an ongoing series?" and more by "what's the fastest shot in the arm we can give our struggling ratings so we can capitalize on the upcoming 60th anniversary?"

I hope I'm just being paranoid, and RTD defies all my expectations and brings something new and delightful to the next series of DW. But I can't deny that when I read the announcement, my gut reaction was just, "Ugh." Maybe it's just the Torchwood fan in me, burned too often and in too many ways to trust RTD to stick the landing, but I'm honestly feeling more trepidation than anticipation right now.

[just-a-fangirl13]

Why s5 *might* be the season MacRiley happens

Okay so...Hear me out! I'm not crazy I promise!!

Firstly, after 5x03 (and probably 5x04) it may seem very unlikely that MacRiley could ever happen. But I thought of a few reasons why they might actually happen by the end of s5 after all.... (it gets a lil long winded and kinda complicated but just stick with me till the end!)

1. All the MacRiley moments including the ones in 5x03.

[this Mac smile could not be an accident or something that slipped through both production and post-production right?! that in itself is a whole reason!]

Every Macriley moment we have ever had- whether it's the hugs, Riley saving Mac, Mac saving Riley, the ultimate show of loyalty when Riley went after Mac during Codex or even just the looks exchanged between the two- to any outsider it would seem pretty obvious that they are dating or at least in love. Keep in mind the writers would have written each of those scenes and Lucas and Tristan have acted them out with a specific build up in mind aka MacRiley.(think about the date episode: Riley just got dumped but was still thinking about how Mac might be hungry. She didnt have to do that. She could have just shown up at his place..) I mean how can they write two people so perfectly in sync and so perfect for each other and not have them end up together? It would just be a waste of all that tension and slow burn. (not to mention all the hugs and glances)

2. They know we exist. 

The MacRiley fam is very active on twitter with the writers and while they were writing 5x01 they knew we were around. They know we are a huge group. They would not want to risk pissing 90% of the fandom off by not making MacRiley endgame.

[P.S.yes 5x03 was a bait and switch but if you were paying attention you would have noticed that neither Lucas not Tristan live tweeted or hyped up the episode. They knew we would probably hate it so they didnt publicise it too much! so in the future if you have doubts about the episode being a MacRiley one just check their stories or posts on twitter/intstagram]

3. Yes 5x03 happened. 

I really think it was an episode they HAD to write. Ok so after 4x13 they had 7 more episodes planned and were filming 4x20 (aka the finale) when the pandemic struck. So they have these 6 episodes but no finale for it. [Idk if anyone else has noticed but in 5x01 there were clearly some parts cut out. For example the conversation between Desi and Riley towards the end seemed a bit jilted. Riley asking Desi to forgive her but Desi replied with yeah we are cool (still no apology ofc) I feel like something happened during that which ended up getting cut out so it could fit with the final story.]

This makes me think that they have rewritten a few bits to tie into the new finale episode. In 5x03 when Mac asked Desi to come fishing with him which was clearly something very personal to him she was like no do better.. then we see Mac's disappointed expression. She could have easily said okay but maybe not for our first date? Or its not really my thing? Or just about anything else rather than laughing in his face like that. Eventhough MD is together they still arent compatible. Mac’s final words in 5x03 was him being desperate. I truly think he is so broken and lost that Desi is the only safe thing left, the only thing he feels like he can fix right now. Once he finds himself again and heals...then it's going to hit him like a pile of bricks!!

4. But Riley doesn't have feelings anymore...WELL doesnt she? 

When it comes to Mac, Riley is always in denial. We saw it in s4 when she tells Bozer not to make her say it. I think s5 will show her finally accepting it. Finally accepting that she is in love with her best friend and that it definitely isnt Codex adrenaline because she caught the feels when Codex wasnt even around. While Mac's arc would include realising he and Desi are never going to work and that he is unhappy and that RILEY is the one for him.

[why else would they give Riley feelings for Mac? Something has to come of it.]

5. The slow burn rule.[this point is a lil complicated] 

Now season 5 is rumoured to have 13 episodes. So here’s what I think: If MacGyver follows the pattern that most shows do when it comes to slow burns, then technically MacRIley should have happened at the end of season 4. But since the season got cut short and they didnt get to air/finish their final episode the writers had to improvise. 

From what I know, 4x19 which is 5x04 for us is the episode where Mac meets Desi’s parents and 4x20 was supposed to be the finale that was left unfinished.(they are definitely moving the timeline ahead if a pre finale episode is suddenly a mid season one.) There might have been a 4x21 or 4x22 but I haven't heard anything about those....EVER.

So what I think they have decided to do instead is extend the MD storyline a bit longer just so they dont end up scrapping all their s4 episodes where they would be together and write a new finale that ties everything together, aka MacRiley.

If you think about episode counts, s4 and s5 together would have 26 episodes which is a how long a normal season runs. Basically what im trying to say is if we follow the ‘slow burns end by s4’ and take season 5 as an extension of 4 then MacRiley should get together in the season 5 finale or maybe the episode just before. (IM REALLY TRYING TO GET SOME LOGIC INTO THIS)

This would be a typical TV thing too where the couple finds out about each other’s feelings while the main arc of the show is also at its peak, which perfectly sets up a future season where fans are hyped but still has a satisfying ending.

6. So what about MacDesi?

So far the macgyver writers have given us characters we love. Think of every character on the show apart from maybe Desi... Mac, Riley, Bozer, Jack, Matty, Leanna, Samantha, Russ and even Murdoc. WE LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. So then why is Desi such a strange character? I think shes purposely been written as an opposite to Mac or even Riley (I get she’s supposed to kinda replace Jack but Jack is really irreplaceable). 

It's not necessarily a bad thing its just not a great thing to do or have great execution. People have said things like Desi is a badass and shouldnt have to apologise or say I love you back to her boyfriend because she is a strong woman...I'm sorry but your opinion of who a strong woman is, is EXTREMELY skewed. A strong woman is someone who can make mistakes and when she does, she is ‘strong’ enough to own up to it, she is loyal and fierce and also caring while being a badass who can take down bad guys. And for GODS SAKE, RILEY DAVIS IS A STRONG WOMAN...people have called her mushy and feminine on twitter and I'm just very confused by that.....

Anyways before I go off on a rant, it seems like Desi is intentionally being written this way. Every opportunity they get to redeem her and make her more relatable or just a better person they just dont take it. While Rileys character arc is one of the best I've ever seen. Either its intentional or they’ve forgotten how to write characters...which is worrisome but ill give them the benefit of the doubt.

The writers also know we dont like Desi. The amount of times we've tagged them in the toxic posts or pointed out problematic things we can be sure they've seen at least half of those. So theres no way they dont know. RIGHT?

So why then is MD still a thing you may ask??

Well for one they cant break them up again off screen because of those unreleased s4 episodes. (not to mention the other parts of the audience who arent as invested in mac’s love life would probably be very confused.)

Secondly Mac has to be the one to pull the plug, not Desi. 4x13 made it seem like Desi was the annoyed one not Mac. He apologised to her which meant he wanted to fix things. 

Thirdly, they are opening the chpt one last time before they permanently close it. MD is going to be a stark contrast to macriley(it already is in every way possible). Every issue Mac and Desi had can be used to show how amazing macriley really is as two people who arent even dating yet.

Fourthly, MD being together is a sort of commentary on Macs mental health as well. We can see how happy he is with Riley but around Desi he becomes some one else. If the writers are doing this on purpose or subconsciously still remains to be seen.

And Yes keeping MD around for a few more episodes seems like a necessary risk right now but I have a feeling its going to be worth it later.

[I know we have had like 4 desi entered episodes already but I really think 5x04 will be the last of it since 5x05 is the Jack episode and 5x06 is Mac+Riley+Bozer episode with no mention of Desi at all!]

The writers know we are a dedicated bunch and they know that once MD breaks up for the last time the entire fandom will be waiting and watching. That's when the show will be at its peak. That will be the perfect moment to bring in MacRiley’s arc to a new start!

Congrats if you stuck with me through this whole thing! if you agree/disgaree with any of these or have other reasons why they could be endgame in s5 let me know!!

[darkpoisonouslove]

Ranking the Winx Club Finales

I recently finished my rewatch (and first watch of a season and a half) of Winx Club and wrote out my thoughts on all of it. However, to send off a year that was in experience a lot like watching this series - meaning, generally frustrating and downright disappointing whenever I got excited over a thing with a few highlights that actually stuck the landing - and to get out any remaining feelings over the series, I have decided to rank the finales from least to most favorite. I just have a lot of rage to spare over season 8′s finale and needed an excuse to do so. Plus, I am being thematic here goddammit! Here we go:

8. Season 8

Yeah, I really spoiled that already. To sum it up:

But let me elaborate. Like I already said, this finale enraged the living fuck out of me. I just cannot comprehend whatever possessed them to write a finale so, so... excruciatingly devastating... to a season that started out with a lot of promise and had some extremely solid decisions (except for the art style, which is just NOT IT). This finale is an absolute disaster in every way. First, there is a new plot point introduced mere minutes before the finale and it is never tied into the overall narrative of the season which doesn’t do it any favors, especially after the two halves of the season already have trouble connecting together into one overarching story. The reason they brought in the creatures from the Dark Dimension was to distract Valtor while Winx make their attempt at stealing the stars which could have very well been a role filled by Arken confronting Valtor in an opportunity to clear up all the muddy details around their partnership and bring together the two halves of the season. The Winx’ plan had potential that was completely wasted by their own interruption instead of seeing each girl (provided Layla was playing Icy, Stella - Darcy and Musa/Tecna - Stormy) doing her best to pretend to be the Trix she’s posing as to give the Trix the due role they should have had in this finale. Instead, we get an Icy that is a complete opposite of the character we’ve known her to be for seven seasons all for the sake of a wish she doesn’t even get fulfilled despite her decision to help. Her motivation is a direct contradiction to the original plan of the Trix and disrespects her character from all previous instances of her being on the show for absolutely no reason as she is left with nothing in the end and the whole backstory they invented for her out of nowhere and couldn’t fit in any way with anything previously known about her was in vain because it was never resolved. Winx essentially manage to defeat Valtor once they wish for their own power-up and are gifted powers they haven’t really earned only to be pronounced great heroes who even get their own constellation in the sky. Come again? There was no narrative tension in this episode, no big climax to resolve what is supposedly the biggest threat in the universe at the moment, and no actual emotional conclusion to the season. It can’t even be called a messy wrap when so many threads were left hanging in there. A true disaster on every front.

7. Season 6

Even if you count both 6x25 and 6x26 as the finale of season 6, the structure is still lacking big time. Acheron who is the main drive of the entire season is defeated before the end of 6x25 and the Trix who are the other main villains were also more or less neutralized at that point to leave absolutely no stakes for the last episode so they had to pull some bullshit to fill it. The Winx are useless for the entire episode, including Bloom whose battle with the Trix is an absolute joke. Like, they can’t even think of syncing their attacks so that she can’t protect herself from all three of them with her ridiculously small shield and Bloom couldn’t even bother to actually buy herself enough time to leave the Legendarium. The only saving grace of that fight is the little emotional moment it causes for Bloom but that was also not really set up at any point of the season so it was just out of the blue. Selina changing her affiliations permanently even after the imminent threat for her life was neutralized made about as much sense as her turning evil in the first place and the fact that they needed her to lock the Legendarium made everything 1000% shittier because of how convenient it was that she just decided to turn good again without any justification for her course of actions. That coupled with the lack of consequences for any of her actions (she nearly killed Flora for heaven’s sake and no one even brought that up?) plus the dreadful info dump monologue they gave her just brought the whole thing down. The wrap-up of the season was also underwhelming after they had an entire episode that was mainly free of villains in order to close the other storylines... but, of course, there were no other storylines. Pretty disastrous.

6. Season 7

Just like in season 6, Winx were pretty useless here as they really didn’t do all that much for the plot. Luckily, the fact that the Trix were brought in allowed for the villains to have a battle that was more intriguing and provided some action as for a finale. The other key elements of the season (fairy animals, Trix, wild magic, Kalshara and Brafilius and the time travel) were actually woven together pretty well to make for a pretty satisfying finish to a season that really lacked any solid plot. The mini worlds and the Tynix transformation did not have use in the last episode but that wasn’t too catastrophic. There was actually a pretty emotional moment between the fairy animals and Winx that would have been even better if their relationships had been better developed throughout the season... You’d really think that since fairy animals were the main point of the season and there was no solid plot to account for, they would have taken the time to pay attention to Winx bonding with their fairy animals but nah. I am still impressed with how touching their goodbye was given the fact that they didn’t really have all that much time to actually become close so bonus points for that. The very last scene is a little generic but what else to expect from a season that has sung all its songs already (thank god that there were no musical numbers in this because I have a feeling it would have been even worse)?

5. Season 5

Season 5 could at least pat itself on the back for dealing with the main villain of the season even if there were a couple iffy things about the whole deal. I’m taking away consistency points for a) the fact that the Throne was supposed to be activated with the seals from the Pillars of the Infinite Ocean, yet suddenly stealing a random Sirenix would do, b) Tritannus being defeated by simply having his trident taken away even though he literally grew in body mass implying that the power of the Emperor’s Throne had seeped inside of him (also confirmed by Mystery of the Abyss) and c) the mutants inexplicably turning back into people once Tritannus lost his powers even though they never turned back during his times of relapsing back into a human thanks to running out of pollution. His defeat was just ridiculously easy and Bloom got to do it even though Layla was the one with the personal connection to Tritannus and the one most directly impacted by his actions as her family fell prey to him. Instead of getting to shine in a season that focused heavily not just on her home world but on the environment from which her powers come, she got benched in favor of Bloom getting to do everything again with only mild assist from Layla’s cousin. They should have kept it in the family and left Layla and Nereus deal with Tritannus. The Trix were blasted out of the narrative extremely conveniently and the rest of Winx were saved twice by the mutants just turning their back on them instead of destroying them right then and there and then being turned back into their original form as well. There wasn’t the usual teamwork of the whole Winx unit which I am still salty about despite being sick of all the time they reached for convergence in that season. Theredor fighting alongside Winx (different from his own daughter) was a nice touch but the king and queen of Andros coming off as so helpless (and apparently the only people in the castle unless you admit that everyone else drowned) was frustrating. Where was the Andros army? We only got Tressa, Roy, four of Winx and a handful of mermaids. Is that the whole population of the Heart of All Oceans? Additionally, the finale left no time for any emotional resolution of the season’s events, especially considering the big deal that Daphne’s revival was. Instead they opted for a musical number at the end. Not the best form.

4. Season 3

Season 3 had a finale and then another finale. Granted, better than season 6 that had a finale and then filler but there was not a lot of glory to the ending of a story with such a strong opening and emotional moments that send you bursting into tears. The spell of the four elements was pretty decent in its first appearance in 3x25 but the way Valtor lost it all was a real let down after the climatic confrontations between him and the Winx girls throughout the rest of the season. His return was more or less a desperate last attempt at personal revenge against Winx as his goal was mostly out of reach at this point. The spell of the elements was brought down in both its use to create clones of Winx’ boyfriends and in its power as it was much easier to undo in its reappearance. The saving graces of this season’s finale are the couple emotional moments sprinkled through both 3x25 and 3x26. Bloom’s willingness to sacrifice herself for her friends and the world was the thread that the finale hangs on as she is mostly the one resolving the whole conflict which was a bit dissatisfying after the emotional damage Valtor inflicted on all of them directly or indirectly. There is a few moments left to recover from the emotional intensity of their battles against Valtor but nothing that really addresses the seriousness of the trauma they had to survive because of him. The Trix didn’t even get to have a last stand of their own in either of the last two episodes despite the position in which they started the season but that was more or less unnecessary anyway since we’d already seen they can’t hold their ground against Enchantix Winx even with a boost from Valtor. Overall, the finale is pretty weak, especially as a follow-up of the dynamic and strong experiences that the season put them all through. It was the first finale that was confined to a single episode (or rather two separate battles spanning over an episode to end the season) and there wasn’t enough tension building in the confined storyline an episode told.

3. Season 4

The season 4 finale is overall a solid conclusion that delivers both a final battle with the Wizards and enough time left to address all the other storylines left unfinished. The final battle was pretty short but there was enough intensity in the previous couple episodes to have covered the action demand that the season had already set up and it also provided the opportunity to have Winx come back together as a team after Layla split up. Not only that, but Nebula and Roxy also get to play their part while the Wizards make their last desperate attempt to regain the upper hand. It’s pretty climatic for something that length that also left about 15 minutes of the episode still to fill. Everything that had to do with the closure of the Earth fairies storyline was emotional beyond belief and gave more depth to all of them and Layla’s decision to join them. Winx had to face all of the separate responsibilities they have on their shoulders and find a way to balance them all so that they can pursue their dreams. There was a plethora of emotional moments and a deserved spotlight shined on Layla’s situation and how she’s dealing with it, plus the others’ feelings. It was a really touching finale and also an inspiring one to see Winx stand behind their dreams while still balancing their responsibilities. It seemed to achieve the initial goal of the season to have them adapting to the adult life they were shifting into.

2. Season 2

I’m gonna be honest, I had a very hard time deciding whether this would be number one or two because the season 2 finale had a lot more character moments that were very moving. It really corresponds to the season since it was more character driven than the first one and the finale suited that. However, ultimately I decided that it would take silver because of a couple minor things that bring it down. To get that out of the way, the second portal to Realix that led Winx there was imo a copout that destroyed pretty much all of the tension that the entire season spent building around the search for the Codex. It just felt so wrong for there to be another way to enter that dimension and to me it was a big disappointment. Especially since the key to activating the copy of the Codex was the color riddle that was a ridiculous panicked attempt on the writers’ part to show that Stella isn’t useless and has what to give the team but it only made her look worse in my eyes. Also, minor gripe for the fact that there wasn’t that much of a final battle since everything ended with a single convergence. Of course, there were several battles across the episode between different sides that made for good action and tension and there was magic involved in more ways than simply the convergence in order to defeat Darkar but it was still a bit of a letdown to never truly see him put his everything in battle. And the fact that Griffin and Faragonda held him off for as long as they did on their own actually hurt his credibility as a threat as well. But hey, on the plus side, remember when the teachers actually helped and did not leave the fate of the whole universe in the hands of 16-year-olds? Good times! The MegaTrix and her? their? battle with Darkar was epic. 20/10 on that concept alone, plus it really brought a great feeling of vindication after the number Darkar did on them and felt so satisfying even if they were also part of the villain team of the season. They were portrayed as three-dimensional and weren’t cast out of the narrative without care just because they were villains and that was actually probably the most solid moment that the Trix have ever had on the show (just minor gripe for the fact that they were supposed to be trapped in Realix when the dimension was sealed forever but they were later somehow brought out of there which was never explained). Sky’s speech to Bloom was actually a pretty emotional moment and the payoff from it felt earned and allowed for Bloom’s victory against the darkness to feel natural and in place. It was probably one of their best moments as a couple. Plus, the cute little interactions that we got during the celebration party to send off the season on its merry way made for a great finale. (And a shoutout to the Musa x Riven scenes both in 2x25 and 2x26 because that was some good shit and some cute shit and it was exactly what we deserved).

1. Season 1

Season 1 reigns supreme with its finale. There is just no other finale that can rise to the level of the first one that was built for about one third of the season so that the last episode could dive right into the action without wasting time on setup. This is also the only place where we truly and fully get to see each of the Winx and the Trix (well, minus Layla who hasn’t been introduced yet) showcase their powers but especially Bloom and Icy. It is the longest battle we have seen and it builds a lot of tension on top of what was already there to leave you on the edge of your seat. The exploration of magic in this episode makes it so iconic and such a great watch even on the 300th time. There isn’t really much more to say than simply “It is epic”. What makes it even better though is the fact that there is enough time left in the episode to wrap up everything else and not in a rushed way. The battleground is extended to the locations that have already suffered the previous battles to show the full extension of the action and to setup the wrap-up that comes at the end. They even find the time to let some of the minor characters have distinct and touching moments as well and thus expand the universe of Winx further than just the main characters. Speaking off, they all get their moments, too, and the Specialists aren’t left out of that (you will never catch me not fangirling over Sky and Riven fighting back to back). The finale also doesn’t forget about the overarching story about Bloom’s origin which is commendable considering the constant lack of consistency the show suffers. This is really the only finale that isn’t lacking in any of the departments and manages to provide a truly fascinating story that keeps you entertained and in suspense while at the same time does not discard the emotional payoff or the logical continuation of events. It just excels in every way.

Well, this is my analysis on the finales of Winx Club. What started out as a bitch fest actually left on on a positive and uplifting note to make for a great ending to a harsh year. Let’s see what beginnings 2021 will bring! ;)

[zeldanyx]

Thoughts while watching Élite - Season 3

Spolier warning

Episode 1:

It doesn’t feel right to say this, but I’m glad Polo doesn’t make it through the season. Actually, I would have preferred seeing him in prison, but the ending as it is here is satisfying as well to some degree. Because, honestly, depite still being very tense and interesting, that whole storyline starts being a real drag.

Also because it makes me very, very angry to see Polo. And Caye. And Carla, although I don’t hate her as much as in season 2.

The logical chain of thought would be that Samu killed Polo, because it doesn’t seem unlikely that Carla would cover up for him.

But in the past two seasons the first option never ended up being the right one, so I don’t think it was Samu.

In season 2 I also learned through Cayetana’s storyline that every seemingly loose storyline ties into the bigger picture. So I’m curious (and worried) to see where the thing with Ander’s sickness will go. At first I thought its only purpose was to keep him away from the court hearing, but he clearly lied to Omar about the results, so it wasn’t just a cheap one episode scare. I wish it was.

Episode 2:

I hate it so much that Ander has cancer. Why?? I hate it. Why did the writers have to give him that storyline? I hate it so much.

What’s even going on anymore? Kidnapping, blackmailing, Valerio almost prostituting himself... These kids deserve some rest.

Not sure if I ever mentioned this, but at this point it’s become clear that Guzmán is my favourite character. I want him to get some inner peace.

I do feel sorry for Lu.

Episode 3:

What’s that stuff with Valerio? That just seems like a remake of what went on between Polo, Carla and Christian in season 1.

So ... the purpose of Ander’s cancer storyline is that it’s a reflection of how guilty he feels and a device to save his and Guzmán’s friendship? I still hate it.

Could the show please stop trying to manipulate me into feeling sorry for Polo? I’m aware that one the one side it’s a difficult situation, but on the other side he’s still a fucking murderer and shouldn’t get away with his crime and all his lies and attempts to cover it up.

Just like during last season, I don’t really care about the new characters yet. It takes some more time.

All this talk about “doing it for the family” just gives me Breaking Bad vibes, I can’t help it.

Episode 4:

Two seasons later and I still don’t care about Polo’s threesomes.

Okay, but hear me out on my theory on who killed him: I think it was Valerio, due to three reasons: 1) He’s definitely presented as one of the characters least likely to do it and in season 1 one of the people who was least spiteful towards the victim ended up being the killer. 2) Lu is affected by knowing who did it and Samu advices her to lie about it. 3) I don’t remember if it was the same bottle design, but there were two instances in the former episodes in which Valerio bought champagne bottles and that’ll be the murder weapon, so maybe that was foreshadowing. What speaks against my theory is that I don’t know why Carla would help him.

Loved Lu’s party idea.

Her and Omar’s friendship is amazing, I want more of it.

Why this thing with Malick and Omar, though? The writers already gave Ander fucking cancer and relationship issues resulting from that, I don’t want him to experience even more bullshit. I hope it stays the way things ended here.

My poor Nadia x  Guzmán shipping heart went through both extreme happiness and sadness this episode and I am not okay with this. 

I hate it when Samu gets himself into situations like the one with Rebeka.

Loved it when everyone stood up for her. Especially Valerio who didn’t even know what he agreed to haha.

The amount of blackmailing is this show is insane.

Curious to see where the drug dealing plans will go.

Episode 5:

What better way to start off an episode than with a montage of drug dealing and upbeat music in the background?

It’s become totally obvious to me now why the writers would give Ander cancer: It’s their freeway to get the protagonists reminiscent about life and what really matters to them, hence they are driven to make decisions they otherwise wouldn’t. I get that. But ... I don’t know, it still feels like a somewhat cheap storytelling device, you know?

After all this time, will we end up getting a Lu and Nadia friendship? I’d approve.

I don’t think Guzmán killed Polo, no.

That flourescent paint thing was a bit corny, but I also loved it, because especially regarding Malick and Omar it really was an “Ohh shit” moment.

I must say, I don’t understand Omar. Declining Ander’s offer to have an open relationship just to then technically cheat on him moments later? WIth his sister’s boyfriend?? Dude...

Like I said before, I don’t hate Carla as much as I did last season. Not saying that I like her, but I don’t think she deserves that shitty situation with that other dude (I don’t remember his name, sorry). Actually ... her and Samu would not be the worst option. Can’t believe I said that.

Episode 6:

I stan Nadia’s and Lu’s friendship.

I also stan Samu’s and Guzmán’s friendship.

That shit between Ander and Omar just fucking hurts. Ander pretending to cheat on him so that he can “set him free” from being with him ... That’s some heavy stuff. I hate it.

Obviously one of the protagonists would develop a drug problem at some point. Poor Carla. Can’t believe I said that either.

Why do they all blame each other? Ander suggested Guzmán killed Polo, Rebeka that Samu did it ... More than one killer? I don’t think so. My guess remains Valerio, but it’s really more of a guess, mostly I’m just confused on what’s going on. But we know that from the last seasons already. So I’m still super hooked to find out how everything leads to the crucial moment.

Episode 7:

Ander’s storyline just makes me so fucking sad. I low-key hate the showrunners for all of this. I didn’t sign up for this shit. If I wanted to watch something sad about teenagers dying from cancer I’d be watching “The Fault in Our Stars”.

We’re back in the same situation as in season 1: Everybody has a reason to kill Polo. And everybody accuses one another, so I have no chance of knowing it. It starts getting a bit repetitive, doesn’t it?

I hate that I was manipulated into feeling happy for Carla, now that things are going so well for her.

I’m genuinely happy for Lu and Nadia, though. 

As you can tell, I never ended up giving a shit about Yeray or Malick.

Just tell me who the killer is, I’m done with making assumptions.

Episode 8:

Damn, damn, damn. I didn’t think it would end up being Lu. Glad to finally know. Also why they all accused each other.

Remember in the beginning of this post when I said it was satisfying to see Polo die? *Sigh* I was wrong. It wasn’t satisfying, okay? I cried my fucking eyes out when Guzmán forgave him, I’m not kidding. Samu was right: They all have suffered enough and I kinda wish it hadn’t ended like this ... It’s just all a huge fucking tragedy, isn’t it? But I’m still glad that things finally came to an end here.

And I mean, I always raged so much about Polo, but after all he wasn’t a one-sided “evil” character. In the end, I guess I made peace with him as well.

Yeah, part of the reason why I’m coming to this conclusion is that I don’t want to admit to myself what a fucking hypocrite I’d be for not despising Lu as well then.

I just want these kids to be happy, okay? So I’m very glad about the optimistic ending.

The Short Stories and then season 4 are going to be interesting. I really don’t think they’ll be as good as season 1-3, because I can imagine it to be a typical case of beating a dead horse. The season finale felt like a series finale (except for the ending maybe) and I don’t think it’s necessary to continue the story. However, obviously I’ll watch it, because I’m already way too invested in these characters.

But well, I’m actually amazed that this show was able to keep up more or less the same quality for three seasons. It’s not perfect and as I said, the last one was a bit of a drag, because all has been going on for so long, but I was still well entertained, so it’s no big deal.

[bluerosesonata]

A Window to the Soul: Game Mechanics and Characters in Ai: the Somnium Files

Spoiler-free!

Ai: The Somnium Files is an adventure game/visual novel for PC, PS4, and the Nintendo Switch by Spike Chunsoft in September 2019. Written and directed by Kotaro Uchikoshi, known for his Zero Escape Trilogy (999: Nine Persons, Nine Hours, Nine Doors (DS), Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward (DS), and Zero Time Dilemma (DS, PS Vita, PC), also available as the Zero Escape Trilogy on Steam and PS4), this game once again displays Uchikoshi’s signature combination of suspense, humor, and ludonarrative harmony that fans of his previous games are familiar with, alongside a cast of complex, compelling characters you’ll absolutely fall in love with.

For all my fellow Zero Escape fans, you probably remember the issues the series faced with financing, which ultimately lead to Uchikoshi helping to establish Spike Chunsoft and the eventual release of Zero Time Dilemma. In AitSF, more than ever, the fruits of that partnership are apparent. It feels we finally get to see a complete picture of Uchikoshi’s vision; Featuring fully animated 3d models, fully voiced dialogue, and some incredibly goofy and self-indulgent dance sequences, this murder mystery (and yes, it is a murder mystery) is absolutely worth it’s full price and your time.

The game has multiple endings (About 5, without checking), all leading up to and feeding into the true ending. One notable feature is that the timeline allows you to jump into previous played sections at any point of the chapter, and even provides summaries of the events that happened in each “node,” so unlike in the original 999,  you don’t need to replay through every scene of dialogue to get to each ending.

Rather than spend time analyzing the story itself- something that can’t be done to a satisfying level without spoiling the whole thing- I’ll just say that the way Uchikoshi literally has us get inside the heads of characters by “syncing” with them is a great story device, and is realized extremely well in the gameplay. For me, the Sync was used in all the right places to push me into genuinely caring about some characters, that, without the sync, I would be sympathetic to, but not feel a real sense of attachment towards.

What follows is a breakdown and analysis of how well the gameplay is designed, and some non-spoilery discussion of characterization and character design:

Mechanics:

The core gameplay loop can be broken into two parts: dialogue and investigation, and “syncing.”

The investigation portion of the game is similar to most adventure visual novels- investigating crime scenes, talking to NPCs to advance the story, examining your surroundings, and in my case, clicking on scenery over and over again to get funny flavor dialogue.

The flavor dialogue does not disappoint- and for me, the best minor feature included in the game ties to this. When you click on an object, you get an initial string of dialogue- but the indicator with the name of the object will only get grayed out once you’ve seen all the text related to that object. For some people, this might ruin the “fun” of clicking over and over again- like in 999, where some bits of dialogue would only display on the 9th time examining an object- but for me, it was a godsend, because I didn’t spend any time wondering if I missed anything funny.

The Sync gameplay loop is also mechanically brilliant. Part of the in-universe rules, which are emphasized over and over, is that the main character, Date, can only spend 6 minutes within the subject’s “Somnium”- the internal dreamscape of their mind- and that staying any longer could result in disastrous consequences. As such, each Somnium loop attempt can (hypothetically) be experienced in chunks of about 8-10 minutes. This set time frame makes it a breeze to play the game in small sections at a time and let your mind breathe a bit. The time limitation is challenging, but never infuriating; even when I messed up horribly and knew I had to restart a sync from the beginning, I would just use the time I had remaining to try out the goofier actions available to try out as puzzle solutions.

Somnium Files’ adaptability to being played in long sittings or in short bursts, while still maintaining an engaging, tense narrative is an incredible strength that not all games can boast of. Not a single part of the game felt like a slog or a chore to me, unlike a few puzzles in Zero Time Dilemma, where I ran into the perennial adventure game issue of  “okay, so I have this item, but where do I use it?”, “how the hell do I even solve this puzzle without a guide” (I didn’t), and “what do I need to do to unlock the next sequence?”

Characters

So let’s talk about these good characters. Some of you probably recognized the art style for the game’s key visual as the work of Yusuke Kozaki, best known by many as the head artist and character designer for Fire Emblem: Awakening and Fire Emblem: Fates. Even in his work for the Fire Emblem franchise, you can tell he doesn’t care much for drawing armor- which puts him in the same club as literally every artist I know who draws Fire Emblem fan art. His designs really shine in a contemporary setting, with modern clothing, and really give the cast a unified, unique aesthetic. Moreover, the designs are beautifully translated into 3D as well.

For a game that was most likely well underway in development several years prior to the boom of the subgenre, the design for A-set, (AKA Iris), an in-game internet idol and streamer, is incredibly in line with those of many successful “Virtual Youtubers”- for that alone it deserves some accolades. Fittingly, as part of online promotion for the game, Chunsoft posted a series of video blogs starring  A-set, as if she were posting to her own channel. (I missed all of these, and that’s a real shame, because I think they would have gotten me excited for the game if I had been paying attention.)

Despite Iris’ obvious and engineered marketability, I think my favorite design of the game is Aiba, the AI partner of the main character, whose human form only appears in Somnium and in the realm world as an AR projection imposed in Date’s cybernetic eye. The way her arms fade into glowing, electronic “nerves” at her arms is a subtle reminder of her artificiality, but her design also doesn’t make her more playful and goofy behaviors jarring in the least.

As far as personalities go, I would say that Date, our protagonist, manages to hit the perfect median- maybe even fusion- between the past male protagonists in the Zero Escape trilogy. Junpei, Sigma, and Carlos were all likable in their own ways, as the narrative character, but all had a level of blandness to them. To me, they served more as vehicles for us to participate in the Nonary Games.

In contrast, Date feels very much like his own, established person, and that’s not only a huge strength, but central to the overall narrative. (For all non-ZE fans reading this review- I apologize for the heavy use of ZE comparisons here.) Like Sigma, Date is a bit of a perv, but unlike Sigma in Virtue’s Last Reward, I didn’t feel squicked out by his behavior; Like Carlos, he cares immensely for the people important to him, and puts their wellbeing first; Like Junpei, he’s, also, a loveable moron.

There are other characters- Mizuki in particular- whom I can’t speak too much about without spoiling some of the enjoyment of their character arcs, but all of them have incredibly good and complicated interpersonal relationships both with and outside of Date.

Lastly, there’s Aiba. A good companion character is worth their weight in gold. After all, most of the time, they’re who you spend most of your time with, and for that reason, the more “annoying” ones always catch more flac for being so. For me, Aiba easily slides into my top 10 favorite companion characters of all time, along such members as Maya Fey in the original Ace Attorney trilogy and Midna from Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Most of the goofiest sequences in the game are instigated by her, and every time she’s on screen there’s bound to be something fun to do, not to mention the fact she’s our avatar used within Somnium. Combine that and her telepathic banter with Date, and you got a recipe for a dynamic duo.

In closing, every aspect of AitSF is absolutely delightful; It has tightly woven narrative gameplay, wonderful and complex characters, a storyline that, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t unravel the details of before they were revealed- and I didn’t even get into how great the voice acting is. If you’re looking for an enjoyable, self-contained game that you can beat in under 35 hours, Ai: The Somnium Files can’t be beat.

[creatingnikki]

The King: Eternal Monarch

I have SO MUCH to say but before any of that can I just say, without any exaggeration, that The King has one of the most satisfying series finales that I have ever watched! 

They did justice with ALL the characters and took more than 50% of the finale just wrapping things up and wrapping them well. I think that’s very rare because usually shows, kdramas and otherwise, just rush the end and give us one happy scene and that’s that. But no, The King took it’s time and it felt very fair and right. 

Okay, now for everything else. 

2020 has seen some very great kdramas and if I had to talk about The King in that context, I can’t say it’s my favourite. I enjoyed Itaewon Class and Crash Landing On You way better. There’s really no comparison between them and The King. But I still waited for the new episodes every Friday and Saturday for the last 1.5 months and I’d say that it’s definitely worth it.

First off, I loved the theory of the parallel universes. Though it was less science based and more legend based. What I really appreciated was that the parallel universe with the King was not some old, ancient place that doesn’t know what cell phones are. No, it was literally the same world in terms of the time and progressiveness. So, that was quite refreshing! 

My favourite parts were every time people from the two universes crossed paths and found out about the existence of the parallel world and their counter-part. They each had a different reaction, experience and consequence but each was fun nonetheless. For instance, Jo Eun Sup and Jo Yeong had such a different relationship and storyline as opposed to Kang Shin Jae and Kang Hyun Min. 

Another thing that struck me was, and I don’t know if others will agree with me or not, but I didn’t particularly enjoy or care about the romance between the leads. Don’t get me wrong - I really liked both the leads individually and together. However, their romance isn’t one that gave me any feels. It was definitely not the highlight of the show for me. There were certain cute scenes for sure though

Talking about the leads. So can I just take a moment to fan girl about Lee Min Ho? He is the cutest. I think if I had to pick a favourite kdrama actor - just by like the shows they have played the vibes their personality gives me - it would have to be Lee Min Ho. And then Lee Jong Suk. 

And Kim Go Eun! It’s really because of her and Lee Min Ho that I began watching this kdrama. Not because of them together or their chemistry but them individually! I think both of them are brilliant actors.

One thing I really appreciate about the leads is that they are smart, strong, confident, with a sense of duty and a whole of maturity and self respect and have super strong and healthy boundaries. The rules they came up with - how they wouldn’t ask the other ti stay, etc, etc just goes to show that. And it’s not like Jung Tae-Eul has to sacrifice her life and job just because Lee Gon is the king. Not once in the whole kdrama did Lee Gon try to be like, ‘hey, I’m more important than you are so you must be the one to leave behind your universe.’

While the romance was meh, the bromance was another thing. Yes, Lee Gon and Jo Yeong! Oh my god. Right from that childhood scene (so fucking sad and adorable) to that final scene when they both enter together at the night of treason holding their guns. And can I just say that that entry scene of Peha and his unbreakable sword outdid the iconic entry scene from Goblin. 

Also the subtle bromance between Jo Eun Sup and Jo Yeong was cute.

Luna. I really liked her! Right from her name to the way she was with the homeless child - who bloody turned out to be the Manpasikjeok (right? Or was it destiny or are they the same things here?). It was really an excellent portrayal of how people are often victims of the system and society they are born into and often when you see someone and think, ‘Wow, I’d never do that or be that person’ it’s essential to remember that if we were in their shoes with the lack of choices and privilege they had, then we’d literally end up doing the exact same thing in all probability.

Side characters such as the Head court lady, the crown prince, Secretary Mo, Prime Minister Koo’s mother, etc. were really charming and add a layer of warmth and wholesomeness to the show.

source: @deokmis​

Another striking thing about The King that I quite liked was how Lee Gon is Lee Gon with Jung Tae-Eul. Like he, as a king, didn’t really show any narcissism, entitlement, toxic masculinity, etc. Not even at the beginning like most male leads tend to show.

I also really liked how Lee Gon didn't get everything right in the first time - in trying to fix the night of the treason. Or second. That he wasn't perfect. That he struggled.

Coming back the the extremely satisfying series finale - I loved how none of them settled for the counter-part of their loved one in their own universe or even tried to interact with them. I loved how neither of them asked the other to come over to their universe forever and leave behind their world. I like how they kept that agreement intact because you know you can follow your destiny without making yourself the ones you love miserable in that process. I think they achieved the one thing that’s crucial for us all in life - balance.

You can read about the other kdramas I like and my thoughts on them over here. 

[onefenix]

14 Long Fic Recs

I've been mostly a fandom lurker for the past five months (since the Game of Thrones Series Finale). Since then I've been reading some of the best fanfiction I've ever read. I've been a part of some very small fandoms before and can say the J/B fandom is lucky to have many very talented writers. I wanted to make a list of my favorite stories so far for J/B Week, but life... so here it is now. I’ll try to be brief (I anticipate I am going to fail at this) and not spoil the stories.

These are all stories with more than 14k words (up to 190k). The division between short and long fics is a bit arbitrary but necessary due to the length of this list. I am sure there are better ways to classify these stories that I may get around to later on.

Sorry in advance for the overuse of words such as beautiful, perfect and spectacular, the Jaime/Brienne fandom writers are that good. Also, English is not my first language, so sorry for any mistakes.

I’ve tagged the authors whose handles on Tumblr I know. If you wish to have your tag removed or added (I’d love to follow you!), let me know.

You can find a short fic rec list here.

Diplomacy by Gwen77 

As I'm sure you’ll be able to tell by the end of this list, arranged marriage stories are some of my favorites. If I remember correctly, this was the first J/B story I read and I have revisited it quite a few times since. This story has Jaime and Brienne dealing first-hand with Cersei and jealous Brienne, in addition to being wonderfully written. In fact, everything written by Gwen77 is a piece of art.

In This Light by SigilBroken @chickren

Look. I can't even... This story has everything you could ever ask for. This is one of my favorite pieces of writing ever. This is THE Game of Thrones Endgame for me. The scale and description of the long night surpass that of the show by a very wide margin. The storytelling is spectacular with subtle details buried in each chapter that make a re-read 100% enjoyable. The story is completely faithful to Jaime and Brienne as characters and the depth of their bond is exquisitely explored. It also works wonderfully as an ensemble story with memorable moments for Cersei, Myrcella, Tommen, Stannis, Shireen, Sansa... 

Honor Thy Regard by SigilBroken @chickren

This is another wonderful Post ADWD story by the wonderful SigilBroken. This is (I believe) a more intimate story (if that makes any sense) than In This Light. The dialogue in this is fantastic, there are many, many scenes that simply stay with you, the melancholic tone throughout the story is enrapturing and the ending never fails to make me cry and (mini-spoiler!) smile. The magnitude of the connection the author manages to forge between Jaime and Brienne and the way it's conveyed is unparalleled by any other story.

The Seven Bind Their Fate by RoseHeart

This is another epic story. This is a canon divergent story in which Jaime meets Brienne in Renly's camp. It's really amazing how much with that apparently ‘little’ change from canon, RoseHeart manages to create such an original and well-paced story. Jaime being there for the bet, the meele and Renly's death is extremely entertaining to read. And gods! the Red Wedding re-imagined in this verse is FANTASTIC.

Beauty and the Beast by SigilBroken @chickren

Another story by SigilBroken so you know it is GOOD. This is very different from the author’s other two stories. Maybe it’s the fact that this story is a Modern AU or the fact that everything that happens in this story feels so relatable, but the exploration of Jaime and Brienne in this story, their fears and ambitions feel very authentic. Also, I love angry, intense and protective-of-Brienne!Jaime (be it of others or of her own feelings of insecurity) and Beauty and the Beast has one of my favorite scenes depicting this. Seriously, if you do not have a reaction similar to that of Ellaria Sand when you read this story, you are way more immune to Jaime than I am. 

The Gentlest Schism by SandwichesYumYum

This story is not concluded and the last update is from 2014, but listen: YOU HAVE TO READ IT. If you think you know what UST is, wait till you read this story (and it’s definitely not in the way you expect). This story reads like an ode to Jamie and specially Brienne as individuals but also to the pure, caring connection between them. SandwichesYumYum’s Jamie and Brienne know each other to their very cores, have carried each other through their very worst and are also capable of laughing with each other. The world-building in this story is fantastic and the original characters are the best I’ve read in fanfiction. The place where the author left the story is not a cliff-hanger but instead a satisfying point in our favorite characters' lives.

Where I follow, you'll go by Lady_in_Red @ladyinredfics

Am I recommending another Arranged Marriage/Marriage of Convenience story? Apparently yes. This story has some great Aunt Genna and Tywin appearances and, like everything written by Lady_in_Red, has amazing pacing and is beautifully written. The push and pull between Brienne and Jaime, the slow build of intimacy and trust in their feelings... it’s all perfect. You should actually go ahead and browse through all of Lady_in_Red’s fics. They have one the most extensive and varied collection of stories I’ve seen and they are all truly amazing. 

Bargains by Gwen77

This is an arranged marriage story in a Regency-era Westeros. It’s one of those stories where you want to scream at your screen ‘Just kiss already!!’. It takes them both a while to realize their feelings for each other and even longer to acknowledge them out loud. Jaime is still infatuated with Cersei for a good part of this story, so if that’s not your cup of tea... 

Pretty by astolat @astolat

Everything by astolat in the Game of Thrones works is FAN-TAS-TIC and all ten stories are very worth reading but this one is my favorite. This is a canon divergent story starting in Season 4. It has wonderful appearances by Tywin, Olenna, Tommen, and Sansa. Jamie and Brienne in King’s Landing is something I always enjoy. Protective Jamie, Badass Brienne, and Crazy Cersei. It’s quite perfect.

Madonna of the Balcony by QuizzicalQuinnia @quizzicalquinnia

This is fic reads like poetry. It’s really hard to describe how lyrical and evocative the writing in this piece is. In this story, Jaime is a sculptor and Brienne becomes his muse. I love that this is a sort of reverse story in which Jaime is immediately infatuated by Brienne and we get to see his journey from longing for Brienne the muse to loving Brienne the woman. Also, Jaime’s beautiful, beautiful descriptions of art make me crave a visit to the Louvre or the Rodin Museum.

A Dance with Ice and Fire by ShirleyAnn66

This is a canon continuation and it is EPIC. If you’re looking for an ending for Game of Thrones as a series with satisfying resolutions for most characters and storylines, centered around Jamie, Brienne, their individual growths and their connection to each other: THIS IS IT. This story has one of my favorite takes on Jaime ever. Other characters like Tyrion and especially Cersei are beautifully interpreted. Also, the intimate interactions between Jaime and Brienne felt really true to their characters. If you’re still not convinced: you’ll get to read (at least) four different Jaime/Brienne weddings.

Battle is the Great Redeemer by Lady_in_Red @ladyinredfics

It looks like Lady_in_Red is an MVP on both this list and the short fic rec list. This is a show fix-it and it does Jaime so, so much justice. It’s incredibly well-plotted and keeps you biting your nails from beginning to end. There is not one dull moment in this story. It has some fantastic Jaime/Arya interactions. Bran and The Hound also have some stellar moments in this. I think this story ties pretty much every loose end in the show (and as we know there are quite a few).

Everyone Has Secrets by ellaria @khaleesiofwine

This story is based on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The story revisits many of canon events in a modern setting where Jaime is a disgraced journalist and Brienne is a motorcycle-riding computer hacker. They join forces to investigate the disappearance of Sansa Stark. The Red Wedding, Ramsay's sadism and the trafficking of women are all very jarring to explore in this modern setting and the author handled it perfectly. This version of Brienne owns my heart. She is exquisitely crafted, from her backstory to her use of her helmet and motorcycle as armor, to her determination to use her "powers" to fix the world and bring Sansa home.

Weekend at Casterly by green_light

Weekend at Castely is a very recent discovery. It is a true romantic masterpiece set in a near-Regency era. Here we have a combination of possessive!Jaime and feels-unworthy-of-Brienne!Jaime that is one for the ages. This story is perfectly crafted. The dialog is quick and funny and the characterizations are masterful. The confrontation of feelings between Jaime and Brienne is some Pride&Prejudice level drama. Also, it has a beautiful, beautiful resolution between Jaime and Tyrion.

[recurring-polynya]

Bollywood Review Time!

Today, I am going to talk about Om Shanty Om, a very good movie that was Not For Me.

Let me back up. People recommend stuff to me a lot and I try to watch it and talk about it, and I always feel bad when I don’t like it. This one was recommended to me by my friend @serene-faerie​ I want to make it very clear that you, reader, may like this film very much! It was a strange perfect storm of Things I Don’t Care For, and I actually rather enjoyed the experience of picking apart what I didn’t like about from what I did, because honestly, I am always interested in the ways stories are told and what stories say about themselves.

Cut for spoilers and also length

First off the bat-- this is not a film for the Bollywood beginner. It’s sort of a meta-narrative, with a ton of cameos from famous stars and jokes about Bollywood tropes and directors and such. There’s a ten-minute dance number in the middle that’s just famous people showing up to get down and everybody cheers every time someone new rolls in. I have only actually seen a handful of Bollywood films, mostly made after this one (it was made in 2007), and I could tell that there were a ton of gags and references that flew over my head. I got the sense, both from watching it, and from reading reviews, that this was all very well done and funny, I just didn’t have the proper frame of reference to appreciate it.

The main character, Om, is played by Shah Rukh Khan, an incredibly famous Bollywood star whom I had never heard of before watching this film. In the beginning, Om is a somewhat-bumbling movie extra, dreaming of stardom, flipping his hair, and falling in love with a beautiful starlet on a billboard. I… was not taken in by his charms. I feel like I really missed out by not knowing who Shah Rukh Khan was ahead of time. That was sort of an interesting thought to me-- that a famous actor brings the good will of all his previous roles to a movie with him, and that it was very interesting to me to watch a film stripped of that context. I was literally shocked when halfway through the film, he rips off his shirt and had killer abs, I was absolutely not expecting it.

The deal of the movie is that, through a series of coincidences, Om meets Shanti, the actress of his dreams (from the billboard). She is played by Deepika Padukone, who I fell for immediately. She is gorgeous and had a ton of charisma. This movie seems like it’s going to be a love story, but it really isn’t. Shanti is charmed by Om’s sweetness, but she’s already in a doomed secret marriage with a scumbag director, Mukesh, who ends up murdering her when she wants him to publicly acknowledge her, which is kinda time sensitive, because she is pregnant. Mukesh had planned to have her star in a lavish movie spectacle called Om Shanti Om, but when she forces his hand, he burns the set down with her locked inside. Om witnesses all this; he tries to save her and dies in the process.

Om happens to die in the same hospital where a famous director’s child is being born, and he is reincarnated as the baby, and grows up to have the life he always wanted-- that of a Bollywood superstar. His name is still Om, but his nickname is O.K., so I am going to call him that to distinguish between 1977 Om and 2007 Om. He meets Mukesh again who is now a super-successful Hollywood producer. O.K. gets all the memories of his past life back, and decides to Get Revenge by proposing to do a remake of Om Shanti Om. He finds a wanna-be actress, Sandy, who looks exactly like Shanti, and has her haunt the set in order to make Mukesh think he is going crazy (and maybe also confess? It’s not a terribly clear-cut plan). You might think that Sandy is the reincarnation of Shanti, but Shanti’s ghost shows up in the grand finale of the film, so I guess she wasn’t?? You also might expect O.K. and Sandy to have some romantic feelings, but they really don’t, and in fact, O.K. is actually pretty mean to Sandy, even though she is extremely sweet and I don’t see how anyone could possibly be mean to her.

The movie is lush. The costumes are elaborate, the sets are lavish, the dance numbers are many and long. There is not a single scene without an off-screen fan to dramatically tousle the actors’ hair. I actually rather liked the last act of the movie where they were gaslighting Mukesh and it was over-the-top, scenery-chewing, Hamlet--play-with-in-a-play madness. A chandelier falls on someone. A lot of the end doesn’t even make a lot of sense or exist in any sort of linear time, cutting between the film-within-a-film and dance numbers and what’s “really happening” and I really had no problem with any of this. I actually really liked the amount of meta that was happening and the breakdown of boundaries, and I found the end to be reasonably satisfying.

So what didn’t I like about it?

The entire film relies on you being charmed by Om and I did not care for him. We all have this set of trope personality types that we enjoy and fall for, and “young person who dreams of making it big on the stage/screen” is a huge swipe left for me. Give me a stolid second-in-command who has been stationed at an ice wall for 30 years to protect his homeland. A incredibly tired dude muttering “fuck” as he wades into a swamp to fight a bog zombie, because who else is gonna? My dude turn-ons include duty and self-sacrifice and really good posture. I couldn’t watch Naruto because everyone spouted off about “their dreams” too much, and I thought Om should have cut his losses and gotten a real job. I am who I am.

There’s a weird fine line between “meta,” that is, stories about storytelling and presentation and media, and movies about being in love with making movies. I like the former a lot and I do not care for the latter one bit. I did stage crew for a high school production of 42nd Street and I have a very distinct memory of thinking “this is a play about putting on a play. Why on earth would anyone who is not an actor want to watch this?” I also hate books where the main character is a writer (yes, Stephen King, this is a call-out). I also hate biopics about musicians and actors. I honestly do not care about the craft, and the “magic of cinema” has never been a thing I have found remotely compelling. 

What I love about reincarnation storylines is the period where the characters recognize the feelings and memories that are tied to their previous lives-- where they see someone and can feel their old emotions for this person, but without knowing why. This is where I live. I eat this with a spoon. I want this to prolong the emotional burn, because the characters don't know what are their own feelings and what comes from their past lives, and that there are conflicts that must be resolved for both lifetimes. Alternatively, you can also use a reincarnation storyline to skip the emotional burn entirely, by just having the character “get all their memories back in one fell swoop.” This is… the opposite of what I want. This is what Om Shanty Om does. I felt deeply cheated.

Relatedly, the entire theme of the movie was "When you want something badly, the whole universe conspires to give to you", a sentiment I wholeheartedly disagree with. I love stories about the conflict between agency and destiny, I think this is a really meaty subject, but once again, the movie used it as an excuse to let the characters sit back and do nothing and have a solution to their problems drop into their laps. I am sure you could make an argument for the charm of this viewpoint, but it is not for me.

I like dance numbers all right, but they are not why I watch Bollywood films. This movie is over two hours long and a lot of it was dance numbers. I was very tired of dance numbers by the end. That being said, the titular song was a bop and I had it stuck in my head for days. “Disco of Distress” was my second favorite.

I do not really feel a lot of nostalgia for the late 1970s, which is when the first half of the film takes place. If noisy patterns and kitsch and big winks and goofy hair is your period aesthetic, you will enjoy this part a lot!

Here’s what I did like!

Sunglasses. There were so many good sunnies in this film. So many. A parade of excellent shades.

Deepika Padukone. She is so adorable, for one, and she charmed me in every way that Shah Rukh Khan did not. I loved her both as the melancholy starlet Shanti and the doofy, gum-chewing Sandy, and also the Angry Revenge Ghost at the end. I would say this movie is 75% Om and 25% Shanti, and I would have liked it a lot better if it were the other way around. Sandy had basically no agency whatsoever; the second half of the plot was basically about O.K. getting revenge on Mukush... mostly for himself? I liked that the first half of the movie didn’t make Shanti fall in love with the puppy-like Om just because he was devoted to her, but it would have been a nice reversal if the jaded O.K. had softened toward Sandy more in the second act, and that there had been a bit of a love story to temper the revenge plot.

The idea of the plot. The plot described in words is very cool to me, and there was a period of about 3 minutes in the film when O.K. recognizes Om’s mother when I got real excited about where this was going, and then I realized it wasn’t going where I wanted and was sad again. I think I might have liked it better if the movie started out with O.K. and revealed Om’s story slowly, through flashback, but nothing about this movie catered to my narrative aesthetic, so I eventually gave up with ways of trying to fix it.

Anyway, as I said, I can definitely see how someone could love this movie! If you are a big Bollywood buff and you love dance numbers and silliness and Shah Rukh Khan, I would recommend it in a second! It was strangely almost tailor-made to hit some of my pet peeves, and I was mad because I wanted to like it more than I did.

That’s my review! @serene-faerie​ I hope you still love me even though I didn’t like your movie. I am always trying to expand my movie knowledge and I learned a lot watching this one, and I don’t regret watching it, even though it wasn’t my fave.

[twentiethcenturymoviesandtv]

Growing Pains: The Characters

No matter what medium, characters are an integral part of storytelling.  Whether it’s a book, stage play, movie, or a television show, the audience will likely not stick with it if they should happen to think the Eight Deadly Words:

“I don’t care what happens to these people.”

While it’s important to develop good characters in every form of storytelling, it is perhaps the most crucial to get them right on television.

While a film can distract from it’s lackluster characters with interesting visuals, a fast-paced storyline, and some neat twists and setpieces, television rarely has that luxury.  Produced with a smaller runtime, on a smaller budget, television episodes tend to be character-based.  With the exception of anthologies, most television shows have a set number of cast members that the audience follows through multiple episodes.  This means that the characters in shows must be versatile enough to be interesting in multiple stories, and multiple types of stories, and be able to grow and change at a slow, but steady, rate.  As a result, writing for characters on television can be hard.

Even when the said characters are a family from a Domestic Sitcom.

Like I said, characters are a vital ingredient in television.  They are the people that we come back to every week, and often, they are the reason we keep watching.  The characters make or break a television show, and as such, it’s incredibly important to create a main cast that the audience enjoys spending time with.

Luckily, the way to do it isn’t as hard as it might seem.

I’ve mentioned before that the secret to creating main characters (especially for television) is to mix two components: relatability and entertainment.

As with all fiction, television is an exaggerated version of reality.  Even the slice-of-life sitcom scenarios have to be a little bigger, a little more extreme than our normal lives in order to be entertainment.  But the audience tends not to buy it unless there’s that dose of reality, that relatability within the stories and characters in that we can see ourselves reacting in similar ways, or recognize elements in our own lives.  This is true of writing for plots, but it’s also true of writing for characters.

Which brings us to our question:

Are the Seavers good television protagonists?

What a great question, I’m so glad I asked!  Let’s take a look.

The Seavers are, to some degree, a family that any of us might know, or in some ways, be.  They fight, make up, grow and learn as much as any family does, and as such, the audience identifies with their dynamic.  They react to events, not as a unit, but as individuals within a family unit, and their separate personalities and interactions with one another make for engaging stories and development.

But, like I said, they are individuals, not a unit, and we have to look at them as such, starting with the patriarch of the family: Jason Seaver.

Jason is a psychiatrist, a dad, and a Reasonable Authority Figure.  While not infallible, Jason does whatever he can to be fair with his kids, and, being exposed to them often, combined with his practice gives him an edge on knowing how to get them to behave.  He’s interested in knowing the roots of the behaviors, and tries very hard to understand his family.  He’s more likely to concoct an ‘outside the box’ method to reign in his kids, but he’s always respectful of their feelings, and tries to bring the family together.  He is the heart, ready to take charge when necessary.

Of course, being a ‘grown-up’ does not automatically make him a complete person.  Jason also grows and learns throughout the series, and comes with struggles of his own.  There are plenty of episodes where he deals with decisions like whether to go back to work, or stay at home to support his wife’s career, or is forced to contend with things like his mother’s second marriage.  As such, he’s a relatable character, more than just ‘The Dad’, but a person in his own right.  This element is shared by his wife, Maggie Seaver.

Maggie is a reporter, a mom, and, surprisingly, another Reasonable Authority Figure.  Again, not infallible, but in a different way than her husband.  Maggie is a little more prone to laughing at her family’s antics, and being a little more quick to jump to action than Jason’s “Wait for the teachable moment” strategies.  She’s more of the disciplinarian between the two, a devoted career woman, and is on the more cautious side.  

She has her share of problems too, such as dealing with an unexpected pregnancy, harassment in the workplace, and her father’s death.  Again, she is more than ‘The Mom’, and continues to grow throughout the series.  She’s a more rounded character, a person for the audience to relate to.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about the parents on the show is how they work together and interact.  As it turns out, the show was originally going to be more focused on the parents, until Mike turned into the Breakout Character of the show.  The ‘grown ups’ don’t always agree, and approach parenting in different ways, but they endeavor to work together as a team, with a genuine relationship.  Sometimes they fight, but they are typically supportive of one another, and handle problems in a mature way that tends to more closely reflect real life rather than other ‘zany’ revenge or ‘lesson teaching’ plotlines of other Dom-Coms.  They do genuinely want what’s best for their kids, and the audience gets to watch them watch their family grow up and expand in a way that’s resonant with how real parents deal with their own families.  

As a result, Jason and Maggie work well as sitcom protagonists, being different enough from each other to spark conflict and struggle, but affectionate and loving enough to patch it up before it gets too ugly.  Their relationship comes across as genuine, and they grow enough as individuals that it’s satisfying to watch them throughout all seven seasons of the show.

But, of course, there’s a lot more to the Seavers than the parents.  Let’s talk about the kids.

We have to start with Mike.

The oldest kid and the Breakout Character (similar to Michael J. Fox’s character, Alex P. Keaton, on Family Ties, except a polar opposite personality), Mike Seaver is most parents’ mildly annoying nightmare.  Not bad enough to be a ‘bad kid’, but nowheres near good, Mike was a middle-of-the-road teenager.  He got into trouble, came home after curfew, lied, attempted to cheat, and was overall, kind of a self-centered brat early on, but he typically knew where to draw the line (see the drug episode, “Thank God it’s Friday”), and didn’t get away with the bad things that he did do.  

As time went on, Mike grew up and out of a lot of his problematic behavior, becoming more responsible and mature.  (Some of that was affected by actor Kirk Cameron’s conversion to Christianity during the show.)  Even early on, there were signs that Mike not be so much of a troublemaker, where he did show a hidden heart of gold underneath the cocky, snarky exterior.  Typically the funny-man of the kids, Mike was always ready with a quick-witted joke, (usually at someone else’s expense, especially his siblings) which made him a fan-favorite early on.  The show is an excellent showcase of his development from problem-child to responsible adult, getting a job and moving out.  But he wasn’t the only one of the kids to change.

Carol, second oldest, was the brain of the family, and she knew it.  Bright, studious, hardworking, and just as much a Deadpan Snarker as Mike, Carol was typically the Only Sane Man of the kids, the most likely to realize when something was a bad idea.  Occasionally suffering from self-esteem problems (being ‘nerdy’ in the 1980s was akin to having the Black Plague, according to teen media), Carol was more cautiously adventurous than her brothers, wanting to see the world and learn as much as she could.

She too grew up.  Throughout the series, Carol learned that academics wasn’t everything, and grew into a more rounded individual, taking risks, exploring, and becoming a responsible adult, changing through experiences both good and bad.  Occasionally self-righteous, sensitive, and intelligent, Carol was a fine, and relatively realistic example of the high-school smart-kid in the real world.

That leaves only Ben, the youngest.

From a young age, Ben was rowdy, rambunctious, rascally, and (I’m almost out of R words, help) a royal pain to his siblings.  Initially rather gullible and apparently insistent on taking lessons the wrong way, the trouble Ben got into in the beginning was mostly due to the fact that he was just naive (Inviting a homeless kid in for Christmas Eve, calling a porn hotline repeatedly, etc.), but as time went on, Ben became more of a problem than Mike had been, getting himself into bigger trouble.  As the youngest and the most perpetually childish, more and more lessons were milked out of Ben than any of the other siblings, and as such, he had to screw up more than they did.

He got more than his share of focus episodes too.  Episodes like “Birth of a Seaver” included large subplots where Ben had his own big moments, dealing with the death of a stranger, and then the new life of a family member, in a rather interesting way.  Other episodes focused more on his learning hard truths, such as the unfortunately accurate Aesop: Sometimes, cheaters prosper, but honesty is better for the long run.

It’s difficult to say that the kids ‘got along’, because for the most part, they didn’t.  They fought, squabbled, tattled, and got each other into trouble quite often.  By the same token, they also knew when to help each other.

Like I said earlier, the one thing you can say about the Seavers is that they felt absolutely genuine.  They deconstructed character types and sitcom plots regularly, and the family’s interactions felt real.  They weren’t totally saccharine, and they weren’t unbelievably nasty to one another either.  They were different from one another, (different enough to get different stories out of them for seven years) but came together when they needed it.  At the end of the day, despite the personality conflicts, disobedient kids, and unfortunate events, the Seavers loved each other, and felt like a family.

And that’s what made the show really work.

The characters had to grow and change, albeit slowly, because that’s how life works.  Growing Pains was a sitcom depicting exaggerated family life, and as such, the characters had to be memorable, as well as learn and grow.  By the end of the show, these are not the same people that we started out with.  Out of necessity, they had to grow up.  And that’s a good thing.

Thanks to the familiar format and personalities, the audience enjoyed tuning in every week to watch and laugh along with a family that we related to, that we understood.  Almost everyone can find at least a part of themselves in at least one character, and we recognize the interactions in our own lives and families.

In the end, the Seavers are good sitcom protagonists, because they hit that combination of entertainment and relatability nearly perfectly, with just the right consistency to tell stories full of heart, comedy, and tragedy, and to make it work for seven years.  They felt real, and after all, that’s the point of good characters.

Thank you guys so much for reading!  Join us next time as we discuss Growing Pains and the culture.  If you have anything you’d like to say, don’t forget to leave an ask!  I hope to see you all in the next article.

[tarysande]

Random thought I needed to get off my chest. I don’t really like that there will be a season 5 of Lucifer. I feel like season 4 while not completely wrapping up the show was really good and could work well as a series finale. I am honestly not sure how they could continue with a season 5. It feels like there is so much and too little to cover. And with one season on Netflix (10 ep) can’t or shouldn’t create a new story line. What do you think they could do? Am I missing something?

Oh. Okay. I definitely have thoughts on this. Please understand that I’m not criticizing your opinion; mine is different, though. And I’m mostly going to look at it from a big-picture, dramatic structure perspective.

The showrunners have always had a long-term plan for the show; I believe Lucifer returning to Hell of his own volition, not as punishment but as protector–as a sign of his own growth and acceptance of responsibility–was always part of that plan. I don’t, however, believe that’s where the show was ever intended to end. That said, S3′s abrupt cancelation rattled everyone. I truly believe that Joe and Ildy–unwilling to take a risk on getting another season–wanted S4 to result in a story that could be an ending, if it needed to be.

But only if Lucifer were a tragedy.

Which it is not. 

The basic difference between a tragedy and comedy is that the central character(s) either end(s) up in a worse place or a better one at the end of the story compared to where they started. At extremes (and looking at archetypal examples), this often translates to dead or married. Hamlet vs. As You Like It. 

Season 4 works–and the ending felt (mostly) satisfying, if painful–because, as a season, they structured it as a tragedy (all that angst wasn’t for nothing!). In it, they give us a beautiful, archetypal example of a noble or high-status protagonist (Lucifer), whose hamartia (or tragic error; here, revealing to Dromos that he never intends to return to Hell), begins a chain reaction that reverses his felicity (Chloe finally accepting him and offering her love/returning his love) to catastrophe (returning to Hell, the place he swore he’d never return).

But wait! There’s more!

And that more all boils down to S4′s ending feeling mostly satisfying but not entirely satisfying.

It’s because Lucifer has never been coded as a tragedy. So, giving us a beautifully crafted tragedy of a season goes against the overall coding of the show as a whole. Lucifer has not shied away from darkness, but it has never given me the impression it’s telling a story where death (physical, emotional, metaphorical) is the endgame. Lucifer has, at its heart, always been a story about forgiveness, hope, joy, love, found family, creation over destruction. It is a story where therapy (healing) plays an integral part; this season involved the protagonist finally taking the first step toward forgiving the person he most needs to forgive: himself. 

These are the elements of a dramatic comedy.

So, if Lucifer is a dramatic comedy, it cannot end with the protagonist separated from hope, joy, love, found family, ongoing forgiveness, or creation over destruction. In fact, narratively, S4′s ending is a fantastic example of what’s called a false climax. A false climax exists to trick the audience into thinking the story is near its end. More importantly, a false climax requires a reversal.

In the false climax of Lucifer, the writers tell us, “This is a tragedy. Lucifer has learned responsibility, and, as a result, he must now separate himself from everything he loves because that is the responsible thing to do.” Separation is often a hallmark of false climaxes. The true climax, which we’ll see in Season 5, should (will) address the deeper questions the show has been asking us since the beginning (the inciting incident, all the way back in S1), and which have recurred at pivotal points throughout the entire story: Where is God in all this? If Heaven and Hell are both flawed, what is the answer? Can Lucifer (and, consequently, we who identify with him) actually heal? And, most importantly, if someone strives, learns, grows, stumbles, and ultimately changes, does he (or she) not deserve to be in a better place at the end?

A tragedy would leave us with these questions. It would leave us with answers that say, “Nothing matters; we are who we’ve been created to be; free will doesn’t exist; choice is a lie; give up.” A comedy, I think, says, “This is the darkest hour, my love, but night is almost over. Let us hold each other in hope until morning comes.”

This is already long, but a couple more points to think about:

The show may be called Lucifer, but it has always been about partnership, equality, and the vulnerability this kind of relationship requires to be successful. That means Chloe is as much a protagonist as Lucifer. She, too, deserves to be in a better place at the end compared with where she was in the beginning (struggling single mom no one takes seriously; abandoned). She, too, has progressed from where she was and deserves to see that reflected in where she is as the show ends.

There’s no new storyline for S5. There’s the proper climax–the rightful dramatic comedy culmination of the growth and change and vulnerability the show has always been about. To get that, Lucifer must not remain in Hell, which means the question of Hell must be addressed. He must learn he has not been abandoned, that he is not alone, that people love him enough to face Hell to prove it. To get that, Chloe must finally have a partner who is honest, loving, and has no intention of leaving her–as her deepest fear is that the people she loves will always leave because fate wants her to be unhappy–her dad’s death; Lucifer returning to Hell–or they need more and she isn’t enough for them–Dan, Lucifer in S2, her mom to some degree. 

The showrunners wanted six seasons. I think this means that the Lilith (and/or Michael) storyline they were telegraphing in S4 may get dropped or repurposed. I believe they may have to condense things they might not want to have condensed or leave plot threads dangling they’d really rather have tied up. But, after S4, I have no doubt, no doubt whatsoever, that they’ll manage to give us the satisfying real climax the show, right down in the bones of its narrative structure, has promised us from the beginning. 

And that ending is the one where Lucifer and Chloe achieve true and lasting partnership, surrounded by the chosen family they’ve collected and come to love along the way. It may not be a physical, archetypal marriage because this show has always delighted in bucking those expectations–but the partnership, the family, will be real, it will be absolute, and, in that, we will achieve as an audience, the real catharsis we desire and deserve: striving matters, truth matters, love matters, and even with our flaws and weaknesses and stumbles and doubts and fears and guilt and shame, we are better together than apart. In fact, what’s weak in me is strong in you, what weak in you is strong in me, and if we work together, we’ll always overcome the dark.

And I’ll take that over a tragedy every single time.