#and you waste its potential for an entire season of one long drawn-out fight?

[from-here-from-me]

the fact that we did not get Richie or Carmy calling each other cousin even ONCE in season 3 is all you really need to know. not a single instance of the word cousin even found in the present day of the entire season, The Bear showrunners when I catch you!!!!!

[tatticstudio55]

Jon and Dany – both beyond the Wall at the end?

DAY SEVEN (Sunday, August 2nd) Leadership  |  Free Choice  |  DoS: Royal Retirement / Passing the Torch

This is less meta-ish and borders more on the speculative side, but I’d like to discuss a Jon and Dany (potential) ending I’ve never seen anyone talk about before: them ending both beyond the Wall, living with the free folks/as free folks. So, basically, the ending Jon got on the show, but with Dany by his side. I would even go as far as to say that the showrunners might have considered it.

This is not by any means “my ideal” Jonerys ending. That would be Jon and Dany settling on Dragonstone with a bunch of targlings and wild dragons. I do not, alas, think this is where the story is going. I do not expect either (or both) of them on the IT either. On the other hand, an ending with them both beyond the Wall seems to me like it could work with the overall story. There is already some book evidence/foreshadowing pointing to Jon’s endgame there, notably in ASOS when he (forgive my French) “finds himself” beyond the Wall:

“On the edge of the haunted forest, where the tents had been, Jon found an oakwood stump and sat.

Ygritte wanted me to be a wildling. Stannis wants me to be the Lord of Winterfell. But what do I want? The sun crept down the sky to dip behind the Wall where it curved through the western hills. Jon watched as that towering expanse of ice took on the reds and pinks of sunset.

[…]

He wanted it, Jon knew then. He wanted it as much as he had ever wanted anything. I have always wanted it, he thought, guiltily. May the gods forgive me. It was a hunger inside him, sharp as a dragonglass blade. A hunger . . . he could feel it. It was food he needed, prey, a red deer that stank of fear or a great elk proud and defiant. He needed to kill and fill his belly with fresh meat and hot dark blood. His mouth began to water with the thought.

It was a long moment before he understood what was happening. When he did, he bolted to his feet. "Ghost?" He turned toward the wood, and there he came, padding silently out of the green dusk, the breath coming warm and white from his open jaws. "Ghost!" he shouted, and the direwolf broke into a run.

[…]

He had his answer then.” Jon XII, ASOS

Dany is more of a wild card, but even the show gave us SOME reasons to believe that D&D played with the idea at some point: the pregnancy bait, Dany’s comment in 7x07 about King’s Landing and how “constrictive” the Dragonpit felt, Dany’s “we could stay here a thousand years. No one would find us” line in 8x01. Most importantly, back when I was watching season 7, this is the impression I was getting (from the showrunners):

Dany is a good person at heart, but she would not make a good queen nor would she like being queen.

I do not wholly agree with this, especially if we are talking about bookDany, who would make – and is – a much better queen than she is given credit for, but it looked to me like this is where the show was going with her. Or, at least, this is the message they were trying to communicate. They were not trying to “hide” Dany’s dark turn from the audience by making her or trying to make her bad-good-bad-good-bad-good, they simply had another endgame in mind for the character. I do not want to make this about the show but had to get this out of the way.

Now onto bookDany:

A while ago, I posted a meta where I discussed a pattern in Daenerys’s story: twice she succeeded at something magical, highly dangerous and related to dragons, and twice after she ended up in a desertic environment, thirsting, starving and nearly dying from exposition. Following the rule of 3 (which is especially predominant in her arc), it will probably happen again and – since there is no Great Grass Sea in Westeros – the “desertic environment” swallowing her afterward will be the frozen lands beyond the Wall. It could mean that she will die there, but it could also mean that she will simply disappear there. Her fate could also be revealed to the reader while remaining unknown to most characters. This would fit with Dany’s current representation in the story so far: she is an enigma, a rumor; nobody really knows her whereabouts, who she is, what she is, what she wants, what she has, if she is even real.

There are numerous parallels to be drawn between Daenerys and Mance Rayder, which I covered here. I would love the irony of Dany coming to Westeros thinking she is reclaiming her family’s lands, only to settle in the only part that was never conquered by the Targaryen. There is the (disputable, ok, but) fact that the only region in all of the continent where dragons could turn up useful for tree planting would be beyond the Wall (so frozen soil can be thawed and warmed up for plants to grow there again). Martin hung a pretty riffle on the metaphorical Wall when Silverwing refused to fly across in Fire and Blood. There is this pattern of wildling women making up Jon’s romantic prospects; first a wildling “commoner” (Ygritte), then a wildling “princess” (Val), then a wildling “queen” (Dany, eventually, if this theory proves to be correct). So of course, you will ask –

If this is Martin’s intended ending, why couldn’t the d’s just go with it?

Well, because the d’s never gave Dany any incentive to go beyond the Wall, apart from a brief rescue mission back in season 7. If Dany must end up there, something has got to bring her there and the show scrapped or discarded all of it : no Lands of Always Winter, no curtain of light, no this, no that, no nothing. And once she gets there in the books, because I am quite sure she will, she will not come back. The North is Dany’s ultimate destination. No yoyoing back and forth North and South like what the show did. That was just dumb. Travel time and distances should mean something, even if you have dragons (plus, Dany’s armies would have to travel on foot, horseback or by boat, like everybody else). The closest of yoyoing we have ever gotten in asoiaf was probably with Catelyn, it spanned three books, and she never made it back North anyway.

Did the d’s consider going with that ending? They might just. The clues were certainly there (see above…) but at some point, they must have realized that it would not work with the hole they had dug themselves in.

Now about the elephant in the room

I know some people will think that Dany ending beyond the Wall does not make much sense for her story, which technically (so far) does not have much to do with the lands beyond the Wall. In a way, I agree. Some people would also find such an ending anticlimactic to her arc and a waste after everything she has learned about leadership and politics in Meereen. I also agree. On a watsonian level, an ending with, say, Dany as a queen in Westeros – I think it works. Of course, I do. Where it does not work is on a doyalist level. Dany already had her arc of becoming queen. She achieved that by the end of book 3. Then she had to learn all the nit and gritty and dirty work of ruling over the rubble of a corrupt system while trying to make the lives better for everyone. If Dany becomes queen in Westeros, the same thing will happen again. Different setting, different people, same story. Some people have criticized the underlying message of Dany’s fight against slavery as “only a preparation” for what comes next in Westeros, saying it would undermine the real value of Dany’s work in Essos. I agree. However, the same problem applies if Dany becomes queen in Westeros: then her time in Essos is reduced to a prop up, a preparation, as if ruling Essos were somewhat less important than ruling Westeros. Furthermore, I cannot imagine an ending where Dany, still in possession of significant military forces – significant enough to secure her a crown, anyway – could choose to settle in Westeros without being plagued with guilt over leaving Essos’s slaves behind. I am sorry, I just cannot.

This is also, I think, where part of the “Dany is not a peace time queen” mentality comes from. Dany will never be a peace time queen, not because she prefers war, or because she does not want peace, but because what she is trying to achieve, in these times and places, means a lifetime of war. You cannot undo and rebuild an entire system that is rotten at its core in a single lifetime (heck, even show!Tyrion said this to her, for what the show is worth now…), much less in a few years. Dany is not a peace time queen because she is not a queen that is interested in maintaining the statue quo. At least that is how her time in Meereen revealed her. Arya would not be a peace time queen either. Jon would not be a peace time king. They could never be, less they abandoned their ideals and their ethics for a more comfortable life.

Then you might say that an ending where Dany goes back to Essos works too. It does – once again, on a watsonian level. What is the problem with this on a doyalist level? It turns Dany into a deus ex machina, coming to Westeros just in time to save it, then leaving it right after, as if neither the Others, nor her had ever been there.

The two remaining options are: either she dies a queen in Westeros, most likely during the Great War, or… the queen, Daenerys Targaryen, dies, while Dany lives.

That means that all reasonable possibilities, or choices, to keep on fighting as a queen are taken from her. Maybe her forces were severely depleted during the Great War. Maybe her dragons died. Maybe both. Maybe her function, not as an individual, but as a character in a specific story called A song of ice and fire, was to destroy an old system (AND to inspire others to follow in her footsteps, ensure that her efforts were not in vain, that the first steps will not go wasted, that the work she started will be taken up by other peoples, and others after them, and others after), not to rebuild the new one. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. Frodo Baggins’ role in The Lord of the Rings was to destroy something evil. His gardener Sam was the one who planted the trees and went on to become a mayor afterward. One was a destroyer and the other was a builder, but in the end, they were both heroes.

Not to mention that Frodo did not die at the end. You could say that he went on to live beyond the Wall too.

[muthaz-rapapa]

HealPre Final Review: Not terrible but not entirely laudable either...

*sigh* Where do I start?

Well, one thing I’m pretty sure of is that COVID definitely affected production somehow. By that, I don’t just mean the show needing to go on hiatus, resulting in a shorter run compared to previous seasons. I’m also talking about any possible changes that might’ve been made to the original narrative, if there was one.

Much like how Suite’s story had to be altered in the wake of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami disaster, I believe Heal underwent a similar treatment in response to the pandemic becoming more widespread as 2020 went on.

Especially since it dealt with health and nature, HealPre is probably the season that has come the closest in relevancy to real life events.

Frankly, that can be quite scary because this virus was and is still a fucking nightmare on a massive global scale. From that view, I can understand why the writers/producers would be concerned of the anime hitting too near home. At least for their main demographic’s (children) sake, maybe they were compelled to shift to something lighter and less edgier so that the kids could find some comfort and enjoyment in the midst of the world’s current crisis.

So I can’t fault Toei for that, if that’s really the case. Going through a pandemic is terrifying, infuriating and exhausting and UGH. We could use something that can help ease our worries or momentarily distract us even a little bit. 

Though would it have killed them to dedicate one episode to the importance of wearing a mask or washing hands? (-_- ;;)

HOWEVER! Seeing as I am not a fragile child, I’ve still got several (oho~) criticisms to air out before I put this season behind me. This review isn’t particularly scathing but...there is a lot of discontent so you’ve been forewarned.

But first, let’s tediously review what structure means in Precure.

We all know that there are certain things that will forever (?) remain fixed in the series formula.

The plot is always going to be “magical girls fight evil doers threatening to ruin the world”.

There are plot points to indicate story progression but in reality, are put there to correspond with toy releases which are usually marked by these five: introductions, first power up, midseason Cure, second power up, and build-up to the climax + finale.

There is usually a specific message (a theme) to be told with every season and motifs (narrative tools) to aid in getting that across. For HealPre, the theme is “living is fighting” and its motifs are “health” and “nature”.

I left out “animals” b/c 1) it didn’t hold as much significance as the other two did, 2) animals are part of nature anyway and 3) let’s be real, it’s just a synonym for “mascots” which we already get every year. :P

Right. I’m probably forgetting something but for the most part, these are immovable pillars of Precure.

Story, on the other hand, has more variables you can work with.

Story is how you tell the plot, how you convey the message.

Precure, as a tv series, is unarguably carried by its main stars, the Cures. So it only makes sense that a huge percentage of a season’s success owes itself to how much of an impact its characters had on the audience as well as how effective their individual story arcs were as sub-plots tying back to the bigger picture (the message/theme).

Ideally, these arcs would shine the brightest in the filler episodes, where the plot  (“good guys vs. bad guys”) is less of a focus so there is more space for personal development and growth.

Also, not all character arcs have to be directly related to the plot but they ought to be written well in order to support the overarching message (the theme).

Now, has HealPre done that? Has each girl’s story demonstrated a good example of what “living is fighting” means?

...nnnnnnyyeeee... look, even I can’t give a straightforward answer on that because while technically they did, by virtue of Nodoka’s observance in ep 44 recounting it as such, there’s also actually not enough to make it feel substantial from a viewer’s standpoint.

At least, that’s what I thought while watching HealPre.

With the exception of Nodoka’s, there was a lot of saying but not much doing to convincingly back the other girls’ arcs up. The fillers themselves were very weak, loosely composed in relation to the motifs and, if I may be so blunt, downright boring that if Nodoka didn’t phrase those episodes as things that counted towards the theme, I probably would put up more of a fight on disagreeing. so shoot me, I’m soft for her :P

And I know that sounds confusing right now but I will elaborate as I continue.

Before that though, to be utterly fair, some seasons keep their respective themes shrouded in vagueness until they’re given a more concrete form in words around the finale. So it’s not like we can do much except make educated guesses on what they really are. Most of the time, we’re just measuring everything against our perception of a standard in the fog. Or maybe that’s just me?

Nevertheless, you can just tell, y’know? By simply watching and observing the whole show, you can tell if the characterization, the development, and the outcome (essentially the content given) really live up to what the season claims is endgame.

So let’s go through that first then. The characters, starting with our lead Cure...

Nodoka being the only Cure in her team to have an arc deserving of the praise “exceptional” should come as a surprise to no one.

She was the most solid in terms of direction on how her story was going to proceed. Out of all the girls, her journey had the greatest connection to the subject “health”, repeatedly delved into it every time the spotlight was on her and fulfilled everything it seemed to promise from her debut in episode 1.

Her struggles on the road to recovery from a long-term illness and the strength she’s drawn from that traumatizing experience as well as her time as Precure did more than establish her as the strongest character in HealPre.

She has also rose to become one of the most memorable Pink Cures in the entire franchise (personally, I rank her in the top 5).

And it’s not hard to see why she’s earned such high regard in a lot of fans’ hearts.

The writers clearly worked a lot on her character composition to the point where she can pretty much embody the theme of “living is fighting” all on her own.

She came into HealPre fresh out of the hospital and full of earnest desire to make the most of her newfound freedom but she also wasn’t without knowledge on what hardship is. From there, she only got stronger, even when she was stumbling and trying to figure things out along the way. She grew more fortified in her beliefs on what it means to be truly live a healthy life.

She bravely defied the ones who attempted to take advantage of her and twist her cause against her. And she learned that taking care of herself is equally as important as wanting others to be safe from harm.

It was never about winning or coming out on top. It was about protecting a fundamental yet precious truth. That one thing any decent human being should never have to concede: the right to live well.

Honestly, Nodoka is absolutely inspiring all around, as a fictional character, a heroine and a normal everyday person.

Everything about her arc went satisfyingly right like it was meant to and the best thing is, we don’t need to question it because we saw how it all happened with our very own eyes.

I sincerely wished I could say the same for the others but sadly, they were just too flawed.

And Pegitan can throw flippers with me all day if he wants but as undeniable as the above statements are about Chiyu, her arc failed to leap over the increasingly mounting disappointment I had with every episode that’s been assigned solely to her.

Two of which weren’t even about Chiyu. One centered on Pegitan’s admiration for his partner and the other focused on her brother, Touji. Which, while nice to give to supporting/secondary characters, is a fat waste of valuable screentime and not what I’m here for.

It also didn’t help that the conflict of her arc (the indecision over choosing between two dreams) started really late in the game and was resolved so quickly within two episodes. There was no time for me to get invested into it, there was no powerful sense of conviction like how Go!Pri or Hugtto handled theirs and really, it just felt like Chiyu was only following what the script dictated for her rather than genuinely awakening to her own competitive passion towards track and field.

It was almost like it didn’t matter. Almost as if the writers procrastinated in thinking up something worthwhile to further her development...but then settled on grabbing an old idea off the shelf without refining it to suit Chiyu when they ran out of time.

This happened similarly with Minami in Go!Pri and Elena in StarPre, both of whom left me angry at how their arcs were executed. Yet theirs don’t compare to how pissed off I am about Chiyu’s. Because while Minami’s took a while to arrive, it wasn’t done poorly and linked back to Go!Pri’s theme well enough. And while Elena’s was over crammed last minute, at least it was unique to her character and had lots of potential ways to play out if they actually started it earlier on in StarPre.

Chiyu’s arc is like a discount version of the former with hardly any of the intriguing qualities of the latter. Sure, she had two early episodes that laid out the two most important aspects of her life (her family inn and her dedication to her sport) but after that, they weren’t brought up again until we were only weeks away from the ending. Y’know, just to fill up episode slots and meet the minimal requirement of saying they did give Chiyu some issue to resolve. 

It was not engaging at all.

Furthermore, the fact that her arc had very little to no relation with either “health” or “nature” hurt my appreciation of her character somewhat. I just...don’t think her kind of story really matches with the central topics of HealPre?

...but maybe I’m being bitter about this all wrong and that’s screwing up my rational thinking on this matter.

Because Chiyu’s arc is valid under the logic of the overall theme, I would never say it isn’t. And again, character arcs don’t have to be close to the plot nor is it necessary to employ the “suffering builds character” method to make them interesting.

Chiyu always does her best every day. That’s sufficient argument on why her story does fit within the frame of HealPre’s premise.

Guess I’ll just have to wrangle my resistance into acceptance somehow.

...still, her arc could’ve been done so much better than what we were given. Chiyu at least deserved that much.

Next, Hinata.

Since the beginning, I knew she was gonna be runner-up to Nodoka for having the (for lack of better term atm) “best” arc because it was heavily implied that she has ADHD and therefore, immediately checked off the “health” trait. She was even more obvious about it than Nozomi was.

Difficulty paying attention, hyperactivity, impulsiveness. Hinata didn’t just display all those signs, she also showed how hard it was for her to deal with the downsides to them on a regular basis.

She kept apologizing and put herself down excessively for inconveniencing her friends even though they never blamed her for her condition. Got them annoyed a few times, yes, but didn’t stop them from staying friends with her and definitely didn’t make them hate her either.

Everybody was understanding of Hinata...except Hinata because she always took her failures to heart and considered quitting several times to avoid the crushing dejection of making mistakes over and over again.

She got better, though, and no one could have summed it up more heartwarmingly than Nyatoran with the encouraging words he gave her at the conclusion of her arc. 

But it still feels like there’s a huge chunk of development missing between the start and finish. Or rather, it seemed like all of it occurred offscreen and we were only informed later that it did in fact, happen.

To recap, iirc, Hinata had around 5 episodes that focused on her (ep 9, 13, 23, 35 and 40). Ep 18 doesn’t count because that was a Nyatoran-centric filler more than anything.

Ep 9 and 13 did their jobs of introducing and highlighting the details of Hinata’s troubles while also suggesting she will eventually learn to overcome her insecurities. The ones after, though? They pushed those issues to the backseat.

In Ep 23, she had to share the (uneven) spotlight with Asumi. Hinata’s improvements were briefly mentioned but the majority of the ep went to teaching Asumi what “cute” meant and how to get along with puppies. I mean, I get that Asumi recently joined the group and bonding with her was mandatory by tradition. But since each Cure only gets a limited number of eps to herself, it would’ve been more beneficial for Hinata if she didn’t have to split screentime with someone else’s growth schedule.

Ep 35 is slightly better but not by a whole lot. Sure, Natasha was able to reconcile with Elizabeth which was very sweet and heck, it was the goal for that episode. But again, nothing was really done or addressed about Hinata’s main conflict. She tossed it back with the rest of her homework to deal with later. ahaha, a TroPre hint

Then ep 40 came to formally close the curtains on her story and apparently, Hinata screwed up lots of times since...whenever but she picked herself up every time after and kept on trying. Awesome. So WHY didn’t we get to see that? 

I’m not asking for the impossible here. I’m not asking for Hinata to be cured or anything miraculous like that. There is treatment available for ADHD but it is not curable.

Also, forcing Hinata to find a way to get better at studying, the thing she struggles with the most, is not the solution either because that would only make her more stressed and anxious over her own disorder.

What I want is to see how she moved from wailing “I can’t do it! I don’t wanna! I’m so scared of failing so why bother?!” to determinedly declaring “So what if I failed 1 or 100 times? So what if I fail another 1000 times? What matters is that I don’t let that stop me!”

That confidence is not something that can be built up overnight. It’s gradual and it takes numerous tries to reach from where Hinata was to where Hinata is now.

Telling me she grew emotionally stronger can only allow me to believe so much. I need to actually witness the changes as well.

If it weren’t for that, Hinata’s arc would have been a lot more impressive. Shame.

Finally............... Asumi.

Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi, Asumi... *sighs & drums fingers*

...she has no arc, ok? Seriously, what story is there to speak of, much less write a hefty analysis on?

A spirit born for the sake of Latte who just went along with the Precure ride because Latte didn’t want to abandon her duty. She made friends with those who aren’t Latte, extended her knowledge and understanding and gained valuable human experience during her stay on Earth. But ultimately, she will always define her entire existence around a puppy. 

Nothing is more important than this puppy.

...... to be honest, Asumi not having a storyline isn’t what bothers me. It’s her lack of depth that does.

Hell, even the giant burger she ate had more depth than she did!

Oh, Asumi does have a personality alright. She’s consistently and unfailingly polite, utterly devoted to her raison d’être and in crucial moments, gives pearls of wisdom when the girls are in a pinch. She’s good.

But if that’s all she is, then she’s also painfully dull.

She has nothing to contribute to the discussion of health or nature, despite being created through an element of the Earth so you’d think she’d have an opinion of her own. At least worry about the planet that gave life to her as much as she frets over Latte all the time. But nope.

She shares the exact same face as Teatine’s past Precure partner so you’d think we’d explore that connection to see if it would influence or affect her in any way. But nope.

90% of the time, her role was just being Latte’s constant, fawning satellite.

Not only did that irritate the hell out of me but it just reinforced my stance that this type of character is one of the worst you can ever insert into any narrative.

Because if someone keeps reiterating how much they’re obsessed with this one thing and seldom talks about anything else without bringing their obsession into it... then what’s so special about them on their own?

You’ve practically surrendered the different qualities you could have had for worship of something else. That’s not a fair trade-in.

Asumi’s character is so packed with Latte-related stuff that there’s not much space left for anything that can be considered uniquely Asumi.

I mean, maybe it’s because I can never see myself or any normal person comfortable with living like that.

Living for the sake of being together with the one you love? Okay. But living with your whole universe revolving around that one thing? Making most if not all decisions based on this one thing?

No. That’s absolutely crazy, alright? Nobody with a healthy amount of awareness and self-worth would live like that.

And you can counter that Asumi’s just born like that. That she can’t help her origins because Teatine’s wish to protect her daughter is essentially what brought Asumi into existence so of course, her biggest concern would be Latte. At least, she wasn’t forced into it, right? As long as Asumi chose of her own will to follow Latte, it should be fine, right?

You can even use the fact that Asumi isn’t human. That she’s a spirit and we shouldn’t apply our human standards too strictly to her.

Yea, but those are feeble defenses in the face of her being a good main character, a good main heroine. 

There are many ways to make a decent MC. The way Asumi was written proves she certainly does not possess traits that can classify her as true protagonist material. A protagonist has to be more than one amplified feature, which Asumi is not.

For the record, I don’t hate Asumi (she’s not interesting enough to generate a feeling that intense). I'm just severely let down because even if I don’t end up loving the midseason Cure for whatever reason, I can usually count on them to bring something intriguing to the table to dissect and analyze. At least I should find something to care about them.

Didn’t happen with her. :(

Oh god, I’ve been working on this post for days now and I’ve got a headache and with the baton pass happening in less than a few hours as I type this, I just really need to get it done and over with so please forgive me for speeding up through the rest, I’ll try to keep it as coherent as possible. NYARGH! (@_@ ;;)

Mascots.

Would you be surprised to hear that I’m not surprised that they were actually written very well?

Like I said early on, I suspected the return of fairy partnerships were going to improve the mascots’ significance in the story and, well, I was right. 

This time, they didn’t just fill in the usual expectations of relaying exposition, serving as the Cures’ transformation devices and looking cute for the merchandise. The Healing Animals had to make progress on their own training to become doctors as well.

And they did through their relationships with their human partners.

It was a refreshing take on the mascot aspect of the series because the friendships felt really symbiotic. When the trainees arrived on Earth, they relied on the girls to help them perform their jobs as well as provide them with shelter, food, the occasional peptalk about their trainee status, etc.

Then as the story continued and they got to know each other better, the mascots were able to return the favor by giving support when the Cures needed it. Rabirin when Nodoka was frightened and confused about how to deal with Daruizen, Pegitan when Chiyu was having trouble choosing between two dreams and Nyatoran who made sure to always lift Hinata’s spirits up when she got upset at herself.

In short, they achieved their objectives of learning what it means to be good doctors by being there for their friends! How wonderful! :D

My memory for Latte is hazy, unfortunately, since she’s coddled by everyone all the time (can’t blame them, she’s friggin’ adorable! <3) but I’ll never forget how she stood firm on the battlefield to see things through, to fight for the Earth like she promised her mother. She started out so babie but showed us all there was enormous bravery behind her cute face and ugh, we should all be very proud of her! <3

The only major issues I had about the mascots were these:

1) Too many irrelevant fillers went to them. They only needed a maximum of two for their entire mascot group.

2) Latte kept getting sick even after she acquired a Precure partner of her own. I was hoping it wouldn’t hurt her as much as it did before Asumi arrived or that she would build up a stronger immunity but noooo, they insisted on torturing the poor pupper! T_T

Villains + Finale Battle

Not a lot needs to be said for the first part. We’ve had mediocre antagonists before. HealPre’s just happened to be extra annoying as they were despicable. 

Which is worse because jerks you can just leave in the trash but assholes won’t stop harassing you unless you pummel them into their graves, set fire to their corpses and leave no trace of them behind! >:(

Y’all know who I’m talking about. Opinions on him continue to vary depending on who you talk to and if they’re avid fans of his face or not but whatever. The son of a bitch served his purpose and is dead now. That’s all that matters to me.

Anyway, the King was flat like his two lesser generals. He was neither intimidating nor distinguished enough in the brand of evil to really make us think of him as a serious threat and because of that, it ended up making the boss fight look like any run of the mill boss fight.

I know, they tried so hard with all that shiny animation but it just didn’t have that glorious sense of vindication that previous seasons (or ep 42) gave and I blame it all on this Rumiko Takahashi reject.

Also, this strategy was pretty useless?

They built it up like Earth was gonna sacrifice herself and die or something (she wouldn’t and even if she came close, deus ex machina would’ve kicked in to prevent that and COVID-induced caution too I guess). 

But there were no signs of pain (well, that’s a relief) after absorbing Shindoi-ne and they really pissed King Byogen off more than they did any damage with the absorbed byo-gen power.

...so yea, this tactic was just to kill some time and budget, nothing more. Meh.

By the way, did Asumi eject Shindoi-ne’s pathogen out of her body yet or did they just leave it in there to bounce around until it eventually dissolves on its own?

Because that’s eww. I mean, it’s obviously not gonna hurt Asumi they can both relate on hyperfocusing their affection for someone so maybe the compatibility helps :P but still, ewwwww.

Fillers + Underused Motifs

In hindsight, perhaps HealPre didn’t exactly promise the content we I wanted about “health” and��“nature” if their objective was to teach that any manner of “fighting” can count towards “living”.

......but fuck you Toei, you’re still cowards! >:/

Fillers will be fillers but it’s always better to try and make some of them as meaningful as possible. And they wasted the opportunity to inform an impressionable audience (during a very crucial period of our time, I must add) on a lot of things related to the HealPre’s motifs. Especially about the environment which for some ridiculous reason, they chose not to touch on for the main stretch of the overall story.

Proper hygiene, good diet plan and sleeping habits, regular exercise (already done by the girls a few times but could use another example), meditation, counseling/therapy (especially for mental health!), etc.

Real life pollution, climate change/global warming (IMPORTANT!!), deforestation, preservation vs conservation, endangered species, recycling, volunteering to clean up your community, etc.

These just came off the top of my head but yes, there’s more and no, I’m not saying that the writers need to cover all of them in extreme detail or replace the slice-of-life episodes.

But they should be able to mesh both serious and light-hearted together in harmony somehow. Like those fillers where the mascots saw people cleaning up littering at the park or that interaction with that arborist who taught them about wild animals and trees when the group went to visit a lake.

For health, maybe let the girls visit patients with chronic illness in the hospital or have them converse with a medical professional on some matter. Particularly if it’s got something to do with mental illness because stigma in Japan on those who are afflicted with such conditions is still prevalent and has caused a number of sad and shocking tragedies that could have otherwise been avoided if people didn’t have such outdated, judgmental mindsets.

That last part might be too dark for a children’s anime but there’s a lot more out there that is doable.

Do that without reducing it into a footnote, Toei. It is so necessary for your target audience to be aware of these issues at the age they are now. You have an almost 20-year old franchise to serve as a very effective platform. Make better use of it if you truly care about the message you’re conveying through your show!

Also, what the fuck.

The last episode was a mess. Why are you only mentioning this now when the season is already over?

This should’ve been brought up months ago!

All the things we could’ve seen the Cures done to protect the Earth without magic.

The excuse of “I didn’t know humans were so horrible!” is a shit one because everybody knows humans are deplorable trash when it comes to abusing the Earth. All the more reason why you have to persistently drill it into people’s heads that they should not be like those who don’t care or choose not to care.

One crack episode isn’t going to cut that.

God, I so want to unsee this ep just so I don’t have to end HealPre on a more sour note than it already was. *big aggrieved sigh*

Lastly (and this really is the end of my long ranting, I promise), the missing undisclosed lore.

There are few Precure seasons without a past lore of its own in the recent years. Is it a wonder, though?

Lore is mysterious and fascinating. If it involves a past Precure, even more so.

Sometimes fans might just hang onto a show because they’re curious about what happened before the main story. We’d never get the full tale of those adventures but at least, it’s fun to imagine the “prequel”.

Also, past Precure are just badass. Fact.

Strangely enough, we didn’t get that for Heal. All we know is that she was called “Fuu” and was very close to Teatine. 

Hmm. Probably one of those changes caused by COVID interference cuz I can’t imagine the writers choosing not to tell her past in the original draft.

With all that finally off my chest, I’m ready to part ways with you girls until the next All Stars (Nodoka, I’m gonna miss you so much! T_T)

HealPre wasn’t the worst and it was nowhere near the best that it had the potential to be. But it’s passable. At least for those who loved it even with its flaws, I’m genuinely glad it was good for you.

For those who are thinking about picking it up (although why you would read this spoilery post before watching, I have no idea), if you’re looking for a standard magical girl anime to enjoy casually, then this is a safe pick. If you really want to invest your attention and heart into it, though? Then perhaps it would be in your interest to ask someone who saw it already to help you filter out the episodes that are worth watching. You don’t need to worry about the rest, they’re inconsequential. :P

Ok then! Thanks for reading as always, brave souls who have reached this point. 

Stay healthy and safe out there and I’ll see you at the beach next week! Tropic underwater paradise here we coooooommmmmeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!! xDDD

[truthbeetoldmedia]

Fear of ‘Moonlighting’: The Consequences of Refusing to Commit

What is “moonlighting”? Also known as “Shipping Bed Death”, it’s the phenom by which the audience loses interest in a story after the main couple finally gets together. The anticipation of characters becoming an item is believed to be more interesting to viewers than the actual conclusion of the romantic arc; the conflict that permeates a “will they/won’t they” relationship naturally disappears once the couple finally decides they will.

Exacerbating the problem is the fact that many writers don’t know how to successfully write a happy, healthy relationship; believing that internal conflict is the only way to maintain audience investment, the characters undergo just as much drama while together as they did apart.

Here’s the thing about the moonlighting curse: it’s not a real thing.

Audiences who become invested in a story primarily because of the potential for a relationship between two characters (also called “shippers”) have a rough go of it: in many cases, either tantalizing hints of a romance will be dropped but never capitalized on throughout the entire run of a TV show in order to maintain a level of anticipation, only to receive the satisfaction of the “happily ever after” at the very end — and sometimes not even that; or the couple will get together earlier on but be thrown apart continuously by manufactured drama, until the characters themselves are unrecognizable or the relationship is no longer worth investing in.

Creators who are unwilling to forgo the tension of a will they/won’t they relationship for the satisfaction of finally allowing two characters to get together run the risk of stagnating their plot (because there are only so many places characters can go if you refuse to move them forward), losing the interest of your audience (who become impatient if a slowburn ship is dragged out too long), and/or ruining a relationship that is the foundation of the show (because if romantic tension isn’t resolved by committing to a relationship, it tends to dissipate unsatisfactorily).

Many, many couples have fallen victim to the idea that happy couples make for bad TV, or that constant drama is needed to keep a relationship interesting. Mindy and Danny (The Mindy Project), Ross and Rachel (Friends), Arizona and Callie (Grey’s Anatomy), Blair and Chuck (Gossip Girl) and Damon and Elena (The Vampire Diaries) are all examples of relationships that happened relatively early and ultimately ended up being the endgame, but with so much drama in the middle that rooting for them in the end became impossible.

On Teen Wolf, Stiles and Lydia share their first kiss in the third season but then, when the writers were unwilling to commit to the relationship so soon, were kept apart until the show’s final season. Although technically dating in Season 6, their screen time was extremely limited due to Dylan O’Brien’s other filming obligations, there was no emotional payoff, and the series ends on an extremely underwhelming note for the couple.

Bones and Booth on Bones suffered through six seasons of a will they-won’t they relationship before finally getting together; although the couple were married for a number of seasons, the manner of them getting together was underwhelming, by skipping out on the resolution to the tension entirely and jumping ahead to when they were already domestic.

Likewise, Mulder and Scully of The X-Files have an extremely drawn out slowburn of a relationship (with the showrunner even going so far as to claim that there would never be a romance between them), finally becoming romantic in Season 7. However, unlike with Bones and Booth, Mulder and Scully’s happily ever after didn’t last forever; the couple split up offscreen sometime between the old series and the beginning of the new one, and the end of Season 11 (which is likely also the end of the series) doesn’t provide a satisfactory resolution to their relationship.

Starbuck and Apollo on Battlestar Galactica were soulmates who had a deep and admitted love for each other — including “one night that lasted forever”; their relationship was passionate in both its love and anger, and they were more vulnerable with each other than they could be with anyone else. A relationship of such a strong nature unsurprisingly attracted a large number of viewers, but it was never capitalized on and fizzled to an unsatisfying end.

The one that sits closest to my heart and stings the most is Bellamy and Clarke on The 100. The 100 has been my favourite show for a handful of years now, Bellamy and Clarke have been among my favourite characters, and the relationship between them has been, without a doubt, one of the best things about the series.

Originally at odds, Bellamy and Clarke bonded over the fact that they became the de facto leaders of the Hundred — a group of under-aged criminals sent to Earth to see if it was survivable in the series premiere. Throughout the series, Bellamy and Clarke become extremely close, with a number of undeniably romantic cues teeing them up to become a couple at some point in the future.

And then Season 5 happened, using a six year time jump as an excuse to put Bellamy in a relationship with another woman and shattering everything about Bellamy and Clarke’s relationship that had made it special. It remains yet to be seen whether Bellamy and Clarke will ever get back to the same place they were in emotionally in the Season 4 finale, never mind progressing any further romantically. Even if they do become romantic in some distant future, it’s unclear whether all the waiting will have been worth it; many fans have become exhausted with the constant dragging out of the relationship and feel that their special bond has already been damaged beyond repair.

The perceived inability of a show to maintain a long-lasting relationship speaks more to the skill of the writer than it does to the disinterest of the viewers. Many shows have proven that they cannot only succeed but thrive when committing to their central couple before it’s too late in the game; fans of these pairings don’t simply disappear overnight after the couple becomes “canon” but instead continue to support them, watch for them, and take joy in their obvious love.

If you’re a character on a Mike Schur comedy, your odds of getting a happy ending are pretty high; Jim and Pam (The Office), Leslie and Ben (Parks and Recreation), and Jake and Amy (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) all had relationships that progressed naturally to dating and eventually to marriage, with minimal squabbles or manufactured drama along the way.

Barry and Iris of The Flash are the “Gold Standard” (according to Barry Allen himself) of the CW’s DCVerse. Best friends since childhood, the two harbour mutual romantic feelings for each other over the show’s first two seasons before getting together at the end of the second season. Barry and Iris face all the problems a superhero faces together, and even got married in the show’s fourth season. Their relationship has been the foundation of the show every season, something that is only enhanced by their marriage.

On Fringe, Peter and Olivia were the perfect example of a flawlessly written slowburn relationship. From colleagues to best friends and beyond, the romantic nature of their relationship is established in no uncertain terms at the end of Season 2. Pulled apart by circumstance in Seasons 3 and 4, they always manage to find their way back to each other; their love for each other is what saves them. After a long journey of fracturing and healing and reconnecting, they finally get their happy ending in the fifth season.

And it can be hard to find love in a post-apocalyptic wasteland like the one on The Walking Dead, but somehow Glenn and Maggie managed. They had a classic relationship that started in the second season and provided many of the show’s few happy moments; they were tender, humorous, and heartwarming. The two even get married, before Glenn meets his unfortunate end in the show’s seventh season. Even then, Glenn’s last words ensure that his love for Maggie — and her love for him — will continue on long after: “I’ll find you.”

Why did these couples succeed? Simple: the central conflict of the show was never about whether they would get together and so when they did, the show didn’t fall apart. A good writer will recognize that while there is obvious tension between two characters who are attracted to each other, that tension doesn’t just vanish when they get together, it just manifests differently.

There are ways to insert tension into a relationship without it resulting in a breakup or infidelity or some other heinous act that makes it difficult or impossible to root for the couple anymore. Or instead of using internal conflict, make the conflict external, and have the couple face it together. On Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Jake and Amy’s first fight is over a mattress — which was only a metaphor for each person’s uncertainty over their partner’s commitment to the relationship. On The Flash, Barry and Iris even go to couples counselling to solve their communication issues.

These are just a few examples of something that has become more common in recent years: the idea that love sells, just as well as anticipation does. People turn to TV for stories of hope and comfort, and would rather see themselves reflected in a relationship that is long-lasting and realistic than one with so many twists and turns that you lose sight of which way is up.

Here’s a message to all TV writers: yes, romantic tension is great — even essential — and can suck viewers into your story, but it has an expiry date. Your most passionate viewers will be borne from the potential of a relationship, but they are also the ones you risk turning against you should you waste that potential.

It’s not progressive or “edgy” to refuse to label a relationship as romantic or to avoid following the “obvious” storyline; the very reason people root for a romance is because the path towards it is well-lit and well-laid. And the rare chemistry between two actors which often leads to people shipping their characters isn’t something that should be squandered, it should be capitalized on.

As a writer, your first and only priority should be to the characters you’ve created and the relationships you’ve nurtured, not the conflict that drives them apart or the shock of an unexpected ending. Anything else is not only a disservice to the integrity of your show but to the fans, whose viewership and investment are what keeps it on the air.

[meandmyechoes]

I'm SO Angry about Joran's finale

Look, I knew where I was heading, and I'm not even upset I invested a month's time to what any seasoned viewer can sniff a "14 and edgy" show. But boy, am I so ANGRY over something I haven't in a while (Giselle face)

Tell me why a show starts with four women in the cast somehow lets the only male character steals the spotlight in its own finale?

Who even is the fucking main character at this point. I'm so sorry Yuki and Rinko, they did you so dirty. The cool sword fight isn't even cooler than episode one. With a little thought, I do understand the narrative weight of Yuki confronting her family's killer(s), (and I think her explanation about closing the book is sound in her defense, albeit my disagreement), but the duel does not convey emotional weight. You either talk it out or fight it out and what we see, is someone who was fighting Wolverine bare-fisted last week, lost, in her transformed state. And these people essentially just, die?, to avoid therapy. I can excuse Sawa reserving fighting Jin since she still wants answers from him and she's been shown having a soft heart, but how do you explain her ebbing power level? Can't she beat Jin, talked it out, and agreed to let him go/him slipping away after an emotional revelation? AGENCY.

Kuzuhara Jin. I don't mind his story. But um… he's also the only character that had an entire episode of backstory, hmmm wonder why that is. I obviously do not pity him, or hold particular high praise for his tragic backstory. It was alright, it was believable, for his later actions as well. And I know I see relationships not default as romance unlike most outside people, but i'm not the only one a little lost on what he feels for Sawa. To me it's very simple, he sees Sawa as a vessel for his guilt and redemption. After the backstory, we have confirmation he does care for her as to repay her mother's kindness. And I think that would've been enough. Showing Jin more fatherly with Sawa would've been a nice echo with Sawa and Asahi, and clear up the confusion caused by ep9 where some sre led to believe he has romantic feelings for her. Therefore, I def. think his confession about Sawa's mother is an overkill. Like, we get that from the flashbacks, but it's still pretty iffy to hear it.

I'm already think of rewrites before I can even finish shouting about what's bad. I think in the original timeline where Sawa's brought to the Palace, had a brief alliance with Jim to take down Yoshinobu, then duels Jin for the truth and dies im her arms would've made me less angry, even though that's the most "traditional" route you can think of. In every arc she fights a big bad and in the last, cumulative masterpiece of a finale she just… dies? And Boy, there's isn't even a close-up of her beautiful face while the hopeful dialogue tortures the audience.

It doesn't make no fucking sense that Sawa died. And it doesn't make no fucking sense Rinko literally backstabbed her. It wasn't even a heroic departure. Rinko doesn't have enough personal beef to kill her which just make her seem petty and insensible. They wasted Rinko as a villain and tgey wadted a friends-to-enemies arc for her.

First off, Sawa didn't get the big hero vs boss fight; then she dies without a close-up for cinematics and— after all these hardships she still didn't get to live?? Also like, didn't you show her supernatrural healing abilities in ep 1??? She knows that right? Why doesn't she run straight to a doctor? (okay the stab would was probably more gruesome than shown given it's Rinko and she knew her time is running out so she'd rather stay with Asahi—) Even Jin, your big male saviour, asked her to live, and the show decides to kill her off?? What kind of lesson is it supposed to deliver? "Life is unpredictable" or "Finish the job or they'll finish you"? Do you just like negating your own characters??

I think it'd be better if Arc 2 and 3 switch places if they are to stay within a similar amount of plot. They could've introduced Rinko earlier and really give her the narrative foil antagonist (and duel) she deserves as man-made/orders/past vs Sawa's nature/choice/future. Heck might as well push back the Janome plot by two episodes, show more Nue's Angels bonding to warrant why Tsuki earns a namesake in Hana's daughter. (And please dwell into his/her queerness, and make his fall more convincing)

I wishfully wished Hana would fight but I know it's a long shot. At least she didn't die. Or so I thought. I can't help but read the reason her daughter is travelling with Asahi is because she and his cheerful editor husband are both murdered - while Sawatsuki is so young that their death doesn't seem to bother her? I fucking hate that implication, but I wouldn't be surprised if THIS show pulled this on us.

Are they suggesting Asahi is gonna become the new executioner or at least, seek revenge for her sister? Let's put aside if and how she finds out who murders her. But Why. Not why would Asahi want to avenge her sister, but why would you take a character established by hope and second chance, to take on an old path? To be haunted by the same ghost her sister suffered for a decade?

Why does the show decides "history repeats itself" is a good message to send? That one should always be confined by the past and revenge is the only way to seek solace? That a cycle of violence is "cooler" than recovery and honouring a loved one's legacy positively?

I called Asahi obtaining blue blood weeks ago, because they have to show her inheriting Sawa's legacy one way or another, and this is the simplest way. But like you could have the blue blood doing positive change?! Like rebuilding the Karasumori village to take in orphans?? The blue blood helping "find dragon veins" to sustain their own economy if we so follow thy own setting? I'm just, at a loss by the end of an episode. Granted, the epilogue is pretty open-ended to me, and it's obvious teasing the stage play. Objectively its sale and popularity in no way gurantees a second season, and I'm not sure what story they can tell either.

This show, is beautifully drawn, and beautifully orchestrated, yet it fell short in throwing in every wow factor a teenager's "edgy" debut story would have to pass for hooking the audience interest. They need to learn how to edit. I'd like it better if the scale just draws in a little and flesh out a personal story. In the end, I'm more disappointed in its lost potential if only it was handled more sophisticatedly than I can be bothered by how they did the characters dirty.

[themachiavellianpig]

The Walking Dead, Episode 5: Never Meet Your Heroes

Episode 5 of The Walking Dead, and we spend a little longer in Hilltop, plus see what freedom looks like after a decade spent in an Alexandrian basement. This episode is divided into four or so minor plot lines, all of which build nicely on what has come before and points towards some interesting future developments, but the rapid cutting between different plotlines does make some scenes feel far too brief before the audience is snatched away to check in with another group.

As always, full review and spoilers below. Turns out I have quite a lot to say this week, make of that what you will. 

The plotline which I was most looking forward to after last week’s episode was Negan’s, a sentence which I am very surprised to find myself writing but I suppose that’s the joy of Season 10. The trailer for this episode had shown Negan working with a young man who, it was strongly implied, had something to do with his escape, but that turns out not to be the case; Negan refuses to tell his new friend how he got out of the cell, which leaves me nearly hoping for a dramatic reveal later in the season of just which Alexandrian decided to let the monster out of his cell. (My money’s on Carol, because why the heck not). 

As we follow Negan and Brandon, one of the creepier characters we’ve met for a while, we get a fascinating window into how the Negan Mythos has developed during his incarceration. The way in which stories morph over time is something we’re all familiar and, given the reluctance of the Grimes family to discuss the Saviour War in any great detail, it’s not at all surprising that some people believe that Negan did actually force Rick to cut off Carl’s arm, or that Negan was the one to kill Carl during the war. 

I’m not even all that surprised that Negan would be disturbed by such rumours; he has always been a man who likes to think of himself as principled, and he was always fond of Carl, in his own way. We see more of this “good-guy Negan” when he encounters a woman and her son, Milo; he saves them from a small pack of Walkers and plans to get them safely to Hilltop, along with an actually quite sweet scene in which Negan tries to explain what airplane rides were like to young Milo, who is far too young to have ever experienced such things for himself. 

Of course, we can’t actually has an ongoing plot-line in which Negan just helps people out, so the show thoughtfully provides us with the character of Brandon, whose father was a Saviour and who seems to have brought up on stories of the “good old days” under the rule of Negan. His intensity is disturbing from the very beginning and just gets steadily worse as he offers Negan a new Lucille, his old jacket, and then tries to bond with Negan over rating walkers on hotness and taking advantage of the weak. 

The final ‘twist’ in Brandon’s arc - that he killed a defenceless woman and child to ‘prove’ himself a true Saviour - was broadcast as clearly as most major sporting events, but it was still fairly impactful, if only for the way in which Negan totally lost it. With Brandon beaten to death, Negan takes up Lucille 2.0 and the iconic leather jacket and saunters boldly into Whisperer territory, where he makes a heck of a racket before being smacked down by Beta - and that’s one fight I dearly hope we see the rest of in our next episode. 

The Walking Dead has been playing around with the question of Negan’s redemption for a season and a half now, but I’m really holding out for them not to waste our time with a “Negan’s joining the Whisperers, honest!” plotline. The Whisperers means and aims have nothing in common with the rules which Negan used to value so highly - siding with them would make no sense. 

Trying to lull them into a false sense of security and then beating them all to death, however? That would make plenty of sense. Negan’s supposed principles have never been incompatible with gratuitous violence.

(Gruesome Kill of the Week also goes to Negan for his frankly unnecessary use of barbed wire to slice a Walker skull in half.) 

Meanwhile, back at Hilltop, Ezekiel has a dramatic cough and a tragic keepsake, both obvious signposts for someone not long for this world, and Ezekiel knows it as well. His reveal of likely thyroid cancer to Saddiq comes with the quiet melancholy of a man who knew that the treatment which had saved two generations of his family from the same disease was no longer an option for him. His decision not to tell Carol anything, even when Saddiq sets up a private radio chat between the two, is just the kind of deliberate miscommunication that really grinds my gears in a survival situation. 

The diagnosis of a terminal illness comes with its own practical considerations in the world of The Walking Dead; should Ezekiel die in his sleep and reanimate quickly, he would potentially pose a massive risk to his community. We’ve seen this before (the illness in the prison, back in season 3), and Ezekiel’s reluctance to tell anyone the truth of his condition is potentially a selfish act, trading his own comfort and desires for the safety of others. 

Hilltop has more than just a ticking time-bomb to worry about, though, as supplies have been going missing, and Kelly’s been lost on a hunting trip. We return to the issue of Kelly’s declining hearing, first pointed out to us in the first episode of the season, along with all the complications of trying to adapt to such changes in the Land of the Dead. Her hearing fading out at just the wrong moment means that she doesn’t hear just how loud the noise of the injured boar is - or the approach of the walkers drawn in by the noise. 

Kelly is tracked down by Daryl and Connie, who’s adorable budding relationship continues to be adorable, let’s be honest here. Daryl’s still working on his ability to sign, but for a character who could in the past go entire episodes without speaking at all, he’s really keen to be able to communicate with Connie. Through a mixture of sign, speaking loudly and clearly and just writing some stuff down, he manages to tell a funny story about his own sibling. The relationship between Daryl and Connie has been built up enough that his decision at the end to help her keep a secret to protect Kelly feels understandable, even justified. 

The deteriorating relationship between Yumiko (who, sidenote, might be the new leader of Hilltop? I’m not clear, but everyone is very comfortable taking all the problems to her) and Magna is dealt a few more blows this week; between the revelation that Magna has been the one stealing supplies and the final, cruel reveal that Magna actually was guilty of the crime which Yumiko once got her cleared for all adds up to a couple on its last legs - which often leads to a sudden and gruesome death, which I would really like not happen here, at least not before we get a better explanation for why the hell Magna was stealing those supplies. Is she planning to leave? Does she want an emergency stash? How did she convince Kelly to help? 

FInally, we spend a little more time with the Whisperers, including some more hints that Alpha’s control over the Whisperers is not as absolute as she would like it to be, when her strategy of inflicting “tiny nicks” on the communities is challenged by a Whisperer who just wants to overrun them all. Hilariously, Alpha actually puts this idea to a vote - which receives absolutely zero support from the surrounding Whisperers, who are very good at reading a room - and then personally demonstrates the power of “tiny nicks” on the poor Whisperer in question before letting Beta slit his throat. 

Alpha’’s plan to destabilise the communities seems to be progressing on to chemical warfare, as we watch Gamma gut walkers and leave their entrails spilling out into a creek. These actions are also seen by Aaron, who temporarily goes back to being a Nice Guy long enough to offer Gamma a bandage for her injured hand and even tries to make some friendly conversation with her. 

This sort of fraternisation is, of course, immediately reported back to Alpha, who makes various vague comments about masks and Gamma’s need to wear a different one in order to connect with Aaron; given that Alpha can’t send a sleeper agent into Alexandria without risking the group finding out about Lydia’s continued survival, I assume that the plan will be to feed Aaron misinformation or to even try and pull information out of him via an apparently-wavering Whisperer. 

I have to admit, I really want to see more of the Whisperers actually interacting with other communities; the Cold War paranoia needs some sort of release, ideally before it drives our characters to do something intolerably stupid. 

Next week, it looks like we get to see Negan trying to make some friends, while Carol talks Daryl into a risky mission to deprive Alpha of a horde or two.  

Find previous Season 10 reviews here.