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calliecat93 · 6 years ago

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Top 5 Things I Liked About RvB16: The Shisno Paradox

Yesterday, I posted my Top 5 Things I Disliked About RvB16. I don't like talking about negatives, but I had things that I wanted to talk about. I did my best to be reasonable and fair,, and I hope that those who read it had an enjoyable read. But the good news is that with the negative out of the way, I can now talk about the positives! Yay!!!

As I said in the Dislikes post, I think that this was a good season. It has issues, and I do understand why some didn't like it even outside my problems with it. Bu I ultimately had a really fun time watching it and it left far more good impressions on me than bad. Plus no matter what, positive feedback is just s important as negative since it lets the showrunners know what they're going right and even they deserve encouragement. That's what I like to do, encourage people.

So without further ado, lets begin!

#5. Expanding the series mythos

I know that adding the Cosmic Powers didn't catch on to everyone, and I understand why especially before the AI reveal came out. But even before then... I was okay with having Gods and more mysticism. Is it different? Yeah, and with how the show had always been sci-fi for over a decade and a half, I can get how jarring it came off. But for me personally, I was with going this route. Why? Well... first, I always like that kind of stuff. I like mysticism and fantasy, so seeing RvB indulge in it I thought was cool and could even be funny. Now that one is pure personal taste, of course.

The other reason though? It's because the universe was FINALLY expanding. For nearly all of the series run, it had been attached to Project Freelancer. I don't know about anyone else, but I was ready to see new stories. With Church dead for good, Freelancer pretty much dead, and with Wash and Carolina now having some form of closure and now having new developments open, if the show wanted to keep going then it was going to have to try some new stuff. I kinda see this move as a back to basics move. Back to when the show was absurd, illogical, and just plain crazy. Remember, Church being an AI wasn't planned, he really was just a ghost initially.

This is what I can see something like Blood Gulch doing if it had the budget and wanted to do more character development. And there IS an explinaiton to it. The Cosmic Powers are AI stored in the Monitor Body that Caboose put Epsilon in. Which remember, Epsilon had a bit of a God complex during that time. It explains where the 'shisno' slur came form, the Cosmic Powers used it to describe the prophecy and the Aliens adopted into their vocabulary. It only adds new mythos, but explains and uses bits of old gags form RvB as a starting point like Recollection did with Blood Gulch. That is the kind of writing I like, finding little things to expand on, even if it wasn't planned to be.

It was just cool for me. It expanded RvB;s universe, using old things and creating new mythos form it. But most of all, this opens the door to new stories and character development opportunities. It adds to the possibilities, not limit them. With how several ongoing plots have closed the door, I was ready to see new ones open since there was still plenty of potential to bring out. Is it more out there than it has been in a while? Yeah, that's a fair point. But for me? It was enjoyable and nice to see new orotundities open. Lets hope that even more spring up in the future~

#4. Tucker and Sister Plotline

Okay, okay, I know that some had MAJOR issues with this. Mainly in regards to how Tucker's character was handled. He was an asshole, narcissistic, and really entitled about Sister. I know that MANY had issues with this, especially when taking into account his character development during the Chorus Trilogy. If you feel that way, I respect your opinion and I'm sorry that it felt like it was a downgrade. But... this is my opinion, and as I said during the season... I thought it was what he needed.

While Tucker HAS developed and become a good soldier, we never really saw him get over his womanizing and ego issues. He took his responsibility more seriously and become a better fighter who can and will jump to the call when needed. But he's still always been a narcissistic moron. It made sense to me, especially in Episode 4 when he and Sister talked about wanting to go back to the “good old days” where Tucker didn't have to worry about anything anymore. Back when things, like friends getting shot, just kinda resolved themselves with no consequences. With what happened to Wash and now being able to live out those days again... well, Tucker took it and it was understandable why. I admit, as I said in the Dislikes post, it could have been been emphasized and clarified MUCH better, but you can still spot it.

I felt that this was the natural next step in Tucker's development. For him to recognize that in the good old days, he was a pretty sucky person. He can't go back to that, as Sister made clear. Sister was THE perfect character to pair with him for this, and she also benefited from it. To me in S5, Sister was an unnecessary late addition that really only advanced Grif's character (and even then only slightly) and was just a way to add more s*x jokes. She was a wasted character imo... until now. While she's still overly s*xual, there's a sense of experience and maturity to her as well. She's had her own shit going on and yeah she wants to get away form it, but for her it seems more like to have a breather than to ignore her responsibilities. And really, she handled Tucker's behavior MUCH better than I would have.

Sister became a character. Not just another excuse for s*x jokes. Not just for Grif's character (even if I wish they DID have some more moments in this), she was a character for herself. She didn't take Tucker's shit, and she ultimately threw in his face everything wrong with his mindset when he disrespected her. She wasn't cruel, but she was upfront and honest and later after cooling down, she had a calmer talk with him. Tucker NEEDED someone to throw his shit in his face, which to my recollection while some showed annoyance, no one ever called him out for it. This was the first time that this trait got put in a serious light, kinda like Grif's laziness and hatred of work last season. I thought it was VERY effective... sure the paradox may have undone it, but it was still something that imo was a long time coming.

Was the plotline perfect? No, and I can admit that even I got annoyed at Tucker and was hoping that he'd shape up. But at the same time, for a character to develop, sometimes we have to see them in a negative light and not like them for awhile. I didn't like Blake in V4 of RWBY, but I knew why she was written like she was and in the next two volumes I adored her more than I ever had before. I'm hoping that once the paradox stuff is fixed, that'll be the case for Tucker. But ultimately, I found their plot fun, it made me like Sister as a character, and I felt like Tucker got some long overdo focus on his more... problematic traits in a way that made sense. I hope that whatever happens with Tucker next will be more satisfactory for people, but in this case, it was for me.

#3. Donut became a character again

This kinda ties into the last one. You know how I just said that Sister finally became a character? Well she wasn't the only one. Donut... holy shit, DONUT.

Now this case differs form Sister as Sister was mainly the victim of unfortunate timing. Because she got added in S5, the final season of Blood Gulch, there simply wasn't time to do anything with her. Donut though... has been around since the beginning. He was at first some regular rookie, then after he got the Lightish-Red armor he became more flamboyant and dense. But his optimism compared to this teammates and being shown to have SOME competence (remember, HE killed Tex the first time), he was able to stand out. But after Blood Gulch and because he had to be shafted so much, he became less and less important and eventually just became the source of gay innuendo jokes. S15 even forgot to add him to certain scenes. Donut... really had no point anymore, and no one seemed interested in doing anything with him, even pointing out how he gets the short end of the stick and forgotten so much.

Well, clearly Joe listened because ho boy, he went and turned that around! While Donut wasn't in the majority of episodes, what we did get very much left their impact. You feel nothing but terrible for him. While he's a gullible idiot, he was sincerely trying to do what he thought was the right thing and help his friends. Friends who, as per usual, don't care or belittle him. The difference? Donut gets annoyed by it. Before, Donut didn't really react, or it was ignored. Now? Nope! He recognizes his treatment and is tired of it. This adds layers. It shows that Donut DOES recognize his treatment and that it DOES bother him. But at the same time, we see that he still cares for his friends as even when mad at them, he makes sure that Chrovos agrees for them to be safe. That really shows his devotion that they sadly have yet to realize.

For a long time, Donut had been both my least favorite Red and my least favorite of the Blood Gulch. Why? Because in my view, he had zero purpose. But this season completely turned that around. Donut got to show competence again. How the others treatment of him does effect him, but not in a way that makes him look unsympathetic. You can tell how Chrovos' manipulated him and understand how he fell into it outside just general gullibility. And they did so without getting rid of his past character traits, so if you did like Donut you don't lose that. And then the finale... well we'll get to that later. Joe said in an interview that he realized that since no one did anything with Donut, he could do essentially anything, and by golly did he. IDK where he stands on my Character Rankings, but he's now Number 3 on the Reds list (2 is Simmons and 1 is Grif, for those wondering), and hopefully the momentum with him just keeps coming hard into S17!

#2. Grif Development

While Donut had some good development, the character who by far had the most and the best is Grif. Last year already did a good job in having him get fed up, quit, realize that he needs his friends, and go back and help. The only downside is he spent the majority of the season off-screen. This time not only does his development take the natural next step (addressing his hatred of adventures and how he tends to try and avoid/complain about things), but we get to see it in full. To compare, last season Grif was in nine episodes out of 21. This time out of 15 episodes, he was only absent for one. So we get to see the Refusal to the Call in all it’s glory! Whoo~

I've gone on and on about Grif's development several times. I even did a huge ass analysis on this and S15. But to keep it on this season solely and in trying to summarize as much as possible, Grif's development was perfectly done. This was him trying to avoid the plot in favor of going after pizza, no matter how much shit gets thrown at him. But he of course, keeps failing at every turn and only makes it worst on himself. He doesn't try to fix the problem, he just keeps his focus on this pizza, and then provoking it's existence, until O'Malley happens and he's stuck with Huggins. Now of course, it's understandable why Grif does this, he's been through various adventures and just wants to do something mundane for once. And as usual, the universe just refuses to let him and it's affecting him.

After getting backstabbed by O'Malley and stranded though, Grif meets Huggins. She's a very positive, but stable character who at first he wants nothing to do with due to her being connected to everything that he wants to avoid. But once he comes around out of necessity, he... improves himself. Not only does Huggins win him over with her positive personality and really his own boredom, but Grif starts talking about his problems and how he feels stuck. Through most of S16, he's been shown as angry, frustrated, and prone to fits, including shooting at others. Something he wouldn't really do otherwise. And a lot of it seems to be because he didn't have a proper way to cope outside his inner circle. He needed someone to talk to not connected to his daily life and who can point out his flaws, but give him positive reinforcement and steer his focus in the right direction. Huggins did that by befriending him, listening to him, and pointing out how just avoiding and complaining about the problem does nothing. Grif clearly doesn't like hearing this... but he DOES listen, and he DOES shape himself up.

After Episode 9, where he and Huggins have those talks, Grif changes his attitude. Sure he can still be annoyed, but he's not complaining or trying to ignore the problem. He gets everyone else to focus, gets some kind of reward for his efforts with the Sword, encourages everyone to listen tot he Cosmic Powers word, and his attitude is overall more positive and lax. He's joking around, he's not lazing off, he's trying to get things done and fix the problem. And after finding out about Wash, while Grif does go along with the plan, you can tell that he was weighing the options and he does feel genuine guilt for pretty much betraying Huggins. But Wash is his friend, and as S15 showed in the end it's his friends that come first, the consequences be damned.

Grif has really, REALLY benefited from these past two seasons. A lot of his behavior has been given a more serious light, and in turn it’s given him more depth. Joe has actively tried to give him development, and damn he has done an awesome job. Grif's arc has been fantastic to watch, and add it to Geoff's absolutely perfect performance, and you've got a great arc that I'm hoping continues into the next season. This was almost Number One, but was just barely edged out... kinda.

What is Number One? Well, no point in stalling. Here it goes.

#1. The Finale

I guess putting an entire episode on here is kinda weird, but there's a reason. The four things I already listed? This is the culmination of all of those, and so much more. This hits all of those points very well. The mythos goes into effect with Genkins efforts and the resulting paradox, leading to what we can only assume is some altered timeline. While Tucker and Sister's stuff isn't quite prevalent here, it is Tucker accepting his missteps and his care for Wash that leads them to where they are and he shows his competence again, and Sister before got him out of his funk while having a much more civil talk to him. It's where Donut shines at his best, deciding to stick by his friends, fight O'Malley through time, and have what may be the most badass fight sequence/moment in the show. And Grif's development comes at full force as he puts all the pieces together, faces Genkins, ignores the pizza because of the mission, and once he realizes the reality of what's going to happen, he goes to stop it. It's futile, but hey he tried.

This episode was just executed so perfectly. Aside from Seasons 10 and 13, this may very well be the best season finale in the show. I mean the Donut vs O'Malley fight alone is frekain' amazing. Cinematic, well coordinated and animated, uses multiple sets and uses them to their full, and still had plenty of humor in it. It was just amazing with a frekain' great payoff. But even outside it, there were some great moments, For example, Simmons pretty much coordinating everyone in taking out the Blues and Reds. Yes, Simmons. His development has always been subtle, so seeing him step up after getting some encouragement form his future self was just fantastic. Really, the finale tied in essentially all the plot points, even the stupid ones, very well. Which is what any good finale should do, and they did so in a very effective way. When it was over, I was just left numb. I felt more numb than I did when RWBY V3 ended, and I was a mess after that. Suffice to say, it did it’s job well/

And of course, there is how it ended. The ending leaves so many questions for the next one, but it ends S16 so perfectly. The bad guy essentially wins and the reset with everyone's memories gone and Genkins replacing Church is extremely concerning. But it really ends the season well and hammers in the point. Don't screw with the past. You can't change it. You have to focus on who you are now, not who you were then. The Reds and Blues didn't do that, but their reasoning is very understandable and canon left implications that just maybe everything will be fine if they save Wash. They were wrong. Now, as the song says, everything is f*cked up. Can they remember and fix it? What's in this new timeline? What is Genkins going to do nos that he’s in power?

As the saying goes, only time will tell.

And that's the list! To me, this was a super fun season that left me satisfied and wanting more. I know that it didn’t catch on to everyone, but for me as someone who was watching an RvB season as it was airing for the first time, I had a ton of fun watching it. That’s what matter sin the end, having fun. It gave that to me, especially since I was going through some pretty rough times during it. It helped me get through those days, and I am always going to be grateful to it for that.

On March 9th, RvB Season 17: Singularity will debut and pick up form where we left off. Do I have concerns? Maybe a little, but so far I've enjoyed Joe and Jason Weight's work. I have faith in them to deliver something unexpected but good. No matter what though, I plan to see the end through. Because you do not do a finale like that and not expect me to not come back. So S17, bring it on!

Thank you all for reading, and I hope that this was a fun read! I’ll try to get some more RvB stuff out before the season starts, so keep an eye out. Until then, I'll catch you all next time~

#rvb #rvb16 #callie reviews #rvb reviews

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