#but also spoilers that will only make you disappointed to see where the plot goes

[villalunae]

hmmm no vai outfit for link so we lose a major in game acknowledgement of a main (meant to be gender ambiguous) character cross dressing, a wife for sidon so we get compulsory heterosexuality which i can only assume was caused by pollution that turned the fucking frogs het, zelda’s complete loss of autonomy once again thru being fridged in the past ala typical misogynistic tropes, and ganondorf as once again the crowning nintendo achievement of a ridiculous over the top racist caricature, hmmm am starting to think nintendo put all its QA and focus groups on gameplay and stuck the nations leading racists on the main story 🤔

[creativitysloyalservant]

i have decided to break my lack of original posting on this blog to bring you my Thoughts on Rot in Paradise. because i played it as soon as i got up this morning and i have scoured for some opinions after finishing it, and now i have my own!!

(and also i posted this on twitter but twitter has such a Shit wordcount that i'm also posting my things here with More Detail)

so! spoilers under the cut, please go and play the game if you haven't. it takes literally an hour (it only took nearly 2 hours for me because i like voice acting by myself and exploring every nook and cranny) and it's also free. so maybe come back into the tag once you're done.

okay, so i noticed quite a number of people being confused and disappointed on the lack of an explanation for the monster. it's brought up in the story as the central thing driving the plot, but it's never explained on what "she" is, why she's compelling people to eat a ton of fish-related food or hell, metal, and why this doesn't impact June at all.

but you know what I think?

i think that that's the point. the focus of rot in paradise isn't supposed to be on the monster.

yeah, it's the thing that pushes the plot along besides June and the gang going on vacation in this island. it's what's causing that uneasiness from the moment that guy grabs June's arm at the drinks, to the sheer unnerving feeling of witnessing people going to the ocean to get Raptured basically. i know i personally felt a chill when i saw that one dude literally eating chains and the other hauling an anchor, as if they're trying to make themselves heavier so they get taken by whatever She is.

but that's not the main point! the main conflict is about June and her friends.

as people have pointed out, this game is about toxic friendships and relationships! it's foreshadowed in the conversation that June has with the gang about her cousin (which i will also get into), and it carries it through the way her friends are horribly warped by this ocean Creature. June goes on a silly little vacation trip with her friends only for them to become so so different from themselves that they lash out at her and even hit her in McCoy's case.

but she still sticks it out with them. through the whole game, even despite their verbal abuse, despite being slapped, despite them being people that she can hardly recognise. she stays with them for the whole game, up until the point where you are given the two options at the very end. and she could still stay with them.

because they're still her friends. she cares about them even if they still hurt her. from the way June still tells Carmen to tell June if she needs anything after Carmen literally tells her to shut up and leave, the way June worries about Vonnie eating seafood even though she continues to stuff herself despite being implied to either hate or make an active choice to not eat seafood, to the way June still trudges out to sea screaming for McCoy to come back to the shore as he wades further in even after he slapped her until her nose bled.

it mirrors the conversation about her cousin, the reason for why June was looking forward to the vacation. that while she did comfort her cousin through all of it, June clearly says that "they were dickheads, and she should have ditched them a long time ago".

but it's funny, isn't it? that June, an outsider to her cousin's friend group, easily sees the pain that her cousin's friends are causing her, and immediately calls it as it is. that her cousin should have left the second they hurt her.

and yet now, when her friends hurt her, even though this was a quick and sudden change that happened in a span of three days, June still sticks around. her friends are dickheads right now, and we can see that in the way they interact with June, but she still stays.

because they're her friends. and how could she just leave them like this if it's something that's causing them to be this way?

so no, i don't think the monster is supposed to be the main picture. we don't need to know what it looks like, or why it needs to do this to the islanders, or how it's even doing it in the first place. it adds to the scariness of the game, as per the Spooktober Game Jam, sure, but that's not the point. might be a bit disappointing to some, but that's not the point.

the point is about June, and the choice that she needs to make at the end of the game.

it's a choice on whether she chooses to be pulled deeper into the tides and be with the friends who hurt her and will continue to hurt her in this way,

or to leave them to their fates, whether deserved or not, and resurface to a world where she's alone without her friends.

and even though the first choice hurts much more in the long run, doesn't the second hurt even more in the moment? knowing that you're alone at the end of all of this?

even if it is the right choice, i'm sure the pain must be unbearable in the moment.

[max--phillips]

Okay here goes

First, the spoiler free stuff:

Ridley Scott knows how to make a fucking film.

If I don’t see fics of Acacius x reader x Lucilla I will begin biting

If you are going in it for Pedro, I will warn you his character is very important but kind of… idk, shallow is too strong of a word, but not very fleshed out. I don’t think that’s an issue in the greater scheme of the movie though, it makes sense in the plot and doesn’t feel out of place or bad in the universe.

If you are going in it for Paul Mescal, you will not be disappointed.

Please watch the first movie first. The story will not make any fucking sense if you don’t.

Just the right amount of flashbacks and footage from the first movie . Chefs kiss

Ridley Scott really said “all emperors and tyrants are nasty little freaks with terrible vibes”

Oh also if you’re squeamish about gore and stuff like. It’s a movie about gladiators so set your expectations accordingly. There is an instance of a disembodied head used as a prop. So y’know

Okay, spoilery stuff below the cut

Arishat was hot :( rip

Monkeys at the beginning? Terrible. 0/10 did not enjoy that. Also did not enjoy seeing and hearing Mr. Mescal BITING ONE

I love Ravi I would watch a whole movie just about him tending to gladiators’ wounds quite frankly. Give me that story

We love to see bisexuality on screen (even though that wasn’t a social identity at the time but we’re not here to talk about that) what with the concubines and drunk as fuck Macrinus

Speaking of drunk as fuck Macrinus: that whole scene was so fucking funny. They’re like that meme about people getting high. You know the one

Speaking of Macrinus—Denzel Washington stole the show. When TIME magazine pushed a story to me today headlined “Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel Washington,” I was like, pshhhh, nah. But it really does. It’s not about him? But it’s his fucking show.

The politics . THE POLITICS

It feels a little heavy handed right now but that wasn’t probably how it was intended, given it was made before. Y’know. The election. But the whole dream of Rome being a place where everyone is equal and cared for but you can only whisper it or it’ll shatter? Yeah.

Oh, right, Acacius: that dude is so tired he does NOT want to be there. Let him go home to his hot wife. Alas, his hot wife is the way she is and like… no good deed goes unpunished.

And I fucking called it with my text post a few months ago. Two (2) movies now where Denzel Washington (either directly or indirectly) kills Pedro Pascal. Brilliant

Admittedly selfishly I would’ve liked to see more of him. But it felt like the correct thing in the context of the story. If he didn’t die then, if he wasn’t the inciting event for the uprising of the people of Rome, it wouldn’t have made sense and it would’ve just been fan service and “look, we got Pedro Pascal!” at that point.

I would’ve liked to see a more in-depth exploration of the change in relationship between Lucius and Lucilla—it seems like they went from Lucius screaming at her to get out to them hugging it out without any real development between the two of them specifically. Obviously a lot had happened in the world of the movie at that point but nonetheless

Macrinus shooting Lucilla was his Icarus moment. There was no coming back from that. “But what about Geta” “but what about Caracalla” no. It was Lucilla. If she’d gotten got by the praetorian guards or something else, it would’ve been fine. But because it was Macrinus there was nowhere he could go from there other than [checks notes] getting his hand chopped off and then gutted in a dirty irrigation ditch.

Remember kids, the people in power who are causing all of the things going wrong in the world have names and addresses and are mortal <3

Also another takeaway from the movie: imperialism, religious extremism, ableism, and authoritarianism will be the end of us all <3

Anyway. Good movie. Can’t wait to watch it again in my own home with subtitles so I can actually like… process everything everyone was saying LMAO and take better reaction notes.

I’m still sitting in the theater parking lot it’s been like 30 minutes LMAO okay thanks for coming to my tedtalk or whatever

[shiro-s2e2-erukinzu]

Anime only watchers and people who aren't caught up with the Manga, BEWARE... Cuz I'm about to discuss Spy X Family Mission 94... You have been warned...! 👌

[SPOILERS AHEAD FROM THIS POINT ON]

This was an absolutely delightful little chapter!! AND I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT...!! 👌😆

Today's chapter did one of my most favorite genres in fiction in the MOST Spy × Family way possible...!! 👏😌 So let's talk about it, shall we? 👌😎

This chapter begins with Anya and Bond watching an episode of Bondman, where he is skiing away from the bad guys and Anya asks her papa Loid if they could swoosh too...!! 😆 Loid basically tells Anya no, but then she starts to get really upset, so...:

ANYA GOT WHAT SHE WANTED!! 👏😆 (Loid is such a softie for his girls...!🤭)

Then, the Forger family partake in some skiing shenanigans...!! 🤭

Poor Yor...!! 🤣 Plus, I also love seeing the WISE logo on Loid's sleeve and skis...!! 😖 It always makes me laugh whenever I find them on Twilight or on his stuff!!! 😆

After some more skiing (and even some sledding), a blizzard comes swooshing in...(Sidenote: Twilight and Yor look SUPER CUTE in the picture below!! 👇😆)

BUT NO ONE CAN LEAVE!! 😱

And when that happened, 2 thoughts went through my mind...: One, The Forgers were gonna run into the Desmonds at the ski lodge now that every member of the Desmonds have been introduced; or two, We were gonna partake in...

...A good old fashioned Murder Mystery...!!! 🕵

Now, I wasn't sure yet which of my thoughts were gonna come into fruition... But, the moment I saw all the people at the lodge and saw that there was an urban legend...:

...I KNEW that this was gonna be a Murder Mystery!! 👀 And I LOVE me a good MURDER MYSTERY...!!! 👏😆

But, you what I love more than a murder mystery...? 🤔

THESE TWO MOMENTS OF YOR FREAKING OUT FOR BEING IN THE SAME ROOM AS TWILIGHT!! 💗😍💗

My love for any TwiYor moments or crumbs will triumph over all!! 😤 (And plus, I'd probably freak out too if I had to share a room with Twilight...! 😅)

Moving on, as everyone gets comfortable, we get a glimpse at the killer and their first victim...:

Luckily, since Twilight is... Well, Twilight... He tends to the wounded man (who is still alive) and deduces that one of them must be the culprit (obviously)...!! Then, the people start to accuse Yor since she ran outside during the stabbing and THIS HAPPENED...:

KYAAAAAAAAAAA!! 😍

TWILIGHT PROTECTING YOR IS EVERYTHING TO ME!!! 💗😍💗

Though, we all know that Yor can protect herself, it always makes my melt when Twilight goes out of his way to defend his woman...!!! 💗🤗💗

Anyway, normally it would take a while before the culprit would be found out, but...:

...There is a child that can read minds and a dog that see into the future trapped in there with everyone as well, SOOO...:

AND THUS THE MYSTERY WAS SOLVED!! 👏🤣 AND ANYA HAD A BLAST...!! 😆

And that was Mission 94, AND OF COURSE I LOVED IT!! 😆 This was such a fun chapter and would have never thought that a murder mystery plot would ever happen in Spy × Family, but here we are...!! 😁

I swear, the moment I figured out that this was a murder mystery, I was like: "How the hell is this going work...?! 🤷" But, it did not disappoint!! 👏😄 This type of plot couldn't have gone in any other way in Spy × Family in my honest opinion, so I think that Endo did a great job with it!! 😁

Anyway, I had fun with this chapter and would've loved to talk about it a lot sooner... But hey, stuff happens...!! 🤷 So until the next Mission... Take care, be safe out there and be kind to one another...!! SEE YA!! 👋😄

[kaleen-art]

Lupin Zero Sucks (Clickbait)

Spoilers. Duh.

Lupin Zero is a 2022-23 6 episode miniseries following the adventures of Lupin III and Daisuke Jigen as teenagers. I watched the full series recently. It’s very rare I watch a show and am both in awe and also disappointed. Here are my thoughts:

Chapter 1: Aesthetic

Lupin III Part 1 is my favorite Part. It’s where I think the characterizations are at their best and the A-Production episodes with the involvement of Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata are some of the best Lupin adventures to this day (not a big fan of Osumi’s “deep and emotional” episodes, will make another essay about this probably). Zero takes a lot of influence from Part 1 and I love it. The music is on point and matches with the very late 60s-early 70s stylings of the first series. The animation and expressiveness is also on point. The artstyle is always distinctive and it’s amazing how they were able to translate the artstyle of the original series into a digital era when I felt like previous attempts (see: digital Part 1 art, Return of Pycal (sorry Shmeepy)) failed. I hate the filter applied over the series though. Besides it just muddying up very nicely done backgrounds and artwork, it also makes the whole series feel like a TikTok “edit”. It’s gross. But at least everything else about the series’s aesthetic is strong enough that this is only a minor nitpick.

Chapter 2: Lupin and Jigen

The best part of Lupin Zero is definitely the relationship between Lupin and Jigen. Jigen is a stone-cold criminal with experience to his name at the start of the series and Lupin is (though he wouldn’t admit it) a rookie crook. Both have exactly what the other one needs. Lupin gives Jigen the love Jigen seemingly gets from nobody else, and Jigen provides Lupin with a partner in crime. Their dynamic as the show goes on, especially prominent in Episode 4 (The Best One) and Episode 5 (Had the great scene between them) is great and the highlight of Zero. The gay vibes are strong on this one and I’m pretty sure this is the part of the show the writers wanted to do the most. Like I said earlier, the show ties in with Part 1 very nicely and the Lupin-Jigen dynamic is no exception. I love Part 1 Jigen so it’s no wonder why Zero Jigen is also great. I like when he Has Fun and Smiles I wish they let him do that in Part 2 and the new stuff.

Chapter 3: Lupin and his legacy

I really like how they executed Lupin’s relationship with his family. Lupin (the Third) and Arsene Lupin both want him to become a thief, but Lupin the Third wants to forge his own path instead of adhering to his grandpa’s expectations. Meanwhile, Lupin II wants Lupin to follow the “straight and narrow”. I think this show not only speaks to the feelings of teenagers of every generation, but especially the generation growing up in the 50s and 60s who would become adults in the 70s. Speaking as a teenager who is in the Gen Z generation I understand how it is to feel the weight of the previous generations and their expectations for you, but I also know this was an especially prevalent issue amongst the youth of the mid 20th century, and I think Lupin in Zero really represents that. At the end of the show, he is able to forge his own path and later becomes the Lupin we know and love, resolving this generational conflict. This is another aspect done great in Zero.

Chapter 4: Lupin and Yoko

Fuck Yoko. She ruins the show. This isn’t a joke.

Yoko is… I think? Lupin’s love interest? “But isn’t that Jigen-” THAT’S WHAT I’M SAYING! The show felt the incessant need to add a female lead so they could have boobies on screen. The problem is it’s really gross in Zero. Yoko is an adult ass woman flirting with Lupin the 13 year old and it’s very groomy. In the first episode she even sings about forbidden love (with someone younger than her) to Lupin and Jigen. She contributes close to nothing to the show up until Episodes 5 and 6 (a two-parter). In those episodes, she has a plot with this guy named Gaucho who is like, the villain, and like… She loves him but she also loves Lupin, and it gets really convoluted and dumb. If it seems like I don’t care, it’s because I don’t. 

At the end of the show Gaucho dies and Yoko is in a life-or-death situation, so she decides to kill herself to die with Gaucho. She does this in front of two children, one of whom she is fully aware that he's in love with her. This is a character we are meant to feel sad about when she dies.

She's a total creep and throws me out of the show whenever she's on-screen. I feel like if she didn’t show any interest in Lupin besides an innocent friendship, and Lupin just fell in love with her anyway, that would be significantly better. As is, she gets way too flirtatious with someone literally less than half her age for me to give a fuck when she dies.

I think if they really needed her to be in the show (she does not need to be there) they should’ve removed her and Lupin’s “romance” entirely and instead tried to parallel Lupin and Jigen’s romance plot with her and Gaucho, showing how she and Gaucho are like a bad version of the two. That, in my opinion, would’ve worked a lot better.

Chapter 4: Too Much, Too Little

My biggest problem with Lupin Zero is it tries to cram too much into 6 episodes. If it had just stuck with Lupin and Jigen’s relationship blossoming + Lupin vs. his family, it would’ve been killer, but the stuff with Yoko as well as the final two episodes’ weird war-government plot just muddies up a great idea. It leaves me disappointed because I think Lupin Zero had so much potential but it was ruined by the writers forcing in ideas that detract from the themes already present instead of adding to them. 

Conclusion

Overall, is Lupin Zero worth a watch?

I mean it’s only 6 episodes, you might as well if you like Part 1 or Lupin x Jigen or anything of that sort.

But do I think it’s as great as people have said it is?

God, no. It’s messy and I think overall it’s a 6 or 7 out of 10. 7.5 on a good day.

Good but nothing remarkable. But if this kind of show is what Lupin III series…es went forward with? I wouldn’t be mad, not one bit.

Anyway don't forget to like and subscribe for more bad takes, ok bye see you when I remember I have a tumblr again

[starglaee]

Okay, let me put in some of my thoughts on season 6 part 1.

On first watch, I enjoyed it. But I’m not going to lie, this season has a good amount of negative things to talk about, and that’s what I’m going to discuss below.

Feel free to add your own thoughts to this. Maybe I’m not the only one thinking this way. We’ll see.

Spoiler warning!

The overarching thing that’s been bothering me is that I miss the chaotic little karate show this started out as. Domestic, a way to honor Miyagi, and a chance to redeem Johnny. The writers were handed a lot of good things to work with, and unfortunately I think season 6 is where they’ve really failed.

First of all, Mr. Miyagi’s new backstory and plotline are pissing me off. Leave that man alone! I’m actually shocked the actors are cool with this. The spoiler of him being a good person and in earlier seasons the writers trying to redeem Kreese and Silver just isn’t sitting right with me.

Then comes the Johnny Lawrence arc that’s been failed since like season 3. First of all, he STILL isn’t stepping up for Robby. Robby won that match - won against Miguel for real for the first time EVER - and Johnny instantly goes to coddle Miguel. It makes me so angry. He fails Robby time and time again. But don’t worry, there’s a baby to make him a better parent. Like it’s a do over. Also, Johnny has regressed to being stupid, like everything he’s learned went down the drain. And they’ve made him misogynistic to Carmen (that scene where he was talking to the realtor had a weird dialogue where he talked like Carmen wasn’t a person he chose to love and honor likeee gross). They also had him step away from Eagle Fang when that’s the one thing ensuring he’s not Miyagi-Do because Johnny Lawrence ISN’T a Miyagi-Do. I’m sick of the writers pretending he can’t find balance in a more aggressive style and that Kreese has poisoned everything. That’s just not true, and we even see that with the aggression Chozen demonstrated (also Chozen just left??).

I don’t have enough thoughts collected about season 6 Daniel right now. I’ll come back to it later maybe.

Okay so this is my personal preference, but I do believe that it captures the energy of Cobra Kai more than this tournament BS. I wanted to see more of them in school with domesticity and their senior year. I’m holding out hope that we will, but it’s been overshadowed by an international karate tournament. Everything up until Silver has been about peace in the Valley and karate in the Valley, starting with TKK (aside from TKK2 having an adventure to Okinawa for Mr. Miyagi’s sake). Let’s be so for real right now. Miyagi was not a world champion fighter or championship endorser. This man was against Daniel even fighting Johnny when he was getting his face busted in. The show has lost its magic.

This is no hate to any of the actors, by the way. Especially not to Peyton List because she was amazing this season specifically.

I thought Silver never killed anyone last season because a character death would mean the balance of power was lost. It’s the same reason you don’t add guns to a show like this. People come close to death like Stingray but not all the way. It throws everything off, and it makes you stop to think about how insignificant karate is. Tory’s mom’s death if done right would have shown this.

But the creators did not show this. Her death as a plotline makes me upset because Tory was grieving so publicly, and NOBODY went after her. For that the writers suck! You’re telling me Sam wouldn’t go check on her new friend or that Robby wouldn’t chase his girlfriend or that Amanda wouldn’t try to help Tory again? I’m SO disappointed in all of them and especially in Daniel and Johnny for just going back to arguing.

The question is where they even go from here with such a significant plot point that you cannot just brush past. And even if they did open it up to conversations with Tory and helped her grieve, it would be too late. The damage is done that nobody cared enough.

And in that same vein, I know her going to Kreese is just fanservice. They could have FINALLY had Johnny care about Tory or Daniel show that he doesn’t just care about his daughter or had healthy communication with Keenry for once. But no. She’s back in Cobra Kai.

What happened to her brother, Brandon? Why is she immediately running to the person who broke her trust (Kreese) when the people at Miyagi-Fang were finally happy enough together and seemed there to support her. Everything they went through in the first four episodes disappeared. They went give her time to grieve, either. It was just an immediate “Tory’s not coming. Join us, Hawk.” Like???

Not to mention that stylistically it’s all different. It’s beautifully shot and done, but it’s not the Cobra Kai I feel like I knew. The humor is fading.

And the plotlines are being dropped mid-season. Carmen being pregnant is barely mentioned after the shower, Johnny doesn’t mention the home again, Kenny doesn’t mention Shawn again and then Kenny himself disappears, and Chozen disappeared with a scene of a Google search and that was it. I’m also upset because the time limit of these episodes leaves out a lot of moments that I think could make certain stories hit better: the binary brothers fighting, Kreese having to answer to Master Kim, learning more about Kwon, and having Devon explain why she needs this competition so badly. Additionally, the overall the shift from “oh no Tory’s mom died. Well, here are our team captains” to “welcome to Barcelona!” I didn’t know what was even happening.

And the genuine question is are they going to give a shitton of plot armor to these American kids coming to an international competition for a sport in which they’ve only trained for two years?

I want silly school shenanigans and character development rather than plot fanservice that’s only good for the first watch or two.

I need to stop watching shows created by white men istg

[danielfeketewrites]

The Marvels (2023)

Not usually reviewing films but here we are. A friend of mine invited me to the cinema to see The Marvels. And so we did, two days ago.

Neither of us expected much. I haven't seen Ms. Marvel. I thought Captain Marvel was 'meh' and a bit bland. Not offensive in any way (if you discount the blatant milatary propaganda) but ultimately Just A Marvel ProductTM. And not even a fun one. At least not fun for me.

And no offence to Teyonah Parris, but her character was definitely the least interesting thing about WandaVision. That's not saying much, seeing as that miniseries was great and one of the best things Marvel did since Infinity War... But it just goes to say that this didn't seem that promising.

The trailer for it looked quite cool though.

My friend Marek, who was bitching to me about how bad Captain Marvel is for years now, invited me to see The Marvels with him in the cinema. Mostly as a joke. Although he did enjoy Ms. Marvel. But still, neither of us expected much.

To our surprise - The Marvels is really good and we both enjoyed ourselves a lot.

It's really, really good.

While I don't think it can stand shoulder to shoulder with stuff like The Suicide Squad, Across the Spider-verse or GotG Vol. 3, I still feel comfortable calling it one of the best superhero movies of this decade so far. It's easily the 2nd best MCU movie since Spider-man: Far From Home, imo. (admittedly, I haven't seen all of them, so take this hot take with a grain of salt... I just really enjoyed The Marvels)

So now I'm gonna do a wee bit of gushing about some of the reasons why it's so good. (spoilers bellow)

Carol, Kamala, and Monica are just really fun to watch? Their interaction is amazing.

Kamala can be a bit cringey but in an authentically teenage way and I really enjoyed that! Her being a huge fan of Captain Marvel never stopped feeling real. Yeah, of course she's into RPF.

Consequences! I love when things in stories have consequences. And this is all built around consequences to the stuff Captain Marvel did. She did them with good intentions... But that didn't necessarily matter. And I love that. It adds a bit of complexity and nuance that's less and less common in superhero movies these days.

Which ties into... Carol not being perfect. She's amazing and powerful but she can't save everyone.

Carol is also... really fun? With a slight nudge she just became a really well-written, interesting protagonist? I love this version of Captain Marvel and I want more!!! Brie Larson finally gets to show off a bit as an actress!

She just really gave me Xena vibes, in the best possible way.

While the villain isn't an all-time great, the actress went for dignity and it payed off. She feels iconic and you understand where she's coming from.

Monica's sacrifice was quite powerful and kinda hit me.

The "training sequence" where Carol, Monica, and Kamala are practicing the switching is perfect. I love it. No notes.

I love that while it's only an indirect continuation of Captain Marvel, it takes the best bits from that film and builds on them. For me, Goose is the best bit of that film - a cat, but make it eldritch and alien, as well as bigger on the inside? Nice, love it. So what do we do with that idea the second time around? MORE CATS!!! I got a bit excited when I saw the kittens in the trailer and they did not disappoint. (Can the next movie be set on their planet? Please?)

But it's not just "there are kittens now" though. THE KITTENS ARE INTEGRAL TO THE PLOT. It's not just there to be there, but it's an important plot point. And it's so fun!

Nick Fury is also fun.

But it's not just taking what worked and expanding on it. This movie got really creative!

For example - the worlds! Especially the Bollywood planet. Great stuff.

That's just some of the reasons to like this film. I'm probably gonna watch it again when it's on Disney+

If you haven't seen it yet, go do that it if it's still playing in a cinema near you. It's definitely worth a watch if you are in the mood for a fun, well-made superhero film.

I'm really looking forward to what Nia DaCosta does next. This film really didn't deserve to underperform and I hope she gets another stab at a big blockbuster like this in the future.

[animehouse-moe]

Kagura Bachi Chapter 1: Mission

At this point, I'm sure everybody's seen all the memes and jokes about Kagura Bachi. #1 New-Gen Shonen manga that's better than God himself, or whatever. A funny joke at times, but a little overdone.

Kagura Bachi would never live up to that hype, but it's also not a series that's going down the gutter right this second. It struggles, as a first time mangaka will, but at the very least has the potential to turn things around. So, let's take a look at this first chapter then and see what it can do.

The art. All the teaser images you've seen around make it look surprisingly good, and in some places it is. But the default? It's not really that good. It's not awful, but it's far from something you'll routinely comment on.

Simple designs, simple faces, and not a lot that changes about them. Honestly, I'd put it on the same level as the Fantasy Bishoujo manga that I talked about earlier, but even then I think the average quality of the art in Kagura Bachi can struggle to keep pace. Anyways, it certainly doesn't hold a candle to other recent SJ additions. Not awful to be at the bottom of the pack, but the art itself certainly isn't an immediate selling point for readers.

Diving further into the art and style, same-face is a real struggle with the shape and designs of characters. Eyebrows and pupil/iris shapes are some of the main ways the mangaka forces distinction between their characters. Truthfully, it's not something that's a deal breaker by any means, but just points to the struggles of an early on artist (though it's not like I can really say anything when I can't draw to save my life).

A more important issue however is the action. It's got solid layouts and ideas, but the choreography can feel.. plain. Not a bad thing, but you need art that can fill those gaps, that can provide pace and movement within. Kagura Bachi does not have the benefit of art that can help with that. And so, because of that, the action ends up stuff, and even lackluster.

Well, I suppose that's enough about the art, let's talk story.

... it's essentially on the same page as the art. Some good, some bad, lotta mediocre. Bog standard revenge plot meets unique but highly underutilized power system.

Chihiro is the son of a famous blacksmith, at some point his father dies and Chihiro is out for revenge against an organization of sorcerers that, we as readers assume, are the ones that killed his father. But Chihiro's just a boy, how could he go up against sorcerers? Well, he's got some special katanas from his departed father.

Very typical, no? Which I think is a shame, because the chapter deeply limits itself. It starts with the story stating that "only" Chihiro has magically imbued Katanas, but anyone with half a brain knows that as the series goes on, villains will wield similar katanas as well. To clarify, we know that Chihiro's father has made more than just the katanas that Chihiro has. The core of the gripe is that only Chihiro's father was able to create them, and that there's no information about how many there are or who might wield them (spoiler, it's gonna be all the bad guys).

The second, and more problematic issue is how the power system is approached. It separates sorcery from the katanas themselves, which is a painful mistake. The magic should be tied to the swords, it would make for a way better power system to explore. Swords vs magic has been done a thousand times over, so I'm just not thrilled to see its opportunity squandered.

That's not where it ends though. Despite being a magic sword, and despite readers knowing, thanks to earlier exposition, that it has the ability to "ward off evil", the manifestation of that ability is... to turn the sword black and slash people really hard.

I really can't get more disappointed than this. You lead with this super cool visual of the goldfish that the katana is imbued with, and you follow with a single slash. Not even a fancy one. Just a big, fat, shonen manga slash.

So, at the end of it all. There'll be an audience for this type of story, there always is. Violent revenge plot centered around black haired swordsman fighting non-sword wielding enemies. About as generic as you could make it, really. I just hope that the mangaka sees the potential that they wield and changes it up. Different schools centered around various imbued properties. Allowing Chihiro the use of sorcery to attempt to create his own blades. Distancing itself from the revenge plot. The art will undoubtedly grow and improve if the series is allowed to live, but in these early chapters.... well it's now or never for shifting the focus of the story. It has the ability to go the distance, but by the hand of the mangaka, the story is going down a path that will destroy its potential.

[therubyreader]

My Review of Powerless by Lauren Roberts

See a full list of my book reviews here

*Disclaimer: there will be spoilers later on in the review*

Review Word Count, non-spoiler: 875 Review Word Count Total: 1,553

Hello everyone! It’s my first review of 2024! I have once again fallen victim to the influence of BookTok and read Powerless by Lauren Roberts, after not being able to escape it being recommended to me by essentially everyone and their mother. And this time they’re onto something, they have not disappointed me with this one. 

Powerless follows Paedyn Gray, an Ordinary, someone without any powers in a society where being Ordinary is a crime punishable by death, surviving the slums of Ilya by pretending to be a Psychic and stealing to stay alive. One day she unknowingly saves one of the princes and is forced to participate in the Purging Trials, a brutal competition to showcase the powers of the Elite, powers she doesn’t have, while managing to not get caught lest she be killed when they find out what she really is.  

Let’s get a couple of things out of the way, first this book is marketed as an enemies to lovers story, which it isn’t. Paedyn and her love interest, Kai (because of course his name is Kai) are rivals in the Trails by circumstance, but like they both take a liking to each other immediately. I saw someone call it insta-love which, sure, but I wouldn’t go that far per se, but there isn’t really an “enemies” thing, Paedyn just dances around the fact she likes Kai for most of the book and this dude is smitten almost immediately. So, sorry to disappoint you all with that one. There is romantic chemistry pretty immediately, but they do have some fist fights and hold knives to each other’s throats also so if you’re into that, wink wonk.  

Second, this book is marketed as a mixture of Red Queen and The Hunger Games, which like, I guess. The comparison to The Hunger Games isn’t completely accurate, I mean there are games that can result in death but people dying isn’t a requirement, there are people who participate in the Trials and lose but also stay alive. The comparison to Red Queen though, is very on the nose, if you liked Red Queen and wanted to read a world with a near identical magic system and a very similar plot progression, this is the book for you. I’m saying this as a fan of Red Queen, it is one of my favorite series of all time, but there were a lot of mirrors between it and Powerless, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it is something you should be aware of.  

I think my biggest complaint with this book was how the magic system wasn’t really explained in depth, there were different classifications between the different types of powers, each had its own cute little name like they do in Red Queen. People with super strength are called Brawnies, or teleporters are called Blinks, or those who can control plants are Blooms (just off the top of my head). While we are told that the plague is what gave certain people cool abilities and fancy hair colors, we don’t really know much else. At least in Red Queen we know that people inherit their father’s power, but in Powerless they don’t seem to have any rhyme or reason. For example, Kitt has a dual ability, cool, why? He’s the only person we know of that has two abilities and everyone is very chill about this though it is out of the norm and never explained. Kai is a Wielder, meaning he can use anyone’s ability if they’re in range, which is mildly related to Kitt’s ability if you think really hard about it and it makes sense since they’re brothers, but their dad is Brawny? You’ve lost me there. Also, what made certain people have abilities and others be Ordinary, why are Ordinaries still being born, like how does that work genetically if both their parents have abilities. I don’t know, maybe it’s just a me thing where I’m thinking too hard about it, but I do honestly hope that the rest of the series goes into this a bit more since I crave answers. This was probably done on purpose, and we’ll get Ordinary lore further down the line and lore about abilities as a whole, which is a selling point to get you to keep reading, but I would’ve appreciated a small bit of lore as I read. I shouldn’t have had this many questions about the magic system while reading since it did pull me away from the story a bit.  

I did enjoy the book despite my mild complaints, the story was entertaining enough for me to keep me reading even though I could essentially predict what was going to happen next since it follows a very basic YA plot progression and the characters were, mostly, fun to read about. Honestly, for a debut book, it was fairly well written, and I don’t have very many complaints on the writing style outside of the typical cliches, but I’m reading a YA book so I cannot complain. Overall, it was very enjoyable, though nothing groundbreaking, and I plan on reading the sequel when it comes out later this year, I give it an honestly pretty decent entertainment out of ten.  

Spoilers!!  

Normally I start the spoiler part of my review talking about something negative, but I have decided, new year new me, for now, and I’ll talk about something that I liked. I did enjoy the emphasis on the eye colors, which at first is super annoying because you’re like “omg can they stop talking about each other’s eyes we get it” but as the book goes on the eye color becomes super important. When Kai first meets Paedyn, he’s fascinated by how blue her eyes are and she always talks in detail about his gray eyes, while when she meets Kitt she can’t look him in the eyes since he has his father’s green eyes and Paedyn’s father was killed by the king so she sees the eyes of a killer whenever she looks at Kitt. As the story goes on, Paedyn is able to look Kitt in the eyes and starts to see them as his eyes, not his father’s cruel eyes and slowly starts to associate the green eyes with Kitt and not her father’s killer. But then right at the end we learn that it wasn’t actually the king who killed Paedyn’s dad, but Kai, and Paedyn’s dad was the first person he ever killed. So then the whole thing is flipped on its head! Paedyn realizes she had been hallucinating the king killing her dad (which like I get the trauma, but she was too weird about the green eye thing for me to just pretend she had never seen the king before but I’m not going to worry about it) when it was actually Kai. She had spent the whole book lovingly staring into the eyes of her father’s killer, and we find out in Kai’s bonus chapter that he took note of Paedyn’s dad’s blue eyes as he killed him and then was practically writing poems about Paedyn’s eyes. And then Kitt is for sure there.  

Speaking of Kitt, I’m excited to see him enter his villain era, though poor guy just doesn’t know what’s going on which is honestly a type of villain that is underrated. Unlike Red Queen where you could tell pretty immediately that the goal the entire time was to get rid of the monarchy, it’s a bit more ambiguous in Powerless because Kitt is genuinely a nice guy who wants to do better but unfortunately his dad was assassinated and he’s a little confused. There is honestly a lot of room for his character to develop and I think that’s what I’m most looking forward to in the next one. 

I do have to complain though, because this is who I am as a person. The thing that annoyed me the most was the love triangle (which if this isn’t your first time here you know about my hatred for love triangles) but this one specifically since it’s between two brothers, which is just icky. To paraphrase myself in one of my Goodreads updates (shameless plug) if I had a nickel for every time I read a book where a love triangle involves a pair of half-brothers, I’d have three nickels which isn’t a lot but I’m a little annoyed it’s happened three times. I honestly cannot put my finger on as to why I hate it so much, maybe because it has an incest-y vibe about it, but I just do not like it Sam I am.  

Not to keep word vomiting, I will stop there, but I am honestly willing to talk more about Powerless if you jump into my asks, I did very much enjoy the book despite all my complaining. I could also go into a whole thing where I compare it to Red Queen if anyone asks me nicely because I do have thoughts about that, but this is not the space for it. I cannot wait for Reckless and am very excited to see where the story takes us next! 

[antibrainrotcrusader]

Review of: Akudama Drive

Going into Akudama Drive, I did not know much about it other than: 1) It's set in a dystopian society 2) The art is killer 3) A lot of people I know love it So my expectations weren't very high. I went in for the pretty art and animation, and stayed for the pretty art and animation. And Swindler. And the creepy rabbit and shark TV brainwashing program. That's pretty much it.

First, I'll list everything I loved about the show. I found the animation to be super consistent. It never disappointed me, and that's why if I rated my anime based on the art purely, I'd be giving Akudama Drive a 10/10 without hesitation. I also loved the soundtrack, they certainly felt unique enough that I did not dare skip the opening song, and stayed until after the ending song multiple times. It's an interesting pairing with the anime itself. Had this been a slice-of-life, the pairing would make a lot more sense. I loved it this way though, it made it feel like the anime wanted it known that this story doesn't want to be "just action" or "just cool". The music gets a 7/10 from me.

I also loved how our main character is a girl in her 20's. She's an ordinary person, with no tragic past, and no specific character traits that would mark her for the danger she gets thrown into later on (other than her honesty and kindness). It was incredibly refreshing to see in anime. She was not sexualised, but she also wasn't bland in terms of her character design. I enjoyed the moments Swindler was on screen. It worked perfectly for (what I felt like) the anime was trying to tell it's viewers: anyone can fall into the "wrong" path easily. Allowing people to judge those that fall into darkness with such absolutism will probably ruin a society. Example from the show? The executioners.

Oh the executioners. The way I feel about them is very mixed. They were shown as typical "heroes" for the first few times they appeared on screen. And then that seemed to shift to them... being evil? I did not like it. It could've been done a LOT better. I think the producers themselves might have also had mixed feelings. There is a clear shift in tone where the show changes it's direction and goes off the rails. In the first half, the executioners were developed a bit more, and one of them (the young apprentice) seemed to have more growth waiting for her at the second half of the show. But, of course, there wasn't. And so we lost sense of who the executioners are and what they are. The anime just wanted them to be branded as the "bad people" and it was left at that.

The Kanto plot was also a bit of a disappointment for me. Surely the technologically advanced city of the future that literally does not care or need physical existence anymore can do better than... putting an entire virtual city inside the bodies of children....? Right? It felt extremely far-fetched. As Hacker said (SPOILER ALERT):

"What a crazy twist, right? A world inside a supercomputer... who would've thought Kanto would be some overused sci-fi trope?"

If only the show's awareness of it's own tropes went anywhere. Note to story writers: making a character break the fourth wall and voice the future criticisms of your viewers is NOT good writing and it is NOT going to make those criticisms disappear or be less relevant. Breaking fourth walls is in and of itself not always a great thing to do in a story so focused in it's own world and separated from the viewer.

But you know what? The ending makes everything worth it!! Not. There is a single scene that I LOVE, and it is Swindler's last confrontation with the executioners. They surround her and stuff happens and then she says "zamamiro", and I love it. I died fangirling, and then died trying not to be sad. Lol. It's stuck with me now, such an iconic scene. Other than that, the ending wasn't that great.

Overall, I enjoyed the show, but I wish I could've seen another Akudama Drive. The Akudama Drive the first half introduced seemed like it would be amazing, not only a must-watch for the season, but BEYOND that. The Akudama Drive I was left with made me feel glad that it ended so short and stopped wasting my time. 6.5/10 and not lower for Swindler <3

[bookhighlightss]

Once upon a broken heart trilogy book review

★ Once upon a broken heart

1. Oh my lord he's just so fine. So hot. So sarcastic. If you couldn't tell already I love him. So much.

2. Okay um can I just say I hate one thing about Evangeline is that she has this "saviour I'm too nice" complex and tbh I don't fw that. SPOILERS AHEAD.

There's this scene where they are in a vampire's lair and she sees her ex lover or wtv and she wants to save him and jacks is all THIS IS A BAD IDEA DON'T FALL FOR IT and she obv like the main character she is goes like nooooo I will like girll fuck off he's a changeling nothing good will come out of this and quite obv he wants to bite her and jacks to save her gets his aarse bitten and shes like oh no I fucked up LIKE NO SHIT SHERLOCK YOU'RE SAVIOUR COMPLEX IS SHOWING but yea thas one thing that ticked me off.

SPOILERS ENDED.

3. Okay this book got me Outta my reading slump and it's like 300 pages so it's short and I finished it in 4 hrs so like I'd recommend this if you're like in a mood for a quick read.

4. The plot twists are twisting and it's so good with like the most shocking pcs of information and the way Evangeline pieces things together and it's just like damn everything's clicking now.

5. Lastly the " little " in front of the fox gets to me but the age gap is gapping ( iykyk ). Altho I think the book should have been lengthier considering the amt of things going on so it could be more descriptive but ig it's good bcs it's going so fast?

★ The ballad of never after

1. If I was crazy over the first book , I am absolutely psychotic over this book.

2. Okay so the first book they didn't have that much chemistry but oh god the second book made up for it in so many ways.

3. This is prolly the first book in reading which has the perfect slowburn like damn

4. SPOILERS AHEAD. OKAY SO the scene where he decides that saving Eva was more important than changing the timeline to meeting his love and not getting it wrong this time ...fuckkk that played with my heart like he knew he could never get that back and he was ready to still sacrifice his needs for eva only for her to lose her memories holy shitttt

SPOILERS ENDED.

5. Okay so at the end of the first book and the whole second book I felt SO FREAKING BAD for apollo I was like noooo I can't handle this triangle but thennn Apollo was like hehe I'm gonna be a little bitch so then I am so ready for when he gets killed if he gets killed bcs I need that man's head on the dagger desperately. He pulled the most heartless shit ever when eva went thru hell and back for him.

★ The curse of true love

1. Can I just say this book did not give what it was supposed to??? Like the chemistry just got lesser???

2. Okay the dagger scene was so hot tho. And the inn scene bcs damn.

3. Okay the way Evangeline remembered wasn't like SCENEMATIC enough ykwim??? Like I was expecting so much more and that was so less???

4. Okay one I'm more interested in lala's story??? Bcs genuinely what's going on there??

5. I HATE APOLLO. If I thought I was hating him in book 2 then it was loathe in book 3 for me. He just became so sick and twisted like it made me pukish. Kinda disappointed in the book but the last few chapters made up for it ig so yea

Overall I think the book needs HEAVY editing for it to give what it's supposed to?? Like ig the book is too short for such an intense plot I feel like Stephanie could've taken so much more out of this book than she did. And a part of me was waiting for eva to eventually become badass but she always stays the naive damsel in distress girl which kinda got to me bcs I'm all for super lit characters and a few things remain a mystery in this series. Like he's immortal she's not?? What are they gonna do?? She has magic in her blood and thas it?? They couldn't milk it further to make her super badass?? Overall plot is amazing but the story should have been written better

ALSO SUPER MEGA SIDE NOTE THAT CHANGES MY PERSPECTIVE OF THE BOOKS AND STEPHANIE GARBER

She's a Zionist. I just found that out when I was going thru Goodreads review and now I've got the ick bcs till now I was boycotting authors who are Zionist and to find out you just read a book by a zio just makes me sick to my stomach. I really this is a lie or sumn bcs I can't find any posts on twitter tt Tumblr and ig where it says shes a zio so idk I just saw a comment that said she's a zio and thas all so idk. Zionist authors immediately make me change perspective of the book. Was gonna read caraval but not anymore.

UPDATE did my research and found out she is promoting Sarah j mass who is a very proud Zionist among other things therefore it's an ick either way. Not reading caraval

Overall id give the series a 8.5/10

[awholelottayeehaw]

Everyone's Feelings are Valid Regarding Mando Season 3

As a neurodivergent teacher whose students are on spring break, I finally have the time to weigh in on the Mando Season 3 debate after seeing how divided the fandom is. This mini essay is meant to be a logical and safe middle ground for everyone, to remind everyone that your feelings are valid regardless of what they are, and that even if your opinions/feelings are valid that doesn't meant they're fact or justifiable to police how others think and feel.

This contains spoilers for Mando S3, Rebels, and Clone Wars and is written while I'm high on benadryl so approach at your own risk! I may go back and edit this and edit out/rewrite points to make them more succinct or add points others may have that should be included and don't want anyone to feel gaslit if they see any changes they don't recall seeing before.

1. More Than Two Ways to Feel

From what I gather, the two main opinions on this season are either it's a great season and anyone who disagrees is what's wrong with Star Wars, or that this season is a disappointing let down after waiting so long for Din to return. Both are valid, but since Star Wars fans tend to see outcomes in extremes, I want to point out that those aren't the only two options available, you can also:

be disappointed with this season while continuing to be a huge fan of the show

and

enjoy this season while recognizing the writing and quality isn't up to the standards the show had set in previous seasons or even the promises it made with this one.

The Mandalorian was the first piece of live action media since the Clone Wars that sparked the interest of even non Star Wars fans because it offered something new and exciting to a world and lore we're all familiar with that doesn't demand you to know 50 years of Star Wars history nor does it jeopardize characters and storylines long time fans are protective of.

Because of this, it's easy to forget that Star Wars fans are now sharing The Mandalorian with casual Star Wars fans or even exclusive fans to the show without having any interest in exploring the SW universe further through other forms of media.

I'd argue the first instance of this being taken away from casual fans was in The Book of Boba Fett by requiring them to view it to stay i in the know for Season 3 along with the return of Cad Bane who, for fans of the cartoons, flipped out seeing his live action form. But for those who only watched BOBF as fans of Mando, a lot of viewers were like:

Bo Katan, Ahsoka, Luke, and Boba Fett's resurrection in Mando were written in smoothly that excited long time SW fans familiar with them while allowing casual fans to enjoy the story because said characters stood on their own as supporting roles without taking away from their their origins. But throwing in characters like Cad Bane and even other Rebels/Clone Wars characters into Season 3 of Mando, it doesn't give casual fans a reason to stay or feel satisfied if they're not in the know with these beloved niche of characters.

And because of this, it's easy to unintentionally police said fans with how strongly you may feel as someone with deep rooted knowledge of the franchise.

Casual fans of the show shouldn't have to be spoiled or talked down to for not sharing the same enthusiasm as other fans because they don't know who a character is/their importance to the SW universe or for having differing opinions and feelings over a show that wasn't originally built on any previous Star Wars lore. And older fans who love all SW lore who are disappointed are allowed to feel let down after 3 years for this season to not be how it was advertised just as fans who are loving this season shouldn't be mocked for enjoying the ride regardless of where it goes. We're all valid here.

2. Mando Has Always Had Side Quests, but Not Without Plot

If I had a dollar for every

"Mando has always been about side quests! Why are people complaining about this format NOW?"

comment I read, I'd have enough to maybe... have a nice meal somewhere.

Has the Mandalorian been told through side quests? Yes and no. It's been 3 years since the last season aired and I think a lot of people will look back at the previous 2 seasons with vague memories of Din and Grogu traversing through time and space as father and son while helping wayward future friends and getting their asses handed to them by alien animal species when it wasn't quite like that.

The first season starts with Din being hired after a particularly easy job to hunt down a difficult quarry. Din requires the help of a moister farmer to get to the kid since he can't land the ship close enough to the mark without setting off security, and discovers said quarry is a child. He spends the rest of the season getting the kid back to the Imps, saving him from the Imps, blacklisting himself from his job, unintentionally setting up his covert for a massacre, trying to lay low and find a safe place for the kid to grow up so he can go back to his old life only to realize he can't as long as the kid is wanted, and proceeds to take on a few jobs to feed them and avoid the Empire until he's called back to deal with Karga's ambush and getting sucked into a trap intended for Grogu and the season ends with Grogu now being Din's foundling and his new mission is to bring Grogu home.

The second season focuses on Din trying to hunt down fellow Mandalorians to help him reunite Grogu to the Jedi, the first episode while on a job reveals that his quarry had seen a Mandalorian on Mos Pelgo which led him to meet Cobb Vanth. The only reason Din stayed is to take back the armor and agreed to earning it back by killing the Krayt Dragon for them and the Raiders. The second episode has Din playing Taxi in return for information about Mandalorians seen on Trask (where Frog Lady was heading). Din agrees to help Bo and her clan to raid an Imperial ship and her information leads him to Ahsoka two episodes later. Because the Mon Calamari's repairs were inadequate, Din goes to help Karga destroy an old Imperial base in return for repairs. He finally finds Ahsoka and helps her confront Elsbeth in exchange of training Grogu (again, I'll circle back to this as a Season 3 plot point that fell through). She decides she won't train him due to Grogu's attachment and anger in his heart for what he went through and points Din to a temple where Grogu can contact other Jedi for training and from there, he's capture, Din loses his ship, he finds Grogu's location with the help of his newfound friends, and saves Grogu only to give him over to Luke while now being the proud owner of a weapon and defunct planet.

So is Mando ALL random side quests with no point? No. Each episode interwove into the next effortlessly while being a self contained episode that never failed to remind you the importance of each mission, side quest, and character that Din interacted with. And it's hard to miss the overall theme of honor, identity, and religious guilt that Din faces and questions each episode up until the end when he chooses to show Grogu his face as an ultimate act of love.

But with Season 3, I can't tell you how any of the episodes connect or what they hint at to the overall season plot and we're six (seven, if you're reading this after the episode drops) episodes into an 8 episode season. Even if by the final episode things all tie together, it didn't have the same smooth transitions as the previous seasons had nor did they remind you of what we might've forgotten information wise in these three years and that's why a lot of these episodes feel pointless compared to the urgency that Din and Grogu faced leading up to his departure with Luke. Which brings me to...

3. Season 3's Plot Failed in Season 2 and BOBF

Yet two other comments I've seen that could buy me a second fancy meal somewhere or just a fancy ass desert for a family of 4 by myself is:

Season 3 has no plot! It's pointless! It's boring!

and

Season 3 has a plot! Just because it's not about Din anymore doesn't mean there lacks plot!

And to this, yet again, I say... yes and no to both. Season 3, as I mentioned in my previous point, hasn't woven in an overarching plot like its previous two seasons and so the urgency is not only not there, but it doesn't remind you of why you need to care or stick around for Din's redemption arc (whichever that may be) or whatever is going on with Bo and the Armorer and the Empire. But I don't fault Season 3 for having bad writing necessarily, but rather throwing out their best plot point for Book of Boba Fett and (as I mentioned before) not recapping what was mentioned in Season 2.

No one can convince me that The Book of Boba Fett wasn't a ploy for Disney+ to keep Mando fans happy and excited while they figured out Season 3. I will die on this hill. It's been 3 years and I already heard fans losing hope and grumbling about it before I even joined Tumblr. No matter how loyal a fanbase is, you still lose them to other media when what they crave isn't available in a certain amount of time and BOBF was the balm to that ache for many of us despite us also simultaneously being disappointed in how they handled BOBF. Boba and BIPOC characters deserve better. But that's for another essay.

Season 3 failed the moment Din and Grogu were reunited in BOBF along with Din's new ship. This broke what made Mando so unique and special as stated in my first point where fans could casually get into Mando without needing decades of SW lore to enjoy it, and now those fans are left behind because they didn't realize they had to invest in The Book of Boba Fett to be included in the Members Only Season of The Mandalorian and that's being reflected in its ratings.

I genuinely believe if they had opened Mando Season 3 with his entrance in BOBF and led the first two episodes with Din tracking down his tribe after delivering his bounty for said information, was made an apostate, and rejected to see Grogu all in one episode... that would have given the season far more possibilities for plot than what this season has offered us in the last 6 episodes. And especially so if they recapped the important plot details that Season 2 set up but expected fans to remember after 3 years and tied those plot points in in a way that upped the urgency Season 3 has lacked so far.

In Chapter 11: The Heiress when Din is saved by Bo and her clan, he only agrees to help them with their raid in exchange for where he can find a Jedi teacher for Grogu. But what did they need that raid for? To steal weapons in order to take down the Imperial remnants that still plunder Mandalore that will help them retake their planet. Aside from Bo's castle getting blown up by TIE fighters, we're not reminded of this fact at all during this season. Din and Bo were able to get to Mandalore with ease and stroll around like it was nothing. There were no ships hovering around the planet, no secret bases, no symbols, not even recently defunct battle droids. Mandalore was painted as a planet that was free real-estate that they could've moved in to that day the moment they realized the planet had breathable air and just some old robots and troll species to worry about. There was no reminder of this being a potentially dangerous planet as an Imperial wasteland.

But Bo's castle got blown up by TIE fighters! Where do you think they came from? The threat was obvious!

...Except it wasn't. Bo was moping around that castle in broad day light, not attempting to hide. Why didn't they blow her castle up sooner if she was a threat? And even if it came out later that Bo was part of the siege to free Gideon, they should have made it less obvious because yeah where DID they come from? Sure as shit not Mandalore, and why when she's united with Din the second time in this episode? And if this threat is linked to Thrawn, as we see his return in the trailer for Ahsoka, they should have recapped Chapter 13: The Jedi where Ahsoka shook down Elsbeth for information regarding where Thrawn's location is (which leads to Ahsoka's spin off series).

So yes the plot IS there, just not written in a way that reminds fans of what was at stake leading up to Season 3 and expanded upon those threats even within just opening scenes. The Mandalorian had brilliantly made whatever the opening scene was as foreshadowing the rest of the episode's plot. Season 3 could have used those recaps, flashbacks, or even a bonus scene to something we already saw in the previous season as that reminder audiences need after 3 years to remember what the stakes are and why it still impacts Din and Grogu regardless if Bo is now going on either a redemption journey herself or is secretly the season's antagonist.

And even if Bo is meant to be a central character, Mando has glossed over the fact that she was responsible for Mandalor's downfall TWICE and was considered a traitor, a terrorist, and the reason why her sister was murdered. It's possible they didn't reveal that for specific reasons, but it feels lazy not to hint at it in some ways that let the audience wonder if Bo is meant to be an antagonist or hero this time around, especially as an established selfish, morally gray character. And it's unfair that her redemption is this easy when her laundry list of sins she committed never properly held her accountable, and even with genuine remorse and empathy, Bo still is willing to make choices that benefit her in the long wrong over the benefit of others.

Which leads me to...

4. The Mandalorian Has Always Been About Din and Grogu

"The show is called The Mandalorian, not The Din Djarin and Grogu Show. Anyone can be The Mandalorian, and besides, it's plural!"

First off, The Mandalorian isn't plural. I just want to make that clear. The Mandalorian is a singular person and, although yes it can be anyone, it's explicitly about Din he is THE Mandalorian who walked the surface to bring back money, food, and goods to his tribe while everyone else stayed underground, hiding. Din made a name for himself as the best Bounty Hunter in the Parsec in a world where everyone believed Mandalore was a dead, unlivable planet and that

The Mandalorians, much like the Jedi, were extinct. This was reiterated in dialogue throughout the show by multiple characters, and is why Din was so special. Because when they heard about a Mandalorian it's always Din. Even gaining that land for his people, everyone will still turn to Din because he's THE Mandalorian to them. He's the one who has united people, saved towns, been the diplomat, and the reason why many characters and even Nevaro exist. He's the Mando people will recognize and hold esteem for, not anyone else even if Bo does try to take the mantle and that's because she's The Heiress, even to the likes of the Armorer, and The Armorer is the Armorer. Din will never shake that title even if he wanted to, because he's the one who's left a mark on the galaxy he lives in along with his green son, and Bo nor anyone else will be able to take that from him because they'll have their own titles in that universe to live up to whether they like it or not.

"But Din doesn't even want to be the main character in his own show! His story is over, let him and Grogu be at peace!"

That's the other problem, their stories are far from over. We already know that Thrawn is alive, Dr. Pershing doesn't understand how his science is genocidal, and Gideon is walking around with potentially his own Mandalorian bodyguards or is setting Din up. As long as these men exist and the Empire is a problem, they will hunt down Grogu for their cruel science projects and kill Din in order to achieve that. But this season hasn't reminded us of that at all and has given people a false idea that Din and Grogu's stories are over when they absolutely are not. And even if Bo is intended to take the torch from Din, that doesn't wrap up his story or Grogu's it just makes it second fiddle for Bo to either redeem herself or make everything worse again. Time will tell I guess, but do not for a moment think that Din and Grogu are safe. They absolutely are not. Lastly,

5. Strong Stories Have Reluctant Protagonists

"Who wants to watch a show about someone who's a reluctant leader? Mandalor the Reluctant? I don't think so!"

Um... you do. That's literally the hero's journey. Bilbo Baggins never wanted an adventure. He wasn't confident in his abilities and he wasn't interested in helping the dwarves succeed. He was tricked by Gandalf by a false sense of duty. Luke Skywalker was content with his life on Tatooine until his childhood home an aunt and uncle perished and he physically couldn't go back even if he wanted to. Joel was a reluctant father figure to Ellie after his own losses despite his journey starting on greed. There's so many beloved characters that don't even want to star in their own stories but that's what makes them strong characters. They're forced to go on journeys they don't want to help them come to terms with their own inner termoil or even achieve the greatest version of themselves that they wouldn't have risen to if not for their inability to go back to their normal lives before the call of the journey. So even if we're all okay with more Din and Grogu adventure stories or even okay with Bo taking over, it feels unsatisfactory for Din to just hand the darksaber over to Bo after years of trying to get ride of it and handing his son, whom he spent at least a year apart from, to whoever is available to go on unrelated missions with Bo. There's a reason why people feel unsatisfied and disappointed with this season, and it's valid regardless of what you're okay with. Mando was built on strong writing and they've forgone simple solutions to cut corners in order to spit out a mediocre season when it had the potential to be not just fun but an incredible return of Din, Grogu, and introduction of Bo if she's meant to take the mantle down the line.

One more thing!

6. Bo Isn't a Worthy Leader (added 4/12/2023)

I know this may ruffle some peoples' feathers, but hear me out. I want to remind everyone once again I genuinely like Bo and have nothing against her, and my beef is with how the writers treated her this season and have mislead non Clone Wars and Rebels fans.

Bo deserves the title! The darksaber chose her! She wields it so well, and after all that she's gone through she deserves her redemption!!

A lot of fans of the show who haven't watched Rebels don't realize that Bo at one point couldn't wield the saber, either. It was Satine who taught her how. As far as I'm aware, the darksaber requires the wielder's thoughts and actions to flow into the Darksaber to fuel its energy, which then affects the weight and has nothing to do with being the chosen one like Excalibur. Anyone can learn to wield it if Bo was willing to teach them, hell even Gideon seemed to have a good grasp on it. Din even said in episode 7 that the saber doesn't dictate who is a worthy leader, it's based on principles and honor (which Bo conveniently chose not to inform Din on how she doesn't fit that bill).

Bo, this whole season, has shown time and time again she's not a worthy leader. At least, not yet. Bo has MANY sins to make up for. As I said earlier: Bo was a terrorist, she led to Mandalore's downfall... twice (now potentially thrice), led an incursion that got her sister killed, was openly racist towards Boba Fett and others, sexually assaulted Ahsoka, and burned down villages just because she could. None of these were ever brought up in Mando and it not only made Bo an innocent woman who lost everything and just needs her people and planet back, but also erases her history without ever fully holding her accountable.

Bo has fantastic military leadership (as shown this season alone), but when it comes to diplomatic, she falls short. All of her choices have led her to losing the darksaber, losing Mandalore, getting many people killed, and her prejudices have gotten in the way of true diplomacy where Din had to step in when she was ready to give up or use force to get what she wanted. She didn't even bother to try to win her people back or make a plan to take back Mandalore, she was content staying at home and crying on her throne until Din and Grogu forced her to finally do something productive.

All of this circles back to my point on why Din being a reluctant character is important to the overall story. For someone who doesn't want to lead, he's shown the most leadership skills all season by putting others before him and communicating on everyone else's level instead of expecting them to rise to his which is a stark contrast to Bo's actions this season. He's multi-lingual, finds ways to speak to other species to make them feel seen and heard, and consistently gives up his own food and resources to those in need even if it's with a grumble at first (Frog Lady comes to mind). Everything Bo lacks or doesn't attempt, Din jumps head first in. Which is why I think there's such a divide on Bo's character this season and it's easier to say she stole the show from Din when, in reality, her desire to lead but having no leadership skills is what has drawn out the frustrating aspects of Season 3's storyline that's hard to put your finger on but might've given you anxiety regardless. Her role as Mandalore doesn't feel earned and her character feels cheated, again regardless of how you personally feel about her as a character and if you want what's best for her.

I think I had more to say but I'm running a blank now. I'm tagging @yourcoolauntie cause I know I promised to talk to you about all of this and I still plan on messaging you but figured this confined space would get everything out in one go rather than getting lost in the sauce in a tiny little chat box on here. Everyone is welcome to DM me over this, comment, challenge me, whatever you need to feel better regardless of what your stance is over the show. This isn't meant to dismiss anyone or make anyone feel invalidated as I said, just a safe space with facts that you can do what you please with to either validate how you feel or recognize where that discomfort or frustration is coming from regardless if you're enjoying this season or not. You're seen, you're heard, and I'll see you on the other side after this upcoming episode tonight.

[aticklishpercivalwriter]

Updates

Yeah, so it been busy for me lately. List below:

Job Interview Monday, will hear back today if I get the job or not.

Making the itenary for my family trip

Shopping (For my little bro's birthday and myself, two tablets. Got good deals, but still the most money I have ever spent in my life 😭)

Adding on, making sure I still have enough money 🙃

Played the Bedtime Story quest in Genshin and man that was emotional. Spoiler: When she said Aether's name and he was like, "You're the only one who calls me that," not just because they were talking but because that hits so hard. Everyone calls him Traveler and hearing his name for the first time in forever was like, oh man. Heck it rang deeper for me because there was this one fanfic of Lyney and Aether that was exactly like this (I'll try to find it). If I remember correctly, Aether was crying because he was feeling so lonely in the world doing all these commissions over and over, helping the people in Teyvat and for what? No lead on his sister and everyone calling him Traveler and he like completely lost his identity/way. Then Lyney came into the picture and the moment he said Aether's name like "Aether, that's your real name isn't it?" Aether was like crying and they eventually kiss, and yeah, so many emotions. We're not going to talk about Hoyoverse making it so they don't remember.

Writing the Zhongli and Itto fic. The reason I put it off for so long is because I didn't know how I can write their dynamic and the plot. I got it now though! I'm sorry for the two who requested for them that it is coming to you this late :(

Just being so tired. Like I feel exhausted everyday and I don't know why.

Getting jealous over Genshin males. Yes, I get jealous and when you see artwork and writings of hot male characters, and your favorite ships kissing each other, being themselves, smut, fluff, and tickles, all the time, you get jealous of wanting something like that in the real world. It passes...eventually...then comes back.

Got a Playstation Plus trial and was browsing the games when I saw Tales of Zestria and Final Fantasy. I've read many fics of the two and loved them and was curious how the games fair. Wasn't disappointed at all, I just started mind you.

So, Tales of Zestria, I loved the ship between Sorey and Mikleo when I read fics and seen artwork of them and now I can fully appreciate why people ship them. They have a great dynamic and are funny even in dangerous situations. Also, is Mikleo like jealous? Once Sorey starts talking to the girl he saved, Mikleo is like pouty when Sorey isn't giving him as much attention as before. There was a couple lines where Sorey goes, "I hope Mikleo isn't worried," and when you talk to Mikleo he goes, "It wasn't like I was worried or anything." Give him attention Sorey!

And then Final Fantasy, the VII Remake, one. This is my first time playing Final Fantasy, so I am really out of the loop. I thought I would see characters like Ignis or Noctis from the fics I read, but they must be in a different version or I haven't encountered them yet. Action and fighting was the first thing I was doing in the game and I was hooked. I love to appreciate the graphics and fine details that goes into video games and this was no exception as I took in the experience, the cutscenes, everything. The dialogue, the other characters, Cloud Strife (main character), the story so far, it's so cool. Then Jessie brings up how Cloud is good to look at and then I actually look at Cloud and yeah. Why is he so hot?! You probably know my type knowing who I like in Genshin. Like his arm muscles are well defined. I am a sucker for males in tank tops and showing off their arms. And his cool hair, his facial expressions, his sass. Why does he look so good!? Ahem, gotta stop. I am also interested in his story more than anything like what happened? There's these flashbacks and yeah. This game has me hooked, okay? I admit, I searched up Cloud Strife thirst trap (I'm sorry, I had to. I blame the fan artists for making Sethos hot asf with arm muscles. @cawiechan on Twitter for example. I'm obsessed.) and you know what came up? "FF7 Remake transforms the horniest Final Fantasy into a full-on thirst trap" So, you are telling me the first Final Fantasy game that I play is the horniest and a thirst trap? Hey, I'm not complaining and I find that really funny.

Lastly, one of my irl friends knows about this blog! He wanted to read my latest fic (SethoScara), so I gave him a few warnings and such in case he feels uncomfortable with it, but seems like he is okay with it. I trust him. Really the only person I trust talking about tickling honestly irl. He is a great person. I really want to give him a shout out because he makes really cool landscape art and he was also doing some character stuff or portraits. I don't know if he wants that, so I'll ask him.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I consider this a safe place to talk about stuff that I wouldn't talk about anywhere else and where I feel welcome, so thank you for making me feel accepted here :) Wishing you all well and talk to you all later ❤️!

[moviemunchies]

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Mission Impossible movie; I’ve watched the first, second, and sixth. The movies come in and out of Netflix and Hulu, so sooner or later I’ll get to them all.

Oh, hey, J.J. Abrams directed this movie!

Our protagonist, Ethan, has a fairly stable life right now, and he’s engaged to a nurse named Julia, and everyone’s happy! Except then Ethan is abruptly pulled into a rescue operation to save his protege at the IMF, Lindsay Farris, who was sent to spy on an international arms deal named Davian. They do get Farris out, but a detonator implanted in her head goes off, killing her and any possible intel. To finish her mission, Ethan and his team capture Davian, discovering that he’s after something called the Rabbit’s Foot, but shortly after learning (from a message left by Farris) that Davian had a mole within the IMF, Davian escapes. He and his henchmen kidnap Julia and force Ethan to steal the Rabbit’s Foot, or else he’ll kill Julia in 48 hours.

I’ve decided that I can’t watch these movies too close to each other. Ethan is always on the run from his superiors, and always being pushed to his limits. I’m sorry, but it can get repetitive if I watched these one after the other. I would only get exhausted. It’s great that these movies are willing to go all-in on the action and the stakes; I just think you’d get numbed to it if you dealt with them in a row in a short period of time.

The biggest problem with this film is that Abrams often doesn’t show us some of the coolest parts of the story. Ethan is given a deadline of forty-eight hours to grab the Rabbit’s Foot, but the movie skips around without telling us how long he’s got left (through dialogue) until it’s only a couple of hours. And then skipping ahead to less than that. And THEN not showing us the actual heist itself. That’s a cop out! I want to know how, in a matter of minutes, Ethan breaks into a heavily-guarded facility to steal the Rabbit’s Foot and only barely escape! Isn’t that the entire point of a Mission Impossible movie?

Also pretty egregious is the final battle–when Ethan and Davian finally duke it out. Spoiler alert, Ethan wins (which you knew because Tom Cruise is in four more Mission Impossible movies after this). The way that he wins, after a brutal battle, is not due to anything he did, but a total coincidence that neither character had much control over, making it seem pretty cheap. There’s also a resolution to a problem that I don't think would have worked–and reminds me that J.J. Abrams often works on a vague understanding of how science works.

Worst, though, is that we don’t have a clue what the Rabbit’s Foot actually is. It’s as generic a McGuffin as they come because of it. One character theorizes what it might be, but no one ever says. And yes, it could be any generic doomsday bioweapon and the Plot wouldn’t change; still, I think it’s likely that, given what I know of J.J. Abrams in 2023, he didn’t want to do the work to have a clue what to do with it. I don’t know, and he never did, either.

Ethan’s team is underdeveloped, though that’s pretty par for the course at this point. I believe that the next movie is when team members other than Luther have personalities developed enough to care about. It’s a little disappointing though because it’s a great cast.

The action that we do see is very good. The fight scenes are all exciting to watch, there’s a great chase scene, and the scene where Ethan rescues Ferris is a pretty awesome showcase as to what type of agents they are and how effective they are in the field. Tom Cruise does really good action scenes, and watching the film you can tell why they keep Ethan around even if they keep disavowing him–he’s really good at his job!

Ethan also isn’t stupid, which is better than a lot of action heroes. When his team points out that they can’t just hand the Rabbit’s Foot to Davian, he explains, rather frustratedly, that he knows that, he’s planning on tagging it with a tracker before they do that so that they have a chance to get it back right after the handoff. I think that there’s a lot of action movie protagonists who would not even consider something like that, being too overwhelmed with emotion to do anything but fulfill the villains’ demands.

Davian’s a fun villain? In an understated way. He’s not the greatest of the great, but he is interesting in that he almost never loses his cool. In these movies, spies are able to buy time and leverage by talking, and Davian always shuts down Ethan by not giving a crap about whatever he’s talking about. I appreciate that. Philip Seymour Hoffman does well in this role.

So this movie’s fine. It’s fun, though there are a few very notable problems in the film’s execution. It’s good, but those problems are holding it back from being an excellent movie. I understand that some of that is perhaps time constraints. Still, I think that you can have fun watching this one if you need a loud, action-packed movie. It’s not a must-see, though, and there are other movies in the series that are more worth your time.

[mermmarie]

My Mutant Mayhem review if anyone is curious, lol... (Non spoilers part)

Saw Mutant Mayhem twice now and will be seeing it a third time (because the 2nd showing was fucked up unfortunately, and I got my tickets refunded) and it's a good movie! My overall rating would probably be an 8/10. (:

Visually it's amazing. It's 'sketchbook' style of animation was perfect for the world and their goal to keep this version of TMNT on brand with the Teenaged aspect.

The humor was great too. Laughed a lot. I really don't think any jokes missed. And the soundtrack was mwah! 😚👌💖 Chef kiss!

The only reason why I give it an 8/10 instead of 10/10 is because I do think that the movie falls a little short in the second half of the film. But I would definitely still recommend going to see it for yourself!!

Explanations and spoilers below the cut! You have been warned!!

I think my main problem with the 2nd half of the film is the TCRI/ 'Milking' bit. I just think it was a little too much for them film in the sense of it seemed crowded/out of place? Like... I think that it would've fit better in the 2nd film. I get that they wanted a scene where Splinter saved the boys from danger but TCRI/Cynthia Utrom seemed so irrelevant to the plot at this point, I think it would've worked better if Splinter saved the boys from Superfly and the other mutants, and the led into the scene of the final act over everyone vs Superfly and then saving New York.

Buuut... I suppose they wouldn't have the solution of the retro-mutagen to defeat Super Duperfly without the TCRI/Milking scene. So, hmm... 🤔

That's another thing I don't think they touched on well enough, because I didn't realize that the retro-mutagen was a thing until the 2nd viewing. I missed where they said it turns mutants back into their regular animal forms the first time watching it (apparently it was at the very beginning of the film), so it really confused me when it seemingly came out of nowhere and became the solution for the film. (Also seems like a very powerful mechanic to put into the world this early into the franchise assuming that the show will pick up after the movie but, I guess they'll work around it somehow. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

Two other criticisms then I'm done complaining.

1: The movie doesn't really play into Donatello's main character trait/trope of being a 'genius/inventor' at all... Typically, I'm all for bending/re-inventing the traditions, but being the genius of the group is really Donnie's thing. It seems the film only goes with the geek aspect, which was fine and fun. Just a little disappointing that they didn't touch on my boys' intelligence really. Yes, he does come up with the majority of the groups' plans, but they weren't anything too profound in my opinion. Like... Leo probably could've come up with them on his own if he thought on them a little harder. Nothing that screamed 'that's genius' to me personally.

2: Them removing their masks at the end of the film. It's SACRILEGE!! 😭 Okay I know I'm being a little dramatic with this lol, and I understand that it was the films way of saying 'they're normal' and they don't need them now that they're going to school but first of all... It's not just about them being ninjas... I've always viewed their masks as an extension of themselves. Part of their personal identities. It's a defining trait for them, like hair is for most humans. Second, they look like frogs without them. Not bad!! But they literally look like the Punk Frogs that exist in the universe!! So, it was just a little sad and weird to see them go without them.

It makes me wonder if they will be maskless for the beginning period of the show or not....

Okay now for the bits I loved about the film!

The No Diggity crime fighting montage was my FAVORITE part of the film. 😭💖 I seriously cannot wait to watch that a million times and over when the movie comes out on dvd/streaming.

Leo's crush on April is REAL!! And it was so cute!! 🥺💙💛 The introduction of it was practically an exact play-by-play of 2012 Apriltello, but the film did not make it annoying. XD (Now if that will hold up for the show, who knows? 👀)

Raph's excited-aggression was great. Despite the joke of him having a 'rage problem' I don't really see this Raph as angry? To me it just seemed like he had a lot of energy and he liked to expel it in destructive ways, and it was really fun! Leo and Donnie are my favorite turtles of this iteration, but in terms of the film itself, I think Raphael shines the best.

The Found Family plot was a pleasant surprise! Was not expecting the other mutants to become allies and end up living with them! That was really cool and sweet! (Wingnut was my favorite and Leatherhead of course~💖)

Another pleasant surprise was the humans ACTUALLY accepting them and the turtles integrating in the public so quickly! Did not expect that at all. It will be super interesting to see a TMNT series start off with that!

I really loved Donatello's voice in this! All the VA's did a fantastic job but Micah Abbey blew it out of the water imo. I know a lot of people were not into his voice when the first trailer was revealed, but I think it fits this iteration of Donatello perfectly!

Speaking of VA's... Ice Cube as Superfly was really fun. He didn't put on a voice, but he delivered his lines so smoothly it worked.

Aaand, that's about it... I'm probably forgetting stuff but overall, it was a really good film and I'm excited for the show to come! (:

Anyways! Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk!

[burritoreviewsstuff]

Okay I finally finished Good Omens 2 (S2) and here is what I think of it

So Let’s Talk about Good Omens 2

First off, I have to give a round of applause to you Tumblr. There’s no doubt in my mind S2 was inspired by this site’s carnal desire for angst and that our local cryptid, Neil took that into consideration when writing S2. So for all of the people broken and depressed over the ending, the only people you have to blame is yourselves.

Neil served what the fans wanted, what this site wanted. What you wanted.

Am I upset with how it played out? No…but the journey to the big reveal at the end had its highs and lows. The main thing that I didn’t like is that they saved all the answers for the final episode, and I do mean ALL the answers to the questions that came up in episode one. Although, the plot twists were good.

Anything unexpected that came out of the plot was just…good. I’m not going to list them all here to prevent spoilers, but the unexpected was never a letdown. Any unexpected joke made me laugh my ass off.

Like, who the hell was gonna expect Jon Hamm to just wiggle his butt like a lost puppy at the camera? The answer is no one.

I just noticed the gigantic fucking clue to the plot twist was that when Jim first met Crowley he was wearing that blanket like he did in the statue.

And it wasn’t until the end with Nina and Maggie that they were supposed to be a parallel to Az and Crowley that we will ‘wait and see’ what happens and that ‘no one should play a hand on how they live their lives’. The same could be said for what happened to Job. His entire life was ruined over a bet between God and Satan.

The low points of the series I definitely thought were the excessive human cast who kind of…were there? We really didn’t need to spend as much time on them as we did. Disclaimer: no I’m not saying this as an anti-LGBTQA+ statement, I’m saying this as a perspective from the plot. And that ‘seamstress’ joke was just…it wasn’t funny.

Overall, episodes 2-5.5 felt like filler and only episodes 1, the second half of 5, and 6 felt like it was building structure to the plot. Everything else in between was mostly filler. Nothing wrong with it, but when a lot of nothing goes on that doesn’t really add up to some threads being tied together is quite bland and boring when a manhunt for the Archangel Gabriel is how you begin the premise for the season. The Nazi Zombies? Never come up again and are still alive roaming the Earth for all we know.

But hey, any moment where Jon Hamm was doing absolutely nothing and being funny was an absolute delight.

I AM DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE I WAS NOT QUENCHED IN THE GABRIEL STRIPPING SCENE YOU MAKE ME ANGRY NEIL! (I’m kidding although…if there’s an deleted scene…can you like…share? 👀👀👀 Once the strike’s over of course) Let’s be real if they showed Jon Hamm stripping the show would turn into ‘Good Gabriels’.

I busted out laughing because I AM ASSUMING IT WAS A COINCIDENCE THAT HE ALSO HAD THE KEN FUR COAT YOU KNOW THE ONE

Like no one is talking about this and it makes me sad

I also want to figure out what the significance of Muriel having The Crow Road by Iain Banks at the end of the series and what it is supposed to represent.

I hope Shax gets some more development.

And Aziraphale and Crowley? I’m already calling it now because my deductions are never wrong, but by the end of it all they will ineffably out on Alpha Centauri enjoying each other’s company. Alpha Centauri has been referenced too many times to not be a staple plot point.

The ending didn’t really feel like an end. It was more of an intermission or Third Act Breakup.

So when Good Omens 3 comes up with the Rapture and Second Coming I really hope they just call this man up to play Jesus.

It would be hilarious that we expect Jesus to be this humbled carpenter who is all wise from Nazareth but after years upon years he just became some chill broski from Florida.

Overall, it was an enjoyable fun time. Upon giving out my thoughts, it’s ineffable that this is Part 1 of 2 seasons (at least). More than likely S3 was in the works, but the strike happened and put everything on hold. For now.