#don't misunderstand I LOVE redemption arcs

[violetlunette]

How most writers write redemption arcs (namely males in romance): I know he’s a murderer, a tyrant, a possible rapist, and more, but you have to understand that he was sad in the past. Therefore, I will make the protagonist a sweet, naive young thing whose purity and love make him act lovingly to her alone. And once he admits he cares about her, we’ll just forget all those nasty little things he did. At most, I'll have him do little things like not kicking a puppy to show he's "changed." And if anyone calls him out or tries to hold him accountable, I’ll have the story treat them as a villain and try to make them worse than the hero. Happy ending for the couple/family!

OR

Okay, this guy is horrible, but I like him. Therefore, I’ll make him an asshole, but I’ll play up his love for the protagonist and have him do the awful things he does for her, so it’ll all be okay. We'll just hand wave that nasty stuff that any sane person would go to an abuse hotline for.

How I write redemption arcs: Yeah, this fucker has work to do. His past will explain why he did the shit he did and will show where he needs to change and how. It will NOT be used as an excuse or justification for what he did. He will be held accountable for his actions and will have to face them head-on and realize what ass he was. HE will have to make amends. HE will have to do the work to make up for his crimes. (And I mean WORK. None of that bare minimum crap.) And no, no one will be considered an asshole for calling out the bastard for the shit he did. And the protagonist will NOT be the one solely responsible for his change. That is NOT her job, especially if she is a child. She may choose to guide him, and if he strays, she will not tolerate it or go, “Oh, poor baby’s past made him commit heinous crimes.” Nor will she go, “If I act cute, maybe he’ll love me,” as that is a horrible lesson to present about abusers. And loving just the protagonist will NOT be enough as he has to come to care for people in general. The lead will just be the first to open the door. This person WILL change and, while he may not get the fairy tale happily ever after and may even die, he will be a better person by the end.

OR

Fuck it, I like him as an amoral guy. However, I won’t waste everyone’s time pretending he’s not. His actions will be shown as heinous and that, even if he loves the protagonist, he’s not a good person. Speaking of the protagonist, if she falls into the trap of thinking she can change him by being supportive even when he’s awful without consequences I will write her as a tragic person unable to see the red flags or escape. Or I will show how her willful ignorance and unwillingness to do something is wrong. Regardless, this romance will NOT be glorified in any way.

[averygayplant]

I NEVER EVEN THOUGHT OF THIS BUT NOW I LOVE IT

Sora and Jordana can be toxic yuri. As a treat.

[absolutebl]

Love your blog! Do you have any recs for people (me!) who liked: Tale of 1000 Stars, Unknown, Moonlight Chicken, Secret Crush on You, My Beautiful Man, Be My Favorite, Sing My Crush, and We Are (Cute), please? I disliked My Stand In, Love Sea, and Only Friends. I tend to like character driven instead of plot driven stories, and please, no silly misunderstandings or misguided noble morons who break up because a parent suggests it!

Do I detect... a challenge? *rubs hands together* we are playing my favorite game.

Okay, likes:

Tale of 1000 Stars

Unknown

Moonlight Chicken

Secret Crush on You

My Beautiful Man

Be My Favorite

Sing My Crush

We Are

I crossed out the ones that don't fit the trend (outliers) and congratz your wheelhouse is:

moody, atmospheric, angsty, tiny bit cerebral, bit gritty, higher production value, soft focus, lower heat levels but yearning, bit of domesticity, acting chops

Dislikes: My Stand In, Love Sea, Only Friends

Okay not too far into angst, no nasty characters, no dubious tropes or anti-heros, no mame, no high heat, university or older. CHECK! Got it.

Ready?

Right in your damn wheelhouse:

The 8th Sense

(20 points to whoever knew that would be my pull out the gate)

One of the longest BLs Korea has given us (like Blueming) and it feels more atmospheric gay coming of age romance than strictly BL. It’s got a bit of an age gap, country boy/city boy, stellar acting, complex characters, and leads with great chemistry and tension. It’s a bit chewy and sticky and less perfect than most KBLs (do I detect a touch of Taiwan?) This one deployed BL tropes (messy eater, shoulder sleep, protective seme, there’s even some hyung-slinging) but front loaded them with painful backstory and then a ton of angst to drive the 2nd half. This isn’t in the KBL bubble, there’s sharp edges and lots of triggers. For a BL the darkness of the content left me feeling unsettled (which is the only reason it didn't get a perfect score) but it does have a glorious ending and that counts for a lot.

I think you'd really love this one.

Trigger warnings - suicide, loss of a family member.

Blueming

It’s a tiny bit dark and a tiny bit bittersweet, almost too honest to a university experience and first love (for BL), but if you want your mind ever-so-slightly messed with and your intimacy hellishly sweet, this BL will do it for you in a coldly distant manner, while bitch slapping you with self worth issues. I wasn’t into it at first, but the leads are solid and by ep 5 it got really good, becoming a narrative about self discovery meets understanding and accepting others people’s flaws without hurting them. Ultimately, we witnessed two characters maturing because of each other and their mutual affection, without that affection becoming the conflict point. Instead, tension was built around other aspects of identity, popularity, and self-worth. While production values were a touch lower than usual for Korea, Blueming included decent kisses and beyond plus a satisfying ending and come judicious and very elegant use of tropes. It is, in the end, simply a great BL.

Also Bleuming paved the road for 8th Sense and other gritty KBL to follow.

Love For Love's Sake

Isekai-based KBL is about a man who must win a game by convincing a reserved teen outcast to fall in love with him. Of course, that teen represents himself and his own unhappiness. Like many queer narratives, this show is actually about self worth, trust, and found family, and it is VERY on the nose. But I don’t expect subtlety from my BL and I enjoyed it's truly lovely redemption arc and earnest performances. I personally found the narrative a touch disjointed with overworked filming angles and poorer than average captions, but the consistency of tone, script, and immersion is beyond the norm for BL. You will drown in this show and like it that way. The leads have fantastic chemistry and it's ultimately highly rewatchable and utterly charming, which counts for a lot.

Trigger warning - suicide.

Unintentional Love Story

OMG the plot! Uke forced into a totally understandable betrayal, falling in love despite himself, put into a corner he can't get out of, the AGONY, the PAIN in those gorgeous eyes. Gah. Okay, so: A boy loses his job due to trumped-up corruption charges accidentally discovers his ex-boss's favorite artist, now a recluse. Evil manager offers him his job back, if he can convince the artist to rejoin society. Instead, they fall in love. I found the artist a bit stiff and reserved but Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) is a fucking GIFT - he carried this show (which I do not expect from the idol element). He was luminous with extraordinarily expressive eyes, just drown in the emoting abyss. The external conflict, social tension and pressure is complex and beautifully executed, plus Korea gave us legit side dishes (NOT a love triangle, hally-fucking-luya).

My Personal Weatherman AKA Taikan Yoho

You mentioned My Beautiful Man so if you're feel like that energy, grown up, watch this. It's a style of live action yaoi really only works from Japan. Basically: boys who fell in love in college end up living together but both are so repressed they actually don't realize they're in love. It's higher heat than we usually get from Japan's HEA stuff, and that part is also very well done, but it leaned into the "why don't they just talk for fuck's sake?" trope which is only exacerbated into undiluted frustration by the fact that they're already fucking. However, that's angst for Japan. And you like angst. Honestly? It's great, but watching requires more patience than usual, even for Japan.

My Ride

Thai BL grew up with this pulp (the first ever to make my end of year top 10). It’s a truly lovely and special little show featuring the extremely rare pairing of sunshine/sunshine (AKA a cinnamon roll couple) plus mature explorations of relationships using one of the softest, sweetest and most innocent friends to lovers vehicles. Kindly, overworked doctor meets broken-hearted motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” slow burn romance. The support cast is excellent, making for great friendship groups and family dynamics. With honest queer rep that adds to, but doesn’t impede, the story, and genuine conversation about the nature of class, wealth, and classism, not to mention communication, honesty, and respect for boundaries, you can’t go wrong with this show. In other news, I am a sucker for a single dimple.

It won't have the production values you're used to but it is a great show.

A Breeze of Love

Tsundere insomniac grump reunited with his sunshine jock ex (human sleeping pill) who now hates him. Basketball is also involved. While the simplicity of a reunion plot makes this more cohesive than most KBLs, it is a tad stiff and slow, never managing to lift itself out of "pretty, angsty, and pretty enjoyable." I liked it more than I thought I would, and think about it more too. 

Jazz for Two

This was basically what I wanted from Given and didn’t get. So I’m pleased. A solid enemies to lovers BL, where the sins of brothers' past haunts the present. Great optics, decent chemistry, and a tidy script even if tsundere characterization went a bit extreme in some cases.

Trigger warning - suicide.

Like In The Movies AKA Gaya Sa Pelikula

Karl, a student living alone, runs short of funds and ends up becoming housemates with Vald an out and proud chaos gay. This leads Karl into an identity crisis and journey of self discovery. This kind of forced proximity trope is really common in BL, but what Gaya does is handle it in a messy honestly queer way. It includes Vlad’s attitude in response to Karl’s shaken behavior and the frustration many out queers feel. For that alone it has to be applauded.

DNA Says Love You

DNA deserves extra marks for an upbeat approach to a queer story arc that other shows have systemically mishandled with sadness (in the guise of realism). There is a twist, which I found predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show. The leads are luminous and engaging, and it’s full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The first few eps are rough going but PLEASE have patience, it's worth it I promise! The second half is really special and life/love affirming - and the end is big-grin charming.

My Tooth Your Love

Earnest dentist hottie with sad eyes who worries too much is smitten by an adorable sunshine neurotic bar owner with serious anxiety issues. They fall madly in love while courting each other with food, plushies, and naps. Then, shocker, talk about their feelings and try to actually sort out their problems so they can have an adult relationship. Bonus crumbs = 18 year old poor little rich kid in mad crush with a much older man. I really enjoyed this show, it had a unique premise, killer dialogue, there was a solid lead pair with charming chemistry, soft flirtation, delightful smiling kisses, and stinkingly cute domesticity. All that said, I wasn’t wild about some of the darker themes it explored, even though it did a good job with them. And while the sides were adorable, they were underused. In the land of May/December, baby boy kabedon is my kryptonite! Why so little of it? (Kabedon is My Kryptonite = also the name of my indie band’s first single.)

Trigger warning - parental abuse.

The Eclipse

GMMTV does gay Blacklist with a good boy/bad boy pairing. This is a good show but the cast is excellent and the leads are absolutely flawless, which elevates it beyond just good. We got a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection, plus plenty of angst. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with a finale that features verbal consent and a fun blooper reel.

Never Let Me Go

Bodyguard romance where poor boy must watch over rich boy for family obligation reasons. Simple premise well executed with a few bumps that made it feel like it was trying to tackle too much (when it wasn’t). Still, an enjoyable show that benefited from being handed to PondPhuwin who did a stellar job with their roles and chemistry. Of GMMTV handing out new series to established pairs in 2023 this is one of the most successful IMHO. It's typically Thai in that it's a bit bloated and has a confusing plot, but at least it HAD a plot and the central relationship is solid and loyal. The Our Skyy 2 follow up is great too. And very much adds to the cannon in a fun way rather than feeling superfluous - making this show ultimately 14 eps rather than 12.

Some real oddball and sophisticated suggestions

Addicted (original)

When Chinese BL was good it was very dirty good and when it was bad it was censored. This is the model for that statement: rich kid falls madly for the genius poor kid in his class, starts an aggressive pursuit, includes kidnapping for love, obsession, stepbrother trope, plus some cheating. I love this BL because of what I could have been. Just stop watching it after The Sex Scene. Okay?

It might not be right in your wheelhouse but what even fans forget about is how stunning the atmosphere is with this show. I mean we can feel the cold and the grunge. When they living poor it's REAL poor. It's a super immersive show. Unforgettable.

Began Beginning

Childhood best friends must come to terms with their own identities and true feelings for each other when a new boy comes to town, putting them into conflict with their families and ultimately, each other. For the first half of this show there’s a lot of sitting across from each other and talking about life choices over yummy food and then going to tourist spots (mildly boring and not particularly important to the plot). It changed tone about 2/3 in to be way more of a coming out family drama about forced marriages and homophobia. And then at the very end it changed again, becoming a full on soap opera with kidnapping, crazy characterization shifts, and rescue missions. All in all? It was a wild raw creature to consume as a binge. No kisses since this is Myanmar, but a very romantic end, so I think maybe actually worth your time? I'm certainly glad I watched it.

Stay Still

What to say about this offering from Hong Kong? It’s different, a mix of early CBL, Taiwanese shorts, and Pinoy visuals. It felt like the story was 2 independent shorts that had been lengthen and then stuck together, and I wish they'd been approached as separate and tighter entities. Nevertheless, this was a complex little piece, interesting in a sweaty grungy way, with a certain aura of queer authenticity that made it simultaneously tense, unpredictable, and refreshing. I’m not sure I would necessarily call it BL, but any county’s early foray into the genre usually starts out this way, so perhaps nascent BL? Worth watching, especially if you enjoy stuff from the Philippines and Taiwan.

On the lighter end but probably still in your wheelhouse

I Cannot Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai

Classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt almost honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

To My Star

Hwang Da Seul directs this show about a neurotic actor (actual puppy) who takes refuge with a grumpy chef resulting in sparks, cooking lessons, and LOVE! It’s is a touch quirky to get into, but utterly charming once it hits its stride. This is the ultimate grumpy/sunshine pairing plus the most appealing light-filled kitchen of our dreams. I adore this show so much. Limited use of BL tropes makes this feel more of a sweet contemporary gay romance between an actor plagued by scandal and the grumpy chef who adopts him, but the gentleness will appeal to fans of the BL genre.

Old Fashion Cupcake

This show had me from the moment they broke the egg yolk with the chopsticks in the opening credits. It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said boss with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s a stunningly filmed late-in-life comg of age/queerness story packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity, love, and loneliness... and it’s beautiful.

Cherry Magic (Thai remake) - this is my We Are & SCOY match pull

A soft charming warm hug of a show about crushes and mind reading and self worth that really worked for me. With no-fuss execution from a consummate team (at GMMTV) and an OG lead pair (proving why they remain eternal and deserve to grow up). Look, here’s the thing, Cherry Magic is a great Thai BL in its own right - not comparing it to any other iteration. But even when I do compare (and I've seen all the Cherries and read the manga) it stand strong. I, personally, like the Thai BL slightly better than the Japanese live action yaoi, but I think that’s because I just really enjoy Thai BL's style and I LOVE TayNew. Also all the kissing was both present and better in this version. As it should be from Thailand.

Make a Wish

A doctor who can see the dead strikes a bargain with a wish-granting irreverent tree angel - naturally they fall in love (from Sammon: Manner of Death & Triage). Stars Fluke Natouch opposite not Ohm, but who cares because Fluke has chemistry with everybody. Once again the Thai afterlife is incredibly bureaucratic but I enjoyed the premise and the unfolding of the story (it’s not predictable but still satisfying and with nice little twist). I like that the doctor is just gay AF - fag hag bestie and made of swagger. The cast is excellent but the comedic stylings are a bit overblown and tonally off. It has sad parts and did make me cry but is ultimately happy with a great sex scene, good smiley kisses, and all the agency.

I thought about it but I'm not sure

still you can put these on your "maybe" list

Until We Meet Again

I Feel You Linger in the Air

La Pluie

Restart After Come Back Home

His the movie

Life: Love on the Line

Perfect Propose

Tokyo in April is

Love is Better the Second Time Around

Ocean Likes Me

My Only 12%

After Sundown

I Told Sunset About You

These might be a bit too cerebral, dark, and/or plot-heavy for you. But are worth it if you feel in the mood for something very chewy.

Currently airing

It's set in high school but it scratches the Unknown itch:

The On1y One

Sirs not appearing on this list but if you follow my blog and ask me for tips it's kind of required watching:

Seven Days.

Because everyone should watch it no matter what your taste. So there.

(source)

[homuraakemis]

I keep seeing anti-Maiko people complain that Mai never had a redemption arc to learn about why the Fire Nation was bad, and that's why she shouldn't be with Zuko. And I think that fundamentally misunderstands what a secondary character is. Mai is not a main character. She is a secondary character. She is there to provide support to the narrative, she is there to fulfill her plot purposes and that's it. That doesn't mean she has no character development, but her character development is mostly related to her function in the narrative. In Mai's case, her main functions in the narrative are being Zuko's love interest, and being a key piece in Azula's downfall. Her character development is related to that: we have a girl who is closed off and suppresses her emotions who gradually starts to open up a little through her relationship with Zuko. We also have her feeling like she's always trapped by fear and by others expectations (by her parents and by Azula), and because of her relationship with Zuko, she is able to finally stand up to Azula. That's her character arc. That's what's relevant to her function in the story. Learning about how the Fire Nation is bad is not relevant to her main plot purposes in the story. There's no reason why it can't happen offscreen after the war, with Zuko teaching her about all the things he saw and learned about the Fire Nation during his travels. She is not a main character, the show doesn't need to focus on every single thing about her character. In case people forget, we don't get a "redemption arc" for Ty Lee either, because this is not important, neither Mai or Ty Lee are meant to be the focus of the narrative, we don't need to see them "learning that the Fire Nation is bad".

Another thing that people don't understand is that not every character has to be a copy of Zuko. People act like the only acceptable way for Mai to learn about the wrongs of the Fire Nation is by having a redemption arc like Zuko, but that's not really the case. It's not even feasible: Mai didn't go through the same experiences as Zuko, she wasn't forced to live as a commoner amongst the Earth Kingdom peasants, she wasn't forced to flee as a refugee, so she never really had the opportunity to speak to these people and see their plight the same way Zuko had. Of course Zuko is the one who gets the redemption arc, because he is the main character for which this arc actually matters to the story, but also because the circumstances of his story allow him to have this arc, while the circumstances of Mai's story don't. But that in no way means she is irredeemable or that she can't learn, it just means she will learn about the Fire Nation in a different way than Zuko did, probably through Zuko himself telling her about his experiences and the things he saw. And there's nothing wrong with that! Mai is not a main character, she doesn't need to have some epic redemption journey. She was a Fire Nation noble, just like Zuko, she was taught the same kind of propaganda that Zuko was, so of course she's going to believe in it and believe that Zuko is betraying his country when he tells her he joined the Avatar. But Mai is also not some cruel person, and she's also not a Fire Nation fanatic. If after the show Zuko told her about all the things he saw, she would listen. And in fact, the evidence we have is that she did listen to Zuko and she did learn about the Fire Nation: in the comics she works with Zuko against the New Ozai Society even after they break up. And if you don't want to use the comics as evidence, we have the epilogue of the show as evidence, in which Mai is shown to be on good terms with Team Avatar and playing Pai Sho with Suki. We don't need to see the details of how Mai learned about the Fire Nation being bad (she is not a main character, it's not relevant to the main story), we know that she did learn, we can fill in the blanks with our imagination.

Secondary characters not receiving a huge narrative focus and character development about every single aspect of their characters is not "bad writing". Bad writing would be if the show focused on every detail of every secondary character, because that would be losing narrative focus. Just because certain people don't like Mai with Zuko and use this as an excuse to say why the ship is bad, it doesn't mean that Mai not having a redemption arc is "bad writing".

Finally, this isn't a reason for her not to be with Zuko. Some people argue that Zuko would never want to be with Mai after his redemption because of her still believing that the Fire Nation was in the right, but people forget that if there's one person who knows what is like to have been brainwashed since childhood with propaganda about the Fire Nation, that person is Zuko. And Zuko was way more enthusiastic about the Fire Nation being right and the Fire Nation winning the war than Mai ever was. Why would he hold it against her that she believed in Fire Nation propaganda, when he himself knows what is like to believe in said propaganda? The most likely thing to happen is that he would want to teach her about everything he learned about the Fire Nation, he wouldn't break up with her just because she didn't magically unlearn an entire life of indoctrination.

[sarah-yyy]

姐姐你好！I was trying to find a new c-drama to start and your blog was the first place I looked at for inspiration! Are you watching any new dramas jie jie? Do you have any recommendations?

i've got like 4 cdramas open in tabs 😂

are you the one (amnesiac heroine + fake marriage + enemies to lovers) - i started this before all these new shows dropped and am enjoying it for now! i've only just reached the part where she regains her memory so am not sure how the plot is going to hold up, BUT the bits before were cute. nice easy watch, maybe a 7/10 for now.

dawn amidst hidden clouds (childhood sweethearts + amnesiac-ish heroine (do y'all see a pattern) + 杀父之仇不共戴天-related misunderstanding + jianghu physician/dali-si chief crime solving combo) - i decided i wasn't getting enough chang huasen content in are you the one so i went and fixed that by starting this short drama. plot-wise probably nothing new, but i found these two to be super cute together! also a nice, light watch. chang huasen is very pretty in this. 8/10.

fangs of fortune (big bad demon redemption arc + super cute group of demon hunters + found family vibes) - most of my mutuals are !!! over this but it's a bit darker than all the other shows i'm watching so i think it's taking me a bit longer to get into it?? it's a guo jingming drama and the AESTHETICS are mmmm good. cgi is good. costume department went All Out for this. chen duling is very pretty in this. hou minghao is good in this. soft 7/10 (remember i'm only like 4 eps into this!!!!).

love game in eastern fantasy (transmigration + demon hunting + enemies to friends to lovers) - this is perhaps my favourite out of everything i'm watching!! also a v pretty drama, but it's a different aesthetic to fangs of fortune. this is the kind of drama that's so fun to watch? yu shuxin and ding yuxi's chemistry is *chef's kiss* in this. (side bar: i haven't actually liked anything dyx has been in since tiger and rose, but this is good!) yu shuxin is super pretty in this. cgi also good. 9/10 so far.

all of these are still airing btw!!

(i also do want to start the story of pearl girl because ahhhhh that liu yuning/zhao lusi combo is making my hao du/le yan feels come back, but i just don't have the time sldkjfdkgfd will probably do this once i've knocked 2 of the above dramas out)

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Hey, i follow your blog for several weeks now and think you make some fresh of breth air.

What is your opinion on aang and his arc in general ? Are you critical of the lion turtle at the end and think it was a selfish moment when he did not redirect lightning back at ozai?

Despite of all the shipping wars :)

Let's make a distinction clear here: the lionturtle was poorly set up, that is a totally valid complaint. Claiming that a traumatized 12-year-old, who as a bonus was raised to be a pacifist, is being selfish for not wanting to be people's assassin for hire is complete lunacy. He's a child, a person. He's not your super weapon/soldier, and his responsibilities as the Avatar don't change the fact that what people are expecting of him is unfair and deeply traumatizing.

And actually, Aang's role as the Avatar and the way people misunderstand it ties into why I think his arc was great: he has a duty to the world. The WHOLE world. Fire Nation very much included.

He isn't there to wipe them off the face of the Earth in retaliation for what they did to his people. He isn't there to have them be ruled with an iron fist for the crime of being born in the wrong place/culture, regardless of how complicent every individual was, or wasn't, in the war. He isn't there to disregard anyone's humanity and inherent right to life and dignity, not even Ozai's, for "the greater good."

He is there to bring back harmony. To help put the Fire Nation back on the right path. To make them stop being a threat, yes, but through REDEMPTION, not violence.

That's why he learns that the kids were taught lies basically from birth, and that any form of self-expression, and even old Fire Nation traditions, are being suppressed. Why he turns to Iroh for advice in Ba Sing Se even though the old man was constantly helping Zuko. Why he could see the lonely, angry, sad child hiding behind Zuko's hostile behavior. Why he too needed to see that fire could be both life and death, and thus should not be hated but also not used caressly, because even though he is an air-nomad before anything, that is still his element too.

The Fire Nation's original culture might not be his primary identity, but it is part of him, and he's one of the few people alive that were there to witness it in it's true glory - and the only one who hasn't had time to get used the idea of them being nothing but a threat now. That's why Aang is the perfect guy to save the day. He won't let them do evil, but he won't let their potential for good be ignored.

And it's sooooooooooooooooo satisfying to see the Fire Nation needing to rely on Aang's air-nomad culture to help. To see him prove Ozai was wrong to think they were just dead-weight in the world, that they had nothing of value to offer (and grabbing the fucker by his stupid beard).

To see Aang, who lost his people, saw sacred temples and relics destroyed, and that even had to hide his arrow, screaming to the whole world that the wisdom of the airbenders was the one hope for a brighter future and being validated by the narrative for it was fucking beautiful.

Aang was a child that was constantly told he had to sacrifice everything, his beliefs, his peace of mind, his culture, his attachment to the people he loved, what was left of his childhood and potentially even his own life for everyone else's sake, and that he was selfish if didn't like that shitty deal the universe offered him. And in the finale he said "FUCK THAT NOISE!" and that was thing that ultimately saved everyone, not just himself.

He is the poster boy for "Fuck you! It's real easy to talk about sacrifices for the greater good when you're not the one who'll have to sacrifice anything!" and I love him for that.

Seriously, it's crazy how fans that go "Urgh, just betray your beliefs and traumatize yourself for everyone else's sake already, you selfish asshole" don't realize they're unironically talking like an actual cartoon villain that is know for being cowardly and cruel.

[teenwolf-confessions]

He mellowed out, and became less actively malicious (especially in S6), but he never really tried to improve as a person or make up for anything he did...I don't even rememeber him saying the words "I'm sorry," or at least not with any sincerity. He only ever got involved when he personally wanted to (aka Malia and Derek were in trouble), and had to be coerced, threatened, and bargained with for anything else. And let's not forget him betraying everyone in S4 (which they then brushed over like it wasn't a big deal, for some reason).

I wouldn't bring it up necessarily if it weren't for how many actual redemption arcs Teen Wolf has. Chris, Ethan, Aiden, Deucalion, Theo, arguably Derek...and that's not even the full list. In a show full of people who tried to improve, to change, to evolve, if you will, it feels disingenuous to lump the self-serving narcissist who would do it all again in a heartbeat in with that group who put in the work.

And don't misunderstand, I still love Peter, but I love him as an overconfident, narcissistic psycho who is also kind of adorably pathetic.

#peterisbadandthat'sgoodhewillneverbegoodandthat'snotbad

Let's get it trending.

[inklessletter]

what's your favorite steddie trope?!?

Hey there, thank you for the question!

I've got to say that I'm kind of a slut for yearning and a good build up for connection. As long as the author captures that right, I don't care that much about the tropes they feature, honestly.

I guess that the dynamic that I love most are rivals to lovers, because when done *just right* it usually features misunderstandings/poor communication, learning about one another, funny/critical situations for the sake of the competition and, of course, my most favouritest thing, a redemption arcs that lead to a major character development.

I can find those features in many other fics and stories that are not rivals to lovers (actually, I have barely read any steddie rivals to lovers, so if you have a rec [it doesn't actually have to be steddie asdfasdf], please share!!), they are very much not exclusive, but I just love it too much when there's *this reason* why they are competing against one other that blinds them both, until at some point some of them takes it too far and the other gets so hurt that goes "you know what, you win," and then their world falls apart because they realize that their competition was the core of their connection but now it feels an excuse to be orbiting around each other, and now it (seems to be) broken for ever.

gOD, i LOVE THAT.

[miraculousdeservesbetter2024]

MAJOR Revelation & Collusion salt/vent incoming:

Look, I’m sorry if I’m misunderstanding something here, but I really dislike these episodes.

Why? To me, it seems like that guy is using Gabriel (the main villain and known terrorist of Miraculous) as the main "mouthpiece" for the fans who have the gall to take up for Chloe or call out her bad character portrayal (“You have a wonderful life, power, wife and a daughter”).

It also feels like the exact same thing when it came to Lila in Revelation, using the whole “Chloe is capable of change” speech for her own advantage, similar to what she tried to do with Marinette in Chameleon with the whole "friendship and not fighting over a boy" speech. It’s like he’s using them both as mouthpieces to represent the fans who still think Chloe can change or has potential.

So basically he's saying "Only psychopaths think that. You should listen to Marinette when she says Chloe is incapable of change because she’s the protagonist, and you shouldn’t listen to Lila and Gabriel when they say that Chloe can change because they’re the antagonists!”.

It’s really frustrating because any other time, we are made to feel sorry for Gabriel despite everything that he’s done, now we shouldn’t listen to him??? This is really disappointing to think about because he’s ruining Marinette's character this way. I still like Marinette and I really do think she deserves better, but I’m starting to see why people are starting to dislike her. She's becoming ANOTHER Thomas self-insert (on top of the MANY he already has in the series). The guy loves himself TOO much, don't you think?

I'm going to be completely honest here. As a Marinette fan, I still think the way SOME critics go about describing/criticizing/disliking Marinette and her character isn’t necessarily correct, but I must say that it’s still understandable. This guy is basically making her into his own personal mouthpiece, making S5 Marinette’s portrayal the worst as it has ever been 😓

Which is really a letdown because I love Marinette. It’s Chloe’s “Darnation arc” all over again. He’s ruining characters and development just to push his own morals and fill his own ego to the brim and it’s a shame.

And before anyone says:

“Geez! I swear to god people act like they know Chloe more than her own creator!” 🙄

Maybe your right, but MAYBE it wouldn’t of turned out that way if the show wasn’t so inconsistent and contradicting all the time! This is another reason why I think people have so much animosity towards characters like Andre, because the story portrays him as the victim “this entire time” who only got into politics to please his father and Audrey, pretending that he was never a corrupt politician on his own free will. It’s questionable because…he made his own bed. He choose the life that he has now, to have a child with a despicable woman, choose to spoil Chloe rotten, not to discipline her when she was being rotten to other people, and choose to not be there for her for emotional support.

I’m not saying that Chloe bares no blame at all, but it’s not ENTIRELY her fault just because “she’s her own person”. There is such things as bad parents & bad role models 🙄 You don’t have the right to give up on your daughter, saying things like “you have a terrible/cruel daughter” or “you tried everything in your power to help” when all you really did from the beginning was enable her, let her make everyone’s lives miserable and not be there for her like your should have. Yeah, she’s horrible, but at least she has the excuse that she’s a child. Your not only a grown man, but her father.

This goes for other figures in her life also (Audrey, Bustier, her butler, heck, even Ladybug to a degree). People are right, not everybody is responsible for holding her hand through redemption/reformation (and I agree) and to coddle her every time she does something wrong, but to say that “they’ve tried everything/their best”…just isn’t true. It’s more of an excuse to give up on her. Then JUST SAY THAT instead of trying to convince everybody that you did everything that you could.

Enabling =/= Helping.

[hamliet]

I'm really worried now about how bnha is going to end. I fell in love with the story because a lot of horikoshi's hero characters (nana, enji, hawks for example) were allowed to have flaws while his villain characters were still painted as sympathetic and human without having their villainy be erased. Now I'm feeling like hori is trying to turn this into a good vs bad kind of thing and the message is going more and more into the direction of some people are in fact born evil. on the one hand, we are constantly being told that all villains are human and that deku is special because he can see that, on the other hand we have AFO who is supposed to be the bad guy behind it all and heartless and whom the narrative never sympathizes with. it's all very odd to me. You could potentially argue that afo is a product of his environment and that nana, Kotaro, and shigaraki all made their choices in the end no matter how much they were being manipulated, but I got the feeling that the narrative doesn't believe that and even if it does, it bothers me that it refuses to acknowledge it. it feels so empty and cowardly, like horikoshi can't decide between "this guy is the big bad and just pure evil" and "every villain has a human heart" and like he doesn't actually believe in redemption as a concept, only in good people who do bad things but don't mean it and bad people who are really just bad. there's just something gross about it in general

I mean... yeah. That's why it's a thematic mess.

I will say that I think Hori isn't attempting to argue that he doesn't believe in redemption; it's more that

he wants to please everyone, and actually

he wants everyone to root for redemption.

By Trying to Please Everyone, You've Pleased No One.

I've actually talked about this before particularly in regards to the Endeavor arc, where it felt thematically confused because he was trying to placate both sides--people who didn't want Enji redeemed because they feared he would wash away the abuse, and people who wanted him redeemed. And we know Horikoshi initially had different plans for Enji but changed it, so this is partly to blame as well.

But the reality is it's a stronger story if the story isn't written to be enjoyed by everyone. If people can dislike parts of it. Even if people scream about how it's morally bad for saying circumstances influence how people become or something like that. (Those attacks come from genuine pain, and I honestly get the feeling that Hori is very, very aware of this, especially considering how visceral he writes abuse. But that doesn't mean they are themselves valid criticisms.)

You can't please everyone. You just can't. No one wants every single ice cream flavor melted together. Not every story will be for everyone. And no, that doesn't mean you should be deliberately hurtful, but if you're writing a story where the abuser is redeemed, if you want to portray the abuser as human, some victims may not want to read it. But many will want to read it. And both are okay. Some people will misunderstand you, and that's just--life.

The reality is that in this world everyone has competing needs, and what can meet someone's need doesn't meet another's, and that's okay. The beauty of humanity is that with all the billions of us on this earth, someone should be able to help meet someone else's needs in a certain area. You can't feed everyone, but you can feed someone, and watering down the story so that it's basically now devoid of nutrients/what makes a story interesting doesn't actually help anyone. By trying to please everyone, you've pleased no one.

Hori Is Very Pro-Redemption

I genuinely think Hori somehow decided to try to make Shigaraki extremely palatable not because he doesn't believe in redemption, but because he wants everyone to believe in it and root for Shigaraki.

It's not unique for him to retcon characters' mistakes; like I said, he's done this with Enji, with All Might, and with Hawks where he very obviously swerves from the initial plan. However, that weakens the very themes and the characters, and makes the story less interesting and objectively less well-written.* And now this AFO reveal, considering it's the main plot, kinda throws these more subplot ideas to the back burner and weakens the entire frame of the story rather than just the subplot.

So Hori's into redemption. The problem is that he doesn't know how to convince everyone that redemption is worth it, and so makes it so obvious that it's devoid of any actual interesting questions we can ponder. Essentially if you refuse redemption for Shig now, what's wrong with you? It's nigh morally impossible not to.

But I, Redemption Arc #1 Fan, like it when it's questionable. Redemption, for me, is never about deserve.

It's disappointing, but I've also seen way worse lol in terms of thematically undermining a story at its ending. So, no, I'm not happy about it and I will critique it. But I still want to see the characters I've loved for so long get their happy endings.

*Yes, "good writing" is an opinion; however, there are general consensuses of what constitute good and bad writing. This type of thing--removing agency completely in the last hour--is bad writing.

[dreamingofthewild]

I didn't want to add to the Veilguard criticism, but I have to say something because people are misunderstanding what we mean when they say you can't play a mean character.

In other words, a Veilguard review from a new player. Minor spoilers below.

Note: These are just my opinions. I believe in criticising things you enjoy. If you don't like critical posts, then please do not read further. Also, this post isn't negative, just critical.

I encourage people to play the game if they want to and read a wide variety of reviews.

Of course, Rook has to be a hero, but heroic characters come in many forms. And the game shoe horns us into a very narrow view of what being a hero means.

You can't play Rook as an anti-hero or a jerkass with a heart of gold. The game wants us to roleplay Rook as a Captain America esque hero type. There is nothing wrong with that, I love playing goody two shoes, but that is not the only way to be a hero.

Heroes also look like Deadpool, Wolverine, Han Solo, Geralt of Rivia, and so on. You can't be cynical or ruthless in the game. Despite the fact that the backgrounds put Rook as a daring character who is willing to break the rules. That sounded very, renegade anti-hero in my mind.

These characters are compelling because they blur the lines between right and wrong, often taking unconventional paths to achieve their goals.

Like I said, the game really wants is to think of good and evil as two very distinct things. Other people have definitely put this better than I ever could, but the lines between the two are often blurred. Also, the idea of what is evil and what is good varies from person to person and through different cultures.

It also suggests that evil people can't be redeemed. That there is something fundamentally wrong with people who do "bad" things.

Nuanced heroic characters are those who possess complex personalities, realistic flaws, and face moral dilemmas that challenge their values.

These characters are compelling because they are not purely good or evil; they make difficult choices, face personal demons, and evolve over time, reflecting the complexity of real human experiences.

As far as I can tell so far, Rook is not faced with many earth-shattering moral quandries. Although, there should be. Especially if you're playing as an Elf. The game so far hasn't made me think in the way DAI did or the way other games have.

The way that the Companions acted felt a bit disconnected to me. They had issues, but we didn't get to delve into them. I don't feel like we could challenge them or allow them to grow.

I am getting way off track here. But I like the characters. I do. And if this had been a movie or a game directed at a younger audience, I would have no issues. But it's not.

And if I am honest I think that the message that we all put our differences aside to defeat something that is threatening to destroy the world is a stronger message than "we all need to get along".

Learning about the moral grey areas, about what drives people to do bad things, is important in recognising how to stop it. Because most of the time, true evil is not obvious. It's wrapped up in false promises.

And if we spend time trying to deal with our own personal issues and working on getting along before destroying a big threat, then we might just find that the threat gets to us first.

I know anti-heros, redemption arcs, and flawed characters are not everyone's cup of tea. It's nice to live in a world where the lines between good and evil are so easily defined.

It would have been amazing if the game could've covered these topics and had us explore this in depth. I would feel more engaged with the storyline and the characters.

Anyway, I have gone massively off track. Basically, there is more than one way to be a hero, and when people say that they don't mean they want to be a villain, They want complexity.

I am generally enjoying the game. There are good things about it, and it's a win for diversity. I actually don't mind the animation. There are many things positive about Veilguard, and I don't have any comments about the lore as a fairly new player.

It's just that the game lacks the depth and naunce that would make it a 5/5 for me. It's there, but it's shallow.

Where are the characters who believe the world should end? Where are the characters who blindly follow their doctrines? Where is the quest where Rook thinks they are doing a good thing, which ends up having negative consequences?

This wasn't supposed to be a full, in-depth review of the game or critique on the writing. There are many places where the writing is good. And I think that some people are being a bit overboard with their criticism. But it could have been better. We shouldn't shy away from heavy topics, and media/ art is a great way to discuss and critique real world things. I get that some people want pure escapism, which is fine. But that is not what Dragon Age was sold to me as.

If the writing is good you can explore such things in a sensitive way.

I am going to continue to play the game because I am enjoying it. But we should expect better.

[astridthevalkyrie]

the fandom don’t care about baby trapping bc why are they making fics and saying pen shoulve trapped Colin as joke? But when Marina was doing for her survival it was she’s the devil so see how it was never about Colin or wanting him not to be trapped and more so about them hating Marina bc she was taking away their little self insert girl crush like pen they was just jealous and bitter insecure girls! Bc wdym it’s fine if pen babytraps colin and he would’ve liked it 😂 oh polin so unserious

i mean like, fandom makes jokes i don't think that's a bad thing, even if they write it that's fine, but yeah if they do it and simultaneously think marina is the devil it's mmmm.

and of course there's self inserting into pen. but that's not bad either! i self insert into pen too, her scenes at the balls and parties are like man :/ being ignored and shunned and treated poorly at large events sucks majorly, having your mom constantly treat you like that sucks majorly too. i think people self insert into all the characters—daphne for wanting to be a mom, fran for preferring the quiet, kate and anthony for their older sibling plights, so on and so forth.

the thing is when it comes to characters like penelope, or even less bookish characters like mcu wanda or regina from ouat, is that fans relating to them leads to "this character did nothing wrong because society/other characters fucked them over first." and just to be clear, that's fine. i know a lot of people say "you can love a character but you have to acknowledge their flaws" ehhhh. idk. if you're just into a show for fun you shouldn't have to acknowledge a character's flaws to enjoy them. you kinda just can, it doesn't mean you agree with them whether you explain yourself or not.

but then it goes a step further into hate for other characters and that's when i get annoyed. i don't care that people love penelope, i dislike that i can't look at any bridgerton opinions without seeing blatant hate and misunderstanding of eloise and marina. i don't care that ouat fans love regina, i dislike the absolute insane takes on snow and emma twisting things around to make them the villains.

and when it comes to penelope specifically, yeah, her ending arc is very underwhelming. nothing happens which begs the question why she couldn't simply come forward last year when eloise was threatened or why she couldn't let eloise pretend to be LW for the queen's benefit. but even that is fine. it's fucking bridgerton, i didn't expect her to get consequences. my biggest problem besides fans' villainizing everyone but her, is that her redemption arc is sorely missing one thing—apologizing to marina. the actress couldn't come back, that's fine! just show pen writing a letter to her too when she wrote to violet and the queen. that is the biggest problem i have because penelope was a teenager when she revealed marina's secret. she was immature and childish and it's understandable, but she should apologize now that she's matured and understands that was wrong.

also maybe not punishing cressida for trying to escape marriage to an old man. idk.

[a-fantasy-lover-surfing-the-net]

Till the end of the moon review

I recently rewatched the drama and felt like reviewing the first Cdrama I ever watched. After watching some cdramas in the past 7 months since I first watched the drama, I now trust myself to write a decent enough review after somewhat familiarizing myself with the genre and overall cdrama space.

Rating: 9.5/10 (1000 bonus points for searing itself in my mind and staying there even after 7 months)

Acting: 10/10

Story: 9/10

Chemistry: 100000000/10

OST: 10/10

Costumes: 10/10

Hair & Makeup: 9.5/10

Production/Set Design: 10/10

Visual Effects/CGI: 10/10

Rewatch Value: 10/10

Li Susu, an immortal time travels 500 years into the past to prevent the ascension of the Devil god, who goes on to destroy the world in the future. It's a story of love and hate, good and evil, redemption and damnation. The characters are very well conceptualized and depicted beautifully by talented actors, stunning costumes, really good hair and makeup, and great cinematography. The amazing production and set design along with impressive visual effects and CGI really immerse the audience in the world of TTEOTM. This was a high budget drama and it shows... each and every frame of the drama, it feels lavish. If you are even a little bit interested go watch the first episode and l promise you'll be hooked and end up finishing the drama.

Now unto my spoiler filled thoughts:

I find it interesting that the typical backstory themes and some character arcs of the male lead and the female lead have been swapped here. The FL usually has a dead parent or abusive household or terrible luck and so on. The ML usually comes to the FL's rescue or stands up for her and so on. We all know that Tantai Jin is Disney Princess coded given his dead mother, abusive and neglectful upbringing and his animal telepathy powers. LSS both as Ye Xiwu and LSS repeatedly saves TTJ and stands for him. While TTJ also saves her many times, he does not get a chance to stand up for her because she usually takes care of herself and she is not suspected or wrongfully accused where she would need someone to support her. Also, TTJ basically became a part of LSS's family as her uncle took him under his wing and he promised to stay in Hengyang Sect with her in ep 35 before all hell breaks loose. And who can forget that LSS marks TTJ with her Phoenix mark, typical ML behavior.

Their romance is my ultimate enemies to lovers pairing. It has just the right amount of fighting, messiness, animosity and angst for me. I feel that other pairings don't have enough of it for me to consider them as an enemies-to-lovers couple. Their visuals, their chemistry, their acting and the story everything was so great. Who else has three epic weddings in one drama? I am still not able to move on from this couple and drama.

While the misunderstandings were obviously supposed to lead to a turning point in the story, I feel like it was in character for them to jump to conclusions and assume the worst without fully thinking things through and which then led to them acting rashly. I mean both TTJ and LSS had bad history between them so in the early stages of their relationship where their trust in each other was shaky, it's understandable that they were prone to misunderstandings. Also, they're both not good at communicating with each other. In the mortal arc, LSS was never fully honest with TTJ and they never addressed their past misdeeds properly (like OG Ye Xiwu was very cruel to TTJ and he never talked to her about it and just brushed it off). In the immortal arc, TTJ deceived LSS when he became the Devil God.

For the most part the story was gripping, progressed at a good pace and conveyed many themes that become apparent on rewatches. Though it was obvious that the last 5 episodes and the ending were rushed because the censorship rules changed as they went into production. This was one of those dramas that needed at least 5-10 more episodes to properly flesh out the story. It was a missed opportunity that we didn't get to see LSS ruling the Demon realm and Ami's antics.

Another victim of the decreased episode count is the arc of the second leads. Tbh, I wish that Pian Ran and Ye Qingyu were the SLs but I think I would have enjoyed seeing the complete character arc of Xiao Lin/Gongye Jiwu and Ye Bingchang/Mo Nv and the resolution between them. That said it was appalling that they didn't bring back Pian Ran and Ye Qingyu in the immortal arc. I really missed their dynamic with each other and with the main leads. It is disappointing that they didn't even get an open/ambiguous ending to give us some closure and satisfaction.

The actress did a phenomenal job in making us hate her as Ye Bingchang and Tian Huan. Those characters as villians really worked as they were in a way the ones who had the markings of the female lead (these characters at the start of their stories could easily be heroines in any other story) but they turn into villians. Tantai Minglang was a good, serviceable villian and the actor did a lot with how little he was given. Di Mian was selfish and manipulative traitor who was almost scarily competent. I mean he did achieve what he wanted by becoming the Devil God and opening the Tongbei formation. The point of Devil God as a villian is not his character and his motivations but rather he represents our inner demons and how each of us has the power to overcome them.

Out of all the dramas I've watched, only TTEOTM's entire OST is on my regular playlist to listen to. Every time I listen to "Let's be like this for 10,000 years", I feel the love and tragedy of Sang Jui and Ming Ye's story all over again. It's impressive that a song can make you relive those feelings and the story every time you listen to it. All the songs fit wonderfully in the scenes they're played over and also make us feel those emotions again when listening to them separately.

On my first watch, the dream arc felt a little out of place and jarring, which, in hindsight, was probably due to the fact that it was my first cdrama. Upon rewatch I've come to appreciate that it gives a look into the age of Gods and it shows that the Devil God was so powerful that to stop him the Gods had to sacrifice themselves and only Ming Ye was able to survive. The action sequences here are just magnificent to watch and they definitely seem movie level. It also serves as a warning to the audience, LSS and TTJ that they could also have a tragic end if they don't learn the lessons from it. Unfortunately, in the mortal arc they did have a tragic end. However, in the immortal arc, TTJ is able to learn from his experience as Ming Ye and succeeds in defeating the OG Devil God and becoming the Devil God himself with control over his own destiny.

One of the most prominent themes of the drama is redemption and that love and compassion are powerful enough to change a person's fate. The themes of Taoism and Buddhism are evoked throughout the drama. There are also many other minor themes like the food is used as a guesture kindness (when LSS first gives TTJ a proper meal), affection/care (when TTJ gave LSS the goose themed meal), love (when LSS gives badly cooked meals to TTJ), betrayal and trickery (the poisoned porridge) and comraderie, friendship, brotherhood and familial love (when TTJ shares meals with his sect brothers and master). Both TTJ and LSS have dead moms, terrible fathers and great adoptive dads (Zhao You and Qu Xuan Zi), these are just some observations I made.

I may not love the ending but I don't hate it either as it was obvious to me that they reunite once again and live happily as a family (the audio ending really makes it clear). Even though I'm irritated we don't get to see it, I'm still satisfied that we get a hopeful ending rather than a tragic one.

Until now I've mostly been lurking in fandom spaces by liking and very rarely commenting and reblogging but never posting my own original post. The fact that my first ever post is on TTEOTM shows how much I love it. I'll probably be posting more TTEOTM analysis stuff so be on the look out for that if you're interested. Also, I welcome your recommendations as I'm still a newbie to cdramas and kdramas.

You can also check out my costumed cdrama rankings here.

[bonefall]

Gosh thinking about this, sometimes i wonder just how many characters the Erins missed out on making black and white. What i mean is, not all characters have to be kind to their family deep down while still rude to the outside. Not all need to regret their choices or be influenced by some deep tragedy. Maybe, just maybe, some characters would genuinely take dominance and ambition over family. Maybe some characters would actually take adventage of any people they have extended their olive branch to. Leopardstar could be written as somebody who KNOWS she has done wrong, WANTS to change, but never does. Because that's how she is, and there is NO redemption in the end.

A beautifully tragic character, who never changes, is written as being weighed down by their mistakes but choosing to carry them all their life. Because changing their attitude would mean the end of the world for them.

Blackstar, i'm also looking at you here. And you, Clear Sky.

Any characters you think should also be like this?

Clear Sky is the biggest one. So many of DOTC's problems would just not exist if it wasn't building towards its utter failure of a redemption arc. He's a fantastic villain, a complete bastard, and it makes a much better story if Gray Wing's story is supposed to be realizing that he is enabling a tyrant.

But him aside... surprisingly, Thornclaw. He was a Dark Forest trainee. They keep using him as a low-stakes antagonist. He's always had motive as one of the more "traditionalist" members of ThunderClan. Thornclaw makes a great villain... but they won't let the fan favorite 1st arc patrol guy be the bad boy he could be.

All of the Dark Forest Trainee survivors, really! Damn shame that so many of them died!! I'll argue that MOST of them should have survived, and more of them should have been Breezepelts who fought to the end.

I feel similarly about every cat who's ever really been an antagonist, because they have a weird problem about just... never addressing the horrible actions of smaller characters. Crowfeather looks at Breezepelt nicely and suddenly he's fixed. Blossomfall never confronts her hatred towards her mom and sister. Bumblestripe was just a major supportive antagonist in TBC and we're not talking about that in ASC.

And like... I LOVE redemption arcs. Don't misunderstand me. I would be satisfied if all of those last three HAD redemption arcs. But like... we didn't. Breezepelt hits me particularly hard honestly. I hate the fact that Crowfeather abused him but then was able to have a mild epiphany and suddenly poof! All Breeze's own agency in his choices is gone. My shitty dad's sort-of apology filled me with redemption.

Bleh. More Clanborn villains, basically. Less Evil Foreigners who come out of nowhere.

[thewiglesswonder]

I'd be hard pressed to say I don't enjoy collector at all (I have merch of him after all). But my feelings towards him are complicated, he was great in s2, but in s3 I couldn't help but feel like the crew felt like they couldn't redeem him as is. That they felt they needed to absolve him of doing anything actually wrong so all his potential crimes are either nonexistent, blamed on other collectors/belos, or pretty much swept under the rug.

When we saw that collector back in KKKOHD it was like " Oooo this is intriguing, who is this and whats their deal?". Dana even showed off her half of collector's face during the charity event and saying "you've technically already met them" . So it was like "oooo the collector who caught the owl beast!".

And then it keeps ramping up, we have Philip find him, he's introduced as childish but sinister, he has a murder cult who worships him, he slams belos into a wall and angrily forces king to stay with him from luz.

And then-

Nah, he's unaware of death, misunderstood, hates said cult, and not even the same collector we met who caught the owl beast.

It felt like we were building up a very different kind of collector then what we got. This child who played with his food and didn't care who got hurt unless he was having fun, who caused the curse and pissed off the titan so much he hid his son away, and then everything that made him more grey just.... was not his fault at all.

And then on top of this there are just things between ep2 and 3 that don't make sense or are dropped, he doesn't understand death but crosses out a whole chapter in his book explicitly about genocide, which implies he does understand death? Belos tricks him into thinking King wants him dead and collector litterally gets over it by the next episode that i kinda don't see what the point was? He is shown to feel jealous over luz and angry about her arrival, but by the next episode he litterally starts the episode claiming to want to be her friend? How does he know about the cult but not know about death given they KILL titans?

Heck, FTF ends on him sinisterly saying he wants to play a new game, but WAD claims the dream sequence was belos's idea, not his, so its extremely misleading.

I'm not even opposed to the idea of a character being built up to be sinister only to reveal they never actually were and it was just a lie built on misunderstandings and paranoia. But it didn't feel nearly as well built up as it could've been.

And then on top of this, collector cries over luz dying as if its the first time he's felt this way, despite knowing her as a friend for a few hours max? He's never cried before? Not when the titans who were his friends were killed or when he got locked up? And then despite this being here to teach him about death being permanent, luz basically instantly comes back.

And after all of this, after what he did to the people on the isles, he just....leaves. he doesn't stay to help repair the isles that he partially damaged, and despite the show having a found family message and collector not wanting to be alone....he leaves....to be alone. So his redemption rests on a few hours of life lessons with luz, luz's not permanent death, and then thats enough to change his whole world view so its perfectly fine if he goes off on his own now I guess.

Collector pretty much goes out entirely unpunished for anything, the isles shows no lasting anger to him, he keeps his friendship with king, luz didn't actually die, so there's really no strong consequences for what he did. He feels bad for the draining spell and stuff but thats really it, he doesn’t stay to repent or anything. I know he's a child but he might be the child character who got off the easiest for his actions this entire series, and what he was responsible for wasn't light either.

I like the idea behind collector, but I don't understand entirely the love surrounding him because the writing surrounding him and his arc is confusing and it read to me like they were bending over backwards to erase any trace of him doing anything bad of his own violation or just not taking it as seriously as they should of.

Trying to redeem a collector who did intentionally hurt others , who does work hard to repent, and who learns over a longer period of time, would of felt more satisfying and would've been more interesting.

I hardly have anything to add to this, you've summed up pretty much every issue I take with the little guy! I'm not denying that he's a bad concept or a bad character, the execution of his supposed arc and intensely conflicting information we were given about him through the course of the last half of the show, coupled with the fact that he's always kind of felt like he appeared out of nowhere to me, I hate to say it, but he really hurts the narrative more than he helps it as-is. More energy, time, and really thought put into him would soothe a lot of these issues.

[lavellun]

I really love all the actors on hotd (especially Clinton liberty since he’s on TT and just seems so happy to be there! ) but I really, really, really hope there are different writers for these last seasons, I think they’re going for 4. Yet I keep hearing about budget cuts so I hope that doesn’t hurt this project more

hi, kim 💗 so sorry for the late reply btw! i totally agree with you! the actors of HOTD all seem so lovely and they were definitely doing their best with the scripts they were given. regarding this season, i have so many mixed feelings! there were some really cool moments that i absolutely loved:

> daemon in harrenal was my favorite arc of the season (and alys rivers became my favorite character this season too!)

> 'the red dragon and the gold' was an AMAZING episode

> 'the red sowing' was such a cool episode as well and it FINALLY gave us a grey character moment from rhaenyra

> alicent/criston was such an intersting dynamic too! could've been explored in more depth and with more complexity… 🗣️ IF THE SEASON HAD MORE EPISODES 🗣️

> obviously: the cinematography was stunning, the soundtrack phenomenal and the dragons looked amazing!

and for all the criticisms i had of alicent's character this season, i can definitely see what they were trying to do with her arc, and i wouldn't have minded if it had happened later on in the show, perhaps? this 'redemption' feels too rushed, it feels like the writers/the people in charge just want her to be a 'likeable' character so bad, if that makes sense. the scene between her and rhaenyra in the last episode, as beautifully acted it was (and with an intersting parallel with helaena also having to choose one of her children in the beginning of the season), it didn't make much sense to me. it seems the writers are like 'see guys??? alicent is ACTUALLY on rhaenyra's side!!!'. and i'm like… what happened to season 1!alicent? what happened to 'you are the challenge, aegon, simply by living and breathing'? to 'now you take my son's eye and to even that you feel entitled'? to 'what have i done but what was expected of me?'. and even this season, when baby jaehaerys was k*lled? the pain and trauma inflicted on her family, on helaena (and even aegon!)? i'm just so confused and dissapointed with this season, really... again, i don't think i minded if this 'redemption' arc of alicent happened, had it been done with more time to fully develop BUT ALSO… why are the writers so afraid of actually making her a character (or any character really...) consumed by her trauma, her grief, her pain?

why is everything in this show a mistake, a misunderstanding or a miscommunication? i think one of the things i loved the most about season 1 was how 'aware' these characters were of their actions and motivations, you know? even if they were questionable and 'not right'. like, rhaenyra was straight up lying to everyone's faces about her kids' parentage, she faked laenor's death (causing imense grief to rhaenys and corlys) just to marry daemon and strengthen her claim to the throne... alicent demanded that a kid's eye was removed as a form of justice and when that proved fruitless she attacked the heir to the throne in front of everybody (the king included)... like!!! what happened to moments like this? moments driven by pain and trauma? moments that actually told us so much about these characters and what they were going through?

this was waaay too long so sorry lmao but i don't know... i just wished we saw more complexity overall this season (and more drama™️ lol). the foundations were all there from season 1. to me, it was a bit of a shame. but it's just my opinion on the matter, it's totally okay if other people feel differently 😌💗