#i enjoyed the novelisation the same way i enjoy the film

[theweefreewomen]

I bought and read the novelisation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the book based on the movie based on the comic book based on classic Victorian literature) and it’s facinating to see the difference between movie Jeykll and this version of Jeykll. people in the fandom joke about him being kind of wet and pathethic in the film, which is definitely an exageration, but in the novelisation... it’s a tad more accurate.

Shaking with weakness and personal misery, the scrawny figure arose, blinking his nervous, saucer-wide eyes. He was a slight man who easily slipped his entire hand out of Hyde’s wrist shackles, leaving the torn chains on the floor. His ashen face reflected his ordeal. His large Adam’s apple bobbed up and down as he gulped.

“Henry Jeykll, at your service. And I would very much like to earn my pardon and return to London.” He swallowed hard. “May I have a glass of water, please?”

someone please wrap this man in a blanket and give him some tea.

“Liar. I’m a good man.” Jekyell whimpered.

[after talking with Nemo]

Jekyll scampered away without looking back.

That Henry Jeykll, famous for scampering about everywhere.

Jeykll blinked his saucerlike eyes, then swallowed hard in his scrawny throat.

again with the saucer eyes.

“I’m going inside there.” Jeykll’s voice was a mere squeak amid the choatic noise.

I wish I could make gifs because I would love to have a side-by-side comparison between this description and Jason Flyming’s actual performance.

Then his body began to change. Bones lenghened and thickened, muscles swelled and bulged. [...] He convulsed and spasmed, clamping his lips shut to hold in the air. Every time he suffered through this, the transformation brought him more and more agony.

Finally, Jekyll could not help himself. He screamed underwater, but let out only a mouthful of bubbles as his back arched and limps thrashed. His eyes began to bleed.

not actually connected to the ‘wet and pathetic’ thing, I just really like how the book described the transformation here. it really leans hard into the body horror on top of the horror of drowning.

Skittish Jekyll slipped on the slick coating of fresh frozen ice that covered the armored upper deck, but Quartermain caught him.

Someone had way too much fun with alliteration here.

[Skinner] looked like a frozen corspe, but at least he had stopped shivering, unlike Henry Jekyll.

‘Skinner might look like a zombie but at least he isn’t shivering like a loser.’

“Look out!” Jeykll cried in a thin squeak. He shoved Nemo aside just before the icicle spike spintered into chips on the chimney floor.

“I thank you. I would have been killed.”

Jeykll blinked, then smiled. “I’m glad that... I can be useful, too.”

yes Henry you did a Good Job here but also this isn’t the time for your praise kink.

[space-blue]

so uh do you think the recombinants have human rights? or are we just going to see the rda doing human experiments cause they are “only” copies of people

Heya anon. Interesting question to get out of the blue.

I don't see why recoms would have human rights. Not only are they not "human" and giving them rights would be a slippery slope to giving the Na'vi rights, they are the explicit commercial creation of a private company.

The genre of the Avatar franchsie can be confusing at times due to the optimistic vibes, pretty setting and time spent on exploration with the natives of Pandora, but the human side is extremely rooted in cyberpunk.

The RDA is a company.

Imagine if we discovered a sentient race of underwater aliens on Europa, and the people interracting with them were from SpaceX, on a SpaceX agenda, and not NASA, ESA or JAXA. Worse, since the RDA is all about mining, imagine they were kitted out and working under an executive of Glencore! Shipped by SpaceX...

IDK if the world of Avatar has more info in novelisations, games or comics reguarding the state of laws in space, but I very much think that if people like Quaritch signed a contract to allow the use of his DNA and recorded memories, and the RDA creates recombinants off their own tech at their own price, for their own security team... Then no court of justice has any say in that.

I doubt the RDA's HR department on Pandora will be reporting anything back to earth if the recoms have complaints... By the way, canonically if your cryopod malfunctions during an interstellar trip with the RDA, you die, because they don't keep enough resources on board to let human live the length of the trip, so good luck having any humane law at your back.

On the other hand, I don't understand what you mean by human experiments.

The RDA is not interested in that, and they don't seem to be needed. From the films, we know they want rocks and oil. That's it. They do mining and hunting. They aren't set on Pandora to do human experiments.

A1 already has the ability to use avatars, and those avatars are created on earth and mature over the course of the flight. So clearly the creation of hybrid bodies has been going on for decades (since Grace has been at this for a long while!) and there's no hint of it being human experimentation.

Again: recombinants aren't human. That's what makes them so fascinating. They are a mostly Na'vi and human chimera, with a memory imprint that forces a personality on them. But they can't live natural lives on earth, don't have any legal identity (Quaritch and his men are DEAD. They died. They were clearly labeled KIA so the RDA could make the recom contract kick in).

Even their qualia, the way they experience consciousness, is not human. Humans aren't that size, that build, with tails and swivelling ears. They may remember being a human, but they aren't anymore.

Which creates enormous room for angst and fantastic reasons to rebel and join the locals. The memories of humanity are used as a leash. IDK if they are even copies of people. Q is clearly missing memories outside of what was recorded for him.

I don't think there will be "experiments" on them. I don't see the point. Q & co. are also not used in that way in the story of A2. They are fearsome but easy to dispatch villains for a setting that doesn't tolerate humans anymore.

I don't think that recoms being "remade" would be an experiment or a torture. I think it would be the cold calculations of a cyberpunk mega-corp.

But don't forget there is no process to speed this along. So either the company already made several copies of each recoms, or they'll need years to make new ones. They're also very expensive, so who knows.

I really enjoy the idea of Q going rogue precisely because he's given a new crew of the same recoms to work with and the inhumanity of it finally breaks him. He'd be bound to realise there's more of him in storage and nothing he can do will be meaningful in that way.

[jvliaxox]

Canon Star Wars books every fan should read

The Aftermath Trilogy by Chuck Wendig: It’s based basically right after Return of the Jedi and is about a Republic crew hunting down Imperial leaders. I will be honest, some of it is slow and ik a lot of people aren’t huge fans of the present-tense writing and the “interludes”, however it does bring really interesting lore into Star Wars and I love its take on the found family trope. The first book is really slow, it wasn’t my fave however once you finish it the quality of the books does get better. It’s like the prequels, it starts off funny but after each novel it gets better. Empire’s End, the last novel, was honestly amazing and is so worth the read but you’ll need to get through the first two books first. If you’re an original trilogy fan or someone who just wants to learn more about Star Wars then you have to read this series it’s great.

The Padmè trilogy by E.K. Johnston: I have not read the final book (Queen’s Hope) yet, but I can say that the other two books are literally amazing. Padmè is actually a really great and important character and it was nice to see her as someone other than Anakin’s love interest. In my opinion, the books really do her justice. It was a pretty easy and quick read, especially as someone who (lately) has not been reading much. You also get some Naboo handmaiden lore and in Queen’s Peril you get some POVs from other characters which was cool. I honestly couldn’t think of any reason someone wouldn’t enjoy/want to read these books apart from not being interested in Padmè, I really enjoyed it and so did a lot of Star Wars fans so if you want to know more about Padmè, or you want to do some light Star Wars reading then read these books.

The Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy by Timothy Zahn: I literally loved these books so much. Timothy Zahn created Thrawn all the way back in the 90s in his Legends trilogy and you can really tell this just by reading the books. The Thrawn Ascendancy Trilogy is begins right before the end of the Clone Wars and it’s basically like “what was happening in the Unknown Regions during this time???” as a book. Like it’s so interesting to see how this part of the galaxy was having its own conflicts and stuff going on and were pretty much oblivious to the Clone Wars, it really shows how isolated the Unknown Regions were to the rest of the galaxy. There’s also a lot of Chiss lore which is great, and the characters are amazing. One thing I will say though, the book is heavy on space-ship fights and a lot of the time when this was happening I didn’t understand like half the terms all the characters were using but the whole book was Thrawn just outsmarting everyone which is what kept me through it. It has me hyped for the other Thrawn trilogy which I haven’t started yet, but this is a great read if you saw Thrawn in the Rebels series and want to know more about him.

Rogue One novelisation by Alexander Freed: just a warning, if you read this you will never be the same, like ever again. When I started this book I thought I was gonna be bored because I was like “I already know what goes on in the movie, what more could I get out of this?” but Lord was I so terribly wrong. It’s an expanded version of Rogue One. You’re put inside the heads of the characters and you also get POVs from other characters that otherwise weren’t in the film and it is honestly just so amazing how much lore that a novelisation could bring to a movie, and to the Star Wars universe as well. Tbh if I hadn’t run out of tears I would have bawled my eyes out when I finished this book, it’s literally so good and if you love Rogue One then it is a requirement to read this book. Tbh you don’t even have to love Rogue One to love this, the writing was great anyone who likes Star Wars should read it lmao.

Bloodline by Claudia Gray: if you haven’t read this book then what are you doing with your life. This is one of the first Star Wars books I have ever read and I have no regrets at all. It’s about Leia’s final years as a senator in the New Republic, around five years before the Force Awakens. In the Force Awakens everyone was shocked that the New Republic was destroyed overnight by the First Order, but Bloodline does a really good job of showing how weak, careless, and corrupt the New Republic Senate really was. Like it actually frustrated me how annoying the Senate was, like you had senators who openly worship the Empire and senators who outright didn’t care about the people and at times it felt like Leia was the only sane person in the Senate. What is going on throughout the novel is that the Senate is divided between two factions: the populists and the centralist, and the senators are more concerned about someone from their faction becoming chancellor than actually doing their jobs. The book really does show how much Leia values duty to the Republic over herself, because at the start she is planning on retiring from the senate but stays for the sake of helping people, and eventually she leads the Resistance. Someone give my girl a break fr. But yeah if you wanna know what the hell was going on before the sequels (like we all do), or you love Leia (like we all do), or you love Star Wars politics, stop what you’re doing and read this book.

Honourable mentions (mostly books I haven’t read but a lot of ppl recommend)

The (canon) Thrawn trilogy

Lost Stars

Any of the High Republic books (I have only read Light of the Jedi and can’t wait to read more abt this era)

Battlefront II: Inferno Squad (if you haven’t played the game then probs don’t read this)

Any of the “From a Certain Point of View” books

The Legends Thrawn trilogy. I know this isn’t canon but I think it’s definitely worth a read and you don’t actually need a bunch of knowledge of Legends to read it.

Brotherhood

Master & Apprentice

Any of the Crimson Dawn comics

Dark Disciple

Ahsoka

The Alphabet Squadron trilogy

[aion-rsa]

How Final Destination Went From Real-Life Premonition to Horror Phenomenon

https://ift.tt/30jSLcc

The year 2000 was a scary one for horror films and not always in a good way.  

While American Psycho and The Cell offered up visually striking nihilistic thrills to genre fans, the majority of horror movies released at the dawn of the new millennium were at best forgettable and, at worst, lamentable – yes, we’re looking at you, Leprechaun in the Hood.  

This was the year of duff sequels like Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, Urban Legends: Final Cut and, though it is painful to admit, Scream 3. Horror fans were screaming out for something different, something exciting. They found it with Final Destination.  

Discarding the stalk-and-slash thrills that had enjoyed a revival in the years following the release of Scream, Final Destination centered on a group of high schoolers who end up avoiding a fatal plane crash thanks to a premonition, only to discover there is no escaping death’s plan as one by one they are offed in a variety of brilliantly inventive “accidents”.  

Released in March of that year, Final Destination was a sleeper hit with word-of-mouth helping the film to clean up at the box office, earning $112 million off a $23 million budget with more than half of that coming internationally.  

To date, it has spawned four sequels as well as a variety of novelisations and comic book spin-offs while a franchise reboot is also on the horizon.  

Read more

Movies

The Final Destination Movies, Ranked

By Sarah Dobbs

Jeffrey Reddick has worked on several films during his career to date but he’s probably best known as the creator of Final Destination. It’s something he has come to terms with.  

“It’s probably going to end up on my gravestone, it’s such an ironic title,” he tells Den of Geek.  

“Sometimes I’ll be out and I will hear someone say ‘you just had a Final Destination moment’ and it will make me smile. The whole thing just took on a life of its own.”  

Nightmarish Origins  

A screenwriter and director, Reddick recalls how his neighbors in rural Jackson, Kentucky, would laugh when his six-year-old self would tell them about his plans to work in the movie business.   

An avid writer and reader of Greek and Roman mythology, he recalls spending his formative years watching horror movies with his friends. His mother was only too happy to indulge his burgeoning interest too, knowing it kept him out of trouble elsewhere.  

Reddick’s life began to change after he saw A Nightmare on Elm Street.   

“That film cemented my love of horror. I was this 14-year-old hillbilly from Kentucky but I decided I was going to write a prequel. I went home, banged it out on my typewriter and sent it to Bob Shaye.”  

The legendary head of New Line Cinema initially dismissed Reddick’s draft out of hand, returning it with a note explaining the studio did not “accept unsolicited material.”  

Undaunted, Reddick sent the script back with a note telling him “Look mister, I spent three dollars on your movie and I think you could take five minutes on my story.”  

Shaye was impressed and struck up a bond with the youngster that saw him sending everything from scripts to posters to Reddick during his teenage years.  

When Reddick moved to New York to study acting, age 19, he was offered an internship with New Line, which would become a full-time role despite acting being his “main passion.”  

“Diversity in casting was not a thing at that time,” he recalls.  

“My agent was like ‘I don’t know what to do with you as an actor. We can’t put you up for gangsters or pimps and you don’t rap and you don’t play basketball.”  

“So  I figured, screw it, I will just write stuff and put myself in it.”  

Reddick was present at New Line during their company’s early 90s creative heyday and credits the experience with helping him get Final Destination off the ground.  

“I learned a lot about how to get a movie made. I knew that to make a movie that connected with an audience you had to tap into something that was universal. Death is the ultimate fear.”  

As luck would have it, the idea actually came to Reddick while on a flight back to Kentucky.  

“I read about a woman who was on vacation and her mother told her not to take the flight she was planning to take home as she had a bad feeling about it. The woman changed it and the plane she was supposed to be on crashed.”  

At that point however the idea wasn’t Final Destination. It wasn’t a film either. It was an episode of The X Files.  

The Truth Is Out There  

“I was trying to get a TV agent at the time and they recommended I write a spec script for something already on the air. I was a huge fan of The X Files and thought about a scene where somebody has a premonition and gets off the plane and then it crashes and used that as the plot.”  

“It was going to be Scully’s brother Charles who had the premonition. He gets off the plane with a few other people but they start dying and Charles blacks out every time there is a murder so people suspect he is doing it.   

Read more

TV

I Still Want to Believe: Revisiting The X-Files Pilot

By Chris Longo

“The twist at the end was that the sheriff who had been investigating alongside Mulder and Scully the whole time had actually been shot and flatlined at the same time as the plane crash.  Death brought him back to kill off all the survivors, including Charles.”  

It would have made for a great episode except it was never submitted to The X Files. Reddick showed his spec script to some friends at New Line who were so impressed, they told him to develop it into a treatment for a feature, which was eventually purchased by the studio.  

Producers Craig Perry and Warren Zide were brought onboard to develop the story and set about tweaking his idea.  

“Originally the cast of survivors were adults because I wanted to explore more adult themes but Scream had come out and teenagers were hot again so New Line got me to change it”  

In a twist of fate, two established writers from The X Files, James Wong and Glen Morgan, were brought onboard to rejig Reddick’s script.   

“My version was definitely darker and more like A Nightmare on Elm Street,” he says.  

“In my script, death would torment the kids about some kind of past sin they felt guilty about. They would then die in these accidents that ended up looking like suicides.”  

For example, Todd’s death saw him chased into the family garage by an unseen specter where he accidentally ended up rigged in a noose triggered when his dad opens the automatic garage door.   

Death is all around us  

Ultimately that death scene and several others were ultimately scrapped in favour of what would prove to be the franchise’s calling card.  

Reddick credits Wong and Morgan with coming up with the idea of having the film’s key death scenes kicked off by a Rube Goldberg machine-like chain-reaction that would see everyday things colliding to create a lethal scenario. It was nothing short of a masterstroke.   

“It created this notion that death is all around us,” Reddick says.  

“Death would use everyday things around us. It made it more universal and allowed us to set the deaths in places where people go all the time. The payoff would be fun but it was the build-up that had you on the edge of your seat.”  

There was one major sticking point for the studio though: the presence of death, or rather the lack of.  

“I fought really hard to make sure we never showed death because for me, if you didn’t show it, it could be something someone, no matter their belief system, could project onto our villain. That was a tough sell for the studio. They would be like ‘this doesn’t make any sense, you can’t see it and you can’t fight it’ but that’s the point, it’s death.”  

“Luckily both James Wong and Glen Morgan were very insistent we never show it and tie it in to a specific belief system.”  

Reddick credits the move with helping Final Destination become “an international phenomenon”.  

“It struck a chord with people around the world. It broke out beyond the horror audience.”  

Casting dreams   

When it came to casting, Reddick had a clear idea of who he wanted in the lead roles, even if the studio’s opinion differed drastically.  

“I had a wish list with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst as my two leads but New Line was like ‘well…’”  

He might not have got his first pick but Final Destination boasted an impressive cast of up-and-comers who had already made waves among teen audiences.   

Devon Sawa had starred in Idle Hands, while Ali Larter was known for Varsity Blues and Kerr Smith was a regular on Dawson’s Creek. There was even room for Seann William Scott, fresh from his breakout turn in American Pie who was drafted in on the recommendation of producer Craig Perry, who told Reddick “you’ve got to get this kid, he’s going to be huge.”  

Even so, Reddick was left a little unhappy.  

“One of the conversations we had early on was like ‘Just remember this is set in New York, which is one of the most diverse cities in the world so let’s make sure we have some diversity in the cast’ and they were like ‘oh we will’ and then there wasn’t anyone who wasn’t white in it.”  

New Line chief Bob Shaye did find a way to make amends on some level at least, casting Candyman horror icon Tony Todd in a cameo role as a mysteriously foreboding mortician.  

“He called me up and said they had got Tony Todd and I flipped out. He is an icon. Such a talented, serious actor.”  

As well as co-write the film, Wong took on directorial duties while each of the film’s death sequences would require careful planning, his first aim was to have the film start with a bang by creating as terrifyingly realistic a plane crash as possible.  

“We want to do for planes and air travel what Jaws did for sharks and swimming,” he declared in one interview.  

Yet the film would later garner criticism for its eerie similarities to the explosion and crash of TWA Flight 800 off East Moriches, Long Island, New York in 1996 where 16 students and five adults died.  

“There was some criticism that the movie was written to exploit this real-life crash,” Reddick recalls.  

“I even realised later they used footage from one real-life crash which I wasn’t particularly happy about.”  

Indeed, much of the news footage shown in the film actually came from the 1996 crash.  

That didn’t stop the film becoming a major hit and spawning a sequel within three years.   

Final Destination meets Game of Thrones  

Reddick returned to write the treatment for Final Destination 2, determined to move the franchise away from its teen Scream origins.   

“We had tapped into that zeitgeist and didn’t have to do that again. I wanted to expand the universe and subvert it, so I had it open by following a bunch of teens who are then killed off.”  

Once again, divine intervention led to divine inspiration for the opening set piece.  

“Originally, I was going to have it open with some kids going to spring break and they stop off at this hotel and there is a fire but the producers were not sure. Writers always say you should go out and live life – life informs you and a lot of inspiration comes out when I go out for a walk.  

“I was driving back to Kentucky to see my family and I got stuck behind a log truck and the idea just came to me. I pulled off the highway and called Craig and was flipping out with this idea for a log truck on a freeway.”  

The resulting freeway pile-up that leads to multiple deaths is one Reddick ranks as his “favourite scene in the entire franchise.”  

“The second film is my favourite. I wanted to create a sequel that didn’t feel like a remake of the first. It went in a more fun direction – but it’s still scary.”  

That first sequel also represented the last of which Reddick was formally involved in, though he remained very much in the loop as the Godfather of the franchise, revealing that producers had been “looking at scripts before Covid hit.” 

He also revealed that, at one point, things looked to be heading in an altogether different and thoroughly fascinating direction.  

“There was talk about setting a Final Destination back in Medieval times. Like Game of Thrones in Final Destination. Craig Perry worked with a writer and they talked about the idea and put a teaser trailer together [which has leaked online].   

“I would go and see that movie in a heartbeat but the studio said that the reason Final Destination was so popular was that element of deaths in normal, everyday situations.”  

Future Destinations  

Reddick hasn’t given up on a return to the franchise though, hinting at a “unique” idea he has for a new film that is simply too good to reveal yet.   

In the meantime, he has been busy writing and directing Don’t Look Back, a film that shares some surface similarities with Final Destination and is painfully relevant to society today.  

“It’s a mystery thriller about a group of people who witness someone getting fatally assaulted in a park and don’t help the person and somebody films them and puts it online. The public turns on the witnesses and someone or something is coming after them.”  

Eager to make more horror films and celebrate diversity in his work, Reddick remains immensely proud of Final Destination and the impact it has had on audiences.  

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“It’s cool. To have one movie that is going to be talked about after you die is a life goal. If that’s what I leave behind as a legacy that’s enough – but I still want more.” 

Don’t Look Back is available on DVD & Digital from 14th June

The post How Final Destination Went From Real-Life Premonition to Horror Phenomenon appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3oUb1UD

[sarahreesbrennan]

How come between Season of The Witch and Daughter of Chaos, we skipped Sabrina's dark baptism and Tommy being resurrected/killed and went straight into the Greendale 13 threat? Loving the books so far, just curious. 🖤🖤

That’s a great question and I’m so happy you’re enjoying! I’m so sorry this reply is late, I am on unexpected deadline but I know I have a few Sabrina, Fence and In Other Lands answers owing and I am delighted the questions were asked!

There is a confusion that often arises because the category of media tie-in novels (books set in the world of a media property) has two main subcategories. They are similar and have much in common, but aren’t the same.

A) One is novelizations, which is basically a book that tells the same story as the movie/TV show/graphic novels, but through a different medium. The story covers the same space of time, and includes much of the same dialogue. It’s the same story told in a different way.

B) Two is tie-in books, which tell different stories that fit in before or after, or in the spaces between the story. Often tie-in books start with prequels, telling the tale of how the characters get to the place before the story began. It’s a different story but it’s crafted specifically to tie in with the larger story.

Both subcategories are set in the specific story world. Both offer insight into the characters, their thoughts and feelings, and secret motivations, but they are different kinds of story.

I had no idea of these distinctions before I started to write tie-in books myself, so I explain here because hey, knowledge is always useful. I’ve now read a lot of them, because I wanted to teach myself how to write them and because they’re fun, so I thought discussing examples might illustrate the difference.

The Iron Man novelization by Peter David is widely considered especially good. I’ve read it and I like it a lot: great echoes, perfect story beats. (I discuss it pretty technically because I was reading it in order to teach myself to write a novelization, as opposed to a tie-in novel. I have written a novelization, but not in the Sabrina universe and not under my name for contractual reasons!) It tells the story of the first Iron Man movie, how Tony Stark became Iron Man. A novelization means a lot of the (in this case funny and great) dialogue from the movie must be used, but then with a novelization you have to get pretty specific about why the characters said what they said, and how they felt when they said it. One thing I liked a lot in the novel was the insight offered that Tony Stark’s actions at the beginning of the story were frequently driven by sheer boredom--that he was a genius who wasn’t given enough scope for his genius, and was acting out. 

An example of a fabulous tie-in book is Tess Sharpe’s The Evolution of Claire, a book that ties in with the Jurassic World movies, a prequel of how the heroine Claire gets involved in the dubiously moral world of dinosaur park creation. So it happens before the events of the movies, but by reading it you understand Claire better, her ambitions and frustrations. Another such is Leigh Bardugo’s Wonder Woman novel, Warbringer, showing Diana’s much earlier years, and making you understand more deeply how Diana evolved her moral philosophy and her secret insecurities. 

There’s a great article in the Guardian about tie-in novels: https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/jul/17/tie-in-novelisations-star-wars-jurassic-world

To add to the confusion, stories can have both novelizations and tie-in novels. 

Star Wars famously had absolute masses of tie-in novels. The Star Wars universe is so popular it even has junior and adult novelizations--two different novelizations of the same movie. Patricia C. Wrede, a rather fabulous YA/MG SFF writer, wrote the junior novelizations of the Star Wars prequels. (I’ve read them but if you want to get started on Patricia C. Wrede I would recommend her Enchanted Forest Chronicles. Nothing to do with Star Wars, I just love them.) 

Star Wars also has category B, the tie-in novels. For instance, Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse, which is a story that takes place in between the events of the movies The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker. I have also read this book. Very cool interstellar war and spies action, but also... for them that like that kind of thing, among which I would include myself... Poe ties Finn’s tie. Thank u Rebecca Roanhorse.

Similarly, there’s a novelization of Maleficent 2 (Maleficent 2: Mistress of Evil by Elizabeth Rudnick), but there’s also a tie-in novel set between Maleficents 1 and 2 (Heart of the Moors by Holly Black) telling you what happened in between the events of those movies. Significant things can happen in those spaces--deaths, courtships, mysteries solved and secrets told. A dungeon scene between Prince Philip and Maleficent is in Heart of the Moors. It’s very important.

So in a novelization, a retelling of a story through a different medium, you get the same events as in the story. But you might get extra scenes that cast a different light on the story, and you will get access to the inner thoughts and motivations of the characters.

And a tie-in book is usually set in between the seasons of a TV show/movies/issues of a graphic novel. It’s a story made to fit into a liminal space, and meant to shed light both on what happens in between the stories, but to cast light before itself and behind itself--so you might learn more about the characters’ pasts, or learn things about their feelings that will illuminate why they behave in a certain way in the future.  

For the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, I was hired to write tie-ins, so I wrote a prequel (Season of the Witch) which shows the summer before Part 1, the autumn when Sabrina turns sixteen and has to sign her soul away. It’s an adventure with a rusalka, but also shows us how Sabrina came to be 100% certain her wild witch cousin Ambrose would have her back, why she was insecure enough to do memory spells on her boyfriend (Harvey), and it’s an opportunity to know how the witch world works before our heroine does.

Then I wrote Daughter of Chaos, which happens over mortal New Year’s, right after the Christmas episode that ends Part 1, and before Part 2--because the show didn’t have mortal New Year’s. That was a new adventure that could also tell us how people felt after the events of Part 1, and why people might act the way they would in Part 2. It’s about bad luck spells and enchanted towns, but it’s also about coping with a break-up and how that can put you on a different path, about bereavement and trauma caused by magic, and about longing for affection. Plus it provides us the first hints about hell, before our heroine sees the sparks fly. 

Same deal with book 3, Path of Night, which happens between Parts 2 and 3, in the early spring while Sabrina’s boyfriend (Nick) is in hell. It’s a quest for an item of power to release your beloved from suffering, but it’s also about what happens when you ask a lot (too much?) from your friends, how you can climb out of trauma toward loving relationships (between mean-girl witches and wicked-witch cousins), and how trauma can take someone apart (nobody in hell is having a good time). Plus it provides knowledge about hell before our heroine gets it in Part 3, and glimpses pertaining to heaven.

This month my tie-in novel with C.S. Pacat’s Fence graphic novels comes out (September 29!) and it’s set after the events of volume 4, though the book Striking Distance also works (like Season of the Witch) as an entryway into a new world and an introduction to the characters (in this case a fencing team at an elite boarding school). You try to make every book a possible gateway, but a book 1 definitely should be. (Still, I read Vampire Diaries Book 4 first and caught on just fine, and I recall one reader who read Daughter of Chaos/Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Book 2 and was like, ‘I do not watch this show and did not read Book 1, but I get everything and also Nick Scratch can get it.’)

Another person reading the Sabrina books was like, ‘Sabrina talks a lot about her Dark Baptism in Season of the Witch but then it never happens, Sarah Rees Brennan!’ And this is true, because it happens on the show, and I wasn’t writing novelizations. I think writing Sabrina’s Dark Baptism and Tommy’s death would have been cool and heartbreaking, but I wasn’t meant to retell a lot of scenes from the show. I did snabble a few scenes, but only ones I could use specifically for the purposes of telling the new, in-between stories.

For both novelizations and tie-ins, you get the scripts of the media property you’re working with. Sometimes you get several versions of the scripts. Sometimes you don’t know until you watch the filmed version that scenes got cut. (There were several scenes I read about in the Sabrina scripts, which were cut later, that I used to inform the books. Plus sometimes it’s just fun to watch something and be like, I KNOW WHY e.g. SHE HAS THIS ACCENT/HIS SHIRT DISAPPEARED.) For both you get insights into the story, and especially insights into points of view, that I think you can really only get with books.

For both novelizations and tie-ins, you consult with the writers for the media property, are told things to do and things not to do, and have opportunities to do other optional research. (Things I have done in pursuit of better tie-in novels: written to Sabrina actors and asked them their character thoughts and how they played certain scenes. Forced C.S. Pacat to play with my kitten on a skype call while I took her notes about fencing and feelings.)  

For both novelizations and tie-ins, you have to write them fast, and you have highly specific contracts. Christopher Golden, who’s written many Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Daredevil novels, discusses some details here: https://iamtw.org/from-daredevil-to-buffy-christopher-golden/

So, that’s Options A and B. There’s also Mystery Option C, stories that blur the lines between the two, such as the events of a story told from the point of view of supporting characters, so you see both behind the scenes, the scenes and often before-and-after for the story proper. Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, focusing on Hamlet’s pals from uni. I don’t know what you’d call them. I just wanted to say that they exist too.

Thank you for reading! (Both this and the books.) I hope this was informative and not too dull. :)

[belphegor1982]

Thought I’d make a the Mummy/Returns fic recs posts for @counterwiddershins (EDIT: whom I can tag now!) because they asked for recs. So here are my favourite (complete) Mummy stories under the cut in alphabetical order, title-summary-why it’s on my list style. A few are Old, because I discovered this fandom in 2003 and there’s some great oldies. Hope you - and anyone else looking for great fics - enjoy them!

As Sweet as This / Coming Clean, by robot-iconography

Summary:  Evelyn reflects on the changes Ahm Shere has wrought upon her brother, husband, and son. /  Rick takes his life in his hands as he faces his greatest challenge ever: fatherhood.

Comments: I put these two in the same bag because they’re basically a diptych. They’re like two sides of the same coin. On one hand, you have a lovely story in Evy’s voice, on the other, a hilarious one in Rick’s. Both stories are sweet and more touching than they sound.

Circumstantial Evidence, by robot-iconography

Summary: “She could be damnably silly at times; she dressed like a spinster and carried herself like bloody royalty; but she was my baby sister, the only one I’d ever have. I’d been through hell to get her back, and now I was going to lose her anyway.”

Comments: Probably my favourite Mummy story ever. I love it so much I translated it into French in 2004, and even more so now I’ve read PG Wodehouse. Basically, there is canoodling, funny misunderstandings, and the closing scene is adorable (and made me discover Ella Fitzgerald’s “Always”, which is perfect as Ella Fitzgerald always is). Peak Carnahan siblings shenanigans and a great Rick.

Deeper Within Darkness, by Laurie M

Summary: It is a truth universally acknowledged that wherever Rick O'Connell and Evelyn Carnahan are, trouble is not far away. What begins as an innocent night out soon leads to danger that threatens all of Egypt.

Comments: a great follow-up on the 1st film, with still-developing relationships, a mysterious medallion, and ghostly (sort of) crocodiles. The main four are very well written. 3rd person limited POVs alternate with 1st person POVs in a very natural way, allowing us glimpses into the characters’ heads. Sometimes a little bit sombre, but a lovely story.

A Favour for a Friend, by queueingtrilobite [orphan account]

Summary: Roped into doing a favour for a friend, Jonathan finds himself in charge of an antiques shop in Cairo. This is honestly the very last favour he's going to do for anyone. Ever.

If you ship Ardeth and Jonathan, there’s plenty of fun and/or feelsy stories for you! Like this fun little romp, which features a hilarious style, a Jonathan who is equally good at thinking on his toes as he is as making disasters happen (being a bit of a disaster himself).

Finding Ma’at, by exchequered [orphan account]

Summary: “Hamunaptra Cruises.” Ardeth’s tone was thoughtful. “Do you not fear a curse upon your enterprise, for naming it thus?”

Another Ardeth/Jonathan fic - and boy, this one is *chef’s kiss* I mean, the only three tags are Tourism, Pining, and denial is a river in Egypt :D

Hereafter, by Marxbros

Summary: After TMR. Imhotep has raised Ancksunamun and conquered the earth. Rick, Evy, Ardeth, Jonathan, and some new characters must find each other to defeat Imhotep once more.

Comments: ooh, this one’s a monster to tackle (134k words), and it gets pretty epic - and is worth every second of reading. The OCs are great, necessary, and everyone gets their chance to shine.

Never Spellbound by a Starry Sky, by robot-iconography

Summary: Strange goings-on mar Rick and Evelyn's wedding preparations. Can they and Jonathan solve the mystery?

Comments: another follow-up on TM, as Evy and Rick navigate their relationship and how much they should wait before any sort of hanky-panky. Life interferes in the form of a mysterious object (though NOT the obvious one) and the three are thrust into adventure again. There are battles with the mosquito netting, someone getting a few stitches on their arse (again, not the obvious choice), and all the chapter titles come from dialogue from Elizabeth Peters’ Crocodile on the Sandbank. It’s often hilarious and the dialogue is to die for.

The Mummy: Curse of the Seven Scorpions, by Jac Danvers

Summary: Libby O’Connell hasn’t heard from her brother in years. The word ‘mummy’ meant nothing to her. But when a tiny gold scorpion is revealed to have much greater value, she is thrust back into her family’s life, and the life of a man she once hated.

Comments: back in the day, the “Rick’s sister tags along and falls in love with [usually Ardeth]” trope was a staple of Mummy fanfic, and one I didn’t have much interest in. This little story, mostly set after TMR, is a fun romp; Libby is a good character, well handled, and the little developing romance with Jonathan is fun to watch.

Sidekick, by madsthenerdy girl (on FFnet here)

Summary: Jonathan honestly tries to be a big brother. No, really.

Comments: Fantastic portrait of Jonathan through the years, warts and all, and his relationship with Evy (and later Alex). It’s heartfelt, often funny, and honest (sometimes painfully).

Take That, Bembridge Scholars!, by seren-ccd

Summary: The world has been saved and there's really only one thing left to do. Evy writes a strongly worded letter to the Bembridge Scholars. Oh, she gets married, too. 

It’s a great look at Evelyn, Rick and Jonathan in a few scenes, from the night after Hamunaptra to the start of Rick’s and Evy’s life as a married couple, interspersed by extracts from the aforementioned strongly-worded letter (and it’s great).

The Tenth Plague, by Khedi (on FFnet here)

Summary: Did anyone while watching The Mummy wonder about what would have happened if the tenth of the Biblical plagues had come to pass?

Not a death fic (well, not quite) but a great little look at (again, I’m nothing if not predictable) the Carnahan siblings just after they get back to Cairo after The Mummy. It’s a punch in the feels and a hug. I love it.

Travelers by Night, by 20thcenturyvole

Summary: Very quickly, Jonathan weighed the odds. On one hand, potential death, whether by armed bandits, a mummy’s curse, or people who looked like bandits and who were very angry about someone unleashing a mummy’s curse. On the other hand, potential riches, home ground, and topics of conversation other than what happened at school fifteen years ago and who got it in the neck where.

A great look at Jonathan post-first film and a great take on Ardeth, too. Can be shippy if you tilt your head and squint, or not. Your call.

We Three Together series, by Tinydooms

Basically a series that can act as a novelisation for The Mummy, mostly “missing scenes” and character studies. A joy to read if you like Evy, Rick, and Jonathan.

The Witches’ Library, by jones2000 (on FFnet here)

Summary: He would like to state emphatically for the record that none of this was his fault, thank you very much. It was all entirely coincidental. He should know by now that these things have a tendency to snowball. Or, Jonathan doesn't need the O’Connells to find trouble.

Comments: I read this last year and it immediately made my shortlist of favourites, on top of hitting me in the heart and over the head with the subtlety of a freight train. I even made a rec post about it. The writing is so sharp it might as well be written with a bloody scalpel, the OCs are fascinating, and Jonathan is somewhat jaded but still wonderfully entertaining. It’s the only post-WW2 Mummy story I’ve ever loved (read?), and certainly the only one that incorporates Tomb of the Dragon Emperor elements I’ve ever loved. Give it plenty of reviews, it deserves them.

Edited to add a few and make it more dash-friendly :o)

Also, I wrote a few things if you’re interested:

After the Sunset: What’s left to do, after saving the world and riding triumphantly into the setting sun? A lot, as it turns out. Our Heroes ride camels, negotiate the shift from acquaintances and allies to something like a family, and encounter a couple of surprises good and bad on the way back from Hamunaptra. (Or, the one where Evelyn and Rick discover the contents of their saddlebag, Jonathan finds out that whiskey doesn’t quite cut it when a scarab has burrowed its way into your hand and arm and out your shoulder, and Ardeth gives his name and saves the day. Well, night.)

Long one-shot set just after “the end” of The Mummy.

Fairy Tales and Hokum: 1937: Two years after the events of Ahm Shere, the O’Connells are “required” by the British Government to bring the Diamond taken there from Egypt to England. In Cairo, while Evelyn deals with the negotiations and Rick waits for doom to strike again, Jonathan bumps into an old friend of his from university, Tom Ferguson. Things start to go awry when the Diamond is stolen from the Museum and old loyalties are tested...

This one is looong. It’s 160k+ words. (also took me 16 years to finish but shhh)

Carnahan-O’Connells musings and snapshots: Headcanons and one-shots about the disaster family.

Like it says on the tin - mostly headcanons with a few actual stories with dialogue.

I know, there’s not a lot of them, but they’re my very favourites. If you have other recs, feel free to add them!

[timeagainreviews]

Fury from the Deepfake

Earlier this year, Doctor Who fans were treated to some rather exciting, yet strange news. Students at the University of Central Lancashire had started a film project re-creating the lost First Doctor episode "Mission to the Unknown." I say "First Doctor," lightly, as it's the only televised story of Doctor Who to never feature the Doctor. Because of this, and it being only a single episode, it seems an obvious candidate for re-creation. Not to badmouth any of the actors involved in the episode, but none of them are irreplaceable. Even without Nicolas Briggs giving the project some weight, no sacred cows would be in jeopardy. Nobody has to fill the shoes of William Hartnell or his two lovely companions.

When I covered the new animated version of "The Macra Terror," I discussed the importance of re-creations. While a small portion of the fandom dislikes the practice, most fans agree that they're a good thing. The re-creation has taken on many different forms throughout the years. Classic Comics compiled the tele-snaps of lost episodes with captions allowing readers to follow the story. The Target novelisation is a sort of re-creation. For some, they act as the only way to experience lost episodes. There are the unofficial reconstructions from videographers like Loose Cannon. YouTuber Josh Snares has been working on some rather promising reconstructions of his own as well. Many of the narrated TV soundtracks have recently been pressed to vinyl. While it seems as though BBC is really pushing their animations, are those the final form of the reconstruction?

If you'd have asked me before the UCLAN students' project, I may have said yes. Now, I'm not so sure. The BBC seems to have sanctioned the project. Doctor Who actors Peter Purves and Edward de Souza even showed up on set to give their blessing. There's not a lot known as to exactly what sort of release the project will receive. Perhaps the BBC will release it on the Doctor Who YouTube channel. Or maybe it will be a blu-ray extra in the near future. But which blu-ray? An animation of "The Dalek's Masterplan," perhaps? Regardless, I believe it opens the door for an entirely new kind of re-creation. Enter deepfake.

For those of you not in the know, deepfake is a somewhat new form of cgi that uses facial recognition software to swap out a person's face for another, to varying degrees of success. You may remember it from the uncanny video of Jennifer Lawrence with Steve Buscemi's face. While many people fear deepfake's impact on identity theft and national security, there's also an undeniable artistic implication. Facial swap technology has been around for years in various forms. As a concept, it cropped up in places like the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger movie "The Running Man." In 1994's "The Crow," Brandon Lee's face was swapped in after his tragic on-set death. With deepfake technology becoming more and more refined, it's also becoming cheaper and cheaper. Which is the point I'm here to make to the BBC- it doesn't cost much!

If you follow my logic, I'm sure you know where I'm going with this. What if we employed the methods of both the animations and the student film? What if the only thing an actor has to do is actually fill William Hartnell's shoes? Nobody has to recite his dialogue, they only need to be his body double. Deepfake can then follow the faces of actors mouthing the lines to the original soundtracks. With the same faithfulness to set design and filming that the students of UCLAN gave us, these episodes could see the light of day once more. Mind you, the sets would cost something, but weighed against the cost of animation, probably fairly comparable when you consider the budget of classic Who.

Let's face it, nothing will ever be as satisfying as the originals, but that's part of the fun of re-creating classic Doctor Who. It's a chance to be creative with the source material. But what about modern Doctor Who? How could deepfake impact the current series? There's no more obvious example than the 50th Anniversary special. While "The Day of the Doctor," was a critical success and loved by many (myself included) there is a glaring omission of the surviving Doctors. As I said in my article about older companions, the War Doctor was used as a sort of filler classic Doctor. Ironically, one of the show's biggest setbacks is time.

When they wheeled out DeForest Kelley, Leonard Nimoy, and William Shatner for six Star Trek films, there were no issues. But if you want to make a Voyager or Next Gen movie several years later, you have to explain why a hologram or an android got fat and old. Sure, Data could have upgraded with old age to feel more human, but we all know it's a dumb idea. While the Doctor is not an android or a hologram, they all regenerate. If Six regenerates with curly blonde hair (and Sylvester McCoy's face) then you can't see him with Colin Baker's wispy white hair. Though poor Peter Davison's weight and hair loss were explained by "time differentials" in "Time Crash."

In typical Doctor Who fashion, this multiple Doctor episode came with a caveat. Someone is always missing. It's funny then that the very technology I'm suggesting was used in the advert for "The Day of the Doctor." In a rather impressive sequence, we see several Doctors' faces on body doubles. We even get the closing shot of the episode where Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor joins his past incarnations to stand on a cloud. Sadly, the body doubles stood so still, I originally thought they were mannequins. (Gasp! Autons!)

It's inspiring to think that by 2023, Doctor Who will be celebrating 60 years in time and space. By then, it's entirely plausible that deepfake technology could get to a point where an episode like "The Fourteen Doctors," could happen. If we can replace William Hartnell with Richard Hurndall and David Bradley, or Matt Smith with Jacob Dudman, we can certainly replace Jon Pertwee with his son while a deepfake Second Doctor runs around with Fraiser Hines doing the lines. Doctor Who is a show that lends itself to these kinds of innovations. The very essence of this concept was instilled with the inspired concept of regeneration, or "renewal," as they called it back then.

I'll admit it, deepfake still looks pretty ropey, but so did most of the CGI in the Ninth Doctor's run. There are so many reasons why something like deepfake is perfect for Doctor Who. It's a chance outside of the comic books to see Jodie Whittaker running alongside Tom Baker and K9! We can create lost episodes. We can update missing scenes. There are multiple precedents within the show to look into the technology. We can finally do one better than ghoulishly sticking the Brigadier into a Cyberman suit. And if nothing else, we could finally get Christopher Eccleston back, sort of.

Well friends, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this quick little article. It's something to think on if nothing else. On a personal note, we finally finished building K-9! (Pics below) We're very proud of our accomplishment. The one we built is my friend Gerry's to keep at his house. We will be building a second K9 for me, however, so expect to see pics of K9 Mk II very soon! I may post a video as he does talk, but for now, enjoy these pictures!

[diloph]

I have seen the film Diloph, so if you want, could you please tell me more spoilery bits?

Oh! Well, good, hopeyou enjoyed it.

Spoilers under the cut!Big ones!

So, starting off,Madison is given a TRUCKLOAD more to do, more lines, more relevanceetc. She’s great, easily my favourite part of the novelisation. Sheacts like a smart, compassionate kid who’s been conned by her motherinto joining the ecoterrorists and is appropriately horrified andresistant when she needs to be. She takes action like she does in thefilm, but there’s a bigger obstacle (and possibly in-joke for thefans of Mr Danse’s host show) which she deals with, again, in a wayI’d have liked to see in the film. Madison has lots of great parts toread about, not just the ORCA distraction. This kid has guts.

God, I hope she comesback.

I think that this sortof expanded role (POV seems to be split between her and herfather/mother, leaning more towards her father) was either cut fromthe film for time, assuming people would want to see more of Sad MadDad or hastily added into the book when they realised that she wasn’tjust a familiar face from a popular TV show when Stranger Things hitits second season and tried to do damage control, hoping not torepeat the Bryan Cranston backlash. Maybe a combination of the two. Iknow that some people were hyped when they first saw her, thendisappointed when she wasn’t the character of focus, but what she gotin both the book and the novel made me very happy with the characterherself, though I too longed for more of the girl who saved the worldand screamed defiance in King Ghidorah’s faces.

The same goes for therest of the characters. Jonah and Emma’s villainy is a lot morefleshed out; their motives are explained in greater detail, not tomention their attitudes towards those goals when Ghidorah rears hisugly heads. The friction between them goes a lot further than justJonah mocking Emma’s reluctance to commit a horrible atrocity infront of her child like he was a schoolyard bully. He’s still a dick,but we know why he’s a dick and why he’s doing this. Like a certainpurple bugger also still on our screens at the time of writing, hethinks he knows better and doesn’t care if he’s wrong. He’s going tobe fine. Emma’s doubts are focused on, she regrets releasingGhidorah’s Motley Menagerie and her part in “killing” Godzillaas, despite Mark blaming him for their son’s death, she believes thesame as Serizawa in that Godzilla serves a greater purpose and isfairly noble about it.

Speaking of, Serizawais given a greater focus and actually mourns for Vivienne (which isin my opinion, horribly glossed over in favour of Rick “Wubba LubbaDub Dub” Stanton andVerizon-Guy-Who-I-Don’t-Know-Because-I-Live-In-The-Desolate-Wastes-Of-Glasgow-Scotland),with even Mark expressing regret. Even she gets some perspective,some lines, some warm thoughts before her untimely death. VivienneGraham might not survive the film, but she’s well-remembered here atleast. Again, this makes me think of what I thought for Madison,because the Shape Of Water turned out to be a hit and given that shedidn’t survive, lead me to believe the whole finalised script thingwas rolled out and filmed before the two pieces of media hit andsuddenly their popularity skyrocketed.

Or maybe all that wascut for the monsters, I dunno.

So, yeah, Serizawa isgiven just as much gravitas in the book as in the film, but thistime, we actually get to hear thoughts and feelings and so on. Itmakes his character a lot more fleshed out and realistic, realisingthat while Emma had followed this dangerous path, he had not been ascareful as he had wished to be. His sacrifice and devotion to the bigguy is pretty touching, even if the “an innocent and well meaningman sacrifices himself to use a nuke to revive Godzilla and save theworld” thing is a little more… pro-nuke than the “an innocentand well-meaning man damaged by war must sacrifice himself to end thelife of a sentient creature equally damaged by war and mankind’snuclear abuse in order to save the world, while still causing a massdeath/pollution of the environment” that we got in 1954, but hey,he didn’t write the script and I think most audiences focus only onthe Bomb as a big booming explosive, not a corrupter and polluter.It’s a “problem solver” rather than a last resort/weapon ofterrible consequence. Sort of how the Oxygen Destroyer is alsoglossed over and not given nearly enough impact, considering what itis and what the consequences might be.

War is bad.

Dr Chen also gets more,which is good, because she’s certainly my favourite of the “new”Monarch crew (excluding Huston Brooks because of hisblink-and-you’ll-miss-it role and his presence in Skull Island). Howshe and her family ties into Mothra and how she and Vivenne were notonly good friends, but practically aunts to Madison and her deceasedbrother; this kid was brought up in Monarch long before the MUTOsmade their presence known. Chen’s the perfect bridging point betweenSerizawa’s knowhow and reverence, Vivienne’s enthusiasm and awe andthe other morons’ humour (again, better jokes and lines by far. Icould swap the three characters that died on screen with three othersor just write them out and assimilate their lines and knowledge intothe good ones and the film would lose nothing. NOTHING.)

Even Mark has hischaracter expanded upon. He’s still the man we get in the film, butat least we know him a little better. Same with Rick and Sam. Eventhe soldiers get lines that better reflect them as people, ratherthan props.

Of other things, theTitans get an introductory paragraph each (well, a lot of them).Mokele-Mbembe is given sort of its own contained mini story (andcontrary to popular belief, it’s not a Sauropod, if I’m correct it’smore akin to a Deinotherium), and how much damage Jonah’s group hasdone via infiltration.

Did we ever get a namefor Jonah’s group? It’d be easy to remember them as the ANTI-MONARCHor something. I could call them S.C.A.L.E but that’s been taken.

Additionally, the newTitans get some words put to them, but of the familiar faces, onlyGodzilla loses out. King Ghidorah and Rodan go up against themilitary in Washington DC for a bit longer, Mothra’s benevolence isechoed by everybody who speaks about her, another familiar face getsa few words in during the big monster breakout and the final sceneduring moments closer to the end of the film, which I described inthe earlier ask, I won’t spoil. It’s a big character moment andactually made me punch the air for said character’s involvement.Because of course they’d do that. That’s who they are.

All in all, a prettywell-made adaptation of a big film. Improvement on the first two wegot (older scripts), certainly better than the graphic novels (somany problems and all of them were easily preventable) and fairlybrisk to read through.

[iainwrites]

The Rise of Skywalker Likes and Dislikes

This is going to talk very bluntly and blatantly about things that happened in the movie.  So if you’ve been holding off on seeing it, here’s your warning.  Or if you don’t want to read someone criticizing something you enjoyed.  Skip past everything.

Likes:

-Finn at the beginning.  It’s nice to see his character growth from oblivious and try-to-hard former Stormtrooper, to still a little blundering Resistance fighter but still shows he’s capable, to a man confident in himself/in himself/in his friends and allies.

-When Chebacca learns of Leia’s death.  That’s the look of someone who has lost their oldest friends and don’t even have the strength to be angry.  There’s just loss.  THAT is one of the most powerful moments in this whole movie.

-Fine.  Ben’s “Okay bitches.  Now we can do this.” shrug before carving through the Knights is a great bit of physical acting and (I guess) comedy.

-The new main trio meet at the end and… hug.  No kissing.  No pairing off.  Three people who just survived a war and are happy that each is still alive.  Especially Finn.  This is his family and they’re okay.  Not everything has to end with hook-ups or resolved love triangles.  

Dislikes and Opinions:

-Palpatine.  Why?  He did his bit in the prequels, died in the OT, had no bearing in either TFA or TLJ.  So why bring him back now?

-What was the point of Rose in this?  She gets limited screen-time and doesn’t move the plot along.  The movie could have used this as a means to continue its slow show of representation, but apparently that’s a bridge too far.  But we did get Naomi Ackie as a supporting character of color with screentime and lines?  So we… traded?  Maintained?

-The fuck was with that Finn “I have something to tell you” line?  There was no lead in from any of the prior movies at all.  And no, it doesn’t count if it was revealed in the novelisation of either of the previous films.

-So Rey can sense Chewie is on a ship… but can’t tell that he’s on a different ship than the one she blows up?  Or that he’s not on the ship that she’s telekinetically fighting over?

-D-O is cute factor and nothing more or better.  Add onto that: Babu was there for cute factor.  And people shit on Jar Jar (me included) because he was written as something to entertain children.

-Rey is a Palpatine.  Why was that a choice that was made?  Why does she have to be related to anyone pre-existing in the Star Wars canon?  And why did things have to be explained not in the movie, but in tweets, interviews, the novelisation, etc?  Like the fact that Rey is a Palpatine.  Movie made you think that one of her parents was Sheev’s child, right?  Which one?  Sorry, didn’t tell us.  Oh, and it was her father, by the way.  Oh, and he wasn’t Palpatine’s child; he was actually a failed clone of Palpatine.  And that’s just one part.

-How does the blade work in the grand scheme of things?  Was it made after the destruction of the Death Star (because how else would it be able to line up so well with the wreckage)?  Who made it?  Why didn’t they pillage Palpatin’s hidden room of important shit?  Why didn’t they pass it on immediately to Kylo if he’s the second coming of Vader?

-Leia’s death.  Yes, all they had was archival footage.  So you mean to tell me that they couldn’t have done anything with that miraculous CGI technology to create a facial/vocal facsimile?  That they had no point of reference of ever doing that?  That there was absolutely no budget?  Or that rewrites were an impossible thing?  Because “Leia lays down, dies, and gives her son a moment to pause and get stabbed” isn’t doing right by Carrie Fisher or respecting her legacy.  That’s “Well, this is what we have.  Guess all we can do is use only what we have to make something and not put any more effort into it.”

-”We have no source material!” Except the whole “Emperor trying to find a new body” thing was done in Dark Empire.  As was the fact that the Emperor we saw was a clone that decayed rapidly without a Force-strong host.  And the fleet of ships to turn the tide of things was done with the Katana Fleet.  And Force Heal has been done in games like the GBA version of Revenge of the Sith.  And and and.

-Han Solo forgives his son!  Except it’s not Han, or a Force Ghost of Han (because Han wasn’t Force sensitive or trained to become self aware in the Cosmic Force after he died because that’s the explanation that they’ve been establishing in the Clone Wars TV series since the end of Season 6), but a figment of Ben’s imagination.  So Ben imagined that his father forgave him for murdering him.  … That’s not how it works.  If you’re imagining your murder victim forgiving you, there’s probably some deep psychological shit to deal with.

-People have talked about it, so I’ll hop on the train: how in the hell did Lando travel quickly enough to get that many ships when a distress call put out by Leia herself couldn’t shift asses?  How can he cover that much area, gather all those ships, then get through the mists or whatever the shit surround Exogal when one of those tracking beacon/map thingies have been set up as the only way a ship can travel through?

-For everything that Abrams did to negate TLJ, Palpatine’s monologue of Rey’s actions is very similar to Snoke’s monologue of Ren’s actions.  Down to the “HAHA PSYCH!” moment.

-The Knights of Ren are just a shit-show.  The name sounds cool, though, right!  Aaannnddd they’re killed off without a single line said or them proving to be any sort of threat representative of their “feared” name.

-Here’s something: when all the past Jedi are talking to Rey, you’re told who the male voices belong to (including stuff like Young Obi-Wan and Kanan).  But you only get Female Jedi 1 and Female Jedi 2.  That’s kind of fucked up and sexist, right?

-They set up Rey’s anger throughout the trilogy as being her path to the Dark Side (going as far to show what she could be like if she gives into those darker urges)... and never really do anything to resolve it.

-They REALLY lean into the idea that Finn is Force sensitive in this movie, don’t they?  Despite no evidence of it in any other movie.

-The random scene of just revived Rey grasping Ben’s hand and the frames drop (maybe that’s just my copy, but it's still a standout).  If it’s something everyone gets… then why the hell is something that glaring still in the movie.

-The kiss.  The novelisation said that the kiss was one of “gratitude,” but seriously?  Rogue One had a moment of gratitude where Jyn and Cassian are together and they… hug.  That’s it.  Piss off with your gratitude; there was a kiss because this movie substitutes sense with forced fanservice and they knew that people wanted to see Rey and Kylo together at some point.  Just like they likely kept Rose out of the movie because people gave Kelly Marie Tran shit.  Like that could have made the movie even possibly worse.

-Ben dies and fades away… and Leia’s body fades away at the same time.  Even though she’s been dead for a day+ at this point.  Because… she connected her spirit to her son?  See, that’s something I pulled completely out of thin air, but wouldn’t it be nice if that was the truth and the movie actually explained that was what happened instead of just giving random ass coincidences?

-Rey Skywalker.  Why does she have to be Rey Anybody?  There could have been such a positive spin to what she said earlier in the movie.  “Just Rey.”  Have her say it with pride and ownership now.  She’s her own person, unburdened by the names of those who have gone before.  She doesn’t have any name to live up to.

-Fuck you for your obvious, blatant and unecessary fanservice and self pleasing imagery where the twin suns are arranged to look like BB-8.  He’s not so important that one of the last lingering moments has to be of your new creation, Abrams.  You’re not so essential to Star Wars that you have to make a “HEY LOOK AT ME THE GUY WHO MADE THIS MOVIE” made-for-screenshots image.

Meh

-There’s no meh.  There are just rare moments of contentment amongst a constant feeling of disappointment and frustration.

Random Asides

-Kathleen Kennedy did an interview with Rolling Stone in November of 2019 leading up to The Rise of Skywalker.  You may have seen it float around, but she said “Every one of these movies is a particularly hard nut to crack. There’s no source material. We don’t have comic books. We don’t have 800-page novels.”  It’s in relation to how difficult it is to write and direct the movies, but come on.  There’s TONS of source material, dating as far back 1977 for the comics AND the novels.  There might not be 800 page novels, but there are trilogies, doulogies and massive story arcs that exceed those numbers (NJO and Legacy of the Force may not be your thing, but they’re there).  Rebels went and borrowed Zeb’s look from the original script AND took characters directly from Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy; Clone Wars pulled from Legends while Legends were still considered canon and afterwards.  Not all of it is good; it’d be difficult to translate a lot of it to screen without heavy edits these days.

“I love that we have these amazingly passionate fans who care so much. And I know sometimes they may think we don’t listen, but we do, and I thought it was fantastic that people got that engaged. It just showed me and everybody else how much they care. And that’s important for all of us that are doing this. We really look at them as the custodians of this story as much as [we are]. We look at it as kind of a partnership.”  Except when we’re not happy with a product that turns out to be sub-par.  Piss right off.

-Billie Dee Williams seems like he’s dropped in from a different movie entirely.  Not a bad thing; his delivery and presence is just so different from anyone else’s.

All In All

-It’s my least favorite of all the movies.  Worse than any of the prequels.  And say what you will about the prequels: at least they had a connecting story and the director didn’t try to kneecap something that happened in the middle movie before burying it in a shallow grave while taking a dump on the things left behind that didn’t fit in their vision.  It’s worse than Solo.  No amount of fanservice can fix the fact that the movie was by-and-large unenjoyable.   

[mab-hatter]

Little Soldier Boy - Part 2

If you're reading this and haven't read Part 1, go read that HERE and then come back, because then this will make slightly more sense. But if you've read Part 1 and are here for more, or you’re a rebel who doesn’t like reading in chronological order... For one you're very brave for subjecting your brain to the ramblings of my mind, and two... Welcome and enjoy what lies beneath within the death pit of meta...

Star Wars (TFA)/Atla - Similarities.

There are many parallels between characters and plot points from Atla book 1 and Star Wars The Force Awakens, and I'll just try to go into them briefly.  

Atla starts with its famous opening, narrated by Katara. It solidly and shortly gives an overview of the elements/the 4 nations, whilst explaining about the Avatar and the balance ("Everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked" = a universal meme); so general world and historical context. Then it gives us the current backdrop at which the story begins, with the 100 year war and the Fire Nation; plus gives some quick information on a few characters and the themes. At which point it heads straight into the show from the protagonists perspective. In ep 7, as with all the other episodes, we get an opening scrawl that condenses information about the current situation and state of affairs with different characters/groups old and new, as well as giving us some context for the backdrop of where the episode is starting from, across the galaxy. It gives us enough information to update us and give us our bearings, whilst not spoiling anything in the story. Aka both these Prologues for Atla and Star Wars have always seemed reminiscent to me of the Fairy Tale 'Once upon a Time' type openings, like the true opening to Fairy Tale story books that build on the mythos of these two fictional worlds whilst preparing us for the current story. In LoK, a sequel series to Atla, the story of Aang and his friends are practically considered Legends and are great Heroes who shaped the modern mythos. 

Whilst in Star Wars the Journal of the Whills was made canon (in the novelisation), and if you don't know what that is it's basically in the far future there was a journal written by these people that contains stories/recordings/the mythos of the force and the Jedi - in essence what we're seeing in the episodes has already happened and has been recorded in this journal. It was originally supposed to connect the Star Wars verse to our world, case in point the 'Long ago in a galaxy far, far away...' as this was all in the past, but I'm not sure how canonically accurate that is now.

: ^this is the Opening for Avatar the Last Airbender, shortened down for the majority of its episodes. To compare, below is a poem in the Journal of the Whills as stated in the TFA novelisation.

"First comes the day Then comes the night. After the darkness Shines through the light. The difference, they say, Is only made right By the resolving of gray Through refined Jedi sight."

―Journal of the Whills

 One of them may be more vague than the other, but essentially they are both talking about there being hope in the darkness/savior(s), bringing harmony through learning/re-evaluating what they think they know, in order to achieve balance and set everything right.

Going back to the two stories, we're introduced to it with this idea that there's this outside conflict going on, but the first part of the film/episode is technically from the protagonists perspective (but throughout the story the perspective shifts from both the protagonists and antagonists pretty evenly), which has the setting of an isolated wasteland with little civilization that's sort of cut off from the rest of the world/galaxy (aka Jakku/the South Pole).

As I've stated before (I keep cross-referencing myself, so apologies for that) the stories plot is really moved forward when the antagonist Kylo/Zuko, both nowhere near fully trained yet are still over-confident in their power, are impatiently looking for something of great importance ("I want that map" - Kylo/ "Your impatient, you have yet to master your basics" Iroh to Zuko) in order to achieve their own personal goals; this being Aang the Avatar/BB8 the droid carrying the map to Ach-To. They in some way lose/can't get a hold of this important thing and it/they end up in the care of a few of our stories main protagonists Finn and Rey/Sokka and Katara. The Hero's then go on this journey, using a form of flying transport Appa/the Millennium Falcon (who are both beloved by fans) - trying to get this important person/object to a specific place (The Eileenium system/the North Pole). Where a group of people reside who can help the protagonists, whilst having adventures and twists along the way, before a climactic battle towards the end. (Extremely simplified I know, but I was just going off of comparative story beats, there are many differences obviously, but these we're the main big plot similarities).

I mean, episode 7 is titled 'The Force Awakens' and it's about the force awakening within the main characters, as the force is trying to restore balance due to it being out of balance for so long. Whilst Atla starts with Avatar Aang finally "awakening" after a long period of time in which the world was unbalanced, so he along with his friends can finally restore balance and "save the world".

In Atla Book 1, you've got these main three protagonists Aang, Katara and Sokka, whilst as an antagonist you have Zuko. Rather in Star Wars you generally have these characters called the 'Trio', which essentially is the three main characters who aren't necessarily the good guys, but the three characters the story revolves around and mainly it's their story lines we're following; in the ST's case, this would be Rey, Finn and Kylo.

Finn.

I always thought Finn as a character would resemble Sokka and Aang most of all. On the surface level Sokka and Finn are very funny characters, they provide comedic relief in order to balance out the different tones throughout the film/series, but...on a deeper level, Sokka and Finn are both warriors, who although they can fight they both actually have very little battle experience at the start of the story. Even though he's the top of his class in training, Finn is actually on his first real mission at the start of TFA, and at the start of Atla the first and only times Sokka ever fought the Fire Nation was against raids as a young boy. Finn and Sokka initially come off as very paranoid characters, Sokka about the Fire Nation and Finn about the First Order. Just as Sokka is reluctant to help Aang at the beginning of the story, Finn is reluctant to stay and fight the First Order, all he wants to do as Maz Kanata says is "run". Which leads into another point, both Sokka and Finn are both extremely brave/courageous characters, who are willing to face people far more powerful/deadly/skilled than them if it means protecting people they care about. Neither do they let people decide their own fate for them. Sokka was not a bender in Atla, in fact he was the only one out of the main group of Aang's friends who wasn't, and instead he had a very good/sharp tactical mind and kept the group moving, preferring physical melee combat (with his boomerang), and later becoming an expert swordsman. Finn in TFA has so far not been shown to be extremely force-sensitive on the level of an actual force-user (yet - I don't think he is but I won't deny it's a possibility either, in fact it'd be cool if he was), and although he's held a Lightsaber he only used it for melee combat like Sokka does with his "space-sword", not using any force-powers/in-verse 'magic' at all. It was either a Lightsaber or a blaster he was using throughout the entire movie, and he used his own tactical training as an ex-Stormtrooper in order to help him in difficult situations, and is someone who represents that you don't have to have magical abilities or some pre-determined destiny in order to be a hero, just like Sokka was. Sokka shared a very realistic familial type bond with the main hero and heroine, his friend Aang and obviously his sister Katara, just as how Finn shares a deep bond of trust and friendship that's filled with banter and jovial fun but also genuine care and love with both Rey and Poe - the character relationships very similar. In the end, after everything Zuko did, Sokka accepts Zuko as his ally and a great friend, and they work pretty well as a team, perhaps the same could be said of Finn and Kylo if they were to ever reconcile.

Finn resembles Aang in that both their characters at the start of their respective first Act's have this awakening. Aang's being he literally awakes into the world after a century of sleep, and Finn having this metaphorical awakening in that even though he so far isn't a force user, I believe the force still awakened within him in some way when he saw that Stormtrooper friend of his die in front of him, realised what he was doing in that village on Jakku was wrong, and he refused to shoot. Which led him to save Poe and join the protagonists. Both Aang and Finn awaken into reality, their knowledge about everything limited, Aang being away for a century and Finn not knowing anything but being a Stormtrooper, and all Finn and Aang want to do is run. That's what got Aang trapped beneath the ice in the first place, him running away from his responsibilities as the Avatar as it would mean leaving behind people he cared about, whilst Finn wants to run away from the First Order and being made to do something he doesn't want to, and so is "never going back". Yet both of them still want to do the right thing and protect the people they care about, that eventually makes them decide to stop running away and face their demons. There was an episode in Book 1 of Atla called "The Storm" which beautifully tells us about Aang and Zuko's back-stories, paralleling them in a way that makes the audience realise they're not so different after all. One of the main reasons that Kylo spared Finn at the start of TFA and was later extremely rageful towards him, calling him "traitor" and feeling such personal anger towards him, was because Kylo had compassion for Finn. Kylo saw himself, his own inner struggles, in Finn. Kylo and Finn in many ways are very similar, just as Aang and Zuko were - it was this that prompted Aang to extend an olive branch of friendship in Book 1, and even though Zuko tried to capture him plenty a time, even almost killing him, Aang was one of the first to see the potential for good in Zuko and allowed him to join the protagonists, forgiving him - which then lead to them having a life-long friendship and an incredibly special bond. I believe, that even though Kylo maimed and almost killed Finn, due to Finn's own compassion and him potentially seeing himself in Kylo just as Kylo saw himself in Finn, he could eventually forgive Kylo if he redeemed himself; just like Aang did for Zuko after Azula and Zuko almost killed him and gave Aang a spinal injury using lightning, like how Kylo sliced Finn's spine with the Lightsaber. Finn like Aang is one of the main heroes of his story, and will play a key role in bringing balance to the force, as well as restoring peace to the galaxy, just as Aang did with the four Nations in Atla.    

Rey.  

In terms of character resemblance, Rey resembles Katara the most - and also slightly Aang. Although where Rey mostly differs from Katara is that Rey in terms of personal relationships is basically completely isolated/alone on Jakku, Katara at least has her brother Sokka. Rey grows up in a desert wasteland on Jakku, having to scavenge to survive, on a planet on the outer-rim that's isolated with very little civilization/people and the only knowledge she has is from rumors/stories she hears from travelers. In order to survive she had to be a quick study, adaptable, she has to grow up fast and look after herself. Similar to Katara, who grew up in instead a frozen wasteland on a Nation that is just a small village at this point, with very few people. She's isolated from the rest of the world, and hasn't been outside the South Pole until she goes on the journey with Aang, so her knowledge is not based on experience, just like Rey. And just like Rey, due to her parents not being there since she was young, Katara had to grow up fast and become a mother type figure to everyone in the village, including her brother, whilst learning to look after herself and pick things up quickly. Rey and Katara both also have abandonment issues, Rey being that her parents abandoned her on Jakku; and even though she can't remember exactly who they are, she's spent all this time on Jakku just waiting for them to come back for her - which is extremely tragic.

Katara's mother was killed when she was young by the Fire Nation, and Katara's father Hakoda left for war when she was young as well, leaving Katara alone. She severely misses her parents too, and wishes for her father to come home at the start of the series, but later when they meet there is some conflict between the two over Katara's feelings of being abandoned by him. As well as Katara's mother's death (Kya) was a big motivation for Katara throughout Atla to defeat the Fire Nation, and stop them from hurting others as she was hurt by them.

Katara has her hair in a specific style throughout most of Atla, and it was actually the same style her mother used to wear, in order to honor her memory and probably keep her close in some form. In the same way, Rey in the First Act had her hair up in the same style as she wore it when she was abandoned by her parents on Jakku, in the hope that if she kept it the same maybe one day they'd come back and instantly recognise her. Although like Katara who moved on and changed her hair, Rey will also change her hair in the Last Jedi, growing out of waiting for someone who've never coming back, and finally like Katara did, will start to grow from a girl into a woman. Whatever Rey's parentage actually is, whether it's as nobody or it really is somebody we know (Yes, I do like the idea of her as a Kenobi, but I'm staying skeptical until anything is confirmed) I'm sure it will not affect or detract from who she can and will be, just as Katara did not let her family being torn apart stop her from being strong. In terms of strength, both Katara and Rey are pretty badass, and can take care of themselves. Throughout Atla, Katara only grows in strength and experience as I'm sure Rey will, but in the first Act it was actually Katara's rage at Sokka that allowed her to crack an ice-berg and reveal Aang from his slumber. Just how in the final fight, Rey uses her rage in order to win the fight against Kylo, even though that's tapping into the dark side. Both these women may be protagonists, but they are also complex characters and have a range of emotions and layers - especially anger through feeling they've been left behind -  under their usually calm, compassionate and kind exteriors. Just as they are both strong, they are also incredibly clever and quick on their feet, as well as good at adapting to the situations they find themselves in and they usually always out smart their opponents/use what they're given in order to win.  

That leads me to the fact that in terms of their in-verse 'magic', both Katara and Rey are prodigious. (Although it's ironic that Katara is a " Master water-bender" but due to growing up in a desert Rey probably doesn't know how to swim). Even though Rey gets a lot of help in terms of a crash course in how to use the force from Kylo, it still takes someone special with the aptitude for it in order to pick it up and apply it that quickly and efficiently in TFA, and I'm sure once she meets Luke (a Master, though technically he's still called a Jedi Knight) hopefully he'll take that potential and help her become even more powerful and skilled - and if Rey does decide to take Kylo up on that offer of him being her teacher, well she could become even stronger. This compared to Katara, who already knows when the series starts that she's a water-bender, and like Rey she teaches herself how to bend, even helping Aang learn. Katara becomes very powerful on her own in a short amount of time and discovers things she never knew she could do (healing), like Rey, until she arrives at the North Pole and meets Pakku (the most powerful water-bending master). After an incredible show of Katara being an independent badass about the misogynistic culture of the Northern Water Tribe towards female benders, she manages to be taught under him and become a generational prodigy/Master water-bender in an even shorter amount of time. Throughout Atla, Katara always fights for those who never seem to be able to fight for themselves, she gives Earth Benders hope to break free of a metal prison, she stays behind and helps a starving village even though it could jeopardize them from getting to their goal. Rey, although she has no obligation to, finds and helps BB8 (even after she is seriously tempted to sell him off) and then (with Finn) manages to get him across the galaxy to the resistance. They help those who are helpless, because they know what being helpless feels like.

In Book 3 Katara is forcibly taught how to use a now forbidden technique called blood-bending, and it's incredibly creepy and terrifying, but Katara isn't afraid to use it if it means it stops the people she cares about from getting hurt. Similar to how I think Rey is going to be struggling with the dark side, and how she may learn to tap into the darkness within herself in order to protect the things she cares about. Katara and Rey are both the main heroines of their stories, introduced in the first acts, and they are both incredibly strong and willful female characters who can take care of themselves, but they are also very vulnerable characters too. I'm sure wherever Rey's story takes her, it will be just as compelling, powerful and important as the one Katara's story told, and that the deep compassion these two characters have for others will display how Rey like Katara, can tell a tale that's hopeful, but most importantly human.

Now Rey's resemblance to Aang is a little more subtle. Obviously like Aang, Rey is the MAIN hero/heroine of the ST, just as Aang was the MAIN hero of Atla - it was mainly Aang's story as the Last Airbender, just as this will be Rey's. Similar to Finn, Rey also had an awakening in the Force, which I believe was the most obvious one for those paying attention. The Force is trying to find balance, and it awakened in her in order to bring about balance, just as how Aang is the Avatar and it's his responsibility to represent and bring about balance and peace in his own world. At the end of Atla, Aang was very conflicted between killing the fire lord for what he's done and represents, but sparing him because of what Aang believes in - and I believe Rey might have a similar conflict, and will have to go on a journey herself to discover what is right and wrong, good or bad. Within Legend of Korra, the sequel to Atla, the lore of that world was greatly expanded on. The Avatar is able to control all four elements, because the first Avatar became bonded to the spirit of light, life and balance Raava, and she allowed the Avatar to be reincarnated from lifetime to lifetime between the different nations. Raava in LoK is a guide to the avatar, and assumedly Raava was within Aang too, and represented a very powerful force of good. Similar to Rey, as although she has darkness in her, as Maz says to Rey "The light, it's always been there, it will guide you". Anakin will always be "the chosen one", but the force in one sense or another has chosen Rey to bring balance back to the galaxy, just as Raava reincarnated the avatar as Aang and protected him for 100 years in order for him to "awake" and bring back balance. Both Rey and Aang are vessels of power, chosen by forces beyond them, in order to bring about balance - and as Aang worked with Zuko to restore balance, so shall Rey and Kylo.

On the subject of reincarnation, or at least history repeating itself, there were these two parallels that really caught my eye...

^Maz Kanata in The Force Awakens.

^Toph Beifong in Atla Book 3.

Maz is talking about how since she's lived so long, she has seen for herself history repeating, and how even in different people, the same stories are being told over and over again. Whilst Toph is talking about the idea that we're not just trapped to one life, but that people can potentially find each other again through many different lifetimes and in those different lifetimes even if they're technically different people, our stories and souls are still there. That bonds of friendship and love transcend the boundaries of life and death. This is shown in LoK, where an elder Toph recognises the current avatar Korra and calls her by the nickname she called Aang, her friend. Because even though Toph is blind, and even though Aang and Korra were technically two different characters, she could recognize her friends soul within Korra and saw them as the same person. Toph saw history repeating itself through different people between Atla and LoK, just as Maz is seeing seemingly new stories that are actually a repeat of an old Tale, through the eyes of Rey, Finn and others in TFA. The same story told in new ways, as many Fairy Tales are.

^This idea applies to both the world of Atla, Star Wars, and real life too. The younger generations are the ones who will have to eventually take responsibility for the world they grow up in, for the world the older generation have shaped, and the older generations will always pass down the torch so the new generations can shape their own world and either maintain, restore, destroy or achieve peace and balance.

Symbolism and Mythos.

Both the Sequel Trilogy and the Three Books of Avatar the last Airbender have the main themes of growing up and finding out who you are, and both of them are about bringing balance, whether that's between the elements or the light and dark sides of the force. Due to both being visual stories, their use of visual symbolism is incredibly similar.  

The main symbolism throughout both these stories can be connected to the concepts of Yin and Yang.

First I'm going to talk about the general symbolism of Yin and Yang between TFA and Atla, though I won't talk about how Yin and Yang are embodied in characters just yet. In Atla, for Yin and Yang we have the general negative vs positive, bad vs good, but we also have opposing elements such as Fire and Water/Earth and Air. In Star Wars, we've always had the Yin in the dark side of the force, and the Yang of the light, constantly circling each other, a continuous cycle of one overpowering the other, but never becoming one. There is always a little bit of bad in the good, and always a little bit of good in the bad when it comes to this concept. In TFA there are many symbolic representations, such as Jakku vs Star Killer Base, one a bright, humid sunny desert, the other a dark snowy forest etc, so I'm just going to go over the more obvious instances of the two sides of the force conflicting.

In TFA and Atla, both seemed to have Yin (the dark side/the fire nation) represented through red colors, whilst the Yang (the light side/the Avatar and his friends) is represented through blue colors - unless it has to do solely with Fire-bending. The Bridge scene and the final snow fight are the two most blatant uses of these Yin and Yang color schemes.

You've got Han walking out of blue/white light, towards his son who stands in the red and the dark. Though Yin and Yang are not fixed things, they are naturally supposed to move and flow and weave in and out of each other, lines and rules do not really exist in that sense.

That is a literal and metaphorical beam of light, coming from the dying sun (through the heroes Rey and Finn (REY of light - oh how subtle) and down onto the bridge), as if desperately reaching for Kylo to come back to the light side of the force, illuminating him in as much light/goodness  as it can before it dies and disappears. Yang taking over Yin.

So in a character as conflicted as Kylo, when he begins to doubt himself and entertain the idea of 'coming home' the light within him starts to rise, which is represented by the blue/light colors growing stronger around him, whilst the dark side starts to circle around Han, probably him questioning if this was a good idea, drawing doubts in his mind, wondering if his son is really alive or if he's delusional. This is Yin and Yang circling each other.

And Yin and Yang completing the circle around each other, Yin growing in Kylo whilst Yang fades, with the opposite happening for Han. The light probably came back because he became confident and believed in his son, and the dark probably rose in Kylo again after either him remembering his test with his Master/the Supreme Leader and how his father had always abandoned him before, and or a darker entity taking over Kylo at that moment to give him a push towards the dark and let Yin win. Though after this moment, the light behind Han dies, as the sun is devoured by Star Killer, that "rey" representing the light side of the force loosing it's influence over Kylo as it disappears. (I wonder if that has anything to do with the power of the force in the Kyber at the heart of the star going away?)

Then Kylo kills his father, enveloped in the dark, and Han dies and falls into the light below, the Yin currently overpowering the Yang. But as Han falls into that light, the blue actually rises up and surrounds Kylo, as Kylo realises just what he's done and gets that look of pure guilt and regret on his face, Yang overpowering Yin, and Han's death allowing the light to fully rise up as it "awakens" once again in his son. When the Sun is still alive, the resistance still have a chance, but when it disappears the resistance start becoming defeated, but after the resistance wins, the Sun is returned to its rightful place. The Sun slowly dying, parallels the light in Kylo slowly fading, then when the Sun dies, the light within Kylo also dies, and then when the sun is revived and destroys the cold metallic planet around it at the end of the movie, that is a metaphor for the light within Kylo finally coming to the forefront, and instead of him oppressing it within the darkness and metallic/robotic nature of the First Order, it's finally awakening and cracking through. This is called the Kylo Son/Sun metaphor, and was very clever on the writers part.

This entire scene, the use of visual colors and themes to represent Yin and Yang is absolutely masterful, and is a technique that subconsciously allows the audience to see the push and pull between Yin and Yang going on in the scene, and the conflict in the characters, especially Kylo, without the general audience fully realising what's going on. In the last few episodes of Atla Book 1, there is an entire sequence that mirrors this use of colors and Yin and Yang.

That is the "Siege of the North" episodes, and in these episodes we get a visual representation of Yin and Yang, but also they use plenty of color symbolism, and instead of using the Sun to represent the good/the light that is needed for balance they instead use the Moon. Below is an image that shows from Atla the two Moon and Ocean Spirits in their physical mortal forms of two Koi fish.

"Twee and La. Your moon and ocean always circle each other in an eternal dance. They balance each other. Push and Pull. Life and Death. Good and Evil. Yin and Yang..."

-  A description of the moon and ocean spirits Tui and La - End of Atla Book 1.    

The moon and ocean spirits have a lot to do with the lore of water-bending, and represent the balance between the moon and the ocean, and the natural cycle of the moons gravitational pull through the lunar cycle and the tides.

At the start of the battle between the Water-benders of the North Pole and the Fire Nation lead by Admiral Zhao, the Water-Benders begin to become more powerful and will take the win, as a water-benders power grows as the moon becomes brighter and stronger, especially when it's a full moon as it was in those episodes. Just as the resistance had a chance when there was still light. At this point the North Pole is bathed in the bluish white of the moon.

Then further into the finale, Admiral Zhao devises a plan to tip the scales in the Fire Nations favor, by going and killing one of the spirits, the moon spirit Tui, in order to rob the Water Benders of their power, leaving only the Ocean spirit alive.

Just as Kylo was doused in Red as the sun died, representing the dark side enveloping him and the balance tipping, when Zhao kills the moon spirit. You could in a sense say the Moon dies, and it's blue light turns to blood red and darkness, the only true light being able to be seen is the small bursts of flame from the fire benders, which gives the episode this really unique and cool color scheme of flashes of color in the darkness.

The balance completely tips, the Water-Benders lose their power and begin to lose the battle, and the natural order of things is tipped into chaos, which is unnatural and should not have happened. Just like how the Resistance began to lose when the Sun died, and forcibly suppressing and killing a star to be used as a weapon was incredibly unnatural and completely tipped the balance in the force from light to dark.

The red glow slowly faded to black and white, as if by killing one side of Yin and Yang, all the life and color in the world was slowly starting to fade, that there cannot be life without balance. That this unbalance had to be put right,  otherwise the world really would end. In Order for balance to be achieved again, the Avatar became a temporary replacement for the Moon spirit (Tui/Yang), since Aang was the physical embodiment of balance and could waterbend, so he took the Moon spirits place and then became a conduit for the Ocean Spirit (Yin) to use its power and destroy the Fire Nation fleet. This is similar to the combined efforts of Poe and Han blowing up the thermal oscillator in order to destabilize Star Killer Base and destroy it, taking a Victory against the First Order.

Though Aang could not take the Moon Spirits place forever, so Yue a young girl who was imbued with some of the moon spirits essence so she could live when she was a baby, sacrifices her life and becomes the moon spirit. Yep, she BECOMES THE MOON.

And in doing so, brings the Moon spirit back to life and restores balance, the Moon turns Blue again and the Avatar and the Northern Water Tribe won. Just as the resistance managing to destabilize the planet and bring back the sun, resembled the light returning, balance being restored and a victory for the "good guys"/resistance - although bittersweet (Yue dies to restore the balance between Yin and Yang, Han is killed trying to bring his son back to the light, and possibly causing the light and dark to balance within his son and crack through, or being the eventual reason for it).

The scene on the Bridge and the Siege of the North both use symbolic coloring of red and blue, dark and light to represent Yin and Yang. Many series use color symbolism like this, but I'd never seen something do it so similarly and effectively as Atla, where both of them are implying Yin and Yang in such a blatantly beautiful way. The Last Jedi seems to going to be using even more color symbolism, especially in marketing and linking it so heavily to the color red aka Yin the dark side of the force. Both I think to foreshadow the themes and direction of the upcoming movie, but to maybe also subvert expectations about the Dark Side - since in order to restore balance you need BOTH dark and light, and that even the characters of the light have much darkness in them ; aka why they're marketed in red as well, and that not everything about this sequel trilogy is going to be so black and white, or I guess you could say blue and red. Anyway, there is another point during TFA where this color symbolism and the circling of dark and light, Yin and Yang is also pretty obvious...The final Lightsaber snow forest battle between Finn and Rey versus Kylo. I'm going to go into people being conduits for either Yin and Yang later, so for now I'll just stick to the color symbolism in the fight, and will be comparing it to the Last Agni Kai, the fire-bending fight between Zuko and Azula at the end of Atla Book 3.

Finn for a short time, then Rey for the remainder of the fight wield Anakin's blue saber, which gives off a blue glow, that obviously represents the light side of the force - which is a continuity of the color symbolism from the scene I was talking about before. This Lightsaber is whole, so the plasma blade is steady and strong and does not falter. It is a metaphor for how steady and calm the light can be, and wielded by our heroes, represents the constant strength at the core of the light, and that those who can stay in the light and are not seduced by the dark will always be stronger than those who are of the dark (as Obi-Wan used to think). Obviously Lightsabers are just force-user weapons, no matter their color they can be used for bad and good as that Blue Saber is the Lightsaber Anakin used to kill younglings - so it's not a beacon of righteousness. It's more about the person wielding it. Though generally when a Lightsaber is used by a dark side user (evil) the Kyber crystal bleeds and turns red so you can usually tell anyway. The Blue represents the Yang in this fight. Opposing this, Kylo's saber is red and emits the red glow as it is of the dark side, therefore it represents the dark side of the force aka Yin. You could say the Lightsaber is not only a metaphor for Kylo Ren, but also for the dark side, as the Kyber crystal is cracked and broken, meaning the blade is volatile and unbalanced.

Blue = balanced Red = imbalanced.

A metaphor not only for the dark side and it's seductions, but also for the fact that the force in its entirety is unbalanced due to the dark side and dark entities working against the idea of their being freedom and peace in the galaxy. Throughout the fight, especially between Kylo and Rey, the blue and red constantly clash and circle, the light skimming off one person to the other, in a constant dance around each other. The changing colors representing the circling of Yin and Yang, the dark and the light between Finn, Rey and Kylo. The Fact that Kylo's saber was sliced/disarmed at the end of the fight was a visual representation of one side of Yin and Yang dominating the other, and causing another Imbalance - only when the blue saber was turned off, did the dark and the light begin to balance again.

Whereas the other scene was more ambiguous, this final fight was a direct physical representation of Yin and Yang fighting and trying to dominate one another, and one coming out victorious but not bringing balance. There is a fight within Atla, towards the end of Book 3, that uses color symbolism between two opponents to visibly show Yin and Yang fighting for dominance/power, and that is the Last Agni Kai.

Just as the entirety of TFA was building up to the fight between Kylo and Rey, so did Atla build up the final fight between Zuko and Azula. One of the biggest foreshadowings to Kylo and Rey meeting and then fighting at the end of the film was actually during her forceback, where she sees a masked Kylo in the Snow forest on Star Killer base, seemingly coming towards her from a hiding spot in a manner that implies violence/a predator stalking its prey.

This is one of many things the force shows her in her "flashbacks/flashforwards" (forceback). Similarly, in Book 2 of Atla, Zuko actually has a 'fever dream' of two dragons, a blue dragon voiced by Azula representing Yin and a red dragon voiced by Iroh representing Yang. The one voiced by Azula is cruel and bad, whilst the one voiced by Iroh is wise and good (Like an angel and a devil on your shoulder). It is incredibly stylized, Zuko's fever dream, just as Rey's forceback was very stylized.

These two dragons represent Yin and Yang, Zuko's inner conflict taking on a physical form in his dream, but also a foreshadowing of the fight and conflict to come between him and his sister. In Atla, fever dreams and spiritual flashbacks we're incredibly important and used to really help in terms of visually telling a story of what the characters may need to do/where they may need to go, the only two who really ever had them like this though were Zuko and Aang, the hero and the redemptive antagonist. These dreams were heavily connected to the spirit realm and the worlds balance. In the sequel trilogy, it seems there are going to be more forcebacks than just the ones in TFA, and I believe just as Aang and Zuko had these dreams, to parallel, it will be Rey (the hero/heroine) and Kylo (the potential redemptive antagonist) who will be having these forcebacks. The force showing them the past, present, the potential future and what they need to do to restore balance, as the forcebacks are obviously heavily connected to the force, just as the dreams were heavily connected to the spirit realm. (Also during the fever dream Zuko sees himself as the Avatar, which was a visual metaphor that it was Aang AND Zuko that would play key roles in bringing about balance, not just Aang, just as I think Kylo will play just as much of a key role into bringing balance back to the force as Rey will, and that they will both balance the force, not just Rey).  

These potential snippets/dreams/force visions of the future are connected to these existential transcendent forces, but within both these fictional worlds, there is a potential way to "connect" to them more easily. In The Last Jedi, it's basically confirmed at this point that there is going to be a Force Tree on Ach-To. Now the tree doesn't have any relative "special abilities" or something like that, but it is a symbol of the Jedi order and a metaphor for the galaxy rebuilding itself. This is probably a tree that grew from a fragment of the one that was on Coruscant, or it may be an even older force tree that's always been there, we just don't know - probably the latter.  It could also be used to better connect to the force and all its nuances, as it is a 'force-sensitive-tree'.

^The Force Tree on the Ach-To set in The Last Jedi.

To parallel this to the world of Atla, in both Avatar the Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra there is a thing called a Spirit Tree, this huge tree that has Spirit Vines that grow across the entire planet, and connects all life and energy together, and therefore all life to the spirit world. It is a metaphor for the entire world not being separated, but that all life is connected and that divides are a man-made thing that mean nothing in the eyes of the spirit world. Just as Rey, Kylo and any other force-sensitive could use the force-tree to potentially better connect to the force and therefore the galaxy around them, the avatar could use the spirit vines and the spirit tree in order to connect and monitor all life on the planet, as the tree flows with energy from both the real world and the spirit world, so the avatar could easily see and locate practically anything.

Both Trees hold some sort of information that is important for the story, the Force-Tree about the possible origins of the Jedi and the true balance between light and dark, and the Spirit Tree showed Katara and Sokka the things that most upset them and cause them to feel regret, but also motivate them to move forward (Katara and her mother, Sokka and Yue) and it showed Aang how the balance of energy in the world worked and was connected, and showed him a vision of a young Toph, the girl he needed to find in order to learn Earth Bending and master another element in order to bring about balance.

Just as the tree showed Aang an important person he would meet in the future, perhaps the tree or going inside the tree will cause either Kylo or Rey to have a forceback and see potential past, present or future events? Or maybe there's something far more sinister lurking within the tree that we don't know about? In legend of Korra the spirit of darkness Vaatu was actually trapped within a spirit tree, perhaps some dark entity of the force might have been trapped within that force-tree long ago and could potentially corrupt or show the trilogies main characters some very haunting things?

That's more me wildly speculating, but it's fun to think about what secrets the First Jedi Temple and Ach-To might be hiding.

Anyway, back to the fight between Azula and Zuko paralleling the visual story telling techniques of TFA's final Lightsaber battle...You know how for the Water Tribe, they had a physical representation of Yin and Yang in the Moon and Oceans spirits Tui and La? Well for the Fire Nation, they also have their own physical representation of Yin and Yang. But unlike before, instead of the moon, these are paralleled more with the sun, and are far more similar in terms of representation and coloring of Yin and Yang in TFA then the two koi fish. In Book 3 of Atla, the episode called "The Fire bending Masters", Aang and Zuko discover the last two dragons, the twin dragons of Ran and Shaw. In this episode, just as the ocean and moon are in an eternal dance, Aang and Zuko both also dance with the dragons, and it looks like this...

Although they do not look as similar to the traditional symbol of Yin and Yang, this is the Fire Nations representation of both. The blue dragon represents Yin, the red represents Yang. They circle and dance around each other, until at the end of the dance they stop, balanced on both sides of the platform, and breath a column of colorful fire that shows Zuko and Aang the truth of fire bending - life and harmony. These two things are what make up Yin and Yang, they must both be present for something to stay alive, and together and in balance they create harmony - purple being one of the many prominent colors in the fire, a combination of red and blue. Neither dragon is bad or good, they could just as well eat you as they could teach you, all they do is show the natural order of things and display the greater balance. Unlike in TFA, the colors in terms of the Fire Nation are reversed, so instead of Yin being red like it was for Kylo, in Atla Yin in terms of fire equals blue, whilst instead of Yang being blue in TFA, it is instead represented as red. This meeting between Ran and Shaw allows Zuko to become humble, yet far stronger than he ever was, strong enough to face his sister - because just as Tui and La was about losing balance and restoring it, so was Ran and Shaw seeing the imbalance in Zuko, and allowing him to find harmony and a balance within himself.

The Last Agni Kai is one of the most beautifully animated and visually symbolic fictional fights in terms of its use of colors that I've ever seen. If you want to see a fictional world that uses colors as storytelling in the same extraordinary way Star Wars does, then Atla is the perfect series to watch. In this fight, Zuko used the traditional red flames and in turn the "red dragon", representing Yang (light and life), throughout the fight he was calm and steady, a pillar of true strength, honor and courage - just as Finn and Rey were. Unlike Azula, who used her signature blue flames and was a representation of the "blue dragon" in Zuko's fever dream, representing Yin (dark and death). During the fight, her sanity was started to slip, her usual calm and calculating exterior turning crooked and off kilter, barely able to use her usually perfect lightning, because it might blow up in her face, becoming weaker as Zuko become stronger - resembling Kylo's Lightsaber - unbalanced, broken, could explode in your face at any second.  The entire fight was a true representation of Yin and Yang, the fight kept twisting and turning, balancing from one side to the other.

They may be opposing each other, but they are using the same element. Fire, the same, two halves of the same whole aka two people using the force, one is just represented by blue, the other by red for dark and light. Turned against each other in opposition, rather than united in balance. Zuko was winning until Azula used a dirty trick and broke the rules of the Agni Kai, which was very in-character for her, by which point the whole dynamic of the fight had changed. It was no longer Zuko and Azula representing an imbalance between Yin and Yang, and instead it transformed into what Yin and Yang look like when one has been completely overpowered, and so an outside force must come in and restore balance.

All of these examples of the symbolism of Yin and Yang through both Atla and TFA, show just how important the themes of balance between two opposing forces really are for these two fictional universes. The theme of Yin and Yang has been integral ever since the beginning of Star Wars, when the light and dark sides of the Force, and the Force itself were first introduced by George Lucas. In the same way, the lore of Atla show that a balance between Yin and Yang, dark and light was essential even before the events of Atla ever came to fruition. In Legend of Korra, the lore of the avatar is expanded on. I've already mentioned Raava and Vaatu before, but I'm going to explain what they are and how they link to Star Wars.

Raava (the one on the left) is the spirit of light, one of the most powerful spirits to exist. She is the spirit that keeps balance, and allows light and life and wants only peace. Raava is the primordial entity that lets the avatar find and keep balance between all four elements, and allows for the avatars reincarnation so the avatar can keep balance and peace for as long as Raava lives - and the day that she dies, so shall all life.                                                         

Vaatu (the one on the right) is the spirit of darkness, the only other spirit to exist that can match Raava in power. He is the primordial entity that represents chaos, darkness and death. If he were ever to destroy Raava, all life and light would be extinguished, and imbalanced chaos would rule. When we're introduced to them, they are fighting each other. Raava explains that her and Vaatu have been fighting since the dawn of time, constantly dominating the other, pushing and pulling. She says there are periods in which she rules, and in those periods light and life is allowed to thrive. Then there are periods in which Vaatu rules, and in those times chaos and death devour all. They are the original entities of Yin and Yang in the Atla universe.

Now, in Star Wars the Clone Wars there was an episode called the "Altar of Mortis", where three great entities of the force were introduced. The Father, the Daughter and the Son. The Father is a neutral entity who represents the balance in the force, visually shown as the 'grey'. However...

The Daughter on the left is an entity who represents and allies with the light side of the force, and has links to the Convorees who are as  Dave Filoni put it "messengers/observers" and are "an avatar" for something that has appeared before - having heavy links to the light as well as the natural balance of the force. The Son on the right is an entity that represents and allies with the dark side of the force, and is constantly trying to cause chaos and overthrow his father and sister (They're basically the pinnacle of the Jedi vs the pinnacle of the Sith). They are both incredibly powerful, and are constantly fighting each other for and with that power. The father is constantly trying to stop his children fighting and restore an already tipping balance. They are in a way the light and dark sides of the force, and against each other they represent the Yin and Yang of Star Wars as Raava and Vaatu were the first Yin and Yang of Atla.

 In Clone Wars, the Father actually chose Anakin to remain on Mortis and replace him, since Anakin was the "chosen one", so only he had the power to stop the Son and Daughter fighting and restore balance - but Anakin refused. So the Father predicted that by turning his back on his destiny to be the balance between the dark and the light, it would not end well for the force or the galaxy as a whole - and he was right. Just as Aang, the "chosen one"/the avatar turned his back on his responsibilities as the avatar initially and that lead to the elements falling out of balance and the world tipping into chaos, the Star Wars verse tipped into chaos and darkness because of Anakin - leaving the future generations to clear up the mess they've left behind. Also as a parallel, in these episodes, the Daughter actually sacrifices herself towards the end, and through Anakin she manages to put her remaining life force into Ahsoka, bringing her back to life and getting rid of the dark sides influence, just as Raava saved the First Avatar (Wan) and connected her life essence to his, and even reincarnated him after his body died.

The symbolism of Yin and Yang, opposing forces of dark and light coming together and finding balance are integral to both Atla and Star Wars, and will be the main focus of this Sequel trilogy.

Okay so beneath this, I'm going to start talking about some of my favorite ships, these pairings being Zutara (Zuko x Katara) and Reylo (Rey x Kylo Ren) so if any reasonable, normal person out there doesn't really like these ships or has a problem with them (or if you an overly sensitive anti - chill), cheers for reading up to this point, but I suggest you end the adventure here - for your sanity and mine. Though if you have no problems with these pairings, or are just curious, then let the adventure continue...

Zutara and Reylo.    

Where do I start?

Yes, I am a Zutarian who is still bitter to this day that Zutara did not become canon. I mean the last thing I'll dramatically exclaim to the person next to me on my death bed is "Zutara...should...have...sailed...*extremely dramatic death exhalation* " and have it pre-inscribed onto my grave (It's up to you to decide whether I'm joking or not). Any reylo's reading this that have not shipped Zutara and or have been aware of it - even with the toxic, and I mean TOXIC, shipping wars...Believe me it was just as bad if not worse than what reylo’s get (Insert extreme cringe) - if you want an example of a ship that not only survives after being sunk by canon by in terms of its fandom does THIS ->

....that's Zutara for you. As shipping should be, canon is nice but it's not necessary, as Zutara fic/meta writers and artists will make you believe - aka when the fandom and fanon is so out of this world you can no longer distinguish it from canon.

Anyhow, the same things that initially drew me to Zutara are also pretty similar to what draws me to the Reylo ship, because in terms of what they represent for their respective stories, and for each other, to me that was incredibly special, powerful and made/make the stories so damn compelling - even more so than they already are.

Just to start, no, Zutara did not become canon at the end of the three books of Avatar The Last Airbender, instead Katara was paired with Aang - and as much as I don't mind the ship (an 'it's a sweet relationship' *shrug* - since I love both characters), throughout the series Katara had always been positioned as such a motherly figure towards Aang, that it just felt a little strange that the mother and son/big sister and little brother figures were suddenly kissing each other? (To be honest, I would have preferred it if romance to that level wasn't a thing in Atla - sure hint at it, but leave it overall ambiguous until the characters get a little older and a little more mature, I mean Aang and Katara were 13 and 15 by the end of Book 3 - and the story didn't necessarily need it as text for the little kids, leaving it as subtext would have been more appropriate). Katara always seemed like more of a prize to Aang in terms of a 'girlfriend' than anything else, going off of his selfish attachment to her, (selfish love vs selfless love) that initially left him unable to open his crown chakra and lead to him being locked out of the avatar state. Whereas their friendship felt far more genuine, and I loved those interactions between them. That in a series as complex and layered as Atla it just seemed so...generic? Especially with how it was written and set up. Hero always gets the girl, et cetera... Something we've seen a thousand times before, that was made canon because out of the two original creators Bryan and Mike (Bryke - the bitter moniker) one of their young children liked the  idea of Aang and Katara together. Literally, that was one of the main reasons. No, Zutara did not become canon in a romantic sense (platonic yes)...but there was a high chance it was going to be.

There may be three books of Atla, but originally before it was cancelled, there was going to be a fourth book; "Air". I think I will be forever grieving for that final book. Not only would it have completed the cycle of the 4 elements for each book, it would have answered so many things. It would have shown Zuko learning to become Fire Lord and truly restore balance between the four nations, with the help of Aang, Katara, Sokka, Suki, and Toph. It would have gone into the concept of the air nomads being reborn naturally into the world, having Tai Lee revealed as an Airbender and Aang searching for and rebuilding the Air Nation. It would of gone into more depth on what happened to Zuko's mother (instead of having to go to the comic to find out - even though it was a good comic). It would have dealt with the aftermath and consequences of Aang using energy bending, as well as more on Iroh's back-story and his adventures. It would have shown the gAng come all the way to adulthood and finding out what they wanted to be after the War, seeing them fully mature. It would have explored more of the lore of bending and the spirit world instead of having it in LoK etc. AND, it would have featured either a romance/an extremely developed and trusting friendship  between Zuko and Katara that not only would have been good and equal for both characters involved, but would have been a symbolic representation of two nations who are of opposite elements and have been divided against each other for a century - finally become allied and united through the love of two people who represent either side.

I mean...

^THIS was a teaser poster of Atla Book 4 featuring Katara and Zuko, created by one of the series lead artists and animators, so they knew what they were doing and had a reason for doing it. (I'm not going to go into the reasons why Zutara was the relationship being set up by the head writer and one of the best writers out of the crew who worked on Atla - Aaron Ehasz -  and why it would have fully revealed itself in Book 4 if there had been one, there have been plenty of people before me who have laid out the evidence for this).  

Katara the badass Master Water-bender: who loved to help people, who was a prodigy of her craft, who could have become an inspirational figure to the world, who could have done amazing things on top of the legendary achievements she did during the war, who people saw as a hero and who could have been an ambassador between nations, or something even more... Did she become any of that? Did people remember her name and talk of her in awe? Did she get a giant statue that people looked up to as an inspiration (like Aang, Sokka and Toph did)? Did she become a powerful world leader? or even just an influential political figure?

No. No she didn't...  Instead we find out through the Sequel - The Legend of Korra and through the comics that Katara did in fact become a house wife to Aang. Yes they loved each other and were for the most part happy, but Aang was gone for long periods of time due to his duty as the avatar and wanting to restore the Air Nation. Leaving Katara at home as a house wife with the kids waiting for him to come home. Due to one of the children being an air bender, compared to the other two, there was an unfair discrimination between who Aang gave the most attention to, which as you could guess was the air bender; and lead to a bit of a dysfunctional family life. All she was remembered for was as the Avatar's wife, and being the best water-bender/healer in the world, which she practically was already on her way to being by the end of Atla Book 3, and managing to outlaw blood bending. That's it, and it is impressive, but she could have done so much more.

In all honesty, at that point what made me angry wasn't the fact that Zutara hadn't become canon, I didn't mind it as much as long as Katara's character was done justice and she was truly happy. That her development throughout Atla in becoming strong and independent, making allies throughout the Nations and wanting to change the world for the better was something that would follow her character into the future as one of the main Heroines, and she'd become a figure as legendary as the other members of Team Avatar became. But she didn't. Her character became seriously underused and seriously undermined - that's what made me angry. She became someone that just sat patiently and loyally at Aang's side, which is fine and I'm not saying that it's wrong for a woman to want a quiet normal life and raise a family, that's perfectly alright, I have no quarrels against that at all...but the character that I've followed and watched grow up, looked up to even, for three seasons of one of my favorite shows... A character as strong and motivated as Katara, it just felt... wrong.

Instead of becoming a Symbol of growth and strength as she was in Atla, of branching out on her own like the other members of Team Avatar did, her character simply seemed to become stagnant and fade. Even though Katara was still friends with Zuko and Toph, in LoK their friendships were never addressed, no reunion, nothing. I mean, Toph and Zuko were more present/more helpful than Katara in LoK (and even their characters in the time between Atla and LoK hadn't seemed to of had much luck), with Katara being used as a generic healer and mouth of exposition. I have faith that something like this will not happen to Rey, certain of it even. That her character won't just fade into nothing, that it doesn't matter what ships become canon, or what her parentage is, just that she will become an inspirational and compelling character. A symbol of strength and balance between dark and light. A force of justice, peace and kindness -  and that however her story ends, it will change the galaxy and the people who live within it for the better, and that she will be remembered both by the characters in Star Wars and the fans who love Star Wars so much.  

So now I've got that off my chest, how does this ship relate to reylo?

Enemies to Allies to Lovers.

Act 1 - 

The Heroine and the Monster she sees.

In their two stories respective First Acts (TFA/Book 1) they: Katara and Zuko/Rey and Kylo are ENEMIES. Neither are allies, nor friends, or in any kind of relationship. Both are two powerful force users/powerful benders who are mainly composed/representatives of the Dark and Light/Fire and Water, opponents on opposite sides of a War between those who wish to conquer to gain "order" (aka power) and those who want freedom. Who throughout the First Act are built up to be opposing equals.

Sure Aang/Sokka and Zuko were enemies, but straight away Zuko beat Sokka and Aang beat Zuko, leaving no room/tension for a big battle later compared to the build up between Zuko and Katara, or even Aang and the Fire Lord. Similarly, Finn was a foil for Kylo and they were enemies, but Kylo did not take Finn seriously as an opponent and quickly defeated him, leaving it to the equally as strong force-sensitive Rey -  who the fight was actually built up for. Whereas Finn is a hero who has more to do with the resistance side of things, and was used as a bait and switch for Rey (which was a little annoying, as I love Finn's character as much as I love Rey's, but Rey and Kylo seem to be the "force plot" for the moment).

In the Heroines Arc/Journey, the heroine always has an Animus. The Animus is the heroines proverbial "shadow". They are a character that mirrors the heroine, equals them, makes the heroine initially harbor negativity towards them and motivates them to fight. To combat the bad the Animus creates and instead do good, or vice versa. The Animus in these tales is usually a male antagonist to the female heroine, and they follow the heroine throughout their story. When the Animus is first viewed in a negative light, they are more of a shadow, a dark presence that both parallels and threatens them. So in the story at some point the Heroine and the Animus will come face to face and the heroine will defeat her Shadow, usually quite early on. Only after the Animus and the Heroine can possibly reconcile and become allied/something more positive, becoming their mirror/motivation in a more neutral sense. In these circumstances, the concept of the Anima doesn't really apply, because Zuko and Kylo so far do not show any signs of anger or personal hatred towards their heroines - only cold contempt, annoyance then later compassion (and for Kylo a bit of obsession due to possible force visions he's had of Rey assumedly throughout his life).

Katara was the main female Heroine of Atla, and within mainly the First Act (due to that being the time Zuko was the main Villain), Zuko was Katara's animus - her antagonistic shadow. He motivated her, by being the one that pushed her to leave her home, who propelled her into her Heroines Journey by her saving Aang, and trying to keep the avatar away from Zuko, a constant shadow and threat to the people she cares about. Zuko to her being a physical embodiment of The Fire Nation as it's scarred monstrous rageful Prince. The Fire Nation - who killed her mother, in a way took her father away from her, maimed her Southern Tribe until it was a crumbling ruin and had constantly tried to take away and destroy everything that she loves and holds dear. So in her eyes in Book 1, he is her greatest motivation to fight, because to her he represents everything "bad" in the world and nothing "good". Katara really hates and opposes Zuko for it.

Rey is the main Heroine of the Sequel Trilogy, and like Zuko to Katara, within the First Act (TFA) Kylo is her Animus - her shadow. He is the First Order's Warlord, the one mainly after the map for his Master and for personal reasons, a map that compelled Rey to leave Jakku aka "home". That propelled her into her Heroines Journey, and the map she is trying to keep away from him and the First Order. The Heroine being shadowed by the Animus not only throughout the movie, but also from the novelisation, shadowing her "in a daydream, in a nightmare" (aka force visions). He is her equal opposite in every sense, trying to find out who and where she is even when he knows next to nothing about her (aka should not be focusing on her). By the end of TFA he is a "monster", a representation of all the evil and darkness in the galaxy (after killing her mentor figure and threatening everything she cares about and loves) and she cannot help but despise him for what he's done.

Kylo and Zuko are the dark to the heroines light. At least in the First Act, to the heroines they are 'evil', since they're the representation of the "evil/bad" in their fictional universes. For Katara and Rey it makes the situation in terms of morals a little more black and white. But as Atla kept going, and Katara began to learn more about Zuko her view of the world and him started to turn far more grey in terms of what is 'right and wrong', and I think Rey's viewpoint will become far more grey/neutral in terms of seeing the world and that it is not always as simple as the extremes of light and dark as she begins to learn more about Kylo and his past.

In Book 1, Zuko and Katara are aware of each other from the first episode, but the first time they both start to see more than the surface layer of each other is about half way through Atla's first season - episode 9 - "The Waterbending Scroll".

In this episode, Zuko actually captures Katara after Katara ran off alone into the woods to try and practice her bending, due to her being upset over something happening in that episode. He sarcastically quips at her "I'll save you from the pirates," immobilizes her, trying to get her to tell him where the Avatar is. Instead of lying to her, he is completely honest in his knowledge and his reasoning for hunting Aang, and instead tries to reason with her, never does he physically harm her. He even says he'll give back Katara's mother necklace (as a bribe yes), but it appeals to her on a personal level - the fact that Zuko found something so precious and special to Katara and brought it back to her, even under those circumstances, must have been shocking and it's unlikely she forgot about it. This is the first time Zuko shows a calmer/softer side to an enemy - saying "try to understand" - and that's one of the only times in Book 1 that Zuko actually smiles. Katara is just as sarcastic to him as he is to her, and is very non-compliant and stubborn.

This scene heavily reminded me of the first meeting between Kylo and Rey in the forest on Takodana, in terms of the run time paralleling at the fact it's about half way through TFA, where Rey runs off into a forest and gets separated from her friends as she's upset about something. Where her Shadow manages to find her, immobilize her and then interrogate her about something he wants to find; the droid that contains the map.

And although the scenes between Katara and Zuko are not as long or seemingly as important in terms of the plot, as the ones between Kylo and Rey (TV series vs 2 hour film), Zuko interrogating Katara also reminded me of the scene that happens just over half-way through TFA, the interrogation scene.

Kylo's main goal is to interrogate Rey and get the Map/the location of  the First Jedi Temple out of her head, using the force in a way that - even though it will hurt either way as she's resisting as she rightly should - does the least harm to her as possible and uses no physical violence (from him or the stormtroopers under his command, as if he's protective of her in that sense). Unlike what happened with Poe, him getting beat up before being interrogated, and Kylo brutally ripping out the information from Poe's thoughts.

In the Novelisation, he even tries to reason with her, trying to make her 'understand' and that he 'doesn't want to have to do this'. He even says things like "Your my guest" (which I believe is just as sarcastic as what Zuko said to Katara about saving her from the pirates). And "Don't be afraid, I feel it too...", which is not something you say to an enemy you're trying to get crucial information from. It's at this point in the movie that for the first time, like Zuko, he displays his softer/more vulnerable side (by taking off his helmet) and at some point Kylo even slightly smirks/smiles.

Now obviously Katara and Rey don't want to be in the situations they're forced into, trapped by the "monster". Both Katara and Rey give Zuko and Kylo sarcastic and stubborn replies, even though they both have moments of extreme surprise (Katara's necklace/Kylo taking off his helmet), and actually succeed at not giving away any information at all. Rey even takes it a step further and copies Kylo in order to read HIS mind (when they both figure out she's a force-sensitive badass). Both the Heroines' manage to escape and save themselves from the predicament they find themselves in, and escape with their friends. But for Rey and Katara this is the first time they really get to learn more about their enemy/their animus as a person, rather than seeing just the surface level of purely evil - Katara seeing Zuko's honesty/reasonability and Rey seeing Kylo's deepest fear.

Going a bit off track here for a second, some people have speculated that the Lightsaber Kylo was holding in the forceback and the original TFA trailer could possibly be Obi-Wan's Lightsaber and that he has it. If Kylo does have Ben Kenobi's old Lightsaber, and if the theory that Rey is a Kenobi is true, that Lightsaber would be connected to her heritage and could possibly give her force-visions of her (potential) grandfather and would be very special to her and really connect Rey to her past. So if this were true, and Kylo were to give it to her that would be astronomically monumental and important and something she'd probably never forget.

It would parallel Zuko finding Katara's mothers necklace and in the end being the reason it's returned to her (after Aang wrestles it off him), albeit it in less than friendly circumstances, but he still gave her back something she thought she had lost. That was precious to her because not only did it represent her heritage and where she comes from/who she is, but it also is something to keep her mother close/a family member she loves who has died.

Just as Rey being given her (potential) grandfathers Lightsaber allowing her to finally be at peace with waiting for her family, and understand where she comes from and her heritage, but to also keep a family member she most likely would have cherished, Obi-Wan, close to her in some form.

Coming off of that little detour my brain decided to take, and going back to the parallel I was talking about before...This meeting between the Heroines and their Animus also build up the personal connection/opposition between them, for the eventual climatic conflict between both, where the Heroine finally defeats her Shadow.

Defeating the Shadow in the First Act - 

Zuko vs Katara/Kylo vs Rey.

Before when talking about Kylo, I've already highlighted how you don't have the antagonist defeated early on in their arc unless they're going to get a redemption. What I didn't talk about is how it's actually the Heroines' who are the ones to defeat them (their Animus's) at the end of Act 1. After the fights which are very back and forth, Rey defeats Kylo and Katara defeats Zuko, both are the two big personal one on one battles that have been built towards/foreshadowed the entire movie/season. They coincide to a second good vs bad storyline going on around them (The Sun and the Oscillator/The Moon spirit and Siege of the North).

The Animus/Shadow throughout both Atla and the Sequel Trilogies First Acts loomed over the Heroines', so by Katara and Rey defeating them (NOT the heroes Finn/Aang who are instead set up/being set up against different enemies) they are no longer a 'shadow'/an overbearing threat to the Heroine. Instead they become broken antagonists, so they can be reformed/built up again as equals to the Heroine instead of above or beneath them. Except usually rebuilding their character also means changing them onto the side of good, so no longer are the Heroine and her Animus opposing equals by the end of the story, but instead are allied equals. Still mirrors of one another, but instead of being in each other's shadow they stand side by side, two halves of the same whole.  

It is Katara and Rey that knock down Zuko and Kylo from their ledge of superior arrogance, humbling them and cracking their facade of power and strength. In terms of the story, after the battle, Zuko and Kylo would be considered "beneath" the Heroines in strength (contrary to their actual power) due to being defeated. This the event that allowed Zuko's character to be humbled, to go on a journey of self-discovery and start his redemption, broken down then reformed as a stronger character. I believe by Rey defeating Kylo, this gives Kylo's character a similar opening to be broken down, humbled and then as Zuko was, reformed and become far stronger for it. By the end of Atla, Zuko and Katara became true equals, just as I believe Kylo and Rey are and will be. Equals.  

It's almost like a balancing act: the Animus is dominant, then the Heroines dominant etc until either one of them dies or they reach a state of balance. In the case of these battles, both the Animus characters could have and almost died, ending with one side still dominating the other. In the fight having moments where they seem to balance, but eventually tip one way or the other.

That is why these two fights are so symbolic of Yin and Yang. How Katara and Zuko/Rey and Kylo represent not just Yin and Yang to each other, but they are the main characters who represent Yin and Yang for their respective stories. We had the Yin and Yang of water in Tui and La, the Yin and Yang of fire in Ran and Shaw, but the Yin and Yang of water (the moon) and fire (the sun) were Katara and Zuko (Aang may have been the Avatar, but he was the symbol of balance and was never as visually representative of Yin and Yang). The same can be said of Rey and Kylo. Except for the fact that unlike how Yin was Katara  and usually represented feminine traits, whilst Zuko was Yang and represented male traits (having a bit of both in each other). Star Wars reverses gender roles, having Rey (a rey of light - representing light/life - usually masculine) be Yang, whilst Kylo is represented more as Yin (more associated with the feminine, dark/death). Yet like Yin and Yang they still have a small part of each in one another, Kylo having light within him, and Rey having a darkness in her that I think in the upcoming TLJ she will have to deal with and address, which I thought was very intelligently subversive and interesting on the writer/directors part.

Both these fights overall have 3 main stages, though their structure is a little reversely mirrored in the fact the first 2 parts of the Atla fight are in one location (the spirit oasis), whilst the 3rd is in a different location (the frozen waste). Compared to the TFA fight where the 1st part of the fight is in one location (the interrogation room), whilst the 2nd and 3rd parts are in another location (the snowy forest on Star Killer). For this comparison, I'm going to skip the obvious mirroring of Kylo and Rey at the start of the fight, aka both felling a tree in a similar way whilst the other ducks sideways, or the way they bounce of each other like Yin and Yang, as shown in the previous gif.  Yin and Yang are not stagnant, neither are they usually equal, they are in an eternal dance circling and trying to dominate the other, which I think is perfectly represented in these two fights.

1.     Zuko reaches Katara, who is guarding Aang at the spirit oasis due to him being immobilized. They fight, and because the moon is at its strongest, so is Katara as she manages to overpower Zuko with strength and skill and knock him unconscious. Yin dominating Yang.

At the end of the interrogation scene, Kylo makes a last ditch attempt to get the map/location out of Rey's head. Unfortunately for Kylo, Rey has been learning from him how to combat and fight against his mind tricks, a power suppressed for so long finally fully awakening thanks to Kylo, and she mimics him. She seems to be just as powerful if not more powerful in terms of using Jedi-mind tricks, and manages to overpower Kylo in the force. Yang dominating Yin.

 2.     Then the sun comes up, and Zuko says this...

"You rise with the moon, I rise with the Sun" - (which I think is a perfect mirror opposite to Rey and Kylo, and a good overall representation of Zuko and Katara's Yin and Yang). Due to the Sun coming up, he is then more powerful than Katara, and manages to beat her back and knock her unconscious, taking Aang away. Yang dominating Yin.

 When Kylo intercepts Finn and Rey in the Snowy Forest on Star Killer, initially he completely overpowers her in the force, and knocks her unconscious against a tree after she attempts to shoot at him. Yin dominating Yang.

Then later after Rey wakes up, and Kylo has severely injured Finn and tries to take Anakin's saber, she again completely overpowers him in the force. Yang dominating Yin.

After THAT Kylo and Rey have a Lightsaber duel, Rey initiating it whilst also trying to win in order to protect Finn and stop Kylo. Though, Kylo is more skilled and more powerful than her at that point, and manages to overpower her, and push her towards the edge of the cliff. Kylo's fighting style is similar to that of a firebender, sacrificing defense for an almost completely offensive fighting technique (very dark side/sith), whilst Rey's fighting style is more like a waterbenders, fluid, a mixture of defense and offense blending into one another, though at the moment Kylo is beating her back. Yin dominating Yang.  

3.     Zuko manages to get away with Aang, but ends up lost in the frozen waste and holes up in an ice cave until nightfall. That's when Katara and the rest of the group find them. The moon has now risen once again, making Katara more powerful, and Katara quickly and efficiently ends the fight by defeating Zuko. If Aang hadn't decided to take Zuko with them back to safety, Zuko would have frozen to death, showing how an unbalance in Yin and Yang can lead to death. Yin dominating Yang and coming out triumphant.

Now something interesting happens between Kylo and Rey on that cliff, when Rey starts tapping into the force, I believe she's actually going into Kylo's mind too. They are "finding the force" together and influencing each other, as Yin and Yang do, and for a moment I think they find a balance. As the blue light and the red light reflect onto both Kylo and Rey, representing both of them in balance between the dark and the light. Yin and Yang balanced.

Then Kylo's dark side energy and probably something more start to influence her, whilst Rey's light starts to influence Kylo (could be a bleeding effect between the two from their potential force-bond?) for a moment the light/Yang takes over Kylo whilst the Yin/the dark starts to take over Rey, reflected in the red glowing over Rey and the blue glowing over Kylo by the end of the montage of choker shots between them at the edge of the cliff. Although Rey represents Yang and Kylo Yin, for a moment they have an inner-battle between Yin and Yang themselves.

Yin and Yang for the moment have swapped sides.

Rey then uses this dark side energy and motivation to make herself more powerful, and she begins to overpower Kylo, who has become weaker due to the light conflicting with the dark in him. The next image is a visual metaphor of one side of Yin and Yang overpowering the other, as one saber is higher/raised up and the other lowered down - Yang dominating Yin.  

Then one side of the force completely overpowers the other/Rey completely overpowers Kylo, and slices his face. She could have easily killed him, as he is already wounded, also representing an unbalance between Yin and Yang potentially leading to death. Rey overall represents Yang, even though she has both Yin and Yang traits - light and dark - at that moment, leaving Kylo wounded on the ground like Zuko was, with Rey above him as Katara was, having won the battle. Yang dominating Yin and coming out triumphant.

Through these paralleled fights of the Heroine defeating her shadow, we see how they represent Yin and Yang, and the stories visually show us a representation of Yin and Yang trying to dominate each other for control. Yin and Yang, as I've stated before, has always been an integral theme in Star Wars; but never has it been as powerfully and metaphorically linked to two characters as the Sequel trilogy has done for Kylo and Rey. Just as Zuko and Katara were the physical embodiments of Yin and Yang. This theme of Yin, Yang and balance between the two is just going to be further explored and developed as the trilogy continues, just as it did between Zuko, Katara and the other characters of Atla. Don't get me wrong, just because these two characters are represented as Yin and Yang to each other, does not mean they are each other's foils. There are differences between their character personalities, of course there are, but they are not so opposite in background and personality as to be opposites. They are actually very similar. Just as Yin and Yang have a bit of one another in each other. In terms of personality, Katara and Rey have darkness in them, just as Zuko and Kylo have their own light. Katara once almost killed a man in vengeance and out of rage, as he was the man who killed her mother. Even though she didn't kill him, she could "never forgive him" - which, in a kids cartoon was very thought provoking, a powerful message and incredibly deep/controversial, a topic adults struggle with. To compare, Rey taps into the dark side at the end of her fight, and the rage she uses doesn't come from nowhere, but is trapped within her own heart at being always left behind, always forgotten, a darkness she will explore and eventually have to face - her own conflict between the dark and light just as Kylo has his own inner conflict.

Rey and Katara have their own inner darkness, just as much as Kylo and Zuko do/did. Rey could have easily killed Kylo at the end of that fight, she was given plenty of time to do it before that chasm divided them, even tempted to do it by a dark/mysterious voice that most people assume was Snoke using the dark side to try and influence her (in the novelization) - but she didn't. Same as Katara, she could have easily killed Zuko, and insisted that Aang leave him to die, but she didn't. Katara and Rey at the end of their fight, instead of feeling no remorse, they felt pity and compassion for their vulnerable, defeated enemy, and spared their lives. I believe if that ravine hadn't formed between Rey and Kylo, just as Katara and her friends saved Zuko so he wouldn't freeze to death and left him in a safe place, I think Rey would have tried to have helped Kylo and possibly even handed him over to his mother and the resistance -  but alas the force had other ideas. (Yes I did see that heart shape that formed around Kylo on the cliff, it's almost as obvious in terms of visual foreshadowing as Zuko holding a betrothal necklace around Katara's neck).

Kylo and Rey end their stories first Act's as enemies, just as Zuko and Katara did. Going from here it's the continuation of the Heroines journey and the beginnings of a redemption for her Animus, and a possible alliance.

Act 2 (and 3 for Atla) -

Anything beneath this point is just speculation based upon information given before The Last Jedi comes out, so I'll have to wait until I've witnessed the actual movie to see if I am correct. Just read, have fun and speculate for yourself. Also I do not believe reylo will become romantically canon in ep VIII, as that would be WAY too rushed, but instead they will start to build up a character relationship/bond between the two characters, and sub-textually foreshadow the potential romance of ep IX.

Enemies to Allies - Humanising the Monster.

Due to the differences in the pacing between Zuko's and Kylo's redemption Arcs, the amount of time they interact with the heroine will be a little different. Unlike Zuko and Katara, who in the second Act - Book 2: Earth - only interacted for one episode (even though it was a very crucial episode as the season finale), whilst it seems Kylo and Rey will be having an abundance of interactions in The Last Jedi. So to talk about "Reylo" in The Sequel Trilogies 'Act 2', I will be referring to and comparing "Zutara" moments from both Book 2 and Book 3 of Atla.

The End of Act 1 in both stories, the Heroine and her Animus part ways as enemies, so when they again meet the Heroine will initially be hostile to her broken Animus. When Zuko and Katara reunite in both the crossroads of destiny in the cave, and after Zuko's betrayal when he goes to the western air temple to try and join the gAng - Katara is extremely antagonistic towards him, especially for the latter scenes. In these situations she is wary, untrusting and spiteful towards Zuko as he is to her a symbol of everything that has hurt her or the people she cares about. She is angry at him because of what he represents, and what he has done. The second time she lashes out at him is in order to push him away, because he betrayed her trust the first time she opened herself up to him. Though Zuko never engages in actual combat with her, instead trying to communicate with Katara and make her 'understand' his reasoning.  

Although this is only speculation, there is a possibility that Kylo and Rey in The Last Jedi may share force visions/they can sense each other and their emotional state through a potential force-bond. This would build on the personal link they created between each other from using the force to search the others mind. Unfortunately, I don't think Rey dug as deep and saw as much in Kylo's head, as he saw in hers (he had more training then her and far more practice, so that makes sense). They may know things about each other that nobody else does, but as individuals they don't really KNOW each other if that makes sense. Kylo sees more similarities between him and Rey, than Rey does between her and Kylo, and his actions in TFA certainly don't help him. When Kylo and Rey confront each other on the island of Ach-To, and it's almost certain they will collide with each other in the second Act (The Last Jedi), they are going to fight. Even with a potential force-bond and having been inside his head, like Katara, Rey is probably going to be extremely antagonistic and will try to be emotionally apathetic towards Kylo. She will try to focus on defeating him as an enemy and a threat. However, just as in TFA, Kylo will be antagonistic towards her, but similar to how he was trying to bargain with her to be her "teacher", I think he will again disobey his 'Masters' orders and will be obsessed with the idea of bringing her round to his point of view and 'trying to make her understand' as Zuko tried to with Katara.

If the rumors are true about Luke pressuring Rey to kill Kylo, and perhaps to parallel Snoke potentially ordering Kylo to kill Rey, they will both be fighting each other as a "test" to their masters. I believe, as hard as they might try and or want to kill each other, they will fail. And the answer to why they will fail is simple, they both have compassion for the other. They HAVE been inside each other's heads, so they understand one another to some capacity. Rey knows he is 'lonely' and 'afraid he can't live up to his grandfathers "strength"', and Kylo knows she is 'lonely' and 'afraid to leave'. Rey pitied Kylo at the end of their fight, even after all he'd done, and Kylo feels like he's finally found someone who can truly understand him and 'walk beside him'; which is why he offered to be her teacher. Snoke even says "You have compassion for her" in the TFA novelisation, which was recorded for TFA but not used. Rey tried to dehumanize Kylo and make him the 'monster' she sees him as, just as Katara tried to with Zuko, but Katara and Rey are two very compassionate characters - and Rey is especially compassionate and understanding when it comes to monsters (as shown in The Forces of Destiny). Also, the last time Rey almost killed Kylo, she was doing a balancing act on the edge of the dark side, and I don't think she will want to leapt off that cliff into the dark side by taking Kylo's life. If her and Kylo really do share a force-bond, well... let's just say they're not going to be killing each other any time soon, or ever for that matter (you know, because if someone you're force-bonded to dies, it's like getting your soul ripped in half - doesn't sound like something you'd want to go through).  

In order for the Heroine to begin to trust the 'broken' Animus, he will either have to do one of two things. He will either...

Have to betray the side he has so far been associated with and allied too, by betraying and fighting against those he was originally fighting beside/ex-allies that were on the side he was originally on - in order to either help/protect the protagonists.

And OR...

He will have to "save" the heroine.

In Atla, after being rejected by the protagonists, Zuko does both of these things. I've mentioned before that in Book 3 Zuko sends an assassin to kill Aang and his friends. His 'title' in the show was "Combustion Man", and he was extremely deadly. After meeting with the gAng at the Western Air Temple and being turned away then accidently burning Toph, 'Combustion Man' tracks them down and attempts to using his unique fire-bending ability to kill them. Except Zuko comes out of nowhere and starts fighting against the assassin that HE originally sent, and actually saves the protagonists from being "combusted".

Straight after this happens, although Zuko is now part of the protagonists and Aang accepts him as his Fire bending master, due to his betrayal before Katara still doesn't trust him. She confronts him, and threatens that she'll 'end him' if he puts a foot wrong and tries to betray them, hurt her or her friends again. They may be on the same side, but they are not "friends" to Katara and even though Zuko wants to be her friend, Katara is still antagonistic towards him.

Now in an episode a little bit after the events of 'combustion man' called "The Southern Raiders", the western Air temple is attacked again by Azula and the Fire Nation. In the destruction, some of the temple starts coming down, specifically some of the ceiling begins to fall on the place Katara's standing. Instinctively, Zuko pushes Suki to safety, and then tackles Katara out of the way of the rubble, using his body to shield her from the falling debris and then cushioning the landing for her. He saves her, it's like another "save the cat" moment, except less subtext and more just text. Katara at this point is still wary and untrusting/antagonistic towards Zuko. So even though he just saved her life, she is still quite short with him, but I do think she is grateful - just too prideful and angry to show it.

Then after this happens, after the moment of the 'Animus saving the Heroine', Zuko goes and confronts Azula. He fights her and manages to almost make her fall to her death. In this scene, Zuko also falls off one of the Zeppelins Azula and Zuko were fighting on, and begins to fall. Although Aang manages to get Appa beneath Zuko to catch him, it's Katara that extends her hand and manages to save him. Even though she didn't seem grateful for Zuko saving her life, she still remembered it and she saves him in turn, showing the subconscious decisions she's making to begin to trust and care for him as an ally; even though she doesn't verbally show it. Actions speak louder than words.

In The Last Jedi, if and when Kylo arrives on Ach-To with the Knights of Ren, there's a possibility that if one or more of the Knights of Ren go after Rey, and for some reason her life may be in imminent danger, Kylo may just turn on the Knights and fight them (or at least fight someone of the First Order/someone he's supposed to be on the side of); betraying them and possibly killing one or more in order to protect her. That's just speculation on my part, but it's interesting to think about.

There has been theorizing and speculation of the infamous "cliff scene" for a while now. This potential scene is at the point where Kylo and Rey collide again, and Yin and Yang once more begin their fight and circling of each other. Except in this fight, it has been thought that Yin or Kylo will come out on top, due to something that happens and the environment their duel takes place in. Basically, Rey and Kylo have a Lightsaber fight that details a higher level of skill and power from our Heroine and Animus, than the one at the end of The Force Awakens. Rey will be backed up onto the rocks on the edge of one of the cliffs of Ach-To (in a storm most likely - so rain and low-visibility). Our heroine will fall off the edge of the cliff, whether she loses her footing or  something else is uncertain, and she will rapidly descend into the tempestuous waters below. (I severely doubt Kylo would push her, if he was going to kill her he'd just stab her with the Lightsaber, and he wouldn't potentially risk losing his 'prey' like that +we've mentioned before the reasons why he doesn't want her to die). Now, this wouldn't be so much of an issue, except for the fact Rey grew up and spent the majority of her life on a desert planet; so the chances of her knowing how to swim are virtually nil. Rey is a powerful/strong character and force-user, but just because someone is strong doesn't mean they don't have moments where they need help. Katara needed plenty of help throughout Atla, even a moment were Aang saved HER from drowning, but I'd never dare call her a weak character.

The main focal point of this theory is not that Rey falls off into the ocean, but that Kylo jumps in after her in order to save her. If Rey falls off that cliff, and Luke is busy fighting the Knights of Ren, Kylo is the only one who can make the decision to either let her die or save her from death (especially if there is a sea monster(s) within the water). If this were to happen, I would expect Kylo to hesitate, even start walking away, especially if Snoke does order her death; he will be tempted to let her die and prove his worth to his master. Though as I said, Kylo will fail this 'test', because of compassion. He would not disobey his masters orders for no reason, he will dive into those waters and risk everything he's worked towards, because on some level he cares about her. Rey is the only person Kylo has ever met who he thinks can really understand him and equal him, in the force and in terms of the similarity of their personalities. That doesn't scare him, it intrigues him. That's why he didn't kill her before, and that's why if she falls of that cliff in front of him, he won't let her die. This would be even more powerful if they do share a force-bond, because then he'd be able to feel her drowning and her fear as his own, like feeling a part of yourself slowly dying in front of you. This scene is only a possibility until The Last Jedi comes out at Christmas and confirms anything, but if there is a more textual/literal instead of subtextual "save the cat" scene like this that parallels the one Zuko and Katara had, where the animus instinctually and selflessly saves the heroine... It will be the catalyst that changes the dynamic between the heroine and the animus, from antagonistic to potential allies.  

(^Rey on the Ach-To cliff set with rain/wind machines, hair down and jacket off, using a Lightsaber instead of her staff so she's probably fighting Kylo - as it seems the other scene next to the water where she's potentially fighting a sea monster she will be using her staff and she will have a cloak on).

(^Behind the scenes of the Last Jedi - Daisy Ridley jumping into and being filmed in water - wearing her original costume so she's almost definitely on Ach-To, or in the ocean surrounding it - not sure whether this is when she battles the sea monster, or when she falls into the water after slipping off the cliff).  

IF the "cliff scene" does happen like or in a similar way to this, and Kylo manages to drag a near drowned and soaked Rey onto either a small outcropping/beach/cave on Ach-To, Rey obviously isn't going to become "best buds" with him immediately. Rey and Kylo were only minutes before opposing enemies, so like Katara was to Zuko, Rey would definitely be extremely confused and she'll be questioning Kylo's motives. She will probably be antagonistic towards Kylo, or try to distance herself from him, but I don't think she'd attack him again. Not after he just saved her life. Rey will be untrusting and cautious towards Kylo, but whatever happens on that cliff and in those waters would probably also make her question her own view of him, and the image she has of him as this "monster". Now, Kylo and Rey aren't alone on this island, so if this 'cliff scene' happens, it's very possible Luke will find Rey and Kylo when they make it to shore. If Luke does order Rey to kill Kylo as an enemy, it's plausible Luke will try to go after and kill Kylo whilst he's weak and vulnerable. If that does happen, I believe Rey will step in and stop Luke from killing him, failing her 'test' to Luke as she doesn't want to kill Kylo, but also defending Kylo because he saved her. Just as Katara helped rescue Zuko, because subconsciously she trusted him to be on their side since he saved her life; the Heroine saving the Animus.  

(^concept art/concept scene for The Last Jedi).

Compassion.

So far I've been talking about Zutara scenes from Book 3, because it's Book 3 where Zuko and Katara really turn from enemies to allies, as I believe is what will happen for Rey and Kylo except in The Last Jedi (not ep IX). Though, there is one scene I've neglected from Book 2 of Atla, one of the only character scenes between Zuko and Katara apart from their fight afterwards, and that's the "cave scene" in the episode called "The Crossroads of Destiny". This episode was the season finale for Book 2, and was an extremely important episode. It was reminiscent of the end of The Empire Strikes Back, where the protagonists are broken, on the run and the Antagonists have for the moment won, there seeming to be barely any hope - ending the second Act in a dark place as I believe The Last Jedi will end. I've mentioned how at the start of this scene Katara was angry at Zuko, linking that to Rey being angry at Kylo, but I haven't talked about what happens after.

In the scene, Zuko and Katara are imprisoned within a cave together, and after Katara gets angry at Zuko, she exclaims about how the Fire Nation took her mother away, getting quite upset about it. Zuko, who had remained passive and quite quiet with her for most of the scene (he behaves differently around her than most people - more reasonable, less aggressive), he turns around to her and says "That's something we have in common.", as Zuko's mother was technically taken away because of the Fire Nation and what Ozai did. Zuko and Katara are in many ways the same, just on opposite sides of the war because of where and who they were born to. This scene in the cave is the first time Zuko and Katara realise that the person they thought were the complete opposites of them, aren't actually so different from them after all. In this scene they open up to each other, and they show the other what lies beneath the surface; not just the Fire Nation Prince and the Last Waterbender of the Southern Tribe, but a very lonely and confused boy, and a very scared and sad girl. Zuko and Katara meet each other half way. Katara begins to lower her guard and trust him, and Zuko becomes more compassionate and open to her than anybody before. They learn about each other, openly and without any ulterior motives. Just a pure need to comfort, understand and be understood by the other. By showing the similarities between the antagonist and the protagonist like that, to both the audience and the in-story heroine, your humanising the supposed 'monster'.  

Then something extraordinary happens. Katara no longer sees Zuko as an enemy, but as a kindred spirit who she sees has the potential to change. So she offers to heal his scar, using a special water called spirit water she got from the spirit oasis at the north pole, that was to ONLY be used in extreme circumstances. Very important magical healing water, and she offers it to Zuko without a second thought. In the scene she even touches his scar, a scar he has not given anyone any real permission to touch before. But he lets her, because he trusts her. To Zuko, at the time that scar represented everything wrong with him and his life, every bad thing and Katara offers  to heal that. She offers to heal all those wounds, externally and internally, physically and metaphorically.  Not for any motive, but because she wants to help him. Earlier in the season, Zuko goes on a date with an Earth Kingdom girl (Jin), and she tries to touch his scar at the end of the date and Zuko stops her. So touching the scar does have a romantic context, but also... Zuko has never gotten this kind of trust and compassion from what is ultimately a complete stranger, who knows everything about him in terms of being of the Fire Nation and an enemy but nothing about him as a person. Not even from the majority of his family did Zuko ever get what Katara tried to show him (excluding Iroh). When Katara touches Zuko's scar, she is touching everything he deems to be corrupted, wrong and weak about him - his "dishonor" - and she accepts that. Before she judged him for the mask he wore, but now she is accepting him for who he actually is, scars and all.  

In The Last Jedi, there is a rumor that Kylo is going to be stuck on the island of Ach-To with Luke and Rey. Whether the island itself won't let them leave or something else being the reason... it's unknown. This would obviously be after the supposed "cliff scene" if it does come to pass, and would be a period of time in which all three of them would have to get along to some degree. I have a funny feeling that if the events of the cliff scene and after happen, Luke and Kylo may want nothing to do with each other, but that will not be the case for Rey and Kylo. After saving her life, Rey will most likely be cautiously wary (due to the events of TFA), but also curious about him. If Rey and Kylo share a force-bond Rey, just like Kylo probably has, will most likely have force-visions of what happened in Kylo's childhood, his life leading up to the Jedi Temple incident and the truth of what happened at that temple. A force-bond isn't necessary for her to have these visions, but it would make a lot more sense in terms of their "mysterious connection". Also force-visions are a lot more thrilling than either Kylo or Luke giving an exposition dump. On the island, especially if they have a time skip, it will be almost impossible for Kylo and Rey to avoid each other completely. Especially if they can sense/feel each other on a metaphysical/telepathic level through a potential force-bond.

It's possible they may spend that time subtly getting to know each other, through either the possible force-bond or just general things they do as training or day to day on the island; revealing their personalities and being less closed off. They are curious about each other after all, and slowly Kylo will in Rey's eyes (and therefore in the audiences eyes) become less of a "monster" and more human. Through back-story and him beginning to reveal his true personality (Ben Solo - not Kylo/ him attempting to be Vader 2.0) and even the truth of why he turned to the dark side, (and the possible revelation of a force-bond between them). Rey will go from caution/antagonism towards Kylo, just as Katara threatened Zuko's life and blamed him as a symbol of her life's misfortunes in that cave and on that cliff in "the Southern Raiders" (it's possible Rey will parallel that by accusing Kylo of things whilst they fight on the supposed "cliff"), and she will become more akin to Katara in the cave with Zuko, as she will attempt to trust Kylo and show compassion for him. Rey will start to see through the cracks in Kylo's proverbial mask, and eventually accept Kylo for who he is, and not the dark side puppet Snoke tried to mold him into. They won't become allies like this over night, it will take time, and it will be subtle in its development.    

In terms of the scars, I've talked about the fact that Zuko's and Kylo's scar's come from two very different circumstances contextually, but metaphorically they represent the same things. There is a headcanon in the community that Rey could potentially touch Kylo's scar  as a gesture of acceptance yet regret.

It happened for Zuko between him and Katara, as he was going into his redemption arc. I don't see why it can't happen for Kylo between him and Rey; with Kylo also going into his redemption arc. If Rey were to touch Kylo's scar, the scar she gave to him out of anger and vengeance from tapping into dark side in TFA, a scar that represents his "weakness"/his compassion for her... It would be a symbolic metaphor that she once gave him that scar when they were enemies, and she saw him as a monster, but now she would touch that scar in acceptance of them being allies, and her accepting him as something more than just a monster. A visual parallel of Han touching the scar to forgive his son as he dies and show him he accepts him, and Rey touching the same place to also forgive and show she trusts/accepts him as he realises what he's living for - perhaps?

Between Katara and Zuko, it was discovering the similarities between each other that initially started to humanise him for the heroine. For Kylo, as Rey and him begin to learn about each other, I think the similarities between them for the characters and the audience will become even more apparent than they did in TFA. Aka Yin and Yang discovering they have a small part of each other within themselves, which would fit perfectly with the idea of a force-bond. She would be showing compassion for the pain he's gone through in his life, and coming to understand in a way they are the same and that she accepts the monster, because the monster is actually a human who has the potential to change. Katara saw the potential for good in Zuko, and I think Rey will also see the potential for good in Kylo. Alike to Iroh being the first to see Zuko's light and then Katara coming to see it, Leia has already been the one to see the light within Kylo, Rey will be the one to see it also and will play a key role in his redemption as one of Kylo's most important character relationships. Whilst Luke is still wary/cautious of Kylo when him and Rey begin build a bond of understanding and trust. (This could potentially be why Luke blows up an Ach-To stone hut, with Kylo and Rey possibly being inside - Also speculation from rumors for TLJ, nothing concrete - I mean there are probably a crap ton of caves on Ach-To, so something like this could happen in one of them instead - I don't expect it to, but it's still fun to think about, and a scene like this could potentially happen in ep VIII or ep IX, depending on where the story goes and how fast the development moves with these two characters - or it might not happen at all, we'll just have to wait and see).    

Even if the "Touch the Scar" moment doesn't literally happen, figuratively I still expect there to be a moment where, after learning about who he really is and his past, Rey will understand Kylo and accept him. That it will go both ways. Kylo will begin to understand up close what Rey is like as a person instead of simply a "scavenger", just as Rey will understand what Kylo is like as a person instead of a "Monster", and their similarities and differences will be what draw them together. Initially wary, but as the film goes on  the divide between them and the morality of black and white merges into a more grey outlook for both of them, from what they discover at the First Jedi Temple, in visions and from each other. Even what Luke may teach them. They will begin to really KNOW each other, and after being abandoned for so many years, they will find true belonging through one another.

Battleship.  

One of the exciting things about this ship, is that to simplistically put it, Kylo and Rey are both force-warriors. They can both use the force, they are both fighters and will not be easily defeated, both are skilled in combat, and both are still/going to be training to become even more adept in the ways of Lightsaber fighting and the force.

The same can be said of Zuko and Katara, both of them were warriors, they didn't necessarily need help to do something. They were independent badasses who could take care of themselves, especially in Book 3 when their strength and skill were at their peak. In Book 3, there was an episode I've mentioned before called "the Southern Raiders". In that episode, the main storyline is Zuko trying to show Katara that he can be trusted and wants to help with the pains/scars of her past as she did for him, by tracking down the man that killed Katara's mother. Since Katara kept mentioning how her mother was dead when Zuko confronted Katara about why she despises him, and concluded she had laid the blame of her mother's death onto him since he was a symbol of the Fire Nation to her.

(^The Cliff confrontation I was talking about before).

The episode was one of my favorites, not just because of the interactions between Katara and Zuko, but because of some of the heavy themes it explored, and how it centered around and gave development to Katara one of my favorite characters. In the episode Zuko does not try to control or influence Katara in any way, he simply gives her the information that he knows, and supports her in any decisions she makes. Having her back. The episode gets pretty dark at some points, but Zuko doesn't try to stop her, because he knows what having inner-darkness is like, and a rage against the injustices of the world - and he knew that was her own personal choice to make. He understood. And when Katara did something incredibly powerful, Zuko did not see it as something to be scared of. Yes he may have been afraid, but he also admired Katara for her strength. (Yin as the blue to the left in the image below, Yang to the right as the red in the image below - aka Yin and Yang in conflict, Katara on the edge between sparing a man's life or taking it, and Zuko seeing/sharing in that conflict - both also representing balance between the two opposing forces).

Now in this episode, it's the first time we see Zuko and Katara work together as a team. Water and Fire. Yin and Yang. To find the man who killed her mother, they must first sneak into a Fire Nation mapping outpost, then attack a boat they believe he's on and finally find the man who killed her mother (Yon Rha). They work flawlessly together, most of the scenes where they fight/do something along side each other they don't have to communicate, they just do it. They fight as equals, each making up for each other's weaknesses and strengths. Zuko nor Katara ever take the lead, they don't need one, they lead each other. Their teamwork a thing to be reckoned with.

This teamwork only grew stronger after this episode. They balanced each other. Individually they were strong, but together they were in terms of other enemies, practically unstoppable. As warriors, they represented what Yin and Yang look like when they work together in harmony, confident in the others abilities, having found peace within themselves and are a balanced force. Two halves of the same whole.  

Just as Zuko supported Katara when she was making her own decisions, facing the horrors of her past and confronting the darkness within herself, it seems Rey will come to the same crossroads. There is darkness within Rey, but before now she's never had to deal with it in terms of the force until Kylo came along. Kylo has been battling and knowledgeable of this inner conflict between the dark and the light ever since he was a child. It's possible that if he spends time with Rey, he will see that she is also beginning to confront and find conflict with the darkness and the light within herself as was subtly introduced at the end of The Force Awakens. Who is the enemy? What is the right path to take? Who is she? Where does she belong? Is it right to kill? Will she be tempted by the dark? What does balance really mean? Just like Zuko, Kylo would only give her the knowledge he has and any support he can give. Kylo could potentially help her face her inner darkness and discover her past/who she is and where she belongs, especially using the force-tree/different artifacts and locations of the original Jedi Temple on Ach-To, but... Ultimately he will let Rey be the one to decide what path she wants to take, and how she wants to deal with her own conflict between dark and light. Just as Zuko did for Katara. Kylo does not need to take her hand as if she were a child, all he needs to do is have her back. Because he understands what it's like, and he will have compassion for her in that. Hopefully if they build a strong enough bond (a force-bond would help), then they can help each other stop their inner conflict and instead find inner peace and balance.

Kylo and Rey are already warriors in training. It's obvious Rey is going to be training with Luke, and Kylo might be training with Snoke and the Knights of Ren, and or if he gets trapped on Ach-To he may relent and start training with either Rey or Luke in both combat and the force. Kylo and Rey as individuals will use the force differently than Jedi of the past. They will, especially if they train together under Luke, begin to realise just as he has about "The balance" and how it's "so much bigger". It seems Kylo and Rey will learn how to not just tap into the light or dark side of the force, but they will be able to encompass and use the entirety of the force. Make both the dark and light balance, then use their strength and skill to command that. In the Force Awakens, when Rey overpowered Kylo, or showed him just how powerful she was in the force, or just her strength in general... His face was never one of true terror, or anger, or dismay as you'd expect from a villain (a little smugness but that was about it - his arrogance and more antagonistic nature showed with Finn, and practically more with everyone else in the entirety of TFA apart from Snoke). For the most part it was a face of pure awe, perhaps even pride, just as Zuko was when he saw Katara being powerful. Slightly afraid, but always seemingly encouraging, curious and awed.

In fact, Zuko throughout Atla is never really verbally or emotionally antagonistic towards Katara, and Kylo is only really antagonistic towards Rey when they first meet. The rest of the time he is just curious about her and wants to teach her. It's Katara and Rey who are actually MORE consistently antagonistic towards Zuko or Kylo. Kylo is not afraid of Rey's power, he relishes it, just as Rey is no longer afraid of Kylo's power since she defeated him in TFA. I believe this will keep going into TLJ. Kylo loves how strong Rey is, he WANTS her to become even stronger, and if they are going to train together he will encourage her even more. Though Kylo will not be the only one. If they do form a bond, they will teach each other things and make each other stronger, encouraging the skill and power in the other to flourish and become refined. True teamwork. The Force has chosen these two, or it has awoken specifically in them for a reason (as well as Finn). Kylo was already powerful in the force whilst he was in the womb, and Rey has shown to be just as powerful in the force as he is. We've seen how powerful the Jedi of the light side, or the Sith of the dark side can be, so what happens when you take the power from both sides of the force and combine them as it seems is going to be a main theme in the sequel trilogy? That would make Kylo and or Rey on their own EXTREMELY powerful, potentially the most powerful force-users we've seen in terms of the Star Wars movies. Revan would be a good example of just how powerful a force-user can become when they tap into and balance both sides of the force. So individually they have the potential to become incomprehensibly strong, but if Kylo were to become stranded on Ach-To and him and Rey were to train with the other in Lightsaber combat AND the force (especially if they have a force-bond, which would allow them to share their power and use one another's different force-abilities and communicate/sense each other across the galaxy instantly)...

Together as a team, they have the potential to become practically unstoppable. Two characters who have the light and dark, Yin and Yang, balanced within them and then they as characters representing Yin and Yang being in balance as equals? Combine that with their individual intelligence and already acquired skill sets, it's crazy to think about what they could become, and what they would mean for the galaxy. The perfect conduits for the force to be in balance. Of course this isn't going to happen overnight, and I'm assuming that balancing both sides of the force within you is much more difficult than simply being seduced to/choosing one side or the other.

If they do become allies in The Last Jedi, Kylo gets stuck on Ach-To and they train together or at least fight alongside one another. I think we're going to see some of that team work I talked about above. I think Kylo and Rey at the start of TLJ will be fighting each other, but by the end they will be fighting together. Having trained and become better at Lightsaber fighting, they will work fluidly and effortlessly as a team, and will become a true pair of force-warriors fighting side by side. Which would continue in episode IX. Just as Zuko and Katara were by the end of Atla. A force to be reckoned with.

(^Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley training for Lightsaber combat against multiple opponents using the same type of weapon props - the long wooden staff like sticks - In The Last Jedi Behind the scenes).

Chemistry.

In terms of Zuko and Katara in Atla, once they became true allies and friends in Book 3, their character relationship was very interesting to watch. They were the two most mature people in the group, so they acted as almost parental figures to everyone else, especially Katara throughout the entirety of the show + Zuko was always quite a mature character. They played off each other well, and when they were no longer enemies, as both teamwork in battle and in terms of their personalities they just seemed to click. They were snarky and sarcastic to each other, but when it came to it, supportive and were able to understand the other. They were similar, but still different in their own ways. They gave comfort when it was needed, and knew when the other needed space. They worked together, and improved each other. They trusted the other, enjoyed one another's company, made sure they were each alright. One did not seem or show that they were stronger or weaker than the other. They were equals who had each other's back and respect, but neither did they follow each other blindly. They were their own people, whilst still retaining that close bond. And for characters who used to be enemies, they had amazing chemistry. Zuko and Katara made fun of the other, but never so much as to be cruel or mean, and they did things for the other selflessly...and just genuinely made the other smile. Zuko and Katara after they became allies never had a malicious argument, they always listened to each other, communicated and believed in one another. They were fun to watch interact, and the scenes that they were in together were always very compelling.

If what I've talked about before rises to fruition, then this is what I'd expect a character relationship to be like between Rey and Kylo. The Force Awakens have already shown us how similar Kylo and Rey are, yet how different too: they both seem to be stubborn characters, both honest, both conflicted, both have past feelings of abandonment, both don't know where they belong, both are force-users of seemingly equal power, both are fighters and both are survivors. As for personality, I have a feeling we're going to see a lot more of Kylo's dark humor, comedic moments, sarcasm and snark. As well as more of his emotional as well as compassionate/generally passionate personality, his intimidating and powerful force-warrior skill set  as well as maybe even some social awkwardness like Zuko had. I feel like a lot of it's going to be taken in and reciprocated by Rey. Both are generally witty characters, and I expect just as much banter between them as Zuko and Katara had. But where Rey is more logical, Kylo is more reckless. In that they can help the other, play off each other's strengths and weakness and together help themselves improve. Like Katara and Zuko, with characters who have such similar yet different personalities and pasts, I think watching their characters bond over that and learn about each other is going to be incredibly compelling. Even in the Interrogation scene, their characters played off of each other's personalities well, and that's when they were enemies.

Imagine what their chemistry would be like if Kylo joined the same side as Rey, and they worked together as a team, just as Zuko and Katara did. I think it would be good for both Rey and Kylo to find someone who is not only a force-user like them, but is someone they can easily connect to and feel like they understand - who aren't family. Kylo and Rey, just like Zuko and Katara, are already very mature characters due to what they've been through in their lives. Finding someone they feel like they belong with, especially after the both of them have been alone for so long, would be something they wouldn't let go of for anything. They would be impossibly loyal to each other due to that, in all honesty it'd probably be extremely difficult to separate them. I don't focus on the subtexual sexual tension between them a whole lot, because a physical relationship between them isn't so much in terms of canon what I'm interested in, though the sexual subtext and attraction is there. What I'm more interested in is two souls finding their kindred spirit in a cruel world, and not feeling so abandoned and alone. Finding somebody who can understand, and love unconditionally. It's a powerful theme and message, one I'm sure will be incredibly important for the trilogy and it's fans, as love/romance in Star Wars has always been important - especially in a trilogy that's going to have a "central romance", even if it's only foreshadowed in Act 2. This Trilogy is about watching them grow up and mature even more, finding out who they are, and finding out where and with whom they really belong. Maybe unlike how Zuko and Katara never got to fully realise how far their bond could go, perhaps it will happen for Kylo and Rey, and Yin will finally be able to become one with Yang.

Forgiveness.

In Atla Book 3, after Zuko and Katara come back from the "journey" they take together in episode 16: Zuko proving himself to her that he can be trusted, that he has been redeemed and that he really is their friend, Katara forgives him for what he's done in the past. The theme of forgiveness was a heavy subject in that episode, and although Katara doesn't forgive the man who murdered her mother (which was what the episode was focused around), she hugs Zuko and physically and verbally shows she fully trusts him and understands him as an ally, a warrior and a friend.

"...But I am ready to forgive you." - Katara to Zuko.

It was a very soulful scene, that fully displayed how much the two characters had developed and grown, individually as well as strengthening the bond they share.

A lot of people say that Rey will never be able to forgive Kylo for what he did in TFA. I don't agree with that, I don't think Kylo will be able to forgive himself for what he did, just as Zuko could never forgive himself. But, if Zuko can change and Katara can forgive Zuko for all the bad that he did in Avatar The Last Airbender. Then if Kylo can change, Rey can forgive Kylo for what he did in TFA and might do in The Last Jedi. Forgiveness is a bit like redemption, it's a person's individual choice. You can do things to influence them and make it easier to forgive the guilty, but in the end only you can decide whether you want to forgive somebody. That's why some people, as Katara with Yon Rha, can never be forgiven. Though, that is also why Kylo CAN be forgiven. If Han can forgive his son after Kylo stabbed a Lightsaber through his chest, Rey can do the same. Though she wouldn't forgive him for no reason, as I've talked about above, both Kylo and Rey will need to go through a bit of character development first if that's to ever happen. In an interview with Carrie Fisher before she passed away about the new Sequel Trilogy, when being asked about Kylo and him not having any "friends" in the upcoming movie, Carrie's immediate response was....

"Well Rey is very forgiving."

...And proceeded to try and cover it up, by saying Kylo has no friends and he's a jerk. I rest my case. Luke was the one who originally forgave the redemptive character in the original Trilogy, this time perhaps Rey will be the one to forgive Anakin's grandson. Katara's forgiveness was important to Zuko, and I think Rey's forgiveness will be something very important and meaningful to Kylo too. That it will have just as much impact as Han's sacrifice, or Leia's love and hope. Depending how the story of this Trilogy continues from here, a scene where it shows that Rey forgives Kylo for what he's done could happen in ep VIII or ep IX. It could be in a literal of figurative "Touch the scar" scene, it could happen even at the very end of the story, when Kylo would potentially be banished for his past crimes - and Rey shows forgiveness. We will have to wait and see.

After Zuko and Katara become allies and form a strong connection, I've mentioned how Zuko and Iroh reconciled, but before the nephew faced his uncle Zuko was incredibly guilty and worried about facing Iroh - due to his past mistakes. Katara was concerned about him, asking him what was wrong. It was Katara who comforted Zuko and gave him the compassion and courage  to face the man he had betrayed, and that all he could do was show his candor and true regret at his actions. That he loved his Uncle, and was sorry. 

Katara was the only one to gently and calmly reassure Zuko amidst his own emotional turmoil, in the middle of a war no less, because at that point she knew him and wanted to support him. Again they meet each other half way, trust each other, and give each other the maturity and solace they do not ask for, but know the other needs. If everything I've talked about before takes shape in some form or the other, the fact that Luke and Kylo may not want anything to do with each other is a great possibility, but they tolerate the other because they have to. I wonder if Rey will be the one to mend the bond between the former Master and Student, as well as the relationship between an uncle and his nephew. If the poster indicates anything, it's that Rey is going to be a bridge that connects Kylo and Luke across the chasm they've formed between each other due to past events. Just as Katara was the one who gave Zuko the courage to face a family member he has betrayed, so shall Rey give Kylo the encouragement and courage to dauntingly face the family that he's betrayed. Rey is going to be the one to help repair a conflicted/shattered boy and broken family; just as she repaired broken junk on Jakku. That the blue light that glows between the red is the "Rey" of hope for not just the Skywalker family, but for the force and the galaxy too. She will be the one to introduce a new way, a new path, a new choice amongst all this darkness, chaos, isolation and extremes - the Skywalkers and her merging the blue and red together, in order to create balance.

Now what I'm about to talk about is less likely to come true. If Carrie Fisher had lived to take the big role in ep IX that she'd wanted, then I'd be almost certain of this idea coming true. If, and that's a big IF, Kylo and his mother Leia do meet in ep VIII, then I would think that it'd be Rey who would give Kylo the courage to face her after all he did in the past, like Katara gave Zuko the courage to face Iroh even after all his bygone sins. That Kylo and Leia would have a reconciliation scene just as Zuko and Iroh did, and that their Heroine's would make them brave enough to confront their demons. Unfortunately I'm skeptical that Kylo will collide with Leia in ep VIII, especially as a protagonist/after Kylo's turning point (though I'm more optimistic of the twins meeting in The Last Jedi) and it's almost certainly not going to happen in ep IX due to space-mums passing. It's a skeptical but hopeful thought, though I'll be keeping my expectations low until the moment I'm proven wrong.              

Act 3 (and what could have been Book 4 of Atla) -

Allies to Lovers - The Force in Balance.

I will have to wait for The Last Jedi in order to properly speculate on Episode Nine, whatever it's going to be called. I've already done some vague predictions for ep IX, but those will only be confirmed in 2019 or at least made more/less likely with The Last Jedi's release. What I'm going to speculate on now is the possibility of one or two story points, but mostly what the themes and symbolism will be in the last episode of the trilogy. For Atla, at the end of book three, whilst Aang with the help of Sokka and Toph went off to fight the Fire Lord, it was Zuko and Katara who went to fight Azula - their main personal antagonist, you could almost call her their Anima. Originally it seemed like Katara and Zuko were going to fight her as a team, but Azula wanted an Agni Kai, so Katara had to wait and let Zuko and Azula fight it out. During the fight, Azula targeted Katara with lightning, knowing she was one of Zuko's greatest weaknesses in that instance. Zuko jumped in the way of a lightning bolt screaming "NO!" in order to protect Katara, managing to deflect the lightning, but at the cost of becoming seriously injured.

Then Katara got her wish, and had to fight Azula in order to get to Zuko and save him. Katara won using skill and quick tactical thinking, as Azula was a little unhinged at that point, and managed to reach Zuko and save his life - completing their arc to become forever bonded as warriors, allies and friends. Friend is probably too small a word to be fair. They thanked each other, and it wasn't just a thank you for helping/saving the other in the fight, but for all Zuko and Katara had done for one another across Book three and even before that. Zuko saved Katara. Katara saved Zuko. They saved each other.

Even though they didn't fight Azula together, as they'd been training, they did both have a hand in defeating her - the nightmare enemy whose been haunting them since Book 2, and the snake like sister whose been tormenting Zuko since he was a child. I actually loved Azula and even Mai as villains, but I always found it to be sweet justice that Azula was brought down by her "underdog" brother working together with an equal prodigy water bender, who were originally enemies turned allies. That evil with never win, because Azula in her madness/cruelty and being on the side of bad lost all her allies, whilst Zuko in his new strength as a protagonist found true friends. And together they triumphed. Yin and Yang finally balanced, and peace could be brought about.

In this sequel trilogy, instead of Kylo and Rey fighting the beta villain like Zuko and Katara did, it's obvious they're going to be fighting the "Big Bad" AND any possible force-beta villains that arise. With the help of Finn, Poe, Rose and the resistance of course, who I believe will have crucial roles in both 8 and 9 against the First Order (I might do a meta about them later). Again, just skeptical theorizing on my part, but a scene like the one Zuko and Katara had, where Rey and Kylo have to "save each other" isn't so farfetched. It could happen in The Last Jedi, where maybe Kylo or Rey get injured protecting the other, or someone they care about like what happened with Finn in The Force Awakens. Or it could happen in Episode 9, in the final big fight, where either the Animus or the Heroine do something to protect/save the other ("I'll come back Sweetheart, I promise".) and then it's left up to the one that remains to protect THEM and eventually save their life. It's a very tension building and an on the edge thrilling way to structure a fight, sort of like passing the torch between the Heroine and the Animus, that brings out all the raw emotions in the characters. It could also happen the way that Katara thought Zuko and her were going to fight Azula originally... together. With both Yin and Yang working in tandem, balanced and having each other's back, strengthening the other in order to defeat the enemy. Though I believe the latter is more likely, either one would be impressive, and show how much Kylo and Rey would have grown and changed from their First Acts, as well as how much they will have come to care and feel protective/understanding of the other. An unbreakable (force)bond.

Right at the start of Atla Book 1, there was an episode with Aang and Katara called "The cave of two lovers". Initially it was supposed to be a Katara x Aang episode, as the historical story behind it was of course about two lovers, and there's even a moment where Katara and Aang try to kiss to get out (too early in their relationship for the kiss to be meaningful, especially to Katara). But, the historical story of love that was told in the episode never seemed to really add up, or parallel the Kataang relationship.

The story was about a woman called Oma, and a man called Shu (who were represented by red and blue). They were people of two different Earth Kingdom villages, having been at war for so long they'd forgotten the reason. Even with the state of their two villages, they discovered each other on a mountain one day, and two people who should have been enemies on opposite sides of a war, bridged that gap of hatred and fell in love. They learned Earth Bending from the original benders, badger moles and became the first human earth benders, and would meet in secret in the caves they created; the ones Katara and Aang were stuck in. Unfortunately due to the war, the man was killed. In her rage and sorrow over Shu's tragic death, Oma used her incredible power over the Earth to stop the War and bring about peace, creating the city of Omashu. It was a very Romeo and Juliet esc story, but seemed to have nothing to do with Katara and Aang, who were always on the same side and never had any such angst. To me it always seemed more of a Zutara foreshadowing. Obviously the story like R&J ended in tragedy, but I feel the mistakes of the past would not have been repeated for Zuko and Katara, and instead they would of had a happier ending. Two people represented by red and blue, finding each other from two opposing sides of a war and falling in love, then bringing about peace. Hmm...

This^ image above was actually from book 1 of Atla, in the episode that Zuko saved Aang and the avatar offered friendship, the first real foreshadowing of Aang and Zuko becoming lifelong friends in the future. Katara and Sokka were ill in that episode, and were in a cave full of old artifacts. That one shot of Katara with the crown on her head was one of the first things that foreshadowed Zutara for me, and is what I believe would have come to pass if Book 4 had not been cancelled, and had been allowed to become what Aaron Ehasz had envisioned. Those two dragons holding up the sun on the crown were a visual foreshadowing of Ran and Shaw with the Sun warriors in book 3. And as I've talked about before, Ran and Shaw were physical representations of the Fire Nations Yin and Yang. The reason it's connected to Katara, as I've said before her and Zuko are physical embodiments of Yin and Yang to each other, and having her connected to the Fire Nation symbolism of that theme meant she would have been the Fire Nations Yin to Fire Lord Zuko's Yang. The fact that it's a crown is a visual symbol of royalty/monarchy as the Fire Nation had (although they called the essential King a Lord, it was still a royal bloodline of princes/princesses). Both the connection to the Fire Nations Yin and Yang, as well as Royalty was what I first thought to be metaphorical and literal proof that in Book 4 Katara would have become the Fire Lady. Essentially she would have become Queen of the Fire Nation, and married Fire Lord Zuko. To me, and for the story and it's themes that would have been huge.

These two ships, Zutara and Reylo, are and were not about what was, but the potential for what could have been/could be for both the characters and the story.

A potential relationship between Zuko and Katara wouldn't have been about Katara becoming a baby-carrier, or a trophy wife. Hell no. Zuko would have probably been as horrified at the thought as Katara. Katara was already loved and respected by the people of the Fire Nation as a selfless, strong and compassionate hero. If Zuko and Katara had fallen in love, it would have been the ultimate representation of the themes of Atla. Balance. Realising everything's connected and are essentially the same, and that love and knowledge can bridge the chasm of hatred and ignorance. 

Having a "lower-class" (I use that term loosely) waterbender of a Tribe that has been at war and had hated the Fire Nation for a century...Who had been their natural opposite for even longer as water is the exact opposite of fire...And the Fire Nation who'd committed such atrocities to so many, including Katara....and have our heroine become their Fire Lady? It would have been the go to symbol of two opposing peoples being united by love. Enemies becoming allies through love and understanding. Katara not only would have become Fire Nation royalty, ruling over a people who are opposite to her in terms of their element and have been mostly ignorant of the other nations. Allowing her to teach and guide them in order for them to become more open minded of their own world as Zuko became. They also could all learn about the other nations in order to bring about a peaceful balance through knowledge, and breaking down the walls of ignorance. It would have also allowed her to have become an ambassador, between her home Nation and the one she would call home, being the bridge between her people and Zuko's that would of allowed them to go from enemies to close allies through the love of two people. Two becoming one. It wouldn't have stopped there, as I have no doubt she would have become an ambassador and negotiator between ALL Nations and peoples: Earth, Fire, Water (and potentially Air if that concept had been introduced) as she would have connections and influence in all three(/four). She would have become a person of innovation for not only the powerful, but for the "little guys" too. Katara could have become and done some pretty incredible things, with Zuko and Katara becoming eternally equal symbols for strength and hope throughout the world of Atla.

Zuko had great respect for Katara, and I have no doubt they would have ruled as equals, I can even imagine Zuko let Katara take the lead and trust her in a lot of things. Both just as strong, powerful and present as the other. Zuko would have encouraged her to become an influential political figure, to bring knowledge and peace throughout the nations, to advance and help the people of her world. Both by developing waterbending and through other means, such as: becoming a leader/an important role model to the people of the nations, a teacher, and somebody who would continue to help the helpless alongside him. I have no doubt she would have had more of a hand in building and sustaining Republic City, perhaps as even one of its leaders. They would have leant on and encouraged each other to become better rulers as they both would have been learning the ropes, and better people for it. With Katara learning even more about the Fire Nations people as Zuko learned more about the people of the Water-Tribes. Zuko would've compassionately supported that Katara keep in contact with her family, and her roots at the south and north poles, with Katara helping Zuko find his mother (as she did in the comics), and then Katara would have become his family too. As well as staying connected to their beloved friends, especially Aang. Zuko and Katara always loved to be on the ground level helping people, and that's how I would have believed they would have ruled, amongst their people helping them together. 

Zuko and Katara were both warriors, and it's almost certain they would have both trained together to become even more refined in their own elements, as well as in combat to protect themselves and their people. Their differences as unique individuals would have helped them to reflect on themselves. Not only to understand each other, but understand themselves better too (going back to Iroh using water-bending techniques to teach fire-bending, Katara and Zuko could have continued this and aided not only each other, but other benders). They would have been a formidable team as Fire Lord/Lady, who would have not only been able to lean on/help the other in their duties, but they would of had an equal who loved and cared for them being themselves behind the mask of strength. Somebody to they could talk to openly and honestly, and somebody who would listen and understand. To have one who cares, having someone to show their vulnerabilities to without repercussion, but to also lighten their mood and tease/make them smile. Or to just be there when they needed them. An equal who could support them through every step. That they could count on each other's loyalty, and trust each other through thick and thin. They would respect the other and their decisions, whilst nurturing the other to grow, but making sure to be there when either stumbled. They would have loved the other deeply and unconditionally, being the physical embodiment of bonded loving balance between two people...Yin and Yang finally becoming one (Yinyang), growing into its ultimate potential. It would have been a compellingly beautiful love story, and a legendary tale of finding balance through love.

^THAT is what I think Reylo could be. Not Rey being a baby-carrier for the next generation of Skywalkers. Not one or both of these characters being reduced to a love-interest. Not there "NEEDING" to be a central romance, so we'll just fling these two characters together...

No.

A love story between Kylo and Rey would represent and fit to the story of Oma and Shu, and what could have potentially have been a love story between Zuko and Katara. It also represents the integral themes and messages of: forgiveness, hope, courage, family, peace, humanity and love that Star Wars has always tried to tell. Two disparate pieces, represented by red and blue, or dark and light, both on opposite sides of a war that's been repeating for what seems like an eternity, bridging the gap between the light and the dark. Yin and Yang. Through a love between two people who have felt alone for so long... And finding where they belong is with each other, to bring about balance and peace. Rey and Kylo would fall in love as equals, two people who can understand the other, recognize themselves in each other and accept them for who they are.

Nobody should be alone, and everybody should find love in whatever form it takes, as love isn't just one thing, neither can it really be defined or divided. Star Wars is no different, it's a morality tale as much as it is a Fairy Tale. Star Wars has always at its core been about the love between people, the many different forms it can take, and what it creates and leaves behind. Rey and Kylo falling in love is two people, against all the odds, finding a kindred spirit just like them who can understand them. Who can see and listen and learn from them, and can most importantly care for and love them. This pairing isn't just about lust/desires of the flesh. Yes there has and will probably be subtextual themes of that, as the sequel trilogy has the main theme of people growing up and maturing. Humans are sexual creatures, that's indisputable and would be naive to ignore. It's a part of who we are, and have always been, but it's second to the actual message of what a relationship like this would mean in Star Wars (I mean come on its Disney, not HBO).

It's about love. Pure, undulated, selfless, caring, passionate and compassionate love between two vulnerable, flawed human warriors of equal strength, weakness and complexity. I keep saying 'love' as if a single word were enough to describe the emotions and memories and the hopeless, reckless compassion we feel for those who are close to our heart; but it's the only word I've got that sums it up quickly, and I can't keep typing forever. About them finding humanity and belonging in the places they'd never think to look, yet found them anyway, and receiving compassion in a world they thought was cruel. Sounds like a tale that's been told a thousand times, yet like history repeating itself, sometimes stories are worth retelling. Because sometimes we listen to what we did wrong in the past, and instead of a tragedy like Oma and Shu, or Romeo and Juliet, or many bonds of love in real life...Sometimes we learn, and maybe there is a happy ending, simply forgotten in the ravages of a merciless reality. That's why we use fiction... To escape that reality, but to also see the better potential of our own reality, whilst subconsciously seeing our own pasts and presents mirrored there.

Almost everybody loves a good Story. Ones like Star Wars, although Fiction, are so loved and cherished BECAUSE people in many ways relate to the very human yet mythical tales of magic, adventure, freedom, and hope this franchise tells. Ones that have been told and retold since the first stories were passed on thousands of years before, legends told in different ways like Chinese whispers. And legends are often woven with lessons that ring with truths. We look to those truths to help ourselves in our own reality and lives, and to share in that magic. In this sequel trilogy, the main themes and the story as old as time being given a retelling is that of good vs evil - darkness, light and balance. The symbolism of that, Yin and Yang finding each other have always been heavily connected to one of these magical concepts, a powerful message that resonates in its simplistic beauty...

Finding your Soulmate. That's what reylo is.

At the end of this sequel trilogy, if Ben does become banished, I believe there will be a happier ending. Instead of Ben being isolated, shunned by the galaxy and lonely for the rest of his days, there is one who will stay by his side... This time Ben will not be alone, because he'll have Rey.

Sounds like a Star Wars Fairy Tale to me, and a story of growing up and finding out who you are long ago in a galaxy far, far away. And a reality that's presently not so far away too. Wherever this story goes, I have no doubt it's going to be Legendary.

I can't wait.

You survived to the end.

Here have a cookie, you deserve it. 

[weasley-detectives]

Brave and Merida in a Trumped up world

It's a little surprising to me that the Disney fandom went absolutely apeshit over the "Disneyfication" of Merida in their merchandise - something Brenda Chapman even spoke out against, calling it a cheap ploy to sell merchandise - yet there hasn't been any commentary on other Brave spin-offs.

Merida's a Disney/Pixar heroine who, in Chapman’s own words, was created to be a different kind of Princess. Now, I don’t think it makes me a good feminist to sit here and pit Disney Princess against Disney Princess; I think popular perception of the “Disney Princess” is a different beast altogether when compared with the actual source material, which has both positive and negative aspects. But when it comes to Merida the writers intentionally set out from the start to try something new. She has a fuller, rounded figure, a nuanced relationship with her mother, and romance plays no part in her story. You could argue there’s evidence of a romantic interest, but that’s not the same thing as a romantic subplot, and it’s not overt enough that you can say with any certainty. The writers admit the original idea was to have Merida walk off into the sunset with Young MacGuffin, the suitor who briefly catches her attention early in the film, but that epilogue thankfully only exists in the artbook and deleted scenes.

And let me be clear, there's nothing wrong with Merida having a romantic interest. In fact, I came to love that Merida is subtly shown to be a little interested in Young MacGuffin. 

I was watching Mulan the other night with a @pale-silver-comb​ (who is 100% responsible for my newfound love of Disney- well, that and the fact I need bright happy escapist animation as the rest of my time is spent neck deep in miserable politics). We were cackling over the scene where Mulan ogles a shirtless Shang and later wound up ranting over how rare it is to see women checking out guys in films. When women do make their attraction known, they tend to run the risk of being framed or labelled as shameless, or worse, sluts. On the flipside, how often do we see guys ogling girls in media? Yeah, exactly. It's a shitty myth that women don't own their sexuality in the same ways men do. That's one of the things I love about Mulan and Merida as heroines - they're not "strong female characters" (god I hate that term, can we please kill it?) just because they kick large hairy man arse. They're great characters because they are so relatable. They're funny, they're giant dorks, they stuff their gobs, they check guys out, they can be crass, proud, and make mistakes. These are all things women do, but aren't shown to do nearly as often as men are in mainstream media.

I’m glad the Brave epilogue with Merida and Young MacGuffin didn't make the final cut, because the story wasn't about Merida finding romance - it was about Merida's relationship with her mother, and the two of them confronting their pride, opening their minds to new ways of thinking, and admitting their mistakes. The epilogue had no place in Brave’s narrative. To have included it would have harmed the message of the story by adding romance for the sake of romance, rather than for any narrative purpose. But at the same time I don't want to downplay Merida showing even a subtle interest because yay women owning their own sexuality. One of the things that has driven me crazy since I was a kid myself is the patronising infantilization of girls. A crush is normal, you can pretty much get them at any age, it does not mean you’re not enjoying your childhood to the fullest. Fuck that noise. I had massive crushes from the age of 4 and still managed to climb trees, get into fights and battle Captain Hook and Shredder on my T-Rex with imaginary best friend Gollum at my side (what? fuck you we had a bond). That Merida might have had a bit of a crush on Young MacGuffin reinforces for me the fact she’s a character who doesn't want to get married because she doesn’t bloody want to, not because the suitors are conveniently horrible people she vehemently dislikes. I actually find that even more inspiring. So yes, Brave is a great film with a pretty amazing heroine.

Which is why it pisses me off when spin-off writers take something so progressive and shaft it.

This isn't a ship shaming post at all - fandom is a ship & let ship space, ship Merida with her bow for all I care, it's all good. This critique is aimed at crappy spin-offs and I’m taking Once Upon a Time as an example. Now, OUAT isn’t all bad. Sometimes it takes Disney canon and transforms it into something really interesting, progressive and original. Or, well, it used to. Recent seasons not so much. The actress who plays Merida is the only good thing about OUAT's Brave arc. The rest is unbearably lazy (HA! pun.) writing. The gravest injustice has to be King Fergus, who looks like he's wearing a wig knitted from a highland cow's pubes.

Don't get me started on his accent. I’m scottish. No Scotsman sounds like that. Not unless they’re squeedging out an enormous post-curry-hangover shit. I love Fergus, but honestly I was relieved OUAT!Fergus was bumped off before my ears could go on strike.

The suitors are also sexist pigs. Dingwall and MacGuffin don't even say anything, they just play the lazy mindless followers/minions to MacIntosh who’s probably the most unlikeable aspect of the arc. Really says something about OUAT when the original animation, aimed at a younger audience, portrays its characters as more nuanced. In Brave, Young MacIntosh is all bluff- he’s a show off, a sore loser and generally a bit of a prick, but there are also glimpses of genuine empathy. He's also the suitor Merida is openly put off by in the film. So yeah, in Brave, Young MacIntosh is a bit of a lanky fucktrumpet, but he's not anywhere close to being the scabby sexist cockwomble he is in OUAT. This would be fine if it had some sort of clever narrative purpose, but who am I kidding, it’s OUAT. OUAT!MacIntosh is a proper dickhead and there’s no reason for Merida to like any of the suitors, because unlike in Brave, they’re all fucking assholes. And yet the OUAT arc still ends with Merida giving him the smitten googley eyes. Because romance or something. cool.

Another Brave novelisation published by Disney Random House ends with Merida confirming to the reader that yes, she did eventually marry. Well thank fuck for that! My frail girlish heart couldn't possibly entertain the idea of Merida never marrying. Thank you book, you've reassured conservative parents everywhere.

In addition to that bollocks is.. probably one of the worst offenders. I recently picked up a couple of the Merida chapter books by Sudipta Bardham-Quallen, again published by Disney Random House. They're for wee kids, but I wanted to see more of @gurihiru​​ 's lovely art which I’m fully smitten with. The writing isn’t great, but the stories involve challenging enough themes for very young readers. To the author's credit there's a bit of an effort made to retain a Scottish feel to them and there’s a nice focus on female friendships as Merida encounters new characters. It’s a bit cutesy-poo BFFs!!, the kind of thing I hated as a kid, but hey, we need more female friendship stories. The new characters are even quite likeable, so thumbs up there.

Then I picked up the second book, The Fire Falls (also written by Sudipta Bardham-Quallen), and cringed. Basically bad Merida and Young MacIntosh fanfic involving some classic tropes like: 'I'm not jealous, I’m just better than all those shameless slags flirting with him' and 'arg he's such an asshole but i'm inexplicably attracted to him though there's nothing to show in the story why I should be!' and my favourite - ‘He’s a bad guy but I can change him!’

Here's my main issue: why is it when a female character shows or says she’s not interested in a guy's advances this all too often becomes a springboard for their romance? Why do these stories have such an obsession with positioning the sexist hyper-masculine asshole as the romantic lead? (I'm sure that couldn’t have any dire implications for the worl-oh fuck). And in Brave's case, when the source material and original epilogue show Merida taking an interest in the big fat guy, why don’t any of the spin-offs build on that? Young MacGuffin also happens to be the only one in the entire film to vocally stand up for Merida’s rights. That’s pretty cool! So why don’t spin-offs celebrate that? The cynic in me says we all know the answer - much like Merida had to be “sexed up” to sell Disney merchandise, the fat suitor had to be swapped out for the skinny. 

Really, in a film that revolves around Merida's frustration that people aren't listening to her, it sort of amazes me that these spin-offs don't realise they AREN'T LISTENING TO HER.

And yeah, obviously I know it seems really silly picking on kids books and OUAT, neither of which are ever going to win awards for great progressive writing, but considering America just elected a vile celebrity as President and populism is on the rise, maybe it’s time we all said screw that academic snobbery and paid more attention to popular media. This stuff is common, these tropes are common, and it’s consumed mostly by young kids who internalise these crappy messages.

I make a big deal of it because these coded messages have a profound effect on us as we grow. These messages tell us to ignore a girl's decision and choice: that when she says 'I'm not interested' what we hear is 'I am'; that the most "attractive" and most "masculine" guy will always be the “natural” choice; that being fat or shy or awkward are inherently negative qualities and will always be overlooked by the loud wanker distracting everyone by waving his tiny hands around.

I'm now a published historian and I plan on publishing children's books in the near future; I work part-time in a bookshop, so I talk to kids about the stories they read, the stories they want to read, and their frustrations with the stories they HAVE read, all the time; I studied child psychology as part of my degree in Social Anthropology: this is why it matters to me and why I know all too well how much these coded messages affect us. I know it from my own experiences as a half-Moroccan kid with a dead father, growing up in a classroom of white kids who all came from middle-class households with two parents. This was all brought back to me when I rediscovered some of my old journals and stories I had written for class where I portrayed myself as being blonde/white and talked as if my dad was still alive, because I desperately wanted to be *normal*. I never got to encounter a character like Merida growing up, and I wish to god I had.

Children's authors and publishing houses have an enormous responsibility to make their readers feel included and heard. They also have a responsibility to challenge toxic ideas - not reinforce them. We have to keep pushing boundaries, not limit them.

[chelseareadsalot-blog]

Rouge One - A Star Wars Story

I've just began reading this novelised version of the film by Alexander Freed. I am expecting this novel to be filled with all the same action and excitement of the Star Wars film. I'm part the way through the prologue and I'm fully enjoying it so far. Let's hope it keeps going this way!!

[fangirlinglikeabus]

i finished the day of the doctor novelisation today and i literally cannot stop thinking about it. i had a few small issues with it but here is a (very long oops) list of the things i loved:

the chapters are in a completely bonkers order. it starts with chapter 8. there is no chapter 9 (well. the curator claims there is, and leaves a handy blank sheet at the back so you can mark when you read chapter 9. it’s completely covered in marks with ‘help me’ scrawled over it)

Sometimes he missed the monochrome world of his first two incarnations. It had felt like a simpler, cleaner time; so many centuries had passed before he realised he’d just been colour blind.

the potion that eight drank was actually lemonade and dry ice...the sisterhood of karn just gave him a way to pretend that he was a warrior due to outside influence

He’d just had another massive falling out with the Master, who typically had gone and turned everyone in the world into a copy of himself (’Yes, even you, Clara, shame I missed that’), cleverly saved an old friend from dying of radiation poisoning, said goodbye to all his best friends because he was dying of radiation poisoning, died of radiation poisoning, regenerated, made a mental note to apologise to all his best friends for possibly overstating the situation with the radiation poisoning, destroyed a garden shed which had stupidly collided with his TARDIS during a largely successful emergency landing, met a new friend with orange hair, invented fish custard, had a stern word with some giant flying eyeballs who were mucking about on Earth for no good reason, and put an end to the mysterious plans of Prisoner Zero (plans so mysterious, in fact, that no one ever found out what they were) before finding time to dash back to the TARDIS and spending seven and a half frustrating hours looking for a mirror. 

the doctor apparently regularly calls up coal hill school like ‘hello yes i am a Totally Normal Human who wants to know when my friend clara will be free to hang out :)’. the headmaster knows he’s an alien because ian is the governor. also ian and barbara are on their fourth honeymoon...the doctor asks to tag along

the running gag that the eleventh doctor is apparently slightly terrified of his own hands. he keeps hitting things with them accidentally

flashback to the brig telling kate that the doctor is a genius and also an idiot. this happens while four is getting his scarf caught in a door, complaining that he’s been trapped by a force field while sarah calmly untangles him.

IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY SPLIT INFINITIVES, PLEASE DON’T PANIC, IT’S A STUPID RULE ANYWAY.

the doctor has a bath with river........fully clothed. then it quickly swings to sad because this is ten and he’s thinking about how her death gets more painful the further he gets away from it because he’s getting to know her more

a footnote that reads ‘see Doctor Who and the Silence in the Library, available in all good alternate realities’

“This way,” Kate said, with the determined calm of a woman who had successfully not punched someone.

IF ANY ASPECT OF THIS BOOK IS MAKING YOU ANGRY, PLEASE KNOCK YOUR HEAD LIGHTLY AGAINST A WALL TO RESTORE PERSPECTIVE.

the bit in the tower is very very good...the concept that the doctor is fundamentally alone because after all they’re all the same person...the seeing it through 3 different versions of himself and just going through the role that he knows is his job

actually all of the river bits are Good. i just reread another one of them and i’m like. i’m in love. also the therapy robot? good shit

osgood’s pov bits are Good

advice from sarah jane: scream all the time you’re running away and then fall silent and double back so that the person chasing you thinks you’ve gone further than you have

i’m not sure there are any straight people in this book, actually. obviously there’s the doctor, but clara claims she made out with elizabeth and is also into kate, and osgood mentions not wanting kate to fall on top of her in case it causes ‘inappropriate sexual tension in the workplace’.

I was just thinking about Alistair again. I do that a lot, because I enjoy smiling.

if you listen closely you can hear my tears at that

the elizabeth i/doctor marriage ceremony is almost definitely a sham on her part to manipulate the doctor’s ego

MORE osgood pov, with some good good setup for the zygon invasion/inversion 2 parter.

the peter cushing dr who films exist in the doctor who universe. the dr apparently lent a waistcoat to him for the second one.

all the doctors have tea together. the seventh leaves behind his umbrella, which the curator considers ‘rather stylish’

some of the last lines in the book are almost word-for-word the seventh doctor’s closing speech of the classic series

there was So Much i enjoyed on top of that which i didn’t include because this was getting very very long, but god if this didn’t remind me exactly why i love moffat era who. plus: i think him bringing back gallifrey is very in line with his idea of the show as fundamentally hopeful and optimistic. idk how to put this exactly into words but it’s like...you can keep this promise to yourself. there is another way out. you don’t have to sacrifice your morals and your sense of being to desperation. idk man i just vibe heavily with it

[magnusmadssen]

Disney mania at Wellington City Libraries!

Disney mania continues on the kids blog… and at Wellington City Libraries!

Walt Disney has brought some fantastic movies for families’ enjoyment and entertainment, whether it is in a busy movie theatre or in comfort of your own home. He has been considered a pioneer of the American animation industry. Several of his films are included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

If you’re interested in learning more about his amazing life, why not read his biography:

  Walt Disney.

“Fans of Disneyland, Disney World, and all things Disney are sure to enjoy learning all about the fascinating founder, Walt Disney. This new biographic reader reveals the interesting, enchanting life of one of the world’s most beloved storytellers and entrepreneurs. Level 3 text provides accessible yet wide-ranging information for fluent readers”– Provided by publisher.

  New in the collection!

Since its release, Dumbo has taken the world of Disney by storm. Why not relive the magic… (and movie), of Dumbo with the following books:

Dumbo : circus of dreams.

In this novelisation of Walt Disney Studios’ live-action Dumbo, fans will experience the wonder of the breathtaking world created by the incomparable Tim Burton. Features all-new details and exclusive original content that will give fans insight into their favourite new characters.

  Dumbo.

When Dumbo the baby circus elephant is separated from his mother, he will need help from his friends and belief in himself to find his way back to her.

    Announcement: Dumbo will be released on DVD on 10th July. Click here for more information.

  New Movie Trailer: The Lion King

Here is another trailer for the much anticipated movie of the year, The Lion King. 

You will see Nala, experience more comical antics from Timon and Pumbaa, a possible battle to the death between Simba and Scar and whether Simba will take his rightful place as king.

  Movie Review: Aladdin

Guy Ritchie directs this live-action retelling of the original animated 1992 Disney classic, with Will Smith as the wish-granting Genie.

If you want to go on a journey of wonders, have non stop laughs, thrills and take magic carpet rides to an Arabian Night, then Aladdin is the film to watch!

The film is in a word, MAGNIFICENT and pays homage to the original animated classic, but also managed to create a whole new story, with some surprising twists you will not see coming.

In typical Disney style, the movie tells the story of Aladdin, a street urchin with a heart of gold, who falls in love with Princess Jasmine, who is trying to find her voice and make her way is a male dominated kingdom, culture and country. In order to make himself worthy of Jasmine’s affections, he helps the wicked and disgruntled palace vizier/sorcerer, Jafar, (who is just as wicked, however not as scary as Voldermort) retrieve a mysterious lamp from the cave of wonders. Aladdin’s whole life changes with one rub of a magic lamp as a fun-loving, shape shifting, humanoid Genie, played by Will Smith, appears and grants him three wishes, setting him on an incredible journey of discovery, love and true meaning of friendship and��becomes the friend, mentor and surrogate father that Aladdin never had.

This movie is awesome! Awesome story! Awesome music! Lots of original songs such as A whole new world and Never had a friend like me. This movie also features  a new song sang by Princess Jasmine, played by Naomi Scott called Speechless.

There were lots of awesome scenes, camera angles, movie effects and playful banter between Aladdin and the Genie, and moments when the relationship between them transcends from servant/master to friendship. Will Smith’s role as the Genie was epic! He managed to pay homage to the original Genie, played by the late Robin Williams, while at the same time making the role his own.

As promised, the film delivered at being amazing, entertaining, heart warming, moments where you will laugh and dance for joy.

A well deserved 8/10… and highly recommended movie that the whole family can enjoy at the weekend!

  Takeaways and wise words, from the film, to remember:

“Be specific with your words. The deal is in the details.” -Genie.

“If you don’t have anything, you have to act like you own everything. ” – Aladdin.

“I made you look like a prince on the outside, but I didn’t change anything on the inside. Prince Ali got you to the door, but Aladdin has to open it.” – Genie, (to Aladdin)

“Sometimes you just have to take a risk.” – Aladdin.

  Check out some of the songs from the soundtrack, such as:

A whole new world, by both Mena Massoud, (Aladdin) and Naomi Scoot, (Jasmine) and ZAYN and Zhavia Ward.

Speechless, by Naomi Scott.

  And… some wise words from the man himself:

“Around here we don’t look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things, because we’re curious…and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.”  Walt Disney, Film Producer, Director, Animator, Entrepreneur.

Disney mania at Wellington City Libraries! syndicated from https://paintballreviewsgun.wordpress.com/

[misstopsyturvy]

So I went to go see Beauty and the Beast again, this time on my own so I wouldn’t be distracted by chatty family members like the first time.

There was a reasonable amount of people who went when I did this time, I guess they’re the people who are either rewatching it like me or they’re the people who have normal lives and can watch a film a few weeks after it comes out and are perfectly okay with that. Either way, it was a nice set of people.

There was one group of women who had I think three young kids who would say something adorable at the best moments, the one that cracked me up the most was when after the the wolf scene, one of the kids said “This is too adult for me, this turned into a adult one, Mummy.” She says this when it went really quiet too so everyone in the screen laughed.

But that one group got annoying later on.

Specifically one of the Mother’s.

Here’s the thing. When you go see a movie that has well known songs, it’s common decency to NOT sing along loudly with the film. And yet, this is what happened during the dancing scene. And it’s pretty obvious why singing along is rude because I was sitting there trying to focus on the movie, and yet I kept on getting distracted because this Mum was singing along and encouraging the kids to do the same.

I wouldn’t have a problem with it if it was just the kids singing, they’re kids and obviously they knew the song and being kids, they’re gonna sing along and they have no idea that singing along is distracting for others. No, my problem was with the Mum who started it and continued on. Her voice was also very grating so again, it was annoying hearing her from the side of me while I’m trying to bask in this film’s prettiness.

But anyway, I enjoyed myself more on my 2nd watch, I found myself smiling so big at Be Our Guest and Gaston which was surprising since before, I didn’t really think much of those two scenes, but this time I really enjoyed it.

Despite how many people hated Emma’s autotune, I’m just really indifferent to it? I mean, I went through a Nightcore phase a few years back, so maybe I’m more accepting when it’s used. I honestly liked Emma’s singing in this, autotune be damned. Some people need it and there’s no fucking shame in that. I know people are pissed because ‘Oh but there are probably SO MANY girls out there who COULD sing and didn’t get the part!’ And all I hear are whiny bitches who are really saying ‘I hate Emma Watson and I should’ve been Belle!’ To each their own opinions, but the general hate I’ve seen on Emma is so petty. Emma was the perfect Belle and I liked her better than the animated Belle to be quite honest. Whoops I said it.

DAN STEVENS. GOD DAMN DAN. He was one of the main reasons why I wanted to watch the movie a second time on the big screen. The CGI is incredible! Before I saw the movie the first time, I was a tiny bit worried about that aspect since I’d heard people say it can be distracting, but I thought it was very well done. I mean, I’ve seen some very shitty CGI in both movies and tv shows, but this film did a perfect job.

I think people forget that we all know CGI is created to make something look real, but we all really know it isn’t. CGI can’t really trick us since we KNOW it’s not real, and yet it’s nitpicked when it doesn’t meet many people’s standards. It’s annoying especially when this film did a great job creating a Beast that Dan was able to act through brilliantly. The fact that they made the Beast with Dan on stilts and his facial expressions captured. It’s just fascinating to me.

So when I came for a 2nd watch, I focused all my attention onto the Beast when he was on screen, I didn’t want to miss a MOMENT of that perfection.

(Also before I forget to mention, one thing that really annoyed me was when they did that swooping shot of Belle’s room when she first goes in, and when she went into the West Wing. I don’t know what they did, but those shots are very blurry when in motion when they try to show us the rooms in it’s entirety. They could’ve been very beautiful shots and yet they were really blurred and that really annoyed me.)

I loved all the other characters. To be honest though, I come to watch this movie because I like the story of Belle and the Beast developing together and seeing them fall in love. I liked the supporting characters sure, but I’d rather focus on the leading characters. 

Being a part of the LGBTQ community AND READING THE NOVELISATION BEFORE I SAW THE FILM, I knew I liked how LeFou turned out. And this was before the shitstorm happened after Disney announced LeFou was gay. I knew this before that announcemnet since it was pretty freaking obvious in the novel that he was, so it was REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING WHEN PEOPLE IN THE LGBTQ COMMUNITY STARTED TO JUMP TO THE WORST CASE SCENARIOS

I was honestly so tempted to spoil his character development to the whiners. And yet I didn’t and just blocked a bunch of stupid people on this site. SO MANY PEOPLE. Ugh.

Anyway, I was pleased how he turned out in the film. I know people say Disney is just giving them scraps, but honestly guys? This wasn’t LeFou’s movie. It was Beauty and the Beast. Focusing on LeFou and his sexuality wasn’t supposed to be the movie no matter how much you wished he’d gotten more screentime, he’s a supporting character who eases people into realising that gay people are real and it’s normal to be so. 

Hopefully one day Disney will create a movie with a leading gay character, but Beauty and the Beast isn’t it. It’s nice to even HAVE a gay character and have it be confirmed before it came out. I’m not saying we should accept the little things. I’m saying we can be happy Disney is stepping in the right direction, especially since they refused to let countries cut and air the film because of the gay aspects. The day will come when we get a LGBTQ lead hero/heroine. Just gotta be patient guys. It will happen when more of the general audience becomes more accepting of the gay characters that BY THE WAY BECAME REFORMED. LeFou had good character development, we need that. We just have to encourage it instead of bitching that it’s not enough. Bitching isn’t going to make Disney make more gay characters, it’s going to make them stop trying altogether and then we’re back to square one. Just chill and hang in there.

I loved Gaston too. But love as in he was a great villain to hate. I know people think he’s more sympathetic in this one, but I’ve got to disagree with that one. In the book, he’s basically the same, but his inner thoughts are all about him trying to fill this hole he has after the war and that Belle is what he needs to fill it.

And I just hate that so much because he’s basically just stuck onto her and he thinks she should just go along with it because why not? He has a hole, so Belle needs to fill it, despite how she feels. And I’ve noticed that the inevitable happened and people started to say Belle was mean for turning him down beCAUSE POOR BABY IS FEELING LIKE HE’S MISSING SOMETHING AND OBVIOUSLY BELLE HAS TO TAKE HIS FEELINGS INTO ACCOUNT JUST BECAUSE-

and oh my god I hate when this happens. When people start to make excuses for the villains because THEY’RE SNOWFLAKES

No. Gaston is still an asshole, he just has a reason to pursue to Belle now instead of her just being beautiful.

I’ve also seen people vilify Maurice for denying Gaston Belle’s hand. In the book it’s much the same, but it’s more descriptive on what Maurice is thinking about how Gaston is losing his temper and this is basically what drives Maurice to say that Gaston would never marry his daughter. Maurice sees how bad Gaston’s temper can get, so do people really think it’s bad of him to say no to this man marrying his daughter? What parent would see that scene and go ‘SURE YOU CAN MARRY MY KID’

No, Maurice obviously saw that Gaston got unstable when he wasn’t getting what he wanted. And he was like ‘HECK NO YOU AIN’T MARRYING MY DAUGHTER, YOU’D PROBABLY BLOW UP ON HER LIKE YOU ARE NOW WITH ME AT SOME POINT AND I AM NOT HAVING THAT’ Maurice is a wonderful parent. But since he said ‘No’ to Snowflake Gaston, people got pissed and defensive.

That can honestly ruin a good villain by the way. Trying to humanize him and sweeping his bad traits and crimes under the rug so he’ll look better so you can feel better about fawning over him more. Wait, there you go. Those types of people can be called the Bimbettes since they fawn over him the whole movie, even when he’s being a dick TO THEM.

Moving on, I said I liked the supporting characters. I didn’t think Mrs Potts was nightmare inducing like other people thought. I think the design is actually very pretty and it fits with the theme of the castle and the century. I recently read that the reason her mouth wasn’t under the spout was because she’d look like a demented pig, so I’m glad they made her this way. 

I love Lumiere and Plumette! I like that Lumiere is more devoted to one woman rather than him seeming like a playboy. Didn’t really care about Cogsworth. I mean he’s there and it’s nice and seeing Lumiere aggravate him is fun to watch, but otherwise from that, I don’t care.

Garderobe and Candanza (did I spell them right?) were nice additions. It’s also good to have more than one interracial couple that is perfectly healthy and happy looking! When they said goodbye to one another and he says ‘Don’t leave me!’ and he’s forcing himself to keep playing and then his lights go out. THAT. THAT WAS HEARTBREAKING. Also the score of that scene made it even more so. Damn and bless you, Alan Menken!

The last scene is always my favourite. I WISH we could’ve had more Prince Adam! I ship Adam and Belle so hard right now AND THAT GROWL

(Side note: I loved Evermore so much that I sing it in public, very off key, to my Mum who looks at me like I went crazy, but also knows what I’m singing from so just bears through the pain!)

My thoughts on the news of a possible prequel or spinoff? I don’t want either. I want this movie to stay it’s own thing. I’m okay with the idea that these live action remakes are basically cashgrabs and I’m really okay with that since I like these remakes. But it’s a bit to much for me when a film does so good that a follow up movie ends up being in the works and ultimately flops in the creative aspect. See most Disney animated sequels. I like some of those because I watched them as a kid, but I know they aren’t great.

Also the rumour going around that Disney may make the live action a whole universe like Marvel and DC do with their movies...Nah. Nope. Don’t Want.

Look. I’ve followed Once Upon A Time for 4 years now. That show has ruined intertwined Disney characters for me forever. I have a love/hate relationship with that show. And I know having the character have ‘squad’ films will only ruin the whole thing. It’s just a stupid idea.

Anyway that’s my review of Beauty and the Beast (my real one since I never did one for my first watch)

BTW MULAN NEEDS IT’S MUSIC NUMBERS OTHERWISE THE MOVIE ISN’T GOING TO BE AS SUCCESSFUL

DISNEY BATB IS DOING SO WELL MAINLY FOR THE MUSIC, DON’T BE STUPID AND REALIZE YOU ARE MAKING MONEY BECAUSE DISNEY MUSIC DRAWS PEOPLE IN

night