#i feel very meh about sarge as a villain

[beth-is-rainpaint]

Current mood, 2 episodes in to my rewatch of s6:

[rubykgrant]

OK, my thoughts about the final season of RVB! If you haven't seen it yet, warning for SPOILERS!

In general, I thought it was alright. The good parts were GOOD, but it felt kind of rushed, and a few things were disappointing. Certain parts I wish had been different, but I'm glad it exists. Watching it with lots of cool people made it fun, and it had a decent enough ending for what it was... though, after so many years, so many characters, just so MUCH of a story, I wish things had been a little MORE. It was a shame it was so short and rushed. I'm still glad the people who worked on it got it done, and we were all able to see it.

So. Actual thoughts on different bits...

I'm somebody who enjoys seasons 15-16-17, so while it will always be real in my heart, if they HAD to do a ret-con, having a spoof with a Retro Convention was VERY funny. Kai would absolutely milk her relation to Grif for some attention. I thought it was weird that Dylan was there, but she was a convention host? I feel like it would have made more sense for her to be one of the people asking questions about where the Reds and Blues went (y'know, like she ACTUALLY DID in 15). Oh well.

Things were very rushed... if this had been a more full season (or, in my perfect world, a story split into 2, so we get 19 and 20 out of it. I'm sorry, it just bugs my brain when something ends on a 9 instead of a 10. that's a ME problem), there could have been more of a Big Reveal about Tucker being the Meta. HOWEVER, since things were very condensed, I can appreciate how amusing it is to have Epsilon info-dump the plot to every body.

I did get a chuckle out of Epsilon being a "recorded prediction program" and not the true AI, and he decided to just be an obnoxious little youtuber. Like, that was so awful, it was AWESOME. It is also something that would have made Alpha Church super ticked off, which is very fitting. Good job Epsilon, 10 out of 10~

I was so happy to see Sheila and Lopez! Mechanical love lives on. It was a bit meh seeing the Reds act like they don't care about Caboose (we've been there, done that), but some of the funny bits that followed and Simmons getting Sarge interested by bribing him with Blue Defeat saved it (listen, these guys have been insisting they hate each other for 2 decades, but they can literally not live without each other. let them just admit they are ALL FRIENDS). Grif ranting was excellent.

No Donut is some major BS! Look, I get it, we stole the spot-light in 16-17, he was the time-god's most specialest pink princess and a harbinger of death, it can be intimidating to include something so powerful after trying to erase all that from existence... but come on. With all the important call-backs and connections 19 made with previous seasons, AND having the ending be in Blood Gulch? DONUT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE AND HE SHOULD HAVE THROWN THE AI UNIT. No, I mean it, imagine the thing gets knocked really far away, maybe from an explosion, and Donut throws it clear across the canyon, because you KNOW he can! This time instead of it being a grenade that kills Tex, she catches the unit, tra-la-la, it all comes together. I'm sorry, Simmons doing the cool sports-ball throw was fun, but... Donut. DONUT!

Alright, moving on. It felt a little awkward that Wash is yet again hurt, and nobody is there with him? Oh wait, Doc is there, except no he isn't. Listen. Listen. I love plural Wash. I also love the idea of him genuinely having an emotional connection with Doc, because it DOES make sense; when Wash kid-napped him, Doc just kept making all his sarcastic little comments the whole time, and it tricked Wash into having real conversations with him. I honestly think that if Doc hadn't been with them, Wash wouldn't have been so open to the idea of finally settling down after his Villain Moment. They also both have a lot in common with AI incidents, and again, Villain Moments. I'm just annoyed that the Pacifist and the Original Bad Boy evidently died. Off screen. Give me back my purple boys. If we need to have Wash Not Be Around for a while, have him and Carolina go off to track down Hargrove or something. Maybe they went to two different locations, and Wash gets back to the others first, so we still get Carolina to the rescue.

Anyway, the plot! There was a lot of funny bits when it came to looking for Tucker, getting into the ship with the "video call security", and Niner being there! Hooray! I am... a little disappointed about WHY and HOW Tucker is a "villain". Obviously, I can't picture him being legit EVIL, but the idea that he's just the physical puppet being controlled by the AI isn't very... good. I understand how it was explained, sure, but still. I know I keep rambling about my own thoughts for alternate scenarios, but I can't help it! I just don't like when Sigma (or Omega) are just plain EVIL, for no reason. They've always been more complicated than that (the Meta wanted to be HUMAN, remember. and Omega even told Epsilon "I'll be here if you need me". they are definitely different kinds of harsh and intense, but they aren't the Murder AI or the Evil AI). I don't like that Tucker is being tortured into doing what they say... a more subtle manipulation, the Fragments not only convincing Tucker but also themselves that they NEED to do all this to get Alpha back, is very intriguing. After Epsilon Deconstructed, the Fragments lost their Memories. They just know they aren't complete. Tucker just knows he wants to talk to his best friend again.

If it needs another push to make it more insidious, I'd buy that Meta suit being a trap to begin with; Hargrove probably had that thing rigged to make it into a trap for anybody that wore it, so they'd have this subliminal inclination to collect all the AI, and kill anybody in their way. Something-something forgetting what your motives are, and only caring about the GOAL. Tucker and the Fragments ALL need to remember who they are and why they want the Alpha; it isn't about being a weapon. If there was more of a fake-out/reveal of Tucker being the Meta, maybe with a false hint of it being Felix with the orange/black colors, a sign that Tucker is still in there would be him getting close to killing everybody... but he backs off each time.

Speaking of killing... Sarge. Oh, Sarge. I will admit that, just from a thematic point of view, yes- it works to have a Sarge death. I don't care for it being Tucker that did it, or that Donut isn't there to share the moment as well. Matt Hullum acted the HECK out of that scene, though. In fact, the whole bit of Sarge running back to save Caboose, and trapping Tucker with a bubble shield, was AWESOME. I didn't want Sarge to die... but he went out wearing his red armor, and told Grif and Simmons he cared about them. It was sad, but it was well done. In my perfect world, we just THINK he died, but then at the end it is revealed he's still alive! How? Well, Doc gave him CPR! Doc isn't dead either, that is integral you see. I'm not sure of Sarge going "Hurgh Bleh" would have been better or WORSE. Well, heck. I wish he wasn't dead, but as much as I hate it, I... didn't totally hate it?

I kind of wish Simmons had more of a break-down over it. I wanna see him lose his temper. OR, he acts so quiet and cold, it is just UNNERVING. Then Grif helps snap him out of it. Let's be real, those two are so co-dependant, it ain't even funny. I appreciate Simmons telling Grif he is officially free to leave, and the conversation of "Come with me" leading to Simmons saying he wants to see this through, and Grif agreeing to come along was good. Simmons has aspired to be an impressive soldier from the beginning, and Grif has just wanted to be DONE. In the end, they meet in the middle.

I may be a sappy Grimmons person, but I can say, as objectively as possible, they should NOT be separated at the end. Grif and Simmons are literally the introduction to the series. They were the first two characters we see, they have been side by side almost CONSTANTLY, they are always bickering but they are also each other's favorite person. I don't even mean in a shippy way, it is just a fact. To have them say good-bye and just leave each other is honestly out of character (we saw that before, remember, in 15; Grif got so guilty about it, Simmons came to the realization that opposites attract, and they finally had to admit they missed each other. it was a WHOLE THING). I think it would have worked if, after telling Grif he's free to leave at the end, Simmons waits minute, then starts following him-

Grif; What are you doing?

Simmons; Coming with you. What the hell else would I do?

And that is that, wherever they do, they're together. Also, Kai shows up and HUGS HER BRO, come on, please!

Now, as a sappy Grimmons person, they should have just gone through with it. It has been more than 20 years. Seriously. We all know it. People who don't even care about the ship know it. Just commit to the freaking bit. Stop being cowards. Let them hold hands, or hug, or gently bump the visor of their helmets together, SOMETHING. Show them taking a walk on the beach together, all lovey-dovey. We deserve some emotional satisfaction after a 2 decade queer-bait slow-burn. JUST DO IT.

Sigh... OK, that is out of my system.

My absolute FAVORITE thing in 19 was Tex. She was so freaking PERFECT. I love Caboose telling the unit a story, his way of bringing her back, because that was how he talked to Epsilon. It was so sweet. When they asked Caboose why he brought her back instead of Church, he told them- "Because I wanted to win". Listen, Caboose LOVES Church, but he knows what is up. It was hilarious to see her go through the teleporter to get her black armor back. I absolutely ADORED her saying she's NOT a "failure" anymore, because she's not just based on the Director's memories of losing his wife, she's also got the memories of the guys who REMEMBER HER KICKING THEIR ASSES. 100 percent, Tex return was the best. Her reuniting with Church was also very sweet... the only thing I would have liked more would be the other Fragments showing up in there, so they can all be together (and Church gives Theta a hug; he doesn't even need his memories yet, he just knows he loves Theta).

I didn't care much for deleting the Fragments at the end, but I get the "reasoning". Like, sure. Fine. In my perfect world, Caboose gives the unit to Carolina, so someday, when they're all "ready to wake up again", she can see her family. Wash taking the fall to alert Carolina was both kinda wonky, but also very funny, and hey- it got her there! Again, I don't know why she wasn't there with Wash from the beginning. Also, just. A few characters being dead, and most of the others splitting up at the end... nah. They all need to live together and be friends and be happy and be OK! Like, come on. They've had a lot of "endings" in this series that were bitter-sweet, or kind of sad. I know life doesn't always have a happily ever after... but just once, give them that.

OH, and ANOTHER THING; if things had been just slightly different, if both the Fragments and Tucker sort of "forgot" who they are, the way to remind Tucker should have been JUNIOR. Heck, maybe Carolina was off finding Tucker's kid, and when they come back Junior gets his dad to remember who he really is... but the suit is still controlling him, forcing him to fight. I just want a happy Tucker family reunion. Give that kid his daddy back. Even if Junior isn't there for the big conflict, he should have shown up at the end, with Tucker promising they won't be separated again.

Well, that sure was a lot! The final season was a lot, in a short amount of time! Again, I wish certain things were different, but I'm happy I could see it. Even after everything, all the good and bad parts, I know that it still isn't "the end". I've got a lot of ideas for stories, and so do many other fans out there. I know people are going to keep sharing their thoughts, creating their art, telling their stories... because a universe without stories? That's just empty space.

Bow-chicka-Bye Now!

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week, especially Wonder Woman's relaunch under Tom King ?

Wonder Woman #1 -

Wondersisters we're fucking back! Fantastic first issue from King and Sampere. It's a very tight compressed read, King wants to make the reader feel as blindsided by how quick everything goes to hell as Diana no doubt does. Sovereign looks like the King Washington from AC3, and I love his design. Connecting him to WW through the lasso mythology is a great concept. Despite the lasso being her iconic weapon, we really don't know a lot about it. King wants to write Superman so bad he gave Wonder Woman her own bald evil genius/mastermind to fight. Seeing Sarge Steel kill an Amazon in front of her own wife and child is a hell of a way to set the stakes. Some people were upset about that, but WW has needed to increase the feeling of danger in her books for a while now, and this accomplished that. Themsyacria itself isn't in danger, but Wonder Woman's mission in Man's World is, and that's a set up that works for me.

Love how Diana casts a huge shadow despite it being a while before she actually appears on page. We see King have her do all the actions you'd expect and then King shoots them all down as ineffective. God I love that scene where she sends her sword back to Nubia because she doesn't want to be tempted, sells the hell out of her being furious. And her dressing down of Sarge Steel? Peak Wonder Woman right there.

Steve is in a potentially very interesting place. Usually he's just Diana's wholesome and supportive boyfriend, this is a chance to put the screws to him and find out what makes him tick. He swore an oath and is technically committing treason by helping Diana, which he points out, but he still helps her all the same. Now I get we don't want to focus too much on a man in a WW book, but as her most important male supporting character, I argue that Steve needs fleshing out to bring him up to the level Lois and Selina are at.

My only qualm is I wish we get a page dedicated to the reaction of the other Wondy Rogues at this new player making moves. What does Circe or Cheetah or Cale make of this? Grail is going to show up, what's her angle? Definitely could see Psycho jumping for joy. While I doubt Sovereign can actually be Wondy's arch, I do like him as this new major player who upends Wondy's status quo, and I want to see where the other Wondy Rogues fit into his plans.

Superman #6 - Quick read but at least next issue is the oversized one. Livewire remains an ass despite working at the Daily Planet and that makes me deliriously happy. Having her as the anti-Superman voice at the Planet is a great gag, hell you could even have her livestream her fights with Supes to boost the DP's sales as a way to profit from being a villain even when she loses. AI Lex insisting on calling Superman "son" remains hilarious, Clark is clearly fed up with Lex's bullshit. The Chained seems to be a powerful telekinetic, was hoping for a more creative powerset, but at least he has hair. Saw that reference to Master Jailer helping Lex build the prison that held Chained, please let that be a tease for Jailer to make his return soon.

World's Finest #19 - Meh. Far as first meetings between Superman and Batman go, this one is down near the bottom. Jax is every bit as boring as I thought he would be, and Waid just pays lip service at the end towards the idea of Batman not trusting Superman. More fuel for the speculation that Waid is taking over Action with "Aethyr" showing up. What a boring look and design, not at all the Lovecraftian god in the vein of Gerber that PKJ had been building up. If Waid is really taking Action I have zero hope he delivers a satisfying conclusion to whatever plot threads PKJ himself doesn't wrap up. Waid is simply too stuck in the Silver Age. Let's hope Kingdom Come gives this book the shot in the arm it needs.

Nightwing #106 - Without Redondo the book's paper thin nature is front and center. Still, far as continuity goes, this does use the Ric era in a good way. Taylor of all people being the one to do something interesting with that time period surprises me.

Green Lantern: War Journal #1 - My grandma has dementia and I teared up at that scene where John makes a construct of his sister for his mother who has it. Caring for relatives with dementia is just trying to keep them happy even when it breaks your heart. If PKJ is really losing Action, at least here he can continue the United Planets plot threads with Thaaros. John put that fraud GL in his place and it was badass. If the Radiant Queen can body hop, maybe the people who speculated she's an alternate version of Katma are right and the body she's been in isn't her original.

Vigil #5 - It's good! Castle is more than a little shit.

Loki #4 - Damn good mini that I can only assume is being totally ignored by Ewing given the ending has Loki seemingly embracing his status as the God of Lies again. Or is that actually setting up Ewing Loki, who is openly apologetic about how he's going to fuck over Thor if it makes for a good tale in Immortal Thor? Watters needs to get more work.

Captain America #1 - Solid character beats and interactions, but it lacks a big "hook" as it were to keep me reading. I am amused to see JMS' big return to Marvel monthlies involves someone trying to make a deal with the devil.

[fastlikealambo]

OKAY MER FAM LET’S TALK SIREN

I love seeing ryn come into her own human life,cooking,shopping,figuring things out for herself, it was really cute.

maddie’s reaction was justified but it still hurt to see my thruple on the outs.

still don’t give a shit about calvin nor janine. they are so underdeveloped that the proposal felt empty. janine has had no  real characterization in the last two seasons so calvin’s speech was meh because in my opinion, the writers haven’t given us a reason to really care about janine. her and calvin both come across as filler characters,we don’t know about their backgrounds or ties to bristol cove so it’s just like “oh maddie,ben,and ryn are offscreen doing something let’s stick calvin,janine, and xander in a forgettable bar scene.”

so xander wants to be a police officer. and you did this..for what?  again,xander is a case of uneven writing. one second he hates and wants to kill mermaids, the next he’s helping them,now he’s keeping an eye out for them, it’s fine to have change his mind and be on team mermaid but it’s just so sloppy that makes me dread his scenes which sucks because I think ian verdun is a good actor. xander’s just so..boring.

I love that bad bitch katrina  spied for ryn,she’s always been such a wildcard character that I got nervous when she came on screen but it was cool to see her and the colony square up to protect ryn. also xander’s hot obviously queer police academy partner should totally come to bristol cove and fall in love with katrina, just sayin.

absolutely loved seeing  helena get her ghost on with sarge,still sad they didn’t do more with their relationship before sarge had to go. tbh i’m not really interested in her and ben’s dad side story,it’s kinda boring and sidelines helen who is such an interesting character that she outshines ted. even though it wasn’t my favorite, I liked her hybrid storyline much be than her teaming up with ted.

so let’s talk about tia. I mean mark me down as scared and horny but there’s something about her as feels..idk generic villain of the week (don’t tell her I said that.} and a tad monotone.  she’s like if winter solider was a mermaid and I’m not feeling it. it was good of the show ( and painful for me) to see ryn outmatched i by tia to establish she’s going to be around for a while and won’t be easy to beat. something about this season so far feels very much like breaking dawn with all the different tribes of mermaids which I love and I know through tia we’re going to see the lore expand. ALSO THEY STOLE HER  SONG THROUGH BASICALLY A MERMAID LOBOTOMY? fuck them humans up for that sis.

so that leaves me with polymarine. yall know I will go down with ship, my aquatic thruple is always at their best when they communicate with each other. I HATE THE NEW GUY IN MADDIE’S LIFE WITH  A PASSION AND DEAR GOD I HOPE THIS ISN’T A SET UP FOR CHEATING. PLEASE DON’T MAKE MADDIE A CHEATER.  yes I understand that on  basically all tv dramas couples make up and break up but this is one of the very few positive depictions of polyamory on tv that I really don’t want to see stupid love triangles. it’s also a little out of character again in my opinion for maddie to stay the night with that guy,given what’s going on back home. I know polymarine will make their way back to each other but if I have to wait fifteen episodes and watch maddie flirt with this fool i’m gonna get bored. ALSO THIS DOES NOT MEAN JACK SHIT FOR RYN/BEN SHIPPERS, RYN/BEN ARE NOT CANON AND THE SHOW HAS COME OUT MULTIPLE TIMES SAYING THIS IS A POLYAMORY COUPLING. HUSH UP.

till next week!

[calliecat93]

Top 5 Things I Liked About Red vs Blue: Season 2

(Top 5 Dislikes)

One post down, one more to go… and then twenty-six more to go for the rest of this series. Why did I decide to do this again? Meh, whatever. Let’s just get on with it as we resume looking over Season 2.

#5. Machinima

Okay, this might sound weird, but hear me out. The machinima last season was… basic. Not bad mind you, there is only so much that you can do without a lot of creativity and resources. Resources that RT didn’t have at this point in time. But mostly, they just went through the default motions. Nothing really stood out. It had some cool stuff, like them somehow managing to blow the Warthog on top of Red Base. I think they even said in the commentary that trying to replicate it for the remaster was a pain in the ass. Still, it just didn’t stand out, though the humor made you not notice.

Clearly, the RT guys wanted to push themselves a little more now that they knew how Halo operated and they could machinimate better. Which they did. I noticed a lot of little things when watching the season. Like having Caboose jumping up and down during the opening gunfight while behind a rock, or even Doc just pretending to fire his blaster. Or having Simmons more or less trembling in the finale when his… ugh… fax parts act up and you can tell what Grif is staring at when he questions it. Or adding in things like Lopez’ note in the finale, and even having it written in binary. Heck, we even have smoke come out of Grif’s helmet when Simmons catches him in the act.

These are small things, but it helps make the world and characters feel a little more alive. Clearly, machinima has its limitations, and we’re a long way away from them adding in animation. But creative people will find a way to work within their limitations, and even use those limitations to their advantage. Considering how long this show has been going, I’d say that they succeeded.

#4. Caboose’s Mind

One of the most memorable parts, and one with some actual effects on the characters, is when Church and Tex go into Caboose’s mind to kill O’Malley. It’s one of the weirdest, yet funniest parts of the season. We get to see how Caboose views everyone, with Tucker being stupid and Church being obsessed with being Caboose’s best friend. He gets them wrong, but it makes sense because it’s how /Caboose/ interprets these individuals. They aren’t supposed to be accurate. It’s especially funny when we see the Reds and only Simmons is close to right Grif is Yellow (which they outright did to prove that he was Orange to viewers), Donut is a girl since that’s what Caboose thought at the time, and Sarge has a pirate accent instead of a Southern one. 

It’s just funny to see Caboose, who at this point had been portrayed as the most dim-witted, and how he views these people. It kinda reflects what he wants with Church being his best friend and the Reds fearing him and his greatness. His ideal version of himself is pretty much a cool version of himself, though otherwise not too different. Church’s reaction and frustration at all fo this, especially Caboose!Church, only makes it funnier as is Tex being unfazed by all of it. It did kinda throw me off when I watched it the first time, but God it’s funnier on rewatch now that I know what’s going on. It’s a nice look into Caboose’s mind, and we got to see glimpses of the others int he S14 episode Head Cannon.

I think the biggest things though were for one, we got a location that wasn’t Blood Gulch finally. Sure it’s pretty much a standard video game map with a bunch of cubes, but after having the only setting be a canyon, it was refreshing. We also have some major impact with this since due to all the chaos, Caboose’s character becomes what it is now. We can debate all day how we should view Caboose and his intellectual level, but I do think that this helped endear the character to people and allowed him to stand out much, much more. Even now I know very few people, if anyone, who dislikes Caboose so while maybe they should acknowledge that he was more or less brain-damaged, the character himself has become better due to this. Which is nice~

#3. O’Malley Subplot

Speaking of Caboose’s mind, the O’Malley plot was by far the standout in this season. At first, it wasn’t too much since only Tucker cared about Caboose’s sudden murderous behavior. But once Tex came back, things picked up. While the backstory wasn’t totally accurate, it would certainly lead to more ahead. The fight in Caboose’s mind was fun. Tucker got to show some genuine competence when he came up with the plan to make the Reds turn their comms off and even using Lopez as a backup plan. With how much more competent Tucker grows later once circumstances pretty much force him to, this was an early sign showing that he is capable. He just needs to be pushed into doing it.

O’Malley himself didn’t stand out too much, just being kinda murderous. Then he escaped into Doc. I’ll go more into this next season, but this was the best decision ever. Doc is a whiny goody-two-shoes while O’Malley is gleefully, over-the-top evil. The contrast of the two personalities works super well and is just really funny to watch, though again it applies more for the next season. By the end, O’Malley makes his move and firmly sets himself up as the first proper Big Bad of the series, and he’s the perfect villain for the Blood Gulch Chronicles.

Overall, the whole subplot was really fun even though it did kind of have a slow start. It brought back Tex, had some really funny moments like the Reds' reactions to Lopez’s horrible love song. At least Donut liked it, haha~ It gave us our first proper villain, which led to one Hell of an insane finale. Even everything in between with Donut getting captured by the Blues and them trying to use this to make Sarge build them new bodies was fun to watch. The first half of S2 s super fun, but the second half is, without doubt, the best part for me. O’Malley was the catalyst, and to this day is one of my favorite villains. Love it~

#2. Improved Production Standards

Season 1 was good but flawed. It was clear that the RT guys weren’t really sure what they were doing. Audio quality was meh, jokes could drag, and the pacing was rather slow. It makes sense though when you read about what the original plans were. RvB was meant to be a miniseries, and nothing more. But pretty much a combination of them not getting to what they planned as soon as they thought (Donut was supposed to be in pink armor much sooner for example, and they realized how long it was taking to get there) as well as just coming up with more ideas extended things to a nineteen episode run. So there was no long term plan and things like writing and machinima were done in mere days in between releases. Plus there were only two main machinimators, Burnie and Geoff, and if you listen to the original S1 commentary they are both clearly exhausted. Burnie even said on a one-on-one podcast with Geoff on how they had pretty much had every conversation ever and they’d be like some old married couple just staring at each other. You can find it here if you’re interested, it’s a fun one~

So yeah… when you look back you can kinda tell that S1 was a bit of a rush job, and a tiring one at that. It’s still very good and like I said, they found ways to use so much you barely notice things were made up on the fly. But clearly, they needed a better system. Enter Matt Hullum. He had already been voicing Sarge, but he ended up stepping in to play a larger behind the scenes role. He joined Burnie on writing and directing, and thus they started planning things much farther ahead. As such, they knew the general plot and thus things could be tightened. The pacing is much better with episodes feeling faster, but having plenty of things happening. I already talked about the machinima improvements, which having Matt as well as Gus coming back from Puerto Rico also helped there. The voice acting, while still amateur, improved as well as the audio mixing. The filter is still a little distracting, but it and the general audio mixing is greatly improved. Pretty much every aspect of S1 was improved big time. It wasn’t perfect, but still, they clearly put a lot in creating a more quality product.

Season 2 had a hard job. Season One had to prove that this was a show worth watching. Season 2 had to prove that it could keep going and wasn’t just a one-hit-wonder. And ho boy did they. It’s funnier, it’s more ambitious, and even starts adding in some story. This season got the viewers from last time to come back, and probably brought in some new ones. It proved that this was a show that was sticking around and that RT had staying power. If this season failed, RvB would probably just be remembered as this funny Halo show. But it succeeded because they wanted the show to keep succeeding and be good, and that effort shows.

#1. Improved Characterizations

The thing that I enjoyed most about Season 1 was the character interactions. They just had natural chemistry and their interactions were funny. The characters themselves though were a little one-note. They had personality, but they didn’t really stand out when you compare them to other comedies like The Simpsons or South Park. I guess that RT realized this as well because this is where the characters really begin to become the same ones that we know now. Not all of them mind you like Simmons and Tucker are the least fleshed out here, but even then the signs of who they would become are there with things like Simmons clinginess to Sarge and the joke about Tucker’s rock, as well as the previously mentioned show of competence when pushed.

Donut and Grif show more of their personality, with Donut expressing his hobbies like home decor and growing to like his lightish-red armor. Grif shows his more lazy slacker attributes, like sleeping during meetings and forgetting the ammo, and his unhealthy habits like smoking and his constant eating. Which he’s pretty much doing intentionally to annoy Simmons and mess up the parts that he got from him. Lopez also got a lot of personalities now that he can talk. Namely, after the Reds nearly kill him and the Blues use him for their own means, he hates them all and his apathetic personality has stuck ever since. Poor guy has had such a hard time, haha. And I already went into Caboose, so there's no need to repeat myself. Even Shelia got sassier this season~

The one I think got the most improvement though is Sarge. In S1, he was just kind of a standard sergeant character you could find in just about any military movie, and the voice reflected it. Here? Matt just goes off the wall. He said in the S2 commentary that Sarge is pretty much the combination of various 50’s character tropes, like the grumpy old guy and the mad scientist. It shows. Sarge’s hatred of Blues and love of warfare are much more evident, especially in the finale. His hatred of Grif is also much more played up. We see that he is absolutely insane with his conspiracy theories about Lopez being brainwashed by the Blues instead of reprogrammed and turning Simmons into a cyborg instead of just getting a new robot. Sarge is the opposite of sensible, and having this guy be the leader and forcing everyone to follow his plans due to it is freakin’ hilarious. Matt exaggerating the accent from this point on only adds to this characterization and is much, much more fitting.

The characters, in my opinion, are the best part of Red vs Blue. This season demonstrates that very well. Unlike S1 where there were only shades of their later portrayal, this one uses broad strokes. I think some of the better voice acting can also be due to this since the cast now has more of a character to fool around with instead of just having to more or less act like their everyday selves. The characters were stronger, and as such the interaction and humor were even better. As such, it is my favorite part of Red vs Blue Season 2. Can they keep it up in Season 3? Well… we’ll find out soon~

[calliecat93]

Red vs Blue Season 17 Review, Part Two

(Part One)

This got long (it’s around 11-12 pages) so I decided to half it. Continuing on from where Part One ended, we continue the Character discussion with Grif.

So..., I’m sorry. I really am, but this season suuucked regarding Grif. He got it better than Simmons and Sarge, but not by much. It wouldn't be so bad if S15 and S16, two seasons that took MAJOR steps in developing his character, didn’t exist. Last season, Grif was the closest thing to the main protagonist that we had. He went through the most character development, began sorting out his issues, quit whining about his problems and instead tried to work through them. Begrudgingly yes, but still he made the effort. And in the finale, he not only showed that he grew by rejecting the pizza to stop Genkins, but then realized Genkins true plan and was too late in stopping it. There was a ton of build-up for Grif’s character, especially since he was the one most tied into the plot at that point, and the finale especially set up plenty of chances with him… and I guess that the season got paradox’d along with him because it forgot all of that.

Okay to be fair, Grif never complained about the mission and did his part willingly, and I did legit love how he got revenge on Tex. There is also this subtle theme of Grif being legit angry and hurt by Donut’s previous betrayal, just compare his calm but noticeable anger to Sarge’s more comical execution suggestions in Episode 7. There was also him assuming that Donut was betraying them again in Episode 10, and I find that interesting especially since he was the same way last season regarding Doc. May have been unintentional, but it’s still noteworthy. But the problem is they don’t really let Grif show his past development. Like in Episode 2, he’s the only one willing to hear Donut out and what he’s describing feels familiar... and it’s promptly dropped and forgotten. Grif finds out that something horrible happened to Huggins and while he does express worry... it once again gets ignored. Then she comes back and Grif’s allowed to be relieved for a minute or two before that too is promptly dropped. Yeah, he apologizes and it’s cute to see him happy to see her… but they never talk about what happened in S16 and never truly reconcile, so it felt wasted.

Grif was the only guy who knew what happened before the paradox aside form Donut… and nothing results from it. When he sees Genkins for the first time after, at a point where everything from the finale should really be hitting him, what’s his reaction?, His mind goes to pizza… even though he had outright rejected it which was supposed to be THE big sign of his character development. Okay, maybe that one’s an overreaction on my part. But the point is while I don’t mind Grif not being the main character since Donut is perfectly fitting and needed the development, it doesn't excuse how badly they dropped the ball with him after these past two seasons. And I’m not asking for anything dark and angsty, what I’m asking for is consistency. Let us see Grif’s growth and development from the past two years. Let us see how the past season really affected him and helped him grow due to it, especially since this is the end of the storyline that allowed said growth. They were able to do it with Tucker, and it took only a minute or two to do so. Sadly, what they gave for Grif wasn’t good enough and I really hope that whoever helms S18 will make an effort to at least try and improve it.

I will give them credit though with both him and Sister. The finale legit teared me up with their scene. It retcons Grif being drafted… but honestly? I prefer this. It makes sense that Grif would want to go out on his own and left for college/enlistment. It makes sense that Sister would be upset with him and have her own guilt about the fire. It kind of explains how even though the two clearly love each other, they’ve been kinda distant and a little awkward since Sister came back into the cast. And learning that she set their childhood home on fire and their mom is now in a trailer park… ti adds a lot to her as well. She’s not just a walking sex joke anymore, she’s a three-dimensional character and I am SO HAPPY to have that. The two didn’t get much, and I ranted about why that’s a problem with Grif, but I did enjoy them getting this moment.

Finally, let's talk Cosmic Powers… oh wait, they didn’t appear at all. Yeah, that was bullshit. I know that people had issues with them, but there was SO MUCH potential with these characters. I guess that they can do stuff in later seasons, but them being completely absent felt… weird. We only got Huggins, and THAT left a shit ton of problems. I was happy to have her back… but her return was so awkward and forced that it really feels shoved in. Nothing between her and Grif gets resolved, and my anger about that I cannot properly convey. She’s there and then after Episode 8, she’s dropped. We don’t even see her reunite with the Cosmic Powers after how pivotal she had been before. Huggins was reverted to a plot device. That is bullshit. Utter bullshit.

So yeah, I think I made it clear how annoyed I am at how the Reds and Blues got treated this season. It’s how I felt in Freelancer when Carolina came out of nowhere and it became about her and Church while the others (aside from Wash, and that’s very arguably) were put aside, and in S9’s case technically not even there. The difference though is that the end of that arc DID give them some solid stuff, like going to save Carolina and Church despite having no obligation to do so, that to me cemented them as a team. It’s something that every season following always had near their ends, but… I never really felt like we got that moment here. And I do understand that some characters were going to have to be shafted due to the number of them. Carolina at least got lucky since her plot tied directly into Wash’s plot, so there’s something to show on her end, the repetitive ‘Carolina is guilty’ theme aside. In other words, the Freelancers again get attention and Donut lucked out, while everyone else just… existed, I guess. I’m sorry, I know I sound harsh and I hate getting that way. It’s just really, really frustrating to me.

At the end of the day though, I cannot sit here and say that I hated it. I know the above… bazillion paragraphs may not show that, but that’s just hindsight hitting in. The Reds and Blues did have some legit funny bits, like Sarge’s speech in Episode 6, and Caboose and Tucker got some small but nice scenes. The Labyrinth really gave some interesting perspectives, Sarge especially I was not expecting. I don’t even mind Grif’s that much since I can at least see how it would fit with his character, even if I do think that a better reflection of his development could have been used but meh. No one felt OOC to me, just underutilized. I really did enjoy Donut and Wash’s arcs and putting my fan opinion aside, I cannot call those arcs bad. I had a fun time seeing those arcs unfold, Wash’s outright made me emotional. So is the execution flawed? Big time. But was it all bad? No. I liked what we got… just, next time I hope they balance it out better.

Story

The story of the season goes like this. Time is broken, and Genkins is breaking it even more to free Chrovos. With the others trapped in the past without knowing it, Donut has to go back and free all of them and then stop Chrovos from being freed. That is the basic plot of the season. For what it’s worth, the first half is really good. The bizarre pacing form last year is gone. The plot went fast but it felt right. There was little filler and the stakes were set up right away, so we got to get right into things without any distractions. They were funny, had character development, and when Wash came back in the interactions with him and Donut were really enjoyable. Episode 5 was a fanservice episode done well, not overstaying its welcome and actually having a point. It and Episode 6 wrapped up the first half very well, bringing the gang back together, letting Wash and Carolina reconcile, and setting up the second half with Huggins’ return and Genkins tossing off the kiddy gloves. It was straightforward, never wasting our time and always kept the story moving, but still had plenty of good jokes and character bits. I really enjoyed those first six episodes, especially due to Wash and Donut’s interactions. Hello new OTP~

Sadly, the second half I felt wasn’t as good. Episodes 7 and 8 were by far the weakest of the season. If only for their awkward exposition dumps. As much as I love Huggins, her re-introduction felt forced and rather rushed. The fact that she was dropped after Episode 8 did no favors. It really says something when I went from being ecstatic that she was back to starting to wonder if her remaining dead would have been for the best. That is NOT something that I should be thinking. The other episodes were better as the straightforward pacing returned and had great emotional scenes with the Freelancers. Genkins tricking Chrovos was also a move that took me by surprise but in a good way. I admit that I wish we saw more of the guys fixing the paradoxes, and I REALLY wish that we got to see some of the alternate timelines because of all the ‘what-if’ potential. But I can understand how that would cause things to drag, so it’ll have to remain as fanfic fuel. On that though, both Genkins and Chrovos were super entertaining villains. Not much else to say there, I just loved them so much~

The Labyrinth is a terrifying concept that I love… and I kinda feel would have been a better as the main plot setting instead of the Everwhen. Just have Chrovos use her limited power to send them in there as punishment for Donut’s betrayal against her and let Donut try to indirectly break them out, having to recruit Wash to help. The same concept, but it allows for more opportunities for character development, both funny and dark. But that’s just me, of course. I do really like the concept though and it was a nice look into the characters psyche. Carolina and Sarge’s were my favorites, the former because I like seeing Carolina against her demons, and the latter because it really lets us have this deeper look at Sarge that we never really get that really adds to his character in a new way. But they didn’t all work like Simmons was utter bullshit and I am NOT happy with how it was a joke, and not even a good one. Still, good concept.

The biggest theme of this season is, of course, the time travel… and that’s all that I can really say because trying to talk about anything good or bad will kill my brain. Yeah, I did not understand any of this. So… the Everwhen is connected to Chrovos’ prison due to it being the backswing for The Hammer. Okay, that makes sense. So… the Everwhen takes you through time? How did it end up existing? How can it exist with Chrovos’ limited power? How are the Reds and Blues memory wiped? Yeah, there’s the paradox, considering that Wash was in the present, shouldn't they have been as well in a similar state? One where they both did and didn't time travel instead of being trapped in their past memories? It would make sense if The Everwhen was more or a simulation or a copy of the past that Chrovos put them in… but it seems to imply that it’s just another form of time travel like the time guns due to Huggins being able to go through it. It’s really, really confusing and the show really doesn’t do a good job at properly explaining it. And that’s not even going into the black hole stuff with Huggins that I’m not even going to bother with. I’m more confused than I was with the time travel stuff in S3, and that nearly made my brain melt. Now I fully admit that this could just be me being an idiot, but… yeah, you do NOT want to think too hard about this particular aspect.

Then, of course, we have the finale. I’ll give them this, they wrapped everything up better than I thought that they would. I have no idea how the fuck Genkins became Chrovos makes sense, but I have given up on understanding time travel at this point. Plus it makes for a good ‘Hoist by His Own Petard’ story and it was a shocking as Hell twist. I’ll give them that one. I kinda do like how Chrovos, while not good, is more benevolent than she had first seemed and hey, she’s imprisoned but still around. The ending was kind of abrupt, but it leaves plenty open for future seasons, lets Donut complete his character development, and hey Lopez lived! Burnie avoided losing his only remaining character! Yay!

The season did very good with pacing and keeping its focus. It had plenty of funny and sincere moments and I was engaged all the way through. I never knew what was going to happen next, which really speaks to how unexpected the season was. For that, it stands above the previous two seasons, which were rushed (S15) or just bizarre (S16). But the season failed in its character writing outside one or two of them, properly explaining exposition dumps that just left me confused more than S3 did, and it’s second half felt much more rushed and awkward as a result. It felt like they tried to cram in two seasons worth of information, kinda like S15, only they tried with just six episodes this time. By the time of the finale… I liked it, but I shouldn’t feel relieved that the season is over. S16 left me wanting more, feeling emotional and anxious for what the next season was going to bring, while this one just made me feel like how I felt after RWBY Volume 5: just utterly done and glad that I have a year until the next season.

So taking in my above critiques, both in this and the Character section, why is that it that I think it ended up that way? This is of course just speculation on my part, but if I really had to guess I would say the 12 episode count. Yeah, I really think that we needed the standard 19, or 15 at least. Not because of episode runtime or anything, shows like Steven Universe has done a lot with only 11 minutes per episode after all. But it’s because it means they had a very limited amount of time to give this season what it needed. You see, 12 episodes is great because you have less filler to add, can keep the plot focused and moving, and you can properly develop the characters closer to the plot such as Donut and Wash. It is not good, however, for long-term character writing for those not as directly involved in the plot, means you have to cram in as much as possible without properly setting it up, and the end result can come off as rather rushed and sloppy. This format works for RWBY since, while every season has its own plotline, it has a long-lasting narrative that each season contributes to that can justify some of the choices, like shafting a character in favor of others. But for a show like RvB, which usually tells a complete story in generally two to three seasons, it doesn’t work nearly as well.

At first, I thought that going with this format was okay. As I said, the first half was paced very well and kept things moving in a satisfying way. But once we hit the second half, it had little to no time to explain things properly (like the time travel) or give characters who had ongoing developments the focus that they needed (like Grif and Huggins for example). They really had no idea what to do with the other characters, which yeah that’s gonna happen with a big ensemble cast like this, but they handled it in the worst way: demoting everyone but a select one or two into essentially background characters. The episode count limited ways in fixing many of these problems, and unfortunately, it showed. Time is always going to be the biggest enemy to shows like this, after all. The format could work if they decide to continue with it, which I’m not opposed to. But I do think that they need to work harder on figuring out how to make RvB work with a more limited episode run. Which if they go into a new storyline with the episode count in mind instead of continuing one, I think is very feasible. We’ll see.

Would I call this a bad season? No. Absolutely not. I had a really fun time watching this season, the first half especially, and I was ultimately glad that I watched it. As I said, the pacing was a lot better. It never dragged or got boring, and I was fully engaged as much as I was annoyed. But the season is still flawed. The second half felt more sloppy, the exposition was not done well, and it suffered very badly in balancing its characters, prioritizing Donut over everyone else. I feel like the season simply wasn't given enough time to do all that it needed to do, and as a result, we got what we got. It’s good and one that I recommend, but like all seasons it has its issues. Ones that maybe annoy me more due to what I’m a fan of than others in all fairness.

So then, what’s my opinion of Jason Weight’s writing? I think… that he did a really good job! Yeah, I’ve critiqued stuff, but I did overall enjoy what Jason brought to the series. There were a LOT of really good jokes, plenty of emotion, and the characters overall felt like the characters,. Given the circumstances of more or less having to finish a story that he himself didn't conceive (he WAS an assistant writer last year, but Joe was still the showrunner and got the final say) I think that he did the best that he could. I would love to see him come back for RvB18 and be able to craft his very own arc because he showed a ton of promise both here and with the last season. If he can’t because of his own show (that I still need to see, haha…) or other reasons, I can certainly understand. But if he can come back, I’d really love to see what he does. I do ultimately wish that Joe got to finish his own story, but I think that Jason did a good job of carrying it out, and I am grateful for both of their contributions to the series. Love you guys~!

Final Thoughts

Well, that was longer than I had intended. Guess I had a lot to vent out. Well, let’s wrap this baby up~

S17 is not a perfect season. I think that I’ve made my issues with it very clear. But I would not at all call it a bad season. I hope that I illustrated that just as much as I did with the criticism. As a fan, it could have been better. As a critic, the season was overall done competently and I can’t fault what we did get. I overall had a great time watching it and looked forward to each new episode. That’s all I ever ask for, to have fun. Hopefully, S18 will improve on these issues, but no matter what, I’ll definitely be there for when it starts.