#i would not have included logicality if we were in s1 era

[tetrakys]

Eldarya A New Era - episodes 1 and 2

Let’s start with a brief recap and then my comments at the end.

Not much happens plot-wise, which makes sense since the first chapters are always about exposition and introducing the characters.

Episode 1: 

We wake up in the new Crystal room and are swiftly taken by Huang Hua to the infirmary, we are perfectly healthy and have a chance to meet one of our old friends. Since we have been revered as a deity for the past 7 year sin the Crystal, Huang Hua has to make an announcement to the whole HQ saying that we are back into the living world, then we can finally explore HQ, meet old and new friends, get a new outfit and later attend a party in our honour. This is pretty much the plot of the first episode. 

Episode 2:

In the second we have the chance of picking a Guard to belong to, Huang offered the Light one but Erika refuses because she doesn’t feel ready yet. We also get a new sword that Jamon has created for us and we can train a bit with him, afterwards we join a mission and go the forest. Once there we realise there is something wrong, as if some areas looked corrupted. We find a hurt companion and a very human shotgun bullet next to it and an evil-looking companion who attacks us causing us to end our very first mission at the infirmary, as usual. Once we are back on our feet we talk to Huang Hua about the bullet and realise that there is something she is hiding from us, then we help Ewe making a potion to save the companion. The companion got attached to us so we decide to adopt it.

Now a bit of info dump about the characters:

Huag Hua is the new head of the guard since Miiko went back to her family obligations. She is no longer the Phoenix apprentice although we don’t know why yet, she is in a romantic committed relationship with Ewelein who is still the head of the infirmary and member of the Light Guard. 

Aleja and Sonse got married and left, Colaja joined them and she and Jamon broke up since he stayed. He was sad for a bit but then got over it. Kero left when most people left no one knows where he is. Ezarel left with Twilda and Mary Anne to try to make a new life for themselves. Memoria disappeared and no one knows what happened to it and all the dragon spirits. Karuto is still he chef and he became much nicer in time, also is food much better after fruits and vegetables in Eldarya became edible. There is speculation about his relationship with Feng Zifu who is still very polite but much older looking, however nothing confirmed yet.

Huang Chu is the new head of the Absynth Guard, she looks and acts kinda strict and matter-of-factly but she is also surprisingly open-minded, she encourages Erika to think with her own head and never blindly accept anyone’s order not even her own. She doesn’t get along with Mathieu at all.

Koori is a kitsune member of the Absynth Guard, she is funny, provocative and flirty. She wants to become friend with Erika and even flirts a bit. We see her both flirting with and mercilessly teasing Mathieu, not sure if she’s actually hitting on him or playing him, but this seems to be her normal behaviour. 

Chrome is now the head of the Shadow Guard, he and Karenn are still together and while he is the official head it seems that she is his boss as usual so hierarchy is a bit blurry. The both became more mature in time, she is less into gossip and he went through a rough self-blaming patch, but he looks pretty happy right now, eating a lot and constantly making lame jokes, and she seems to have become a real fighter (everyone is recommending to never train with her).

Adalric is a sylph, Erika comments he kinda looks like a genie. He has constantly his head in the clouds forgetting all the most trivial tasks, he talks with the stars and the wind apparently.

Ophelia is this little girl we see for just a moment, we feel that she has the same aura as the Oracle, we hug her but she just smile and leaves. We are told she showed up after the White Sacrifice and no one actually knows anything about her, not even if she sleeps and eats and where. 

Mathieu is a human who stumbled in a mushroom cricle about one year ago, he was sort of a recluse with no friends nor family on Earth, only thinking about fantasy and adventure, so he is very happy to be in Eldarya and couldn’t care less about going back to Earth. To his dismay the test assigned him to the Absynth Guard and he’s constantly hoping to be reassigned to the Obsidian instead. He’s the happy-go-lucky type but seems to also have a certain depth that we will hopefully find out.

Nevra is now a member of the Light Guard and Huang Hua’s right hand (he basically got Leiftan’s old job). He looks more severe and it seems that the events of S1 hardened him. He is back to his slutty ways but in episode he admits frivolous relationships don’t bring him happiness. 

Leiftan got out of the Crystal with us but it took longer for him to wake up. He says that he needs to find himself and wants to put distance between him and everyone else, in fact he refuses to rejoin the Guard. When Erika asks him to train her aengel powers he refuses and says that he won’t ever touch a blade again and will never be responsible of further violence. Nevra can’t stand him at the moment because he thinks he is escaping his responsibilities. 

COMMENTS:

Since people liked the expression I’m going to repeat it again, let’s address the elephant in the room first. (Guys “elephant in the room” is a figure of speech, it’s not a real elephant lol).  No one mentioned who is the head of the Obsidian Guard, when Erika tries to ask one time the subject is swiftly changed and people seem to go out of their way to not go there. Everyone, including their grandparents, their cousins, neighbours and the cousins of their neighbours has figured out that the head of Obsidian is Lance, who is name dropped constantly. I know that there are some people who still like to live in denial, kudos to them. BV all but told me that Lance is coming in episode 3 before Christmas, the release pace is like MCL’s so I’m expecting episodes every second Wednesday of the month at this point, but we’ll see.

The situation with Nevra and Leiftan is heavy not gonna lie. I’ve only played the episode with Nevra so far and my heart broke in tiny pieces, but I want to savour the angst and enjoy the ride. I don’t blame either of the two, Leiftan went from traitor to saviour in a matter of what two days? He had not time to think about his choices and properly reflect on himself. I think it’s fair that the writing his giving him a bit of depth as a character now and not just using him for his abs and to kill and save people when needed. So yeah, I approve him going to therapy or whatever is going to do to achieve self-growth. 

Nevra is a bit trickier, he spent one year moping in front of the Crystal every day, then moved on simply out of survival, and he’s well aware that the life he has now brings him no joy so one would think he would jump into Erika’s arms immediately? He is probably still very much hurting about everything that happened and he still has a fight or flight reaction about everything regarding it, his subconscious reaction when he saw Erika must have been DANGERDANGER RUN. Sleep around is easier because he doesn’t care and can’t be hurt again. While I can understand this, I also think it’s pretty cowardly and I would’ve liked to have given the reaction to get mad, to demand him to spend time with us, because yes he hurt but we spent 7 freaking years in a coma and no time has passed for us, the day before we were swearing love to each other and now this coldness. And yes I could’ve chosen angrier options with him instead of being understanding, but then my LoM would’ve dropped. 

So what I think I’m trying to say is that I would like to have the option of getting mad without having devastating consequences on all the relationships. I know that the next episode is called Rage-something so I am hoping Erika will blow up. We are probably going to run into Lance, find out that he’s been forgiven and working with the Guard and go full violent mode. And hopefully she will get mad with the other guys as well. Homegirl needs to unleash since episode 13 AT LEAST.

Also, since Leiftan refused to train her, I’m expecting that Lance will at some point. Sweaty training sessions with a strict instructor who she kinda hates but also kinda thirst for... 😏😏😏 I have expectations now.

My general comment is that I like the writing so far, I see much improvement from the previous season although it’s too early to judge. I loved the shade thrown at Miiko and the Guard test, you can really tell the writer’s thoughts sometimes, he uses Mathieu to tell us what he thinks. 

The one think I didn’t like is that, while I can understand most of the choices and the events of these two episodes, I don’t understand how the writing can justify Erika not looking for Ezarel if she were on her route. No time has passed for her, anyone would go looking for their lover in a situation like this, not just “oh well, he’s gone”. I know he can’t be brought back, but give me a good, logical reason in game. (Also, I hope to never see him and Valkyon as secondary non-datable characters because I would die inside).

About the other characters, I like Koori and Huang Chu, I don’t like Adalric, just personal taste, he seems to be the type of person who would be into yoga and spiritualism and it’s just not me at all lol.

[wishingformemoria]

(Spoiler heavy) S4 hopes and beyond for Viren, Claudia, and Aaravos.

Prefacing this with: this is just my opinion, and what I want to see regarding these three. Feel free to disagree and discuss in the comments. Each section is meant for its own reading, so if you'd rather skip to a certain character you can; rather than each part leading into the next. Video version of this post linked here! (Timestamps in the description) I know the novels, comics, and games will add more context to scenes for the show and will be great in their own right. But there're things that should be there within the show that people can’t skip. (Links are bolded)  (Reddit version)

TL;DR:

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  • To make the conflict between dark versus primal magic more meaningful, we need to see more grey-areas in dark magic. Which should be shown through actions. I can't think of a better way to do that than by shifting the focus to Viren, Claudia, and Aaravos.(The rest of the cast still gets meaningful screen-time! Ex: Callum learning more primal magic.)

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  • If (big if) Viren gets redeemed no one should be obligated to forgive him, but he has to do right by his family first before anything else for a realistic redemption arc.   • Claudia will have to get worse before she gets better. She needs to separate from Viren (and Aaravos), to figure out what her goals are and see the world outside of just her family. _____________________________________________________   • Aaravos, when he escapes, should genuinely grow to care for Viren and Claudia and for that be a conflict itself, due to whatever his plans are. If he does care, he needs to respect boundaries. Period. (Sorry! The whole "switch targets to throw Viren aside to focus on Claudia" doesn't sit right with me; including the fact, Aaravos has no one else, and it'd be a waste for him to throw away the people who have anchored him to the present!)

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Viren:

I’m of the mind that not every villain needs a redemption arc, or even deserves one. They especially don't need to be redeemed to justify likeability and "negative" character development is interesting too and is just as "realistic."

Viren is that character for me, and I’m still interested in where his story goes from here; his actions kick-started the plot, and there're many ways for him to go forward. There is no point in resurrecting this character if they do nothing with him.

He’s a polarizing character. I have mixed feelings on him but does he deserve redemption? He has to do a lot to justify one; every character is capable so long as enough time is spent to commit to the idea of a believable redemption arc. Viren’s redemption will not come from the elves or dragons, (not that his actions against Xadia should be ignored) but they will not be what causes him to realize the error of his ways. It has to come from his family, but forgiveness should not be obligated.

I don’t think we as the audience are meant to feel sympathy for his character, more towards the people he’s connected to--his children. I want to believe he was once a loving and caring father, as seen in this end credit for S1, and that this is the reason Claudia and Soren idealized him so much even after the fact he started to change.

I need to be shown this, not informed. I understand there’s things to save until later in the story, but if they were going for sympathy for Viren--it could have been shown within the flashback scenes of S2; not in a skippable content.

I know they use the end credits to foreshadow things.

I despised Viren’s actions in S3, and while he's being manipulated by Aaravos, Viren lost whatever "greyness" he had this season. Viren claims what he does is for humanity and yet turned the human armies into monsters; he even considered doing this to his own son! There is nothing "pragmatic" about this, even if you try justifying their fire resistance. We don’t even know if this was reversible!

And this is due to Aaravos' manipulation but it didn't take that much prompting. Aaravos gave him everything he wanted: Power. Respect. Recognition. Something Viren has wanted for a long time. He took Aaravos’ suggestions uncritically after becoming King.

Viren has done terrible things before meeting Aaravos, but he's not responsible for every wrong in the show. His misguided vengeance for Sarai was driven by emotion, not logic; is how this all began. We wouldn’t have this story without Viren. There are too many unanswered questions and things only he can solve that shouldn't be placed on his children to solve.

I don’t think he should be redeemed. If he’s redeemed, death should not be that redemption. Because what is the point in his resurrection if they go that route? It would take Claudia leaving Viren (and Aaravos) for him to realize, whatever his goals were before this, that it was not worth losing his family’s love. Probably the only people who do still love him.

Redemption arcs do not end when a character realizes their actions were wrong, it begins that way, and it’s a continuous effort to correct them. But forgiveness should not be obligated for the acknowledgment of change. Especially not so from the people they harmed; too many times a villain gets redeemed at the expense of their victim’s feelings, and that their victims are obligated to forgive them to complete their redemption arc.

I want the show to answer this: The Viren that Soren and Claudia idealized so much, did that person ever truly exist?

Claudia:

I’m not alone in disliking her actions in S3, and as much as I didn’t want her to go down this path, she has. I felt she needed more screen-time in this season to justify it. More conversations with Soren challenging their belief systems--not seeing eye-to-eye for example.

Claudia has constantly had to choose between the people she loves, between her family and childhood friends. Never wanting to make that choice: feeling personally responsible for her family’s health and happiness instead of Viren doing that himself. Family may be what drives her, but it can't be the only thing.

Love has been her motivator behind her actions. It was never about power.

Claudia has a lot of potential and it shouldn't only be to further Viren and Soren's character development. What about her? Even though I felt Aaravos’ warning to Viren was unnecessary, since I never saw Viren being honest during the prison scene anyway--the implication of that was if Claudia did learn the truth? She would have turned away from Viren the same way Soren had.

Claudia doesn’t do this because she desperately wants to believe Viren isn’t this person who’s done these horrible things; She goes into denial when Soren reveals the truth of the secret mission to kill the princes because she’s placed Viren on a pedestal. Even her excuse in “Hearts of Cinder” of “maybe he’s just doing what needs to be done” not even she believed that. Claudia’s clinging onto the family she has: the abandonment of her mother isn’t a good excuse for what’s she’s done in S3, and Viren took advantage of that fear. It only took Viren questioning Claudia’s faith in Ezran for her to become silently resigned. Claudia isn’t staying with Viren because she thinks he’s right, she’s staying because he made her believe she can’t trust anyone else. She’s in a vulnerable spot now without Soren.

And Soren is going to have to deal with people openly celebrating his father's death and his sister's disappearance. But I’ll save my thoughts on him for another post. Claudia and Soren need each other and things are going to get worse for her before they get better. She’s not going to accept her father has changed until this pedestal she’s placed him on is broken. Possibly she’ll even escape from him when she gets the chance. S4 should deal with the aftermath of S3, and show us how she’s not handling it well. I don’t think she’s beyond hope. Claudia’s lost right now, not evil.

Aaravos:

Prefacing this with: I know Aaravos is using Viren as a means to an end; I'm not blind to that. The fact that he refers to Viren as his "vessel" and Claudia as an "asset" is so telling in how he views them--not as people, but tools. And likely nothing beyond that.

Aaravos is the type of character you’d introduce in the second to last season, not right there, in the beginning. Yet, Aaravos is our narrator and much more than that: heavily tied to this story’s history; both past and a present we don’t know about yet. There’s a reason the present era is called “The Return of Aaravos.” Is Aaravos an unreliable narrator or is he telling the story from the beginning of what was true at the time, and telling it in a non-linear manner? In the words of Jean-Luc Godard: “A story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end, but not necessarily in that order.” Is he a friend to humanity? Despite standing with the elves for humanity’s expulsion from Xadia? (x) Does his “special interest” in humans extend to seeing their potential as equals or just a means to an unknown end? 

Aaravos is apparently genuinely “kind, generous, and giving” as informed in this interview with the creators,"he's disliked, that's not the same as bad." But the question of whether he's a Lucifer or Prometheus remains to be seen. And if a Prometheus, was his “gifts to humanity” dark magic? Since Aaravos is the only elf seen thus far using it. I could make a separate post on just Aaravos, but for the sake of this section, it only focuses on his current relationships: The person he mainly interacts with is Viren, who connects Aaravos to the present story. As just one of the many examples of elf and human relationships on the show, they’re both manipulative, self-serving, and form a tentative alliance; only time will tell how lasting it is once Aaravos is free from imprisonment. What his plans are for when he escapes is anyone's guess; he's embittered by imprisonment and seeks vengeance for all who put him there. Punishing their descendants if need be. (Ex: Killing Sunfire elf Queen Khessa, related to Queen Aditi; harming Zym due to the Dragon King and Queen overseeing his imprisonment.)Centuries may not seem long to elves or dragons, (especially so with Startouch elves having the longest lifespans of the elves), but it is a long time to be alone. While I understand he doesn't have to form any attachment to Viren outside of escaping imprisonment, it’s the more interesting route. Aaravos doesn't have anyone else, and their stories are closely intertwined now. But there’s a clear power imbalance in this relationship and Viren is aware of that. Viren is only in this mess for two reasons: his curiosity got the better of him, and he was at a low point, desperate for someone, anyone, to listen to him. The power then given to him by Aaravos only sealed his fate. (Despite this, their interactions were enjoyable to watch; largely due to the amazing voice actors, and the fact their character’s personalities balance each other out.) There's no doubt that Aaravos will continue to manipulate Viren and now by extension, Claudia.

But if Aaravos is this "kind, generous, giving" person, then that needs to be shown through his actions of caring for anyone other than himself; and if Aaravos does grow to care it becomes a conflict of interest. Their dynamics would need to change the moment he cares because boundaries are nonexistent for Aaravos regarding Viren. As for Claudia, she’s going to be wary of him and will sooner blame any changes in Viren on Aaravos, (which is not an unfair assessment), rather than accept Viren changed a long time ago. Aaravos will likely mentor her and their relationship will grow into nothing beyond that of a student and teacher. Viren and Claudia are already skilled in dark magic, Aaravos just knows more due to age and possibly contributing to its creation. Again, this is just what I want to see for these characters: Aaravos is going to be a series-long mystery, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t get character development in S4 and to have him grow to care for the people who connect him to the present this alone will prove he's what these interviews claim him to be. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments whether you agree or disagree? O/

[scorpio-karma]

Your top 10 favourite WoCs in TV shows?

Sorry I’m getting to this late, but I was at work when I got it and I work long hours also I’m usually tired after, especially for this ask. I always knew peripherally that there aren’t that many WOC are on TV, but this ask kinda made realize exactly how few.

Now it’s been a hot minute since I’ve watched TV in general, except for a few select shows here and there it’s been about 3 years since I’ve watched a new show and that includes Netflix because I don’t have Netflix so this was a particularly hard question because I had to a) remember what I used to watch in TV when I watched TV and b) were there WOC on that show? The answer to that question was often no (Charmed, Supernaural,) and then if they did have WOC I had to think did I like that character and the answer to that was also no (Dreama from Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Emily from Life With Derrick).

So in no particular order just the order I thought of them in, here’s my top 10 WOC in TV:

1. Bonnie Bennett from Vampire Diaries 

I kind of put her on here begrudgingly because though I absolutely love her character she’s a character you have to love in spite of the writing. You can find many a meta from me and many others on how badly she was treated, so I’m not going to get into that and focus on the reasons I like her. For one she’s a witch which as a quality in general doesn’t count for much unless you’re me and absolutely love witches and have watched a lot of things specifically because there’s a witch in it. It’s literally the only reason I watched Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch as a kid. So due to that fact she was always going to be my favorite character. Two she’s the most practical which again is not trait that means that much unless you’re me. It’s a quality I’ve always valued in characters and is probably the biggest reason why I hate Elena and characters like her. And lastly she was a character who was just teeming with potential which is why I spend so much time talking about her. 

2. Qetsiyah from Vampire Diaries

I also put her on this list begrudgingly and love her for the same exact reasons as I love Bonnie except for one add addendum, she’s played by Janina Gavankar, my girl crush. She to me is one of the most beautiful women on the planet, so pretty much anything she’s in I am biased, but I do love what she adds to anything she’s in. She has this presence that I don’t quite know how to describe, but she always has my attention. She’s is such a force of nature and I guess I love this role specifically because she is a force of nature–the entire show’s lore is ingrained in this character. When I think about season 5 and how shit it was I realize that what I remember the most and in the greatest detail is her–she for me was the only good thing about that season. 

3. Rachel Pirzad from Alphas

Most of my followers probably have no idea who she is as this was a short lived show on Syfy and I honestly only watched it because I had a crush on Ryan Cartwright at the time. If I’m ever into some obscure show that’s usually the reason. Anyway from that show my favorite characters were Gary (Ryan Cartwright’s character) and Rachel the girl with the ability to enhance her senses. Not only was she beautiful but I identified with her character a lot in being introverted, and her issues with people touching her, plus I loved how they incorporated her family and how that effected how she approached the world. She was often scared with legitimate reason to especially as a Iranian woman in the U.S, but was brave as well.

4. Tia and Tamera from Sister Sister

Now this is really bringing y’all way back, but when I think about shows that shaped my childhood this one sticks out in a big way. I don’t know if this phenomenon has ended but I remember as a kid Twins being a big deal in the entertainment world. Mary-Kate and Ashley, Zach and Cody, that basketball twin movie on Disney channel, that other model twin movie on Disney Channel, The Parent Trap, the list could go on. I don’t see this as much any more but I also don’t watch children’s TV anymore. And of that era my favorite set of twins was Tia and Tamera, and not necessarily because they were black and the only ones I could identify with, but because they were the only ones I found consistently entertaining. The draw from them wasn’t that they were twins, sure that was the premise of the show, but that wasn’t what the entire show was about past the first season. The majority of their shenanigans didn’t revolve around “we look exactly the same” it actually spent a lot more time on their differences and individuality. 

5. Mona Thorne from Half & Half

Another one that’s from way back. A character from a show on a channel that doesn’t exist anymore. This is a character I liked for two reasons. One, she was then underdog which for me in general is kinda an automatic like from me, and two I identified with her on many levels. If you don’t know the premise of the show it’s about two half sisters who reconnect later in life. Their related through their father who’s very rich and had very different childhoods due to this. I identified with Mona because that was essentially kind of my childhood. While my dad isn’t rich but definitely lives in a income bracket higher than me and my mom I understood what is was like watching my half-siblings live a more privileged life than me. I was a lot less bitter because I understood living in a higher bracket meant living with my dad which I didn’t want, but she was one of those characters that spoke to me.

6. Bessie Lovin from Damnation

A recent one, finally. I quite love how her character and story was handled. She’s a whore, but her value is in her intelligence. She has her own story arc and unlike a lot of shows, for a secondary character you learn a lot about her. Plus her relationship with Creeley was just the sweetest thing. I even made an edit about it. She was hands down my favorite character of the short-lived series.

7. Astrid Finch from The Tomorrow People

Another one I put on here kind of begrudgingly because the show she comes from isn’t that great, but when I think about her impact years later I realize she and John (my ship) were the best part of the show and the only two I actually wonder about since the show was cancelled. 

8. Geena Fabiano from Unfabulous

I’m putting her on here tentatively because while the actress is a WOC the character is not, or at least had no indications of being anything other than Italian. I’m one of the few people who really liked Anna on TVD and she is the entire reason why. Honestly the only reason I ever watch TVD in the first place was because I recognized Nina from Degrassi and the only real reason I stayed for the rest of the season (let’s be honest S1 is really cheesy) was because I recognized other actors from shows/movies I used to watch like Jasmine Guy from A Different World, Kelly Hu from X2, and Malese Jow from Unfabulous. I guess what I loved about her is how confident and outspoken and how completely fearless she was to be herself. She made for a great best friend for Addie, but in a weird twist of events because I usually root for the underdog, I wanted a show about her instead of Addie. I mean she just did a whole lot more than Addie.

9. Skye/Daisey Johnson from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

She’s a character I didn’t like that much at first and that’s because in the beginning she’s set up like a literal Mary-Sue. I’m not talking about the loose term used, I’m talking about the origin of Mary Sue. In the pilot she’s set up like those fanfics where an person is dropped in some universe and gets to live out their dream of seeing Superman, or something to that effect, and those are just not my cup of tea, I didn’t even finish the season, I didn’t actually pick up the show again until the show was well into season 4, but she grew on me. In a weird way I do kinda miss her season 1 self, but I understand why she’s not–she’s had quite a bit of development over the years, she’s no longer the naive optimist anymore which is more my speed as a character because I like pragmatism in characters. She does annoy me from time to time when she doesn’t do the practical thing, but I realize emotions rule people’s decisions a lot more than logic.   

10. Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn Nine Nine

She is literally the epitome of qualities I like in characters. She’s for one badass, very pragmatic, but I love about her most is that even with all of that she’s not a robot. There’s a balance to her character you don’t get to see often with characters like this which is what I identify with because I’m quite apathetic but at the same time empathetic which is a weird contradiction but I’m full of them. She’s kinda a contradiction but it seems to go together seamlessly.

Honorable mentions:

1. Lana Lang from Smallville

Weirdly I don’t hate her, and I say that because she has a lot of qualities of a character like Elena Gilbert, constantly the Damsel in Distress, but anyone who watched Smallville would know that if you’re not Clark Kent every character is essentially a damsel in distress, so that’s not really a quality that can be annoying in that context. Another thing that annoys me with Elena is that her actions rarely meet what’s said about her. There’s a lot of over hyping when it comes to Lana’s character as well, but for the most part she met those expectations or clarified that she wasn’t. I found little contradiction with this character. The reason she didn’t make the list for me is that she’s just a little too bland for my liking. 

2. Angela Moore from Boy Meets World

As far as token characters go she’s not a bad representation. Her story lines didn’t revolve around furthering other’s (white) characters development. She wasn’t known as the best friend, or the ugly one. There is an immediate attraction from Shawn to her and even Cory to a degree because he too recognizes her beauty. BMW was a very white show so I’m very sure she was added to meet their diversity quota, but what I liked about that is that she wasn’t added begrudgingly–the was some real effort put into adding her as a character. Plus I like that they didn’t do what shows normally do which is cast the lightest black girl they can find when they’re told they need diversity. They committed to it and then at the same time kinda of not when I think about her break up with Shawn. The only reason she didn’t make it in the top for me is because I don’t really remember much about her. I watched a lot of BMW but I’m very sure I missed a lot of episodes and I can’t quite remember her introduction. Her identifier for me was Shawn’s girlfriend, and I guess I kinda wanted more.

3. Shirley Bennett from Community

Community is one of my favorite shows of all time and I do love Shirley in all her Evangelist glory, but she’s not my favorite. When it comes to community there’s not a single character I hate–they’re all great–but Shirley doesn’t really rank high for me. She’s definitely not a bad representation or even a token character because out of all of them she seemed the most real to me who was the only character who had anything important going on outside of the group. In fact that’s kinda the running gag of the paintball episodes–the show makes the situation so epic and series but the reality is that the real world has things going on and it’s usually shown through her who has children and a husband that takes presidence over them but that never stops her from giving to her all. She’s actually really bad ass. The reason why she didn’t meet the ranking is just that she’s not a character I overly identify with, but she rather represents more someone I know.