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iscdisc · 1 month ago

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A 2012 Casey appreciation post, basically- Lmao

I originally was going to rant about something not so positive, because that's just in my nature to do and 2012 as a whole just makes me incredibly angry- But that's how you can tell it's my favorite show on the planet, so like- LMAO

That's not to say that there won't be some moments of anger in this tangent from me, but for the most part I just want to kind of "gush" (so to speak) about 2012 Casey Jones and why these incompetent writers could never get me to hate him. 🫶✨

This might be kind of contradicting from me, since a lot of 2012 April's writing is what causes me to strongly dislike her as a character canonically- But I think I've come to realize that it's not that I necessarily hate April, it's just that I hate how she was handled and all the opportunities that the show gives her simply for just existing / a lot of what April gets tied to or what she accrued throughout the series are things that I feel the writers simply hand to her rather than explaining why she deserves them (Like her Kunoichi certification after the Space Arc- 💀 / I still don't understand why, "City at War" couldn't have been the first April solo mission episode instead to further show why she should be awarded this accomplishment, but okay- Lmao). And that's why she's frustrating to me. LMAO

Just think about how much better April's character would have been if the show writers actually gave a shit about her and weren't (probably) misogynistic because her character feels like a stereotype of a teenage girl / the "mandatory girl character" a majority of the time. 🙃👍

Casey, on the other hand, is a different situation. Because not only does this show not give him jack shit half the time, but they do him no favors the way they do April a lot of favors (in my opinion) and it feels as though practically a majority of the cast despises his existence-?? Another thing that cannot be said of April (in my opinion). LMAO

I also feel like a lot of the negative traits that we see from Casey throughout the series feel intentional?? In the sense that it feels as though the writers want us as the audience to think that Casey is the most insufferable person on the planet- Similar to how the writers embellish Mikey's negative traits so that we'll also think he's "unreliable" and "annoying" like his brothers do. The writers practically have Casey become "Mikey 2.0" in a lot of instances, and I don't say that like an insult because it honestly shouldn't be?? But it feels like sabotage from the writers, I gotta be honest. 💀

Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but 2012 Casey in his first three introductory episodes (Which yes, I refer to them as three introductory episodes because he wasn't officially introduced into the narrative until, "The Good, the Bad, and Casey Jones" / S2 EP 8 / but he technically was a big part of two episodes prior to that one and more literally introduced as a character in, "Mutagen Man Unleashed" / S2 EP 4 /. So-! 👍✨) has an incredibly different feel to him than the Casey that we see in, "Fungus Humongous" / S2 EP 10 /-?? Before, at least in my opinion, Casey felt like a chill dude who had occasional aggressive / hyperactive moments. But after, "The Good, the Bad, and Casey Jones", he felt more like an aggressive / hyperactive dude with occasional relaxed moments- Does that make sense? This is when I feel like he was really shifting into "Mikey 2.0" by the writers. He's a lot more brash, openly obnoxious and boisterous, saying things that he doesn't necessarily need to say so that everyone will look at him with glares (I wonder what other character that happens to- 🙄), having an unserious nature that the others disapprove of (Again, who else does that sound like-), a lot clumsier in battle than he used to be, the others don't take him seriously (Do I even need to say it again-), etc.

But does any of this deter me from loving him as a character? Absolutely not and it never will. LMAO

This isn't to say that I think Casey is perfect, because clearly he has his flaws, and given how the writers handled his character throughout the series, I completely understand why some people think less of him or would say that he's their least favorite character in 2012,, I really do get it.

BUT, despite all those things, I still feel like there were a lot of redeemable traits from him that don't get talked about a lot? Also a lot of things that I feel backfired in regards to the image that the writers "wanted" (Since maybe they didn't intend for this?? But it felt that way to me-) us as the audience to have of his character- Like him actually being one of kindest members of the team??

It's definitely not a conventional kindness, but it is a kindness nonetheless.

I honestly don't know a good place to start with this, so I'm just going to start rambling about whatever comes to mind and hope that that works out for me- LMAO

One of the first things that comes to mind for me is him during, "Of Rats and Men" / S2 EP 12 /. Despite having a crippling musophobia (Fear of mice and rats-) in the same way that Raph has a crippling entomophobia (Fear of insects-), Casey's still did his best to contribute to that problem and was probably enduring one of the most traumatic events of his life for his friends?? Like hello?? He's only known them for like maybe a few weeks or so at this point (Logically speaking-) too??

I know Raph technically has some growth with it in 2012 (Only saying technically because I really didn't like how the show constantly harped on Raph's entomophobia, as if there aren't many other aspects of his character that could have been talked about instead- Lmao), but when he was in his first situation revolving around his phobia ("The Cockroach Terminator" / S1 EP 18 / ) he was not very helpful for a majority of that situation (Which I totally get-) nor did he volunteer to put himself in the "eye of the storm" of that situation in the same way Casey did here. That was an incredibly kind / selfless thing for Casey to do??

Without questioning anything, he defends April against Timothy (Who they didn't know was Timothy at the time, besides I don't think that would be relevant cause April didn't really meet Timothy-?) during the episode, "Mutagen Man Unleashed" / S2 EP 4 / and rides away on his bike with her to escape Timothy, having just met April for the first time. He's pretty much kind towards April in general, but what I mean is a different type of kindness than the more general one that most characters give her- He truly allows April to be herself around him / doesn't treat her differently as person (When I say this, I mean moments like when Casey had no problem kicking April in her shoulder to wake her up during, "Within the Woods" / S3 EP 1 /- Lmao), and I feel like that is the biggest act of kindness he could ever give her. Like??

Maybe this isn't something that is necessarily considered "kind", but I thought it was incredibly sweet and understanding of Casey sit through the drive all the way up to the O'Neil's Farmhouse immediately after the Kraang invasion + immediately after he had failed to find his Father and little Sister in the chaos,, I'm sure he felt like he had to because of everything going on, but it would have been just as understandable for him to need breaks on the road or to vent during the drive- Instead it felt like he just focused on getting everybody else to safety, you know what I mean??

The way he whispers to Raph about taking it easy on Leo during their sparring match since he's been having a hard time since he woke up from his coma during, "Eyes of the Chimera" / S3 EP 7 / ? 😭 || I don't know how much this counts for kindness either, but the way he was so excited to tell Raph about what he had accomplished in regards to Shredder and his little recon mission during, "Casey Jones vs. The Underworld" / S3 EP 14 / always makes me cry- Like he was so happy,,

Also speaking of Casey being incredibly understanding?? 2012 Casey has to be one of the most understanding characters I've ever seen, because the amount of shit that he gets dealt by everyone else and decides to just let's go / move past it is wild to me.

• When Casey's reminiscing to April about his ex best friend Nick in "Target: April O'Neil" / S2 EP 6 / and how there was this complete accident during last year's playoffs and he genuinely accepted that his best friend since second grade decided to never talk to him again?? The maturity that Casey exudes from the scene alone- Not to mention his understanding of her leaving him with a bunch of Foot Soldiers (Not that I'm saying she did anything bad there, I understand why she left and I'm sure he did too-).

• Casey not thinking twice about helping the Turtles and Splinter not get exposed to the Foot Clan during, "The Good, the Bad, and Casey Jones" / S2 EP 8 / despite having known them for a brief amount of time and being at odds with Raph prior- Giving Casey honestly the slimmest of reasons to do this + before this point he actively talked about how he didn't like mutants.

• During, "Newtralized!" / S2 EP 17 /, how despite Raph giving him the hardest time ever (Which felt so hypocritical because I've never seen Raph treat April this way, and she messes up quite a lot imo- 🙃) and blatantly disrespecting him to the point of genuinely pushing him away, Casey STILL CAME BACK AND SAVED THE DAY- Not even getting upset that he didn't get an apology from Raph. At all.

• I don't know if this necessarily falls into what I mean here, but I feel like he often gets misread when he's trying to be genuine? The moment he had with April during, "Within the Woods" / S3 EP 1 / feels like one of these instances to me. I truly don't think Casey meant anything by it when he was asking April if everything was okay between them (Implying the April's been distant towards him lately or probably just acting different-), and even after she kind of blew up on him, he didn't say anything about it and just let it go?? 😭

• Casey being quite literally understanding during, "Buried Secrets" / S3 EP 3 / when April was venting about the situation with her Mother and basically reassuring her that it was okay for April to leave with her if that was the decision that she wanted to make-

• It honestly boils my blood to see how little faith the others had in Casey during, "The Weird World Of Wyrm" / S4 EP 3 / (At least it came across that way to me-), because how could they truly believe that he would turn on them like that? On one hand, I get it was to make the whole thing more believable so that Wyrm wouldn't suspect Casey was trying to do something underhanded, but if I were Casey I would have felt genuinely hurt that they really thought that of me?? April didn't even try to be like, "This isn't you at all! :( " like she normally does, she just fully believed that this is who he was now- 🙃 || But I also understand that a lot of the events of this episode get retconned on purpose, so. 🙄

• Casey basically let go of Raph quite literally ditching him because of his entomophobia during, "The Insecta Trifecta" / S4 EP 17 /, but I also acknowledge that Casey was not helping but all his descriptions during the fight,, LMAO || But I don't know, I feel like Casey was genuinely taking Raph's word for it when he said that he was "over the bug stuff" in the beginning of the episode-

• I don't really want to count this one, but I guess I can bring up how everyone forgave April so quickly after the events of, "The Power Inside Her" / S4 EP 22 / even though I feel like that was incredibly unrealistic-

But all of these hurtful moments?? Casey never brings them up again, he doesn't hold anything over anyone's head- Like- 😭

There's also the fact that he's incredibly selfless?? The most well known example of this being when he saved Raph's life during, "Requiem" / S4 EP 25 / and almost lost his own in the process,,

I feel like the entire concept of his vigilante-ing is an act of selflessness on its own, since you have to want to help people who can't help themselves to accomplish something like that-

Casey almost risked his life protecting April from the mutagen vat Stockman was trying to fly into during, "The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman" / S2 EP 16 /, and the reason I say that he was risking his life is because if that had gone the wrong way, he could have gone into the vat with Stockman himself or could've simply fell in somehow- He literally risked the entire world after Donatello stopped breathing (Presumably his Brothers would follow suit shortly after-) during, "In Dreams" / S2 EP 5 /, since he didn't know for sure that the Dream Beavers wouldn't be world ending entities (Which, this is completely derailing right now, but there was just really sweet 2012 Jonatello fanfiction that used this situation in it- Where Casey openly acknowledges that he risked the entire world for Donatello even if it would have been only for a few minutes because they would have parish shortly afterwards- Like?? I'll try to find it later- 😭��🖤).

I know this could just be a writing thing and another glaringly obvious way the writers clearly didn't care enough about him as a character, but I feel like his lack of bringing up his personal issues or his family feels selfless-? Like, he doesn't want to weigh anybody down with his problems, so he'd rather focus on what he can control than what he can't- You know? From a canonical writing standpoint, I found this really annoying, but ignoring the writing for a second- I wouldn't be surprised if Casey felt like the guys already struggle with emotionally supporting April and her constantly absent Father enough as it was, that maybe that's why he felt like he didn't want to add on to it or something by talking about his-? 😭 (But knowing these writers, I wouldn't be surprised that they had the Turtles be complete assholes to him about it- Because "boys will be boys" or some shit. 🙃 Lmao)

I also want to talk about how Casey felt like such a fantastic friend?? I know we only have that one moment with Leo during "A Foot Too Big" / S3 EP 2 /, but even that felt like a really great moment from Casey to me? Not to mention the fact that Casey's demonstrated multiple times that he's incredibly loyal, so whenever Leo asked him to be there, he was there- Something we see in episodes like, "The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman" / S2 EP 16 / (Though, maybe this kind of feels like a straw grab-? Casey and Leo don't get a lot of interactions, so I don't know what else to say- 😭)

The only reason why I say what I'm about to say is because I feel like the writers handled Casey and Raph's friendship extremely poorly, but even though Raph treats Casey like shit 9 times out of 10 during the show, Casey still views him as his best friend and still has his back constantly?? This is demonstrated throughout the entire series honestly- (This is it to say that I don't like 2012 Raph and Casey or I don't value their friendship as such a staple in the series, because it's the exact opposite-! Which is why I was so disappointed in how 2012 handled their friendship,, 💀)

Casey and Mikey's dynamic is one of the most organic friendships to come out of the 2012 series in my opinion- They were genuinely the most fun on screen and it made me want them to interact a lot more. Like have you watched the episodes, "Meet Mondo Gecko" / S3 EP 17 / and "Bat in the Belfry" / S4 EP 19 / ? 🙄✨

Even though Donnie views Casey as "his rival" or some kind of "threat" between himself and April, I still feel like Casey had a lot of moments where he treated Donnie with respect and as an ally / friend, despite how Donnie feels towards him being glaringly obvious- As much as I would love to give you a plethora of examples of this happening, it feels like there's too many because it's kind of a in the background / nuanced thing-?? (See the picture I put for this part-) Like, if you focus on them during episodes, I feel like you could see what I mean- LMAO

Which has always led me to have this theory that Casey never actually hated Donnie to begin with and was just reciprocating the energy that Donnie was giving him, because why wouldn't he?

But I think a dynamic that is one of my favorites with Casey in the 2012 series is his dynamic with April-

April feels like a genuine person / fleshed out character when she's interacting with Casey as opposed to when she's interacting with any of the brothers. I don't know how else to explain it- A lot of the solo scenes that April and Casey get feel so different for April specifically, and I genuinely enjoy them ! Moments like when they're riding "Kirby Bat" during, "The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman" / S2 EP 16 / or that Kraathatragon / " Giant Kraang Worm" during, "The Manhattan Project / Wormquake!" / S2 EP 13-14 / or when April finally breaks the wood in half with Casey at the end of, "Vision Quest" / S3 EP 8 /, or when April and Casey are walking home from the movie theater in, "The Deadly Venom" / S3 EP 18 /- It also makes me sad at the same time though, because I feel like if the show just dropped the stupid "Will they? Won't they?" romance bullshit subplot between them, they would have just been the best of friends and that would have been the best thing ever- Like. 😭

I almost forgot to mention the amount of times that Casey was actually able to swallow his pride for his friends despite the show giving us the impression that he's an incredibly prideful and egotistical person?? The fact that he has gone to the guys for help on more than one occasion (i.e. "Fungus Humongous" / S2 EP 10 /, "The Wrath of Tiger Claw" / S2 EP 19 / though this was just him sending them an alert from his phone, "A Chinatown Ghost Story" / S2 EP 23 /, "Casey Jones vs. The Underworld" / S3 EP 14 /-) despite claiming that he's a "Lone Wolf" and doesn't need anybody's permission to act. He even calls and waits for them before acting in, "The Power Inside Her" / S4 EP 20 /. He apologized to Donnie during, "Race With the Demon" / S3 EP 6 /, something I'm sure he never thought he would do in a million years at that point- He also had a lot of technical apologies?? Like telling Raph he's "not bad for an amphibian" during, "The Good, the Bad. And Casey Jones" / S2 EP 8 /, telling Donnie he "takes back everything he ever said about him" during "The Manhattan Project (Part 2) / Wormquake!" / S2 EP 14 /. I don't know if this one necessarily counts as an "apology" per se, but the way he was so quick to claim fault and say it was his bad after he triggered the traps during, "Riddle of the Ancient Aeons"- 😭 || I also want to tie in how a lot of the episodes were Casey was the problem or the issue of the episode revolved around Casey, Casey was genuinely the one to resolve said issue- We love him for taking responsibility ! ✨

Casey is also a lot smarter than I feel the other characters and the writers give him credit for / care to acknowledge. This dude literally made his own weapons. Excuse me?? Not to mention his shoes that have hockey blades that retract?? His decked out bike?? Like bro- His entire vigilante get up is incredibly unique and innovative ! During the episode, "Newtralized!", Casey was able to deduce where to exactly shoot his hockey puck explosive into the Kraang contraption (I don't remember what that thing was called,,)- During high action / high speed (??) scenes, you can tell Casey is very quick on his feet and has some pretty natural reflexes of his own (I think a great example of this is his "fight" with TigerClaw during, "The Wrath of Tiger Claw" / S2 EP 19 /-). He was the one that came up with the idea to use pizza to distract and subdue Leo / Raph / and Mikey during, "A Chinatown Ghost Story" / S2 EP 23 /. He clearly has some mechanical experience + possible engineering prowess, given he was constantly trying to work on that busted up truck in the O'Neil Barn and is clearly capable of not only helping Donnie but keeping up with him mechanically during, "Race with the Demon" / S3 EP 6 /. THE ENTIRE EPISODE OF, "Casey Jones vs. The Underworld"?? HELLO?? The way that he did all of that on his own and nobody gave him his flowers is criminal- /hj LMAO

You have no idea how much it upset me when everybody was acting like it was "so wild" that Casey had a good idea / his input was valuable during, "Tokka vs. The World" dude- 💀

All this is to say that 2012 Casey Jones is one of the most charming characters in an animated TV series for me. He's silly, he's stupid, he's loyal- He's just the biggest lovable goofball to me, you know?? 😭🫶

2012 Jonatello side tangent- 💜🖤

Because I genuinely cannot resist putting this at the end, I love talking about Casey's "contradictions" (so to speak) as a character and how he's presented in the show because this genuinely just feeds my Jonatello obsession. Like how I was talking about Casey treating Donnie like a friend despite Donnie clearly not liking him very much for a majority of the show?? How one of Casey's only on screen apologies (If I'm not mistaken??) is towards Donnie? How 2012 has Casey and Donnie conveniently standing next to each other or being in the same vicinity as each other despite "hating each other" more than not? How if you really break down their characters, they're kind of similar? Both physically (Tall, gaps in their teeth, brown eyes-) and characteristically (i.e. Mechanics and inventions, their weapons of choice / fighting styles, they both can get pretty morbid at times but Casey's just being Casey in this instance while Donnie's trying to be "scientifically accurate", as he says, etc.-).

How during, "Monkey Brains", if you look really closely at Donnie's plan to, "Get April to hang out with him", he has hockey on that plan? (Images courtesy of me by the way, since I happened to have the official 2012 art book !) How Donnie's helmet of choice (Specifically during Season 1 but did make an appearance in Season 2-) was a hockey helmet that had the number 16 on it? You know who else has the number 16 on their gear?? CASEY. IMPLYING THAT THIS IS LITERALLY CASEY'S HELMET.

But also the things that make them different attribute to these to being a perfect match to me ! Like their love languages ! Donnie's love language is definitely more verbal / words of affirmation (Since all he does is say things that he shouldn't say about April because she's not his girlfriend and call her things that he shouldn't call her because she's not his girlfriend- Lmao) and gift-giving / acts of service (Pretty much everything Donnie has ever done for April ever falls into one of these two-). While Casey's is also verbal / words of affirmation but in a different way (Since he's definitely more flirtatious / playful-) and physical touch (Since he's always getting into April's space and being very physically close with her-). This makes sense to me, but maybe it might not make sense to other people- I just can't help but feel that everything that Donnie became infatuated with about April and Casey with April is quite literally just each other?? To Donnie, I genuinely feel like he was more attracted to the fact that she was a "firecracker" (so to speak) and did what she wanted / didn't let others tell her what to do. Something we actively see in episodes like, "Panic in the Sewers" when April actively lies to a man to get through an apartment building and Donnie responds with, "She's so cool-". With Casey, it feels like the opposite, where he was only interested in April because in his eyes she was kind of stuck up and a nerd (In his eyes-). I feel like this is enforced by their early on interacts during Season 2, specifically, "Mutagen Man Unleashed", when Casey asks April if "studying is all she does" and April points out that he likes to push buttons-

Which?? This solidifies that (canonically) Casey's method of flirting is pushing buttons, and whose buttons does he push more than DONATELLO'S?? HELLO- 😭💜🖤

I completely derailed by talking about 2012 Jonatello, I'm sorry. This was meant to just be a 2012 Casey appreciation post only- My bad,, 🥲👍 LMAO

#casey #casey jones #tmnt #tmnt 2012 #teenage mutant ninja turtles #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012

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gamegirlx · 8 months ago

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HEAR HEAR!!! LMK S5 SPOILERS!

i, as an individual human being with free speech, have just finished the fifth season of monkie kid, thus i have THOUGHTS that must be shared.

OK BUT TO QUICKLY ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT PEOPLE HAVE BEEN WORRYING ABOUT FOR THE LONGEST TIME- THE ANIMATION.

it's... ok!

if anything, I GOTTA SAY, they are doing they're best! and it shows!

like okay, ofc the older seasons get better animation but like bro YOU GOTTA GIVE IT TO THIS ANIMATION STUDIO for sOmEwhAt keeping up with the animation!

One of the things I noticed is how they actually improve aimating the characters throughout the episodes, and that's pretty epic!

NOW, i wanna address the writing of s5!

It takes a moment of pondering and such for me to cooperate my thoughts into a neat paragraph of words but ALRIGHT-

The concept IS GREAT. The execution??? eh.

the first half of the show was OK, nothing more, nothing less.

the SECOND HALF of the show, now, they were cooking some really epic scenes, interesting concepts, damn good character interactions that *COULD'VE*, i say, COULD'VE been good, IF ONLY THE PACING was better.

here are some random nitpicks i have:

goofy ahh medusa monkie kid oc villian reveal was underwhelming, bruh- NOW HE'S COOL AND ALL, bro's got the sassiest voice ever oh fOR REAL THOUGH, BUT maaaannnn, he def could've used WAY MORE BUILDUP in the first five episodes of the season

that one samadhi fire episode with red son and mei was unneccesary, i think it exists just for dragonfruit content but in term's of shipping, the interactions between mei and red son weren't even that fluffy or romantic. :(

there are quite a few loopholes and, like, exxagerated moments that could've been fixed if the writers just paid more attention to, like ehhhhhh, u'll see moments here and now where the characters are kinda dumb for not doing this or that, etc

the writing and climaxes in past seasons were DEFINETLY better than season six, but okay lemme just say tho, maybe im coping real hard but HEAR ME OUT !!!

SEASON FIVE IS GOOD ENOUGH.

Ya'll shouldn't ghost this season just because the animation looks worse.

This is kinda like a Monkie Kid S1 situation, in which the show was still finding it's animation groove and the story was still in it's early cooking stages but LOOK AT WHERE S1 GOT US (psst psst s2-s4 were FIRE.)

IN MY HUMBLE OPINION,

i believe that the story buildup for the upcoming sEASON SIX of monkie kid will be fricking epic.

ah aH AH- NOT TO MENTION that the animators will inevitably improve, too!

I SAY, GUYS, instead of dumping this show and roasting it for it's so-so season 5, i say we support the team and the show! Let's show the cast and crew that monkie kid is WORTH investing the time into making better! BECAUSE MONKIE KID IS A GREAT ANIMATED SHOW.

AND LIKE GUYS i haven't even mentioned the silly little stuff i like about this show!

(those will be for future rants fr)

NEVERTHELESS. i've stated my case. please spread the word that SEASON FIVE OF MONKIE KID SHOULD BE WATCHED.

and i thank you.

#lmk rant #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk season 5 #lmk

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evilbookworm · 10 days ago

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It makes me sad how quickly the GA was to write off Mike in s3 when they used to love him so much in s1 and s2. You would think people would question his behavior more and try to figure out what changed in their beloved character before jumping to the Mike’s An Asshole Conclusion.

being in this fandom has often had me thinking about why i did this as a casual viewer in s3. I think it was because of 1) how immediate the change was: literally the first time we saw mike in s3 when he was kissing El, they were both SO DIFFERENT and it was a curveball creative choice, where no time was given to the audience to witness a gradual change. I was like this 🤨😬🫣 watching them kiss - not because they were kissing, but because the way it was shot and performed was so gosh darn gross (as i am sure it was meant to be lol). and I didn't even realise that i COULD think about what might have changed in the interim between s2-s3 because i was busy focusing on what was happening right now, as the show unfolded.

and 2) i adored the show so much in s1 and s2 and it was quite painful to witness such a change in mike, so i was just struggling to even watch his antics from a casual viewpoint let alone analyse. at first it seemed that the show was supporting rather than condemning mike and el's clingy behaviour, too. i think this was deliberate, to add to the slowburn reveal that's taken years, but at the time i respected the writers' choices despite not liking this new mike and el. I honestly think that you weren't supposed to have figured mike out yet in s3. S4 was the showing of the hand when it came to byler, but in s3 I think we were supposed to be confused, half-rooting for mileven and half thinking they were no good.

Lastly, it was all made worse by the fact that so many other aspects of s3 were off-kilter. i definitely had breaks during watching it, coming to terms with the fact that they'd changed my beloved autumnal vibes. in retrospect this is all intentional, but for the casual viewer with a myriad of other interests and things to think about in life, there just isnt time to go that deep into things.

it was a pleasure and a distraction to fall so in love with s4, and now i find mike to be fascinating and so, so sympathetic again.

Ohhh yeah, there were definitely a lot of aspects shifted in season three, Mike’s attitude being one of the most obvious. Mileven making out at the beginning of s3 was definitely meant to make us uncomfortable, I think. You’re right, the way the shot was set up made it so weirdly unpleasant. At first, most of us just think, “oh, it’s just them being cute and in love and whatever”, but then there’s the scene in the car with hopper, and Mike is crazy disrespectful. Even though hopper and Mike ha never been great friends, Mike still respected him. And that just completely changes in s3. It’s obvious in other ways too, definitely.

I just really hate the fact that there is still the continuos Mike hate. Like, there is a reason hes acting this way, you know. But since most of the ga and milevens refuse to believe Mike would ever be gay, he’s left to rot.

#asks #mike wheeler analysis #mike wheeler

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justin-chapmanswers · 2 years ago

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hello there! love your work :) i'm wondering how much you personally contributed to bot's backstory, and however much that may be, what you think of it - why do you think the decision was made to have bot be created by test tube and fan, as opposed to some other entity? the pair had already gotten an arc in ii2 about learning not to project their desires onto a child figure (fan's egg) so it's interesting that the same was done with them again in ii3. my love of the season is not really diminished by that decision (i still absolutely love ii3!!!) but it has bugged me haha :'D but anyway, i hope you're doing well!! thank you and have a lovely day <3

- clover anon

Hihi, love the question. Honestly, while I did contribute a bit to the Bot backstory, I'll say I had a lil less to do with it than a couple other writers. It's an element I've been excited about since we got some momentum on it conceptually, but since it's not my baby I can't give suuuuper definitive answers here.

We started with the character's existence before the backstory. "Bow has the votes, what now?" The initial thought was "welp, Purgatory Mansion'd, that's that. Who's next-up on the list?" I wouldn't wanna meddle with her s2 story by suddenly making her able to be a part of the competition. There was strong-enough pushback on this that we decided to consider our options and come to a fun compromise. Robot was pitched, and it opened up a lot of options, and we wanted to have a fairly firm grasp on which we'd run with before we wrote episode one.

To your question, there was debate on what element of the world Bot would fall under. Meeple-made was considered. Contestant-made was considered. And some additional options. Ultimately, we landed on the direction that'd keep Invitational's story a little more grounded and character-focused, which was an early goal, and kept it as a personal story between the contestants.

The Meeple option was, of course, very alluring. So-much-so that half the community was guessing that Bot was Meeple-related. Might've been the obvious conclusion based on how we've set up our lore thus far (not that I think this would necessarily be a negative, so long as the execution is strong). Besides this, we still have a lot to hit on with Meeple and we weren't looking to complicate it. It felt like a breath of fresh air to us to explore a mini-mystery that didn't tie back to where our past ones have.

While, again, I didn't add as much to the story of Bot's creation as others, I do think it's nice to let Test Tube take a lead in the story as opposed to Fan. In season two with Egg, it was largely a Fan story that Test Tube would step into. Here, it was fun exploring Test Tube get so caught up in the excitement of creation for the sake of creation that she didn't connect the dots on how her creation may not experience that same excitement. It felt like a nice evolution of where we left her off, now that she's better-equipped to empathize, while also giving her a story that directly hinges on everything she's prided herself on since the start of the show. But I totally get how the parallels to season two's story with Baby Shimmer could lead anyone to feel that we're treading similar ground.

I think that one of the most notable differences is that the story of Bot is Bot's story. I enjoyed the lil mystery and all, but to me the element I've been most excited about has been allowing Bot to have a pleasant time being themself and existing in a way that feels freeing to them. I had made some pitches early-on in the conceptualization of Bot that were more baked-into the pre-established lore, and would tie them more closely with Bow, but honestly I couldn't be happier with where we landed, because my originally route wouldn't make it easy to tell a story about Bot NOT being Bow, and this has meant a lot to me.

More to come!

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snorlaxlovesme · 1 year ago

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thoughts and feelings about the Netflix's Live Action Avatar, now that I've finished:

overall, net positive! as i said in my previous post about the first 3 episodes [x], i'm someone who goes into adaptations with minimal expectations, treating it more like fanfiction, so I can spend more time enjoying myself than being a butthurt baby, so with that in mind i can say that I enjoyed myself a lot! there are episodes that i'm actually really excited to rewatch (5 and 6 are bangers and i won't be told otherwise)

i'm not going to lie and claim that any of the actors will be winning Daytime Emmys, but there were a few standout performances for me at least:

-Zuko was incredible. i love the way this version leaned into Zuko's desperation to capture the Avatar, because now he finally had a real chance of being able to come home after all these years. his acting pre- and post-Agni Kai in the flashbacks felt so sincere. his optimism was adorable before the war meeting and his shattered expression after Ozai banished him was fucking heartbreaking.

-i really loved the boy who played Aang. he was so charming and cute! and i think as the episodes went along he gradually got better at displaying more subtle emotion. for such a young child actor i thought he was doing amazing

-Sokka's actor was putting in work in the back half! i was impressed! the first half of the show I was pretty neutral about Sokka's acting but the more development he got the more I appreciated what his actor was bringing to the table. i think he just needed to be paired with the right acting partners in a scene to bring out the best of his abilities. Katara didn't give him much to work off of, but his scenes with Sai and Yue really hit

-Zhao was great too! they really re-worked his character to be a lot more important from the jump and i loved seeing how underhanded he was being during all of Zuko's quest. normally seeing Zhao on-screen just annoys me but i loved this version and how patronizing he was to Zuko

-idk man every time Gyatso was on screen I was crying. that's just how it is. every time i saw his face it felt like a warm hug

i think the weird part of this adaptation is that the parts that were adapted were pretty mid (or sometimes just bad) in a lot of cases, but whenever they added in their own original ideas it really shined! i feel like that's not the case with a lot of adaptation, people want to see what they know, but honestly if they added in more of their own original writing in s2 I would not be mad because i loved what these writers were bringing to the table (for the most part)

-i've already said that the way they structured ep 1 to include the start of the war was awesome. that was a cool change to show the audience from the jump that they weren't planning on boring everyone with a one-to-one(but worse) adaptation. it also set the tone really well bc my GOD do firebenders be setting people on fire in this show

-big fan of the early inclusion of Kyoshi and the idea that Aang can only convene with past Avatars at their temples. that was not a Hard Rule in the original and it always felt weird to me that sometimes he needed to be at a certain place on a certain day to communicate with his past lives but then in the finale he just had to meditate wherever he was. but yeah, they used Kyoshi lore from the novels and did indeed lose my mind about it

-Zuko and the 41st division. that was SUCH a cool storyline that was woven in starting at episode ONE and i was genuinely impressed with how hard it hit. i didn't see that coming and it had me CRYINGGGG. so yeah, BIG thumbs up for that original storyline. and also they inclusion of the post-Agni Kai Zuko recovering in the hospital and getting banished for claiming that maybe the weak just need the opportunity to get strong. heartbreaking, devastating on its own (Zuko's actor truly was killing me, i loved him so much) but once we see Zuko and Azula start going toe-to-toe next season that line will hurt me even more

-the bonding moment about calligraphy between Aang and Zuko was a really good bait and switch. in the original Blue Spirit episode Zuko didn't talk to Aang at all before firing at him. i like that i was expecting it to play out the same way as before but instead they had a moment of connection before Aang triggered Zuko and all potential for empathy was lost.

-which seems like a good time to address Zuko's character. i want to be clear when i say that i liked something because it was different from the original, it doesn't mean that i like it BETTER than the original. i simply think the new version is fun fanfiction that was written better than i expected. so when i say i like how they dealt with Zuko's obsession with honor, i'm in no way implying it's superior to the original. simply a good different

-anyways. in the original, Zuko's obsession with honor is fully connected to his need to be wanted by his father again. OZAI is the only one who can restore it, and it can only be restored by completing an impossible task for him. in the Netflix version it almost seems like Zuko's honor is tied to the disillusion that the Fire Nation itself is honorable. the bit about Lieutenant...Yi? sorry i'm getting his name wrong, but Lieutenant Yi gossiping about a superior officer, Zuko's disbelief that the Fire Nation would ever use such underhanded tactics like planting spies in Omashu, it was clear to me that Zuko bought into a rigid sense of morality and honor when it came to the Fire Nation. i hope we see more of that in s2 so that we can see Zuko's world truly rocked when he and Iroh become refugees

-Katara being hailed as a master was very sweet! i wish she would have gotten SOME training from Paku (could still happen at the start of book 2) but I did enjoy that during the Siege of the North that she got her own little battalion to command bc she was seen as worth warrior

-OH and I love how they explored Sokka's character. again, them taking out Sokka's blatant sexism didn't bother me, so i was happy to see that in taking that out they DID work hard to make Sokka's character motivations rich and meaningful. having him have the same complex about being a lacking warrior as the original cartoon but with the added twist of overhearing his dad's harsh words about his abilities really added something to Sokka's insecurities. i loved the inclusion of Sai encouraging Sokka to become an engineer because it was clear how much that meant to him. considering in the cartoon he does become a pretty badass warrior (while still being mainly an Idea Guy) i wonder how this storyline will play out later. if he'll try harder to fit into the warrior box he thinks he belongs in or if he'll blatantly begin to reject that role for himself and identify more heavily with his engineer side

-the cave of two lovers had me worried for a second because Sokka and Katara were paired together for that and im like UMMM so i thought it was pretty funny how they reinterpreted "love is brightest in the dark" in that scene. not as good as the original, obviously, but a funny reinterpretation that i didn't hate

i probably have more to say on the additions but this is getting long so i think it's time to get to some criticisms. this show was not perfect by any means and i have several gripes with it so i might as well get that out now

-WAIT first i must say that a lot of the bending looked phenomenal. particularly Zuko and Aang's bending. both actors (and their stunt doubles) were great martial artists and the fire effects and air effects were done really well. i was really worried about how they'd adapt airbending (since air is invisible) and they did a great job adding in dust cloud effects and making sure the props in the scene moved they like would if they were blasted by air

-AND i must emphasize that i was not mad at them chopping up storylines and mixing them together. the Mechanist/Jet plotlines had similar themes of seemingly Good People doing unethical things for what they believed to be a good cause, so putting them in the same episode made sense to me. and having Sokka and Katara getting spirited away and caught up in that mist (a fun LOK reference that time, i loved the easter eggs) and then captured by Koh was a good way to separate them from Aang the Blue Spirit arc could take place. that also made sense to me. people who get mad about the re-shuffling of episodes frustrate me to no end.

okay, now onto critique:

-unfortunately, Iroh was a giant flop. i don't know how else to say it. i didn't really like any part of him, from his costuming to his writing to his acting. something about him felt like he was plucked out of a campy low-budget stage play and just thrown into this show while only know his campy stage play lines. both Zuko and Zhao give pretty grounded, emotional performances and Iroh is SO jarring by comparison when he's in the same room as them acting like a caricature of himself for no reason. his wig was terrible, i wish they had made it more flowy because it stayed the same shape and position the whole time, he used the WEIRDEST announcer voice the whole time (like why are you using a voice?? no one else is using a voice??), and his robes seemed out of place when everyone else was wearing leather armor. and they had a moment in episode 4 where an Earth Kingdom soldier really laid into him because back when Iroh was a general he was responsible for the death of Earth Kingdom soldier's brother. i was interested to see this bc we BARELY get to see Iroh's Bad Side in the cartoon and i was curious to see where the live action would go with it. but it ended with Earth Kingdom soldier slugging Iroh or slapping his face or something and Iroh made some snoody remark about how war changes people, and he WASN'T talking about himself. like bro this man just told you you COOKED his brother alive he has earned the right to slug you, what are you talking about! i was expecting remorse, or at the very least a solemn look of guilt over the person Iroh once was, but nothing. it was bad. obviously having the iconic Uncle Iroh be so terrible is a huge mark against the show. i simply cannot defend that

-circling back to Iroh's wig. well. the hair and make-up department went out of their way to make important characters look like their cartoon counterparts and that was not always beneficial. why did Yue look like she was from Whoville. who okayed that.

-many people have already pointed it out, but it was weird in ep 1 that Aang's decision to leave was because he needed to clear his head, not because he was running away from his responsibilities. i have no idea why they made this change, unless the reason was to have every single person (including past Avatars) dog on Aang for not being around during the past 100 years. but even that doesn't hit the same bc it truly wasn't his fault! he went for a drive and got caught in a storm! he intended to be back in a few hours! idk that change didn't make sense to me. i know Aang felt guilt regardless but the guilt was supposed to be from the intentionality of Aang running away

-the way Katara broke Aang out of the iceberg was weird?? she wasn't angry at Sokka for his sexism, but she could have been angry at him for SOMETHING that caused her bending to grow out of control. or at the very least when she was bending the canoe towards her she could have done a sharp pulling motion towards her that ended with her arms behind her, therefore forming the cracks in the ice (kind of a callback to how in the pilot Katara could really only waterbend backwards at first). instead her hands were fully facing forward and she was gently bending in front of her and that led to the ice sphere exploding behind her. its been bothering me. whyyy

-character-wise, Katara was pretty one-note. like the addition of her guilt for getting her mom killed with her subpar waterbending, while not bad, didn't make up for how much she DIDN'T have going on. it felt like they toned down a lot of Katara's character strengths AND flaws to give Sokka more room to arc, then shoved all of Katara's development into the last 2 episodes. they didn't show much of her resilient hope in the face of adversity or rage towards injustice or how petty she could be. part of this could be her actor, who i won't dog on because she is a child actor who will get better with time, but i don't think the flimsy writing of her did her any favors

-score wasn't nearly as good as Jeremy Zuckerman/The Track Team's. remixing some of the A:TLA's score doesn't make up for the fact that all the original scoring in this adaptation was flat by comparison

-Bumi's whole thing was....weird. i didn't mind at first that they speedran through his reveal because i don't think there's a point to try and surprise the three people who haven't seen the original. 99% of the audience knew the King was Bumi, so I didn't see any problem with that. but the set-up flashback of Bumi lasted like 10 seconds and basically just showed him snort. it didn't give you a reason to get attached to him as Aang's past friend. and his current actions didn't help at all. the acting was very Michael Meyer's Cat in the Hat-esque. so. uh. SCARY AND OFFPUTTING. was not a fan of that all. and having him do a few random goofy tests for Aang AFTER already knowing his identity felt...weird? like what's the point of these now? and then having the reveal that he's NOT kooky, he genuinely IS pissed at Aang for being gone, well. hmm. it's not a bad idea in theory. i liked the concept of having someone FROM THIS TIMELINE (looking at you, Kyoshi, Roku, and Kuruk, and your unjustified rage toward Aang) be upset at Aang for leaving the world in such a state of imbalance. having Bumi be like DO YOU KNOW ALL THE SHIT I'VE HAD TO DEAL WITH SINCE THE WORLD HAS HAD NO AVATAR, was an interesting line of thought i could have rocked with, butttt.....idk man. it's BUMI. he's supposed to be a living memory of Aang's past to give him comfort and wisdom! it hurt to see this version be so cruel to Aang and basically force him to try to kill him just to prove a point. i would have rather had them write out Bumi altogether and use that episode for something else than to smear his name like that

-i'm tentatively alright with Azula's plotline right now. the Zuko line "Azula was born lucky, I was lucky to be born" is really essential to how their rivalry worked in the cartoon. Azula was a cold-hearted prodigy while Zuko was compassionate boy but average bender. i liked the idea of showing how Ozai intentionally pitted his children against each other. i liked seeing Azula's moment of defiance where she claims she's DONE being tested because she know how good her abilities are. i liked seeing the origin of her lighting bending. all of those were cool fanfiction. the thing that worries me is that we, the audience, have already seen Azula's doubt in herself, something we weren't privy to until the very end of the series. plus showing how hard Azula trains kind of undercuts the fact that Zuko is supposed to think he can't measure up to her because of her natural abilities that he DOESN'T have. they DID plant the seed to Zuko that Azula was the one backing Zhao the whole time, so we do have some of their rivalry primed to go. but the rivalry in the original is extremely one-sided. it will be odd to see Azula fighting just as hard to earn Ozai's affection, because intrinsically she should think that game was won a long time ago. so yeah. i'm not mad about it YET, just interested to see how it plays out

and then there are little nitpicks that could be resolved in season 2, should it get picked up again

-Aang not learning any waterbending or burning Katara with firebending can be woven into the early eps of season 2 before Toph's introduction

-the gaang's chemistry will only grow stronger with time. as the cast becomes better friends, as the kids become better actors with age, and considering they don't separate much in s2, i have faith that will iron itself out naturally

-tbh im sure there are more but this is so long i'm fizzling out. i'm fading. i must stop.

but yeah! good and bad! there's lots to unpack but in general i think it was fun. i'm excited for more.

#netflix avatar #long post #i am. exhausted.#writing this took so long

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jellybeanium124 · 1 year ago

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re: ed feeling kinda off. he’s felt kinda off all season? he’s had a few moments where he’s felt like himself but his catgirl era he felt so moe he felt kinda bland for half of it and i can’t get a read on him. maybe that’s intentional. but so far he’s had only a few sparing moments where he’s seemed like himself and i’d say the same of stede and izzy and the some of the others too. the writing is off this season. something feels weird. i almost wish episode 8 would be them all waking up and realising it’s been a dream.

oh izzy 1000% got it the worst, and people have been talking about that. but no one's been talking about how ed seems off. I think he's written very well in 2x01-03. They knew exactly what they were doing with him there in the kraken era and then his little journey inside his own mind. but 2x04-07 he's just been... idk not as deep? where's the mad genius vibes? I've kind of been dancing around saying this out loud but... knife parade sounds like something someone outside the show who believed izzy in 1x04 would say. "erratic" and "insane" come to mind. s1 ed wouldn't do knife parade because izzy isn't telling the truth in 1x04!!!! at least... in season 1 he wasn't...

I also think my post about ed's memory issues was unintentionally offensive, and I'm sorry for that. what I'm about to say might also be offensive, and I really don't mean for it to be. but basically, just because something's realistic doesn't mean it's good for a story. ed's memory issues are realistic. but when a fictional character doesn't remember something, the answer to "then did they do it?" usually winds up being "no." (versus, a real person, where the answer to that question usually leans towards "yes.") if ed doesn't remember the talent show, did he even suggest it? (again, ed is a fictional character, not a real person. I wouldn't ask that about a real person)

stede has been the most consistent with his s1 characterization imo. I think he's been coping waaaaaayyyyyyy too well tho. like we only finally get flashbacks to his trauma in 2x06. like the fact that he kept it together so well in 2x03 when he thought ed was DEAD??? DEAD FOREVER???? but other than that I don't have really any problems with him. I was shocked he actually killed Ned. I honest to God thought he was gonna hand him a violin and say "Play." which would fix Calypso's birthday by bringing the music back. However, Stede initiating sex after that made perfect sense. Stede partying in 2x07 made perfect sense. Stede fighting Zheng made perfect sense (he just lost the love of his life. again. and now his friends are leaving him too).

I don't want everything to be a dream tho bc I hate that in general.

My diagnosis: rushed and cheap. everything was rushed. everything had to be cheap. these scripts needed more time to work out all the kinks. they needed more money so they could pay for Ewen Bremmer to be in the whole damn thing, let alone the rest of the cast ~mysteriously disappearing~ sometimes. they needed an extra hour in the form of two more episodes. but like also... do they think izzy's character arc is good? like deep down inside, not what they'll say publicly bc they have to. maybe that's really mean. I'm not sure. I'm sure the writers worked hard. I wish they had more time... I wish they worked on those scripts for another month or two. I wish they shot s2 later and longer for a whole 10 episodes... I wish we weren't getting it till next year if it'd mean it'd be better. But alas. This is the our flag season 2 we will have for the rest of their lives unless we figure out quantum jumping

#ofmd #our flag means death #ofmd s2 spoilers

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scienter · 1 year ago

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Does JP lie awake at night thinking of new ways to tick off fans? I mean she wonders why she angers so many fans and why fans don't trust her and why not too many people want to watch her shows anymore? She talks out of both sides of her mouth. I'm sure you saw that tweet which of course sparked discourse again.

Of course Delena and Steroline fans were calling her out on her lies. DE'rs were like "Don't pretend you weren't fangirling all over them when they were happening" or something like that. Others were like "Stelena ended in S4 and you further killed them in S5 & S6" and they were also pretty much saying what Kris said was that they had plenty of time to re-direct the SL back to SE & chose not to.

SCers were like you "You've said multiple times that steroline was planned since S2". Even to this today she said she wanted & planned them since S2 and just a few months ago at a TVD panel she said she wanted Steroline endgame since S2. I mean they started dropping hints of Steroline romance in S4 and it was obvious they were happening in S5 (more specifically 2nd half) and they followed thru in S6. I know it wasn't announced/made public until towards the end of S6 that Nina was leaving but the cast & writers knew she was leaving early S6.

Last, don't try and blame an actress leaving on a ship not being endgame when literally their last scene in S6 you referred to them as Dawson and Joey. Also, she welcomed the Joey and Pacey comparisons to Steroline and even one of the TVD writers during S6 tweeted "Caroline is Pacey".

I don't know what's up with JP's revisionist shipping comment. No one pushed Steroline more than JP when the TVD aired. Not to mention Steroline happened when JP was showrunner. Maybe she was feeling nostalgic for the early seasons?? Idk. I don't see the point in her hyping an endgame she had no intention of ever delivering. Especially given the TVD ship wars being what they are. I don't know why she poked that bear.

#anon #ask #reply #anon for ts #ask for ts #reply for ts #tvd #julie plec #twitter

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mdhwrites · 2 years ago

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Do you think toh needs a reboot? There's lots of things that I don't like how were handled in the show but it's also painful to give up on them when you think of the better ways they could've worked out, characters, backstory, plot, everything in general.

I wouldn't mind a reboot tbh, but then again you mentioned that the show isn't quite concious of it's own identity. So I guess unless they work with better writers, it won't make a big difference even with the time needed.

The short version of this is that TOH's inherent flaws mean that… No. A reboot won't help it, it'd be a nightmare to try and adapt or reboot in general and it's never going to see one in animation that could improve much on the version we got except for cleaning up mistakes made because the writers weren't thinking about the consequences of their character's actions.

And this mostly has to do with its crises of identity being a very core part of its image at this point. If you try to refine it into an adventure series, into a school drama, into a more traditional fantasy story or one of the half dozen identities you could place on TOH, it becomes effectively a different show. It's going to feel different, it's going to be different, etc. like that.

So the first problem with even conceptualizing a reboot is you have all these disparate, clashing elements that barely interact and never were enabled to properly interact in the show so… What do you emphasize, what do you de-emphasize? Because no matter what, you're pissing SOMEONE off. If you lean into the childish nature of S1 then you annoy people who prefer the darker, more serious tone to S2. If you lean into the school stuff, Eda's plotline with her sister becomes more neglected and S1 doesn't feel as coherent while Belos feels like even less of a figure than he already does. If you lean more into the Owl Family, you lose as much time with Amity so her character arc is going to suffer, Lumity takes longer to happen naturally and you probably get called racist because people already call the show racist for how little it cares about Gus and Willow.

Quick note for another blog: I don't think race had literally anything to do with Gus and Willow's treatment. They simply stop having a place in the narrative post S1, even arguably after Luz becomes friends with Amity. They look the way they do for design variance and demographic numbers and that's probably it.

Anyways: No matter what, you cannot fix the conceptual problem of TOH being everything that Dana wanted to say and do alongside throwing in the kitchen sink. The only way to smooth out The Owl House is to literally smooth it out. Just flatten it into five or more seasons so it has the time to breathe and actually explore EVERY concept and even then… Yeah, that definitely gets into needing better writers than TOH has who can follow through on the ideas they have. After all, just because they would have more time doesn't mean they have the skill.

And you would need that promise from go so the writers could plan that out properly and… That's never going to happen. Especially not for serialized content like The Owl House, not in the current media landscape that we have. This isn't even because the show is bad. Quality has VERY little to do with whether something gets renewed nowadays. And if you want to get renewed consistently beyond three seasons (and iffy on even that) you need to hit one of two different options.

The first is for broadcast television where ease of programming, cheapness, and advertising is king. This is where you get why Teen Titans Go has two movies and a billions episodes. That show is entirely episodic and thus very easy to break up, throw into a hole in your broadcast schedule, easy to make marathons because you can just slap a bunch together without care, etc. like that. The animation is also incredibly simply and the show in general is probably very cheap to produce. Its writing style of literally anything goes adds to this fact. Cartoon Network can probably make five episodes of Teen Titans Go with the budget Disney gives for ONE Owl House episode and it works better for the company's goals monetarily.

And yes, Teen Titans Go is bad. It's WAY worse than The Owl House. But quality doesn't matter here. What matters is that it's easy, it's cheap, it has brand identity and is easy to merchandise. It is profitable, safe and people see it as easy to sit their child in front of for when they need the television to babysit.

The other option is streaming services and you're not going to get a 100 episode contract for a streaming service. Yes, they want cliffhangers and serialization to make sure you binge and continue subscribing even between seasons but that's also why streaming services are all or nothing. You either are so big that you will continue to pull people for months after your release or they don't care about your small squad of dedicated fans.

And TOH… Didn't become a cultural phenomenon. It was genuinely nothing special to most people, if they'd even heard of it, until Grom. Outside of that, it was just known that it had above average animation when it launched and… That's literally all I ever heard about TOH until I joined the fandom inbetween S1 and 2. And by then Netflix would have cancelled the show most likely.

Because TOH didn't break any records. It didn't light the world on fire. It didn't even cause some giant discourse that rattled through the internet on all fronts. And that means streaming services would probably rather invest in another attempt at a new Walking Dead or Game of Throne rather than continue the show. It's those record breaking numbers that got Velma and Wednesday renewed after all, not their quality or anything like that. (This isn't me condoning these practices btw. I think it's a real problem like everyone else and that it has to do with a lot of focus on short term gain rather than long term retention but I'm rambling enough as is)

And The Owl House never had that clout. Ever. I mean, how many people always had to add caveats to what made The Owl House special like "On Disney" or "in a prime time kid's show" rather than the show actually being special on its own merits? Especially now? There is one last option and that's of course a reboot that doesn't happen in the next five years but instead is closer to 20 when enough time has passed that radical changes might be allowed. That's the Voltron and She-Ra method effectively. Except... That's where we get the fact that Voltron and She-Ra were big properties at their time, never truly forgotten and have strong nostalgia attached to them. They pushed toys, they pushed consumers and those IPs had a real value to them, even to the current day but to revive them took a delicate touch because cartoons are different now. And TOH just doesn't have that power. That impact and care. And there is a LOT to be said about how it's much harder for shows to have that sort of impact nowadays but that's beyond the scope of this blog. The main point is that in 20 years, why would a studio choose to give TOH that much love and attention versus any of the other cancelled animation projects around this time? Especially something that did get to do its full run like Amphibia?

So… Is there a way The Owl House could get the time it needs to explore its whole identity and possibly become better? Yes? In a webcomic, manga or book. Animation is simply too expensive a medium and not regarded well enough that it's going to get the time but things like webcomics, manga and books are known for being more drawn out, able to do more with that space and more independent because the overheads are a LOT less than other mediums. After all, you only have to pay one writer and maybe a couple editors for a book.

But… I don't think Dana has the skill or attention span for any of those mediums. Not if she's working solo. If you look at her solo episodes in TOH, they have some really powerful moments and statements in them… And also some of the most meh B plots, some of the larger narrative cheats, show blatant disregard for her own world building and even at times had to have major plot points in them retconned by future writers because Dana wrote the show into a corner while trying to be clever. It shows someone who would be much better on an anthology series or an episodic series than ANYTHING serialized.

Remember, Dana wrote Reaching Out, where everyone just forgets that being a Wild Witch is met with the death penalty and is not just equivalent to college, which is how Amity and Alador treat it, let alone the twins celebrating becoming outlaws like they just joined a special club.

So in general, I don't think The Owl House is going to see a revival or the like. I think the best thing that could happen to The Owl House's legacy is that people figure out which parts they like the best and go on to make media inspired by those parts of TOH. Because I feel bad for anyone who tries to adopt TOH as a whole.

Because I just don't think it's possible to capture TOH's essence without also bringing along its crises of identity. The two are too intertwined and that was always going to hold the show back.

#The Owl House Criticism

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ohlexa · 2 years ago

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don't hate what you are, what you are is beautiful. oh my god OH MY GOD. that line!?! i was hooked. like instantly they had my heart in a vice grip and my only thought was, fuck, no. because i pretty much knew how it ended. i've never been more thankful for writers. i'm already half way through sixth to the ninth hour and they weren't wrong, it's incredible. i'm pretty picky and i don't know these characters all that well yet, but it feels perfectly in character. exactly what i was looking for tbh. i know you prefer au but i highly recommend it.

do you have any headcanons for them? what's your favorite scene? did this fandom go through the whole top/bottom debate we seem to love to have? are there any must watch moments or interviews with the actresses? do you have *one* single favorite fanfic for them? fave fan video? i'm sorry for all the ? but i need more damnit 😅

Seriously - what would we do without the fandom creators?! I have Sixth to the Ninth Hour bookmarked so I'm hoping to start it soon - I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Okay, headcanons....🤔...well, I've always loved the idea that Ava loves space. (Don't even get me started on the whole Ava can't move and is literally tethered to the earth vs. that shit doesn't matter if you're in space so OF COURSE she's going to love space conversation....) And you know how her bed in the orphanage was right below a window? Well, sometimes Diego would sneak over, open the blinds, lay down next to Ava and they'd look at the stars together and make awful puns about them (so awful that most times Ava would say "I'm starry! I'm starry!"...ya know how it is). So couple this with Ms. Encyclopedia Brown (am I aging myself with that reference??) that is Beatrice No-Last-Name and it's just perfect. Beatrice spouts all about Greek and Roman astronomy and the little she knows about astrophysics (which, of course, is way more than the average person) and Ava eats it all up.

And while I've never been to Switzerland, I can only imagine how beautiful the starry sky looks like over there. Beatrice surprises Ava one day with a telescope and they spend the entire night looking at all the constellations they can find. Ava's looking up, her face full of wonder while Bea can't help but stare at Ava...because well, you know how it is.

Oh, and that hat Ava wears throughout s2? Bea totally bought that for her, too.

It's so tough to choose a favorite scene (THERE ARE SO MANY), but I'd probably go with their night dancing and drinking at Bar La Vasseur. I find myself going back and rewatching that scene the most. So yeah, that one. (What's yours??)

Ya know, I'm not really sure if there was a "debate" but from what I gathered, most think Bea is a top? (Is this correct? I feel like I joined the fandom a little late to really see it all go down. I'm with KTY though - they flip flop!)

Watch all of the interviews. All of them. KTY did a handful after s2 aired and there are several ones with AB after s1 came out and they're all fun to watch. If you haven't already, I suggest visiting AngeChats on YT - they've interviewed a lot of the WN cast - insightful stuff! (And we can't forget KTY reading thirst tweets!)

I hate you (affectionate) for asking what my ONE fav fic is, but I'd probably go with of greater marvels yet to be. And I really enjoy this fan video.

No need to apologize for all the questions - glad you're here, anon!

#anonymous ✨#inbox #long post

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storm-driver · 10 months ago

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ep 22 : doctor's disorders is conceptually one of those episodes that i feel like had the potential for interesting conversations or conflicts, but maybe the writers weren't ready to broach that stuff. or felt it was unnecessary?

weird ghost bug ends up spreading a virus to the whole high school that forces ghost powers unto the kids that it infects. it doesnt look like every kid gets every ghost power, but they are completely incapable of controlling said powers, even if they end up being able to use and abuse said powers more than danny can

that alone makes for a really interesting premise, and maybe a bridge to students understanding what ghosts even are. but the episode only brushes that stuff and plays it off more like jokes than an actual topic to discover. there's a really tiny moment between danny and paulina where she's confused about the ghost sense because she has no control over it, and danny calmly explains what it is and even has it happen to him in the moment. it's just a super tiny thing i would've like to see happen with other students, too.

i know this happens in s2 a handful of times, but this is one of those episodes that felt like it was planned to be something different, but the concept of the ghost was put together before the story. and this episode has the return of spectra, trying to build herself a new vessel using bits and pieces of all the students at the high school.

while interesting, i still question why she needs a vessel, since she seems completely fine without one? is it for her personal desire, or because she's withering? no idea, and like before, id like for that to be expanded on one day. i know it wont be though...

i dont actually have a lot to say about this episode since the conflict sorta just resolves and not much happens with the students being affected by ghost powers. there's no commentary on people saying the ghost boy passed by and helped them, and spectra herself is sorta just downgraded from her last appearance (which was arguably one of the best villain moments in season one). i also cant, for the life of me, understand how danny's half-ghost genetic structure helps a proper full-ghost complete their body or whatever, AGAIN WRITERS, EXPAND ON THIS??? im yelling at a brick wall

it's hitting me how often this show just "creates" physical violence by having characters stand completely still or charge recklessly into an enemy with no defensive idea in mind. danny just flies straight at spectra and gets bodied for it because she was literally standing upright with nothing to deter her from retaliation if he ran at her. and i have to wonder if the story-board artists and animators just love torturing this kid with how much they make him run into things.

harmless episode, childish jokes at times, but otherwise, it's fine. i wish spectra had gotten a more serious return considering her first romp. but eh, could've been worse.

WE'RE DOING A NEW POST FOR SEASON 2, HERE WE GO

(link to the season 1 post here, check the notes for each episode)

#danny phantom #storm rewatches his childhood #s2 #ep 22 #the line about the guy auditing taxes bc he's from the government was really funny tho #danny's off-hand comment about how if his life wasnt in danger he would've thrown up kinda got me laughing too

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ladymorghul · 2 years ago

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I'm definitely more than a little worried on how they've handled Helaena thus far and how they'll continue to handle her going forward. Regarding Dreamfyre, the official HotD HBO website says that Helaena rarely rides her. I guess that they wanted to differentiate her from her siblings more since they're more devoted dragonriders than her, such as Aemond (or at least I'm assuming they all are), and having her being more concerned with dragon dreams than by actual dragons. But when it comes to her children we have little to nothing shown on-screen, the twins are barely even acknowledged, and Maelor might even not exist if it weren't for the opening titles.

And then there's Helaena herself, who I think is genuinely the least developed member of the greens besides Daeron, who hasn't even appeared yet. Like, there's so much around her that we barely spend time on. Does she understand her visions at all, or do they just come to her and she's unable to make sense of it? Is she frustrated at her family for brushing off her prophecies, or is she unable to communicate to them what's going to happen? Does she even seek to change the outcome, or does she think she has no control over it happening? How did she feel, when she was first betrothed to Aegon? Did she care about being betrothed to her brother, presumably not by her will? How does she feel about her children with him? Did she want them in the first place? Does she love them unconditionally or take comfort in them, or is there baggage associated with them because they're the product of a distant marriage? How does she feel about being crowned Queen? Did she want the crown at all, or really didn't want it, or is she simply willing to wear it because at her family's behest? Does she have ambitions, or is she simply going with the flow of what happens? (and could this be related to her prophetic visions of the future?) How does she feel about her father and Rhaenyra, and the various politics that everyone partook in? (Aemond's eye, Vaemond's petition, etc.) How much does she believe in her family's goal of crowning Aegon? Is it because she's worried about her family being targeted if Rhaenyra comes to power, or is it simply her being dutiful and loyal to her family, or is she a very reluctant participant? The thing that's keeping me from being totally pessimistic is that they were able to make Alicent, Aemond, and even Aegon to a degree complex and even sympathetic. Especially Aemond, since he was only there for half of the episodes but he feels like a very well-rounded character compared to his book version, with the relatively little screentime spent we spent with him. So like, I can hope they can pull off the same with Helaena.

Like, they need to do A LOT of heavy lifting in the first half of S2 if they want B&C to have an actual emotional impact. I'm hoping, since the year-long time skips are over, that they'll slow the pace down and spend the time developing Helaena that she deserves.

i am also worried about helaena but at the same time, i’m expecting disappointment.

i love the questions you posed about helaena and would be so interested to see the show answer at the very least half of them, but i don’t think they will.

not only do i think they don’t care about helaena as a character as much as we do, but they’re also moving the plot entirely too fast.

personally i’m afraid that s2 itself will start with b&c early on so we won’t get much time with her prior to tragedy striking and her falling into depression

and since i don’t think the writers will deviate her story from her book story this just makes me all sad because they made her a dreamer but she can’t do anything about it. she sees what will happen, she tries to communicate it but it doesn’t get through and she can’t stop it from happening

at least helaena in the books was described as a happy girl and that she would make a good mother until b&c happened and everything changed

i love that helaena is a dreamer but if helaena being a dreamer is just their way of adding one more layer to her character that just makes her sadder and more stressed and unable to connect with her mother at all (which people percieve as helaena and alicent having a bad relationship) until the inevitable death of her children, her depression and her jumping out the window then....that’s messed up for this poor girl.

not only did they not give her more agency, they added another layer of trauma of living with prophetic dreams that she can’t properly communicate but will also not change

i am not as optimistic as you though simply because the idea that they made alicent, aemond and aegon more sympathetic seems untrue to me to a certain degree. yes, alicent is more sympathetic, but she’s still one of the most hated characters in the show, at times on par with otto. with aegon they did the opposite. they made him a drunk rapist who watches people fight. aemond is albeit the only one who gets more sympathy because they didn’t make him intentionally kill lucerys, but that’s not completely positive from an audience POV.

in the end, most people still don’t like the greens under any circumstances and personally i think there were moments when the writers tried to make them sympathetic but those were very few and they generally didn’t know what to do with them. and i still think the show is 100% working hard on making team black look like the only choice the audience should have

but yeah, agree so much with you about helaena. they could have tried so much harder to develop her.

#asks #helaena targaryen #anti hotd

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not-too-many-eyes · 3 years ago

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So i finished Centaurworld season 2 and just, OOO BOY-

Uh...spoilers for S2

Okay so first of all, I'm 75% certain season 2 was rushed, now I don't have info on when they started working on season 2 so this can very easily be inaccurate but considering Season 2 was released 4 months and 5 days after season 1 aired...I just feel like there was some time issue.

I, cannot express enough though that 4 months and 5 days is not enough to work on a full season of a cartoon, not to mention a one hour special, even if we assume they were working on season 2 during the production of season 1 it's still a really short time frame.

Now as I said, I don't know the production process of season 2, I can't accurately figure out if this was rushed or not, I just have a really bad feeling it is.

Why am I saying that? Well, Centaurworld season 2 just, isn't as good as 1, not to say its bad, not at all, the finale is one of if, not the best thing in the series but it's clear that there were a bunch of plot points the writers wanted to address but weren't able to.

Backstory magic was definitely supposed to be established earlier in the story as a thing Horse can do, judging by how the Treetaurs acted and well...Wammawink's memory. We don't get an explanation for Stabby becoming a child (though I do love it) The General doesn't get much forshadwoing, the fusion monsters aren't dealt with much, Wammawink's issues aren't fully addressed. Plus The Woman doesn't get addressed much.

It's clear they had a lot of things they wanted to put but weren't able to, now The Nowhere King plot should of definitely expanded for more than two seasons or have a lengthened season 2 instead of an hour long special.

But outside of, the giant pacing issue. I liked a lot of about Centaurworld season 2, I liked Durpleton and Ched's storylines (Was not expecting to like both of them, especially since I hated Ched) Durpleton and Stabby are great I love them, I love Wammawink suck it birdtaurs, The Finale is just great, the drama and the comedy are amazing (except for the fart jokes but oh well) Becky Apples is a cosmic entity from the beyond and I love her.

The Nowhere King's plot broke my head but in the best way possible, finding out that he and The General are the same person was mind-blowing (and seeing The General try to practically drown his other half and then locking him away in a dungeon for ten years is heartbreaking) Seeing the Rider fake-out gave me Marcy Wu flashbacks (in a good way)

I love Motivational Speaker Glendale give me more of her-

I really wish this show got more time cause when its great, it is great, the tone of the show is both so horrific yet so bizzare I find it charming how well they can balance the horror and the comedy...horror since lets be honest, the comedy is sort of horrifying, in a good way. In the way that makes me both terrified out of my mind and laughing.

So Netflix, may I ask you again to please one advertise your cartoons better and two not give them 4-6 bloody months to finish a season of a show. Please.

#centaurworld #centaurworld spoilers #centaurworld s2 #centaurworld season 2

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dalasteller · 4 years ago

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shadow and bone spoilers! malina/mal fans this is not for you but it’s not pro-darklina either. i’m an alina x alina supremacist

so, somehow, the show made me like book!malina more than show!malina after weeks of thinking the opposite would be true. i don’t even like book!mal/malina, but my neutrality towards them is nothing compared to how much i detested show!malina.

I WANTED THE TV SHOW TO MAKE ME LOVE THEM. the trailers made me think i would!!! i'd heard screeners and reviewers talk about this epic love story that transcends everything—these two people who would do anything for each other—and i don't disagree, they definitely would. i just wish they would shut the fuck up about it.

sorry.

looking back, i'd rather the show gave us mal with flaws, who wasn't perfect to alina, who would die for her, but still said the wrong thing and flirted with other girls and was afraid of her power at first. archie did a great job. he just couldn't make me love mal, and neither could the writers opting to make him main character no. 2 and alina’s prince in shining armour who supports her endlessly and has never done anything wrong in his life ever. writers, please, why did you think that was a good idea? when i said i wanted a more likeable mal, i meant i wanted his flaws accompanied by positive traits, by compelling backstory, by personality outside of being alina's hot best friend who never noticed her. i didn't mean i wanted a guy who could be wrapped in a gift box and sold as a robo-boyfriend designed for romance.

no, i mean, they really did write him that way.

what i definitely didn't mean i wanted was over an hour of the show dedicated to watching mal’s perspective of hunting the stag and making besties with his military bros and writing letters to alina and getting shot at a bunch of times instead of letting the book characters who were already beloved by fans get the screentime they deserved. what i wouldn't do to have gotten more genyalina and well-written zoya instead of mal dissecting deer shit...

you would think with how much talk about malina basically being soulmates, childhood flashbacks, fighting and nearly dying for each other at least four times (and did i mention more narration about being soulmates?) that i would take the bait and just let malina set sail. but this show held me at gunpoint for eight hours straight and told me that these two are going to have the same cultural influence as new romeo and juliet and that if i disagree i am going to be killed on the spot. because of this, i have now died.

don't tell me what to do, narrative, because i'm not going to do it!

i am also annoyed that they took the time to redesign mal in perfect childhood-friends-to-lovers dreamboat fashion but refused to retcon zoya's stupid misogyny-fueled bitchy YA girl arc and instead made it even worse by having her be racist to alina? what was the thought process there? they seriously fucked her over. i tried to pretend it didn't happen moving forward but why do they want to use racism as a tool for developing a "bully" character anyway, especially a woc? am i meant to forget about it? they lost me there. i feel like the female characters, with the exception of inej, generally weren't given the same care the male characters were. there was a lot of sidelining in favour of mal's redemptive rewrite and the darkling's 15 minutes of half-assed backstory and crying in every scene for some reason. “make me your villain” .... okay, simpboy, i’ll try my best.

i've already talked about why i hated mal's role (i clarify his role, not his character, because there was literally nothing wrong with him and that’s why i hated him so much) but i'm going to address it from the perspective of my love for alina and why i think this decision was so disrespectful to her. alina in the books was already in need of more characterization, time for herself and her internal development as opposed to her relationship with the three male love interests she acquires through the series. somehow this show took a main character already underused in her own story (though at least the books are told from her pov) and neglected her even further. alina is tied almost entirely to her male counterparts, mal especially, but i'd say the darkling is used as a narrative rebound. i think they both have chemistry and can serve a purpose in the story but the emphasis on codependency is impossible to ignore.

in the first four episodes, every scene that could have been alina struggling to settle into a new life and dealing with the emotional weight of her pressure as a saint was instead about mal. she writes him letters, and cries over him, and slips him into conversations that have nothing to do with him, and gets sad after slipping him into conversations that have nothing to do with him, and can't use her power because she's thinking of him, and then only decides to fully accept her power because of his absence.

alina's feelings are lended to nothing but her missing mal. he isn't just her best friend and love, he's this colossal piece of her identity that she doesn't get to exist without, even when he's gone. the show's exhaustive attempt to make mal loveable and make malina an epic love story turns our female protagonist into a sulking, miserable shell of a character everytime he's mentioned, which, by the way, is like, every two minutes. and apparently it's necessary to draw parallels to the same three flashbacks in all of them. i knoowwwwwwww, they held hands and now they can't anymore, i knowwww. they ran through a meadow, i knowwwwwwwwwwwwww.

watching her scenes almost drove me to printing out a bechdel test and ticking off as many boxes as possible.

i hated it. it made me sad.

i wanted more alina. i want her power to be her own. i wanted that tension between her and mal in the books because his flaws gave her a chance to stand up for herself and say that she liked being powerful. that summoning is a part of her and she would never give it up. that there was a tinge of corruption, of greed, of wanting to be the sun summoner, and it was intriguing! mal's issue of not accepting alina's power allowed her to express how much it meant to her. i wanted the alina who said "the night was velvety black and strewn with jewels. the hunger struck me suddenly. i want them, i thought." i wanted a hint of the sun summoner who decided when it got dark and relished in it (yes i know this can be expanded upon in s2). alina has a cocky side, her insecurities are explored and she finds strength in her new gift and eventually has to find strength outside of it, but in the show the catalyst to her powers is mal. always. is it romantic? sure. but it's hard to enjoy the romance when all we see of alina is her romantic connection to mal. can't she be more than that?

#anti malina #i dont use tumblr and i hate discourse so just block if this take bothers you because i can’t be asked to engage in an argument on here #sab spoilers #shadow and bone #shadow and bone spoilers #tgt #alina starkov #anti malyen oretsev

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nomadicism · 6 years ago

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I know that you never watched this series, but Game of Thrones and VLD have a lot in common. Both were headed by EPs who weren't writers. Both series started to go down hill around half way through due to stupid writing decisions regarding the plot and character out of a need to "subvert expectations." Hell, even Dany and Lotor have a lot in common and were both screwed over out the need to make them a plot twist villain. Both had horrible last seasons.

Hi Anon, thank you for the Ask!

You’re spot on here, and there’s a bit more to this to peel back and examine. I have a few similar Asks from other fans that have been languishing in my inbox since Game of Thrones concluded, because every time I sit down to answer, my first sentence is always: “I saw it coming”, and then I give up because my answer turns into a ramble info-dump on Social Contract Theory (Hobbes, Rousseau, and Locke), Hobbes’ Leviathan, and related Enlightenment Era philosophies and ethics regarding government and human nature and how A Song of Ice and Fire reflects these ideas (author premise/worldview territory), and why it is that I put the first book down halfway through and didn’t look back.

When it was announced that HBO would air a series based on the books, I said to myself, “Oh hell no, I know where this is going, I don’t need to watch this with HBO’s signature Sensational Violence/Gore/Tits/Sex style.” For each season I almost went for it but held back, because I’d hear the critiques from college friends (all Very Serious Readers) and it was validation every time.

Those of my friends who loved GoT from start to finish (and had already been reading A Song of Ice and Fire), predicted the basics of the ending, including the twist/downfall of Daenerys based upon what they picked up from the Hobbes-esque subtext. They are the kind of readers that drink scotch or brandy as they lounge in a plush recliner in their dedicated library room with at least one entire bookcase devoted to philosophy and ethics. When HBO decided to TV-ify the story, they opened it up to a much broader audience than would have been attracted to the books on their own.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that the general audience for GoT are not the type to read bleak and cynical British philosophers from schools of thought such as: determinism, ethical egoism, empiricism, and so on. It’s really dense stuff, depressing in some cases, debunked in others, but the world-building of Westeros is informed by such ideas. That’s not unusual, many other sci-fi/fantasy series are similarly informed. From what I’ve heard of her character arc, Daenerys appears to have been conceived as a character with a deterministic fate in mind, just like Lotor. The general audience came for the adventure and fantasy, and were clearly expecting something very different than what they got, and that’s not the audience’s fault (same for VLD).

I am glad that you and others who have sent similar Asks all make the connection between Lotor and Daenerys, because the comparison provides another way of looking at VLD’s descent into moral nihilism, and the weird yet seemingly common problem of stories that are informed by philosophies at odds with ways in which some parts of the story are written (hence plot twists that don’t make sense). If I step back and look at VLD using Hobbes’ determinism and ethical egoism critique, then it reveals some of that influence behind the writing of VLD’s later seasons.

There are various forms of determinism, but they frequently inform answers to the Nature vs Nurture debate, and unfortunately, the careless watering down of those ideas within our culture are how we get to: the abused child will grow to be like their abuser, their madness is inevitable.

If someone had quoted some Hobbes to me after watching VLD s1-s2, I would have looked at them like they were crazy. Sure, Sendak is a bit edgy and I can see some dark themes are hinted at…but it’s Y7-FV (among other things). The show is funny! The humor is balanced with the serious parts! They couldn’t possibly be that cynical!

Whelp. After S6-S8, I hear Hobbes in the Galra, he’s been there all along:

“When all the world is overcharged with inhabitants, then the last remedy of all is war, which provideth for every man, by victory or death.” – Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes

Just when I thought I could pack away my pretentious academic discourse, I find another layer to peel back. I’ll leave “Galran Hobbes & VLD” to someone who enjoys scotch and long nights in a plush recliner, but good grief and yikes, both GoT and VLD hit similar wrong/bad notes with wide groups of people. They aren’t the only the only shows to do that, and I hope that media gatekeepers are paying attention to the backlash in the right ways: like really considering the repeated ways in which both live-action and animated story-telling are failing audiences.

#light critique #game of thrones #voltron: legendary defender #ask me anything #anonymous #my half-assed Hobbes discourse

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