#its satisfying when the narrative clicks into place tho

[nightingaletrash]

I've had some time to digest lonesome road and Natalie's reactions to Ulysses and their shared history, and honestly this was the missing connection to the second half of the main story for me.

Natalie's a courier and a drifter with no big dreams or ambitions of her own. Her determination to make Project Purity a reality was because that was her parents' dream and neither of them lived to see it to fruition. Since then, she's just kind of existed and been content to exist. So as far as she's concerned, delivering the chip to Mr House is the extent of her responsibility and once she's done that, she's off to hunt down the guy who turned down the job to make sure she got it.

Cue her adventures in the dlcs where she wanders into two separate kidnappings and an ambush which give her the hints and threads towards the guy she's looking for until he draws her to him. He confronts her with the consequences of her actions and her carelessness, makes her walk through it and witness it all first hand. By making a simple delivery, she sealed the fate of the Divide, and she didn't even know it. Once she heard it had been destroyed - seemingly by storms and earthquakes - she just kinda shrugged and moved on, never looking any deeper into it because hey, these things happen. She never drew the connection between her delivery and the destruction of the area, just believed what she was told and carried on.

It's her confrontation with Ulysses that forces her to look at herself and realise that claiming a lack of responsibility doesn't make it so - she delivered something important to the Divide and it had devastating consequences because she didn't care enough to know what she was transporting. Now she's done it again by making an important delivery to Mr House, something that can clearly influence the fate of New Vegas, and not caring enough to know why its important and refusing to engage. And now she's being forced to grapple with the reality of what not caring can do.

By going after Ulysses and confronting the consequences of her own careless indifference, it motivates her to engage with the politics of New Vegas in the second half of the main story because while there's nothing to be done for the Divide, she can still have some influence over events in New Vegas. She can make a difference, and find a vision of her own for what the world should be.

[hitchfender]

@wishforwishes and i were discussing this ages ago, and i’ve finally worked up the courage to do my official ranking of 1989 (deluxe). without further ado:

1. out of the woods 2. style 3. you are in love 4. welcome to new york 5. shake it off 6. blank space 7. wonderland 8. wildest dreams 9. this love 10. how you get the girl 11. i wish you would 12. i know places 13. all you had to do was stay 14. new romantics 15. clean 16. bad blood

to complete this list, i listened to the album in order and wrote a paragraph with my impressions of each track; then i went back and ranked them. i worked very hard on it, and it turned out very long, so it’s all under a read more! please send opinions and reactions ❤️ love u

welcome to new york - honestly, this song is just so fun. the beat drops smooth and satisfying, and when she yells “new york!” just before the bridge it feels like a shout of freedom. the track is lyrically thin, but that doesn’t mean the lyrics are bad, and i think taylor communicated everything she wanted to with them; this first song invites us into the album, and sets us up for a pop-flavoured story of “real love that drives you crazy.”

blank space - this is taylor at her most sardonic and self-aware, tongue firmly planted in her cheek as she sings about bad boys and loving the game. some of her imagery falls flat, and that repetitive drumbeat grates after a few verses, but man, that tongue click was a stroke of genius: bringing the listeners into her world with insolence and irony.

style - this guitar knocks me off my feet every time. here’s where she makes her 80s influences most keenly felt, and where she brings that imagery she’s so famous for to the foreground. she paints her experience with a combination of broad strokes and achingly specific detail, and when it’s over you feel drained and renewed, like at the end of a long drive through beautiful, dangerous terrain.

out of the woods - i don’t know what to say about this one that i haven’t already said, so here it is again. reading the lyrics this song feels almost manic, the chorus losing its meaning and becoming a frenetic howl, the stories she’s telling disassociated and too-sharp, like shards of memories. once you get to the bridge, it starts to sound that way, too - she switches from the more complicitous “we” to an accusatory “you,” and she starts making demands - yet even in this moment of fear and anger there’s tenderness: a sunrise and shared tears. when she seizes her agency with that “oh, i remember” i feel some primal emotion lodge itself like a bullet in my chest.

all you had to do was stay - although i like the way she transitions from vindictive to tender and back again (“you were all i wanted / but not like this / not like this”), the lyrics feel a bit repetitive and the upbeat mood detracts from the meaning she’s trying to express.

shake it off - RIGHTS for these trumpets. and the giggle. some of the vocabulary feels a little forced (hella good hair?), and the production is oddly gapped - there are breaks in the ambient sound that force you to focus on her singing, but this isn’t her best vocal work... but, like, i think i’m concentrating on the wrong thing here. this is a song about letting go of the hate, literally intended for you to lose your mind to in your room at 3 am. i can’t fault the concept.

i wish you would - this start sounds a lot like the opening of style, actually, and these spaced-out electronic drums are straight off ootw. fascinating. moving on: this sounds like a diary entry, which is extremely taylor, but it makes the song come off a bit disconnected. love that line about “a crooked love in a straight line down,” but by the end i’m left with no distinct emotional impression. also literally forgot about it when i was trying to rank the songs.

bad blood - (i know it’s not on the album but i can’t not critique the kendrick verses. “pov of you and me, similar iraq”: L. i like the nod to backstreet freestyle tho.) anyway i feel like i would be more fuck-feminism about this whole thing if it slapped harder, but as it is i’m falling asleep a bit. album version especially. sorry ms swift!

wildest dreams - that’s more fucking like it. this is probably in my top 10 of her songs, from any album. every line of this! the imagery! the dreamy vibes! the way the bridge hits and she lets loose all of that fierceness she’s been holding back (”burn it down”)! i love how the sunset line parallels her own red and rosy makeup, and the dreamy feeling that conveys. also one time i had sex to this song and it was exactly as transcendent as you’d imagine, so.

how you get the girl - i’ll admit i’m not a massive fan of taylor’s favoured “ah” exclamations, but i’ll let em slide because this song goes off. hygtg accomplishes what ayhtdws set out to do: contrasting message and tone with just the right amount of attitude. i love the narrative in this one, too - she tells a clear story with subtle changes to the verses and the chorus. also the sudden vulnerability in her voice when she sings “i don’t want you to go” is like a shock of cold water. masterful.

this love - i can never decide how i feel about this track. the chorus looks almost ridiculous on paper - “this love is good / this love is bad”, seriously? - but god, she sells it, and just like in ootw the ohhs help to create that dreamlike atmosphere. the water metaphors mirror the seagulls on the album cover, by the way, which: mind.

i know places - right off the bat this piano and the way the drums come in late remind me of kanye’s “runaway” - a mirrored version of it, maybe. "runaway” is a warning - he’s laying himself bare, telling his lover he doesn’t plan on changing, exhorting her to run while she can. taylor’s version is a statement of fierce intent: it’s about isolating yourself from the world, making the almost violent choice to remain with your lover despite everything else. they’re songs about escape, but not escapism. anyway i like this song because it’s about harry styles.

clean - this one is boring somehow. like i get it, water metaphors, but the ah-ahs are getting on my nerves again and “hung my head as i lost the war” seems a bit self-consciously understated. maybe i just haven’t felt the specific feeling she’s writing about yet, but until i do this one will remain low on my list.

wonderland - she’s trying to get across this fierce “us against the world” thing, but there’s not enough of taylor’s specialty: those razor-sharp details that make her music feel both universal and infinitely personal. wonderland is all vague allusions to green eyes and getting lost together, full of sound and fury but not signifying much. i am into the i-am-a-woman-and-i-am-fucking-crazy thing, but i need a bit more from her.

you are in love - am i strong enough for this? we’ll see. this track’s got it all -lyrics clean as anything from her earlier discography, backed by those synths that are 80s without feeling like pastiche. i’m obsessed with the dynamics; her choice to use or remove the backing vocals emphasises her own voice, brings out its flaws and makes the song (though it’s quite production-heavy) feel raw. she makes use of her favourite trick, little snatches of memories creating a pointillist picture, but the most affecting line comes (as with so many of her best songs) in the bridge: “you understand now ... why i’ve spent my whole life trying to put it into words.” it’s the only time she mentions herself on this self-effacing track, and the effect is immediate and startling - suddenly we’re in taylor’s shoes, watching a beautiful relationship unfold from the outside, and after a full album of songs about a fragile, doomed love affair, that line lends “you are in love” new depth.

new romantics - i have whiplash but WE’RE ALL BORED! taylor once again proves she’s never read the scarlet letter. come to think of it, a whole lot of these lyrics don’t make sense, so... yup, just googled and max martin and shellback cowrote this one. side effect: it sounds great, and the words are secondary. the old taylor pops out on the bridge to remind us of her broken-heart fantasies (“please leave me stranded”), but it sounds more like parody than ever - maybe that’s growth? a bit like blank space, this track is glaringly self-aware, like she’s daring her critics to condemn her for the foibles she already knows about, and delights in. i don’t hold it against her. god knows she’s earned a little indulgence.

tagging @roseringharrie @complicatedbabyhoneyfreak @faithmp3 @carefisher @dyketaylorswift @harrysdimples @rainbowfragrance13 (hi and welcome!) @harrystylesep @winoharry @archer-wilde @haaaaaaarrry because at some point we’ve liked each other’s taylor swift posts and/or you’ve been very nice while i yelled incoherently about her. love you all more than words and stream lover xoxoxo

[zenosanalytic]

Discovery: What’s Past is Prologue

That was GREAT! This is Long :| :| :|

Ok, so this episode managed to be both a mile-a-minute, actioned-packed THRILLAGANZA and a This-is-why-we-love-Trek Federation Lovefest, which is Quite A Feat owo

For any new Dear, Dear Readers thinking about venturing below the Cut: Over time I’ve found that writing conventional reviews for fan-media usually leads to me producing 10k word dissertations on them, so I do bullet-point reviews instead, sticking to core-reactions. This is STILL almost 3k words though, so, just be aware: when I say something is Long I ain’t kidding :| :| Also my reaction to stuff like Trek tends to be much more Ecstatic that my TSoW review, so expect... Informality o_o o__o o___o

Ok, so Discovery’s Landry was Fed!Landry afterall.

Looks like the Terrans have some sort of Holographic camouflage? Maybe it’s just something Stamets worked out on his own, tho, given how the Terran Empire works.

So Lorca got to the Fediverse the same way Kirk originally arrived in the Mirrorverse! I wonder if that means Fed!Lorca was transported to the Mirrorverse and died? Lorca’s ultimate Mirrorverse-fate was never explained so it’s difficult to say.

This ep’s mutiny/innership fight easily ranks up there with the best from DS9 and Voyager(the only two series with genuinely interesting/exciting examples). The battle over this city-sized planet-killing spacewarpalace is well-paced, tense, and both tactically and emotionally satisfying ouo

It also makes good use of the Terrans. We get to see some examples of their more aggression-oriented tech(like interior defense turrets and the like), examples of how powerful individuals hoard tech to themselves ala Mirror!Kirk’s Tantalus Field(Georgiou’s secret emergency transport, her bracelet, and the Stamets-designed fungal-tech integrated into the ship. Though I kept hoping she’d deploy that murderdisk from last ep again; no joy :T), and some examples of major philosophies within their society(a warrior-ethic in Georgiou’s appreciation for Burnham’s plan and fighting-ability, and her willingness to die fighting to buy Burnham time and display the ideals of her social station near the end, and Lorca’s “Man of Destiny” nonsense throughout).

“...he preyed on my Sentiment, my Weakness for your Face; It will NOT happen again.” Mirror!Georgiou is just so deliciously campy uwu uwu I like how the showrunners chose to make melodrama one of the distinguishing characteristics of the Mirrorverse :> :> :>

...Was that a The Fountain pan when Stamets walked into the Mycelial garden? It LOOKED like a The Fountain pan.

Saru is such a good captain u_u

“...The Terrans are egotistical enough to believe they can replenish this resource before it collapses.” HMMMMM WHERE COULD THESE MIRRORVERSIAN HUMANS POSSIBLY HAVE GOTTEN THAT TRAIT FROM???? Tho, as far as they go, this is probably one of the subtler Global Warming/Carbon Economy analogies to ever pop up in SFF media.

“Make the Empire Glorious Again!” We all, of course, See What You Did There :| :| Though again: much less hamfisted that the usual “Make America Great Again” references media’s filled up with over the last year.

Anyone else notice the gigantic gold frieze of Georgiou over the Imperial Throne??

Saru: “I will Not Consider leaving you Behind.” SARU IS SUCH A GOOD CAPTAIN }:| }:|

It’s a small thing, but Lorca’s continued and varied use of psychology as a weapon and tool of manipulation, something which goes back to the beginning of the series and his use of that distress signal to “motivate” Discovery’s crew, continues to impress me with the showrunners concern for consistent characterization, and their understanding of how complex characters and stories can be built from reiterating simple concepts and character notes in different situations.

Destiny’s not a thing, of course, it’s a fallacy of ego to believe that 1)occurrences involving you are about you and 2)that, because they involve you, they were meant to happen and play out as they did. Fundamentally, it’s self-narration; a recontextualization that, simultaneously, places oneself as the author of one’s life(since you are deciding what it means) and apotheosizes one’s life(and thus oneself) by declaring that narrative the product of divine will. That Lorca’s primary dislike for Stamets seems to arise not from his betrayal but from his rationalist rejection of Fatalism tells you a lot about his narcissism, and how central it is to his worldview.

There’s an interesting metacommentary about how “grittiness” is treated as serious, masculine, and realistic while optimism is treated as frivolous, feminine, and fantastical begged by Lorca’s conversation with Burnham here, and his assertions that the Mirrorverse is “the real world” and the Fed a “failed social experiment”. It’s also a good reminder of his nature as a scientist, and says much of how he thinks and justifies his behavior, that he would choose scientific metaphor for denying the reality of the Fediverse(though obvsl he’d need SOME way to do it to keep himself motivated to return, given that he’s way too egotistical, and too chauvinistically Terran, to just accept that both are equally real).

It also reveals that he REALLY doesn’t understand Burnham at all. She’s a culturally Vulcan Human, for Pete’s Sake; how deluded do you have to be to think that this sort of essentialist argument about biological “Superiority” and sociogenetic Eugenical(“Social Darwinism” in common parlance but, given this thinking predated Darwin and his theory, and other things, I don’t like the term) rhapsodizing would appeal to her, when her whole existence disproves it?

“...that’s why we have duty to lead”? That seems like a bit of a non-sequitur, but I couldn’t get captions to work on this ep so I can’t say for sure that this is what he said. If it is, that’s a really twisted conception of “Duty”, to cast it as the driving concept behind species-segregation and Eugenic Hierarchy. Also, he really doesn’t understand why she did what she did at the battle of the binary stars, or what that fight was about. He seems to think 1)she caused the fight, and 2)it was a conflict about preserving Federation “cultural purity” from some kind of Klingon “corruption”.

Lorca’s comment about Burnham’s “gifts”… taken in hand with the last ep’s “someone better came along, you know how it is” comment, suggest Lorca is incapable of conceiving of people in non-instrumental terms, especially in a romantic context.

Burnham’s explication of the existentialism and affirmation at the heart of the Federation is Pure and Good u_u

Stamets: “We’ll have to use all our Spores. We won’t be able to jump back home” Ensign Rhys: “We’ll need to be close to make that shot |:T” The Federation! ^u^

Ensign Detmer: “I don’t think we can avoid the blast”, Cadet Tilly: “our shields can’t repel the blast and we’ll all die” Saru: shakes head and clicks: *Inspiring Motherfucking Shakespearean Goddamn Speech*[1] THE FEDERATION! THE FEDERAAATION!!!! PEOPLE LOOK IT IS THE FEH-EH-EHDERAH-AH-AH-TIONNN!!!!!!!! :’D :’‘D :’‘‘D

But Seriously, THIS is probably one of, if not The, best Star Trek Captain’s speech ever.

The speech, the action, the at-turns practical, sappy, and optimistic Fed dialogue, the explication of Federation ideals in the face of true danger, challenge, and Doubt: THIS ep is just such a summation of everything that makes people Love Star Trek.

That their writing staff is aware enough to give Burnham the line, “But know this: I’m offering you my Mind; nothing more.” when making her faux-offer to sacrifice herself for her crew is one of the many reason I love this series uwu uwu

As always, Science and Tilly saves the days! I like how simple the solution is, though it’d have been more believably Physicist of Stamets to say not “but not just an explosion” but rather, “but an explosion is a Shockwave!” Also: Trek ships do Quite a Bit of cosmic surfing, don’t they? This sort of thing’s been the solution to dire situations rather frequently o.o

The warp bubble technobabble is equally simple(as opposed to TNG’s frequent reliance on nonsensical verbiage), but I don’t like the solution they went with. A Warp Bubble Warps space. The Mycelial shockwave produces an energetic wave(an explosion) in space, but it also ripples through levels of subspace(including the mycelial network). So theoretically, the Warp Bubble could be attuned in such a way as to interact with these subspace waves in a fashion which would allow Discovery to “ride” them into and through the Network. That’s how I’d have written it, at least.

I’d also like to reiterate, yet again, how well Discovery has integrated respect for Tilly, a mere Cadet, into the Federation ethos. They’ve handled this way better than TNG did with Wesley.

Lorca: “I truly admire you all. You proved such Excellent Clay for my genius leadership” Like I said “Instrumental” >:T Such good, consistent characterization!

Also: Lorca: *Melodramatic Villain Speech* Saru: “Whatever, Napoleon, show me my crewman!” SUCH A GOOD CAPTAIN.

Also Also: Federation pragmatic optimism vs the gothic egotism of Terra

Saru yelling “FIRE!” was SOOOOOO Satisfying owo

Shit Fuck-Uping Commences

Trek-talk will inevitably focus on things other than combat because, philosophically, that’s not really what the show’s about or what draws most fans to it(see above), but Discovery really does have, hands down, the Best fight choreography I’ve ever seen in a Trek series, and most of the movies too. It probably helps that they have Actresses and Actors, like Michelle Yeoh and Jason Issacs, with substantive experience in stage-fighting, but everyone’s performance in these melees is just so excellent, and the flow of them is so fluid and sure, that it HAS to be their fight crew. Also: have I ever seen a mace and its use portrayed with reasonable accuracy in a screen fight before? No; but here’s Burnham, just absolutely TRASHING people with that scepter like a Goddamn Boss :> :> :>

Though there’s an obvs level of unreality to this: you clock someone anywhere around the head, neck, or shoulders with a steel mace and they ain’t keeping fighting you. They’re going Down; they’re DONE

Georgiou’s fighting here is just so brutal and clean. The way she just turns around and slashes that guy’s throat. Her meaty-stabs to that other guy’s gut. Her throw into Lorca’s shoulder. Her KICKING HER OWN KNIFE OUT OF THE AIR WHEN LORCA THROWS IT BACK!!! Magnificent u_u Beautiful u_u u_u Majestic u_u u_u u_u

Lorca Egotism Watch: Unceremoniously Cuts down Landry for having the gall to fight Burnham. Yup |:T |:T She just can’t catch a break, but that’s what you get for loyalty to a person who only sees other people as means to an end.

One particular thing I like about the choreography is how they allow Yeoh to use her smaller size and stabler center of gravity to her advantage. Having her roll, dodge, duck under Lorca’s slashes, use throws and grab, attack Lorca’s feet; such excellent choices, especially given industry standard which is to ignore physical differences and have everyone fight like they’re a 6ft+ muscular man.

The mutual face-punch was a nice injection of comedy into this fight sequence(always a good idea, I think, to give the audience a bit of release from tension). Looks like Lorca gets in one of the trophic Star Trek double-fist hammer strikes in at the end. An utterly useless attack irl, but it’s Star Trek and the Forms must be Honored u_u

Lorca: “Don’t make me have to kill you!” Burnham: “You Won’t.” Bad. ASS. Badass. It is a natural byproduct of Vulcan Logic that their dialogue be the Tightest Shit at all times u_u u_u

Burnham’s fight with Lorca is Astounding, but I don’t know enough about fight choreography to really talk about it. Wow it’s cool to watch, though.

“We would have helped you get home, if you had asked” THE FEDERATION!!!!!!!! And more than that; hell, without the war, they’d have probably helped you kick the crap out of the Terran Empire.

Georgiou running Lorca through was Extreme Satisfying owo owo

Looks like my theory of TylerVoq undermining Lorca’s plans is nixed. I’m not upset though, as there’s something satisfying in allowing plots to be separate, rather than tying them all together in one big resolution.

Burnham running out of cover to telesnatch Mirror!Georgiou out of the fight as she energizes THE FEDERATION! THE FEDERATI- Ok, you know my reaction to this stuf. THE IDEALS! THE IDEALS!! This raw concentration of Ideals and Sentiment will Physically Killing me isttg u_u u_u u_u

They tied the science part of the escape to the action of the shipboard fight so seamlessly, and continue the tension of those scenes into the escape so excellently! 

Another Little Thing that’s actually a Big Thing which I’m only now just noticing, probably because Oladejo(Ensign Owosekun) gets so much more screentime in this ep, is how good a job Discovery does at lighting and filming non-white skin and particularly dark skin, even when not a main character. I’m thinking of it particular in comparison to Agents of SHIELD which is absolutely atrocious on this point. At no point, even when they are in a dark area, or in red light, do Martin or Oladejo or any of the Black cast look washed out or obscured, as Henry Simmons almost always does as Mac even in some well-lit scenes. Just really excellent.

I REALLY HOPE that “Thanks Hugh” and aria isn’t the last of Culber. I continue to wish they’ll rez him, somehow. That was an objectively Romantic scene, though u_u

The ending revelation that they’re 9 months in the future and the Klingons have won the war is certainly surprising, but none of that’s official Fed history, so I’m pretty confident we’ll be seeing some time travel in the final eps. I’m a bit trepidation as to what Mirror!Discovery’s been up to since they’ve been gone <:[

[1]My Fast&Furious rendition of said speech: “Look I’m a coward from a species of cowards and I’m gonna tell you right now: I Ain’t Afraid. I might not know shit about shit, but I know this: you guys are Ride or Die. You’re the Best Motherfucking Crew of Motherfuckers a Motherfucker could ever Fuck Beside, and that’s For Real. That’s from the Heart. Lorca’s a POS, and he used the Power of our Shining Youthful Hearts to do some messed up bs, but we’re Family Y’all and this Ship: she’s OUR big metal space mama -Not his!- and today we’re gonna fly her like we just popped straight out her glowy anti-matter womb with a brace of .45s, a pack of Seagrams, and a surly temper. We got Shit to get Done, and we just ain’t goin down to his Triflin’-Ass Nonsense! So let’s fuck shit up! You have your Orders u_u”

[expfcultragreen]

So like, is that how harrison ford looks now or were they trying to make him look even more like the guy who's sposed to be his kid?

I thought the whole palpatine thing was hilarious htg like its true, you never see him die in jedi, and these are campy movies, there are formulas, silliness to adhere to. Like at their start, best, and truest, these movies are camp as fuck. Of course the guy you didnt see die comes back. Yes! More lightning! Oh god, its beautiful. And hey, plot convenience: he's dummy powerful, reys dummy powerful, star wars already set up a side-eyeable "wizards is genetic like, a heritable virus? its like, gut bacteria that poop magic" thing so, its kind of, tight writing to make them related even tho its like who fucked palpatine and when, lets see that fuckin spinoff. Anyway i liked the whole adoption/sometimes forget yr bloodline angle. I like the h.r. giger papoose palpatine is in. It reminds me of the end of beast machines? Megatron had that little sackrace/sleepingbag thing happening?

I think its so funny that he wants to being-john-malkovich her.

Anyway i thought snoke was annoying and im glad he was just hanging out in a "look its clones" exhibit instead of...being the baddie again. He looked like he fell thru the ceiling ah-ha take on me-style from a farscape episode happening on another sound stage, i hated it, it was too derivative a design to watch. Give me that oldschool flair, i mean shit, the guy's still alive, might as well cast him right? He's a really great villain, why find someone else? Who else would be better than the actual guy who actually sealed the deal the first two times around (he's one of the only things i fully stand behind abt episodes 1-3). Its hilarious that all 9 movies are actually just about getting rid of one shitty old wizard. Maybe rey shouldve clicked her heels 3 times or whatever.

I liked how the tech all looks totally oldschool like, real propshop hours stuff; the sith gizmos with the coordinates? Neato! That whole story arc was so hitchhikers guide!

I thought the spy arc was funny, I like when the dude gets shot for being a spy lickety-split like that and I also thought that it was like kind of a cogent commentary on the inevitable drawbacks of hierarchical structure, the main one from a totally amoral, selfish standpoint being that like people are always trying to bump each other off to take the good spot, to advance themselves within the hierarchy, and that's like, all that's about, narratively. Good message, very true. I like that its like, yeah if it wasnt for petty infighting for personal gain these space nazis wouldve probably been a lot harder to deal with.

So yeah, whatever, everything Jenny Nicholson didnt like, i liked. And these other complaints people have, its like i saw a different movie. What is their issue with the ben solo redemption arc? It was actually like, satisfying. Wasnt expecting that. When he fights his little squad and they do the placeshifty with the lightsaber? Slick, cute, wheeeeee! I like how fanficy the dyad shit is, spread it on. (I say this having never read an star wars fic unless you count official books...so, i think played out fandom tropes are fun to see as opposed to really aggravating and disappointing.)

Also, there are ewoks. Also, the old death star 2 ruins are cool, thats a sweet place for reys cave vision thing, they cued it in well with like, some samples and leitmotifs from the dagobah scene. If i was just reading about it I'd think it was corny.

The low shots of stormtroopers croaking in laserfights and the abundance of stormtrooper remains among the Death Star debris are really interesting ....and kind of reminded me of that whole 'empire had the better ending all those guys were contractors' bit that Kevin Smith wrote. Too bad Randall wasn't a character in Star Wars. I feel like he couldve been a good Rebellion general or whatever, missed opportunity there. I guess these movies do take pains to lay out that everybody with a conscience just goes AWOL from being a stormtrooper.

This is carrie's last movie people, like, lets be more deferential here. True she like, has a weird writeoff, but anyway. The presence of the medal of Yavin doesn't annoy me because the Battle of Yavin was a really big deal for Leia, it's the time that the Rebellion proved that it was up to the task of defeating the empire, and it was at the cost of her like home planet, so it's also like, a symbol of the cost of that win for her personally, the price, in a sense; that medal is the emblem of a victory and the sacrifice of alderaan, and she's all set to make a sacrifice again and rejoin all those folks or whatever. so you can sorta see why it would be a big deal item. Mark hamham looks like, he's going to use every pore to secrete intensity in the scenes he's got, because by god, are those ever thin on the ground! Oh well, always OT.

Poe and finn and rey are all used to good effect insomuch as, i like them all, i liked their truncated established-bond rapidfire dialogue. The three of them are very gay, the whole thing about finn playing keepaway with the news abt his force sensitivity was like, weird flirt but ok.

Why is merry brandybuck there dressed like that one guy from lost?

I like the new droid, i like the inane overuse of 3P0 (that actually felt like being pandered to but i doubt other people want to be pandered to with gold tinman fussing around. I love 3P0.)

I love that we hear a jawa say utinni

Im probably on the same mixture as the people who edited this film but yknow, more moderate. And i assume most of the adults who go to see it will be buzzed too. Who goes to movies sober? No, seriously, i dont think Hollywood movies are meant to be watched without the 3d glasses of a few uh, "festive helpers". Thats why theyre like that: so kids and high people can approximately track the plot and enjoy what theyre seeing.

Im in the previews for the new star war, rdjs new doolittle movie looks kinda good

[caladblog]

*drags hands down face* ughhhhhh

so.

this whole time i been writing bits & pieces of my SCATHINGLY NITPICKY review of The Black Tapes, really digging the fuck into it, and then i just HAD to go and listen to the season two finale and it just HAAAD to be FUCKING AMAZING, DIDN’T IT. i am so offended. i am so offended!! when the fuck does season three start!!!

continue reading for my full review of The Black Tapes with only minor spoilers, but let me warn you that there is some unfair criticism here. well. i think the criticism itself is fair, but i feel like i make it a bit too harsh, perhaps? at the end of the day i’ve subscribed to the podcast and i count myself a fan, so, think of that what you will.

anyway here goes. it’s long as hell.

i was correct in the prediction that my first stumbling block would go away with time, as the podcast found its feet. if you can’t be assed to click that link, the thing i disliked the most at the beginning of the show was that the episodes were a little disjointed and didn’t end in any kind of satisfying way. it definitely got better on that front throughout season one, and season two was WAY better, with everything starting to weave together.

storywise, i’m definitely intrigued. i think i’ve mentioned before that one of my major #aesthetics is Christianity Sandbox--Good Omens, Something More Than Night, the first five seasons of Supernatural, Lucifox, and to a lesser extent Sleepy Hollow, We Know the Devil, Evil You Know, one of the strips from Subnormality i’m always passing around--i like stuff that gets all up in the bible and starts rearranging the furniture. blame my catholic-agnostic upbringing in the deep south. this shit’s in my bones and it just... resonates.

despite the hardcore christian plotlines, The Black Tapes doesn’t really pull at this thread for me, very much? i think because it’s played straight--god is good, the devil & his minions are the incarnations of pure evil. i vastly prefer when that’s subverted, like in Good Omens & We Know the Devil & Evil You Know where the demons are slightly good or at least chaotic neutral, like in Good Omens & Something More Than Night & Supernatural where the angels are kind of dicks or at least just as manipulative and flawed as anyone else. there are actually several moments in the series where the hardcore christian themes actively rub me the wrong way, mostly whenever christians are positioned as Those Stupid Backwards Superstitious Children while atheists are The Only Ones With The Power Of Reason(TM) but i could write a fucking dissertation on how much this kind of attitude pisses me off, so i’ll leave it there. there were far fewer of those moments in season two and overall strand was slightly less insufferable.

on the subject of dr. strand’s insufferableness, i will state up front that his voice is fucking hot as fuck. it’s a pity about the actual content of his speech. i have had it Up To Here with dudes who are perpetually convinced that they are right about every goddamn thing and therefore they don’t have to observe any basic social graces, and narratives that reward those dudes by making them face ZERO consequences for bad behavior. there was a fucking line in s2 that had alex saying something like ‘dr. strand may seem smug and arrogant, but from a different angle it’s a kind of courage’ and i’m just like no. it’s straight-up fucking arrogance. nothing courageous about it. just the smug douchebaggery of every iteration of That Guy who Knows He Is Right, and You Are Wrong, and the fact that you’re getting emotional is further proof of his Rightness because he is the only one with Cold Logic And Facts on his side.

fuck that guy.

i mean if alex were a nonfictional woman there is NO way she’d be seeking out strand’s opinion on anything, ever, after like the first or second episode. honestly if alex were a nonfictional woman there is no way she wouldn’t have decked him on at least two separate occasions. maybe three.

let’s keep this angry militant feminist train chugging along by pointing out that there isn’t a single recurring female character who doesn’t revolve around a man. alex is supposedly the main character, but when she’s not basking in strand’s insufferableness she’s off being insufferable with nic, whose whole demeanor just kind of vaguely pisses me off. coralee is Strand’s Wife. charlie is Strand’s Daughter. cheryl is Strand’s Sister. amalia, who’s supposed to be alex’s best friend or whatever, spends all her time fucking around with nic. i guess the sleep doctor sort of counts technically, but i can’t imagine her being important to the plot. i seriously only think that one episode out of twenty-four and some supplementals has passed the bechdel test. that’s not the end-all be-all but that is significant in a show with a female main character.

okay i think i’ve exhausted this topic for now. no promises tho

actually one of my major complaints about the show is the way they handle their ads. i am NEVER gonna begrudge a free, independent thing their ads or sponsorships or whatever--bitches gotta eat--but you can put ads on a thing in a competent fucking way, that’s all i ask. right now they’re just. in the random middle of the episode, with no audio cues or anything, read by the same lady who voices the main character, and EVERY SINGLE TIME it breaks my immersion in THE MOST FRUSTRATING WAY. like when you’re watching tv and you come up on a commercial break, there’s usually a frame or two of nothing, and then it switches to something that is totally different in tone & aesthetic to the rest of the show in order to signal This Here Is The Price Of Entertainment, which, y’know, i am willing to pay. if you don’t pay for something in money you pay for it in time and attention. that makes sense. but the way The Black Tapes does it is like, what if joan watson just suddenly turned to the camera and started unironically shilling Office Depot or whatever for five solid minutes, then dropped back into character like nothing happened. that’s obnoxious! ads in general are obnoxious but there are ways to make them less obnoxious and this is the opposite of those ways. jesus. it’s particularly obnoxious because the show is explicitly supposed to be taking place in The Real World(TM) and in The Real World(TM) people don’t usually go off with a repetitive script about stamps dot fucking com in the middle of vital conversations. augh.

back around to positivity. to be completely honest with you, right up until episode 11 of season two i was fully planning to finish up the show, cross it off the list, and let it drop off my radar. that’s how hard the season finale hit it out of the park. i fucking love that kind of twist and i cannot wait to see where they go with it from here. i hope they get their ad situation sorted out a little better in s3, i hope they expand their female characters, i hope they continue softening their Mocking All Believers stance. s2 began in mid-january sooo fingers crossed for some more content soon?