#like her arc in season 1 was so brilliant and explored her character

[raddagher]

Arcane is over (😭) and I have some criticisms so here are my lists of who Won and who Lost in no particular order

LOST SEASON 2

1. Isha

Literally wasn't even mentioned after she died, like wtf was that

We couldn't have a memorial or anything? Come on

Her sacrifice was ultimately meaningless because Warwick got brought back anyway

2. Sevika

Didn't get a single line through all of Act 3

Where is my wife

At least she didn't die?

3. The entire Undercity, to be honest

Where did the independence thread go

Giving Sevika a council seat wasn't enough

I don't like that so many of them had to fight in Enforcer uniforms, that felt wrong

That was the MAIN CONFLICT for most of the show. It felt so weird to gloss over it at the end

4. Vander/Warwick

Gonna be real I wasn't super crazy about most of his presence here, I don't feel like it actually contributed much to anyone's development, except MAYBE Viktor's

We would not have lost anything if they didn't have the flashback scene with their mom

Super didn't like Jinx's ending as it pertained to him

5. Jinx

Hey I super don't like that every character who had a moment of suicide ideation or attempt ended up dead or "dead"

I don't like the way she "died" it didn't feel earned

I don't feel like the ending she got aligned well with her character at all. She spiraled and then just. stayed at the bottom of the spiral :(

They put a TON of family stuff in act 1 and 2 that didn't get resolution in 3

I think they kinda did my girl dirty I'm sorry

6. Loris

Clearly would have had more of a role if they didn't have to cut him for time

NEITHER WON NOR LOST SEASON 2

1. Vi

I want to say she won because she got to bang her cop girlfriend in a prison cell and the sex scene was good as hell but

She also was just taking massive L's the whole time

Like it never felt like she ever had any real wins other than that and that bummed me out

Didn't get enough time to be a dumbfuck with Jayce :(

Caitlyn

Didn't get enough proper resolution for her wonderful fascist arc

She felt a little dropped in Act 3 as well

Glad she got that Vussy tho, good for her

And I did like the vs Ambessa fight, that was also good

I honestly feel like Viktor and Jayce's romance was written better than her and Vi's, and as a gay woman who is constantly watching mlm relationships get so much more attention, it rubs me the wrong way

WON SEASON 2

1. Viktor (OBVIOUSLY)

The fucked up robot army. The religious imagery. The body horror. His robot alien design is scary as fuck. Absolutely incredible work

Got to be taller and stronger than Jayce hooray

They're canon. That was the gayest shit I've ever seen in my life

I do wish they had spent more time overall fleshing out more of the disability commentary, I feel like it was a little lacking in the end

Nevertheless BEAUTIFUL and HORRIFYING and TRAGIC

2. Jayce

See above

Yeah he also got to be a big hero and got to be resolved really well

Did NOT see his death coming that was crazy

They Magnus 200'd his ass, damn

He chose Viktor over everything I'm emo

They made a heart when they touched their foreheads together fuck OFF

3. Heimerdinger

Literally just living his best life

Love that he didn't tell Ekko he can't die, he just let the poor boy think he got fuckin atomized, king shit, that's hilarious

I would have stayed in that universe too tbh

4. Ambessa

The single tear over Kino. Her love for her children at direct odds with her need for control. Her arc was explored so well

Died a warrior's death at the hands of her brilliant daughter, I know that's how she would have wanted to go

Also was very hot in every scene. Good for her (and good for me)

She just got a lot of love from the writers and I'm very happy to see that effort put into an older Black woman character

5. Mel

Speaking of gorgeous Black women

I was so worried she was going to get dropped but her ending was SO good

Her glow up with the gold is fantastic, she looks amazing in the white hood

Love that they gave her abilities that would inherently change her priorities AND gave her the throne of Noxus, I have high hopes that she'll be prominent in another show in the future

They made her such a powerful badass but still let her be merciful and forgiving. Absolutely amazing. She is the wolf

6. Ekko (?)

On the fence about him

LOVED the au scene. Perfect

And I loved that our boy savior got to be the one that set off the bomb that stopped Viktor

But he was kind of dropped otherwise? Like what happened with his tree?

Generally wish he had more development and screentime in this season

But I'm happy he was so pivotal to the climax

AND I'm happy he got to kiss Powder. He and Jinx would never have worked out

7. Maddie

Haha I never liked you. Get fucked you horrible little bootlicker. Typical cop

8. Singed

How come YOU get everything you want?

Fuck you.

Basically all my criticisms boil down to it feeling rushed overall. It's clear that they intended to have more time, and that breaks my heart. We all know Netflix's reputation for cancelling stuff out of the blue, and I've heard that maybe certain parties were unhappy with the depictions of gay romance and realistic social revolution. Whatever the reasons, I wish they had a third season, because I think they could have solved every problem I have with it. Regardless, it's an incredible work of art and very likely one of if not THE best animated series ever made.

[therealjammy]

After watching Act 1 for the third time this afternoon, and on a much larger screen than my laptop, I can say I've come to like the pacing. It was slower in season one because the audience had to be introduced to the characters and the worlds of Piltover and Zaun and the politics between the two; now we're fully immersed, and the stakes are so much higher, it only makes sense that the pacing is going to be amped up.

Now I'd also like to take a moment to talk about my girl Caitlyn and what her arc looks like so far. She has just lost her mother in an attack by a person from a city with whom Piltover was going to make peace. In the wake of grief, and the weight of the Kiramman name/legacy falling on her, it's so easy to drown in both, and far easier to be consumed by anger and revenge. Over the course of episodes 1 and 2, we see the latter two bubbling to the surface, and by episode 3, it has fully taken ahold of her and given her tunnel vision. Does this excuse her not thinking about recruiting Vi, or releasing the Grey on poor Zaunites, or physically accosting Vi in episode 3? Absolutely not. And I fully believe she's going to realise this at some point during Acts 2 or 3, at great cost. As for her stepping forward and accepting the role Ambessa Medarda literally cloaks her in, we must remember that people in power often prey on the vulnerable, promising that certain actions will heal hurts and restore things to "normal." Perhaps Caitlyn believes this, and believes, also, this is how she'll bring justice for her mother's murder and, by extension, the Kiramman name.

And remember, also, that there are still two acts to go before this story is wrapped up. We mustn't judge too hastily, either.

Finally, there is hypocrisy in stating "We want more nuanced characters" and immediately hating when one, or more, show up on screen and they aren't fitting into the Perfect Mould. Most especially queer characters. How are we going to achieve nuance if every character is "morally pure and good"? How can we achieve it when brilliant animators and writers and creators as a whole are bashed for exploring darker emotions, the darker aspects of the human experience? This is one of the many things season 2 of this incredible show is delving into. Take off the purity glasses. Allow these new perspectives to make you uncomfortable. Sit with it if you have to. It isn't a bad thing for a piece of media and its characters/themes to cause you to do some soul-searching. That's the beauty of art. That's the beauty of this show.

[thelostscholarofmcd]

yes, so-

indeed the bright port proposal was too soon, but for my idea, instead of laughing at her proposal, zane actually accepts aphmaus offer of marriage before the war starts. there were no more proposals in season 2 or 3, because the moment zane got back in s2 aaron got the both of them blown up (which is... hnnnggg so bad)

this of course would endanger brian and nicoles entire being kidnapped thing, but i think genes memory magicks could be an easy solution. and if we wanted to make it even more high stakes, then brian would have to kidnap nicole again and relocate her to somewhere else. all of that could lead to nicole revealing the truth to her father about being kidnapped by zanes lackyes, but with her previous lies and tricks, her father could not believe her, thus maintaining a slightly hostile connection with phoenix drop

actually the best thing in that case that could happen is:

brian kidnaps nicole and takes her to phoenix drop without her finding out his identity

nicole is then saved by brian, this time mask-less, where he tells her that zane sent him to save her

que lots of political problems

also your thought on zane being so ull of himself that he doesnt even see garroths betrayal coming is brilliant. add in lillian seeing it like you mentioned, and now there is a dispute among the jury of nine

I know nobody asked but fuck it I slept and shit and am still thinking about it so like. Here’s why I hate Garroth’s betrayal arc, and what I would do instead!

Mind control is STUPID

I know some of what I’m gonna say is gonna be able to be countered with the whole implied mind control stuff. And yeah sure if he’s being mind controlled anything can happen! But also? Mind control is a stupid plot device. If the only way you think you can get a character to do the thing you want them to do, is to inflict them to mind control/corruption for multiple days or even weeks, then maybe it’s time to reconsider the plot point.

It’s out of character

It just makes no sense for Garroth to betray not just Aphmau, but Phoenix Drop as a whole. It’s established very early on, and is pounded in after this betrayal, that one of his most core traits is loyalty. It’s his fatal flaw! It prevents him from really trying to kill Zenix back when he attacked Phoenix Drop.

But then he sees Aphmau kissing Laurance and that Laurance broke their bro code...and oh man....he’s just gonna betray his home for fucking O’KHASIS cause of that. Screw loyalty I guess!

It’s start of the end

By this I mean it’s the start of some characters being boiled down to their attraction to Aphmau.

Suddenly Garroth’s fatal flaw isn’t loyalty, it’s Aphmau. He’ll betray the home he stood by even when shit went down the drain and their lord was dead and roads were falling apart, cause his crush likes someone else. He’ll help O’Khasis and the brother who has murdered entire villages cause of that. Cause that’s all that fuels good ol’ Garroth, his massive crush on Aphmau! Not a sense of justice or guilt from his past or anything of that nature. Just Aphmau.

Had very little lasting impact

And I know that sounds weird cause like yeah it did it changed the course of the whole story but like. It did a few things, but none of them have to do with the act of betrayal. Basically if Zane and Lillian did it all on their own and then Garroth stayed because that is in character at least, the few things that had a lasting impact would still happen

The 15 year time skip

Garroth is not in the overworld

Making the Divine Warriors important to their goals

Giving Aphmau Irene powers

Killing off Aaron

And that is about it. Dynamics with Garroth didn’t change, no one seemed to see him differently, he wasn’t even the focus when he finally got saved which leads me to my next point!

Him getting saved wasn’t about him!

Garroth got saved, he’s finally home, you the viewer who has been watching this shit unfold live are so excited and can’t wait to see the reactions- but wait.

Sure, Garroth is finally safe. Sure, he’s finally home. But...but Aaron is dead. Aphmau notices Aaron is dead, and that is what this arc is about. Not Garroth coming to grips with the world he reenters, finally seeing how unkind fifteen years have been because of his actions. Not about friends finally seeing him afger fifteen years, not about the friends he saved who know he also betrayed them having a swirl of conflicted but overall relieved emotions. No, it’s not about any of that. What it is about is Aaron’s death and Aphmau’s grief of it.

It was Aaron that sacrificed himself to do it

Aaron didn’t know Garroth. I don’t think the two ever actually talked, and sure it’s clear Aaron didn’t do it for Garroth. He did it to kill Zane and also. For Aphmau. (Remember that point about some characters getting boiled down to their attraction to her and that taking over character motivations? I think that applies here.)

Its just such a missed opportunity honestly. If someone dies to save him, Garroth should feel some personal grief! The person should have personal attachments to Garroth! Make it Laurance! Make it Dante! Make it Vylad! Make it fucking Azura! Not someone who Garroth will go “Oh. Who is that again?”

So um. This got a teensy bit away from me and got a bit long, so I’m gonna place what I would do under the cut!

My personal favorite way to change this arc while keeping those first four major impacts, is for it to be Aphmau’a icarus moment. It goes a bit like this

Garroth has just been approached by Zane and Lillian, he is sat in his room and filled with some sort of panic. They have some sort of plan, a plan he knows will not lead to good things for Phoenix Drop or Aphmau. The kiss he saw is barley on his mind because this takes priority. He has to tell Aphmau, as soon as possible but he knows now is not safe. He knows they must be stalking outside, keeping an eye out to make sure he doesn’t warn anyone.

That’s when he sees it, a deep purple enchanted amulet secured to a similarly enchanted golden cord. He doesn’t hesitate in grabbing it, whispering a plea in hopes Aphmau still has hers. And she does. He’s able to tell her all about how Zane is here and scheming something and how he’s trying to use him to get it but that means they can stop him before anything has the chance to start, plan an ambush or something of the like.

Except Aphmau sees opportunity. She sees a way into Zane’s plans, into his resources, it’s a perfect opportunity. Not only to stop his plans, but to learn what they are. Maybe even use them for good! Garroth just has to go along with it.

Of course he’s hesitant, the last thing he ever wants to put Phoenix Drop in danger, but he trusts Aphmau and sees her point. He agrees, even if every bone in his body is telling him it’s too dangerous and not worth it.

This continues on. Garroth feeds her the little information he gets, and she tells him to keep playing it up even as he voices his concerns more and more. She’s confident it will work out, that they’re so close to being one step ahead of Zane. But Garroth can see things are only getting more risky, but he places his instincts to the side.

And it keeps spiraling. It reaches the point where Garroth needs the artifact Laurance is protecting, and that is where Garroth tries to draw the line but it’s too late. The only way they’re getting Zane into another vulnerable position is with that amulet in Garroth’s hand, and there’s no time. No time to fill Laurance in, no time for Aphmau to tell him to pass it off to Garroth, and they both know that. Aphmau’s orders him to keep going, to do what he needs to get that amulet and that Laurance will understand later, and despite the pit in his stomach he doesn’t defy the order. He knocks out his best friend.

And as Garroth thinks that must be rock bottom for this whole messy scheme, it only gets worse. He is stuck following Zane’s orders, attacking his friends, until Aphmau says enough is enough. Except he realizes as he is sworn into the Jury of Nine, filled with power that makes him sick, that she’s not going to. She will not relieve him of this messed up situation until she gets the information she wants that he knows Zane won’t give until he’s already done it. And so, he finally defies.

Of course, it’s too late. It’s a blur of confusion, there’s a portal, they’re in some towering marble cathedral, and only as Irene’s relic enters her, as Zane grows into a monsterous rage fueled magical form, does Aphmau realize she took this too far.

Laurance and Garroth are struggling to hold off Zane, there’s a crack that at least signals Katelyn has dealt with Lillian, and then a portal opens. For a brief second, everything is gonna be ok! A familiar voice with an unfamiliar look is urging them to hurry, abs thwy will.

The issue is, Zane tries to as well. That’s when Garroth taps into the magic he hates, because he sees Aphmau trying to return to the fight and he cannot let that happen. He doesn’t care if it’s her fault because it’s his too, he should’ve put his foot down long before it got so far and by Irene he will not fail to keep her safe because of it. He tells Laurance to get her out, and there is a moment where Aphmau thinks Laurance won’t listen and leave him here to die because that is what doing this will do, but he does. He forces Aphmau through the portal with him, and then it closes.

There are a few quiet seconds, where they catch their breath and do headcounts, but no matter how many times they do it they are one short. And Laurance, confused and hurt but above that he is angry, he looks to Aphmau and in a unsteady voice bubbling with emotion, he asks “What was that?!”

And all she can say is ��It wasn’t supposed to go that far.”

And now Aphmau’s determination to bring Garroth home isn’t only fueled by the fact it’s Garroth, but now by guilt. Guilt about how she pushed and pushed and pushed against his warnings, which previously had worked out in her favor before. It’s what got her to be a lord! But this time, this time it didn’t and the price was steeper than she could’ve ever imagined.

Of course my changes don’t stop there, because I also believe it should be Laurance who sacrifices himself to save Garroth, but expanding into that is moreso about my distaste for Aaron and less about the betrayal arc so I’ll save it for another day

How it pertains to the betrayal arc is giving Garroth grief and guilt, having him feel the weight of the sacrifice as much as Aphmau and doubt he was even worth it. Also since I believe Garroth loses his sword in the Irene Dimension abs I think Laurance still has his (and if he doesn’t he will in this AU), imagine Garroth using Laurance’s sword.

It also expands on Laurance’s motivations, about how the last thing he wants is to fall to his shadow knight side and as we see in season two, he gets dangerously close. Him making the choice is him deciding to die a hero instead of living long enough to become a villain, or more specifically someone who would hurt Aphmau or someone she might have to kill.

And I think that’s everything! I hope anyone reading this enjoyed!

[lizzardwitch]

rant incoming but thinking about how kendall and fran had so much potential to be explored in the seasons they were in (dino charge & jungle fury) only to be neglected by the writers and pushed into support roles legitimately makes me wanna crash out

the entirety of the energem finding operation in dino charge would not exist without kendall. she ran the museum, she gave half the team jobs, she created constant technology and upgrades in order to find more energems and aid the rangers in battle, and when she finally gains the chance to be a ranger, what does she get rewarded with? FURTHER shoving out of the spotlight and into a support role DESPITE being a ranger, and on top of that, NEVER gets an arc of her own!! wow!! no exploration of just how fucking tired she might be from having to deal with essentially the weight of the world (if not the UNIVERSE) on her shoulders on top of having to get a bunch of teenagers that work for her under control!! no exploration of how she even managed to form a bond with keeper and agree to find the energems in the first place!! how fucking amazing is that /s (even the villain that shows up halfway through the goddamn season gets more development than she does what the fuck, i love heckyl but come the FUCK on)

fran actually had SOME potential in the beginning of jf, because she was actually allowed to voice her frustrations (hell homegirl even quit at one point because of just how terribly the rangers were treating her, even if she got rehired in the same episode it's still something), and actually had an assertive, witty, spunky side to her that felt refreshing when paired with her otherwise sweet, shy, socially inept character. on top of this, she's allowed multiple badass moments despite not being a ranger (confronting a corrupted lily, staring down werewolf!rj, finding out who the rangers were on her own, etc.). and then.........it all comes crashing down from episode 19 onwards, and what does fran become?? the girl who likes dominic. yep!! love it when a super cool intelligent girl with so much potential to be explored OUTSIDE of supporting the men in her life (or exploring how being pushed into that role has an effect on her psyche) becomes reduced to nothing more than having a crush on a guy who's Wonder white bread personified!! fucking awesome!! fran doesn't get an episode or chunk of one exploring anything in depth about her but we get an entire episode about her tweaking over a guy or moments where she helps theo & lily get together, how fucking brilliant

and don't give me some bullshit about how kendall and fran aren't meant to have as much emphasis as the other characters because claire blackwelder and sarah thomson got credited as main characters from day fucking one. if they were able to get main character credits they should've been handled with just as much emphasis as the others in their respective casts, ESPECIALLY due to how integral they were to keeping their teams afloat. fran doesn't even get a goddamn last name despite having been there since ep 1 ffs i made a whole tag about that

I'm not even asking for much, I just want my girls to have an arc and development + episodes to themselves PLEASE

[7grandmel]

Rip of the week: 15/07/2024

D-VA DISCO

Season 4 Episode 1 No Album Release (Read More)

Ripped by Okiwont

It's not all too often that I get the opportunity to talk about truly hated SiIvaGunner jokes on here. After all, there's a reason those memes become hated to begin with, starring in rips that are arguably not very worth celebrating, going against the whole point of this blog. Still, we've had some moments here and there to discuss instances of fanbase outrage: A large chunk of Season 5 was defined by the reactions to Astronaut in the Ocean and Yankin', which was presented as a quite literal battle in Epic Rap Battles of History: Funny vs. Funnier and something I explored further in Snow halocean and Aquarium in the Ocean. There's of course more beyond these - Snow Halation's hate brigade in early Season 1, The Bean, Amuno, Chicken and Chips...but whenever I think of truly despised SiIvaGunner memes, none come to mind more prominently than the D.VA fart. Yes, it's time to finally go there, to find out just what led to D-VA DISCO being made.

If you weren't following SiIvaGunner in the days of Season 4 Episode 1, you may well be confused to what the fuck "D.VA Fart" is even referring to - hell, barring her prominence in more degenerate circles, you may well be confused as to why an Overwatch character of all things would have such a prominent role on the SiIvaGunner channel. Well, as fate would have it, it's in those degenerate circles that we'll need to begin to find the origins of this bizarre meme....hoo boy, okay. While Overwatch was still the hottest game on the planet, a video of a certain cosplayer throwing it back whilst dressed as D.VA began to circulate around the internet, sometime around 2016 or so. It was the sort of video that managed to completely leave its intended adults-only demographic and began being shared around with comedic intent, in large part because of the way it opens - the cosplayer's booming "Nerf THIS!" followed by a resounding clap of the cheeks. One thing led to another, and eventually one user had the brilliant idea of inserting a giant farting sound partway through the video, only elevating its spread in online circles for trolling. It was all a truly bizarre week or three on the internet - a phase that, somehow, Season 1 of SiIvaGunner managed to completely circumvent.

Yet as I've mentioned on posts like Sex - Steve Harvey, a stated goal for Season 4 Episode 1's run was to bring the channel back to that unpredictable, chaotic, borderline incoherent vibe that Season 1 often had, due to the near complete lack of quality control and lack of expectations placed upon the team. And while the season would later become far more prominently defined by the King for Another Day tournament and its buildup with rips like September, we still had a fair share of moments that truly felt like 2016 never left - none better to exemplify this than the bizarre, out of nowhere use of the aforementioned twerking video and its audio. As mentioned prior, SiIvaGunner has a storied history of being in conflict with its audience, one that was turned into a whole story arc with SiIvaGunner: Rebooted specifically about the importance of spreading love instead of hate - yet on the VERY FIRST D.VA fart rip, the dislikes were already reaching astronomical heights, a near 50/50 like-to-dislike ratio. This, obviously, just signaled to the team that their attempt to strike a nerve had worked - and so, the "NERF THIS!" reverberated around the channel for weeks therafter, a ghost haunting the channel with users ready in the comments to warn fellow fans to be wary of the incoming farts.

And, like, there's not really a grander narrative to this in the same way that Astronaut in the Ocean or The Bean had - the team just kept using the D.VA fart video, its audio, D.VA voice clips from Overwatch and various other stock fart sounds in increasingly more bizzare ways throughout August of 2019 just to fuck with us. Their stated goal to deliver something truly unpredictable for the season had been met - yet, perhaps the MOST unpredictable thing that could've happened therafter, was making a D.VA rip into an actual banger. Sure enough, after more than a dozen rips of the gamer girl shitting herself, we were treated to an absolute brain-melting curveball in D-VA DISCO - at once a tribute to the meme's rise in attention over the past month, and to one of the most celebrated and well-renowned YTPMVs of the past decade.

SEN-TRY DISCO by wazgul is one of several thousand pieces of absolutely beloved Team Fortress 2 fan content released during the game's heyday, all the way back in 2013. I'm not a Team Fortress 2 fan myself, granted, but its fanbase's reach across online culture is absolutely undeniable - and I suppose, to one ripper's mind in 2019, this reach was comparable to that of the D.VA Fart's reign in 2016, a parallel made clear through how Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 were so often pitted against one another as team-based multiplayer shooters. And so, with SiIvaGunner's new villain being used, we received D-VA DISCO: Using voice and SFX clips of D.VA from Overwatch itself to recreate SEN-TRY DISCO beat for beat.

It's of course lovely just in concept as a tribute to an olden time of shitposting, sort of sentimental in the same way that I described Maskettaman - Dr. Pavel's Fly​-​So​-​Good as being, but the real strength of the rip comes from just how much YTPMVs have grown in the six years between SEN-TRY DISCO and the rip in question. For being in part made with the intent of poking fun of SiIvaGunner's own audience, the attention to detail throughout D-VA DISCO is fantastic - the soft clicking sounds of D.VA's mech added to the percussion in particular really tie together the various voicelines to the hi-tempo instrumental in the background. Those voiceclips meanwhile, like the initial G-GO-GO-GO's that introduce the melody, feel layered together in such a satisfying way, with a seamless-ness that just didn't appear to be feasible to achieve back when SEN-TRY DISCO was made. The clips just continue to shine from there in implementation, and it all culminates in a rip that's an outright earworm. That, of course, is the case with most YO-KAI DISCO rips, YO-Kai Direction from just last month included - yet no matter what form a rip of the track takes, I'm always subconsciously singing "Go-Go-Go-Go-Go Right-Up-Down!!!" to myself, the gamer girl officially having infiltrated my cranium to a terminal degree.

The rip, of course, all still culminates into the D.VA we all know and hate on the channel - a solid twenty seconds of rendering the song's ending with the Nerf This-fart pitch-shifted to the melody. And so, D.VA Fart runs three for three in unpredictability - appearing out of nowhere to make some of the most hated rips on the entire SiIvaGunner channel, suddenly appearing in a rip as genuinely excellent as D-VA DISCO, only for said rip to rebound back into the intentionally-awful territory in which the meme began at the very last second. It's brilliant, like an insane combination of factors that we'll likely never see done again to the same degree for a SiIvaGunner meme - and it has cemented the rip as an all-time hidden-gem favorite for me in retrospect.

Missus Nerf-This sort of faded away after her reign in Season 4 Episode 1, yet she still makes surprise appearances from time to time - she was a key player in one of Season 5's audio dramas, and sometimes (like, funnily enough, on Big Sus Chocobo) the clip is just deployed at the end of rips as a very funny jumpscare. Never quite leaving as much of a legendary legacy as The Bean, nor attaining as much of a gradual following as The Nutshack or Astronaut in the Ocean...D.VA on SiIvaGunner, the little shithead that she is, seems content in staying as that one meme that everyone just loves to hate. I can't really recall just how, when or why we all became so content in just enjoying rips of a cosplayer ripping a fat one, but it's oddly sweet to see even jokes as loathed as this have some sort of relevancy, being used from time to time even today: Be that in surprising displays of raw quality, or as regular reminders to never try to predict the SiIvaGunner team's next move.

[yamineftis]

I’m sorry op but as much as I wish I could agree with you, that just ain’t it.

Din had promised to help Bo Katan reclaim Mandalore if she helped him save Grogu. They wouldn’t have gone their separate ways, because he made a promise and we know Din NEVER breaks his promises.

Would that have been cool? well yeah cuz it could have explored Bo Katan failing yet again despite having the saber, and maybe allowing Mandalorians to realize that sword shouldn’t be the thing holding them all together.

But instead the writers did a brilliant thing (at the time) in my opinion. First they made Bo Katan KEEP the dark saber information from Din. She didn’t tell him the importance of the blade. At the time I thought that was such an intriguing move cuz it showed me Bo Katan, while way more mature than her cw/rebels self, still had a bit of a power grab want, and didn’t want to SHARE the burden of leading Mandalore. So then, what happens? Din gets the fucking sword from Gideon lol because OF COURSE he would, he has no idea what it is and his only goal is to save Grogu. And the writing even implies it was Gideon’s plan all along! which again...brilliant!!!... At the time.

So now Bo and Din couldn't really be allies, he had the thing she wanted!. omg New development!!!.

Why would they do that if it didn’t mean any conflict between factions? Why did they write that if it wasn’t meant to progress Din and Bo Katan’s characters to realize more things about themselves? to ask of Din WHY the blade is heavy, to ask Bo WHY she had to put up with Mandalorians who care more about a sword than a planet?. Heck even include the armorer, who in BoBF seems to have some beef with Bo because she’s basically the reason the planet was obliterated. And no, sorry despite what others may say or what the season has tried to do, she is still guilty despite her good intentions, much like how Satine was guilty of not having the foresight to see Death Watch coming (and my point with this is that character should face consequences for their actions! not that they can’t be redeemed!).

The delicious conflict was there! But what did we get this season? a series of the most RANDOM events to give Bo Katan the saber back. They couldn’t even think of a way to disarm Din to lose the saber, he had to be fucking trapped by a random grievous spider kajshdskajsdska, the way they couldn’t make a coherent story through Din is beyond me.

Like, I was on the camp of making him Mand’alor because imo the best leaders are the ones who don’t seek power (and we’ve seen countless times through the series how he CAN make enemy factions work together for a mutual goal) but I was absolutely ok if Din didn’t keep the sword, so long there was some kind of arc for him to surrender his claim in some way. But no, nada, we got literally nothing for him, NOTHING. He redeemed himself in episode two and had to TRIP into the waters for Bo Katan to see the Mythosaur, and that only happened to make the armorer think she’s a chosen one kajshdkajhdka when she called her a cautionary tale before??? I’m sorry but there’s just CERO interest in conflict in this season and it’s so sad because conflict is good! conflict makes character feel like humans and thus it’s way more satisfying when they put their differences aside to fight a common enemy! Especially one as awesome as Moff Gideon, who basically wants to appropiate their culture for his own gains.

What did we learn about Din in this season? what meaningful progression with Grogu did he have? so far, only him making Grogu fight Ragnar, and it wasn’t even to progress his story, but to make us care about Ragnar being kidnapped so Bo Katan could show her “leadership” skills (seriously, the mandalorians were so incompetent in that episode, Din could have easily being the one to take the N-1 and have Bo’s role, cuz she was still kind of an outsider by then? but no, the “we have no ships” only applies to serve Bo and make her look good). All while the armorer made new armor for Grogu!...Armor that Din didn’t even get to react to!.

So, sorry but a lot of us are upset because Din is a great character and he simply has no arc in his own series. The marketing promised us something VERY different to what we got.

I haven’t finished. People keep saying that Din winning the Darksaber was a waste of time and bad writing because it served no purpose or character development and if he was just going to give it up to Bo Katan anyway they should’ve just had her win it in the first place.

They’re missing the point. The reason he won it was to expand our understanding of his character and some of you completely missed it. Instead of seeing the purpose of it, which showed us that Din doesn’t seek power or to rule, you interpreted the complete opposite and thought that was his destiny.

And if Bo Katan won the Darksaber immediately instead, she and Din would’ve immediately went their separate ways and the Mandalorians might never have come together but through Din winning it, it brought Din and Bo Katan together, two Mandalorian’s with polar opposite views on the ways of the Mandalorians and them coming together and Din handing her the Darksaber represents all Mandalorians uniting.

And the character development is them both accepting and respecting each others ways and the intention is showing their motives and what they desire.

[moonflowerdamie]

i’ve just finished vol 1 of stranger things and i’m gonna rant about my thoughts so:

⚠️SPOILERS FOR STRANGER THINGS⚠️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

holy shit it was incredible! the vibe, the plot, the characters, all *chefs kiss* perfection. it was all amazing tbh, but i’m just gonna talk about my personal favourite things from the season.

• ep 4–‘dear billy’:

holy mother of god this episode. this fucking episode. possibly the best stranger things episode ever, if i’m honest. max’s storyline this season was brilliant, dealing with the loss of her abuser/brother, high school, a fading friend group—it was a dark twist for the character, but one that felt gritty in such a natural way. billy didn’t get a redemption arc (thank god) but max still dealt with the loss in a very real, very raw way that felt so genuine—big pat on the back for the duffer brothers there.

this episode, though. we got to see max’s true feelings; her isolation, her grief, her suicidal thoughts and feelings. it was a real exploration of her character that made me love her all the more.

and i can’t not talk about that end scene. holy. fucking. shit. the cinematography, the song choice, the way it swelled as max rose from the ground, the tension, the suspense, the goddamn flashbacks. all of it was just fucking breathtaking. i was crying and shaking the whole time. max’s determination to get back to her family, the way she collapses in lucas’s arms. absolutely the best scene in stranger things history, and one of my favourite scenes of all time in anything ever. chills. every time. and sadie sink deserves all the awards for her performance, i’ll stand by that. icon behaviour.

• the vecna/001 storyline:

this had me gripped from the start. honestly, i was so intrigued the whole time—and it was played out incredibly well.

from the first scene making us think eleven killed those kids, to the big reveal that 001 had been behind it all along, to eleven blasting him into the upside down and creating vecna. phew. was on the edge of my seat from the start.

it also makes sense in a way that’s not too perfect, but just perfect enough. it’s a reason for all previous seasons, a perfect storm. it felt like the stuff of epics, the final enemy, the final battle. mwah, i loved it.

• eddie, steve and dustin:

i loved them this season. best boys 4 life.

we got the steve and dustin best bros dynamic back, plus seeing how much they mean to each other through eddie coming between them. perfection. i love those little doofuses.

and eddie himself was great. brilliant character, comedic and interesting. good job joe quinn.

•lumax:

i’d never really hated or loved this ship before season 4. i mean, it was kinda cute, but i never got all the hype surrounding it. now, i think i do.

their angst this season was just 😤. the way you can so clearly see that they still care for each other, the way they still need each other. lucas being max’s safe haven. max being the one lucas is vulnerable around. amazing, spectacular. it’s clear they love each other, they just need to figure some stuff out first. my second fav ship of the season.

and here we go, my favourite thing from stranger things season 4 vol 1:

• RONANCE!!!!

oh. my. god. these two stole the show for me.

their dynamic was just immaculate the whole way through—from bickering strangers to grudging allies to genuine friendship. it was exactly what i imagined for them and natalia and maya played it so well. their scenes were honestly my favourite. and whilst i love them as friends, i’m a feral ronance shipper—and lemme tell you, i was FED.

firstly, robin tells steve in the video store that she rambles around the girls she likes. cut to robin talking non-stop around nancy in the library. ROBIN I KNOW UR SECRET BABE.

then, we see tammy thompson (finally), who could be a carbon copy of nancy wheeler, from the style down to the heart eyes for steve. SHIT robin, do you have a type—popular pretty girl who falls for the preppy pretty boy? just admit you like nancy already oh my god.

robin’s obsession with having nancy like her?? the fucking lesbianism of it! like, wanting this other girl so desperately to think you’re cool that you end up being so annoying she has to shut you up with mystery and monsters? the gay agenda. needing to be her friend but you don’t know why until—oh shit, that’s why.

the way they just complete each other!!! they bounce off each other so easily, coming up with all the plans and the genius ideas and basically saving the whole group together. the way they play off each other in the asylum, convincing the guy to let them see victor (and holy shit the way nancy looks at robin during her speech). they save max’s life together, and are the only reason the group can save themselves from vecna and i just think that’s neat.

finally, to address the stancy plot line. it’s clear the duffers are trying to make it seem like steve and nancy will get back together, and who knows, maybe they will. but i think (i hope) the duffers are smarter than that.

nancy and steve are the characters who have had the most development over the course of the show. they’ve both grown into themselves, become different and better people. and to have them get back together would completely defeat their respective arcs. i can see them being good friends, but i don’t think they’d realistically work as a couple again.

for one reason, it was made clear in nancy’s vecna vision that her biggest fear, the thing that haunts her most, is that she killed barb, that barb died because she slept with steve. that shit still fucks with 3 years later. and i think she’ll always associate that guilt with him, no matter what. i don’t think she’ll move past that enough to have a healthy relationship with him.

for another, steve clearly doesn’t know what he wants—and i think he needs to figure that out on his own. he’s desperate for love, that’s obvious, and he’s latched onto nancy because she’s his ex who’s showing interest. i think he needs to come into himself a little more before he thinks of trying a relationship.

finally, it’d be pretty cruel of the duffer brothers to have nancy do what she did to steve with jonathan to jonathan with steve. it’d be unoriginal and disappointing, and it wouldn’t really make sense. at least have nancy and jonathan break up officially first, you know?

so no, i don’t think steve and nancy will get back together. and i also think jonathan and nancy will break up when she realises they don’t need each other anymore. they were trauma-bonded, that’s true, but she’s doing well on her own, and they want to take separate paths in life. so that leaves nancy a single pringle.

and who’s right there with her? robin motherfucking buckley.

robin, who annoyed the shit out of her at first, who is frustratingly clever and infuriatingly funny. robin, who saved max’s life, who tried to help nancy, unselfishly, with her love life when they barely even knew each other. robin, who’s become the closest thing she has to a friend since barb.

robin, who i think is gonna save her life.

last time we saw nancy, she was under vecna’s curse. and we all know the only way to break the trance is to play that person’s favourite song. and sure, steve might know it and that’ll be that, but what if he doesn’t? what if he can’t save her?

robin will step in. we saw her routing through nancy’s draws in her room, and we saw her holding some of nancy’s tapes. i don’t think that was a coincidence. i think robin knows nancy’s favourite song and is going to save her life with it.

and boom. just like that, robin stops being the annoying new friend. robin becomes the life-saver, the ally, the rock in the middle of the hurricane. and nancy starts to fall for her.

but what do i know, eh?

anyways, those are my thoughts on season 4 volume 1!!!! i’d love to hear yours—just send me an ask, some of your ideas about what’s gonna happen in vol 2, what your thoughts about the first volume are—love you guys :)

[eugeniedanglars]

Okay, I’ve vagued about this aplenty, but I’m just going to say it: if/when Will’s feelings for Mike aren’t requited in volume 2, I don’t want to see people complaining about how ~Mike didn’t reciprocate so what was even the point~. I know it’s gonna happen, but I don’t want to see it. To paraphrase a mutual of mine who will remain nameless so she doesn’t have to deal with any potential fallout from this post, Mike may be the catalyst for Will figuring out his sexuality and coming out, but that doesn’t mean Will’s storyline is about Mike.

I joke about wanting Will to come out because I predicted it back in August 2016 and have dealt with years of redditors and tvtropers insisting he’s straight and I want to be vindicated and “win at Stranger Things,” but ultimately the actual reason I’ve been so invested in Will being gay is because one of the central ideas of the show ever since season 1 is exploring what it means to be different and how it feels to not fit in. Not to be all “maybe the real stranger things were inside us all along,” but this isn’t just a show about strange things happening, it’s a show about being a strange thing, about feeling like an outsider and a freak and a monster for reasons you can’t control and being told by society that The Way You Are Is Wrong. Do I really have to explain how a character arc about coming to terms with being queer fits into that theme? Especially when this show is set in a small midwestern town in the 1980s? It would frankly be bad storytelling to create a show about being an outcast, set it in the 1980s, absolutely relish in the homophobia of the era, and then have all the characters be heterosexual. Of course one of the main characters had to be queer, and from the beginning, it’s been clear that Will is meant to be that character.

Yes, some of the weight of this storyline has been shunted onto Robin, but even putting aside meta issues like Robin only being introduced in season 3 and not being conceived and written as a gay character the way Will has been, Robin has fully come to terms with her sexuality by the time we meet her and is generally a more confident and self-possessed person than Will—we don't see her struggling with the pressure to be "normal" the way Will does. Robin alludes to feeling that way in the past, talking about how weirdos like her secretly want to be popular and accepted and normal like anyone else, but most of the time, she seems to be okay with who she is and recognizes that the problem is with the society that makes her stay closeted. Will is the one who worries that he’s a freak, who hates being treated like he’s different, and who is still in the process of learning to stand up for who he is rather than who society tells him he should be. Honestly, in retrospect, I think it's brilliant how they've developed Will's relationship to his sexual orientation entirely in the subtext:

In season 1, we don't see much of Will, but we're repeatedly reminded that other people love calling Will homophobic slurs, we see how hard Joyce and Jonathan have to fight to get anyone to care about Will, and in the little screentime he gets, we see that Will is a good, sweet kid who is uncertain of himself, whether it's looking to his friends for advice on dnd actions or having to be told by Jonathan that he shouldn't force himself to like things just because other people tell him it's normal.

Season 2 is when we know for sure that they started writing Will as having a crush on Mike (thank you 2x09 The Gate script!), so we get Mike and Will's relationship directly paralleling Mike's relationship with El in season 1, but in the end, Mike ends up dancing with El at the Snow Ball while Will is left staring longingly at Mike as he dances with some random girl. But also, Will tried to turn that random girl down until Mike told him to say yes! He knows he doesn't want to dance with her and he's no longer asking his friends what he should do in uncertain situations, even if he lacks the confidence to fully advocate for himself when someone tells him to do something he doesn’t want to do! Will may or may not actually realize that he's gay in season 2, but he's definitely aware that something's different about him beyond just being "zombie boy." (Special shoutout to Will calling himself a “freak” with such conviction that you just know he wasn't only talking about the Upside Down stuff!) The subtext in season 2 isn’t exactly heavier than in season 1, but it much more extensively involves Will himself and not just the things people say about him.

Season 3, as much as I gripe about Will's storyline getting cut off too early, does a phenomenal job of showing via subtext that Will knows he's gay but is fighting tooth and nail to avoid dealing with it, hence him being terrified to grow up and begging to play dnd and saying he's never gonna fall in love and having a total meltdown when Mike says the quiet part out loud, that Will doesn't like girls. And yet the season also shows that despite Will's protests, he already is in love, and it's with Mike—the charged moment at the movie theater in episode 1 when Mike asks if he's okay! Looking upset/hiding his face/avoiding eye contact when Mike has his "I love her and I can't lose her again" outburst! Calling romance gross but really it's just Mike and El he seems to find gross, since he's fine with Lucas/Max and Dustin/Suzie and Jonathan/Nancy (outside of that one scene in episode 1, but to be fair realizing that your sibling was definitely having sex with their significant other in your house last night is objectively pretty gross especially when you're 14)! Season 3 is also when the gay Will subtext went from a there-if-you-know-where-to-look thing mostly discussed in fannish spaces to being obvious enough that it became part of the mainstream cultural conversation about the show.

And now we're in season 4 and Will has clearly accepted the reality that he's gay and has feelings for Mike, but he doesn't know how to proceed from there and he’s afraid of his relationships with the people he loves being permanently altered if he tells them the truth and the subtext is teetering on the edge of text and when Will finally comes out it'll be like the narrative itself has come out because both in- and out of universe this thing is finally out in the open after years of being an undercurrent that has gradually gotten stronger and harder to ignore. The growth from light gay subtext to heavy gay subtext to gay text mirrors Will's growth from being unaware of his sexuality to aware-but-in-denial to coming out.

Will coming out isn't about a ship, it's about him accepting that it's okay that he's "different,” finally being ready to grow up, and learning that even the parts of ourselves we have been told are monstrous can be loved. It's a significant part of the show's central thesis that has been slowly and beautifully built towards over the course of years in the subtext, and there are gonna be people who miss all of that because they're too busy being outraged that Mike didn't kiss him.

[popculturebuffet]

Danny Phantom Reviews Valentine’s Day Special: Flirting with Disaster

Happy almost valentine’s day all you happy people! And Black history month too, it’s a packed month so to honor both at once for this Month’s Danny Phantom review we’re taking a look at Valarie’s penultimate episode and her last one written by someone who actually cared if she existed, it’s Flirting with Disaster!

So yeah it’s time for the ValDanny episode you’ve all been dreading/waiting for. So let’s talk about this pairing shall we. I really like it. As i’ve mentioned in other reviews the two have good chemstiry, an intresting dynamic given how they clash in their other lives and there was a lot of potetial for this. And we get all of one episode REALLY digging into the possiblities.

Yeah while Reign Storm began showing where Marmel left plot points open to explore later Butch didn’t remotely bother with, this may be one of the most gutting examples: Val is a compelling character, a teen struggling to get by after loosing everything but also clinging to wanting vengance on the person who seemingly took it from her despite him making EVERY attempt to make ammends.. and ending up dating the guy in his civilian identity. Her episodes have mostly been a high water mark so far, and as my good friend @jess-the-vampire​ who I rewatch these with also took note of how brilliant it was that they took a seemingly one dimensonal background character and gave her an entire arc. Val deserved better and while she didn’t get screwed over AS bad as some characters I love... she didn’t get cheated on thank god, she still didn’t get the ending she desreved.

But we still have one last ride. Before we get to it under the cut though a quick announcement: As you might know my last DP review, Kindred Spirits was voted on by you , the fans. Well for March’s review i’m doing it again! It’s time for another Danny Phantom Poll! Me and My three patreons each hand selected an episode, and you get to decide which one I cover next! And this time it’s exclusively season 1 episodes from the “Magnificent 9″ more like 8 giving splitting images in there but hey. Point is YOU DECIDE. And if you join my patreon for a buck a month or higher  you can choose an option in the next polls. Next month’s will be a sonic the comic story from jolly old england and may’s (voted on and selected in april) will be teen superhero month, where my patreons will choose a teen superhero or action show to go up against others. So if you want to make sure Danny throws his hat in the ring or want to go fast 

SIGN UP HERE TODAY. 

And if you want to vote in the poll

VOTE IN THE POLL HERE NOW, VOTING CLOSES NEXT SUNDAY A.D.. 

And now under the cut and onto the review!

We open at Amity Park Mall and it’s time for Sam to hang with one of her friends in the place where she belongs.... and Tucker is borring her with tech talk the same way I baffle my friends by talking about the time Matt Murdock pretended to be his own twin brother Mike... who at the time didn’t exist. And yes he exists now. It’s a long story involving reading and asgardian stones that I don’t have time for now. 

Point is Sam is frustrated and Val is hanging with Star again since Val needed a friend this episode, and when Star calls Danny a looser both Val AND Sam jump to his defense. As for where Danny is he’s busy... and we soon see why as Danny Phantom gets thrown through a table, BY GOD... er by Technus. 

This is my first episode covering Technus and I think he’s a fine villian, with this being his best outing. Previous ones are fine including him in a computer game and using tech to create a giant monster, both decent.. but their also pretty stock uses of a technopath or rogue ai. Here while he fights same as usual in this opening Technus’ plan is far more clever, involved and unique. We’ll get more into that as we go but he steps up from villian of the week to a Vlad level threat and it’s kinda sad he never got to reach these levels again...  though at least unlike Val or saying he can cure autisim, this is one of Butch’s fuckups I can actually understand: Butch, for better or worse, spent most of season 3 trying out new foes. Sure some old faviroites still showed up, but most of those hadn’t been seen in the present since season 1 (Kitty and Walker) or hadn’t gotten an actual episode, mostly serving as a joke (Box Ghost). For all Butch’s faults with what i’ve seen with season 3 most of them (I.e. Undergrowth, Ampropho and Nocturne) worked. I haven’t seen vortex nor heard great things about him but the point is Butch CAN make good ghosts.. he just can’t run a series or act lik ea decent human being. So while I would’ve loved to see more of a leveled up (literally as he still has his upgrade from last time), Technus, this is one of the few times Butch’s decisions make coherent sense. 

Anyways they fight and after hurting val in the crossfire and REALLY pissing Danny off.. Technus notices Danny’s sweet on her and makes plans to use this to his advantage. And it’s intresting why too: Technus sees emotions as a weakness... but unlike other robotic or digital characters who have this philsophy he dosen’t AVOID them, he’s still hammy as ever and enjoys his work and his manipulations. He just dosen’t let them control him and can read them well enough to turn them to his own advantage. He may not like them but instead of stupidly trying to shut them out or anything, he simply dosen’t let them cloud his judgement and let’s it do the same for others. 

So the next day , our heroes tour Axiom labs and Tucker gives out some convenient Chris Farley style exposition on a new satellite they have that can connect with systems all over the world, as well as on their space ready jetpack. Honestly Axiom feels like DP’s version of star labs from DC Comics: a high tech super science facility that despite the fact it should be locked down better than god gets robbed every five minutes. Not as often here as Danny’s Family’s own tech is more relevant and is more heavily guarded for anyone who isn’t family, but still, it’s noticable but not a bad thing to curb and tying Val’s dad to it, getting fired then rehired in full later thanks to Vlad buying the place is smart. The show really understands comic booky superhero tropes and how to use them just right while doing it’s own thing. 

Anyways Technus continues being clever and uses the fact Val is snooping around to his advantage.. as well as the reason why she’s snooping: the show actually explains Val having been absent for most of the season as her dad took her ghost hunting gear and locked it in Axiom... so Technus locks her away, steals the suit and stages an attack, knowing Danny will hold back and allowing him to worm his way into the systems in the havoc, with Val getting the blame but being rightfully pissed at her dad for accusing her, especailly since it makes no sense. Why would she just randomly attack him? Danny yes, she hates him in his other id and it’s highly irrational hatred at that. But he didn’t show up till AFTER the rampage and more to the point if Val DID steal the equipment.. why would she use it where her dad could see her? 

So Val goes off to clear her name while Technus begins his diabolical plan to.. ship his arch enemy with the girl he’s into. Yes this episode amounts to Technus trying to ship two characters together for his own ends. I can relate to that.  He also does so in the simpliest way possible... he im’s val , she messages Danny back and Danny ignores the weirdness of not remembering having sent it to talk to her. And look as someone whose gotten into relationships over messengers, I can also relate, as I can to, platonic or otherwise, having an internet conversation go on nearly all night. I’ts honestly adorable. I also give props to Technus.. while there’s the possiblity, as posed by the shows wiki he COULD’VE manipulated the text... he likely didn’t. The whole point of this is to stall for time as the main computer naturally has an ungodly complex password for something so important. So it really woudln’t make any sense for him to waste time hand holding them. He likely just watched to make sure they got going and stayed focused on it and left to go work on the code while laughing manically. 

 So the next day turns out the two bonded: we find out Val’s a 9th degree blackbelt, eff yes, and Danny wants to be an astronaut. Good for him. Val also asks Danny out to Lunch while Sam decides to.. stalk them to make sure Danny’s safe. 

I just... i’m tired of SamDanny at this point. They really haven’t done anything but Say “Well Sam likes danny and their good as friends”. YOu can’t just.... tell us a relationship is meant to be and have it work. It worked for me when the show was airing.. but I was 13-14 and shipped whatever the show told me was the OTP without question. I was dumb. But going through SO MANY cases of that and far worse cases of will they or won’t they hardned me, phrasing, and got me to realize you have to think for yourself. The endgame ship for a show CAN be good and healthy and to prove it we have an example from around the same time: Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable. Instead of CONSTANTLY saying they should be together or hinting one of them had a massive crush and the other was unaware, and oh we’ll get to that trope too just you wait, there were subtle hints they had feelings for each other spread out, the moodniator ep being the biggest one, and they were subtle because.. they were friends. They hadn’t really seriously considered it so while chemistry was there, they weren’ta ware of it. And once ron was with the movie, and might always have been it’s vauge... he’s MATURE about it. He dosen’t constantly shake his fist at Eric like Sam does metaphorically, he dosen’t fucking stalk them on dates. He just feels left out and ignored and alone, and admits he didn’t tell kim because he’d rather not make things weird if she said no. He dosen’t try to sabotage the relationship, is supportive and only interupts their date when he you know , just found out their arch enemy’s plan for world domination. And he dosen’t tell her till it’s a now or never moment, both possibly not making it out of things this time and she’s at her lowest over Eric being a synthodrone. It’s a long story. And their getting together feels natural as a result. And there are other examples I could throw out good and bad but you can see the problem: Sam... just gets vengeful and bitchy whenever Danny takes an intrest in someone else. It’s one thing with Paulina, who is generally awful and you get the sense Danny is only into her because he finds her attractive, something he gets over with time, but here while I get worrying about Val finding out Danny’s other identity... Val is not a bad person nor has she been for a while. At worst she’s a bit standofish which dosen’t make her evil it’s just how she is. While her rageful vendetta against Danny isn’t remotely healthy, it’s also understandable via a bunch of misunderstandings, and danny is geninely trying to get through to her and if she found out while there’s a risk she could expose him there’s also a chance knowing the full story could get her to come around. A slim chance but still a chance. It just feels like the show’s only siding with Sam because she’s the endgame and not because she’s actually right and does that a LOT with her and danny’/s moral quandrys and the fact she’s STALKING danny on entirely normal dates in this episode and never gets called out on it even when she tells danny she’s been doing it is appauling.  There’s also another trope at play I hate here, one Jess pointed out: the “EVERYONE CAN SEE THIS CHARACTER HAS A CRUSH ON SOMEONE ELSE EXCEPT THE PERSON THEIR CRUSHING ON” Now me hating this trope isn’t on Danny Phantom, but another Nick show of the time Zoey 101. I may talk about this show someday, but I don’t wanna. The show was built around this with chase having a crush on the tiular zoey, everyone else being aware except Zoey who comes off braindead. And you CAN use this trope well: gravity falls played it straight for season one with Dipper and Wendy... but only people around Dipper knew and the one person in Wendy’s circle who figured it out was a dipshit of a person who only didn’t tell her because he agreed to a cease fire. And more importantly Wendy KNEW the whole time and simply didn’t want to break the poor kid’s heart and was finding a way to let him down gently.  Owl House likewise had it with Luz not noticing Amity was attracted to her despite all the obvious signs at first.. only for it to become clear by the end of mid-season 2 a LOT of it was just deep insecurity, having had every attempt at a relationship blow up at the launch pad back home and not feeling she was good enough. Here it’s just... teen nerves, which I had plenty of, hence why I only asked a girl I had feelings for out once in four years of high school, but Sam isn’t me: sam is confident, self assured and has no one to blame but herself for not asking Danny out. Yes it could make things weird if it didn’t work out.. but he’s clearly intrested, so there’s not a huge margin for error and their friendship has survivied the entire thing being erased by a vengeful genie. It can surivive a failed relationship. I swear this might be the most grating part of the show going forward and the worst part is this isn’t even one of the WORST episodes for it. 

Moving on so on Sam’s stalking , she notices how romantic everything is.. and that Tucker’s PDA goes staticky.. something he pointed out means Technus is around. Sam puts two and two together. Tucker agrees.. but also points out Danny will just laugh them off, which he does. He stops laughing once the suit attacks though and he realizes Technus really is behind this and they might have a point. 

We then get.. an agrvatingly dumb portion something me and Jess both agreed on: Danny fights the suit.. and not only does he DIRECTLY SAVE VAL, WHILE IN DANNY PHANTOM MODE, but he blasts apart the suit. Keep in mind they’ve fought multiple times at this point, Danny has NEVER tried to kill her before this, and it’s VERY clear what he’s blasting isn’t human, with technus having added some wires and stuff inside. So Val’s conclusion: DANNY TRIED TO KILL HER DESPITE IT BEING OBVIOUS HE KNEW SHE WASN’T INSIDE AND EVEN SAYING BYE TO HER AND HAVING SAVED HER FROM THE SUIT

Just my god.... there’s setting up conflict and then there’s making your characters braindead to make the plot work! This.. is probably the weakest val episode.. so far, I don’t remember D-Stabalized well enough to judge how well she’s written in that. The first half is fine but then this second half just relies on a lot of stupid leaps in logic and contrivances. I get Val expects the worst in Danny Phantom, I do but still. 

So Danny gets a ring from his dad in a funny scene i’m glossing over, but is conflicted as he’s not sure he can ever tell val. But Tucker and Sam remind him “Priorites” and he goes to the lab to stop Technus. And Val and her dad happen to be there, with Val having shown Damon the footage and Damon finally realizing she had to fight ghosts and wasn’t just doing this as a hobby. Again he buys the same dumb logic she did that danny thought that was her but still i’ts nice character development. 

Sadly this leads to both drawing arms on Danny as he tries to stop Technus and needing a distraction, he gives Val an upgraded suit. So let’s give it a quick once over

For the most part i like it. It’s a slick upgrade, having more tech here and there, a cool symbol in the middle (that neatly gives her her own to match Danny having gained one at the start of the season), and more detail. I really like it all except for one detail. The mask. Instead of giving her a red visor or something her visor is tranlucent. Which on one hand I get, it’s to show off her expression.. but just dosen’t work with the design. It’d work better with red or some sort of digital face or mask. it dosen’t HAVE to be all one big visor you could give it eyes like spider-man or deadpool’s mask so it’s expressive, but the see through mask look has just never really worked for me and really dosen’t owrk on a suit that dosen’t comliment it. 

Still the final fight is engaging as danny fights time and an upgraded val and only wins by using his space knowledge to knock her out of the running and manages to stop Technus just in time. 

THe ending is also geninely tragic: Val dosen’t want to be with Danny becaause it puts him at risk in her eyes.. and she has to keep doing this. Sure she has a vendetta against Danny Phantom, and by the by thinks he was responsible despite EVIDENCE HE WASN’T LYING ABOUT A GHOST IN THE COMPUTER, but she does take this job seriously as he does.. and thus has to let him go, not realizing she’s trying to protect him from himself. 

This.. goes nowhere. It’s not followed up on, and I ranted about that enough by my god is this dispaointing especially since they went to the trouble of giving her an all new outfit that only gets used twice more. What... what a waste of a romance and a plot.

Final Thoughts: This episode is okay. As always the actoin is great and some story beats work fine.. but Sam’s stalking, the HUGE leaps in logic needed for the final act, tamper down on the great chemistry Val and Danny have and Technus finest our as a villian. IT COULD’VE been one of the best eps but it just has too much stupid  bogging it down to make it anymore than pretty neat. Val deserved a better season 2 sendoff... see you in season 3 sometime val. I’ll truly miss you. Thank you all for reading. As I said the poll iis live so click on the link at the top of the artcile and i’ll see you real soon.  

[hamliet]

So, I ended up getting into Bungou Stray Dogs because of you.

The only thing I heard about BSD when the anime first came out in 2016 from the anime community was that it was a "Gangster version of My Hero Academia with pretty boys" and since I was never super into BHNA I never really gave it a chance.

...But I got curious from your icons of Atsushi and Aktugawa and metas about Bungou Stray Dogs and ended up watching all of the anime (and movie) because of you. And I'm so mad at my 16 year old self (or like, the anime community I guess) because it's REALLY GOOD and I almost feel cheated in a way for missing out on it for so long.

The whole concept of the characters being named after famous authours and their super powers based on their books? And the quotes from their books featured in the episodes and their meanings and themes being explored by the characters within their own struggles and arcs? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. (I was a little embarrassed I didn't properly pick up on this until S2 with the introduction of the Guild characters, because the only Japanese author I knew of was Osamu Dazai) I love the duality with Atsushi and Aktugawa and their relationship with Dazai. And Kyouka has to be my favourite character, her story always had me tearing up.

I really liked the movie Dead Apple too and was pleasantly surprised by the fact it actively tied into the stories' canon, especially with Atsushi's development/backstory? I don't see that often with anime series when they do movies.

...But now I've finished the anime I'm wondering where I should go from here? I've seen there's a manga and also light novels, but I'm not sure which I should read or where to start, or if reading the manga/LN is better or fills in more than the anime?

AHHHHHHHH *flails* I'm so glad you liked it!!! Yes haha, I had a similar impression of BSD and then was shocked by how damn good it was (once I gave it a chance).

So, I would encourage reading the manga for a few reasons: even though season 4 has just been announced (like two days ago), the manga goes way beyond where the anime left off (almost 50 chapters beyond). The art is really great, and while I do think the anime is generally excellent, there are a few points where it changed the pacing and two particular episodes in season 1 that they didn't do super awesomely.

After the manga, I would recommend the light novels. Again, like with Dead Apple actually being relevant and entertaining to the anime without it being necessary to understand what's going on, the light novels are similarly really integral to the manga without being 100% necessary. But if you like the story, I think you'd enjoy them. The novels are absolutely beautifully written (the flashback episodes of the anime are adaptations of the novels, actually!) and deeply thematic.

[dylanaz]

So, thanks to some Kataangers who discussed about my ship with me. I actually learned more about my ship by arguing and finally got to realize how brilliant it actually is. 😂

If I'm being honest, it made me ship Zutara more. So, I'm going to write about the things that don't make sense that are said by those people.

1. Zuko and Katara are toxic.

I wonder if the people who say these kind of things didn't watch the Season 3.

Like, Zuko is the heart of the show. He got to change 180 degrees from what he has been in Season 1.

Like it, or not, you can't hide his arc under a rag. If you erase his arc, ATLA would be pointless.

Argument 1. Zuko is a bad person so he and Katara would be toxic.

That's Zuko mainly in the Season 1. He WAS a bad person, yes. But he's changed. Plus, we didn't get to see him and Katara become friends in Season 1.

Season 1 Zuko wasn't ready to be friends with her. He had to go through character development.

Then, in Season 3, we got to see his works paying off. He's made great progress and TRIED HIS BEST. That kind of person doesn't just go back to their previous life. He's overcame it, already.

Argument 2. He is the face of her trauma. (He's a colonizer. She wouldn't like Fire Nation)

Fun fact: Our Katara, who hated Fire Nation saved people from it 2 times. TWO TIMES.

1. When Jet tried to kill INNOCENT people who happened to be citizens of Fire Nation.

2. When she became the Painted Lady to save a Fire Nation village.

Her hate for Fire Nation is caused by her strong moral code. She despises people who are AWFUL... not the people who are innocent. By awful, I mean someone who killed her mother...

Or someone with evil intentions...

She would never hate normal citizens of Fire Nation, especially the ones who are innocent. Also, Zuko is no longer an evil person. 👀

Of course that doesn't have to lead to romance... but SHE DOESN'T HATE FIRE NATION, anymore.

Argument 3. Zuko and Katara are not compatible.

Zuko's nature is an introvert. Most importantly, an INFP. (Like me)

Katara is an ENFJ or an ESFJ. (I'm not sure, but here's an article that explains why Katara is not an ESFJ, but an ENFJ)

(You can check it out!)

I'm not much of a MBTI test master, but it's somehow understandable and it's fun. (Ok, let's go to the main point.)

INFP and ENFJ are the most compatible ones!

(If you're interested, you can check it out, too.)

Argument 4: They are hotheads. They would never stop fighting.

Let's analyze it from the view of MBTI types:

Zuko is an introvert. He tends to hear what Katara(extrovert) think before he judges:

He waits.

And reaches out to her. That is what brings an understanding between the two.

In here, you can see Zuko doesn't interrupt or get mad at her. (1. He knows it's not effective. 2. But when she starts crying, he makes a move to reassure her and tell her that he understands.)

Now, let's analyze their anger issues and what fuels their angers:

Katara's anger comes from her mother's death and her abandonment issues. (We only got to see her THAT furious in Southern Raiders, so we will focus more on it)

She is super angry to the point she bloodbends.

However, after she had a chance to really face the man, she decides not to kill him. She is no longer fueled by her anger towards her mother's killer. She got the chance. She moved on.

Will she ever forgive him? No. But she is no longer driven by her anger.

(It could be explored more. But I'm leaving it here)

On the other hand, Zuko's anger issues come from his embarrassment, pride and the past. He WAS angry because Azula was favored by his father. He got a mark of shame and was banished BECAUSE he cared.

(A lot to talk about here, too. But I'm leaving the topic here. We all know enough about his past)

Then, this:

Katara is no longer anger driven because she got a company (abandonment issues) of someone who understood and she got her closure.

Zuko is no longer a hothead. (Zuko's firebending in the past was linked to his anger issues. That's why he lost his bending)

Conclusion: They're not hotheads NOW.

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

(sees another fandom that I can ask you about and cheers) Orphan Black! Thoughts? I don't know Dr Who but Tatiana is one of my favorite actors period.

Anon you are so sweet! I'm always happy to chat about fandoms and characters and whatnot, and I will never not appreciate the majesty of Tatiana's acting. That is one of the greatest parts of the show hands down.

Orphan Black, to me, is a show that had incredible potential, but didn't really live up to the excitement it created. (Loooong post ahead.)

The thing is, Orphan Black builds a chilling mystery and background, the world it gradually creates as it goes for about the first two seasons, got be very invested and made me wonder a lot about where it was going to go and what the answers were. The setup is brilliant, right from the start with that iconic cold open of Beth's suicide. The unknown is what really helped this show get as thrilling as it was, because the actual answers behind the unknown were kind of hit and miss, and it seemed like far too often, the show just wasn't interested in telling it's story. Hijinks where the clones impersonate each other in slice of life events? That's fun at first and it really works well as they're still getting to know each other. But after a while, it gets tedious, and it seems like the show would rather fuck around and have dance parties (seriously, that scene was such a #BigLippedAlligatorMoment) than focus on the story and the threat that the sisters are facing. Virtually all of Allison's plotlines are like this, they feel like they belong in a different show, and for some reason the writers insisted on giving her one of these storylines like, every season. After Allison passively murders her own friend out of suspecting that she's spying on her, I just don't feel like an arc about her running for some PTA office position even matters. It doesn't feel right.

Speaking of that, here's another example: Donnie. Why did the end of the first season suggest that he was this secret mastermind working for Leekie? The whole idea just deflates in Season 2 and doesn't really go anywhere. He just goes back to being the bumbling sweetheart he was before. Why even have him be the spy? Maybe it should have been Ainsley. Do you want to know the exact moment that I think Orphan Black went wrong? Like, the specific scene? When Leekie was killed off. The character who had thus far been the Big Bad, gets taken out in the stupidest possible way, a literal accident on Donnie's part, and it's even played for laughs. After that point, the show really struggled to regain it's footing, though I don't think it completely went off the rails until about Season 4, and it was still generally hit or miss. Like, some stuff was really good. The introduction of the Castor clones, the development of Rachel's character (I'll get to her, trust me.) and the reveal of Kendall Malone. But it seemed like so much else was just forgotten or otherwise not resolved. Whatever happened to Cal? Sure, the show wanted to focus on the sisters...but Kira deserves to know her father if she wants to. That's just one example. It's a crying shame because this show is sometimes incredible. The metaphor that I always use for situations like this, is a card game. The show has all the right cards in its hand, they're just not being played.

The two strongest characters, at least to me, were Rachel and Helena. One of these characters was superbly written and went through a devastating arc. The other was Helena. We need to talk about her. In Season 1, she really cemented herself as a memorable presence with her trademark accent, her scars, her whole damn personality (again, hats off to Tatiana) and of course, that iconic screechy theme music that accompanied her. Which at first made us jump, but eventually made us cheer. I adored Helena, and I loved the development of her relationship with Sarah. Who went from shooting her in Season 1, to being deadset on rescuring her in Season 3, being furious with Siobhan for betraying her. (This is unrelated but Siobhan has the same " twist villain fakeout" at the end of Season 1 that Donnie does, and it's quite frustrating.) And yet, I swear, the writers just didn't know what to do with Helena half the time. They put her on a bus for long stretches, including one point where she just up and leaves Allison's house in Season 4, for no given reason. And the characters just kind of...don't care. The same thing happens when she gets arrested. No one cares to try and find Helena, even though she's unstable and often a danger to those around her. Even though she's by herself with no real ability to function in society. Even though she's pregnant. There is no excuse for this, and no Sarah, that "I'm sorry, I avoided you" scene in Season 5 is not going to cut it. It's such an afterthought.

I'm being rather critical, but I hope you can tell that this is from a point of passion. I genuinely enjoyed this show and getting to watch it. Just that sometimes it didn't feel like the show cared that I was watching. However, this was not true whenever Rachel was onscreen. Look, I'm a Merula Snyde stan, so you can probably already guess how I feel about Rachel. Despite her crimes, despite her constant slipping back the dark side, I felt so bad for Rachel at the end of it all. That scene with Kira really sums it up. "Who hurt you?" "All of them." And no scene is more intense than when she stabs out the eye cam. Like, I'm sorry, I pitied Rachel pretty much from Season 2 on. Her parents were horrible to her, and I'm supposed to think Ethan is the good guy here? He kills himself in front of his own daughter, telling her that she doesn't deserve him. And then Sarah shoots a pencil through her eye, causing brain damage and requiring a long recovery. I'm not saying that Sarah was wrong to do what she did, just that if I were in her shoes, I'd still feel a degree of guilt for Rachel's condition. In the end, I'm devastated that she was barred from Clone Club, when she made the right decision at the point it mattered. But there's just too much history there, and Sarah won't ever forgive her. (Though again, I do feel as though there's blame to share.) Rachel is my favorite character and I never expected her to be. But she's just so complex. Side note: "Enjoy your oophorectomy" is so damn quotable. I don't know why but I love that line.

So, Rachel's my favorite. Who's my least favorite? It might surprise you. It's Delphine. I'm sorry, but I just...I couldn't get on board with C*phine. Not after Season 3. I was waiting for the point that the show would push to finally redeem Delphine for her turncoat role, for all of the hell that she put Cosima through. By Season 5 though? I realized that as far as the writers were concerned? She already was redeemed. Even though she did nothing to earn it, except be presumed dead by Cosima. The way she treats Cosima in Season 3 is actually disgusting. Her reasoning for breaking up with Cosima is circular. She has to love "all the clones" in order to be with Cosima, and the way to do that is to take over Rachel's job, which means they can't date anymore? I'm not the only one who thought that didn't make sense, right? Oh and let's talk about how she stalks Cosima's date, breaks into her house, and threatens her life. Red. Flags. Cosima even says the line, "If you're not going to be with me, just let me go." I'm sorry, that should not be something she has to beg for. Delphine's behavior made me want her to stay far, far away from Cosima. Who is, incidentally, a sweetie and I absolutely adore her. I legit have trouble remembering that Tatiana's playing her because she just looks and acts so different. That said, even though I immensely disliked Delphine, I am so very glad that they made one of the clones gay. Just like I'm glad that they made one of them trans. (Though...Tony wasn't handled especially well.)

In general, I do think the earlier seasons were stronger. The Brightborn arc, while interesting, didn't really contribute much to the overarching narrative. We got the backstory on Beth's suicide and finally learned the truth about her, I suppose. Still, even though Beth is one of my favorite of the clones, and I never expected her to be either...I feel like the actual reason given for why she took her own life was rather illogical. She apparently did it because the investigation was putting the clones in danger of another Helsinki. Okay, but just because Evie Cho says you should off yourself, doesn't mean you have to. You could just, like...stop investigating. And if you die under mysterious circumstances without explaining anything to the sisters, they're not going to be put off from the investigation. They're going to look into this even more, because they don't know why they're not supposed to. The reveal that she and Art fell in love toward the end adds an extra gut punch, but it also doesn't make sense because wouldn't Art have referenced it during the period that he thought Sarah was Beth? On the other hand, Season 4 also introduced MK. And I have such a soft spot for her. I adore that sheep-masked sweetie. Everyone always asks "Which clone would you date" (because fandoms can think of nothing else I guess) and I never see anyone give any love to MK. Her death absolutely tore me apart. I am glad Siobhan avenged her even if she went down at the same time. Side note, her last word being the affectionate "Chickens..." Broke me.

Season 5 was a strange beast. In general, it seemed like we were finally getting some answers to the questions that were hanging over us. Exploring the deep mythos. But then they kind of turned it around and made it just be a Wizard of Oz style fraud twist. Westmoreland isn't really inhumanly old, he's a charlatan. I don't know why that was necessary in a science fictional show. I've seen the interviews and I get what they were going for, it just feels like it would have been cooler and far creepier if he was actually that old. The puppet master pulling the strings the whole time. We also finally get some answers for Kira's superhuman healing abilities (though we never learn how she's telepathically connected to the clones) and I'm loving it, but the trouble is, it's inconsistent. Ethan "Why is this guy so popular, he's an asshole" Duncan told Rachel specifically that Sarah being able to have children was a fluke, that the clones were "barren by design." I don't know, the whole concept of Revival and of the "magical island" was really foreboding and tied in with the earlier references to The Island of Doctor Moreau. Especially that song about "Revival's Children" just...the shudders, man. But just having it be a regular old scam is...a letdown. I know it may be more realistic, but I don't always need realism in my scifi. The finale is interesting, in that it's mostly an epilogue. I'm glad the clones (sans Rachel) got to live happily ever after, but there are two gut punches right at the end that are total nitpicks but they bother me. Helena naming her kids after Art and Donnie? And writing a memoir that she names "Orphan Black?" Those two tropes can go die in a hole. They can enjoy an oophorectomy, because I'm so sick of them.

The potential of Orphan Black was practically infinite. The results of Orphan Black fell frustratingly short.

[buryme-makeoutcreek]

Best shows I watched in 2020

I wanted to look at some shows I watched that I felt had some of the best writing. Most of these shows did not come out in 2020 but are shows that definitely deserve some attention for their masterful writing. Minor spoilers below. 

1.Succession

This show took me by complete surprise. While I love stories about complicated, and darker characters I went into this show expecting it to be a classic story about power dynamics among the rich. And it is but the show is really about cycles of abuse and trauma and how that relates to a capitalist system. The show follows the children of billionaire Logan Roy as they continuously jostle for power within the family company, it’s very Shakespearian in nature but also one of the most absurd and hilarious shows on.

The writing on this show is very interesting because none of the characters can actually say what they want to say, it is all disguised such as a politician’s word choices would be. And bringing that veiled rhetoric into a family dynamic makes for an exploration of power and manipulation. The writing is also significant for doing something called by the cast, “the language of strength” which is using aggressive and sexually charged language frequently, this is used both in the company and within the family as both intimidation and to show off. There’s really a lot to dissect in word choice and meaning in this show and for that reason it is fascinating.

2. Hannibal

This was another show I didn’t expect to like but was pleasantly surprised by. This show ended its series in 2015 but it has always been a cult favorite and has been receiving renewed attention as of late and all I can say is thank god. This is a brilliant show both visually and story-wise. As I watched the first season I felt like I was stepping into a different world of just complete madness, and the show is really escapism in that way even though it features horrific deaths every episode. While I don’t think this is the best written show out of all the ones listed here, and I do think it expresses itself more through visual prose rather than words it is still reminiscent of a dark epic poem. 

The show follows FBI consultant Will Graham as he investigates a series of grisly murders and comes across the path of notable psychiatrist Hannibal Lecter (also notable cannibal and serial killer). The writing is very interesting due to it’s plentiful of metaphors. In regards to the main relationship between Will and Hannibal the distinctions between wanting to “eat” one’s love and wanting to be with them are really interesting and the word choices made can only be called poetic. 

3. Atlanta

I went on a Donald Glover kick after finishing Community and I’m so happy I did because it led me to this show. Many have called this show “what TV could be” and it really is. This show starts off simply enough with the story of Earn trying to become a music agent for his cousin, the rapper Paper Boi. But the show delves deeply into the surreal in order to illustrate its points about poverty and being black in America. 

The writing on this show bucks traditional story structure completely with each episode being more of a “day-in-the life” rather than a continuous plot driven towards a goal, this allows for much more experimentation but also the feeling that no matter what the characters do they’re going to get weighed down in some way or other. This disregard for classic show structure also bleeds into the genre, it’s hard to solely classify this show as a comedy because there are so many elements of horror, drama, and satire within it. The writing is overall beautiful, heartbreaking, and hilarious. This show is a must watch as it is probably the best thing on TV right now.

4. Ramy

This show is the spiritual successor to shows like Atlanta and Fleabag who have paved the way for this new brand of comedy show, often focused around a single character as they try to better their lives. Ramy is a show about a Muslim- American milennial who is trying to get more in touch with his religion, thinking that it will help him to get his life on track. While the humor can be brass and the story lines can get pretty weird and disgusting the first word I think of with this show is delicate. 

Especially in its second season, which has moved away from Ramy’s perspective to focus on the rest of his family. The writing in this show can swing from a really fragile sense of beauty to super crass and sexual in the blink of the eye, which makes it so hilarious and interesting to watch. The writers have complied a series of character studies under the guise of a TV show, and watching this family deal with issues of assimilation, lost dreams, religion, and loneliness makes the watcher feel deeply connected to them.There’s a lot of stuff happening in this show that is very fragile but very moving and also hilarious.

5. The Great

This show is chaos embodied. From excessive violence, sex, and rampant and ridiculous abuse of power this comedy which is extremely loosely based on Catherine the great’s life is a real ride. It was created by the writer of The Favourite and interacts with absurdity and power in similar ways.

The writing is really interesting because it is so crass. In that way it is meant to be humorous but also terrifying. Many things in this show act in more than one way- Peter (Russia’s emperor) is terrifying, ridiculous, and lovable sometimes all within a single scene. And this ability to be all of these things makes this a very good examination of power.

6. Veep

This is how you do a villain arc. Perhaps the best and most honest show about American politics Veep focuses on Selina Meyer, the first female Vice President who is surrounded by the most competent incompetent people and virtually powerless and unfulfilled in her job. Throughout the seven seasons we follow her through presidential campaigns and personal woes all in classic dark comedy style. While this show is first and foremost a comedy it is not afraid, as it’s ending shows, to dig into dark themes and character exploration of a narcissist with a bottomless thirst for power going after the highest office in the country.

This show predates the Trumpian era America currently finds itself in but much of it’s subject matter and even specific plot points have come to be echoed in our current history. Such as an election depending on the results out of Nevada and a politician’s base protesting to “Count the vote” and “Stop the count”. This just proves that the show is so in-touch with the reality of American politics (even when the show was just a satire rather than the bleak truth). This is a perfect dark comedy with excellent, well-crafted characters, and solid plot points. Definitely a must watch for anyone.  

[thecrownnet]

The Crown Is One Of The Hardest Shows To Cast. Here’s How They Do It.

Casting announcements for The Crown are almost as exciting as the premiere of a new season itself. Half the fun of the show is analyzing the actors set to portray famous figures like Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher, as well as who will next fill the storied shoes of Queen Elizabeth. Season 4 of Peter Morgan’s royal drama was cast by Robert Sterne, who' won several Emmys for his work on the series along with Nina Gold (the duo cast seasons 1 through 3 together, and they were also responsible for the influx of talent we saw on Game of Thrones). Unsurprisingly, casting The Crown poses specific challenges not experienced on any other show.

“It’s not only that you’ve got to find actors who can successfully embody real-life, well-known people, but you’ve got to make sure there’s a continuity as it’s passed from the younger to the older version of the actor,” Sterne tells ELLE.com. “Who’s done it before, who’s doing it after, and who are the real people?”Sterne, who's currently in the process of re-casting the entire series for seasons 5 and 6, adds, “It’s nerve-wracking because people invest in the original people. You do X hours of screen time with them and fall in love with their interpretation, and then you go again [and re-cast] every two years.

”The casting process for each season starts about a year before filming begins; a meeting with Morgan clarifies where the characters will be in their journeys the following season. There were 262 speaking characters in season 4, and Sterne personally worked on all of them. The casting director notes that “you’ve got to think ahead of the game,” and that there are several factors to consider—not just whether the actor looks like the real-life person.

“They’ve got to have some credibility, physically, to be the people they’re supposed to portray,” Sterne notes. “But at the same time, they’ve got to get the spirit of it right.” Below, Sterne breaks down the behind-the-scenes process of building the cast of The Crown.

Perfecting Princess Diana

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

“Diana was a big deal,” Sterne says, confirming the role has been The Crown’s biggest casting challenge to date. “It was clear as we were heading into the 1980s that she was going to be a major part of it. And we’re starting with Diana at the beginning of her life—we’re not trying to find the icon of the Mario Testino images.”

The casting team embarked on an international search for the person who would play Diana, looking at hundreds of possible actresses in the U.S., U.K., and Australia. They weren’t just auditioning professional actors, either. “It was completely open,” Sterne notes. “We were going into schools in the home countries to see if there was anybody who might be good, since we meet her at 16, as well as looking at people who'd done a lot more work.”

The massive search brought them back to Emma Corrin, whom Sterne had seen in the casting process for season 3. The tense lunch between Camilla Parker-Bowles (Emerald Fennell) and Diana in the third episode of season 4 was used as the audition scene for Camilla—and Corrin came in as a reader to stand in for the part of Diana.

“I usually read in all these meetings, but we decided because it was this major scene that we would get somebody to come in [for Diana],” Sterne explains. “We asked Emma to come in, not thinking about casting Diana at this point. But as she was reading with these Camillas, all the directors and the showrunner were looking more at her and not at the people playing Camilla—who will remain nameless, of course. When we got to thinking about Diana a year later, there she was in my notes.”

Bringing in Margaret Thatcher

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

Sterne was told early on that the big focus for season 4 would be the three main women: the queen, Diana, and Margaret Thatcher. Casting Thatcher, who has been portrayed repeatedly onscreen in the past, was unusual, because actress Gillian Anderson is Morgan’s partner, and the creator himself approached her about the role.

“There was always a list of one,” Sterne says. “We had thought of ideas and talked it through a lot, but we always knew Gillian Anderson was totally amazing. It seemed like a fresh and interesting way of going. We were very lucky she said she’d do it—she’s such a clever character actress.”

While Anderson is a fairly big name, Sterne and Gold aren’t always looking for an A-list star to be part of The Crown. Having someone like Anderson come in is balanced by casting lesser-known actors like Corrin.

“One of the great joys of working on it—and working with Peter Morgan on it—is that we’re open, and it’s a really genuine opportunity to find the best person for the part,” Sterne says. “We get to find the actor we believe has the best skills and the best instinctive connection with the part, rather than feeling like we’ve got to provide big names all the time.”

Carrying Charles Through

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

“He’s so three-dimensional,” Sterne explains of the role of Prince Charles. “There are so many aspects to that character. He would have to go on a journey.” It was important that the actor could evolve over a two-decade period, playing both a young version and the one who closes out season 4.

Josh O’Connor's work in Francis Lee’s 2017 film God’s Own Country led Sterne to cast him as Prince Charles. “He totally inhabited the role in God’s Own Country in this beautiful performance that’s very different from who he is. We thought, ‘Gosh, if that guy can do that and run with a character who’s so different than himself, then that will be interesting to see.’ As soon as we started [working with] him, it became pretty clear it was Josh.”

O’Connor has the obvious physical similarity to Charles, particularly in the ears, but Sterne really wanted someone who could make the role their own and not just mimic a famous figure—something especially important to season 4’s arc.

“It’s really important that you’re not getting an impersonation,” Sterne notes. “They have to embody them. We have an amazing team who help with the voice work and the movement work—those technical aspects—but you want somebody who has the skill to take on all that technically, and then leave it all behind. Josh flew with that from the moment he came into the room.”

Finding Young William and Harry

Photo: Des Willie/Netflix

Princes William and Harry make their debut in season 4 as young children, and the resemblance to the real royals is almost uncanny. A baby version of William shows up in episode 6 as Charles and Diana tour Australia and New Zealand in 1982, while Harry appears later in the season. Unlike with the older royals, Sterne focuses on physical appearance alone when casting the kids.

“They have to be as recognizable as possible,” he explains. “They don’t have the opportunity to say many lines, so it’s all visual. You want people to have the pleasure of going, ‘Ah, there they are!’”

Sterne says the difficulty in casting children can vary depending on the situation. The search involves looking through schools in the U.K. and visiting drama groups for kids. “You have to keep going until you find people who feel credible,” Sterne says.

Casting One-Off Characters and Extras

While the fourth season of The Crown focuses a lot on Charles and Diana's relationship and Thatcher’s rapport with the queen, several standalone episodes bring in one-off characters who are equally important to the narrative.

Episode 7, “The Hereditary Principle,” sees Princess Margaret learning that the royal family’s estranged cousins have been locked in a mental institution. The women, Nerissa and Katherine Bowes-Lyon, were first cousins to Elizabeth II on her mother’s side and both had severe learning disabilities. Sterne and Gold cast Trudie Emery as Katherine and Pauline Hendrickson as Nerissa. Both actresses have learning disabilities in real life.

Trudie Emery as Katherine Bowes-Lyon and Pauline Hendrickson as Nerissa Bowes-Lyon in The Crown season 4 episode 7, "The Hereditary Principle".

NETFLIX

“We had a few pictures of those two women and did a lot of research into their lives and experiences, and then did a national search across drama schools and residential care homes to find people with learning disabilities who looked similar to the real women and were interested in acting,” Sterne says. “We employed a lot of the people with learning disabilities we met along the way and put them in small parts in those scenes with Trudie and Pauline. We wanted to find real people with learning disabilities so they were properly represented. There are not as many opportunities as you’d hope for, and when we started looking around, there were so many drama groups. There’s so much talent out there.”

Similarly, in episode 5, Tom Brooke plays real-life British man Michael Fagan, who broke into Buckingham Palace to see the queen—a key moment in understanding the state of England in the 1980s.

Tom Brooke as Michael Fagan in The Crown season 4 episode 5, "Fagan". NETFLIX

“We knew there was going to be an episode about him,” Sterne says, “and I remember reading stories about him and there were loads of pictures of him. For a character like that, you look at footage of him and read about him. It’s a really extraordinary part to play, so you want to find an accomplished, technically brilliant actor who looks a bit like him. Tom is an actor with a whole lot of soul, and you wanted [Fagan] to have a whole lot of soul.”

Sterne adds, “Fagan's story was a way of exploring Thatcher’s Britain that's not automatically going to be covered if you’re just dealing with the royal family and the prime ministers, which is the usual core of The Crown.”

[whateverthedragonswant]

So I read this very interesting post that was pro-Jonerys written around the time after season 7 aired, I think. It was very well-written and explored examples of Jon’s growing feelings for Dany all throughout season 7. But when I saw the examples used, I thought “oh man, this is the trap the show set and this awesome person unfortunately fell right into it.” Jonerys was meant to get our attention, to hide what was really happening with Dany behind the scenes so to speak but then shove it into the forefront in 8x05 so we would supposedly feel a jarring impact from Dany’s dark turn that we weren’t supposed to see coming. And while this person didn’t have season 8 to work with at the time (and I totes understand, season 7 was one big ball of confusing and guesswork not just for Jonerys but also other characters/story lines as well), I wanted to take another look at their examples (while also including some of my own) of Jon’s feelings for Dany in that 7th season.

Example 1):

This is meant to call to the audience a growing attraction between Jon and Dany, and tension. But notice it’s the physical Davos is mentioning here. Not that Dany is a great queen or her good heart that Jon is supposedly taking interest in. It’s a physical attraction. This is also important as it will come into play later in 8x01. 

And notice how it’s Davos to bring the subject up, not Jon. This cements this is the show trying to sell the GA something, an idea, that will then later come to fruition once its “product” is sold and the GA start embracing the idea.

Example 2):

This isn’t someone who is deep in love. Dany isn’t in love here either. This is him hoping that she’ll understand how important her joining the fight is, that these cave drawings are what will cement that joining as allies against the Night King. And it almost seems as if yes, she now understands and they can work together and you can see Jon is hopeful, which she immediately dashes when saying “I will fight for you. I will fight for the North...when you bend the knee.” You can even see Jon’s disappointment after this statement.

This scene is not Jon being jealous. This is Jon studying the interaction between Jorah and Dany. Remember, this scene is on the heels of a semi-disagreement that Dany and Jon are having after she’s returned from the battle with the Lannister army. Dany is trying to convince him that she did the right thing and when she sees he’s not immediately agreeing, she gets annoyed and tries to convince him further. Then Jorah shows up. This is a side to Dany that Jon still has yet to see. Dany immediately becomes soft, is affected by it that we even see her eyes become slightly teary and she smiles, and even hugs Jorah by the end of it. This is still the Khaleesi, the Breaker Of Chains, the Mother Of Dragons even, but this is also Dany, young Dany who Jorah met back at her wedding to Drogo. This is the side of her Jon has never seen before, that he and (from what he sees) Tyrion and Varys have not been able to access. But suddenly Jorah shows up and she’s practically purring (that’s not a dig or a slight, it’s truth, her soft side came out in this scene, Emilia showcased the difference brilliantly). Because Jon still doesn’t have Dany’s promise of support yet and he can’t leave yet, it’s no wonder that he’s studying the one person that seems to bring out that side of her. And it’s also no coincidence that Jon ends up stepping into a role similar to Jorah’s in the last season. Jon is who Jorah would have become for Dany had she been able to return his feelings.

Example 3):

Yes, in the 7x06 script, it is confirmed that in this moment, after seeing Dany grieving Viserion, Jon realizes he does have feelings for her. We already know there was a growing physical attraction between them as stated by Davos above but now after seeing how Dany came to save them, he realizes okay this is who Missandei was talking about, this is who Jorah is in love with. And sure enough, we see Dany pledge to fight the Night King with him, without needing him to bend the knee. This is the same Dany the audience is charmed by, the same Dany that is fiercely stanned, the Mother Of Dragons, the Khaleesi and Breaker Of Chains, the queen many have chosen. Do I think here that Jon is head over heels? No. I think he does have feelings though that are growing, that he is starting to feel love, but it’s not an all-consuming passion and love. 

Example 4) Boatsex:

Okay, before we delve into this, I want to show you something:

It is a common trope or theme that in a romance, the first kiss is shown. Whether it happens passionately or is just a small peck on the lips or an accidental smooshing, it’s always shown. Hence here are other examples of romances written on the show:

(I couldn’t find a gif of the cave scene above)

Regardless of how these pairings above ended up, regardless of these first kisses leading right into sex or not, they had build-up before that first kiss and more importantly, that first kiss is shown. These are romantic-coded relationships meant to be read romantically by the viewers as, you guessed it, romances. 

This is not a romance:

Gif credit

The door is closed and the next scene we get is Dany and Jon mid-makeout, naked on the bed. The first kiss is not shown. Considering how they built up other romances on the show, if Jonerys was the “it” couple and the true romance of the show, if both loved each other so passionately, this was a very important element that they “missed”. Something that has nothing to do with the chemistry between the actors or bad writing or bad editing. It was purposely “missed”.

This scene below comes after that rolling around and a lot of people think it’s Jon gazing down on his beloved before that special moment:

I hate to burst anyone’s bubble but that’s not what this moment is. What you’re seeing is Dany is deep in this relationship happening (it’s clear as day on her face, again Emilia is just brilliant), Jon sees this and hesitates for a moment (most likely feeling somewhat guilty because his feelings are not as deep as hers but he can see how deep this is for her, notice how he keeps studying her face in the second gif), and then makes the decision to go through with it. And all during this, we have Bran’s voiceover revealing who Jon really is. Not to mention the obvious sexual positioning, it starts out with Dany on Jon’s side but over him and then he rolls them over and that’s how the sexual encounter progresses.

Dany who Doreah taught that “love comes in at the eyes”. Notice how Jon chooses to kiss Dany as they start doing the deed so their eyes are closed due to the kissing. Then compare it to the sex scene Dany has with Drogo in the tent (after Doreah’s lesson) back in season 1, where Dany is on top and in control, where she stares into Drogo’s eyes. Now rewatch the boatsex scene again. Jon was in control here. 

This moment is not meant to be read a true romantic moment. You know how I know that?

This:

There was absolutely no reason to show us (the audience) Tyrion’s reaction during the love scene. Yes, I’m sure there is some jealousy and concern over how this will go but in order for the one true romance of the show to have their moment, why are we shown an outside character’s reaction not once but twice? It’s not as if there is a love triangle happening between Jon, Dany, and Tyrion. So why show us? Their love scene already has an “interrupting” factor with Bran’s voiceover that they try to mix in with the love theme of “Truth”, so why add this, too? 

Because it’s not going to end well. Because it’s not a pure two-sided, mutually deep romance.

And on top of that, this interview with Peter is very telling. “He loves her -- or thinks he does.” “She’s awe inspiring.” “He knows the two of them getting together could be very dangerous.” -> this relationship or getting together will not end well

“He loves her -- or thinks he does.” “She’s awe inspiring.” -> this is the way it’s been going the whole show is the arc of Dany in the show that most people feel enamored with from characters in the show to every last GA member, the Khaleesi, the Breaker Of Chains, the Mother Of Dragons - this is who Tyrion fancies himself in love with, who he supports and has faith in; this is who Jorah is head over heels in love with; this is Missandei’s queen who she & the others have chosen; this is who Jon has started to have feelings for (as per the 7x06 script confirmation) and loves by the time they get to Winterfell. In the end, though, Dany is no longer the Khaleesi or Breaker Of Chains and has even surpassed the Mother Of Dragons arc in that she uses Drogon purely as a weapon after 8x04. 

Example 5):

Going back to what Davos said up above in Example 1, we get this scene in 8x01. We see Jon and Dany being viewed by Tyrion, Davos, and Varys, while making commentary. Notice again how Davos is the one to mention a possible union of the two, ruling the 7K together. Yet, while we see what appears to be a nice moment that these guys are viewing between the couple, we purposefully are not able to hear what is being said between them, and are viewing them from a distance like these guys are. Why? Because the show is selling/pitching you the idea once again through Davos while he is selling Tyrion and Varys on the idea of a union.

When we do eventually join Dany and Jon down there, what do we see? Dany telling Jon that Sansa doesn’t like her, Jon trying to reassure her, and then her subtly threatening if Sansa doesn’t respect her... 

All of this was to show you that from the outside looking in, Jon and Dany seem to be the perfect power couple, the ultimate romance (despite the Targaryen secret). But when we actually do go inside, not all is as it appears to be.

You know what reinforces that idea? This:

Jon and Dany actually had a semi-romantic moment, after displaying that the actors did indeed have chemistry in their banter before Jon rides Rhaegal, and boom, Drogon “interrupts”. To the point where Jon positions Dany in between them and keeps an eye open as he kisses Dany, watching Drogon warily. Once again, not only will this romance not end well, but it’s not a true romance. Drogon is clearly watching and you almost get a sense of distrust or at the very least, wariness. If Drogon is sentient enough to not kill Jon after he kills Dany, then he is sentient enough in this scene and that begs the question, just what is he thinking? 

Example 6):

This scene, Jon says “She shouldn’t be alone” when Varys tells him how Dany has stayed in her room, locked away in her grief. This isn’t Jon saying this because he’s love struck. This is Jon being compassionate and more importantly, because he’s thinking of a certain line said to him by this man:

“A Targaryen alone in the world is a terrible thing.” And this is after he says, “No one to guide her.”

Jon now knows that he is the only family she has left in the world and now Jorah and Missandei are gone, leaving her with only Grey Worm, Varys, Tyrion, and himself to guide her. This is why Jon stayed by Dany’s side despite any amount of fear he had, despite her turning into dark!Dany at the end and leaving the Khaleesi, the Breaker Of Chains, and the Mother Of Dragons behind. He cared about her, plain and simple, but he was not head over heels in love. The show did a terrible job portraying that, because it was more interested in hiding Dany’s dark turn (while also giving hints so it’s weird why they chose to try to hide it at all) and keeping something also hidden about Jon (maybe pol!Jon? or maybe that Jon wasn’t as in love with her as she was with him? or maybe that he ultimately is the one to end up killing her? I don’t know, again, weird they gave all these hints but still kept it hidden, again, terrible job).

This doesn’t take away from the attraction he felt to Dany or any feelings of love that he had for her up to the end. He just wasn’t in love. Sure, he was awed by her like Tyrion, like Jorah, like mostly everyone else had been up until season 7. Dany’s line in 7x07 confirms this, when telling Jon about the dragons in the dragonpit: “They inspired awe and wonder. They were extraordinary.” And then she came to Westeros, a place where they had seen dragons before (think Aegon, the dragonpit, the dragon skulls in the basement of the Red Keep, the Targaryen tombs in the Sept, Aerys, Rhaegar), where Jon tells Dany if she uses the dragons (in 7x04) then she’ll “just be more of the same.” Dany’s line to Jon in 8x04 cinches it: “People have looked at me that way before. But never here. Never on this side of the sea.” The North (and Westeros) were never going to see her as the Khaleesi or the Breaker Of Chains. “The North remembers.” And the first thing Dany does when going to King’s Landing for a ceasefire talk, she rides Drogon to the dragonpit meeting. (It was smart and safer for her to do so, but Drogon of course lets out an intimidating roar before leaving, this is a land that is happy for Targaryens to remain out of power despite Cersei or the Starks or any other family). So it’s no surprise that Dany never experienced “love” in Westeros. Her dragons “overshadowed” her other two personas and once her dark turn happened (and lbr, she was on the verge of all season 8), there was no chance for the people to love her and accept her for either of those two arcs. Same goes for her relationship with Jon. Jon wasn’t ready to kill her after she massacred King’s Landing, he was actually defending her (which was very out of character and then was later confirmed by Bryan Cogman and Kit Harington as Jon being used as the audience mouthpiece and Tyrion was the writers’), ready to stand at her side, even if she chose to kill him later on. Only when it comes to his sisters, only when Dany unknowingly confirms that they indeed won’t have a choice in her new world, does he choose to act. 

The show’s mistake in that scene was keeping Dany a sympathetic character until the end, which negated the moral of her story. But their even bigger mistake was using dialogue to callback to season 1 Dany, the same Dany the GA and Jon cared about, in a bid to make it a more tragic moment. It made it more tragic alright, but not in the way they were hoping. 

Ship and let ship is my philosophy. So if you enjoy the idea of Jonerys, by all means, you do you. But sadly, this show really almost baited the audience with this idea of this ultimate tragic romance when it was anything but. Personally, this is why I’m anti-Jonerys. More than any other reason, this is why. The relationship wasn’t a good one for either Jon or Dany. And in my opinion, it wouldn’t have worked out even if Dany had lived, even if Dany hadn’t gone dark and burned down King’s Landing. This romance in this particular showverse was never going to be a love story for the ages. It was never meant to be.

tldr; Jon did care about Dany, had feelings, but he wasn’t in love with her. The show pulled the old bait and switch with it. They showed you a power couple that was supposed to enamor you and then break your heart, but then revealed it was never going to be the ultimate romance and negated the true moral of Dany’s story alongside Jon’s character with it.