#likely due to its runtime

[vqnillaclouds]

just found out a movie critic thought that wicked’s plot was confusing. what

[oatmealdoodles]

I promise I’ll make Murder Drones art but let me get this out of my system

GUYS I AM READY TO MAKE THIS MOVIE MY WHOLE PERSONALITY

Going in I was a bit weary since I did in fact watch the original on broadway, and honestly, it didnt really click for me. Don’t get me wrong I LOVED the story and characters but I just never felt emerged, either due to the theater setting or its break-neck pacing. Luckily this movie works WAY better for me, and thats mostly due to them extending the runtime of act 1 to nearly double its length. We really get to breathe and be with these characters, and surprisingly I never once felt bored it was all so well made and paced.

The biggest concern I had though was that they were going to play down the charm of the original to make it “less broadway” and appeal to broader audiences. Mostly because I watched the new Mean Girls movie be so ashamed of being a musical that it got me worried for the whole genera. Luckily they didn’t they turned the campy charm up to 11, with full group choreography and some insanely creative set designs (Dancing Through Life). Like these are the EXACT VIBES I wanted from this movie.

One of my favorite parts of this movie is actually the production. Specifically the set design and filming, where they actual made almost all of the sets irl. They planted thousands of poppies just for the opening number, they actually made Munchkinland and Shiz, it’s all real. This movie also just looks great (ignoring some lighting) like the colors were POPING OFF the screen colorful especially in the beginning of “What is This Feeling” this movie is a visual treat. They really kept CGI to a minimum (obviously the animals but whatever) in order to pay homage to its theater roots. And it looks absolutely PHENOMINAL huge props to the team on that. Secondly they filmed the singing in direct, meaning no voice overs. And that weirdly didn't sound off at all the singing quality was amazing

that reminds me Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were SO GOOD. They ate, they slayed, they Cooked, they every-other-gen-alpha-term-of-praise-I-can-think-of. Their casting just fits the roles so well with a 110% commitment coming from both of them. Cynthia’s Elpheba might actual be my favorite interpretation of the character I’ve seen. Also the part they added with the original actresses (Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth) interacting with the new ones was maybe the most fan-service thing in this whole movie and I was here for it I gasped in the theater along with my friends.

Like I can’t overstate enough how much I ENJOYED this movie (I guess an essay long Tumblr rant will do) theres just an infectious enthusiasm and passion radiating off the screen. It really feels like a movie made with love, like everyone making this wanted to make it.

I can’t recommend enough that you go watch it if your a fan of musicals or broadway you'll have a ball with this one. 9/10.

[paper-mario-wiki]

i have now watched all of what has been animated of Overlord, here is my review:

okay i'll watch the fifth season but if Renner doesn't act like a fucking freak openly on-screen in at least half of the episodes im gonna be pissed. to be quite frank, and quite self indulgent, there are SO few yandere women that are given proper screentime these days-- and that's in manga AND anime. why is nobody brave enough to go full yuno gasai? what's wrong with these people? have they forgotten one of the core dere archetypes? my god. the only time girls get to act crazy on screen in anime is when they're an abusive guardian, a power ranger tier villain, or traumatized into helplessness. i want to watch someone whose derangement gives her power and i dunno, maybe she wields them selfishly for the one she loves! and that SEEMS like it's whats been promised to me in the 5th season, but ive been wrong before!!! theyve strung me along with the promise of seeing her do some real insane shit with no more than 6ish minutes spread thin over the 1248 minutes of animation the show's runtime has been composed of thus far. but god dammit. im still gonna watch.

anyway, everything else was pretty cool too, at least enough to keep me interested in the meantime. the animation was pretty bad for most of it. but the writing, voice acting, and overall direction were able to keep the story enjoyable despite that. to compare it to another isekai with a similar premise, though executed very differently; the politics are more interesting in this show than in Slime Show, but Slime Show's world feels more consistent, and the events contained within more justified, where Overlord does ass-pulls often. but i like this world too. i like these characters. i like how complicated they are. much of it is very edgy, and it's chock-full of what i'd call "anime bullshit", but that's a seinen story for ya.

my ratings for the seasons are as follows

6/10

7/10

6/10

7/10

Overall verdict:

this show is hard carried by its sprawling cast of deeply insane women, and god dammit they carried my girl-loving ass through 52 episodes. and probably 13-26 more depending on whether or not the studio really does end up wrapping up the story in the next season. due to the shamelessness of this shows content, i don't know that i can think of many people who i would recommend it to without feeling embarrassed about it. HOWEVER. if you're the kind of person who kept reading this because of the multiple mentions of really, really insane women, and that was enough to get you to read this whole thing, you'll like this show. i mean. as long as you can tolerate all of the *blech* Heterosexuality.

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

Netflix Picks Up Starz Series ‘Black Sails’ From January 2024

Netflix will be starting the New Year off strong with the news coming today that the streaming service US will be picking up multiple seasons of the Starz Original series Black Sails from January 1st, 2023.

From executive producer Michael Bay, Black Sails is the historical drama series that serves as a prequel set 20 years prior to the beloved 1883 novel Treasure Island. It ran on Starz as an Original series for four seasons across 38 episodes between 2014 and 2017.

The series scored 3 Primetime Emmy wins throughout its runtime and remains a hit among fans with it currently carrying an impressive 8.2 on IMDb. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a mix of One Piece for its slavish ships and sets mixed with the historical drama and action of The Last Kingdom.

Amongst the vast ensemble cast for the show featured Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper, Toby Schmitz, and many more.

When will Black Sails be on Netflix?

Multiple seasons will be coming to Netflix US on January 1st, 2024. The exact number of seasons coming to the service hasn’t been confirmed, but we suspect it’ll be all four.

The show is expected to continue to reside on the Starz streaming service.

We haven’t found any other Netflix regions scheduled to get the show. We also checked Netflix in the UK and Canada, but they’re not expected to arrive in either. That’s not to say this couldn’t be licensed to others down the road, however.

For more on what’s coming to Netflix in the United States throughout January 2024, keep it locked here on What’s on Netflix.

Netflix in the US doesn’t have access to many Starz titles like it used to. Netflix US has previously held titles like Ash Vs. Evil Dead and Spartacus, while Netflix internationally carried Power. One significant exception is Outlander (although that’s licensed from Sony Pictures Television), with new seasons coming two years after their original air date. Season 6 of Outlander is due to release in 2024.

Source: What's On Netflix

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

Coming in hot this week with a new show plus an ongoing favorite. We also have Takara no Vidro and Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko! next week--we are back in the jql flood (yay!). Look forward to those and pray for international distribution so we can all watch TNV soon.

I Hear the Sunspot

I am so hype for this show. Twelve whole episodes to tell this story properly! The film version, Silhouette of Your Voice, is very cute but suffers from its short runtime. This one seems like it will be a more faithful adaptation of the full manga and I am thrilled. We started strong this week with the introductions of our main characters, Kohei and Taichi. I really love the way they are calibrated in this version, and Taichi is an instant blorbo. I also liked the choice to open with a look at Kohei's despair in the future before going back to the start, as it grounds everything nicely in the stakes for him. The show is also already doing a great job of unpacking Kohei's perspective on his hearing loss and the way others treat him as a result.

@nicks-den is also planning to fan sub this one, so look out for those updates. I recommend watching on Gaga when it comes out to give it the views and then revisiting with the better subs later in the week.

Bonus: Ossan no pantsu ga nandatte ii janai ka

Episodes 7 and 8 have been made available on @isaksbestpillow's blog, and this show continues to be glorious. Highlights from these episodes include the return of Hasegawa (with newly glowing skin) and Kakeru continuing to make friends and settle on a career path in makeup, Mika learning to let her family appreciate her, Makoto's confusion about whether Kakeru likes boys or girls, Kakeru's frustration that he's trying to figure that out at all, Daichi's anxiety that he is making Madoka's life more difficult, Madoka's fear of losing him due to his inability to come out, Makoto's continued efforts to confront his senior and change his workplace for the better, and a lot of hard won bonding and connection at the festival. Phew, this drama packs in so much in every installment and it all feels so natural.

My favorite thread in these episodes was the parallel they drew between Makoto and Kakeru and their struggles with communicating effectively. Kakeru's impatience and dismissiveness toward his parents' attempts to connect with him at the start of the story are akin to Makoto’s own former impatience and dismissiveness about anything he didn’t understand, and it was such a huge moment of growth for Kakeru to recognize that. Part of growing up is developing empathy for your parents and recognizing your own similarities to them, and I love that he is starting to open up and give Makoto grace as he earns his trust back. I also loved the conversation between Makoto and Madoka and the way they helped each other understand their respective situations better. This show keeps surprising me with how attentive it is to all of these relationships and connections.

Passing to @bengiyo for a manga update.

[nutterzebutters]

Yk now that we got a taste of shadow milks true intensity due to the new CRK trailer today I think it's safe to say that behavior is exactly why pure vanilla had to go through 12 whole trials, or at least a good damn reason. Knowledge governs the principles of being able to do something, and therefore governs the nature of the virtues, similarly truth governs over the nature of the lights the ancients inherited, bc without it you really can't achieve the true form of these lights; to be in tune enough to actually carry the soul jams.

A jam so powerful that it can fold the mind of a cookie literally baked for it in half and then some, a principal so encompassing that it's only natural for it to be the worst offender when something goes wrong, and the brightest light when things go right. I believe you can also use the word "polarity" and slap "extreme" in front of it and it would fit the description of this seemingly clover shaped gem.

Now I haven't checked the ep 9/10 story as of recent, I'm sure it's since changed, but at a very early point in the runtime of this game dark enchantress cared about that jam the most. The rest were like bonus powers, trophies next to the big one. The light of truth in particular was quoted to be the one that would help her mold the world in her image (which I'm sure is one of the reasons she's reviving the beasts, is if she can't get PVs she might as well try for shadow milks while the beasts help her create that perfect cookie business) and I hope they haven't forgotten about that.

Also would like to add voice acting is done with multiple takes, for the purpose of finding the correct tone, empathsis, what have you. It's one of the reasons games like CRK will go back and work on the story of earlier chapters, and in Odyssey clotted cream purposely empasized that against Holly and cacaos jams, pure vanillas didn't seem to share many common properties other than what made it a soul jam like it's kin, and likely still doesn't share properties with cheeses in any real regularity. Freedom can be arguably like truth and it's interesting to see how these lights tend to reflect their previous natures regardless of the purity process. Even going as far as to select cookies that share the same traits, or are prone to the same mistakes as the beasts, the only difference is that these cookies have the tools, the experience to push through while the beasts really didn't.

I don't actually have any predictions, usually I would. Ik that I would like to see some conflict with wind archer that does NOT prevail or save the day and it does seem likely he's either going to fall, no message sent

He's going to fall, but at least the message is on its way to the others

Or he does get out (which wouldn't make for a very fun plot point tbh)

The trailer for those who haven't gotten to it yet

[niobiumao3]

So, here's what X-Men 97 did that TBB did not, for its main character death. Obviously, huge X-Men 97 and TBB spoilers.

The death happens at a pivotal moment story wise, but is NOT immediately abandoned for other plot.

Remy (Gambit) dies towards the end of an episode which is in and of itself a real jaw-dropper, much like Plan 99. Out of nowhere a safe haven for mutants is being glassed, and Remy sacrifices himself to put a stop to it, because he's a little crazy but also well aware of what he's capable of and knows it might be their only chance to save SOME of these people who are his fellow mutants. The episode ends with his lover, Rogue--who's finally decided she agrees with Remy on things and is going to choose him and the X-Men over an alternative--holding his lifeless body in her arms.

Tech, on the other hand, dies 1/3 into an episode and vanishes from sight. Our POV character here, Omega, is injured and doesn't witness most of the ensuing escape, so when she wakes up, she demands they go back for him, crying, and we see Wrecker cry and Hunter explain he didn't make it.

...and then the episode keeps going. They're betrayed. A villain tosses Tech's broken goggles at Hunter and threatens them. Omega is captured, the remaining members of the Batch barely escape. For almost twenty minutes of runtime AFTER Tech dies, the story keeps going and has NOTHING to do with him dying (save the dig about the goggles). His death gets maybe, at most, 2 entire minutes of focus between Omega and Wrecker's reactions, Hunter's when Hemlock gives him the goggles, and Echo looking at the empty pilot's chair. That's it; for the bulk of the episode Tech's death has next to ZERO involvement in the story. It's not the climax. it's just A Thing Which Happened, and that massively devalues it from a narrative viewpoint. No one stops for more than a single breath to react to it, thus we as the audience don't.

(If anyone is winding up with 'that's because they can't due to the everything', this is why it's NOT GOOD WRITING. If you want the death to matter to your viewers/audience then you need to MAKE the time for it in your story, somehow. This isn't real life, you DO in fact control the horizontal and the vertical when making your plot.)

In X-Men 97, the death is the immediate focus of the next episode and a character's entire arc of the ensuing episodes. In TBB, it's a footnote.

In the following X-Men 97 episode, Remy has a funeral which Rogue doesn't attend, not because she doesn't care but because she's off raging against the machines, trying to find those responsible and kill them. There's a gorgeous eulogy for Remy, some thinking back on who he was and what he meant to them, a friend angry at Rogue for not being with them. It's so good. We cut to Rogue, absolutely furious with grief and looking to take it out on, well, everyone. She winds up putting herself into a coma as a result.

Literally nothing like this happens for Tech. Nothing close. There's a several month timeskip in S3 eps 1-3 which negates any immediate mourning or revelations to people who wouldn't know (Crosshair, Phee, Shep and Lyana), and we see NONE of Wrecker, Hunter, OR Echo's processing. Just what we saw in Plan 99, which again, is almost nothing. For a main character who as of S2 had the third most screen time of any character.

In X-Men 97, Remy keeps coming up as someone to remind them of what they're fighting for, what he would want for them. Tech is a skillset and a pair of goggles.

Remy is the first thing on Rogue's mind when she wakes up from her coma. She's instantly grieving him all over again, and mentions him numerous times throughout the remaining episodes as someone who wouldn't want this for them, or would have hoped for that. He's a guide for her even though he's gone. The rest of the characters reflect on him off and on--not his skills or abilities, but who he was, his nature. Remy's death completely changes Rogue's behaviors, almost 180 degrees, as well.

Tech is mentioned for what he could do, not what he liked or didn't like, how he felt about things, save for once: when Phee reveals he told her all about Crosshair. This is the only time someone talks about him like people talk about Remy in X-Men 97, and it happens twelve episodes after he died.

No one's actual narrative course changes trajectory in the case of Tech's death either. No one is shown making different decisions based on his loss (just the lack of his skills), no one is bringing him up as a rallying call for themselves, nothing. He is excised from the show in terms of his emotional, character impact. The loss is of someone who can decrypt things or knows stuff, not of a beloved sibling.

Remy's presence remains throughout the rest of X-Men 97, despite him dying in episode 5 of 10. Tech vanishes and becomes an occasional reason they have to do something the hard way and a background prop.

If you want to know how to actually write a main character death and have it MATTER and make it good story telling, watch X-Men 97.

[snapscube]

i am curious, with infinite wealth, do you think some of the more emotional things with kiryu had a different effect than if you'd been more familiar with his games? asking because i saw some people say IW is a great introduction to him as a character, but i've played all of them up to that point.

oh almost certainly!!! i will say, basically the entire first half of the game is almost purely focused on ichiban in a way i found extremely comforting as a newcomer. so knowledge of kiryu's full journey is not at ALL required for a very large portion of playtime, HOWEVER there is a threshold point where suddenly they start to really give his history the spotlight and at that point i could tell that there was a lot that would Hit Different if i had played games prior. HOWEVER, in defense of playing this game without that context and with credit where it's due, RGG does a really consistently good job not only filling in necessary exposition when required JUST enough to get you over the finish line if you don't have everything committed to memory or you're just new... but ALSO a lot of the emotional beats were just kinda universally recognizable for me? there's a lot i was able to put together either through bits and pieces of pre-7 titles i HAD seen, or even just through context clues based on the dialogue i was presently hearing/reading and general familiarity with character archetypes. i can NOT say that i experience Infinite Wealth with the FULL WEIGHT that it can potentially have, but i CAN say that i don't feel like my experience was COMPROMISED. i still cried like 6 times in the whole second half of its runtime haha, it's really emotionally powerful and a lot of its themes stand alone just fine.

[beifong-brainrot]

If worked for the team who made Avatar TloK. How would you rewrite TloK?

To be completely honest, rewriting tlok wouldn't fix all it's issues. Tlok just needed to have longer seasons, an actually established amount of seasons so they weren't pressured to make every single season a complete story for fear of not getting more time.

But let's say, hypothetically that I murdered mr Crabs or whoever is in charge of Nickelodeon and removed any studio meddling from the show.

My perfect world would include:

More filler episodes that focus on a singular character. Think Sokka's Master or the Painted Lady. The Krew are all fascinating characters with a lot of potential, however, due to the runtime of the show, their storylines are rushed... or completely nonexistent. Give me more details of Mako and Bolin's childhood. Show me emore of Asami struggling with her father's arrest.

I'd try to cut down on the westernisation of the show. I can see why these foreign aspects slipped in, since the closer the Avatarverse inches to our modern times, the more blurred the lines become. At least to my whiteass. I'd try to lean towards silkpunk, rather than the much more west based steampunk. It would be a fascinating endeavour to imagine what a world with mostly eastern influences would look like.

I'd make Vaatu the overarching villain/final boss of the story... it would require a bit of moving around of the timeline but I think I'd structure it as: Red Lotus> Kuvira> Amon> Vaatu. However I'd blur the timeline more. Make Amon a background threat in the eariler seasons, only for him to rise in popularity and power after people see what benders like Kuvira are capable of, for example.

This would also allow for certain villains to become redeemed or at least helpful in some way, later on. Mayhaps Amon and Kuvira team with the Krew to defeat Vaatu in some way.

Also, instead of destroying Vaatu completely, I'm leaning towards Korra absorbing him, in a way. Yes Vaatu is a dark spirit, but 'darker' urges are necessary for humans' survival and happiness. Korra embodies the duality of man very well. I think it would be a fascinating idea to see the Avatar become the embodiment of both light and darkness.

In general, making Vaatu and Raava more morally ambiguous, rather than the simple good spirit/bad spirit thing they had in the og show would be a fascinating concept.

I'd do my best to pull away from the show's original centerist narrative. Have Korra learn from the villains and make active changes to the world, showing her growth as an Avatar and person. Perhaps she's reluctant to see the Red Lotus' point of view at the beginning of the show, but sympathises with Amon at the tail end of the story.

Make the entire Krew queer. And talk about queerness more, in general. Have the characters have open conversations about queerness in their respective enviornments and cultures. Tlok already has a very queer undertone to it, even before korrasami became canon, but touching on this subject more overtly would provide great opportunity for characterisation and worldbuilding.

Have the story span several years. Watch the Krew grow up. Tlok works very well as a coming of age story even in its original form. Have Vaatu and his darkness and chaos symbolise the uncharted waters of maturity at the end of teenagedom. This especially works if Korra merges or accepts him like i suggested.

There... that's some basics. I think that most of my criticisms of the show could mostly be solved if the studio wasn't being a bitch but well. We can't have nice things, can we?

I took a while to answer this ask because it was genuinely such an interesting, but overwhelming question.

Also now I have wayy too many ideas about a potential tlok rewrite, so feel free to ask me about that if you want to hear me ramble.

[clairedaring]

Spare Me Your Mercy is less a "Sammon series" than it is a "Wo+Lux series"

So I came across this Reddit post where OP explains how they're unable to enjoy the ongoing "Sammon series" aka SMYM and Petrichor.

And it just doesn't make sense to me how people keep categorising SMYM as a Sammon series when she didn't even do the screenwriting on this one, at most she's consulted for professional and specialised knowledge. Meanwhile Petrichor is based on the novel "Rust in the Rain" (หยดฝนกลิ่นสนิม) by SixTeenSeven but it's a Sammon series because she wrote the script for Petrichor with five other screenwriters.

I don't know but for me I'd find it more appropriate to compare Spare Me Your Mercy to series like To Sir With Love, Century of Love, Laws of Attraction or even Kahon Maha Ratuek which are directed by Wo & written by Lux.

Spare Me Your Mercy has already deviated itself by being an adaptation of two volumes of Euthanasia by Sammon rather than being a close-to-novel adaptation of one Sammon novel like MOD and Triage. Perhaps it having similar characteristics (rural settings, cops, doctors, thriller, crime, mystery, investigation) is enough for some to brand it a "Sammon series" but it's not the case for me.

Absolutely no idea where I'm going with this but I'm just really frustrated at people calling it a "Sammon series" when all the "underdeveloped", "rushing" sentiments are due to the major condensing of a large body of source material rather than a weak story (I have my tiny qualms with the novels as well, don't get me wrong but that's a story for another day. Great books though, could do with better translations).

Like you don't compare a Ma-Deaw Chookiat Sakveerakul work and a Wo Worawit work just because they have source material from the same author. That is not to mention that production company aka producers can have large influence over a story (especially its ending) and thus politics of producing a series for a BL koojin can also affect quality of a work.

Condensing stories wise aside, I do think Spare Me Your Mercy is doing a great job on sparking the debates on euthanasia with fair amount of scenes spent on Kan & Tew talking about their clashing views on this topic. If Lux and Wo's sole goal in making this series is to showcase a crime investigation series with two main characters having clashing views on euthanasia, I think they're doing well.

It's surely debatable whether the main characters' romance is convincing or not (This discourse I will I leave this to the non-readers who are getting to know KanTew throught the series and not reader audience like myself). Characterisation wise, I would say they're the exact same as the novels, with the lacking aspect being a lack of runtime to flesh out and develop the serial killings/the investigation/the development of characters' relationship.

I'm probably getting beside the point but perhaps if you want to watch a good suspense lakorn from screenwriter Lux about a cop investigating serial killings with his lover being a prime suspect, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Kahon Maha Ratuek กาหลมหรทึก (2018) (engsub grey watch here)

No idea what my original point was in writing this since I'm not a stan of any of the mentioned creators (Wo, Lux, Sammon...) so I'm not writing this as a defense for anyone... I just prefer that critical comparisons be made with understanding of context and acknowledgement to different creative teams of respective series instead of crediting/attributing everything to one popular name in BL-sphere and using that to make quick judgements of a series.

[cheshirepirouette]

FFXIV and its Recent History of Antiblackness [1/2]

This first link is a collection of perspectives on Yoshi-P, the head of Final Fantasy XIV and essentially the "face" of the game; he's notable for cultivating a very personal relationship with fans of the game, with there being a lot of positive associations between him and the game alike. The game wouldn't have reached its current level of popularity without him.

In this article [Eurogamer FFXIV post, titled "Yoshida's response to Final Fantasy 16's lack of diversity is "souring", says Black players"], Yoshi-P's decision to refrain from including diversity in that game was due to it being a fantasy setting that was heavily based on Medieval Europe. There are key arguments against diversity quoted in the article, with this being one of the most striking:

"In the end, we simply want the focus to be less on the outward appearance of our characters and more on who they are as people - people who are complex and diverse in their natures, backgrounds, beliefs, personalities, and motivations. People whose stories we can resonate with. There is diversity in Valisthea. Diversity that, while not all-encompassing, is synergistic with the setting we've created and is true to the inspirations from which we are drawing."

I'd already been losing interest in FFXIV because of its focus on whiteness as purity throughout the game's runtime. Things have improved on some fronts, where the villains aren't always those with the darkest skin and fantasy racism towards Fantasy Races has been addressed, but it's felt like I was pushed out of this space more and more as time went on.

Not only was I unaccounted for by the dev team and their design decisions, but I then felt Intentionally excluded when it came to fandom spaces, with Tumblr being the forefront of the movement there.

I'm going to expand on this with the primary examples of antiblackness within the game and its systems themselves, in another post that'll hopefully come soon.

[starliteonearth]

TFOne Takes the Todd Phillips' Joker Approach to Megatron's Turn

Ever since I watched this film, something has been bothering me about D-16's arc. It didn't click with me like I had expected and I believe I finally put my finger on why.

Whereas I was expecting a slower, more methodical, philosophically/intellectually-driven descent, what we got was more akin to Phoenix's hot-blooded, maniac, emotionally-reactive unravelling. The lid on a pressure cooker finally blowing. Perfectly fine narrative choice, however, due Megatron not being the singular focus of this film, and its shorter runtime, it ends up feeling a bit rushed and undercooked.

Personally, one thing I believe could've facilitated his turn a bit smoother would've been to instead start him off as a gladiator, with the miner experience being in his very recent past. This way, violence is already a huge part of who he is and him brutally ripping Sentinel apart in front of thousands without blinking has a better, more believable leadup.

Basically, I think it might better to start not at zero but at like twenty-five percent into a character's arc when doing a corruption narrative in a shorter runtime, specifically in which our character becomes a ruthless murder machine. Or at the very least, becomes unconcerned with taking life. Firmly establish right from the start, their capacity for physical violence and its logical escalation into cold-blooded, brutal killing and/or rage-driven, wanton destruction.

[loonarii]

Ari's K-Pop Roundup: May 2024 (aespa, NewJeans, IVE, tripleS, YVES, ARTMS + MORE)

sorry this one was a little late - it was partly due to my personal life being a bit hectic at the moment, and partly due to the amount of stuff I wanted to say about this month's releases. check out last month's installment here, and happy pride month :)))

Supernova + Armageddon - aespa

Instant classic. 'Drama' in all its electric cyber-crush glory is a tough act to follow, but 'Supernova' holds it's ground from the first second and starts being fucking iconic in the next five.

Dem Jointz is all over this track, I love how he gets to go a little wild with the complexity of his production when working with groups like aespa and NCT. The beat bounces and booms, taking the listener on an intergalactic roller coaster ride of dance-pop rhythm, with the aespa girls as our celestial guides. 'Supernova' is a masterclass in vocal mixing and ad libs, Ningning's vocals sound especially addictive on this track, low and oozing confidence. It's an instant hit, and one of aespa's best.

While 'Supernova' feels very much in aespa's usual territory, 'Armageddon' takes a few more risks - it's slightly less dancepop, a little more edgy; less first-listen club banger and more third listen unexpected groove. Don't get me wrong, it definitely maintains the hallmarks of an aespa title track: full of unplaceable futuristic synths, tin-can trap beats, and a deep sliding baseline, but something about that half time chorus and the switch up to focus on the members lower registers more feels so confident. 'Armageddon' depicts an aespa utterly assured in their abilities as idols, musicians, entertainers, and performers, and regardless of it you liked the song or not, I think it is clear to anyone from this title track that aespa have far from reached their peak, and they still have much more to do in this industry.

Frustratingly, the album did not live up to the quality of the titles that represent it. There are a few stand out hits, like 'Bahama', which pulls off y3k h2o just add water mermaidcore effortlessly, as well as 'Set The Tone' a classic aespa style track evocative of the 'Drama' and 'Savage' EPs in sound, and 'Licorice' which apparently is controversial to enjoy, but I can't help but love its bounce and rhythm; but much of the rest of the tracklist fell short. I couldn't help but notice a lack of coherence both in the sound and concept of this era. The album feels like a hodgepodge of tracks rather than a deliberate project - there aren't any through lines between tracks other than aespa's flagship futuristic production style (which isn't actually present on every track but whatever), and each song seems to be appealing to different scenarios of streaming music - BAHAMA is for a summer beach date, but Supernova is for the club, but then Live My Life is for a disney channel original movie starring Demi Lovato?? The overall vibe seems to be disjointed.

This is a problem I have with a lot of aespa's releases since the 'Savage' EP - on the EP or mini album or album or whatever around 65-90% of the tracks are certified bangers, life changing hits, and then there are a few dull fillers to pad the runtime. I know there is a pressure for groups to release something twice a year or so, but I think aespa is at a point in their career where they can certainly afford to release an album once a year if it's for the sake of quality music.

Great titles, poor b-sides - aespa deserves more than a top-heavy album, SM take more than six months next time you want to make an album for them I beg.

How Sweet - NewJeans

It's been a rough couple of months over at HYBE, and considering how sick we are of it as fans and listeners, I can't even imagine how exhausted the members are of the whole ordeal. Being at the centre of one of k-pop's biggest company dramas in history in the middle of your comeback season isn't for the weak, but NewJeans make it look easy. They are back, stronger than ever, with yet another instant classic.

'How Sweet' is the complementary reversal of 'Bubblegum', capitalizing on the members gorgeous lower registers and pairing them with a 90s hip-hop vibe, featuring their signature NewJeans production flairs as always. I've seen a little bit of criticism that this song feels too much like 'ETA', (which I think is a bizarre comparison, it much more sounds like a lovechild of 'OMG' and 'Ditto') but I don't think that groups releasing music in their established sound is a bad thing at all. NewJeans aren't rookies anymore, they have more than proved themselves to be a force to be reckoned with both on the charts and on the stage, and with the korean general public and bunnies themselves consistently loving the NewJeans sonic identity it makes no sense for them to abandon it entirely. They've grown a lot since 'Attention' and 'Hype Boy', and their performance of this song shows that clearly.

The girls' vocals on this song are to die for, every line they deliver exudes confidence and assurance in their capabilities. Danielle and Hanni's little chant of 'Toxic loverrrrr you're no betterrrrr, 거기 숨지 말고 얼른 나와, you little demon in my storyline, don't knock on my door, I'll see you out' is adorable and SO catchy, Danielle's delivery in that outro with her Aussie accent being a highlight of the song as a whole.

Yet another banger from (in my opinion) the most exciting kpop group out right now - it is becoming clearer and clearer to me that the day NewJeans release a bad song is the day pigs fly.

Girls Never Die - tripleS (<ASSEMBLE24>)

The final lineup for tripleS is here, and with it, one of the groups best songs to date. Juggling 24 members in one song is feat few have successfully managed, but tripleS expertly uses the plethora of voices they have at their disposal to deliver a title track as hypnotic as it is anthemic.

'Girls Never Die' has all the hallmarks of a tripleS song we've grown to adore, from y3k style production to the classic 'lalala' hook in the chorus - sonically it both calls back to the groups humble beginnings with Acid Angel From Asia's 'Generation', and looks to the future of the group with its united 24 members. The verses tend to lose me a little, but although they are dull, they are thankfully short, and the chorus is a stunner. The finale of the track is a triumph, the final refrain of 'girls never die 절대 never cry' closing the song giving the effect of a battle cry - to me 'Girls Never Die' says tripleS are here to shake things up in the industry, and release fun music while doing it.

I've enjoyed many a tripleS project before this, with the +(KR)ystal Eyes EP and the 2023 ASSEMBLE album being real highlights. '<ASSEMBLE24>' is immediately one of ( if not their best) albums, b-sides such as 'Beyond the Beyond', 'White Soul Sneakers', and ESPECIALLY 'Chiyu' bringing the heat fully.

tripleS are one to watch, and while I have genuinely no clue what 'decentralized kpop idol group' means or what the fuck an objekt is, trust when I say I will be watching.

Accendio - IVE (IVE SWITCH)

After the exciting return of an IVE that is worthy of their hitmaker epithet with 'HEYA', I was intrigued to see what 'Accendio' would bring to the table other than a matching cherry-red wig moment for the members (which was iconic btw.)

'Accendio' borrows some ideas from garage, but generally just feels very kpop - it's functionally the epicentre of the sounds of the industry right now; a little bit tripleS, a little bit (G)-IDLE, but 100% IVE. It has an ethereal quality, but in the sense of a fallen angel, with the lyrics bringing a sense of Catholic guilt (not sure why this is becoming a trend right now but sure!). The chorus is half high-fashion girlpop with their chant of 'watch me, don't touch me; love me, don't hurt me', and half rhythmic acid trip with the onomatopoeia and the refrain of '주문 걸어, accendio'; it's a highly successful marriage of opposites. To me it recalls the sound of their Japanese single 'WAVE' which I personally loved, and while 'HEYA' is technically a more advanced kpop song production-wise, 'Accendio' just has a pace and rhythm to it that 'HEYA' lacks, making it feel more exciting and engaging.

It's actually kind of crazy how good the rest of the album is, like IVE's b-sides have never been criminally bad, but this is wild. Potentially a niche reference for you 4th gen stans, but 'Blue Heart' and 'Ice Queen' are to 'Accendio' what 'Clue' and 'Note' are to SHINee's 'Sherlock'. 'Blue Heart' expands on that vogueish, runway style sound from the first part of the 'Accendio' chorus, and 'Ice Queen' explores that gossamer flowy sound from the refrain. I doubt this was intentional, but I love any sense of sonic consistency in kpop albums (@rinas4ki this kind of what we were talking about) and all three tracks are very successful.

'WOW' is a little bit of a wildcard, an acoustic style girly type of track that sounds like the kind of thing SM used to force aespa to sing, but it works very well for IVE. That post chorus of 'wowowow' is very cute. 'RESET' also has a little bit of a garage sound, and reminds me a lot of Yves debut (which will be discussed below), and while it is pretty catchy, it isn't especially memorable, especially in the context of IVE's discography and the quality of the other tracks on this mini album, but it is still worth a listen for sure.

Overall I am very impressed with IVE this time around, 'HEYA' is very enjoyable, 'Accendio' is even more enjoyable, and the b-sides don't put a spanner in the works at all, in fact they in many ways boost the overall quality of the comeback, a feat frustratingly rare in the kpop scene. If you missed the 'IVE SWITCH' album this month, I would definitely recommend giving it a listen.

LOOP - YVES (LOOP)

It feels good knowing all 12 members of LOONA have redebuted after leaving BBC, and what a way to end it. Yves has always been one of my biases in LOONA, and this solo debut proves exactly why she's so special.

'LOOP' is a uk garage style kpop classic, and while Lil Cherry's rap occasionally wanders into questionable territory, Yves' vocals melded with the gorgeous Pink Pantheress style production (no she didn't actually produce it, but a girl can dream, right?) make the track the hit it is. I've seen the use of 8-bit sounding vocal processing being criticised online, but I personally love the computerized sound it brings - with Yves lilting 'ooh's and refrain of 'yeah I'm lost but I like it' 'LOOP' creates an atmosphere of a virtual euphoria.

'LOOP' is great and all, but for me the real star of the album is the beautiful, the stunning, the AWE INSPIRING, 'DIORAMA'. It's so effortless in it's production and that chorus is so subtle yet addictive, it's seriously good. 'DIORAMA' has been on repeat since it's release, I can definitely see this one finding a spot high on my top kpop tracks of 2024 list.

The mini album as a whole is amazing, Yves is such an exciting soloist, she clearly has a lot she wants to achieve, and 'LOOP' is evidence of that.

Virtual Angel - ARTMS (Dall)

WARNING - PLEASE READ: If you wish to support ARTMS after reading this review, please be warned that the music video for 'Virtual Angel' contains repeated flashing scenes, and has been reported to trigger seizures, epilepsy and headaches in a small minority of viewers - even the 'Human Eye Ver.' has some flashing elements. Please stay safe!

I think i speak for all orbits when I say we had big expectations for 'Dall'. Both of the Loossemble albums so far have been excellent, Chuu and Yves have been bringing it in their solo projects, and everything we've heard out of Modhaus concerning Loona has been incredible - for ARTMS to stumble with this album would be immensely frustrating. Fortunately, they did not stumble at all, they smashed through the finish line of the Loona redebuts, and elevated the groups post-BBC discography to another level of excellence.

'Dall' is an album that is difficult to put into words. It has the essence of Loona beyond just having Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Choerry and Haseul involved, it is genuinely quite moving how it echoes that 'Hi High' sound from so long ago. I say this as a joke a lot, but 'Dall' is genuinely an album that feels like an ascension to another plane of existence - it is euphoric and ethereal, especially in the context of the fight the members and orbits have put up since 2022.

I consider 'Girl Front' the gold standard for Loona songs, and 'Virtual Angel' genuinely comes close to snatching that crown. The whole album is so fucking good, and while I would usually go through the charade of describing every track and its genre influences and whether the hook is catchy or not, I refuse for this album - I will not steal the experience from you of hearing this album for the first time.

So yeah, this is probably a mildly shit review, but PLEASE go stream this album, if there was any post BBC Loona album you were going to listen to, let it be this one (but also the Odd Eye Circle album lmao). 'Virtual Angel' is a triumph, 'Dall' is a triumph, 'The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy', 'Sparkle' and 'Unf/Air' ESPECIALLY are triumphs.

In conclusion... stan loona.

MINI REVIEWS:

Taxi Blurr - Jay Park (feat. Natty of KISS OF LIFE): i may not like Jay Park, but Natty is and always will be my girl, so here we are. I really love the 90s r&b style of this track, and Natty especially sounds amazing on it - her vocal colour is so beautiful. The two's voices blend really well in my opinion, the harmonies in the bridge are satisfying as hell.

Mona Lisa - Soojin (formerly (G)-IDLE)): questionable album titles aside, Soojin is back with her second comeback post leaving (G)-IDLE. This song is frustrating because it's not really offensively bad in any sense, but it is also not really especially good in any sense either. The budget for the MV is kind of crazy, but I wish they had put some of that into the making of the actual song.

No Biggie + Algorhythm - ITZY: (requested by @a-moth-to-the-light) If you've been on my blog before, you will know that JYP's direction of ITZY's korean releases has been irking me for a while, but somehow when ITZY gets on that plane and lands in Japan I am always obsessed. I'm into pretty much all of their Japanese releases, like Ringo went triple platinum in my mental chart. 'No Biggie' is really cool actually, super catchy and Yuna sounds amazing on it - it feels very laid back and relevant to the 2024 music space, something that ITZY's korean singles seem to struggle with. 'Algorhythm' is also SO GOOD, in production, style, and vocal performance. The music video and song also have major old red velvet vibes, which I love. ITZY - please stay in Japan a little longer, the discography over there is so solid. I miss Lia so much though, I hope she's doing well.

LOST! - RM (BTS): I really appreciate namjoon's artistry, and I actually enjoyed his 2022 album 'Indigo', quite a bit, but this song just doesn't work for me. I have heard from others that the album is something special tho, so if i have a spare half hour I might give it a listen.

나의 이름은 (ROTY) - YOUNG POSSE: I would like to redact my previous statements on young posse, I get it now, and this song is so fun. Very 2000s, very y2k, beautiful production, great raps from everyone, what more could you want.

Supernatural - A.C.E: Saw a GIF from the music video on my dash and decided to check it out, and I was severely impressed. 'Supernatural' is not an ear-splitting noisy headache of a track I have come to expect from kpop boy groups, it's a light hearted, classic Bruno Mars style pop hit. Good music and a well produced fun concept? I need to check out this group more.

[shipcestuous]

I decided to go back and read your Paul/Jessica commentaries again, and I thought that you'd be interested in hearing these things.

Jessica is Paul's concubine through weird legal fuckery and property rights. Jessica was purchased from the Bene Gesserit school by Leto's father (Paulus Atreides) for Leto when they were teenagers. From the day that the Old Duke bought Jessica for Leto, Jessica became property of the Ducal Household. Yes, she is Paul's mother. But, legally, Jessica is Paul's property after Leto's death. That's a big part of the book and why Jessica defers to Paul and allows Paul to dictate a lot of the things that are happening once the House of Atreides falls. Jessica is the bound concubine for life to the Duke of House Atreides - no matter who he is.

So, technically, from a legal standpoint, Jessica is actually Paul's concubine, which would be a classic Bene Gesserit move (Bene Gesserit sisters will marry and breed with their own sons if ordered to preserve or strengthen traits in House bloodlines.)

Another thing I wanted to mention was pertaining to the Dune movie draft with canon Paul/Jessica (which was actually the first draft for Ridley Scott's attempt before the Lynch movie)– here's what its writer (Rudolph Wurlitzer) had to say about it:

“I took what I always felt to be a latent but very strong Oedipal attraction between Paul and the Lady Jessica, his mother, one step further. I injected a lovemaking sequence between these two. I meant that act as a supreme defiance of certain boundaries, which might make Paul even more heroic—in the sense that he willingly, but lovingly, broke a taboo.”

Lastly, I don't know if you've heard this before, but at least three more scenes between them (including two training sequences that you can find stills of) were removed from Part One because test audiences and executives had gained the impression that they were in a secret relationship and thought that they had too much sexual tension (hence the deletion of the aforementioned scenes) together, and that Jessica was pregnant with Paul's child, not Leto’s. This was also because of Rebecca Ferguson's choice to play Jessica as very closed off and reserved when dealing with Paul, which, when combined with the aforementioned factors, had the effect of giving their interactions a sexual and romantically intimate subtext (and also due to runtime!) The scene where they change into their stillsuits was just the tip of the iceberg compared to what they cut out. It's wild that because Rebecca Ferguson can't play maternal at all (which is actually quite fitting for Jessica,) test audiences and execs really thought that Part One was a secret love story between Paul and Jessica...

This ask was delicious, like a giant slice of fresh chocolate cake, the kind with chocolate shavings on top.

I had heard some of these things but I thought they were just rumors. It sounds like they're a bit (a lot) more confirmed than I had realized.

I had absolutely no idea that Jessica was considered property or that she passed to Paul upon Leto's death. The Bene Gesserit powerful/powerless dichotomy is really fascinating.

That Rudolph Wurlitzer quote is insane.

might make Paul even more heroic

Heroic, lmao. I like the way this guy thinks. Pour one out for this version that was never made, and also for the scenes that were cut from 2021, so steamy they convinced test audiences and executives that Jessica was carrying Paul's child.

And raise one up to Rebecca Ferguson. I toast to you, madam.

[tea-mew96]

I really need to discuss ROTB Optimus Prime cuz I think he's become one of my favorite versions of the character. Spoilers and analysis below cut

I'm aware that there's many who aren't happy about the way ROTB Optimus was characterized, but I'm not one of them. On the contrary, I think ROTB Optimus is brilliant. I sincerely believe that this movie improved on something that I feel the Bay films missed out and failed on: it blatantly showed this is an Optimus who hurts and does the things he says or does because he's hurting and doesn't want himself or anyone else to needlessly suffer.

There are many, myself included, who view Bayverse Optimus as a guy who has been so drained by being a war leader, who is so tired of being backstabbed, that he is no longer willing to give second chances to the Decepticons, who have made it clear time and time again that they're not going to surrender and won't stop their destructive ways. Because of that, it leaves Bayverse Optimus no choice but to fight back just as dirty as the Cons do.

The problem is that while this is a perspective that can be concluded to, it's not one that the Bay films capitalized on. They had the chance to see between the lines of their own storytelling and emphasis Bayverse Optimus' mental state, but rarely did. You get slivers of it in AOE and TLK, but it gets overshadowed by the all the problems those two movies are riddled with. I believe this issue is primarily due to Bay's often limited line of thinking as a director, but it could be caused by other factors.

ROTB emphsizes Optimus Prime's state of mind frequently throughout its runtime. You see it when Mirage talks to Noah about how Optimus seems to be blaming being stuck on Earth on himself, you see it in Elena's conversation with Noah by the campfire, and you see it when Optimus Primal and Airazor discuss how on-edge Optimus Prime appears to be. But I'd say it's the most obvious after Scourge stabs Bumblebee and Optimus states later that "It should've been me." Holy shit, if that line doesn't raise a thousand red flags I don't know what will.

ROTB Optimus is very much putting all the burden on himself to the detriment on his own mental health. This "put all the burden on me" attitude is not uncommon for an Optimus-you can see this trait in almost every version of the character-but it does paint a worrying picture.

Also like many iterations of Optimi, ROTB Optimus understands when an opponent can be reasoned with and when they need to have their ass kicked. He recognizes, after being mocked by Scourge and getting his ass handed to him at the museum fight, that Scourge, Battletrap, and Nightbird are not interested in peace. The only options they give you are surrender, join them (either willingly or forcibly), or die. They're also not just your average Decepticon: they are powerful minions of Unicron, and Airazor describes Scourge as being all but invincible.

ROTB Optimus rightfully concludes that Unicron must be stopped and that the first step of doing so is to kill off the Terrorcons. While I'm sure some people probably didn't like it, Optimus' blatant declarations on killing Scourge didn't bother me. I did notice how many of his death threats were after Bee was out for the count and most are a banter response to the ones Scourge gives out first. It's also important to note that the only way Optimus Prime was able to get a final blow on Scourge was with the assistance of Noah and Primal.

TL;DR ROTB Optimus is what Bayverse Optimus should've been and still maintains the traits of an Optimus.

[itsclydebitches]

ted's, "it's not about me. it never was"

and all I felt from trent was, "oh, but it was"

I thought trent was going to stick to his word and tell ted why he was wrong...

but I guess ted just summed up his outlook and something trent so loves him for, so trent couldn't deny ted's wish. but there's got to be a future out there where, while still published as "the richmond way," trent still goes on and tells ted why, for trent, ted was entirely wrong about that.

I feel like in the show I want Ted Lasso to be -- and, crucially, the show I thought it was; the show it arguably should have been based on every other episode that came before this -- Trent would have corrected him. Because this is not an acknowledgement that Richmond doesn't belong to Ted, or even Rebecca, which is a reminder that I like. Ted allowing the fans to sit in on the practices and Rebecca selling portions of the club to people like Mae highlights the heart of the team, that this club "means something" to the community, to quote Trent. However, the book is explicitly, specifically about this particular season of football and how Richmond came to have their Cinderella moment... which is all due to Ted. I get why "Believe" is framed as the fourth factor in Total Football (and frankly I think it would have been a better title for Trent's book if he had to reject The Lasso Way), but belief is only the end result of the work Ted has done. Anyone could have waltzed into Richmond and said, "Believe in yourself!" but it wouldn't have done a damn thing because it was the unique approach of The Lasso Way that taught everyone what belief really means. Ted is the fourth aspect because it is only through his methods that generic concepts like Belief, Friendship, Trust, Compassion, etc. become understood well enough to be implemented despite the obstacles.

So yes, I think Ted is wrong. Trent isn't arguing that Richmond belongs to him, he's arguing that Ted irrevocably changed Richmond for the better... which is true. But the finale doesn't commit to that argument because, frankly, the finale commits to VERY little that the rest of the show lays out.

Ted Lasso spent its whole runtime arguing for Roy/Keeley and then dodged it at the last moment.

The finale argues strongly that Rebecca is already a metaphorical mom to the team and the fans, but then throws in a literal, blonde-haired blue-eyed daughter in at the last second.

The show has consistently framed Beard/Jane as an abusive relationship -- from Higgins intervention to Beard talking to God about his addiction to "pain" -- but the finale irrevocably fames this as true love instead.

Our wonderful queer plot-line made it clear that Colin was too scared to kiss his fellow after a game because that would out him as the only pro, queer footballer... and then he just does it anyway. Which I'm not upset about on its own, to be clear, rather I'm upset that there was no setup for why Colin's feelings changed; why he's suddenly willing to shoulder an understandable, HUGE downside.

The finale argues VERY strongly that Ted should not go back to Kansas. In fact, I plan to write a whole damn essay on that. He's clearly not himself, Rebecca is begging him to stay, Beard is staying and is in tears over the idea of betraying him, they haven't won the whole thing yet which provides a practical reason for him to stick around, Ted literally questions whether he's making a foolish, horrible choice as he's sitting on the plane... and then he does it anyway.

This finale is chock-full of choices that don't match up with what the rest of Ted Lasso has written, or even something from earlier in the finale itself. When Trent says that he's going to push back against any criticisms and explain why they're wrong, outside of the jokey "I'm a passionate writer, an ~artist, who is a little on the arrogant side," it sets up a moment for Trent to indeed correct one of them about their view of the book. After all, he's been the observer all season and arguably has a more objective understanding of what's been happening around him than they do. We've already seen it! Trent stops Ted and (accurately) explains how no, he hasn't changed tactics. You've been doing this for three years. I can see that even when you can't.

The show sets up the moment where Trent will explain that Ted is the foundation of Richmond's success and, presumably, helping him come to terms with staying here.

... and then we never got that.

There were honestly so many parts of the finale that I loved, but most of them were details like the Sound of Music farewell, or putting the "Believe" sign back together. Structurally, one of the few things I really bought into was the team winning the West Ham match and losing the league... which was unfortunately soured after the fact because that now reads as the PERFECT excuse for Ted to stay another season, yet he doesn't. I'm trying so hard not to read the whole thing pessimistically given how many of those details I loved, but when the core plot of the episode has so many problems, damn is it difficult. Other than Rebecca, it felt like the whole cast, Trent included, just gave up on Ted and given my very strong feelings about Kansas I wanted to shake the episode by the shoulders and go, "Stop acting as if this is a good thing just because this is what the writers originally planned! Did you learn nothing from HIMYM??" There are these moments, like with the book note, where you get this sense that everyone is respecting Ted's wishes, but that they thoroughly disagree with them, and the show never hits the point where Ted's viewpoint is appropriately challenged in a way that would make him reconsider. Despite the fact that Ted is a character who frequently needs to be challenged due to limited, inaccurate perspectives brought on by his anxiety (this season gave us "Find out before you freak out" as a big example). I legit had hope for a moment when Sharon showed up, thinking that Ted's therapist of all people would be able to articulate why giving up his family/support system to play his mother's approved version of fatherhood might not be the best decision... but, like so many other aspects, her return didn't amount to anything other than a wholesome callback.

It's a tragedy, frankly. As in, the genre definition. Everyone in the Ted Lasso cast is living the Rom-Com ending of found family, new romantic relationships, and bright, happy, humorous moments... except for Ted himself, staring pensively into the camera as he comes full circle, back to where he began. Back in Kansas. Back (non-romantically) with a woman who doesn't like him very much. Back trying to be a perfect father because that's what's expected of him + that's what his trauma demands of him. And now he's dealing with Jack, no Beard, no American football, no professional soccer, no visits as the rest of his family undergoes major life changes. Just Henry and the reminders from Season One that you're allowed to be a goldfish. After all that growth Ted has gone backwards.

I said before that obviously they were setting up the Kansas ending -- I'm not saying it came out of nowhere, not at all -- but I really don't understand how anyone can watch that and not feel depressed as hell about it. Ted Lasso is a show that consistently left me feeling good and hopeful and nearly giddy with pleasure. It says something that after finishing yesterday I mostly just felt hollow.