#of course poseidon was redeemed in the end

[the-indie-owl]

My Favorite Dynamic between Villain and Henchmen is where the Villain is usually a Narcissist who's Henchmen is just literally the type of Guy that just goes along with.

[ghostscrown]

I'm really anxious about what they'll do with Medusa's story in this third episode but also really excited. I saw some people say she was gonna have a more tragic story.

I'm anxious because I don't want her to be fully redeemed. To me it's a very important and iconic part of the book that she gets killed, and that her head is sent to Olympus by Percy. I liked all of the changes so far, but I really want that to stay. It's also necessary for the ending with Sally and Gabe. Like, if it's done well, I could still like it, so we'll see of course, but I would prefer if they keep that from the book. My biggest fear for this first season of the show, is that she won't get killed.

But I'm also excited because there's still a really good possibility with that tragedy thing. Imagine her story being tragic, and she's mean and angry at Percy because of her backstory with Poseidon, and Percy is still forced to kill her because she's attacking them, or she dies one way or another. Sending her head to Olympus would be SO MUCH MORE impactful, then. Not only as a provocation to the gods, but also as a way for Percy to tell Poseidon : "look at what you've done to her. Look at the lives you ruined. Look at the consequences of your own actions." or something like that. It would really fit the anger they gave him against Poseidon, anger that seems to be much more important in the show than the book, so it would be a really good plotline and a really good way to show it. To show how Percy is kinda thinking the same way as Luke. To show how Medusa is still suffering, her and so much people, because of the gods.

But for now we don't know. I think I'm gonna like the path they chose anyway because this show didn't disappoint me for these first episodes, but if I could chose right now, I think I would prefer the second option. The first could still be interesting depending on what they do about that in the next episodes, but still. We'll see, I guess.

[darksideconal2556]

Kratos in the Helluvaverse E1: Welcome to Hell Ghost of Sparta

hello multverse travelers today I’ve got a story for you all. It is about two very different and unique worlds colliding with each other. The first hand, is a very odd and weird version of Hell where a princess wants to redeem souls. But for the other focus on a vengeful man named Kratos so let us begin. After the defeat of the Titan Cronos, Kratos was about to return Hephaestus, he was pulled from his timeline into another. As he woke Kratos looked around him.

Kratos: what is this?

Kratos knew he was in another timeline, he knew this was not another tournament or even outworld. The environment was rather odd looking. The people there didn’t look human though some features were there but Kratos didn’t care he needed to find his back to Olympus.

“Tower bell rings”

Kratos: (grunts) what is that?

The skies spilt apart and the exorcist angels came down to hell to kill any sinner. Pulling the blades of exile Kratos hacked and slashed at the angels tearing them apart one by one. A reminder to when he faced the barbarians and sold his soul to Ares. Several hours would passed and the extermination was over. Thousand of dead exorcist angels on the ground and Kratos stood triumphant.

As Kratos was about to walk away he was approached by the Vees. Val: Well well I got to say the way you killed those angels was pretty sexy. Say would you like to work for me?

Kratos: I have no time for you.

Val: woah hey now, this is hell buddy so you either fight for yourself or you work for me

Kratos: (pulls out the blades or exile.)

Val: what’s that did you get from fucking EBay- (gets hacked and slashed) oh fuck (screams in pain) Vox! Velvet! Don’t just stand there fucking help me! Oh god! (His head gets sliced by Kratos)

After the death of Valentino, Kratos explored the rest of Pentagram city with no way of returning to Olympus

Kratos: (angry grunts) Athena! Damn! What tragedy of the gods is this?!

Alastor: it’s no tragedy my friend.

Kratos: ( pulls out the blades) who are you?!

Alastor: easy my friend I’m not here to fight

Kratos: then why did you come here?!

Alastor: to meet you of course, I’ve been hearing great and rather exciting things about you. Most about the extermination by hey, at least Hell now has a protector now. Besides all the overlords are talking about you Kratos

Kratos: overlords? Are the gods of this realm?

Alastor: No, that would be the seven sins.

Kratos: your gods do not matter, my only concern is Zeus.

Alastor: yes but you seem to be stuck here so I’m offering to stay at the Hazbin hotel for a while. And trust me you might like it.

Kratos: I will not but if you try to kill me I will-

Alastor: beat me up like Poseidon, take my soul like Hades, tear off my head like Helios, cut off my legs like Hermes, punched to death like Hercules or stabbed like Cronos.

Kratos: how do you know-

Alastor: easy Spartan, let’s just get to the hotel. And in time I will tell you everything, and the names Alastor sir quite a pleasure to be meeting you.

And so Kratos now heads off to the Hazbin Hotel but this is only the start my friends though I have a feeling some others have sensed Kratos’s presence.

Lucifer: wait what’s this Greek source? (Realizes) oh shit it’s Kratos!

God: what? No. It can’t be.

End of E1

[sciencestyled]

Pandora’s Bizarre Brainy Adventure: How Curiosity (Almost) Killed the Cat

It was a typical Tuesday in ancient Greece. I, Pandora, was lounging around Mount Olympus, trying to keep myself out of trouble. You know, after that whole box incident, I’ve been on a sort of divine probation. Zeus had given me strict instructions to stay away from anything resembling a container, and honestly, my reputation could use a bit of polishing. But as anyone who knows me will tell you, curiosity is my middle name.

One fateful afternoon, I found myself in Athena’s library. While leafing through scrolls on human anatomy, I stumbled upon a strange contraption labeled “Neuroimaging: The Ultimate Mind Reader.” Intrigued, I couldn’t resist tinkering with it. Little did I know, this machine was designed to peer into the very depths of the brain, revealing secrets and thoughts better left unexamined. In hindsight, maybe that label should’ve been a clue.

As I fiddled with the buttons, a hologram of a brain appeared, swirling with colors and lights. Before I could say “Hera’s handbag,” the machine started whirring and sparking. Suddenly, I was transported into the minds of various gods and mortals alike. And let me tell you, the stuff I saw—Hera plotting her next scheme against Zeus, Poseidon’s obsessive collection of seashells, and even Hermes practicing his stand-up comedy routines—was pure, unfiltered drama.

Then, a thought struck me: what if I could use this technology to uncover the most fascinating, scandalous, and downright hilarious secrets of the human brain? Surely, the mortals would be just as interested in this juicy gossip as I was! Plus, it would be a great way to redeem myself. So, I decided to write an article, spilling the beans on the latest and greatest in neuroimaging.

Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly. My first attempt to use the machine on a mortal brain resulted in chaos. The poor fellow ended up thinking he was a chicken for three days straight. But after a few more mishaps (and some stern words from Athena), I finally got the hang of it. I discovered that neuroimaging could expose everything from your deepest fears to your most embarrassing memories. It was like having the ultimate gossip box at my fingertips!

Excited by my findings, I began crafting my article. I decided to call it “Pandora’s Gossip Box: Exposing the Brain’s Juiciest Secrets with Neuroimaging.” Catchy, right? I delved into the wonders of MRI, fMRI, PET scans, and even EEG and MEG, each offering a different way to snoop on the brain’s activities. The possibilities were endless, and the drama was off the charts.

Take MRI, for instance. It’s like a front-row seat to the brain’s private affairs. Imagine catching those sneaky hydrogen atoms in the act, spinning and twirling like they’re at an Olympian gala. And fMRI? That’s like reality TV for the brain, capturing every scandalous neural activity in real-time. PET scans, with their radioactive sugar, are the undercover agents of the brain world, lighting up hotspots of activity like a divine soiree.

I also couldn’t resist adding a section on EEG and MEG, the brain’s wiretaps. These technologies eavesdrop on electrical and magnetic chatter, revealing the brain’s most fleeting thoughts and impulses. It’s like having a spy cam in your noggin, capturing every moment without disturbing a single hair on your head.

As I penned my article, I realized how neuroimaging raised important ethical questions about privacy and consent. It’s one thing to gossip about the gods, but quite another to pry into the minds of mortals. Still, the potential benefits for understanding the brain and diagnosing diseases were undeniable. I was hooked.

So, dear readers, that’s how a simple trip to Athena’s library led me down the rabbit hole of neuroimaging. From the quirky quirks of the gods to the complex mysteries of the human mind, this journey has been nothing short of exhilarating. And now, I invite you to join me in exploring the brain’s juiciest secrets. After all, who doesn’t love a bit of gossip, especially when it’s all in the name of science?

Now, buckle up and get ready for “Pandora’s Gossip Box: Exposing the Brain’s Juiciest Secrets with Neuroimaging.” Trust me, you won’t want to miss this scandalous peek inside that thick skull of yours!

[elencelebrindal]

So, about the gold saints, how do you think each of them fit in modern life outside of sanctuary? Like hobbies or side occupations, or doing normal, mundane things in the city or dealing with technology like tv, cars and phones and etc? The sanctuary is so detached from outside that could as well be stagnated in another time period, but I suppose that most of them have a social life or a "normal" persona since they are almost never in the sanctuary unless summoned. The anime anime showed it a bit regarding the bronze saints, but I was always curious about the golden ones 😩

Sorry for the wait, I’ve been busy.

Well, let’s see... as a disclaimer, I will say that I mostly headcanon them living at the Sanctuary (they have private chambers in the temples), so I didn’t thoroughly think about this. But I have some ideas, because I love putting these characters in the world we know.  In my own worldbuiling I have for them, they’re all familiar with technology and the like, but only because it’s a more specific situation. So this will be what I think they do on a more general account. 

Some of them definitely don’t deal with technology and have mundane occupations and hobbies. The major example is Mu, who lives isolated in Jamir, so we already know about him.  Maybe the only times he gets in touch with the normal society is for groceries, but I’m pretty sure anything else that’s “normal” is not in his life. 

Shaka is another one that doesn’t deal with a normal life, because I imagine him self-isolating to meditate in peace. Just like Mu, the only society he sees (well, experiences) is when he buys food. That’s a necessity even Shaka need. Anything else is out of the picture.

Most of the other ones, on the other hand, have their fair share of normal life experience. Although, I also think they won’t even think about having a job or something of sort. Normal persona or not, these are still Gold Saints. Can you imagine them having to work? For someone that’s not actually more important than them? Nah. 

I can imagine Aldebaran strolling around the streets of his home country, having cheerful conversations with people he knows, maybe drinking something while watching tv in a bar. 

Saga would never leave the Sanctuary to have a normal life. And he didn’t, because Ares is a bitch. The one I actually picture going around having a normal life is Kanon, both before and after his redemption, although with very different outcomes. As in, he’d end up getting arrested every three days before turning over to a new leaf.  Kanon would definitely pick up fishing as a hobby, even if just to spite Poseidon.

Deathmask... well, we have Soul of Gold, right? Gambling, drinking, an overall being a menace to society. Although, I don’t think he’d be that much of a pain for other people. Can you imagine him going to get groceries, and just being an asshole to everyone serving him? I can’t. Also, he likes to cook, and is particularly fond of driving around (pretty sure he illegaly bought his driver’s license).

I think Aiolia, much like Saga, doesn’t leave the Sanctuary unless it’s necessary. For the life of me, I cannot picture him having a mundane life. If I go completely off the rail, like what I do in my work, then yeah he likes going to Athens and walk around the city, but as far as hobbies go I have no idea. Technology I feel is a no go for him, but if he were to own a phone or a camera... well, the entire camera roll would be filled with photos of cats. 

Dohko is a menace with technology and should never be allowed near it. Not because he’s useless at understanding how stuff works, but because once he does it’s over. For everyone he has the number of.  He’d probably be the only one willing to have a job, though. As a teacher, maybe, given how much patience and sass he showed with Shiryu and Shunrei.  The city life, however, is not for him. After spending so much time in quietness, I feel like for him going to a city is nothing but a hassle. He’d probably have a house in the village near the waterfall and be friendly with everyone. 

Milo loves the city life. He lives in a big house, at least as big as his pride, and is always out to find new places to have fun. He own a motorcycle, obviously, and has a phone that he uses way too much. But! he’s not a very open person when it comes to people he knows in his normal life. His mundane friends probably don’t even suspect that he’s a Saint. I also picture him with a passion for music, so his hobby is playing the guitar. Electric, of course. This man is a metalhead and you cannot convince me otherwise. 

Aiolos... well, doesn’t Episode G tells us he likes to spend money? I don’t know with him, really. I mostly think that he wouldn’t leave the Sanctuary, and at most would have hints of a normal life dotted here and there in his Saint life. Technology? A little. Watching tv is a good way to pass time. His hobby is also his “job”, basically, because it’s archery. 

What can I say about Shura? His normal persona might be completely opposite to how he is a Saint. As much as I love him as a perfectionist with sight homicidal tendencies (all redeemed, thank the gods), I think he’s one of the Saints that know how to properly function in a normal society.  He’d prefer living in a quieter place, like a small town on the mountains, but has a good relationship with technology and the like, and likes to participate in social events if they’re not too crowded. 

Camus is straight up as asocial as I am and lives in complete isolation in Siberia. Only owns a cellphone, prefers books to a television, and limits all social contacts to the extreme necessary. Not because he hates people, but because he enjoys the silence. Especially after having to deal with two trouble-making students. He owns both a sled and a (I’m not sure if it’s called like that) snowmobile, but prefers the former because dogs. He loves his huskies.  Rarely, though, he likes to make an exception and come down to the village, visit the local bar. Maybe drink something away from his house and have a chat with his neighbors. 

The Saint that’s mostly able to blend in with society, especially in big bustling cities, is Aphrodite. Technology is not a mystery for him, and gardening is definitely his hobby. He never refuses a drink with some company (if the company is good enough for him), and owns a (very expensive) car he uses to move around. Traffic is a travesty, so he also likes to take long walks, and is probably the only Saint with a frequently updated social media. He has way too many followers for his own good, but no one dares to send him unsolicited messages. 

I would have loved to have more extensive headcanons for all of them, but as I said, most of the ones I actually have come from a very specific work I’m writing, so they wouldn’t work with a general situation.  Maybe I’ll come back to this, add stuff I forgot or something I make up with time. Who knows. 

[dgcatanisiri]

So, this is one of those things that is made obvious by hindsight, and, honestly, given the IRL stuff that created the bind that production was in during season five, I understand that there was probably a proverbial mad scramble among the production staff that hit all sides on production (with New Zealand about to host the Lord of the Rings movies, it was taking away some of their production people, on top of Lucy Lawless’s actual pregnancy impacting a very physical character, as well as Rob Tapert going off for a good stretch of episodes, focusing on Cleopatra 2525, so handing off the reins of the show, and all that fun stuff).

I think the big issue surrounding Eve is that they never really figured out who and what she was to the overall show, leaving her as just this plot MacGuffin and motivator for Xena, not as a character in her own right. Because once they committed to including Lucy Lawless’s pregnancy (which, don’t mistake me, I absolutely applaud the producers for that, considering how there are certain other high profile shows and creators who weren’t so accommodating who I hold a grudge against for NOT doing that *cough**cough*JossWhedon!*cough), they had to account for this baby.

And after Solan, it is 100% in Xena’s character to holding her second child as tight as she possibly could. She lost her chance to not just be a mother to Solan, even the chance to make that right as best she could when he was murdered. So she would hold Eve tight, no matter the cost. Xena would make every effort she could to be the mother to Eve that she never had the chance to be for Solan.

But a Warrior Princess with a baby is a stifling thing on the writing level - it’s a bundle you have to account for at all times, and there is a perception (a bad perception, but a perception, one that was definitely common twenty years ago when Xena was produced and honestly probably still prevalent among studio execs today) that making a “Warrior Princess” into a mother means that you are going to “weaken” the character, because now she’ll be focused on diapers and first moments over killing. Obviously ridiculous if you have any conception of Xena as a character, but I have this feeling that very few of the people who finance anything in the general Hollywood system actually watch the final product unless there’s some news buzz surrounding it, so...

That led to finding a way to age Eve up, which, to remain in character, to stay true to the character of Xena, which, for any and all flaws one can levy at the show, particularly through the lens of hindsight and twenty years of societal progress we won’t get in to here, the show absolutely DID stay consistent with, meant that Xena had to be separated from her daughter.

And then... I really feel they did a disservice to Eve at this point with the Livia stuff. Because after all their talk of how the cycle of reincarnation and “better in the next life” in the back half of season four and the first half of season five... Eve ends up reenacting the greatest tragedy of both her mother’s life AND Callisto’s, going through a similar path as Callisto.

And, from the perspective of the season arc, the Twilight of the Gods, there honestly was a missed opportunity to try and hammer out some flaws, explore the gods now that they felt the danger had passed and how they had settled back into complacency over the time jump, rather than spending time having to redeem Eve, taking up a good couple of hours on her alone, rather than the concept of the Twilight of the Gods.

Consider instead... Joxer had taken her in, then and there, after Xena and Gabrielle were presumed dead. He takes her in, raises her alongside his children, telling her the stories of her mothers and making sure she knew how much she was loved by them, that they sacrificed everything to protect her. Sure, you have to work around the gods missing the fact that Xena and Gabrielle’s closest ally JUST HAPPENS to pick up this infant child RIGHT AFTER the supposed death of Eve, but... I mean, it’s still Joxer, the gods probably don’t really pay attention to him unless they want to use him against Xena anyway. 

Anyway, this happens and Eve (raised under another name, probably, I figure Joxer would have that much intelligence) grows up safe and happy, having the chance at a life and love that she deserved as it was, that Callisto, her past life, had never been able to, that XENA never had been able to, the life that Xena would have wanted for her daughter, to know only love and peace, rather than a life of constant battle and blood. When Xena and Gabrielle awaken, they meet her, and she is happy and content to know them... But her path is not that of a warrior, and she has no intention of joining them on their journeys, just being someone that they visit, like Cyane or Ephiny were, characters who only showed up when there was a specific story to tell with them. Have her say “Thank you for doing everything you have and will for me, mother, I love you so much, my place is here, in this peaceful village, living the life I have.” Because I think Xena, despite missing Eve’s life, would be so damn HAPPY to end up seeing her daughter being able to live her life and finding happiness in it, outside of battle. 

You can even keep a lot of the various events from that arc, just shift the responsibility over to the gods, give them some focus in the midst of their existential crisis - Ares and Aphrodite are the survivors, so show their uncertainty with this path of killing Eve, Discord had been around for several seasons, yet her death is ultimately so offhanded, if you blink, you might miss it, Hephaestus had appeared as a sympathetic character before in the franchise, yet he dies even more offhandedly than Discord, I don’t think Artemis even gets a proper line in the course of Motherhood, her only appearance in the arc, and even that’s really more than freaking POSEIDON got... Have Athena or Artemis be responsible for Joxer’s death - hell, let him die DEFENDING Eve against the gods. Even visit with or at least touch on what the gods who aren’t actively being killed off on screen are doing in the midst of this - Apollo sent some of his people against Xena, but never appears himself, meanwhile gods like Hermes and Cupid go unmentioned entirely. All of this could have been happening across the episodes Livia and Eve, instead of focusing on having to go through Eve’s fall from Roman grace, descent into darkness, and ultimate redemption.

In the end, Eve never really ends up fitting in to the series, you can tell by how she ends up being written out of Xena and Gabrielle’s travels once they finish the cleanup of season five’s aftermath, and I think making her a drop-in character who is not a warrior (still could be a follower of Eli’s way, just... Not having the background of Rome’s Greatest Warrior and all the sins that accrued), someone who has chosen to NOT fight, would have been even more of a better legacy for her as a character, still set up what does serve as her character’s finale in the show proper. I mean, she just disappears for several episodes after the start of season six, and... Really, nothing is missing when she’s gone, this is a character who clearly was never really made to fit the show, just circumstance. 

I mean, yeah, with the benefit of hindsight, twenty years down the line, it’s easy to backseat write out how things could have, should have, would have gone. Like I said at the start, this was probably at least in part due to the background upheaval of general production issues that were outside the creative control that impacted the decisions of the show’s direction. So this ultimately a lot of things that, really, I would easily figure were really just making the best out of the situation they were in and the hand they were dealt.

Still, always interesting to consider the what could have beens. Or at least, it always is for me.

[takaraphoenix]

Hi! What are your thoughts about OUAT.

That’s a complex, layered answer because my feelings for OUaT are very complex. The short of it is that, obsession and love level wise, this was my Shadowhunters before Shadowhunters existed as a show. I completely loved and adored this show, I watched every episode as soon as it came out, with a single-minded focus (as in: normally, when watching TV, I use the show as a background noise to my writing. There is only a select handful of TV shows that ever managed to get my full, undivided attention of me turning all else off to only focus on the show).

I love OUaT to bits and pieces. However, much like Shadowhunters, it was far from a flawless show. Very, very, very far. Seriously, it’s an absolute mess in many aspects but damn do I love it.

It appeals to many of the things I love. For one, classic Disney movies. For another, fairy tales - but the very specific niche genre of fairy tale crossovers, which is just... my biggest weakness, possibly. Thirdly, characters you can get invested in and love to bits and pieces.And fourth, shipping.

This is one of the incredibly small, tiny pool of shows where I absolutely adore the canon ships, not just in a “daw it’s cute enough” way that makes me accept that it is The Canon Ship That’s Happening, but in a way that has me actively invested in and rooting for those absolute dumbasses. And. Not just one ship, usually it’s like “huh I am surprisingly invested in this one ship”, but - Rumpel/Belle, Hook/Emma, David/Snow?? Yes, please, inject it into my veins.

Though also just as attached to my non-canon ships - REGINA/EMMA FOR LIFE, Ruby/Snow, Hook/David. And that duality of being really invested in the non-canon ships but still absolutely loving the canon ships? That is... completely and entirely unique to OUaT for me. Never happened outside this show.

I adore that this show did one of the things that I complained Descendants didn’t - it respects Snow White, the very first Disney princess, and puts her front and center. Never-ever made sense to me that Descendants just went “uuuh we at random picked Belle to rule all the kingdoms because I dunno the head writer loves Beauty and the Beast the most”... Snow White was Disney’s very first and I do think she deserves more respect.

The things they did with her! They made her an actual active heroine. Not a little girl hiding out in the woods. They explored possibilities and turned her into a total badass, who never lost the main qualities of Disney’s Snow White though. Her nurturing, loving, gentle soul. That is what I adore about her, because very often when trying to portray strong female characters, media removes their softness, makes them hardened to make them a badass.

Regina and Emma have such a brilliant canon dynamic - even beyond the fanon ship. The way they mended and grew together and became friends. The growth, the softness, the shared custody. I love them.

And with both Regina and Rumpel, I love the day they gradually progressed from “main antagonist from season 1″ to “part of the family”. This show is a found family feast.

It wasn’t flawless. It had some pacing issues, in my opinion. Like the Peter Pan arc was too long. They went hiking for like 12 episodes. That one still sticks with me as having bored me. And I also do think it was a huge mistake to make Peter Pan, one of Disney’s heroes a villain. He was a great villain and his actor absolutely killed it, don’t get me wrong, but in the context of Disney canon, it was a bit jarring.

The same is to be said about Arthur. Don’t take King Arthur, of all people, and turn him into a jackass. That didn’t sit right with me and I think that could, and should, have been handled differently.

As a huge fan of Wizard of Oz canon, I have mixed feelings about Zelina. She was kind of a joke most of the time, her raping Robin was not good at all (beeecause that’s what it is when you shapeshift into the person the other one loves and then have sex with them under pretense to get yourself pregnant), but in the end it - and her - fit relatively well into all of this.

Was completely wasted for the entire Frozen arc, but even I, someone who loathes that movie with a burning passion, genuinely enjoyed the way the show was trying to fix it? Answer all the unanswered question the movie left and actually tie it into the Snow Queen fairy tale? Like, that was a feast and I love that they did that. Also Ingrid was hot and checked all my boxes so there’s that.

In the same way, I adore what they did with Ursula. That they took the scraped canon of Ursula being Triton’s sister and worked with that and that they in the end decided to redeem her too - though I am still very disappointed that we never got to see Ursula actually interact with Ariel at all. That’d have been so interesting. (Also, I admit, they went really overkill with having three Ursulas. Regina pretending to be Ursula, Ursula the ancient golden statue goddess and the actual Ursula, daughter of Poseidon).

I love Hades. I love Greg Germann’s take on Hades. He absolutely killed it. The whole underworld story was incredibly awesome to me personally - though I know others didn’t like that half-season as much. But I really dug that.

I think that it started to fizz out after that though and that after the underworld storyline, they probably should have drawn it to a close, because... after everything, after five whole seasons of watching redemption and working hard to make up for the things you did in the past, they really just decided “and now Regina is gonna physically split off her Evil Queen”... and made that Evil Queen the villain. That felt insanely repetitive of season 1 and like a set-back for Regina.

(The second half of that season didn’t go better because honestly that whole nonsense with “not only is Rumpel the son of Peter Pan, nope, now we bring in his mom the Evil Fairy”, featuring the very overused trope of “baby is magically aged up to be a character who can contribute to the plot”... Not the best.)

Also I refuse to acknowledge the existence of that reboot season. It’s bullshit is what it is. The show had the perfect ending. And then they immediately slapped a reboot onto it... why? If they had taken their time, wait ten years until nostalgia for the show kicks in and the actors all need work again, and do a proper “now Henry goes through shit”, that’d have actually been interesting, but... the moment I saw “so... we keep half the main cast, break up some OTPs, don’t age the adults up but age Henry up and also there is now a second Cinderella”, I knew that’s not gonna be good.

Seriously, the second Cinderella is what really fucked it over for me. What I loved about OUaT was that it gave very specific rules to its universe.

The Author documents the tales. The Author gives them their spin. But they are still the same tale. Be that the Brothers Grimm, who documented Cinderella, or then Walt Disney, it was still Cinderella, from the Enchanted Forest. Their stories were simply written down.

That they then, in the reboot season, went “well, actually There Are Many Cinderellas!!” completely contradicts the previously established rules of this world? Because yes, the concept very similar to Cinderella actually exists in many cultures - and that was the cool thing of OUaT’s take, because pressumably that is because the Author was in said culture at said time and documented the tale, as is the Author’s job.

Especially since it was so... unnecessary? I mean, they gave Rapunzel one half-assed episode in the past, they never tackled Gold Mary, they could have shown what became of Hänsel and Gretel now also grown up, etc. There were other unused characters that could have been brought in instead of throwing the rules out of the window.

But moving on from that; I love that they didn’t limit themselves to Disney movies - that they did prominently put Red Riding Hood (my favorite fairy tale character) in there, that they worked with mythology as well as books.

One thing they absolutely fucked up was their spin-off though. Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. They made that. They decided that, out of everything touched upon in the series, Alice’s tale should get a spin-off... and then they didn’t use any of the actual characters?

Alice herself never got an appearance in OUaT, not prior or after the spin-off (only very much later in the reboot season, with a different Alice)

They had the Queen of Hearts on OUaT, but they didn’t use her as the main antagonist, or at least a huge deal, on Wonderland

They had the freaking Mad Hatter on OUaT, but he doesn’t even have a single cameo on Wonderland

And don’t give me “Seb Stan was too busy!”, because... even then, they could have recast. The Mad Hatter is kind of a big part of Alice in Wonderland, but... they ignored the majority of what is important in AiW in general, so there is that

They named the Red Queen Anastasia and very heavily implied that yes, the Anastasia who was the stepsister of Cinderella - but when OUaT’s original Cinderella got her stepsisters introduced, they suddenly had entirely different names than the Disney stepsisters and of course it wasn’t the same actress either

They introduced Jafar (for some reason) in Wonderland. And then recast him when Aladdin was tackled on OUaT and never addressed any of the things that happened on Wonderland, especially not how Jafar was the son of the sultan which would technically make him Jasmine’s brother

It was nearly dumb to move Will Scarlet to OUaT after the spin-off was axed, because at that point they legit just ignored Wonderland as a whole so this acknowledgment felt very off. But then it’s Michael Socha and I love him so I ain’t gonna complain about that.

So yes, I have mild issues with how they made a spin-off that had basically no inpact on the show, despite many elements that should have crossed over and carried significance in both shows.

Lastly, because we’re on the topic of spin-offs, I still would absolutely kill for a spin-off about Mulan, Merida and Ruby. Those three, exploring the Enchanting Forest together, training together, being gay together, it was the best thing. Which does force me to mention the gay. Because... Mulan was canonically in love with Aurora and when they set her up to find Ruby and journey with her, it came really off as them trying to make Mulan/Ruby happen. Then they introduce Merida, a very famously single princess, and you start to wonder. But in the end, it’s Ruby who ends up with Dorothy, aka two characters not associated with Disney. And it makes you wonder. (It doesn’t. We all know Disney is hugely homophobic. We all know OUaT most likely had some Disney executive yelling at them for even implying one of their characters may be gay. So they backtracked to give the wlw storyline to two characters that weren’t Disney property.)

Ah, I don’t like ending things on a negative note so one last positive - as weirdly as the Dark Swan arc was handled at parts, I absolutely love that Emma’s name being Swan really did pay off in making her the Swan Princess in the end and giving a nudge to Swan Lake with the Dark Swan. That was such a cool pay-off of something as small as a last name.

So, to sum it up, there’s some flaws in the writing, some things I wish would have been explored more, but overall good gods do I love and adore this TV show.

[sellyworks]

I know we're all waiting to see how things will play out and who's our friend in this series and who isn't.

I'm just trying to put pieces together.

We have this picture of Demeter being a helicopter Mother but she loves her daughter very much is also equally bullies by Zeus.

We see Hestia who is a very lovely and kind lady but I don't really think she's our friend , damn thick mama took that beautiful coat from Persephone and like she looked so proud of herself by doing it too. Suspicious.

I'm like indifferent about Artemis , I love her and she's proven to be a great gal pal for Kore but..she tattled on her and got the Coat taken away! C'mon.

Also I kind of.. find her constant rambling of hating hades to be annoying?? I mean I understand Zeus cuz fuck him.

I guess Poseidon? We haven't really seen him act like a asshole yet and I love this version of him and would cry if he did act out -

But what did hades ever do to her? Jeez -

Anyway , We know Hermes is our friend. And he's low-key Simp for Persephone and it hurts my heart that he's gonna get friendzoned at some point. Also he knows what Persephone did and that's why he got paid off by demeter. Interesting.

We can assume Persephone got beyond pissed off and straight up killed someone and Hermes saw and that could explain the name change.

Anywho - Who else... Thanatos is redeemable.

He just has to catch on that thetis and Minthe are dead ends and he does NOT wanna get fucked up by any of the other God's.

I think he'll find out the hard way tho..so sad.

Thetis? Of course she isn't our friend , she's trying to ruin an already fucked up marriage even more by testing Hera's patience. What in the fuck does she think will happen?? Huh? You think Hera will cry?! IS ANYONE ELSE KIND OF ACHING FOR HERA TO CURSE OR KILL HER OML.

Maybe not, there's a myth she gets married off and has Achilles. Blegh.

Still fuck her.

Okay who else...Um I don't know about Aphrodite , she's just still bitter towards Persephone as far as we can tell and probably is twice as much seeing as Ares took an interest in her. Like I said before she'll get over it.

Ares seems to have s shirt attention span anyway -- lol.

Some real shit will go down with Apollo and I'm scared because he still has those pictures and like...man..I hope you baby Kore just flips her shit on this dude.

And in Minthe , at this point with the way things are going I'm pretty damn sure she's getting crushed into a nice Mint plant.

I would have liked to see her become friends with Persephone and try to be a better person , heck maybe even give Thanatos the simp a chance but no that's not the format clearly.

Let's just see what tomorrow's episode holds , I'm aware we won't see that kiss until 2 more weeks so..yeah ;3;

[my-name-is-apollo]

How do you feel about Hera in Riordan books, and her relationship with the other gods ?

Hera is, umm, comparatively better, I would say. Of course, there are some things wrong, but Her character is not assassinated as much as it is for some other Gods, like Ares. One thing I didn't understand is Hera's involvement in prophecies. She was the one to come forth, interpret it and take actions, but if you ask me, that should have been either Apollo or Zeus. Even Poseidon would have made sense because Delphi once belonged to him. But then, the fact that she influenced the oracle for Heracles would probably give some sort explanation - she was interested because Jason, the one she had taken in, was involved in the prophecy. Apart from that, Hera is majestic and proud, just like a queen. Yeah, there is that jealousy but I think she doesn't let it come in the way of the better good. She shows a lot of patience, especially with Percy, in spite of him being bitter towards her. Even with the other demigods like Annabeth, Piper, she's level headed. Also she likes Jason very much, and I think that's good considering how he is a son of Jupiter (well yeah, she did separate him from his family, but you can't deny that she did care for him. It's not like she took away his family and abandoned him.) About her being Leo's caretaker and doing those things in his childhood, her intention was definitely not to harm or kill Leo. Although we might feel that it wasn't a right way to train Leo, she is a goddess, and knew things better than any of the mortals. And there's not much interaction between the other Gods and Hera in the series. We see Hephaestus talking bitterly about her. But I think over all these years, they both would have cleared up the misunderstandings and be on good terms. And she also says both Ares and Hephaestus are disappointment, which I think is not very right because I haven't come across Hera not liking Ares. Why, Ares even goes and persecutes Leto on Hera's orders, he is loyal to his mother so....And Hera not liking Hades....well I don't have much opinion on it. I don't see why Hera would dislike Hades (I'm not okay with Hera wanting to have only a perfect family.) The relationship of Hera and Zeus is accurate for the most part (although them going to a marriage counsel is a bit much tbh). I only hope that, in the end, we'll get to see Hera redeemed.

[ihateuverymuch]

Lore by Alexandra Bracken (Chapter 1-8) Thoughts

So, the premise of Lore is that Zeus wants to take revenge on 9 traitor gods. Heroes can try to take their place as immortals by killing them. The traitor gods are made mortal for 7 days every 7 years. Currently, there have been 211 cycles of Agon.

Apparently, kahit manalo ka, hindi pa siya permanent. Kailangan ba isa lang matira? Para mapermanent or kailangan lahat nung original matalo? Idk yet. Apparently walang nakakaalam how to end the Agon shit. Pero wala ring may gusto matapos siya kasi malakas na power yung makukuha nung pinakamananalo.

Aristos main enemy? Greedy for power. Killed Hermes and Ares.

Lore was fighting people for a living. Deserve ni Kuyang isa yung ginawa ni Lore 👌🏻

Fuuuck bakit ba kailangan targettin ng Hunter yung iba? Para lang wala silang kaagaw? Eh kung di naman nagcocompete?

Ooohh so friend niya si Castor na akala niya patay na? From House of Achilles? Buti friends sila since ibang House siya. Nagtraining naman pala kasi si Lore sa House of Achillese. Kaya sila magkakilala.

Galit siya kay Castor e HAAHHA 7 years na pala nya akalang patay amp.

Hmmmm bakit siya kailangan hanapin kahit dapat quit na siya? Ano importance niya? Mukang ang goal lang ni Castor ay dahil childhood friends kasi sila.

Amp bakit siya pupuntahan ni Castor tapos may pacome find me? Sarap tuktukan ni Castor. XD

Best friend niya lang si Miles. I tot may something pa eh.

So namatay buong fam ni Lore nung last na cycle ng Agon. Di siya kasama nung time nayon kasi nasa abroad? Tapos tumira siya dun sa Gil, who also died, pero yung bahay ni Gil napunta sakanya. Ooohhhh so mabait na tao lang si Gil. Akala ko relative niya eh.

Cute ni Miles huhuhuhu.

Ooohhh paguwi nila naencounter nila yung wounded Athena. Gigil si Lore kasi sa bahay niya nagpunta edi di na safe don kahit si Miles.

Solid ni Athena 211 na yung nasurvive. Sad tho kasi si Hermes simula palang nung current Agon patay na.

Ooooohhh lahat pala nung nasa bloodline ng Perseus patay na except kay Lore.

Gg kaya pala nakasurvive si Athena kasi may alliance sila ni Artemis, and kaya siya nasugatan kasi binetray ni Artemis yung alliance nung tinarget sila ni Aristos.

Anong importance nung alam ni Athena sino pumatay kung nagtatago naman si Lore? Magiging revenge story ba? Bakit siya hinanap ni Athena specifically? May importance ba yung pagiging last member niya sa bloodline? AH KASI PATRON NGA PALA NI PERSEUS SI ATHENA (YUG OG PERSEUS).

Amp grabe naman yun minurder tapos sinunog pa bahay niya. Ang brutal naman for this? I mean, brutal yung buong concept pero bakit yung kanila di clean kill?

Ooooohhhh dapat hindi sila pwede pumatay ng other clans in kapag hindi Agon cycle. Eh bakit pinatay fam niya? Ano purpose? Grabe wala pang makachallenge. Ang unfair.

Amp si athena. What the fuck would revenge do? Kahit naman makarevenge siya di naman mabbring up non fam. Pero honor and shit nga pala kasi yung culture nila.

Uhhhhhh may terms not common to the normal ears. Hirap intindihin.

Athena fuck you. No reason to shame Lore for what she did. Yun gusto niya gawin eh.

Best of her generation? From that young age?

Hindi ko feel na gusto talaga ni Lore ng revenge. Parang pinilit lang ni Athena idk.

Finorce down niya yung desire to get revenge because she wanted to deserve the chance Gil gave her. To live life as a good person. *coughs bullshit*

Still a weird premise na revenge para marest in peace yung dead family? Like why do they care? They are dead. Pero again, tradition, and culture, and stuff.

Wow si athena hahahahah. Gusto lang ng teammate nandemonyo pa. Amp I will kill him for you e bakit mo pa sinama. Patayin mo nalang kaya mo yan ghorl. Umagree naman si Lore kakaloka.

Sobrang di true sa personality ni Zeus yung pinunish niya yung 9 dahil nangharm ng mortals para magbalik loob sa pagworship sakanila HAHAHA. Out of character para sa Zeus ng kahit anong retelling HAHAHA (except siguro yung Hercules ng disney)

Ang pinagtataka ko bakit hindi kasama si Demeter sa nagrebelde. Also, bakit kasama si Poseidon sa napunish? It’s not like mahina si Poseidon eh kasama sa siya sa OG gods. 

Miles please HAHAHA stop being this hilarious.

Di ko alam anong Olympics pinapanuod ni Miles bakit may murders HAHAHA

Grabe ang kawawa nung line nila Bellorophon saka Meleager. Inubos kasi they were deemed unworthy. 

“Only Zeus himself would have seen the fallen hero redeemed.” is a scam HAHAHAAHAH Zeus would be more like in your face bitch MUWAHAHAH

Sobrang nakakairita yung reason bakit dishonored yung Perseus line. Ang bobo nung fact na nilolookdown nila yung mga babae samantalang yung marami sa gods na tinatarget nila babae??? Aphrodite?? Athena? Artemis? Bitch and the two remaining OG are women. The audacity of this bitches.

Kahit namatay yung OG Poseidon I am cheering solely dahil yung nagclaim nung immortality niya ay babae. Go Tidebringer! 14 na Agon na siyang goddess + from OG Poseidon pa niya nakuha yung immortality. Yes kween!!!

Gigil ako na minassacre yung Perseus clan dahil lang naging goddess si Tidebringer!!! GAGO KAYO. Kala mo mabubuhay yung mga lalaki nung bloodlines kung di sila iniri ng nanay nila!! Don’t me.

Grabe nawala pa sakanila yung Aegis :(. Ang cool tho favoritism si Zeus HAHAAHA binigay sa bloodline ng Perseus yung pinaka-cool na heritage weapon AHAHAH. Ang bobo tho ng Kadmus clan. Bakit nila hindi sinira yung weapon kung alam naman nilang hindi rin nila maggagamit ever dahil yung makakagamit lang nung shield ay from the Perseus bloodline? Hindi ba nila inisip na magbabackfire lang yon sakanila, and most likely will be the cause of their destruction.

Ang sad nung inisip ni Lore na kaya lang siya tinira nung mga kalaban dahil kung mawawala siya, mawawala rin yung Aegis since wala ng connection sa bloodline ng Perseus.

OMG all is right with the world. For self preservation yung dahilan bakit napunish yung 9. Hindi dahil nangharm silang humans. Self preservation coz bnreach nung 9 yung territory nung enemy gods.

Sobrang benta talaga ng pagiging mortal ni Miles HAHAHAHA

Sobrang aliw nung ginagamit nung mga reborn gods yung mortality nila to influence the wealth nung bloodlines. Aphrodite reborn gumagawa ng successful Hollywood projects. Ares of course focus sa wars and weapons. Kakatawa kay Dionysus megachurch saka cults pa rin e  AHAH

Grabe sobrang sad naman na 2 nalang yung natitira sa OG gods. Yung 5 reborn na. Yung 2 vanished. Wala pala kasing nakakaalam na isa lang yung pwedeng ieliminate na god per person. Sobrang greedy nung nag-attempt ng 2. Gago ang sad na si Hephaestus na naman yung nawala. Si Hermes pinatay ni Aristos nung simula eh. Usually di nila inuubos kasi oonti yung immortality bases.

HMMMMMM so ang hinahanap na ni Aristos ay way to end Agon tapos makuha yung power. Damnnn big brain move. Sabi ni Athena nandun daw sa Manhattan yung poem na nagcocontain nung details.

Jusco nastress ako sa pagsneak in ni Lore sa Achilles base. Tapos di pa siya nagmask agad. Sobrang gusto ko sapakin si Phillip please. Napakakupal. HAHAHA

Hindi ko alam pano hindi naisip ni Lore sa designs nung ceremony na nasakanila yung bagong Apollo.

[theredeemingfactor]

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales

So ... Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790809/?ref_=nv_sr_6) coming in with an incomprehensible IMDB rating of 6,7 and a Redeemer Rating of 4,5. Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, Die Hard. What do all these have in common. They are all movie franchises that started with good movies and then got steadily worse until they became next to unwatchable. Granted, no franchise fell further than Die Hard, as the first movie is just one of the best action movies (and christmas) of all time. And, while I am being honest. Transformers was never any good. But even saying that, the last installment was simply horrible. But I will address that in my next review. Pirates of the Caribbean did the unthinkable. They took an attraction from Disney Land as the base for the movie, wrote a great screenplay, sprinkled in several quality actors and fantastic action sequences to make an amazing movie. 14 years later they made this piece of crap. 

The plot. According to IMDB it is as follows: Captain Jack Sparrow searches for the trident of Poseidon while being pursued by an undead sea captain and his crew. Unfortunately there is a bit more to it. Or rather something rather different. Will Turner’s son ... cause of course he managed to have a son one of those days when he was allowed to be on land. Well, Will Turner’s son wants to free his father from Davy Jone’s curse. Some female character that we have not met before is trying to find the trident. The trident being something she believes in .. but not in curses, ghosts or anything else. And then Jack Sparrow just sort of ambles and slurs and stumbles his way drunkenly though this movie managing to Forrest Gump his way into all the happenings of this movie. There is also yet another big bad group of cursed ghosts .. who were actually not pirates, but were basically the good guys protecting people at sea from Pirates. But then they faced a young Jack Sparrow, got cursed and ended up being the bad guys in it all. Oh yeah, and Barbosa is still around .. lots of other people from the old movies and they do things as well.

The movie. This movie is bad. I wish I hadn't seen it, but that is sort of what I do here. I watch movies and then write things down here. And to be honest. There is usually nothing more fun than reviewing a bad movie. Reviewing a good movie is also fun, but there is rarely a lot to write about. Bad movies like this one just provide so much material to write a review with. But here I am just saying that I dislike this movie, perhaps it would help if I actually give reasons. Lets start with the script. I feel like they took the script from the second, third and fourth movie, plopped them in a blender and then grabbed piles of words from the bag and simply used them as the script for this movie. The story itself doesn’t really make sense. They horseshoe in a daughter for Barbosa so that he can have a redemption arch. And then Will Turner’s son, what an amazingly one dimensional, boring, generic and unrealistic character. And finally we have Captain Jack, A character that Depp was phoning in on the second one. At this point he is not so much phoning in his performance .. he is calling in and leaving his performance on an answering machine. All the fantastic action sequences that had a hand in making the first movie a so good are just a distant memory. Just an overabundance of CGI to make up for the complete lack of originality in this movie. But of course, not even that helps in this movie. 

The redeeming factor. Javier Bardem. That man is a good actor. And had the rest of the movie been on par with his performance. Well, if that had been the case. Then this could have been a good movie. Too bad for him he is in this movie though. 

The final word. Don’t watch this movie. If you have not yet seen it, consider it a blessing. I can not, for the life of me, understand why franchises like this one keep doing well in the box office. But they wouldn't keep making movies unless there was money to be made, and apparently there is. Movies like this need to stop being made. Please. 

[thesassybooskter]

CALL TO ENGAGE by Tawny Weber: Review

Call To Engage by Tawny Weber Series: Team Poseidon #2 Published by Harlequin Books Publication Date: June 27th 2017 Genres: Contemporary Romance Pages: 384 Source: Publisher Format: eARC Goodreads Buy Online: Amazon ♥ Barnes & Noble ♥ Kobo ♥ iBooks

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Poseidon team are hard-bodied, fiercely competitive Navy SEALs. But when a sensitive mission goes disastrously wrong, three of the team’s finest will have to trust their hearts and instincts to uncover the truth… 

Lieutenant Elijah Prescott should be spending his precious leave somewhere with sun, surf and scantily clad women. Instead, he’s heading home with two goals in mind. Figure out exactly how his last assignment went to hell and almost killed him—and reconnect with the woman who might offer salvation. 

Ava Monroe has streamlined her life, eliminating every source of pain—including a marriage touched by tragedy. One glimpse of her ex and those good intentions turn to bad-girl desires. Her strategy: get over Elijah by getting under him again, sating herself until she can finally let go. But as betrayal within the rank of the SEALs turns deadly, there’s no denying that her heart and her life are on the line. Elijah is the only man who can protect both…

  Review

Call to Honor was a really great start to this series and this installment only confirms to me that this is definitely a series for the keeper shelf. CALL TO ENGAGE is filled with drama, intrigue, betrayal, passion and emotion, and of course the bonds of brotherhood the team shares which are sure to be tested again and again. Unlike the previous book that left me grinning from ear to ear, this one left me in a pensive mood, even though I really enjoyed it.

Lieutenant Elijah Prescott overcame the odds to recover from physically life-threatening injuries from his last mission, but emotionally he’s still battered and bruised and needs some time off to get his head back in the game. Meeting his ex-wife for the first time in four years was not a part of the plan, especially with the pain and baggage from their marriage, but this may be the opportunity he needs to deal with their past loss and pain and get over it or try for a second chance with the only woman he’s ever loved. 

Ava Monroe was once a socialite concerned with shallow pursuits until she got a wakeup call from life that cost her a lot. She now lives a much simpler and controlled life but one encounter with her ex-husband has her jonesing for a taste of the passion that was never in short supply between them. Only, this time it will be on her terms and she will gladly walk away at the end of their interlude.

The only problem with this is that both Ava and Elijah have not dealt with the issues that destroyed their marriage four years ago or their feelings for each other and this may be their one chance to do so. With Elijah’s team dealing with deadly betrayal from one of their own, the timing couldn’t be more wrong but for Ava, it’s revealed a weak, thoughtless and selfish side to her past self that did not give her husband what he needed. 

I like that while the team drama is a major part of this book, the focus was actually on Elijah and Ava’s relationship and the personal growth they had experienced since their divorce. Elijah made my heart hurt for him. The physical and mental wounds from the attack and the potentially career-ending rumors of his involvement in criminal activity were a lot to deal with, but when added to the personal loss he never dealt with, it just felt like a crushing weight. I’ll admit that Ava was not my favorite character initially but she redeemed herself by the end of the book. 

The revelations from their former team member only add more intrigue to the team’s drama and I can’t wait for the next book to find out what direction Ms. Weber takes the story in. 

      About Tawny Weber

The New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author of more than 40 books, Tawny Weber writes sassy, emotional romances with a dash of humor, featuring hot alpha heroes. The recipient of numerous awards, she has also hit number one on the Amazon and Barnes & Noble bestseller lists. Readers can visit Tawny’s website for free reads, first chapters, insider story info and much more. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Tawny lives in Northern California with her family.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon

CALL TO ENGAGE by Tawny Weber: Review was originally published on The Sassy Bookster

[wavenetinfo]

Warning: This story contains major spoilers from the Prison Break revival finale. Read at your own risk!

Michael Scofield was finally able to take down Poseidon during the Prison Break finale — but not without some losses.

While it appeared that both Michael (Wentworth Miller) and Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) had perished in the penultimate, the brothers survived with a little ingenuity.

First, we learned that though Jacob (Mark Feuerstein) initially went rogue to help the country by cutting through the red tape, the Yemen mission was purely to get Michael out of the way so Jacob could keep Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) all to himself. While Sara was able to sway Poseidon henchman Van Gogh against Jacob, A&W shot him in retaliation — that’s who was shot in the penultimate.

Lincoln also survived his wounds, but Jacob took Mike Jr., leaving Sara and Michael on their own to get him back. Fortunately, T-Bag (Robert Knepper) still owed Michael a favor, delivering a jar of blood — what Whip (Augustus Prew) fished out of the lake during the penultimate — and agreeing to kill Jacob.

Michael’s tattoos finally came into play in the finale, forming a replica of Jacob’s face, thus allowing Michael to access Jacob’s facial scanner to get access to his hard drives and make a trade for Mike Jr. Unfortunately, during the standoff, Whip is killed, and T-Bag is subsequently arrested for A&W’s murder.

Sara and Lincoln are then able to save Mike Jr., while Michael is able to re-frame Jacob for the murder of the Deputy CIA director, thus clearing his name and getting Jacob arrested — Michael had planted blood evidence in Jacob’s office. While Michael, Lincoln, and Sara get their happy endings, Jacob meets a grim fate at the hands of T-Bag in Fox River. EW turned to executive producer Paul Scheuring to get scoop on that grim, but hopeful finale.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The main trio make it through the revival mostly unscathed. Did you do that because you wanted to leave open the possibility for more or because you wanted to course-correct how the original ended? PAUL SCHEURING: Neither. I don’t have any intention of bringing the show back necessarily, but after the end of season 4, Michael was technically dead so we always know that you can bring it back, so we didn’t have to have a happy ending just to bring people back. My feeling was that, in the way that the Odyssey ends with the man who’s gone through hell to be able to be with his family as a reward, I thought that was something never seen on Prison Break. So I wanted everyone to, for a moment, feel like life is normal again, because we’ve never seen that in the show. That makes the audience uncomfortable, which I like and moreover, we actually had a slightly different ending, but it ultimately wasn’t shot exactly how we wanted.

What was that alternate ending? The idea was Michael comes back and he’s apparently got a normal life, but with that comes a creeping paranoia that things can’t stay good like this. Unfortunately, that’s not on screen, but the idea that he’s always going to be looking over his shoulder. There was a scripted page where they said, “Michael, you can stop looking over your shoulder now, you’re free,” but then he looks over his shoulder and you can see the whole world out there and all the people in the park and everything, and any one of them might be a threat and you realize that a man like this could never go back to a normal life, but again that didn’t end up happening exactly how we wanted it so this is what we got on film. I think it still emotionally lands them in a good spot, and hopefully the audience gets the subtext that life will never be normal for Michael Scofield.

Would you want to bring the show back for more? I don’t make the show go on just because we want the show to go on. I have a fairly high standard to what the stories need to be, and it’s a very hard show to come up with new stories for because it’s Prison Break and how many prisons can you break out? How do you make it not redundant? I felt this season was different in that it was based upon the Odyssey. I felt like that was a strong narrative to do for nine episodes. To do again, I think we’d have to find an equally strong or even stronger narrative and I think that’s very hard with Prison Break. Never say never, but we’re just not going to do it just to do it; it has to be great. I know that the actors are very keen on doing it, but at this very moment, I don’t have an idea what it would be. It’s possible it could come from other sources, but right now there’s nothing in the old noggin.

What came first, the bad guy or the method of how to use Michael’s tattoos this time around? I think the bad guy was probably born out of designing the tattoo idea, because ultimately the tattoo is a misdirection. The whole idea of the Pygmy owl through the whole story is that idea of strategic deception and making the antagonist think that you’re doing one thing so that they go down the wrong road when, in fact, you’ve been manipulating them all along. Prison Break has a history of a man with his plans and his tattoos, and subsequently other shows have used encoded plans or information in tattoos. So it’s kind of an old idea, and so I felt like you couldn’t just play it straight forward. It has to be, “Oh no, the entire thing was a lie to manipulate an antagonist who thought he was smarter and Michael knew was very shrewd,” so I like the idea that the tattoos are supposed to be legit, but the very end you realize it’s a misdirection, because I felt like that was new. So I guess Jacob was born out of that.

Is it safe to say Lincoln ended up with Sheba? Lincoln’s always tough with women, you know? He’s not too forthcoming emotionally and so we want to make sure that the possibility is there. But the other thing is that it’s very hard for them to have a legitimate romance over the course of the season because of the chaos. It’s just not realistic to go through all this and see a woman for a few days and be madly in love and consummate that love over the course of a few days they’re together. But clearly they have a chemistry, so at the end of the season the insinuation is maybe there’s something here, but let’s find out. I mean, she’s also in America as a refugee and that’s something she had to do with her family members from Yemen. I don’t know that it’s going to be the Sheba and Linc team if there’s another season, although Inbar Lavi is just unbelievable. She’s one of my favorite parts of the season, so she’s one of those characters that would be welcome back in a heartbeat, so maybe I’ve answered my own question.

Can you talk about why you decided to kill Whip? Well, that was irony. It was that I wanted Jacob to think that he’d outsmarted the system again and that he was going to get away even when he went to prison. I wanted this final moment where it’s a poetic ending where we’re back in Fox River, where we started the season, and Jacob is now in Fox River. Irony of ironies, who’s his cellmate but T-Bag. We infer that T-Bag has killed Jacob in the cell, which is nice in a lot of ways than just seeing him die on camera, but T-Bag’s truly got to be motivated. You have to have no doubt in that scene that T-Bag will kill him, and if Jacob has done something so insidious as to kill the son of T-Bag, who just found out he had, then you’re pretty certain that T-Bag’s going to kill him. Also, in a lot of ways, you could never have a happily-ever-after moment for T-Bag. He’s too cursed. So it’s supposed to be heartbreaking, but it also leads the ultimate justice for Jacob.

You semi-redeemed T-Bag at the end of the revival, though he kills Jacob in the end. Did you not want to fully redeem him? No. There’s no fun in T-Bag if he’s wearing a button-up shirt and he’s the good dude down the block. He always has to be the broken man. He has to be the sinner, he has to be the criminal and a killer. I think that’s what makes people keep coming back for him. With that, at the same time, the duality is that you have empathy for him. In a lot of ways, we accomplished a lot at the end of the season, which is, “Oh wow, we feel so bad for this man who lost his son he just realized he had. Well, he’s a killer again.���   Is there anything you wish you had gotten to do this season? That’s a good question. No, this was all outlined pretty copiously before the season started, so we shot exactly what we intended. Obviously you always want bigger action sequences and more time to film and that sort of stuff, but I feel like given the very tiny window we had to make this, I think we’ve got to do what we want to do, so I feel pretty good about that. One thing that’s funny is, I will say that a lot of fans are really clamoring for Sucre because they haven’t seen him since episode 1. I love Sucre, I wish he could’ve been in the season more, but again, all characters had to be organically within the series and he didn’t really have a role other than being the sidekick running around in Yemen, which he really didn’t have a skill set for. So I guess I wish there could’ve been more Sucre, but that would have been creatively disingenuous to include him more than that, but if there’s another season maybe there’s way more Sucre.

31 May 2017 | 2:00 am

Natalie Abrams

Source : EW.com

>>>Click Here To View Original Press Release>>>

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