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rootspiral · 5 days ago

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Agatha All Along deep dive: episode 2 part 3

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2])

agatha going UGH!!!!! when she sees jen's name. are you a toddler?? are you four????

"bougie probiotique" lmao

AGATHA

she's here she's queer she's gonna put an egg up her vajeer

sasheer zamata the glorious gay goddess that you are

"jen the potions guy" sounds amazing. I'd use that on my business cards

aaand once again I'm billy

I love that these two have clearly known and hated each other for centuries - sometimes you just see an enemy and immediately go, oh it's you motherfucker. and I think that's beautiful. (dear lord that store is so pink)

and once again: hilarious dialogue, heavy and dark undertones. jen has very, very legitimate reasons to hate and mistrust agatha, even more than she realizes. she will never open up to agatha like the others, and that's both fair and sexy of her. tbh she was too kind all things considered, that bitch deserved her ass kicked from here to the afterlife

case in point, agatha knows jen well enough to manipulate her into joining them. and jen knows agatha well enough to say what will hurt her. she picked the worst thing she could come up with

billy and the audience don't notice that agatha has just been stabbed in the heart

partners in crime, once again! agatha is so proud of her boy's lil manipulative side. and yep, billy is not as naive as he tries to appear. he's still a bit clueless, but he tries.

love how they're so deliberate in depicting the witches as a legit community with its own culture and history.

watch this scene again. now think about the rage and soul and desperation jen pours into winning her powers back from agatha. look at the way these two are being both so casual and so callous about jen's deep, bleeding trauma. not so funny a scene anymore, is it?

agatha shoving a fistful of paper in her mouth so she doesn't have to say rio's name also goes to the top five funniest list. she'll never beat the toddler allegations

and now she's gobbling a corn dog! see what I have to deal with here?? how can I keep it classy?

what's really iconic is bringing your gay son to hot topic

alice always looks a little hunched down, as if she had, idk, a giant disgusting harpy sitting on her shoulders. the more I think about it the sadder it gets

oooh, those are dorothy pigtails. i get it now.

you know, I said yesterday that agatha successfully cons jen and alice, but that's not true. she couldn't have swayed jen without billy's help, and she had alice completely wrong. she thought alice was looking for her mom, but Lorna didn't die on the Road and alice always knew it was a con - she's actually the world's biggest Road expert after agatha herself. seems like Agatha is pretty desperate and out of her depth without her mind reading powers. (wait, do we think billy is the one doing the mind reading, is that why he got to jen so easily?)

seeing her being so cruel with people's deep seated traumas is really upsetting me. especially considering how she guards her own trauma. feeling guilty afterwards is no justification, she knows exactly what she's doing.

these two need their own show. oh wait, they already have it.

but agatha saying "we don't need her" and then pushing people around in the mall - she is upset about what she just did to alice. and she's almost relieved she said no, that she gets to spare her. sweet, sad alice, so spiky on the outside, soft as a marshmallow on the inside. she did not deserve any of this. her death is entirely on agatha.

sighing and looking wistfully out of the window, she's in pain but determined to go on

meanwhile detective agnes is working hard to figure billy out, you can practically see the gears turning inside her head. I think at this point she already kind of knew, tbh. "I have a theory, but I need more."

see you next for the ending of episode 2. and this time I'm giving a shoutout to @one-step-at-a-time25, who was having a lot of fun in the tags!

go to episode 2 part 4

#agatha all along #agatha harkness #agatha deep dive #billy maximoff #jennifer kale #alice wu gulliver #kathryn han #joe locke #sasheer zamata #ali ahn #character study

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milesonthenet · 1 year ago

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Moon Girl is just MAGIC

I'll be honest with you, I've never actually read the Moon Girl comics. I think at the point it came out, I just was not into Marvel. Either I was more concerned with the MCU, or with what DC Comics was doing at the moment.

However? I was surprised to find out she had a show coming out this year. Knowing that iconic actor Laurence Fishburne was behind it piqued my interest. After watching the first few episodes, I was hooked.

So today, I'll be reviewing Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur. Welcome to House of Milesverse, and I hope you enjoy reading this. Let's start from the top.

What makes 'Moon Girl' worth it?

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The basics;

Moon Girl is different from your usual superhero formula, but it is also similar. The series stars 13-year-old Lunella Lafayette (Diamond White), who one day conducts an experiment that creates a portal. From that portal comes Devil Dinosaur (Fred Tatasciore), a large dog-like creature who quickly becomes Lunella's best friend. The two of them fight crime in the Lower-east-side of New York as Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur!

The show does not lean one way or another when it comes to silliness or seriousness. There are many episodes that include comedic jokes and antics. However, those episodes are also filled with deep morals and lessons. In a way, it creates a balanced series that does not hinder itself by feeling the need to push in more jokes.

I think this neutrality also works when the episode does do serious topics. The two-parter finale was such a quick change of pace that I loved it. You get the idea that things really might be in danger at this point, and it's filled with so many surprising twists.

Many of the episodes also deal with Lunella's growth as a character. She is fully realized and she comes with her own flaws. We get an episode where she feels like she's wasting too much time. Her method of dealing with this is creating a skip button to wind past moments with her family. She quickly realizes that the skip button is ruining her life, and decides to destroy it.

There are plenty of episodes in the series where Moon Girl learns an important lesson. I think what I like most is that it definitely fits with that age, and you can see her take those lessons in stride.

There's more to Moon Girl

There's more to Moon Girl than just the hero, by the way. She has a cast of other characters helping her either directly or indirectly. In addition, Lunella does not tackle every problem by herself.

Her best friend is Casey Calderon (Libe Barer), a young girl of mixed Jewish and Puerto-Rican ancestry. She's something of a fashionista, but she also tries her best to help. Casey works as Lunella's confidant, and also her manager.

Her other best friend - and just as important as Lunella herself, is Devil Dinosaur. He's a large Tyrannosaurus Rex that eats and smashes everything in his way. In spite of his fearsome look, Devil's actually a cute and well-meaning pet.

You also have Lunella's family, including her caring mother Adria Lafayette (Sasheer Zamata), and her bumbling father, James Lafayette (Jermaine Fowler). You have her wise grandfather 'Pops' (Gary Anthony Williams), who is also the proprietor of the family's skating business. You have her grandmother 'Mimi' (Alfre Woodard), who, spoiler alert, actually was the ORIGINAL Moon Girl. She knows that Lunella's taken the name and become a superhero as well.

You have all these characters who all add so much to Lunella's character. You can really feel the love whenever they interact with her. Of course, one major character is very different from the rest. Heck, he's only had two episodes to show how prominent he is.

You're right, it's time for us to talk about...

The Beyonder (BEYOND all things?)

The Beyonder (Laurence Fishburne) is an omnipotent threat sent to analyze the worth of Humanity. He decides to partner up with Lunella since she's the smartest person on the planet.

You quickly get the feeling that Beyonder is really beyond this world. He's such an alien entity that he's unlike anything Lunella has faced or ever will face. In a way, The Beyonder works as a perfect foil to Lunella because of this.

Beyonder was only active in two episodes, but you feel his presence elsewhere. Throughout the series, he serves as an omnipresent narrator for the audience. He provides us with information on many of Lunella's villains.

When he does finally show up, it's a huge impact on the audience. His first episode focused on him forcing Lunella to work with her friend, Eduardo. Eduardo (voiced by Michael Cimino) is loud, loves music, and is generally annoying. Beyonder ultimately leaves them alone when Lunella proves that she can work with him.

In another episode, The Beyonder forces Lunella to confront her fears. She's forced to go to Coney Island and rescue Mimi, her grandmother. Ultimately with Devil Dinosaur's help, Lunella conquers the test and once more impresses Beyonder.

In the comics, Beyonder is a traditional enemy of the Avengers. However, I think making him a threat to Moon Girl works well. Laurence Fishburne gives him such a flamboyant and charismatic tone that it just works.

Also? He has a good theme song.

The show tackles important lessons in diversity

Let's talk about the fifth episode, Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow. In this episode, Lunella Lafayette becomes self-conscious about taking care of her hair. She tries to create a solution to strengthen her hair, but it falls out. Because of this, her hair becomes a sentient monster named Mane that wants to use the solution to create an army of hair monster

Eventually, Lunella comes clean to her family about her insecurities regarding her hair. Mimi and Adria help her through it, while also telling her that she needs a neutralizer. Both Mimi and Adria help by recounting their experiences with trying to straighten their hair.

This is what culminates in her defeating Mane. It is not done through combat but through friendship. All Mane wanted was to feel loved, and just like Adria said; "To love your hair is to love yourself". It sends an important message about how we should love our hair and take care of it.

Hair in particular can be an important part of your appearance. We oftentimes forget about the things we have because we want something else. Lunella wanted straight hair over her natural curls. By the end of the episode, she began to love her natural hair for what it was. I believe this episode is such a foundational confidence-building idea for young black girls.

The eleventh episode is just as important, and it is called Like Mother, Like Moon Girl. The episode's focus is on themes like gentrification, and using her voice. It's an impressive topic for a kiddy superhero TV series.

The episode focuses on Lunella being made community captain by one of the council presidents, Pena. Pena also hires two inventors, a husband-and-wife duo known as the Muzzlers. Although they appear nice, the Muzzlers seek to improve the Lower East Side by any means. This involves them trying to change the LES, at the vehement objections of the community.

The Muzzlers use their talents to erase the community's culture and soul. They replace it with a dull, technological city without its voice. At first, Moon Girl is rejected by the community who blame her for erasing the LES' identity.

However, after a conversation with her mother, Adria, she finds strength. She and the community rally together to stop the Muzzlers and their noise-canceling devices. They win and manage to defeat the Muzzlers.

Both of these episodes talk about serious topics, especially relating to black people. I believe that these two best represents the series' style and personality. These episodes really showcase the best in Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.

Moon Girl's soundtrack is awesome

Beyond the series' storytelling and characters is its soundtrack. The songs match the fast-paced action scenes that they are supposed to represent. They are also just very fun to listen to as well.

Heck, the fight scenes in general are also a spectacle to look at. We really see Moon Girl put her tools to use. Her jetpack, her skates, and her wings are all excellent additions.

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This battle right here is one of my favorites to use. Although, it does not involve Lunella fighting back until later. The main point of the battle was to make 'Gravitas' run out of energy and leave him open. It really sells Lunella's strategical mindset, set to Childish Gambino's Sweatpants.

In combat, Devil Dinosaur can be seen as a hindrance, but that's not the truth. Although he is always cumbersome, he can be pretty useful. Lunella and Devil work well together, and their cooperation is often what results in their enemy's defeat.

Lastly, there's the main theme, 'Moon Girl Magic' performed by Diamond White. It is a flashy pop tune that just fills you with confidence. I think it's one of the best-animated openings of recent.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a masterpiece

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a show that is very unafraid to be what it is. It's a Marvel series based off of a lesser-known Marvel character. It has a beautifully animated New York, a diverse cast, and well-meaning morals.

I love how upbeat and aspirational the series can be. What I also enjoy is how the creator, Laurence Fishburne, made it because of his love for comics. I think it's wonderful seeing how comics have impacted places and people. I wish there was more of that representation in the world.

I recommend that just like Devil Dinosaur you take a bite at the series. So far it might be one of the better animated series of the 2020s. The good news is that it is only going to get better from here.

Thank you for reading this review of the series, I hope you enjoyed it. My next series? We could say that it is going to be transformational for you, me, and the new fans out there.

That's right, we're taking it to the Terrans on this one. I will do my review of the recently-finished Transformers Earthspark series. As the Transformers maniac that I am, I know it's going to get crazy.

#Youtube #moon girl and devil dinosaur #moon girl magic #marvel #house of milesverse

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