#seen snippets of him throughout the season instead of like entire episodes where hes being well. doof

[danvillecheese]

todays realisation: doof could have been a whole lot less annoying in mml if he tried to just be morally grey rather than good. like he’s already mostly morally grey the only thing he did that was ‘bad’ was trying to be evil. and he wasn’t good at that. he could have just… not tried to be evil. are the dots connecting yet

[anolyso]

Utena thoughts...about 2 weeks later

I've been putting it off for way too long and so most of my thoughts stopped being fresh. On top of watching way too many analysis vids post-watch, but still I do at least want to put my 2cents of Revolutionary Girl Utena out there for the world.

Utena is perhaps one of the most famous "magical girl"/shoujo action shows out there for not only it's transgressive themes of relationship abuse and low-key pretty much being the poster girl for like actual feminist perspective on/in anime...but also just doing it all in both a heavily allegorical and understated, yet super over-the-top stylish fashion

But that's it's reputation preceding itself, is Utena worth while all these years? The answer is Yes, but it also really shows it's age and budget in pacing and repetition, tho as an appreciator for "behind the scenes" compromises in art, it's more showcasing Ikuhara's talent in working around both taboo and long-form budget constraints with just well-thought out and iconic imagery that - while episodic and formulaic - is just very good at filling the 39 eps with feasts for the eyes.

Utena broadly is about tomboy Utena with memories long ago after her parents died being "saved" by a princely figure like a princess...except she's so enthralled by the nostalgia that instead she becomes a full on Prince herself and receives a dueling ring to fight in the Ohtori Acadamy secret duels for "engagement" to Rose Bride Himemiya Anthy.

Utena is divided between 4 arcs, only the first and last being Manga adapted from hearsay:

1: Student Council Saga

2: Black Rose Saga

3: Akio Ohtori Saga

4: Apocalypse

From back to forth I'd say that Akio + Apoc is more just escalation into the finale while Black Rose being anime original comes off as a glorified side-character study which while complementing the secondary cast, feels like one of those Anime movies that has to say "but if you don't watch this part, it's pretty much optional for the main plot" despite it also actually introducing the most important antagonist within it's margins.

More importantly, it's the Student Council (arc and the actual people) that lay the foundation but also a large part of the show's focus which ironically puts Utena in the background until like almost the finale and some in-between developments, so it's less "Utena (and Anthy Himemiya)'s story" until the very end, but more like a showcase of how fucked up the system at large is (pin in that).

By the Council themselves is:

Kyouichi Saionji: The biggest jobber, like actually introduced as the most despicable loser ep 1 and proceeds to be a complete arrogant joke for the rest of the show. Honestly in another shojo "love" story, they'd find some way to redeem him but semi-compellingly they turn him into like an Aqua-lad type pathetic brat with an inferiority complex to the actual Student head

Miki Kaoru: the naive "nice, non-threatening soft boy" that also just never actually listens to the girls around him. Probably adds more complexity to the whole patriarchal idea on analytic reflection since yeah, the whole "nice guy finishes last" plays up better when the kid comes off as that "ally" energy of wanting to save Himemiya from being the Rose Bride but also low-key won't actually not just do the duels and win her cuz he's that sorta wishy-washy hypocrite. Arguably the least hateable guy in the cast (minus mascot Chu-Chu)

Juri Arisugawa: TRAGIC LESBIAN TRIANGLE LOVE. Probably the biggest point to of both "not-explicitly homosexual" but also really freaking obvious since her entire story is her girlfriend stealing her "boy crush" when actually she was crushing on her and being pretty much frustrated throughout her story as pining most of it. It's quaint by today's standards but also like damn girl, get over her she was like the worst back stabbing bitch (literally if Black Rose counts)

Nanami Kiryuu: SPEAKING OF QUEEN BITCH, it's been a long time since I've watched a High School girl bully and honestly it's kinda refreshing. If Miki is "soft-boy uwu" Nanami is a brat that gets her come-uppance often, featured prominently as an anime only with the MOST filler/comedic episodes but also not low-key, being the most out-spoken actual brother complex ironically spins perhaps the biggest twist and ironic relationships of "I love my brother but not-like-that but also like-that" by the end. Mostly comedic relief but I find her inclusion to actually add a lot more to juxtapose...

Touga Kiryuu: Big Student Council Prez himself, the first arc antagonist and also a strong foil to Saionji and later a stepping stone for Akio. Touga is THE image of a Princely Playboy Heart-Throb that in any other Shoujo romance would have the main girl win him over from all those "other girls" despite him being apathetic if not outright manipulative of them. Good thing Utena is better than that and really puts a spotlight on just not-actually-ok his power hunger for "the power to bring the world revolution" that leads him to heavily objectify Anthy, arguably even more than Misogynist Trophy Girlfriend beater Saionji, since he doesn't even see her as more than a means to an end despite professing and looking the Prince part but lacking all the actual virtues.

The Student council matters more since they're characters and subsequent tragic flaws are the ACTUAL meat of the show and on second rumination actual shows more how fucked up the system/gender dynamic/power hierarchy is since - while it blatantly fucks over Juri who can't just outright say who she likes - also show almost it's own sub-text of Masculine failings: Saionji desperately clinging to being TOXIC MASCULINE™ and completely falling short underneath Touga; Miki's "nice boy" act belying him trying to replace his low-key nostalgia for his sister (also a bitch, but apparently was more like Nanami in the manga); and best yet Touga being the quintessential "Prince in all but actual behavior" by emulating a cutthroat and Machiavellian world view but coming up empty because well, he's just an illusion of a prince...but that leads in way more to the big finale piece where I'll reintroduce the actual story's main trio

Utena Tenjou: Tomboy Prince with brain empty except for lesbian thoughts. Honestly probably what every western "STRONG INDEPENDENT WOMAN" archetype wishes they were since while having very tomboyish personality in athletics, blunt speaking and also VERY oblivious to the actual plot for REAL DRAMATIC IRONY, but also never actually demeaning her being feminine partially due to her love of an childhood prince and how she maintains her relationship with both her friend Wakaba and later Anthy. Honestly mostly a plot device after S1 until she gets ACTUAL development by the very end and instead kinda bumbles her way into undoing the entire REVOLUTION OF THE WORLD. I kinda wish she felt either more cognizant or at least felt like she was developing/properly rebuking the rest of the cast's power obsessions but I guess that's for the movie.

Anthy Himemiya: Actual Trophy Wife with a dark secret (darker than ski- wait no that's terrible scratch that). Set-up very much as an immediate princess in distress while also being the most femme Yamato Nadeshiko, Anthy being the Rose Bride as a literal prize who acts and behaves as whom she's "engaged" with desires while otherwise being quiet, wry, mysterious and noticably submissive, by the end it actually plays up into THE BIG REVEALS of just how abused she's been into a hopeless acceptance...like y'know actual abuse victims.

Akio Ohtori: Grade A Antagonist, probably the most insidious I've seen a villain in a while, Akio is notable for, back in 1997, being perhaps the big go-to of actual deconstructing the facade of a whole shoujo genre's "hots for a teacher/sexy man putting the moves" and highlighting how actually exploitative and abusive a person like that really is. Being Himemiya's brother (somewhat justified in the manga by both being a weird Sailor Moon-esque reincarnation of gods/godesses of Dios), despite how much of his motives are runing the background and how the entire back story is  uh...brought up in like barely in the last arc with little lead up (some scenes feel like they'd be a full melodrama season and they just have like 1 scene in the final arc episodes) he manages to one-up Touga (in the plot as well) by instead of "just" objectifying girls, not-just-flat out saying Utena looks best as a princess, but y'know the fact that he is implicitly yet constantly exploiting and victim-blaming Anthy for her own suffering for "the power of Dios/Revolution of the world" turns it on its head

I've spent all this time on characters but in truth a lot of the meat of the show relies again on the Council Members fleshing out the issues of system leading to outright divorcing "being a Prince" (heroic altruistic virtues) and "being a man" (considering like all but maybe the comedic relief have some deliberately misogynistic behavior) and beyond just the plot (or rather character) synopsis, the talent goes far more in how it's framed, the symbolic/allegorical shots, the repetition adding a good episode formula flow to character showcases, probably the most "tasteful" allusion to uh...*ahem* sexual abuse that so many other edgier/prentious shows fumble. Both in how intimidating yet understated it's foreshadowing is until they hard-reveal it despite never explicitly naming it even tho it sends Nanami into hysterics

Really it's both a massive blessing and reason for it's cult beloved status for it's aesthetics but also it's burden, for being a full 39 episodic season by season character development study of everyone BUT the main trio except for snippets and the very end that makes it greatly appreciable as a legitimate work of art.

What I wanted more to say however (long overdue) is that a large part of following is, visibly at least, western feminist critiques and yes while it almost seems like Utena fits the "deconstructing patriarchy" story like a glove...it's weird how almost none of them actually can give a good historical account of actual Japanese female/gender/sexuality norms nor Anime contemporaries actually were. Like Tenchi Muyo and Berserk came out the same year (Cardcaptor Sakura the next) and despite how you can "feel" the influence in lots of modern shows like SHAFT's signature visual imagery cuts or many WESETERN shows having straight scene references to Utena....almost no one has a similar feel to Utena until like Princess Tutu comes out.

Really tho probably should've watched Utena and then Tutu because while it's undeniable that Utena is a major pillar of shoujo re-codification - what with everyone before Utena was saying they thought it'd be like a Rose of Versaille or Lady Knight rip-off...whose laughing now? - it's almost like there's a missing link between it and it's major western fanbase (probably with what few anime did get overseas, this one probably rose to the top), or how very noticeable there IS an influence on it's genre in Japan

Almost none of the big analyst fans actually know A) it's not "a deconstruction of Magical Girls" since despite Ikuhara working on Sailor Moon just before this, almost none of the tropes line up and instead more with Shoujo genre as a whole. or  one of the major inspirations was Takarazuka theater.

And this is not to dismiss how inspirational it is to it's western fandom, but while I am notably cynical towards placing things on pedestals, there's probably something about cultivating the whole pop-culture feminist reading commune with people making weird time-loop theories while kinda most of it is just filling in a mad-lib mostly thanks to Ikuhara just keeping things on the vague and letting the audience take away their own perspective.

Again, most of the show is completely sub-textual or visually/symbolically depicted and never stated nor properly defines it's weird key words (End of the World, Revolutionize the World, Power of Dios, Rose Bride, all things said constantly but never really said what they "mean". But that's also perhaps its charm, in it's allegory and very Death of the Author approach, it has definitely allowed it's fan theorizing and appreciation to flourish so there's something there for that.

Ultimately I'd say Utena the TV series is great more so for what it isn't...or rather I should say it's great for not just subverting Shoujo tropes and archetypes for the Japanese audience but also that despite dealing with some very serious and heavy subjects in obtuse and perhaps understated ways for the time, people have allowed it to be put on it's pedestal because they can easily fit it in themselves.

Honestly though, not that a more "straight forward" approach wouldn't detract from Utena but I will say that the movie, Adolescence of Utena, is very much the best encapsulation of what Utena strives to be (for another big blog post) and while the TV series has plenty of time and flexes it's directorial muscles with budget constraints and season pacing UNrestrained, the movie will trim a lot of the fat

[planet-crait]

Oversaturation in Star Wars

Before we start this is a warning this post gets very salty towards Ahsoka so if you like her character and are excited for her to be in the Mandalorian I would advise you skip. If you want to see my opinion on her overutilization then please feel free to read on. 

Whilst everyone is frothing at the mouth at the thought of Ahsoka being in the Madalorian I have to admit I am much less pleased about this development. Ahsoka has been shoved into media after media with no regard for whether or not it actually makes sense or works to do so. Back when season 4 of Rebels ended, Filoni specifically said that he did not show any snippet or scene with where Thrawn and Ezra wound up because he didn’t want to write himself into a corner later on should he decide to write the search for Ezra. With Ahsoka’s appearance in the Mandalorian makes all of that seem like complete bullshit. The Mandalorian takes place 5 years after the fall of the Empire, this is important because Ahsoka and Sabine do not start their search until after the Empire has fallen. The Mandalorian implies Ahsoka has been on this planet for some time which carries the implication the search for Ezra is over and they’ve found him. How can this not be seen as anything but writing oneself into a corner? They are literally deciding the ending of the story for the search for Ezra with seemingly no thought put into what happens before that moment. In shoehorning in some fanservice they potentially ruin the chance at writing a meaningful and organic story for Ezra and how he finally comes home. 

 Now it is possible this all takes place before Ahsoka and Sabine decide to go out and search for Ezra but I highly doubt that. In the Rebels epilogue it is heavily implied Sabine and Ahsoka head out to search for Ezra not long after the Empire has fallen given Jacen’s age. While yes, it is doubtful the search for Ezra would take five years to complete, there is still the issue of the fact that odds are the search for Ezra will in one way or another inevitably come up, which will reveal some information as to how he was found which later on in order to keep from creating an inconsistency will need to be kept in mind when eventually writing about the search for Ezra. 

It is certainly possible that the story of how Ezra was brought home will never be written, my biggest fear is that that entire plot will be resolved in this episode which is a massive disservice to Ezra’s character. He suffered over and over again throughout his lifetime and sacrificed everything, he fought to save his planet. That kind of sacrifice deserves to have the search and him coming home again be devoted to its own media, however they choose to do so. Not shoehorned in as an afterthought in a show with characters that have never even met him before nor care about him. 

With all of this in mind, there is also the burning question of why Ahsoka and not another Jedi we have not heard from we know on some level is probably alive. Why shoehorn in a character over and over again into media when there are so many other characters that could be utilized that we know nothing about what happened to them, like Ventress, Barriss, all of the kids from TWC arc who Ahsoka took to get their kyber crystals? Any of them would have been a very interesting addition and would have allowed us to find out what happened to them instead of throwing in a character who is becoming overutilized, creating a “small galaxy” conundrum. Why would Ahsoka keep getting involved with all of these different people who in the grand scheme of things have very little connection to her? Why not allow other characters to have the spotlight and have an influence on the story? Why is this one character who regularly claims she is not a jedi keep getting to do cool Jedi stuff? It’s infuriating given the fact that she is allowed to live because she “is not a jedi” but then does all this jedi stuff and is called a jedi by other people. Either she is a jedi or she is not, she cannot have it both ways. Either stop acting in the role of a jedi or fucking die like all the other Jedi are forced to. This will get me a lot of hate, but if Kanan had to fucking die for being a jedi then so does she. (Or bring Kanan back, that is a viable option but one that will never happen because only Ahsoka is beloved by the force enough to bring her back over and over again). 

I know I get really salty over Ahsoka in this post but I am just over her being in everything. She comes back in TCW even though she makes a point of leaving the order, she shows up in Rebels to be a wise Jedi mentor despite saying she isn’t one (which feels more like an excuse to keep her alive rather than something that actually makes sense for her character.) In the final CW season she decides she wants to be a Jedi again, only for order 66 to happen shortly before she can. I bring this up because she keeps saying over and over again that she is not a jedi. Having Ahsoka decide to go back to the order though completely undermines this viewpoint she has and again makes it come across as more of an excuse to not kill her off rather than something she believes in. 

I could write an entire essay on why all the Jedi having to die is the dumbest decision I have ever heard but that’s not the point of this post. The point of this post is to point out how Ahsoka being brought back into media so much is creating issues and plotholes LF and Filoni keep claiming they are trying to avoid. 

Though the Mandalorian episode has not come out yet, I have a lot of concerns as to what will happen in the episode: that Ezra will be revealed to have died in some bullshit way to save Ahsoka to keep the status of no other Jedi alive, that Ahsoka will take away baby yoda and he will die for bullshit reasons to again continue that thread or give him to Luke to once again seal his fate of dying later on by Kylo’s hands. Maybe I will be pleasantly surprised, but when it comes to Ahsoka so far all I have been is disappointed and frustrated so I won’t hold my breath. 

[olicitytropes]

Olicity Tropetastic Awards: Season Six

We got a wedding. And domestic!Olicity. And a crossover that could’ve easily been called “Oliver and Felicity are Soulmates.” And 6x18. There may have been moments that were frustrating in season 6, but at least we can all agree that Oliver and Felicity were the silver lining. They remained a united, solid force to be reckoned with throughout the season. 

We also have these fics (and this badass gif!) to appreciate forever:

@it-was-a-red-heeler’s recs:

Coming Home Again - @allimariexf

Felicity shimmied quickly out of her pajama bottoms, her eyes glued to the mesmerizing sight of Oliver’s hands unbuckling his belt, unbuttoning his fly, pulling down his zipper. As with everything, his movements were precise and graceful, and wow had she missed seeing him like this. She swallowed and wet her lips, finally looking up to see him watching her with dark eyes. “We’re really going to do this.”

He nodded slowly, watching her. “You okay with that?”

She stepped closer to him and slipped her hands under the waistband of his boxers, feeling the hard, smooth muscles underneath. “Very, very okay.”

~~~~~~~~ This is an immediate follow-up to the end of 6x03. AKA season 6 Olicity reunion smut (and fluff)!! ~~~~~~~~~~

**Award: Most Realistic Reunion Sex with Resolution and Sweet Moments (Loved it!)**

Dangling soons - @smkkbert

Three years ago, Oliver dangled maybes on Felicity. Now, they seem to be dangling soons on each other.

**Award: All the Clearing the Air and Making Plans for the Future Goodness**

Take Two - @yet-i-remain-quiet

A slight rewrite to the Olicity scene at the end of 6x19. When Felicity comes home after seeing the explosion and is looking for Oliver. What if the couple had had a real conversation.

**Award: Best Oliver Letting Felicity Vent and Really Listening Award**

@msbeccieboo’s recs:

Back to you (in your arms, I’m home) - drmrs

Oliver is done waiting. He asks Felicity out on their first date post-Lian Yu. 

**Award: Cutest S6/3x01 Parallel**

Dessert - minachandler

Set at the end of 6x04. What if Slade called later that night, and Oliver and Felicity's sexytimes weren't interrupted?

**Award: Best Dessert, Followed by Dessert**

The Price We Pay - @wrldtravler

Months have passed. The hope for Oliver's imminent release dwindles into nothing. Felicity makes a deal with the Devil to have the moment with her husband that she never got.

**Award: Most Bittersweet, Better-Late-Than-Never Honeymoon**

Zip. - Vixx2PointOh

Her dress has a zip.

A zip that goes all....the....way....down.

Set just before 6x01.

That purple dress is stunning, gorgeous and Oliver has seen it before....

**Award: Hottest Bunker Reunion Sex**

@tangled23works’ recs:

Above All Else - shesimperfect_butshetries

A different take on episode 6x14: When Rene is pointing his gun at Felicity he shoots, but Oliver jumps in front of her.

This story is an alternate ending for season 6, beginning part way through 6x14 in which Diaz is a more intimidating villain and Oliver doesn't make that stupid deal.

**Award: Best Season Six Rewrite/ I Wish This Was Canon**

@smoaking-greenarrow’s recs:

Before They Turn the Lights Out - MachaSWicket

Some late night conversations.

SPOILERS for 6x01.

**Award: The Emotional Punches We Needed From Season Six**

Finally - who_seeks_shall_find

Finally, William and Felicity let it all out. They had bottled up their feelings for a long time so there are some accusations and yelling. In addition, every secret is brought up and Oliver finds out that he isn't the only one who has hidden things.

**Award: Sweetest Queen Family Mending**

(if you must leave) leave as though fire burns under your feet - @emilyszuko

When Oliver gets home from saying goodbye to Thea and Roy, his entire body feels drained, bones dreary and tired in a way that differs from any of the other times he’s slugged through the apartment to get to his and Felicity’s bedroom. The exhaustion isn't like it normally feels after nights out fighting assassins. It’s also different from a day spent bent over his desk as he struggles to come up with ways to save his city.

**Award: The ‘Oliver Gets His Well Deserved Snuggles’ Award**

Fade to Black - @felicityollies

Late night visits, confessions, and a bean bag chair? (Post-Ep fic 6x03 spoilers)

**Award: Best Use of Bonus-Scene-Smut (and Felicity’s Bean Bag Chair)**

Miles to Go Before I Sleep - @jesileighs

6.11 Missing Scene

Oliver returns from wiring the ten million dollars to Cayden James defeated, out of control and broken. Luckily, Felicity knows how to put him back together again.

**Award: Best Felicity Doing Everything She Can to Make Oliver Feel Better**

@memcjo’s recs:

words can hurt - @alexiablackbriar13

Post-6x12, Felicity has to help Oliver deal with the emotional fallout caused by Rene's insensitive line about PTSD.

**Award: Best Use of Felicity Being There for Oliver**

All the Little Things - @it-was-a-red-heeler

Just some drabbles, one-offs, and missing scenes from Season 6.

**Award: Most Amazing Snippets of Olicity and Team Arrow**

The Importance of Trust - @hope-for-olicity

This is my spec fic on the upcoming Olicity fight in Arrow 6x18.

**Award: Best Use of Beautiful Angst**

Felicity’s Chip - @smoaking-greenarrow

anonymous asked: HI!!!! Can you maybe write I fic where instead of Curtis hacking and attacking dig’s chip. He hacks Felicity’s. And Oliver just LOOSES HIS SHIT on the new team

A/N: I had too many angry feelings to write this right after 6x14. Oliver would have ended up murdering all three of them. I still wouldn’t read if NTA being awful in a story would offend you, because they’re little shits in this fic :)

**Award: Best Use of Oliver Facing Off Against NotTA**

@blondeeoneexox’s recs:

Post its and Promises - @yet-i-remain-quiet

Felicity is feeling as if there is never time for her and Oliver to get married. Oliver comes up with a compromise.

Inspired by the Grey's Anatomy season where Derek and Meredith get married via post it note.

**Award: Most Precious Wedding That Wasn’t Technically Legal But Still Counts For Everything**

A Spark from the Fire in Your Heart - @smoaking-greenarrow

6x18 speculation fic. Oliver hallucinates, lashing out at Felicity and William in his frustration. Diaz and Black Siren make moves against Oliver, and John and Lyla come in to help.

**Award: Most Heartbreakingly Beautiful Supportive Felicity**

And I can’t bear losing you, not again - inlovewithimpossibility

Set directly after the flashbacks of Oliver finding Thea and Samantha during 6x01, Oliver sets out to find out if the others members of his team are okay and he's particularly worried about one of them

**Award: Funniest/Sappiest Felicity in the Most Dangerous of Situations**

Accepting Promises - @allimariexf

Oliver's promise to Felicity that he would always come back (episode 6x19, "The Dragon") didn't sit quite right with Felicity. When she wakes up after a vivid dream/memory, she decides to continue the conversation.

**Award: Most Beautiful Additional Scene That Absolutely Should Have Been Scripted**

Heartbreak - @felicityollies

Felicity is sent to prison instead of Oliver. While she’s there she discovers she’s pregnant.

**Award: Most Cry Worthy Pregnancy Reveal**

@allimariexf’s recs:

Everything Will Be Ok - @stephswims

After 6x13 something was missing. Obviously, William leaving to follow Oliver needs to be addressed between the Queens.

**Award: Best Queen Family Domesticity (that remembers William is a person and not a prop!)**

(Something) Just Like This - @by-mintsea

A collection of season 6 canon ficlics and silences we won't or didn’t get to see on screen. Prompts welcome.

**Award: Best Soft and Domestic Olicity Moments that Should Have Been**

[nellie-elizabeth]

Modern Family: A Year of Birthdays (10x22)

This was a perfectly serviceable finale, with a few genuinely funny and heartfelt moments!

Cons:

This episode is structured in flashbacks, so we look over the past year and see how everyone's birthdays went. That means that when a joke doesn't work, it mercifully doesn't stick around for long, because we're already jumping to a new scene. But just because we don't have to drag out the dumb moments, doesn't mean they don't exist, and there were plenty of little jokes in this episode that fell seriously flat. Luke's moment where he tries to get together with a tattoo artist and wonders if he should become a woman upon finding out that she's gay? Yikes. Manny's awkward proposal to Sherry wasn't the worst scene from Manny this season, but it also wasn't particularly insightful or funny. I guess Mitchell having a birthday alone is an okay setup, but the fact that Cam messed it up was just a touch too predictable for me.

Pros:

But like I said, these little negative moments were brief, and we were on to something else before I could get bogged down or too annoyed.

I liked Claire's birthday flashback probably the best - everyone's gifts for her are things meant to relax her, and there's a great gag about a vibrator from Gloria that comes back later. I also liked Alex getting really drunk on her twenty-first birthday with a sober, pregnant Haley. Manny's proposal at his birthday was lame, but the other talent show acts were all pretty funny - Phil being unready to play the piano, Cam and Mitchell having matching vests and an already-choreographed musical number, Haley's impressive texting skills.... all of that was lovely. Jay gets roasted for his birthday - not the most inspired or hilarious thing I've ever seen, but I did chuckle at a few of the jokes, and Alex bringing the mood down but getting the best insult in was a pretty nice punchline.

Phil's story arc in this episode was probably my favorite thing. When he turns fifty, he decides to learn to play the piano, so that he's ready to play in front of other people by the time he turns fifty-one. We see his progress in brief snippets throughout the rest of the year, and then we get the resolution when Phil's piano recital is interrupted by Haley going into labor. He plays his song really quickly, proving that he actually did develop the skill, and then rushes off with his family to the hospital. Phil is often the punchline to a joke, so it was nice to see him commit to something, and follow through with it in a satisfying way.

Really, the thing that I liked best about this episode was that they did away with the expected cliche. We've been following Haley's pregnancy all year. I would have expected an entire episode devoted to her going into labor, shenanigans at the hospital, the birth, the new babies. But instead we see one final birthday, that of Haley and Dylan's twins, as the episode ends. The whole family gathers together to celebrate the new members of their family, and we get to see everyone cooing over the adorable babies. It's sweet, and refreshingly uncomplicated.

This episode both did and didn't feel like a finale, because it had a big important plot thing happen - Haley has her babies - but it didn't escalate wildly or try to do too much with the concept. I liked this creative, somewhat more mellow take on such an important event!

9/10

[theemichelleb]

Game of Thrones Series Final Season - Season Review

Game of Thrones is such an epic dynasty that I had to really sit and think about how I wanted to review the end of this era. I got involved in Game of Thrones late in the game, but have been hooked on it ever since my first watch in early 2017, courtesy of my bestie, Grets. The series is absolutely phenomenal thanks to the book series author, George R. R. Martin, but of course he hasn’t finished the books because he’s still working on his greatness and the TV series is closing out but it’s okay.

Although, there aren’t really any black characters displayed in this epicness of medieval trials and tribulations, I must say I’m okay with our people not being caught up in the nonsense that actually occurs in the series, and the two blacks that are represented are D.O.P.E. as heck and about their business, no question. It’s funny watching white people be white towards themselves, however.

I’ve decided the best way to review this final season is to give a snippet into my thought for each episode and close it out with my final remarks on the overall series and how the wonderful production team executed closing out this phenomenal series.

Episode 1

The first minute of the episode was truly a tribute to season 1 episode 1 all the way down to recreating Arya’s fascination with the royal family coming to Winterfell from season 1 while showing how much she’s grown 7 seasons later. I love a great reference back to the beginning of something amazing. Especially with Danny and Jon entering winter fell to lead us through the final battles in the Game of Thrones reminding us of how the game started in season 1 with Cersei and Jaime entering Winterfell. It really feels like all roads lead to Winterfell, right? This was such a great parallel because Cersei loved to justify her disgusting relationship with her brother by arguing that’s how the Targaryens kept their bloodlines pure and now we have 2 Targaryens that don’t even know they’re related in love and in a relationship. Nasty… but I can forgive Danny and Jon in hopes that they do better when they finally learn they’re aunt and nephew.

There were also a lot of reunions that I have long waited for and honestly was not sure if we were ever going to get to see; Tyrion and Sansa, Arya and Jon, Arya and Gendry, and our favorite, Bran and Jaime. My favorite part of the reunions is that none of these characters know each other or the things they’ve been through the way we know them and they’re growth. The underdogs have truly made an impact on the plot of the show moving forward and bringing us to a place very close to success and winning the iron throne.

My favorite underdog is Sansa. I know so many people that dislike her for the choices she made, but truth be told she fought for her life the only way she knew how. Yes, she made some selfish choices but when I look at the position she was placed in she really made smart choices for herself and look at where it’s brought her. People always want to degrade women for choosing themselves but men do it all the time, so, I don’t get the scrutiny. Plus she’s been around enough crazies to see Danny is one and I’m intrigued by the fact that she’s not so quick to bend to Danny. Don’t get me wrong I love Danny but she’s not adjusting well to the North and these aren’t the slaves she’s been saving for 7 seasons. I feel like she’s going to struggle to get her throne because she won’t be able to adjust and that’s what Sansa senses.

Episode 2

This episode was kinda slow to me. Based on the arrival of the Night King’s army at the end I see it’s meant to serve as the quiet before the storm. Although it didn’t really give me much, it did have a few notable moments that bring it’s watchers into the intensity of the war against the dead that is no longer coming and is finally here.

I wasn’t impressed with the reunion of Bran and Jaime; not that I had an idea of what I thought it would look like but I expected something. I guess that just ties to the “mystery” that Bran is as the Three-Eyed Raven. Danny is really on something this season and I can’t figure out what it is. I understand her conflicted stance on allowing Jaime to live, but even with her interaction as she tries to address the issue Sansa has with her. I think her desire to be accepted as Queen of the 7 kingdoms has in a way shifted to being accepted by Sansa; is it because Jon is her brother? Who knows, but it’s annoying and I need Danny to gather herself. It’s honestly coming off as jealousy. I saw it when Theon showed up to join the fight against the dead and asked Sansa if he could fight for her. Danny was HURT; it was written all over her face, LOL. I wonder if this is eluding to anything with Sansa always wanting to be queen… could she be a contender for the throne because of the love her people have for her? Or maybe she will just be the key to the North breaking free from the 7 kingdoms and becoming it’s own kingdom.

The battle against the dead brings us scenarios I always anticipated but never believed I would be able to witness. The circle of once Stark enemies turned allies is a huge scene for me; from Tormund’s entertaining but creepy fascination with Brienne to Jaime’s knighting of Brienne; I was truly intrigued with the circle of characters, that truly wanted to see the demise of the Stark’s, come together under the Stark’s lead to save the world from the walking dead. All roads really do lead back to Winterfell. And Arya grew the heck up! Wow… just wow. I always had my suspicions of her and Gendry getting together but I didn’t know she would go from badass to siren all in one episode. It makes sense though, our beloved characters are going into the fight of their lives and because nobody’s life is safe anybody could die; even Arya. This was probably one of my favorite connections out of the series after Greyworm and Missandei, of course, who also took my heart for a loop when he asked her to runaway with him after all of the battles are over; great moment of foreshadowing.

And of course this episode had to end with Danny finding out she’s not the only contender for the throne. Although, Jon doesn’t want it, she’s terrified! It all makes sense to her which is why she tries to deflect and claim Jon being a Targaryen is a made up story… please ma’am, who would lie about being a part of your crazy bloodline?

Episode 3

The Long Night is FINALLY here and I am here for this entire battle. Danny goes off hinged yet again, doesn’t want to follow anybody’s plan, and further annoying me with her antics. I mean, I understand the Dothraki were pretty much eliminated as a people but who did she think she was going to help in this war if she died?

But this battle! The Night King was that dude. No, we never find out what he wants but lets be real, he was created by the Children of the Forrest to take out the human race, they didn’t really give him much purpose other than to bring death to humans; which, I think he did successfully throughout the entire series, just taking out these folk that were expecting him to still be in hibernation. There were so many different aspects of this episode to follow which gave it a depth that I think it needed since it was basically a hour and a half of people dying left and right, then being brought back to life because, you know, the Night King raises zombies in this medieval time.

Which brings me to my biggest question… if we know this man can raise the dead, why were all of the helpless women, children, and men in the crypt? The place filled with dead Stark’s. A tomb. Literally a cemetery.

Whatever… the highlight of the hour goes to ARYA STARK. Always knew she was destined for greatness. My girl had sex and did her thing, LOL. There were so many ways this could have gone left, honestly, I wouldn’t have been sad if they let the Night King win, but when Arya came through with her faceless man skills I was so proud and knew my baby was all growed up. Arya has been D.O.P.E. since she was little, and I’m so happy they have given her the path that she’s been placed on and ecstatic that the victory for saving human kind did not go to Jon Snow. I’m just confused how the long night lasted a hour and a half but we still haven’t faced Cersei yet. So Cersei is a larger battle to fight than the Night King? Hmmmmm…. not sold on that one, but I guess we’ll see when Danny makes her way to King’s Landing.

Episode 4

Now, I’ve dealt with a lot of dryness and things that did not make sense, but this nonsense of Euron taking down the ships and kidnapping Missandei has got to be the DUMBEST PLOT DECISION EVER. I'm annoyed with this entire season at this point.

I understand sending Danny into her character arc to show how she’s turned into her father, the mad king, but seriously? This season has just torn poor little Danny apart and turned her into this inconsistent, under developed tyrant with no sense. I know it’s going to get worse… from her declaration making Gendry Lord of Storm’s End to her attempt to convince Jon they can be together even though they’re aunt and nephew, she’s just too obsessed with a throne she’s never seen for me.

I can’t lie, when Jon told Sansa and Arya he needed them to promise to keep quiet if he told, I was sitting in my chair like “Sansa, just say you promise and break it.” Sansa has never made me more proud than the moment she stopped battling herself and chose to tell Tyrion who Jon really is.

The attacks on Danny are really stacking up and feel too rushed for what we’ve known GoT to pace us with. She buries Jorah, Jon denies her love, Rhaegal is shot out of the sky just as she thinks he’s healing after the battle, and then Missandei dies…. all in one episode?! Who the heck thought this was a good idea instead of just extending the season with more episodes?? I waited TWO YEARS for this mess! Guess we’ll see what other nonsense they can come up with in the last two episodes.

Episode 5

Of course we knew this was going to be bad… but this?? This was so extreme and out of character.

I commend Varys for his attempts to protect the people in the realm, but truthfully there wasn’t enough time to explore what Varys could have done to stop Danny… again blown at how rushed this Season has been and rather disappointed with the outcomes. Fast forward to the real issue of this episode… Daenarys Tarygaryen destroys Kings Landing after they surrender. She is no longer Danny after that foolishness. I personally think they waited too late in the game to change who she is and turn her into the present version of her father. Not saying that she was ever a great leader, because let’s face it she just walked around freeing slaves with no plan on how to care for them, but she NEVER would have taken innocent lives where unneeded. The Danny we’ve grown to know as the breaker of chains would have seen the people on their grown running fearful for their lives unprotected by their Queen, given them mercy, and burned Cersei, Qyburn, Ser Gregor, and whoever in the King’s Guard that wanted to stand by her once the city was conquered. But I digress…

This episode wasn’t even a fight! The long night was placed before this whhhyyyyy? Cersei stood in her castle and watched her people burn for her idiocy and then dies under some rubble in the arms of the man she loves whom also happens to be her twin brother?! This is how she dies after I’ve waited 8 seasons to watch Danny burn her alive… this is all Tyrion’s fault. Had he not let Jaime go I at least would have gotten to see Cersei’s crazy behind die the death she deserved just like Joffrey got what was coming for him in Season 4.

I have so many questions that I understand the concepts behind, because of my film background, but the execution was just poor and I wish they would have made an executive decision to extend the season to at least 10 episodes, maybe even throw in one more season to close everything out better than this bullshicocky. Now, I just want to know what else there is? What, Jon and Danny are going to fight for the thrown now or she’s going to burn him alive for telling his secret after she forbid him not to? This is a bunch of anti-climactic aggravation.

Episode 6

Bran the Broken? That’s how we’re saving the 6, not 7, kingdoms? Maybe I’m missing something… don’t get me wrong, cool Bran is the three-eyed raven, but my dude says nothing the entire last few seasons other than, “I am not Bran,” and “I don’t want to be Lord of Winterfell.” But he wants to be King of the Realm??

I’m glad Danny finally got taken out of the equation because she honestly deserved to die for the foul mistakes the writers made in her character arc… it was truly disrespectful to her as a person and she deserved to be let out of the nonsense her character has become. Whether I believed she would be a good Queen or not she didn’t deserve to go mad like her father did so abruptly without the dedication and development that it should have taken. I would have even been okay if she still went crazy, just not in 3 episodes. Of course Jon had to be the one to kill her, however, was his purpose to take her out and then return to the nights watch then go beyond the wall with the free folk?

The ONLY character arc I was satisfied with was Sansa. My girl Sansa showed up and showed out. As I said, a lot of people I know were disgusted by her, but honestly survival was what she had to go through and she made a comment to the Hound after the Night King died that solidified everything she did for me. She could have left King’s Landing with The Hound and been saved from Joffrey’s torture, marrying Tyrion, Ramsey raping her, and Littlefinger pimping her out, but if she didn’t go through all of those things she would have remained an ignorant “little bird” all her life. If that was the case I definitely wouldn’t have stuck behind her the way I did. She always wanted to be Queen, and she finally got it with making The North it’s own Kingdom, which it has always deserved to be. And let’s just throw in that Sansa’s coronation outfit was BAD! Okkurrr.

Although, the story line, plot, and character development was trash closing out this amazing story of stories, the graphics and imagery were EVERYTHING. My favorite scenes were with Drogon; him buried in the ash when Jon is entering the tower prepared to kill Danny, and right after Jon becomes the Queen Slayer and Drogon pops up destroying the Iron Throne when he can’t wake his mother. I can say the crew did their thing with location scouting and taking their time to give us the best visuals because the rest of the package was trash.

Overall

I want to say I’m happy, but… yea. I’m sure we’ll get some type of Spin-off for Arya or maybe even Sansa, there were so many loose ends left at the end anybody could get a spin-off, LOL. Thank you for the attempt, but I think maybe this team of writers should stick to adaptations and not try to complete a story that they didn’t start; didn’t seem to be their strong suit.

Film making is hard and I commend them fall all of their efforts, but I was less than impressed given the foundation that was laid for this to be a D.O.P.E. production. Oh well, maybe we’ll get a revamped version in about 20 years after the books are finished and somebody picks up the idea to try again.

[legobatron]

Pt. 48: Space is warped and time is bendable

The episode falls on its face while Lego Batman wigs out.

Aside from the design weirdness of the last segment, the build for the leg continues on as normal. More bricks are added to make the structure more solid and connector pieces put in place that will be used later.

Lego Batman: “I mean, it just feels like cheating. You know what I mean?”

Next a second layer is built up, to fill the leg out, and the same diagonal piece trick is used again.

Hunk: “Now there’s two of them!” Lego Batman: “This is getting out of hand...”

After a great first episode of the season, the second episode, “Razor's Edge”, double fumbles by not only being a Keith episode but also focusing on clunky exposition. 

The episode starts right were the last Keith episode left off 3 eps back, with him finding out the spy, Krolia, is his mother. He wants some anwsers, but instead of explaining things in a sensible way, she insists on following the mission so things can be dragged out throughout the episode. That mission is now tracking down the origin of some rare super Quintessence that was used to make the bio monster shown briefly in the earlier episode. 

The problem is that the Quintessence originates from a section of space so astronomically impossible and contrived that it completely distorts time, space, and narrative structure in absurd and pointless ways. So they fly their little Galra ship into this mess and right after explaining every probe sent there is destroyed, they are attcked by space bugs and the ship is destroyed. Who could have possibly seen that coming? But being stranded without a ship in the freaky corner of the galaxy is not much of a concern for them and the continue on foot, hopping from asteroid to asteroid, as they head to the center several thousand miles away (space is big). 

If all that wasn’t dumb enough, at random times one of the planets in this mess of space will flash, and at that point Keith sees a snippet of his mom’s life. Conveniently, they all related to how she got on Earth and met his father, no random flashes of her just filling Galra paper work or on the toilet. Very considerate time flashes. 

The gist of it is that while the Galra were searching the universe for the Voltron lions, spies for the rebellion would be among them. So Krolia just happend to be on a scouting mission that passed Earth and detected the Blue Lion. She attacked the other Galra searching, to keep the location a secret, but in the fight her ship was damaged and she crashed right out front of Keith’s father’s home. Over time they find the Blue Lion, fall in love, and have Keith, but one day more Galra scouts show up for the Blue Lion. So after taking them out, Krolia decides that she has to go back to the Galra empire as a spy and make sure that no one searches around Earth again.

While all that is slowly explained in time flashes, back at the castle ship, Allura and Lotor are still working on making a ship that can go into the Quintessence dimension and getting closer as they go, nearly kissing at one point. Meanwhile Lance is getting more and more bummed out about how much time Lotor is spending with her. Pidge and Hunk even tease him about it, saying how they will likely get married and have babies with beautiful flowing white alien hair.

Lego Batman: “Enough with the love triangle, can’t we have an episode with just these two?”

But it turns out that this isn’t Lance’s standard chasing every woman he sees, it appears that he actually loves Allura and it’s having a strong effect on him. He wants to be some one worthy of the princess but he feels that he can’t compete with a prince like Lotor. He confides this to the Space Mice, which is a big mistake since they go an tell Allura about his feelings later that night.

Back in freaky space land, Keith finally figures out that traveling through space on foot may not be a good idea, since they will likely starve or run out of air in a few days. Luckily the writers pull a giant plot contrivance out of the Avatar hand book and a out of nowhere arrives a turtlelion, I mean space whale!  Not only is this moon size space whale heading in the same direction as they are, it even has an entire ecosystem with breathable air on its back. Then there’s a montage where Keith and his mom live on the whale for 2 years as it travels to their destination (and they were planning to go on foot!), along the way they adopt a teleporting space wolf.

When they finally get to the center of freaky land, they find a high tech building and inside is a holodeck type forest. The last shot is them finding an Altean that looks just like if Zelda was a girl.

[84ofclubs]

Season 8 of Game of Thrones is Horrible

Like most Game of Thrones Fans I was also very upset about episode five. According to Twitter (which is basically the pulse of America now) people seem to fall into two camps. Either you’re discussed with how Dany has taken a forced uncharacteristic shift, or you saw this coming a mile away and are cool with what happened.

Those on Team Dany point to various things in the show that have foreshadowed her dissent into madness. They point to snippets from season one when Dany watched with a somewhat catatonic stare as her brother was killed. Or the time in season two when she said, “When my dragons are grown … we will lay waste to armies and burn cities to the ground!” However, a lot of these lack context. For one thing, Dany’s brother was an asshole that sold her into slavery and moments before he was killed attempted to murder Dany’s unborn child. As for the second quote, Dany was literally starving to death and seeking refuge. The line was delivered more as an act of desperation than a threat.

The point is—foreshadowing is not the same thing as character development. I’ll give you an example. Let’s pretend for a moment that Jon Snow suddenly went mad and decided to burn down King’s Landing instead of Dany. Didn’t see it coming? Why not?

1. His father had his head cut off 2. His brother was stabbed to death by supposed allies 3. His first love died in his arms after taking an arrow to the heart 4. He was led to believe that his younger brothers were burned to death by a guy he grew up with and treated like family 5. When he did find out his younger brothers were alive, the only interaction he got to have with the youngest was watching him die after the creep that raped his sister killed him 6. He survived multiple battles in which he had to watch his fellow brothers of the Nightswatch get slaughtered 7. He found out he was lied to his entire life about who he actually is 8. He unknowingly had sexual intercourse with his aunt 9. Oh, and don’t forget, he was literally murdered and then brought back from the dead

See all that foreshadowing? Totally proves that Jon was gonna go crazy sooner or later, right? No. We wouldn’t accept Jon burning down King’s Landing because it completely goes against how we’ve seen Jon develop as a character. We know he’s noble, honorable, and cares about people, because his ACTIONS and how he has responded to those horrible things have shown us those traits.

The same thing can be said about Dany. Time and time again we’ve seen her marching toward Westeros not as a tyrant, but as someone who wanted to break the wheel. She freed slaves. She seemed to care about innocent lives. When she found out one of her dragons burned a child while it was hunting sheep, she locked the other two up in chains to prevent more death. Time and time again we watched her character develop into a righteous woman who wanted to, “Fight injustice with justice.” So when she starts killing thousands of innocent people we don’t believe it. We’ve seen her be stronger than that so many times before—she lost her husband and unborn child without a sign of going mad. Suddenly her advisors die and her nephew refuses to sleep with her and that’s the final straw? It’s insulting. It’s lazy writing that plays on the whole “scored woman” trope that female characters on Game of Thrones have never relied on.

The main issue with writing gray characters is that it’s easier for an audience to develop empathy for a character they once hated (Jamie and Theon for example) than it is for an audience to start hating a character they once loved. Like it or not, unless you’re in the world of soap operas or wrestling, that’s just how fiction works. If they were going make Dany go all “Mad Queen” they needed to start that arc at least a season ago. If done correctly it would have worked. But this entire season has been filled with so many issues. Here are but a few, and how I would’ve fixed them:

1. Problem: The Night King was killed off way too easily, and frankly, Arya did not deserve to kill him.

The Fix: The show should have made it clear what the Night King’s motivations were concerning The Three Eyed Raven. Bran did state that the Night King would come after him because he was the “memory of the world.” So what? If you’re going kill everyone anyway, there’s nobody left to care about memories. Bran should have said, “He’ll come for me. He wants to turn me. To use me and my knowledge as a weapon in his war against mankind.” I’d understand that motive—a White Walker version of the Three Eyed Raven would come in very handy when you’re trying to kill everyone—you know, since you can literally see where everyone is and what they’re doing!

As for Arya and her Deus ex Machina killing of the Night King—it was a lazy attempt at shock. I love Arya—she’s my favorite character in the series, but she didn’t deserve the Night King kill. She hasn’t EARNED it. Jon and Bran’s character arcs have been tied to the Night King for seasons—it should have been one of them. Frankly, if I were writing it, Bran should have killed the Night King and died of his wounds in the process. There is no use for a Three Eyed Raven without a Night King. It would’ve brought the Night King and Bran’s arcs to a satisfying close that makes sense. The writers had the perfect opportunity to have an awesome mind battle where Bran attempted to warg into the Night King and instead decided to have him sit under a tree and warg into birds… Furthermore, the fact that Bran is still alive without the Night King leads me to believe his arc isn’t finished because they’re going to put him on the throne in the end. I hope I’m wrong, because that would be a huge mistake. Although I would find it amusing if they put some wheels on the Iron Throne, again, it comes down to who EARNED it. Not who wants it, or who needs it, but who as a character has earned it.

2. Problem: Cerci deserved a better death and Jamie deserved redemption

The Fix: If you made a list of ways Cerci was going to die, I’m pretty sure “crushed by rocks” would’ve been like number 1,480—right next to measles from being unvaccinated. As a woman who has handled her enemies quite poetically, her death was very bland. I mean, this woman used lipstick poison to avenge her daughter’s death, used wine to waterboard the nun that walked her naked through the streets, and blew up her own trial. She needed to go out better than rocks. Arya actually did EARN the Cerci kill. She’s been on her list since the list existed, and went through YEARS of training. Jamie should’ve died better, too, but he also deserved redemptin. We have watched him became a better man—we’ve developed empathy for him.

I would’ve had his last act be the ringer of the bell. It should’ve been him trying to stop the bloodshed. This is the same man that’s participated in a sack of King’s Landing—he knows how horrible they are, how many people die. He should’ve rang the bell, been killed in the process by The Mountain, and died in the arms of Brianne. Arya then should’ve found his body, taken his face, and used it to get close to Cerci and then killed her. It would’ve been the poetic death Cerci deserved as well as the ending to Arya’s revenge arc.

3. Problem: Jon should’ve pet his goddamn wolf goodbye

The fix: Since the beginning of the series, the wolves have been a problem. I guess rendering fur is a time-consuming and expensive process—hence why a lot of the wolves ran away or died throughout the series. But you can’t tell me HBO didn’t have the money to let Jon pet Ghost. Or at least talk to him! The stare and nod was lame. Ghost literally guarded Jon’s dead body—he deserved a pat on the head. The fix for this is easy—Jon better go back North at the end of the series and pet his wolf.

I can go on and on and on, but I think you get the idea. The main issues the show faced this season came down to character development and choices. These are both problems that arise in the writing process. I have no blame for the actors and the crew. The performances and cinematography are always fantastic, but there is no excuse for the writing this season. The worst part is, HBO wanted more seasons and were willing to fork over the money. It was Dan and Dave that said no, and DEMANDED fewer episodes to wrap things up. Clearly they just wanted it to be over. After all, Disney just gave them to keys to Star Wars. I can’t wait to see how they fuck that up next…