#sugar season one

[agentnico]

Sugar - season 1 (2024) review

“Sugar (do do do do do do), oh honey honey (do do do do do do)…..” mind you this song isn’t played in the show but I’m glad I was reminded of this banger.

Plot: Private detective John Sugar investigates the disappearance of Olivia Siegel, the beloved granddaughter of Hollywood producer Jonathan Siegel. As Sugar tries to determine what happened to Olivia, he unearths Siegel family secrets, old and new.

Nicolas Cage recently got confirmed to be cast in Prime’s live-action Spider-Man spin-off series Noir where he’ll be playing the web-swinging PI, and as much as I’m excited to see Cage brood in black-and-white, there’s currently a perfectly enjoyable noir detective series on Apple TV+ that I haven’t heard anyone talk about. Especially due to its flabbergasting mid-season plot twist that is so laughably out-of-left-field that I’m not sure it’s a good or bad thing. But let’s discuss…

Taking inspiration from the likes of LA Confidential and Chinatown, this neo noir show plays as a greatest hits album of all the tropes of the genre. The first two episodes especially are super enjoyable, through Farrell’s narration, to the slow piano music to the use of black-and-white and crisp cinematography, the entire thing just felt like a vibe. A super cool vibe. Naturally Colin Farrell is a perfect casting choice to play the charming private investigator. He’s got that likeable face you feel you can trust, but enough going on in his expression to give him that element of mystery. Also Farrell looks great in a suit. One has to respect a man that can wear a suit well. Ask Barney Stinson. So the first two episodes are truly awesome. The script wasn’t anything groundbreaking, with Farrell’s inner monologues featuring lines you’d easily find in other neo-noir movies/shows, but just as a collective package this thing felt ace in its first two episodes. There’s also this glossy pastiche of old-school movies that are referenced throughout, reflecting John Sugar’s passion for film and the Hollywood setting. However after that the show slows down, with the central mystery of the missing girl stretched out with pointless baggage around it to fulfill the series episode count. Honestly, this would have worked better as a film rather than a series.

Now in regards to the aforementioned plot twist. I haven’t been so snortingly contemptuous of a reveal since that 2019 fishing thriller Serenity starring Matthew McConaughey that pulls of a ‘bait and switch’ times two with its ending that is so ludicrously random and out of nowhere that I recall truly gasping at the cinema. It’s a terrible twist, but also for a movie that otherwise was utterly boring and bad, that narrative shock at least gave me somewhat of a thrill. So with Sugar at the end of episode 6 a certain reveal happens, that in a way completely changes the entire series. Though one could argue there were a couple of clues in earlier episodes that could have somewhat suggested this twist, in reality I do believe this reveal was a bit of a cheat. It’s an unearned way to grab attention and get a “WHAAAA???” reaction out of the audience, and I thought it came off as a cheap shot. Granted though it gave the meandering show a little boost of energy to the end of the season, but felt so out of place. If the reveal happened earlier, then the show would have had more time to play up to its weird premise.

Sugar is very much a series that is carried by its lead performance (and an adorable doggo), and though the beginning of the season was a strong start, it lost its narrative direction shortly after until that baffling twist that again, I can’t decide if it’s good or bad, but I’m leaning more towards the latter. A good twist needs to have the correct appropriate set-up. The twist in Sugar was more like the showrunners going “psyche - gotcha!”

Overall score: 5/10

[jazzkrebber]

one of the funniest things about show!wesper is that at first, Wylan is this poor, dirty kid from the barrel, but Jesper doesn't care because he loves him. then Jesper eventually finds out that his boyfriend is actually stupid rich and he accidentally found a sugar daddy

[pintsofguinnesmakeyoustrong]

fx the bear is very good because there's an episode where richie nearly fucking kills someone and faces manslaughter charges and its not even a major plot line or anything meanwhile the episode where they go home for christmas dinner is literally one of the most stressful episodes of television ever made

[thiscoldheart]

the bear + tumblr text posts (1/?)

[annieqattheperipheral]

fresh cut n errythin for his juice shoot!

so pleased he's put himself in a partnership position for constant modeling. ty nate

nose nose nose. yo his skin's looking fantastic

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

The fandom can't make up its mind on what's supposed to be a joke and what's supposed to be serious because the show can't either half the time. It's a tonally disjointed mess that wants to have absurd over-the-top humor as well as a plot and moments of drama, romance, and angst that demand you see the characters as people and feel for what they're going through. Except you can't do that without also treating the dumb bullshit in a somewhat grounded way. Like, you're still dealing with the same characters. You can't just go "Oh, that? Let's ignore that!" the moment it's no longer convenient to you. You've opened this can of worms and now you have to sleep in it. So, every character flip-flops between two different versions of themselves depending on what the writers need in any particular scene.

This is not to say surreal humor can't be used right alongside characters you're supposed to empathize with, Teen Titans (not Go) did that and it worked. It's just that the absurdity can only come from the setting (Mad Mod, Mother Mae-Eye, pretty much anything Control Freak is in) or from designated joke characters (Date With Destiny). Teen Titans never had the main characters acting in clearly absurd ways as the butt of a joke unless those characters were brainwashed somehow, because the writers knew that would ruin any of the more grounded moments they wanted to write. The writers of Miraculous missed the memo on that one.

I don't disagree. A perfect example is Derision where the show takes all of the bad jokes about Marinette's crush and decides to take them seriously as if you can possible take them seriously without making Marinette come across as unhinged and dangerous. You can't, which brings us to the topic at hand: how do you even begin to understand these characters when the show is constantly making character-breaking choices?

My approach - and the approach I recommend others take if they're going to keep watching the show - is to focus on the characters' cores and reject anything canon does to violate those cores. I don't argue for this stance because I love the characters so much that I only want the good things to count. I take this stance because, if you don't, then the characters fall apart. There is no way to make them work as fully realized characters while embracing every choice canon has made. Miraculous has massive characterization issues that go well beyond the humor.

For example, Adrien has multiple moments of terrible behavior that are played in a serious manner such as the moment in the episode Frozer where he tries to start a fight with Ladybug in the middle of an akuma attack because she wouldn't accept a rose from him earlier:

Setup

Ladybug: I can't accept this rose from you. I told you already. I'm in love with someone else. Cat Noir: I know, M'lady. But if he weren't here, would things be different between us? Ladybug: Well, you know, I can't even begin to imagine him not being here. I'm sorry, Cat Noir. I really gotta get going, and you better do the same. (Swings her yo-yo to head back home; Cat Noir is sad, looking downwards, with one petal of the rose falling.)

Payoff

Ladyice: Cat Noir. We need to set up a trap for whoever turned the city into a giant ice rink. (throws yo-yo) Icecat: (bitterly) My feline instincts prefer to track and observe before I attack. You go your way, I'll go mine. Ladyice: Please don't tell me you're mad at me about the rose. Icecat: There may be a certain chill now between us. Ladyice: I get it, but we should really focus on saving Paris right now. Icecat: We don't always have to do everything together, after all. It's not like we're a couple. (skates away)

There's no way to argue this off as a bad joke. While Adrien has every right to feel hurt, those feelings don't excuse him acting like a pouting child in the middle of an akuma fight. It doesn't excuse him acting like this at any point! Ladybug is not a villain for telling him no. She wasn't even mean about it!

I clearly fully agree that Adrien looks awful and selfish here, but I'd still argue that it's not something that should be used to define Adrien's character if your goal is to tell the "ideal" version of Miraculous. "Ideal" being the version that canon seems to be going for based on the overall picture we can sort of make out if we back way, way, way up and look at the extremely abstract picture canon is clumsily painting.

Unless canon is going to do something monumentally stupid, Adrien is Marinette's endgame romantic interest. It's also clear that there is no plan to cut him from the team. He's going to be Chat Noir for the rest of his life or at least well into his adulthood. This means that he is supposed to be a good hero who deserves his miraculous just like he's supposed to be a charming and cute romantic lead. These are the two things I keep in mind when trying to shift through canon to figure out what writing choices I should fully embrace and what writing choices I have to either ignore or treat as true flaws that get an actual character arc. In my book, either approach is fine because most of the characters are deeply flawed at this point and you can't give them all arcs without bloating the story to nonsense levels.

My goal with this approach is never to say, "oh, that moment shouldn't count in terms of how people feel about the character." It's more, "that moment goes so hard against who this character is very clearly supposed to be that I can't take it into account if I want to tell the kind of story that Miraculous is trying (and clearly failing) to tell."

As an example, let's list off Adrien's worst behaviors. The things that make him look terrible:

He sucks at communicating his needs and feelings, leading to multiple moments where he gets mad at Ladybug for things she's totally unaware of

He has quit or considered quitting without warning multiple times and only one of those was because of something he did "wrong" (NYC Special)

He puts his feelings before the safety of Paris on multiple occasions, even going so far to purposely miss akuma fights to see what happens

He is incredibly pushy about his crush, often ignoring Ladybug's feelings on the topic by continuing to bring it up even after she asked him to stop

There have been multiple instances where he almost cataclysmed multiple people in a fit of anger

His love for Ladynette isn't strong enough to let him break free of things like akumas and nightmare dust even when he's looking her in the eyes making him a pretty crappy romantic lead

People will argue that some of this behavior makes sense for his character because of the abuse that canon has technically introduced, but that the writers seem blissfully unaware of. I don't disagree with that argument, but that doesn't change the fact that none of this is acceptable behavior for a hero and Adrien is a hero who keeps doing these things. A sad backstory doesn't give you the right to behave poorly without consequences.

At the same time, if I fully embrace these elements of canon, what I get is an Adrien salt fic where he loses his miraculous for good while Marinette finds her real true love or even just a non-salty fic where Adrien leaves for his own meatal health and gets replaced by someone who can handle being a hero right now. Canon's not writing either of those, so the only way to engage with these flaws while enjoying canon or aiming for the same end goals as canon is to say, "I guess this doesn't count" or "I guess I need to tone this way down and work through it via a character arc" or even "I guess that was just a bad joke maybe?"

That is the essence of what I mean when I call myself a writing salt, character sugar blog. It comes from looking at canon and seeing that there's simply no way to embrace the worst moments and the best at the same time. We're not dealing with a coherent plot and/or complex characters. We're dealing with a nonsense plot that will warp the characters to bizarre shapes to make random ideas work even if those idea go wildly against canon's end goals.

As an example, Glaciator and Frozer should not exist in the same universe or, at the very least, something should explain why Chat Noir randomly changed his stance on Ladybug's crush from acceptance to pushiness. As is, the pieces don't fit together. The behavior is too contradictory. Remember, this is how Glaciator ends:

Perhaps Ladybug will love me someday. I mean, like, I love her. I have to believe. In the meantime, her friendship is the best gift of all.

Where did this version of Adrien go? Why did he regress in Frozer? There's no in-universe reason. It happened because the writers weren't ready to let the love square date or grow close, but they also wanted the love square to cause drama, so Adrien ends up looking terrible just like Marinette ends up looking terrible when it's her turn to cause love square drama. Her terribleness takes a different flavor so it can be hard to realize that this is a systemic issue, but that's what it is. It's deeply frustrating, but it also clearly stems from cheap writing and not quality characterization.

This is also why my stance is that canon as a whole only supports my Doyalistic core-character analysis style of approach. The writing is too poor quality to do Watsonian analysis where you embrace the full picture and try to put it all together. The closest I'll get to Watsonian analysis is pointing out how much the writing botches a Watsonian take by showing you all the way the writing contradicts itself, twisting into a nonsense pretzel of frustration where the payoffs never satisfy! (See the season four rant for an example or anything where I talked about Chloe's supposed damnation arc.)

There are even characters where canon is such a total mess that you can Doyalistically argue for two separate takes! Gabriel is a perfect example. He is all over the place and his ending was so poorly handled that you can make strong arguments for writing him as a cold-hearted villain or a sympathetic villain without the end result feeling like it spits in the face of canon because both takes maintain his one core element: villain.

That's the big thing I keep in mind when I look at the characters and the lore and the plots and try to come up with versions that the average fan would like. I don't think that there's one true version of any of these things, but I do feel comfortable saying that there are versions that will very clearly only appeal to people who are salty about a specific thing that canon did poorly. That's not who I want to appeal to in my adaptions, so while I'm not going to argue that those takes have no backing in canon, I will argue that those takes are not supported by canon as a whole. Embracing them requires you to take the worst parts of canon at face value while ignoring what canon is clearly trying to do with the overall story.

I get the appeal of that, but it's not fun for me because that approach feels like rolling around in the mud with the pigs. I don't want to sink to canon's level! I want to have fun! That's why I talk about how to make canon into its best self, not its worst self. If you want its worst self, just go watch the actual show. I will be shocked it if disappoints you.

[quibbs126]

Alright, Costume time once more

Not gonna lie, I was not expecting a Costume like this for Red Panna Cotta, I was expecting it to be more Dessert Paradise themed

But honestly I really like it, I’m gonna have to save my Rainbow Cubes for it now

Reminds me of Cinnamon Cookie, but that’s probably because of the magician theme

Then we got Fairy and Churro’s new costumes

They’re all right, they’re fun. I don’t think they’re bad or anything, I just don’t have much to comment on

Also indeed, Pilot’s costume is his younger self

How much do you want to bet some people are going to forget this isn’t his default design/people draw him way more like this?

But no, I like it plenty fine, it’s a nice design. And he gets a Cookie Trial too!

And then we’re getting these costumes later on during the update, and they’re pretty good too

For some reason, Black Sugar Swan’s costume gives me Dark Enchantress vibes, but it might just be because I’ve seen her hair drawn like that. And also similar colors

But yeah overall, banger costumes all around. Kind of makes me wish I had saved more of my Rainbow Cubes this month instead

[great-tusk]

Happy New Year! Let’s start it with something nice. Mutuals, drop your f/o and your dynamic + aesthetic in an rb, and I’ll make you a moodboard. Here are a few examples of ones I made for my ships.

STATUS: OPEN!

[rainc0at]

brassic questions im haunted by: what the fuck was the wanking contest? why the FUCK do these "professional thieves" never silence their phones when they're robbing? why does dylan continue to take class a's?

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

I don't remember who said the other day that Nat was Sydcarmy's strongest soldier.

Well... She is.

She hasn't fully shown her true Sydcarmy colors, YET. But she will.

Nat's and Richie's support will mean the world to them when they burn every other bridge between them. And, IK this might be my 3rd matcha talking or maybe has something to do with the fact that I have been listening 7 Nation Army on repeat for like 20 mins now, but I'm pretty sure they probably will in S3 and that's when the allys will come in to save the Sydcarmy day.

Let's keep and eye on "Sugar", WHICH IS WHAT BALANCES ACID AND VICEVERSA.

Bonus track: I used to be a bartender in another lifetime and I always hated acid, but I was forced to use it to balance out certain beverages, I recently learned that it works the same in food, even when exposed to heat. Go figure! My theory checks out. Now I just need to sit down and wait to see it all unfold. Exactly what I suck at. Waiting. Ain't life grand?

[thislittlekumquat]

Every time I see a banana bread recipe that does not involve crisco, I acknowledge the superiority of my own banana bread

[noahtally-famous]

can't believe this hasn't been said before but unhinged!scarlett and unhinged!dave would be an iconic duo. shame pi didn't get a second season bc these two in an alliance would basically succeed in destroying the island, they'd wipe everyone out

the fact that they're both versions of the nerd character so they're already smart in their own ways, the fact that they have absolutely zero fucks to give anymore, their individual darker sides have come out (whether it was hidden consciously (scarlett) or unconsciously (dave)), and they've each attempted to kill/seriously injure one or more contestant(s) (and mess up the island in the process) just to reach their end goal. imagine if these two found a common goal somehow, literally nothing could get in their paths (except possibly each other)

[mintjeru]

shoutout to the summer 2023 shoujo anime series that made me cry every wednesday and friday

open for better quality | no reposts

[elwolfen]

God... Steven Universe is so good

[hivemindclown]

do i KNOW snow sugar likely only refers to cotton cookie as 'grandma' because in some cultures they refer to the elders as 'grandma/grandpa' even if they arent related? yes am i still going to head-canon snow sugar as cotton's grandkid and snowflake cookie as their great ancestor in a way of dooming this family line to always lose their dearest friends to the same fate? yes. yes i am. the winter event cookies are my favorites and i will doom them all with a never ending cycle.

make them suffer.

[mindibindi]

The Dana Scully Drinking Game (Unofficial 30th Anniversary Edition) 🥃🍷🍸🍹🥂🍻🧉

🥃 - Scully does an autopsy - Scully wears glasses (inc. sunglasses) - Scully writes a report - Scully wears a long overcoat - Scully badges someone - Scully has an umbrella - Scully gets a haircut - Scully cracks wise - Scully eyebrows Mulder - Scully has a bevvy (extra sip if it's alcoholic) - "I'm fine." (or similar) - "Mulder, it's me." - Scene from blooper reels

🍷🍷 - Scully wears flats - Scully sits at the desk in the basement office - Scully asks Mulder where he's going/what he's going to do - Scully with member(s) of Family Scully - Scully's apartment - Scully gets jealous - Scully is flirty today - Scully gazes at Mulder (+ vice versa) - "Mulder, are you suggesting that…"(or similar) - "I'm a medical doctor." (or similar) - Scully gets called into Skinner's office - Scully doesn't wear a mask when she really should - Mulder = "Scully, it's me." - Gillian steps onto her Gilly Box

🍺🍺🍺 - Scully laughs - Scully wears civvies - Scully has a day off - Scully gets to drive (extra sip if Mulder is in the car) - Scully does science (not forensics) - Scully connects with a kid - Scully rescues Mulder - Scully breaks FBI rules - Mulder = "SCCUUUULLLAAAAAAAYYYY!!!!" - Scully kicks ass (physically or verbally) - Scully has a long, rambling, pompous monologue - Anything to do with Scully's crucifix necklace - Someone thinks Mulder and Scully are a couple - Mulder and Scully hold hands 🍸🍸🍸🍸 - Scully has a crush (not Mulder) - Scully has a flashback - Scully wears silk pjs - Scully witnesses phenomena - Scully hangs up on Mulder - Scully loses her shit - Scully loses/regains job - Scllly loses a family member - Scully goes to therapy - Mulder and Scully hug - Mulder first-names Scully - Mulder and Scully are split up

🍹🍹🍹🍹🍹 - Scully is right about the case - Scully gets a tattoo - Scully gets laid (xထ if it's w/ Mulder) - Scully is abducted - Scully has a bath - Scully eats a cricket (sort of) - Scully only had half of a cream cheese bagel for breakfast (and it wasn't even real cream cheese, it was light cream cheese) - Scully ditches Mulder - Scully kisses Mulder (not on the lips) - Mulder kisses Scully (not on the lips)

🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🍾🥂🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾🥂🍾🍾 - Mulder and Scully kiss for fucking real!!!!!

N.B: Drink responsibly. Can be played without alcohol: just replace with popcorn, chips, chocolate, candy etc.