#the fact that we are getting a thing per episode which references the master is just !??

[bingqiv]

The Doctor to Rogue: “LET’S ARGUE ACROSS THE STARS”

The Master:

[hopeymchope]

Having finally finished reading the DR Kirigiri light novels, here are my closing thoughts and questions.

(For background, I read these translations. Which - as I previously discussed in the first bullet of this post here - may have some small issues throughout.)

I've previously given y'all my report on how I felt / what I was thinking about this series just after passing the halfway point of the light novels, so now it's time for me to bring this whole thing home and offer some closing thoughts.

My first, dominating thought is that this would be so good to see adapted as an anime. I can easily imagine how many episodes it'd take to do each light novel and where you'd logically cut off the story... even more easy, though, would be a manga. It's definitely crying out for that kind of treatment.

Regardless of the (relatively minor) gripes I raise below? This is definitely a great series to read. You get a number of twisty, gripping mysteries, an easy-to-like lead duo, an imposingly powerful enemy force, new background on our favorite lavender-hued detective, and you even get some great new characters added to the mythos — what more do you want?

Okay, but now I'll get into the griping stuff :P For starters: Isn't it... kind of LAME to have Kirigiri repeatedly experience something so similar to the basic setup of DR1 (or any mainline Danganronpa game, really) on MULTIPLE OCCASIONS prior to DR1 ever happening??? But then she just never remotely reference any fo that experience? And YESs, of course I realize she never even obliquely references these events because these prequels weren't actually written by the time of DR1, nor even completed by DR3. But that's the kind of thing you typically want to avoid with prequels, right? ...... Even so, I guess this does take us farther into these stories deserving to be called "Danganronpa" than any other spinoff. And it's not hard to come up with excuses for why she never remotely hinted at these things; she's intentionally acting withdrawn and keeping info to herself throughout DR1 and DR3, after all. So it's not the WORST crime. It's just, like I said: kind of lame.

MORE SPECIFICALLY, let me clarify: Although the cases in DRK don't include a "mutual killing" element, you still get at least three cases where she's [1] trapped in a specific building alongside a group of people who include a killer/"mastermind," the cast subsequently being picked off one by one, and [2] said experiences are also broadcast to a viewing audience. In fact, you even get two cases where [3] the trapped participants are expected to take specific bedrooms to lock themselves in during the nighttime! And even [4] one case where there's a weird, automated "host character" overseeing the whole thing, which is being operated around a specific set of rules. That's a helluva thing, isn't it?

I've previously expressed GREAT TREPIDATION about one specific element of this series: I was told that supposedly, these light novels included evidence that Fuhito was manipulating Kyoko into hating her father, her dad was always a victim, and Kyoko never realized that she was basically molded from birth by someone who was manipulating her feelings and actions. It all made Kyoko considering Fuhito her "most imporant person" (per DR1 and UDG's captives) come off as this tragic tale where our supposed "master detective" never realized she's been a victim of gaslighting and manipulation for many years, which would change SO MUCH CONTEXT behind her life's work and her relationships with both Jin and Fuhito. HOWEVER, GUESS WHAT? None of that shit was even true! HUZZAH!!!! NOTHING in these light novels goes against what we already knew about Kyoko, Jin, Fuhito, or their relationship(s) with one another... though there is some minor new insight provided into a couple of details. We get a new look at how Jin actually cared about Kyoko from afar (via the "Jin Ex Machina" business I mentioned in the previous post), which is in line with the hints of his lingering love for her we tasted in both DR1 and DR3 without either exonerating him for his choices OR making him 100% correct. We repeatedly watch Kyoko questioning/doubting her grandfather's/family's longstanding "detective work must come above and before personal concerns" rules. And we also get a taste of Fuhito being protective of Kyoko when he learns of the kind of danger she's in — yet simultaneously having complete trust in her talent and ability to overcome said danger. Fuhito seems to even gently help Kyoko understand Samidare's actions near of the end of the final volume... although we only get a taste of his help via Kyoko's internal thoughts, so we don't know exactly what he said to her. TL/DR? My point is simply this: The DRK light novels keep the overall morality / goodness of Kyoko's family dynamics in the same place we already understood them from the games: Kyoko and Fuhito are very close and care about each other without being overtly emotional about it, there is a rift between Jin and the rest of his family over Fuhito priortizing case work above visiting his dying daughter on her deathbed, Jin clearly still concerns/cares that linger for his daughter, etc.

What's with so many scenes of "Black Challenges" or "Duel Noirs" having signs defaced to include the word "DESPAIR"? Is that just some extra branding for the main franchise's themes? Feels out of place.

I feel bad for all those orphans who adored this dude.

General thoughts on numerous new-to-DR characters: As I said in my last post about this series, Samidare is likeable but spends most of the series very thinly defined — plus she's pretty slow on the uptake. Thankfully, by Volume 4 she starts finally pulling her weight, and she gets some much-needed expansion of her background in Volume 7 (just in time for her to make some dumb decisions). Licorne is probably the second-most important new character, and he's an asshole. An interesting one, though! And he does some heroic things! .... even if he isn't really all that morally invested in helping people. He's a self-centered asshole for most of the series, frankly, and I don't care much whether he's around or not. Salvadore Yadorigi Fukuro is awesome; a straight-up superb character with a very "DR" kind of skill/talent. Yaki Hajiki is a character who's also hard to dislike, and I wish he got more "screen time," because he's very intriguing. Johnny Arp is a fascinating one, though he definitely shares some dickish behavior with Lico. Still, I'm always engaged when he's on the page. And... look, I'm fond of Meruko "Pumpkinhead" Mifune. She's fun, sure, but I also see real potential for depth that isn't explored herin.

My remaining observations/thoughts contain some spoilers for the Danganronpa Kirigiri series, so I'm putting the rest UNDER THE BELOW CUT... although I still avoid mentioning the identities of any culprits or masterminds so as to keep the primary case mysteries intact.

Yadorigi = Intelligent, quiet dude in sunglasses who looks like the answer to "What if Munakata found his chill?"

What, exactly, is the state of Yadorigi's eyesight by the end of the series? Initially, we learn that his unique eyesight is very important to his work in uncovering fraud. Later, after a blow to the head, we're told that his eyesight will never be the same as it previously was. In the final volume, he visits Kyoko while wielding a white cane. So uh... does that cane imply that SYF is now blind or very close to it? Or am I reading too much into a walking stick here?

Nothing infuriates me quite as much as when major problems in a story could be easily resolved via basic fucking communication, and a failure to communicate on a base level is absolutely CORE to why things go south in the seventh and final volume. By the time Kyoko and Yui are heading out to the case, the situation is this: Without Kyoko's knowledge, our redacted overarching mastermind (henceforth referred to as "ROM") tried to get Samidare to agree to be the culprit in this final Black Challenge. She refused. ROM then said their organization (the Crime Victim's Relief Committee) will eliminate Kyoko if Samidare doesn't play along. And then, right after saying this? ROM pretty clearly DIED right in front of Samidare, before she can ever express any intention of changing her mind or not. She is then confronted by the enigmatic Tokichiro Endo, who is basically the go-between for culprits and the organization, who demands her final answer. Based on what happens in the case immediately after this, it appears that this conversation somehow ended with Samidare refusing to be the true culprit in this case but ALSO accepting that she would be framed for the murders and take the fall. So now Samidare has a choice to make: Does she (A) trust the Crime Victims' Relief Committee to keep their promise and leave Kyoko alone so long as she keeps her mouth shut...... even though Samidare refused to meet their demands and become the case's culprit? OOOORRR does Yui (B) realize that the Committee has already broken their supposed "rules" by forcibly coercing her into being the culpri — not to mention the fact that they're routinely aiding and abetting murders — which adds up to mean that she can't trust their word and must warn Kyoko of the danger she's in now that the committee has threatened her life directly? Any thinking person should choose (B), but Samidare of course chooses (A) so the plot will happen. *FACEPALM*

The worst part of this is that EVEN when our two heroines have just barely escaped from a burning building and fled out into freezing conditions, leaving them on the razor's edge between two possible methods of death with everyone else from the case seemingly already being dead? Samidare STILL won't outright deny being the case's culprit when accused. With literally NO REASON LEFT not to come clean, she never says jack shit. And then she dies!

During the denouement, the conclusion Kyoko reaches after leaving the hospital and revisiting the scene is... murky, and I think this might be something caused by the translation methods used. It currently reads as though Kyoko reaches the correct conclusion about the case, accurately determining Samidare's innocent AND identifying the true culprit(s). However... she doesn't seem to be 100% confident in her decision? It sounds like Kiri still harbors some lingering doubts about Samidare possibly being guilty?..... Even though she sounds really confident in her (correct) conclusions immediately before that. So it's left ambiguous. Which, I suppose, is one way to maintain Kiri being the Best Detective while simultaneously leaving room for her line in DR1 about how her burns happened because she "trusted the wrong person." She almost entirely knows that she didn't actually trust the wrong person, but they have to leave some doubt so that line can exist? ...... IF this translation is even accurate on this part.

Say... why did Samidare believe she'd die on this mission? It wasn't actually any more inherently dangerous than any other mission her and Kyoko had gone on... LESS dangerous than some, I'd argue! But she prepares this whole letter for her eventual death, so she clearly thought it was a strong possibility. My only guess is that she believed Kyoko was going to be targeted for death, and she planned to fulfill her oft-promised role as Kyoko's human shield. But if that was REALLY something Samidare thought was going to happen, then she had NO REASON to not tell Kyoko the truth about everything. If they're already out to kill Kiri, then OF COURSE it's smartest to warn her about it! So: Why the "last letter"? What made you think you were fucked, Yui?

In the end, ROM's overarching mission is both a success and a failure. Do they take away Kyoko's main emotional attachment, making her withdraw even further into pure logic so she'll avoid getting hurt? Yes. Do they make her deny the value of such attachments in the first place, resulting in her staying isolated forever after? No. She 95% knows she's right about Samidare's innocence in spite of ROM's attempts to frame her; it's just the pain of the loss that makes Kyoko withdraw, not some grander conclusion about distrusting everyone. In fact? I'd argue that Kyoko's speech in DR1's Chapter 4 about accounting for emotions is a strong rebuke of ROM's entire view of the world.

....by the way, does ROM have their own copy of Junko's talent??! It sure seems like they're another "Ultimate Analyst," essentially; able to see patterns of behavior so clearly that they can essentially predict most future events.

[adultswim2021]

The Venture Bros. #48: "The Better Man" | December 7, 2009 - 12:00AM | S04E07

I think I figured out a big reason why I love The Venture Bros, but unfortunately I can’t spend too much time expounding on this in a non-shallow way: it reminds me of Ducktales. Because sometimes they go on a big adventure to an exotic locale, and sometimes they have to spend an afternoon killing money-eating bugs in Uncle Scrooge’s money vault. 

In this one, Orpheus and the triad are shown up by the Outrider, the man who “stole” Orpheus’s wife. But he ends up in hot water and requires Orpheus’s help after being trapped in hell. Billy Quizboy does illegal surgery again! And: also: we get the return or H. Jon Benjamin as the master, who reveals himself to Triana and scares her away from Dean and encourages her to go live with her mom and become a dang Harry Potter. 

This one’s sorta important in that it helps drive home the fact that Triana and Dean do not belong together, and it writes her mostly out of the show. At least it writes her out of the compound (she comes back at least one other time I can think of). But mostly it’s just about the characters hanging out and stuff. Yeah, there’s a big scary monster from hell, but a lotta of the episode is just about Hank and Dean going to the mall and sexually harassing women. Dermott is there, too! He’s one of the rudest guys on the show, so cherish him. 

I am struggling to come up with compelling highlights to illustrate the fact that I enjoyed this episode, which I actually did a great deal. I think I’m just happy that it doesn't’ have a plot I feel compelled to write-up extensively. So I’ll just list gags now I liked: 

The Matthew Lesko reference. It is fucked up that that dude has a suit with question marks and not dollar signs. Could it be the Mandingo effect? Oh, in my reality we call it the Mandingo effect because–

A fairly neutral “transgender” joke! In 2009! They didn’t even gratuitously use the slur! Wait, I like a lack of slurs?? SINCE WHEN??? 

“I look like Rufio!” 

The whole scene where the Master pretends to be future Dean is bleak as fuck. Hilariously Jackson and Doc said they based his look on Bernard Goetz. I mean, look at this and tell me he doesn’t belong in the Ventureverse:

A thing I didn't LIKE, per-se, but bears mentioning: maybe one of the worst production errors of the show has Dean wearing a suit to impress Triana, then suddenly not, then it's back again. I originally thought it was due to them shuffling the scenes in the edit but Jackson took responsibility and said he approved of the storyboards of a suitless Dean without thinking. God DAMN him!

EPHEMERA CORNER

Christmas in December Specials (December 13, 2009)

Even MORE Christmas in December to Tell in the Dark. This night featured a few other Christmas episodes but not that many more. I'd rather not post the schedule because of SPOILERS!!! Also, I thought maybe they did something else that was special, but if I am to read Swimpedia correctly the previous Sunday's "Christmas in December" was the one that featured the shop-at-home segments and not this one. I refuse to delete this paragraph. Sorry.

MAIL BAG

I just heard the good news: Adult Swim 2021 is coming to FunnyOrDie to cover Tim and Eric projects as bonus emphemera content. W00T!

The cat is "right out" of the bag: I will be doing this in some form. In fact, I sorta regret not attempting to include more non-Adult Swim Tim & Eric stuff in the ephemera section (like the Shrek 3 promos, for instance), but that's okay. But I do sorta think those are significant in that they are an important stepping stone towards Bedtime Stories. But I'm not gonna cover Eric's music videos or his future court case (speculation)

[nalyra-dreaming]

I really think a lot of maven’s dislike comes down to the dv in 1x5 & the fact they made loustat an explicitly (supposed to be) monogamous couple with the affair. She wanted it like the books where lestat had multiple lovers & louis didn’t care. I can’t blame her about 1x5. I know a huge chunk of old book fans quit watching after that b/c it botched lestat & I suspect that’s why Anne’s son left the project too. Jacob kinda spilled the beans in that interview where he said everyone on set during the filming of the dv was like what is this supposed to mean? Even they didn’t get it b/c it was a forced ooc shock tactic imo. Sam was against it too.

Maybe? IDK, as I said I did not watch that far.

And as per episode 5, I think them ramping it up had actually other reasons, because it forced us to acknowledge a few things. I have been blocked for this before, but the abuse, and the fighting are in the books. (The second half of that... "fight" is a different story)

There's this little passage (for example) in IWTV in regards to Antoine(tte):

And, of course, I never asked him what he felt because it wasn’t worth the great uproar my question would have produced. Lestat entranced with a mortal! He probably would have destroyed the parlor furniture in a rage.

This is but one example of Louis referring to Lestat's rage, and it seems to come from experience.

And another in regards to Claudia, which seems awfully close to the beginning of the fight:

He did not have to be loved, but he would not be ignored; and once he even flew at her, shouting that he would slap her, and I found myself in the wretched position of fighting him as I’d done years before she’d come to us.

Some of what is in the book IWTV is being retconned later, the books even play with the memory angle themselves. Lestat outright accuses Louis of lying, too.

But Lestat is also a master at deflecting attention, at making you look at other things while he does something.

That scene with the axe in the later books for example, and the whole buildup to it... that, right there.

We are still in the first half of IWTV. I said it before, I doubt the redemption arc mentioned is actually one in Louis' eyes... it's in the audience's. Imho.

[cloudyskywars]

Back to December is about Anakin and Obi-Wan and here’s 2,000 words why

So there I was, listening to Back to December, you know, as one does. And then I nearly started crying because this is without a doubt an Anakin and Obi-Wan song. I roped my friend @renegadeontherunn into doing a full song analysis with me. The whole analysis is based from Anakin singing this to Obi-Wan immediately after the events of Return of the Jedi. So everyone’s a Force Ghost, and feelings ensue. Enjoy the angst! 

The analysis will be below the cut, because as I said, it’s approximately 2,000 words. 

I'm so glad you made time to see me/ How's life? Tell me, how's your family?/ I haven't seen them in a while - Obi-Wan’s family was the Jedi. And Anakin has spent the past twenty five years hunting down the Jedi, eliminating them one by one. And now that he’s one with the Force, he’s gotta be wondering, “Are the other Jedi here too?” because he may not have realized it, but they were his family as well. I’m just imagining Anakin asking Obi-Wan where everyone else is, and Obi-Wan having to tell him that not everyone stayed with the Force the way that he and Yoda did.  

Your guard is up and I know why- Obi-Wan’s guard probably wasn’t up, but Anakin would expect it to be. He rightfully feels guilty, and probably expects Obi-Wan to hate him and not trust him anymore. 

Because the last time you saw me/ Is still burned in the back of your mind - on Mustafar, Anakin literally burning, the image no doubt haunting Obi-Wan ever since. In Obi-Wan’s 20 years on Tatooine, how many times do you think he replayed that memory in his mind? You were my brother Anakin, I loved you/I hate you. (grouped with previous two lines)

So this is me swallowin' my pride- Anakin as a Force Ghost, standing in front of Obi-Wan. He’s asking, begging for forgiveness, even though he knows he doesn’t deserve it. Anakin was always prideful for a Jedi, and this is him humbling himself and asking for Obi-Wan’s forgiveness (for so many things; Order 66, turning to the dark side, killing the Jedi, killing him)

Standin' in front of you sayin' I'm sorry for that night - the night Anakin fell to the Dark Side, their fight on Mustafar, and also probably the last 20+ years of him as a Sith and causing so much death and destruction. He’s sorry for so much, but especially that night when everything went wrong. 

And I go back to December all the time - he revisits that battle in his mind constantly, still hating Obi-Wan as Vader, but feeling deep (deep deep) down, an enormous sense of regret and guilt, and especially at the end when he reunites with Obi-Wan

It turns out freedom ain't nothin' but missin' you - We see in Episode 2 that Anakin feels that Obi-Wan is constantly holding him back, preventing him from reaching his full potential (feelings no doubt put there by Palpatine) Once he turns to the Dark Side, he believes he is stronger than ever, (“I’m stronger than the Emperor, I can overthrow him.”)and so most likely feels “free” from Obi-Wan and the duty of being a Jedi. But we know that he learned, eventually, that all the Dark Side brings is loneliness and despair. “It is in this blazing moment that you finally understand the trap of the dark side, the final cruelty of the Sith — because now yourself is all you will ever have.” 

Wishin' I'd realized what I had when you were mine - Anakin spent much of his time as Obi-Wan’s Padawan feeling less than and like he was never good enough for Obi-Wan. Then, when he finally became a Knight, he still felt held back by the Jedi. In reality, he had a substantial support system there waiting for him, ready to help him, that he never realized existed. He had the tools and the people he needed to be a successful Jedi and to have a happy life and to stay in the Light, but he didn’t use them. And now he’s wishing he had. That he’d recognized his and Obi-Wan’s friendship when he’d had it.

I'd go back to December, turn around and make it alright- Can you IMAGINE the regret Anakin is feeling right now? After 25 years of being the terror of the galaxy, Darth Vader, he has finally returned from the dark and knows all the bad things he’s done, and now recognizes that they were bad things. He slaughtered younglings, helped strike down the remaining Jedi, even took away the clones’ free will. Just imagining the pure regret that he must be feeling at this moment. 

These days, I haven't been sleepin' - REVENGE OF THE SITH ANYONE??? We know for a fact due to the Matthew Stover novelization of ROTS that Anakin was getting almost no sleep during the events of the movie. I believe when he Fell he had been without sleep for,,,, at least three days? (I think it was five but I’m not sure)  Anakin please take a nap. Nightmares!!! But also, as Vader, I’m pretty sure Anakin doesn’t actually need to sleep or at least doesn’t need a ton of it, so again he’s literally not sleeping and only sustaining himself on the Dark Side.

Stayin' up playin' back myself leavin'- Do you think- do you ever think that during his time as Darth Vader, he would constantly replay those days when everything fell apart in his head? I’m specifically thinking about the scene where he marches on the Jedi Temple. Granted, in that scene, he isn’t leaving, per say. He’s returning home, but it is no longer the place he calls home. I imagine that scene playing on repeat in his mind, because that’s the moment that he passed the point of no return. Before that, yes, he had already screwed up, big time. But he hadn’t crossed the line yet, I don't think. 

Then I think about summer, all the beautiful times- At this moment I’m sure he’s feeling loads and loads of guilt and regret, as discussed above. But I can’t help but think he’s also thinking about the good times he shared with Obi-Wan and Padme. (Padme specifically because of summer and Naboo for that one good week, where they fell in love and it was beautiful.) And although his relationship with Obi-Wan was strained near the end (and eventually fell apart) there were good times, times that they both cherished. During his time as Darth Vader, he probably looked back on those memories with hate. But now that he’s Anakin again, he is probably remembering those times fondly.

I watched you laughin' from the passenger's side- [insert gif of Obi-Wan smiling in the speeder] 

And realized I loved you in the fall - in the Fall. This could be for either Anakin or Obi-Wan. There must’ve been a part of Anakin that knew he was lying when he shouted “I hate you!” and felt happy when Obi-Wan said he loved him. And for Obi-Wan, he knew he loved Anakin, he had just never said it to him before. The only time he did was when Anakin had Fallen and was dying. And he probably regretted that with every piece of himself during his exile on Tatooine. 

And then the cold came, the dark days - There are so many instances where Palpatine is connected with the cold, with darkness, with everything that is the opposite of the Jedi and, more importantly, of Obi-Wan. The darkness referred to here is the Dark Side, when it became overwhelming and Anakin fell.

When fear crept into my mind - Anakin’s already-intense fears of never being good enough or Obi-Wan not reciprocating Anakin’s love were intensified and heightened by Palpatine’s influence and him planting even more fear and doubt into Anakin’s head. This fear and this doubt in his friendship with Obi-Wan was ultimately one of the reasons he fell. Yes, it was his fear for Padme’s life that really did him in. Anakin was known as “The Hero With No Fear.” But there at the end, he became a person full of fear, and as we know: “Fear is the path to the dark side … fear leads to anger … anger leads to hate … hate leads to suffering.”

You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye -Again, this is Anakin finally realizing that Obi-Wan did love him, that he was a good Master for him, and it was Anakin who hadn’t seen it, who had betrayed him. There is a quote from the book Lords of the Sith in which Vader acknowledges his betrayal of everyone he loved. Palpatine: “‘You were a traitor, were you not, Lord Vader?... To the Jedi. To Padme. To Obi-Wan. To all those you loved.’ Vader: Vader did not know the answer his Master wanted to hear, so he simply answered with the truth. ‘Yes.”’

I'd go back to December, turn around and change my own mind- Talking about guilt, again. Without a doubt, Anakin would go back to where it all went wrong if he could. He wouldn’t turn, he’d save Padme, he’d do everything differently if he could.

I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile/ So good to me, so right- Obi-Wan was so good to him. Obviously in a platonic sense. But Obi-Wan was the best Master for Anakin, and you can’t change my mind. Even if they had a rough start and maybe Obi-Wan should have had some time to recover from his Master dying before he took on his Padawan of his own, but I digress. He did the best he could with Anakin, and was most likely far more patient and understanding than other Jedi Masters would have been. Of course at the time, Anakin did realize this and only resented Obi-Wan. Hindsight is 2020, and Anakin would have only realized after everything went down how good Obi-Wan was to him. 

And how you held me in your arms that September night/ The first time you ever saw me cry - This one doesn’t exactly fit because apparently Anakin and Obi-Wan never hug in canon and that is a crime (Filoni and Lucas I’m coming for you). But I am pointedly ignoring canon and choosing to believe that when things got really hard or bad, (after Satine died, maybe even after Ahsoka left the Order) they hugged. Maybe it was a sad hug, the kind where one of them breaks down in tears and the other just holds them as they cry. But I am confident that they have hugged, so this line applies to them. Fight me on it, I dare you. (I’m kidding but only partially) 

But if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right - After realizing how wrong he was in becoming Vader and how his relationship with Obi-Wan wasn’t one-sided, and especially after seeing the pure, selfless love of Luke, which ultimately brings him back to the Light, Anakin is no doubt thinking of the millions of ways he could’ve done better. He wants Obi-Wan to know how sorry he is and that, yes it took him all these years, but he’s learned his lesson. If he could do it all again, which he probably wants to, he would do it right this time. He swears to himself (and to Obi-Wan) that if he just gets this second chance, he’ll do everything right. 

I'd go back in time and change it, but I can't- Anakin knows he can’t go back and fix everything, no matter how much he may want to. All he can do is ask, beg, even, for Obi-Wan’s forgiveness

So if the chain is on your door, I understand - the metaphorical chain isn’t on Obi-Wan’s door, of course, he’d always welcome Anakin back. He wanted nothing more than to see Anakin succeed as a Jedi and be happy, and so of course he’s ready to see Anakin again, to forgive him. But still, Anakin doubts Obi-Wan’s love and his own worth and braces himself to be rejected, even though Obi-Wan’s arms are open. (this might be niche but think: doctor who, “You betrayed my trust, you betrayed our friendship, you betrayed everything I ever stood for. Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?”)

And, that’s it! If you read this entire thing, Fiona and I love you from the bottom of our hearts. As you can tell, we feel a lot of things about this song, and hope you enjoyed our analysis! 

[simptasia]

neurodivergence in abc’s lost

i’m gonna be listing off and talking about the canon neurodivergent characters in lost. i won’t be adding characters that i personally headcanon as neurodivergent in some way, what i’m writing here is elaboration upon what has been given to me by the show. please note that none of these people’s conditions or disorders were named in the show, so such diagnoses being named here are me taking that extra step based upon their symptoms

first of all i wanna point out that based on what i’ve seen the show, that the island’s healing powers applies to conditions inflicted upon the mind, not ones inherent to the mind. thats why daniel’s brain damage heals, but people like hurley and locke will always continue to have depression

hugo “hurley” reyes

schizophrenia and depression

our most prominently featured mentally ill character. it might seem bold to label him with schizophrenia when it’s never said that that’s what he has. but during his time on lost, he displays many of the symptoms: paranoia, pathological self loathing, delusions and hallucinations. now, it’s a fictionalized depiction of schizophrenia and that’s probably not even what the writers had in mind but it’s none the less a really, really good and respectful portrayal of it

it would take too long to list off all the times when hurley displays paranoia (heck, it’s easy not to notice how much its a part of his character) and self loathing. delusions? the situations regarding the numbers and his bad luck (canon never ever Proves what hurley believes to be true regarding that stuff)

they did an episode dedicated to hurley having hallucinations. a man named dave who drives him to self destructive behaviour, self hatred and attempted suicide. fun fact: when people with schizophrenia in real life have hallucinations, they tend towards just auditory. hurley gets visual as well as per Rule Of Drama. this is not a bad thing, just a narrative tool

(steering slightly into headcanon for a bit here but i personally ignore the dharma made Hurley Bird they revealed in the epilogue and just take hurley hearing that bird say his name as an auditory hallucination. for two reasons: one, hurley hearing/seeing things that don’t exist is already consistent with his mental state. and two, that bird literally, genuinely did not fucking say hurley)

extra notes

to be clear, in case there's confusion, hurley really does have magical powers. he can talk to dead people. that isn’t a delusion or hallucination. you can understand how confusing and distressing this must be for hurley

he's had a compulsive eating disorder since he was ten due to the pain of his father abandoning him. his struggle with this is well documented

at several points during the show he’s shown to have trouble spelling. he especially confuses his “y(s)” and “ies”. it’s not clear if this is due to poor education or a learning issue. or both, really. it’s safe to assume with him being poor, mexican and mentally ill, that school wasn’t easy for hurley

hurley has unjustifiably lived at mental health institutions on at least two occasions (the first time was against his will, second was volunteer)

john locke

depression

locke suffers from severe self esteem issues, and i know most lost characters do, but i mean to the point of irrational and destructive behaviour. he has an obsession with being deemed special in order to justify his existence. he also suffers jarring mood swings. (he can switch from calm and jovial to angry and defensive at the drop of a hat). when he was wheelchair bound, this threw him into a depression. when he failed to convince anybody to come back to the island, he attempted suicide. he would have gone thru with it too. he will go to extremes to make sure things stay the way he wants them to (killing an innocent woman so they can stay on the island, tying up and drugging boone so he won’t tell anybody about the hatch), and will fall into despair if he fails

also note that the things im saying about locke are not a comment on people with depression. i don’t think all depressed people kill and drug people. those were statements on locke’s character that i believe are a part of his mental state. my point is: he’s emotionally unstable and he tried to kill himself. and i think his extreme need for validation (from people and the universe in general) is especially concerning

to me, this all says to me that locke has clinical depression

locke isn’t as easy as the other people on this list to classify as Canon Neurodivergent but at least to me, i think it’s very obvious. like i feel bad being so vague but like, basically, watch any locke episode

daniel faraday

acquired brain damage, severe memory degradation as well as other neurodivergent behaviours (i’ll go into it)

he’s played by jeremy davies. enough said

okay, jokes aside. at some point in the past daniel and his assistant theresa were involved in some vaguely referred to time based experiments. while she was catatonicized, the accident left daniel severely brain damaged (also daniel spent years doing radioactive experiments without head protection, which would not have helped and indeed that is foreshadowing of this whole debacle)

apparently this left him in a state where he can no longer take care of himself, having been assigned a carer. his most outstanding symptom is that his ability to process short AND long term memory has been impaired

short term: he’s shown to have issues retaining memories from day to day. he wasn’t sure if he had met charles widmore already (he hadn’t). charles lays some exposition on him and when daniel asks why he’s telling him this, charles says, with sureness, that “because by tomorrow you won’t remember this”. counting on that to be an absolute fact seems silly to me but that does seem to the case. again, Rule Of Drama is in play here

long term: he can no longer access memories he formed many years ago, famously the memories he formed with desmond in 1996. all in all, this condition is highly plot convenient. can’t argue with results, really

no, i can keep going, i got more, this is daniel fucking faraday we’re talking about: his ability to remember 3 playing cards has been impaired (note that this is a skill most 4 year olds master), he forgot the secret code the science team were all taught and when he introduces himself to jack there is a long pause, in hindsight implying that daniel forgot his own name

like real life memory conditions, theres varying level to how much he does and doesn’t remember. he’s thankfully not in a 50 first dates situation and doesn’t forget everything day to day. clearly he remembers people if they’re around enough, like during his time on the boat. charlotte, miles, frank, naomi...

upon landing on the island, his memory slowly gets better (considering his condition beforehand, the fact that nobody comments on this is staggering)

when dan is fully healed? i could not say, i could theorize, but such things are nebulous. but still, the times we see dan without his brain damage, he still behaves like a neurodivergent person. just not like he was when he was brain damaged. he stims near constantly, has a tendency to repeat names and words (echolalia) and it’s shown that dan compulsively counts in his head. he counted up to 864 beats, if i remember correctly, which is about 10 minutes of counting in his head. by no stretch of the imagination is that neurotypical behaviour

(im not trying to sound defensive. and i don’t think anybody, anywhere, is arguing that daniel faraday is a neurotypical. unfathomable)

going into headcanon territory again, his ND traits, when not brain damaged, say to me that he’s autistic and/or has OCD and possibly anxiety. thats all theorizing on my part tho. but the fact of the matter is, damage or no, he’s neurodivergent

notes

his apparent need for tactile sensory input is legendary in the lost fandom. in layman’s terms: him pet pet. not just people but objects too. humans, overall, tend to touch things to process input better. many ND people do it more, and it seems daniel is a case of that (i am not making a solid statement on jeremy davies’ neuro state. that’s his business)

he shows an inability to properly process grief

he also shows shocking indifference to his own safety, resulting in reckless behaviour. how much of this is a result of his mental state or his upbringing is up for debate. i think it’s a combo of both

without his brain damage, he appears to have an eidetic memory

danielle rousseau

trauma induced mental illness

pretty self explanatory. the loss of her expedition, husband and daughter, as well as 16 years of loneliness (on THIS island) has resulted in emotional instability for danielle. she’s prone to paranoia, trust issues, irrational behaviour

she’s just not well. she’s right most of the time but she’s not well

libby smith

indeterminate mental state 

libby was institutionalized (the same place hurley was sent to) and placed on medication (which seemed like sedatives to me, based on her expressions). in the show it’s not what clear what put her there, but having just done some research, i’ve discovered that Word Of God says that libby became mentally unstable after the death of her husband dave smith. so this is probably another case of trauma induced mental illness. she must have had a pretty extreme episode to cause her to be sent to a place like that. something to think about

but alas, it’s libby, so not much info. moving on

benjamin linus

anti social behaviour disorder (is my best guess)

oof. depictions of mental illness with characters who are immoral are depictions of mental illness nonetheless. i feel almost silly saying this but: ben is not... okay

ben displays issues (at best) with empathy, compassion and morality. how much he cares about other people is highly debatable but one thing that's certain is that he does genuinely love his daughter. everybody else is ????

but the loving alex thing rules out him being a sociopath or having narcissistic personality disorder. and it is genuine because when he loses it with grief, it’s not a performance, because the only audience is us...

he’s a compulsive liar, lying even when it doesn’t benefit him. lying just because. ben is highly unpredictable, which isn’t inherently a neurodivergent thing, but when a person goes from a calm discussion to strangling somebody, all roads point to Uh Oh (i don’t know the technical terms for Uh Oh). many of his outward emotions are performed (the difference between his fake smiles and few real smiles is noticeable). he’s manipulative, he treats people like objects for his benefit/plans, he’s self absorbed, he has zero issues with murder unless it’s a child. he does have some moral standards. but overall, uh, [just gestures at ben]

also ben is repeatedly offended when other people don’t trust him, which is HILARIOUS, but also shows a cognitive dissonance on his part

hmm i need more here, im gonna break out the big guns

that’s some basic info there and doesn’t that line up with ben?

the article goes on to say that people with this can put on superficial charm. that is, behave friendly and “normal” when they have to. which ben is shown to be able to do

and this

“Serious problems with interpersonal relationships are often seen in those with the disorder. Attachments and emotional bonds are weak, and interpersonal relationships often revolve around the manipulation, exploitation, and abuse of others.”

reminds me of his situation with juliet. and locke. and his “friendships” in general

i snipped the wikipedia article for this because unlike the rest i felt,,, underequipped to talk about this sort of thing

ben being mentally unwell is clear enough in canon and i think this disorder is what lines up best with it. please note that ben is capable of change and growth (like people in real life who have such issues) and like the show i’m not gonna paint him 100% evil or irredeemable. i’m just saying what’s true

notes

ben says at one point that he doesn’t dream anymore. it’s highly probably that this is a lie, but if it isn’t, well that's not good. it’d mean his brain isn’t entering into REM sleep properly, which can lead to emotional problems

ben doesn’t blink as much as most people do, something michael emerson did on purpose. this can apply to some neurodivergent people

it’s shown that he was quite nonverbal as a kid. in the flashbacks in “man behind the curtain” little ben barely speaks

honourable mentions

pretty much all the survivors suffer from PTSD due the trauma of the crash

a great deal of the characters suffer from PTSD from trauma in general due to their awful lifes. like, abusive parents, war, loss of loved ones, etc

and i must note that ben, daniel and locke suffering from parental abuse, ranging from emotional to physical, is something to factor into their cases

claire, similar to danielle, also suffered trauma induced mental illness due to the loss of her baby and feeling like she was abandoned

sayid is depicted as dead inside during season 6 due to The Sickness, so thats like a magical form of depression. and one could argue that he already had regular depression beforehand

boone joked about shannon having bulimia. (whether or not it’s true, boone is an asshole) if it’s true, shannon has an eating disorder, which is considered a form of mental illness. espech one so self image based

self harm

self harm is not an inherent part of mental illness but such concepts are often linked so i felt i should mention some of these, it’ll be quick

hurley’s aforementioned eating disorder

charlie takes heroin as a form of self harm (that isn’t a theory on my part, it’s clear as day that charlie started taking it because his sense of self worth was so low that the drugs felt like the only option)

locke, hurley, (both as mentioned above), jack, desmond, michael and richard have all attempted/nearly commited suicide

so what can we conclude from this? well that's up to you, really. that i love lost a fuck ton? that the actors and writing in lost is amazing? that all the neurodivergent based depth got saved for the boys? yeah

but i wanna conclude with this: a part of what makes lost really special to me is that these people i’ve talked out here? they’ve suffered, and oh boy it was tasty suffering, but all of them, yes even libby, were more than suffering

these people have nuance. one way or another, these people (to varying degrees) were happy at times. silly. funny. angry. opinionated. they loved. they were loved. they lived and breathed as human beings. that means a lot to me

lost is a story of broken people given a second chance. take that as you will

thank you for your time

[legobiwan]

TCW Recap: “The Gungan General” (S1, E11)

I HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THIS EPISODE AND 90% OF IT IS ABOUT OBI-WAN AND DOOKU. THIS IS GOING TO BE *LONG*, PEOPLE.

Hondo would disagree, I think.

Speaking of whom... Narrator guy: “...the brigand, Hondo Ohnaka.” This is great. Brigand. Hondo would love it. 

And now what might be one of the greatest scenes of denial/rationalization in all of Star Wars, and I’m including Obi-wan’s infamous equivocation when it came to telling Luke about his father:

These guys are a mess. 

Come ON, Kenobi. (And you, too, Anakin.) I mean, honestly. “wE WeRe DruGGed, OhhhBvIouSlY.” Please, we all saw you chug that pirate drink, Kenobes. At least Anakin actually only took a sip.

I feel like this incident was kind of formative for Anakin. This won’t be the first time this episode we see Anakin’s Sith incarnation quote Obi-wan.

But you know what the absolute best part about this entire scene is? Dooku has been watching this go down the entire time. I MEAN. First of all, how did they get Obi-wan and Anakin tethered to Dooku, who would probably have rather swallowed his lightsaber than be in the same room as Anakin. But then he sits there, watches the last of his Lineage passed out on a floor and denying anything had happened? AMAZING. 

CAN WE PLEASE NOTE the first thing Dooku says, the very first words out of his mouth are this:

The first thing Dooku does is praise Obi-wan for being smart. And he calls him “Master Kenobi.” I have always been fascinated by Dooku’s predilection for calling Obi-wan by his formal title, because he certainly doesn’t do the same for Anakin (who Dooku usually refers to as “Skywalker” or some other demeaning, generalized noun.) I think (I would need to check again), but I think Dooku only calls Obi-wan by his first name in AotC, when he’s trying to play shared love of Qui-gon card on Geonosis. Sometimes he’ll refer to him just as “Kenobi,” but very often, and usually when Dooku is saying something complimentary to him, Dooku will use that moniker. It’s fascinating. The way these two are framed - the blocking - this episode is also telling and I’m going to point it out, because I feel like the animators went out of their way to show Obi-wan and Dooku together, and that, at times, Obi-wan was deferring and conferring with Dooku as much as Anakin. Which...so. much. to. read. into. that.

Oh yeah, and Dooku’s wonderful meditation pose here. He was meditating. I love it! That pose will come back later in this review. 

Okay, so I’ve mentioned this before, but the way they are tethered. Dooku to Obi-wan to Anakin. In perfect lineage order, Obi-wan the linchpin between the two sides.

Bless Hondo and his mother. 

You know what I find funny? The turncoat pirate, whatever-his-name-was thinks it’s going to be so easy to pull one over on Hondo. Hondo, who somehow captured two of the most accomplished Jedi in the Order and a Sith Lord. Who knows what a Sith Lord is. Who knows what a lightsaber is (laser-sword.) Hondo plays dumb and fast-and-loose because he can. He expects his men to turn on him and knows he’ll deal with it. Smart man. His mother was smart, too. Also, he is hilarious I love Hondo so much. 

So Palpatine sent Jar Jar on this mission so it would fail, right? At least, that would be his reasoning. But! Jar Jar was super-competent this episode! (More on that later. I am part of the Jar Jar Defense Squad, I have to admit.)

Plus, Jar Jar’s antics just make me laugh. 

Here’s a question. Those binders our trio had. They’re Force-suppressing, at least a little bit, right? They have to be, otherwise, there’s no way Dooku would be wasting his time levitating a knife off a plate to jimmy the cell door.

Now, I love the whole exchange here: Dooku: “Do control your protégé’s insolence so I can concentrate.” Obi-wan: “Anakin!” Anakin: “What?” Obi-wan: “Control your insolence. The Count is concentrating.”

This is great for about five different reasons. One, Dooku always addresses Obi-wan and Obi-wan only, never Anakin, unless it’s a retort to something Anakin said. The term protégé is also funny. I don’t know, it’s just very Dooku language. Now, mind you, Dooku doesn’t know Obi-wan all that well. They met on Geonosis, Qui-gon may or may not have told stories about Dooku to Obi-wan (my guess is that Qui-gon didn’t, given their contentious relationship when Obi-wan was a Padawan). So this is really the first time Dooku is getting to learn just who Obi-wan is, and Obi-wan is responding with some first-class snark. And the two of them low-key snark each other the rest of the episode. There’s an almost-playfulness to the exchanges between Obi-wan and Dooku (as opposed to Anakin and Dooku who just want to rip each other’s throats out) and you have to wonder what is going through both their heads at this point.

Dooku: “Well done, if I do say so myself.” (you asshole, Dooku) Obi-wan: (snark)

Anakin out there having PTSD from being chained to a Sith Lord and watching his Master low-key banter with his Dark Side Grandmaster 30-something years later.

 Yikes, they killed off two pilots and a Senator in that crash?

Okay, the whole deal with “Do we know where we’re going?” Anakin absolutely cannot ask that question of Dooku because Dooku will tear him a new one. Obi-wan, however, not only can get away with it, but get some semblance of an answer out of Dooku. These two, I SWEAR.

I don’t know, this screencap just amused me.

Getting back to blocking. Check this out:

Anakin gets the keycard while Obi-wan listens to Dooku. This is telling and it happens more than once. 

Again with the blocking. Again with Obi-wan getting away with sassing the hell out of Dooku. Also, Dooku’s claim of “Of course it’s safe?” Did this man train Qui-gon Jinn, or what? Honestly.

“I don’t want to kill you, per se.” Oh, Hondo. “You seem like decent fellows, even you Count.” Interesting observation and Hondo’s not wrong - at this point, at least. Hondo is observant. He knows what a Sith can do. Dooku could do serious damage and he’s controlling himself here and Hondo, I think, notices. 

And then after Hondo leaves? Obi-wan addresses Dooku first.

hmmmmm

Interesting that they bury Senator Kharrus on Florrum and don’t try to bring the body back when they do make a deal of bringing back the bodies of slain Jedi to Coruscant. 

THIS PART

They way Dooku is in this shot, almost observing like he’s some kind of teacher. They way Dooku turns Obi-wan’s own words on him with the “most impressive” bit. Poor Anakin must really be confused as to what was going on there, because a) he wasn’t part of this subtle banter and b) Obi-wan is bantering with a Sith Lord who happens to be Obi-wan’s Grandmaster and there’s a lot more connection between those two than between Anakin and Dooku. 

Competent!JarJar!!!!

The framing, again. You know, in recounting this, it kind of strikes me how much this is an episode about Dooku and Obi-wan, with Anakin being kind of an afterthought. 

I have to talk about this little moment. When Dooku says he would kill them both if he didn’t have to drag their bodies. Look real closely at Dooku and Obi-wan here.

That little movement at the end. Dooku actually gives Obi-wan a little shove! Not to hurt him, but probably to get back at him for the way Obi-wan pushed him behind some crates by the shoulder earlier. These two are having a constant, very very subtle confrontation throughout this episode, each one answering the other in a mirror. And Anakin is just *super* confused. I mean, wow, are Dooku and Obi-wan a mirror of each other or what? 

FRAMING ALERT

And then this. Obi-wan saves Dooku. I’ve already gone on about this at length elsewhere but the symbolism of Dooku’s tether breaking, Obi-wan reaching out, the way they are inverted, the way it could be implied that either Obi-wan could pull Dooku up or drag Obi-wan down, that Anakin could destroy them all if he let go (what?!?), the gap between Obi-wan and Dooku where Qui-gon should have been. This is one of my favorite bits of subtle symbolism in the series. SO. GOOD.

Okay, this is the last bit we get with Dooku and Obi-wan interacting, so I should be wrapping this up soon, hahahaha. Things to note here. Dooku is always angled towards Obes, the body language says everything. Obi-wan is meditating in a position that mirrors Dooku’s from the opening, and Anakin is not. The entire rest of this scene you have to wonder if there’s some kind of Force communication going on between those two. And in the last screengrab, it almost looks like Dooku doesn’t want Obes to leave. They have a bizarre, twisted relationship and I. LOVE. IT. (plus, that was kind of a Dooku-ish line there, Kenobi.)

*adopts Hermione Granger voice* EXCUSE ME, DISNEY, IT’S BOMBAD clankens! Don’t be doing by boy Jar Jar wrong here.

You know that’s right. I am fully convinced Jar Jar didn’t actually slip when he took control of that tank. While Jar Jar is clumsy, he also uses that to his advantage sometimes. A little bit like Hondo plays the fool. 

I love the fact Hondo is just like, well, “I guess we have to torture them now.” It’s so random, hilarious, and over-the-top.

Oh, Hondo.

Ah, now that Obi-wan is gone Dooku can let loose and kill people. How much do you want to bet he was reigning in his impulses because Obi-wan was around and he still entertained the notion of getting Kenobi to his side? Because I think so. 

No more Kenobi = time to murder someone brutally.

It’s nice to see Dooku flying his own ship for once, instead of hailing the droid Uber. He’s not only a good swordfighter, but I imagine a pretty good pilot and fond of racing in his younger days, if I’m remembering Jedi Lost correctly. 

AND FINALLY. This is why Hondo loves Obi-wan. Ha! Yeah, we’ll let you go Hondo, but Dooku knows where you live. 

I love this man.

[noobsomeexagerjunk]

Left Undone

Ted didn’t want to babysit Bill’s daughter. He didn’t like Bill, and Bill didn’t like him. Why did he have to be the only one in the office who was free for the weekend? Alice didn’t exactly want to be babysat either. She’s too old for that!

Little did Ted and Alice know how much fun they were going to have.

(AU wherein Alice has not dated Deb yet, Bill hasn’t divorced yet either; MASSIVE SPOILERS for BoJack Horseman Season 3 and Moulin Rouge! are discussed)

Friday Prologue | Saturday Chapter | Sunday Chapter | Monday Epilogue

Alice woke up fairly well-rested Saturday morning, forgetting for a second that she wasn’t in her own house.

Ted Spankoffski’s house had 3 bedrooms. One was a master bedroom where Ted slept and also did any other non-CCRP related work. Another was a room where Ted’s nerdy brother stayed for the Summer; ever since Ted got himself a house, his younger brother would stay over at his place during holidays and academic breaks.

Then there was the spare guest bedroom Alice was in where Ted had to set up for her the previous evening. It was very plain.

She went downstairs, explored a little, then found no one. She went back up, knocking on Ted’s bedroom door. No response.

Alice then decided to wash up instead, to feel fresh in the morning. She did all the work in the downstairs bathroom (Ted specifically told her to use that particular bathroom), leaving it as neat as it was before she came to the house.

She tried to knock on the door again, the increased strength of her rapping revealing to her that the room had not been locked, or closed properly for that matter.

She peeked in to find Ted who was still asleep, clutching a laptop like a stuffed toy. His shirt, boxers, and socks tied together with his slumped figure, which also seemed intertwined with the bedsheets. There were used tissues all over the bed, some on the floor making a trail to a semi-used paper towel roll. There were an empty bowl and two empty beer bottles on the bedside table. It reeked of Corona and clearly imported Honey Butter Chips.

Alice stepped in to try to wake Ted up, but the floor creaking below her was enough to make him jolt awake.

“Who the fu-“ Ted calmed down from the shock of waking up so suddenly, “A-Alice?!  Shit, I forgot you’re here,”

“I-Is there anything I can eat?”

Ted rose from his position, sitting upward on his bed, “...are you allergic to eggs? Milk?”

“No, I’m not allergic to either.”

“Good,” Ted yawned, getting up and stretching, “because my fridge is fucking empty.”

“I noticed.”

That was hyperbole...sort of. The only breakfast that could be made from Ted’s pantry was egg toast and cereal. There was enough for both of them to finish all of said egg toast and cereal.

“What were you watching last night?” Alice asked Ted, playing with her fruit loops a little.

“Hm?” He swallowed the last bite of his toast with instant coffee.

“You were crying for about thirty minutes; I couldn't sleep-”

“I-It was a sad episode, alright?!” Ted was slightly embarrassed, hesitating to take another sip of coffee, “That fucking baby seahorse will never know...”

Alice raised a brow, unaware of the reference. She ate some more cereal.

“Don’t give me that look, Alice!” That was Bill’s glare, alright, “BoJack Horseman is a very good show!”

“And you binged the whole thing last night?”

“It’s the new season. I’ve got two episodes left before I finish.” Ted then proceeded to chug down what was left of his coffee.

“My laptop died during my binge but it was late and I was just,” He blew a raspberry, “...I needed to sleep.”

“I’ve done that before, not gonna lie,” Alice place down the spoon, done with her breakfast, “Though, the show I watched was kinda...yeah, it was kinda shitty,”

“Let me guess: you’ve watched it because someone hot’s in it,”

Alice blushed, “I-It’s not just that!”

“Hey hey hey,” Ted chuckled, “I’m guilty of that, I ain’t judging.”

Alice hmphed, “Should I watch that—what’s that show?”

“BoJack Horseman?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm,” Ted then began cleaning up by taking Alice’s utensils, stacking them with his, “it starts weak but gets so much better, like real fucking better. Dunno if you’re old enough to watch it though,”

“I’ve seen some pretty adult stuff! Mom makes me watch Tarantino movies with her, at least whenever Dad's not around sometimes,"

Ted nodded at Alice’s mother’s taste in film, “Aight, but that show just...it just hits somewhere really hard when you’re in your early thirties full of regret and with no discernible life direction but, hey! If you can take it, I’d be impressed.”

Alice blinked, “What? Is it like, psychological horror? The kind rooted in some comedically timed socio-political commentary?”

“Well, arguably.” Ted then got up to bring the dishes in his hands into the kitchen.

“...where can I find it?” She asked with mild interest.

“Netflix,” The sound of dishes landing in a sink was heard from Alice’s seat, “It’s a cartoon too, and like, about a bunch of animals, if those kinds of things float your boat.”

Alice never made it past Episode 1 when she tried to watch it herself, convinced Ted’s taste was shit. Personally, she will regret that.

The rest of that morning left Alice and Ted to their own individual devices. Alice typed away some interesting plots and ideas on her phone. Ted went to finish the last episodes of that sad horse show.

An hour before the time Alice would usually eat lunch, she had been cycling around various plotlines for a potential...well, something. Alice knew she just had to write something.

She was in the living area of the house when she heard Ted sloppily walk down the stairs. His eyes were teary.

"Are you alright, Mr. Spankoffski?" She looked at him with concern.

Ted shakily neared her, hesitating to sit on the couch next to her. He instead placed a languid hand on one of the couch's armrests.

"Please don't die on me, Alice, oh my God..."

He broke into sobs. Alice could only stare at this behavior in confusion.

"Did something bad happen in the show, or...?"

"Fuck, it got worse!" He sniffled, "A-And not, like, n-not in a bad writing context--that show's writing is the shit, Alice! But fuck! F-Fuck!"

Sarah Lynn was not supposed to die, but she did die and the fact left Ted devastated. A part of him knew it was gonna happen as he saw the old man, er, horse, and the poor girl in the motel, missing the Oscars. (Then again, that show had a penchant for hollowing, tragic endings per episode.)

Even in entertainment, in his favorite shows to watch, Ted Spankoffski knew better than to hope. It was more realistic for him.

"You can sit down," Alice moved aside to give Ted space to sit.

Ted cried as he sat next to her, "God, I'm sorry y-you had to see me like this,"

"I've...I-I've had worse breakdowns over a show. I-It's all good."

TV and Movie homophobia still haunted the teenage girl.

It's things like that, whether extravagant or subtle in delivery, that prompted her to write and clarify in any way that she could if only to fight. Alice Woodward was the kind of girl who refused to despair.

"Yeah, A-Alice?"

"Mhm," She nodded, quickly writing "character gets sucked into a tv show???" in her phone's Notes app.

"What if we watched something less depressing instead? You can watch it with me, Alice!" Ted breathed, "You're not bored, are you?"

She added "literally? figuratively? ehhh let the watchers decide??? kshfukdhivg" then kept her phone.

"No! N-No, I know how to keep myself, um, b-busy," Alice then shifted herself into a more comfortable position, "What movies do you have?"

Ted paused before answering, realizing he was hungry.

“You pick,” He said, getting up, “You want pizza with that?”

Alice nodded eagerly, watching Ted head for his phone.

“Wait, what am I supposed to pick?”

“There’s a bunch of CD cases in the drawer under the center table—it’s right in front of you!” Ted's voice decrescendoed as he headed upstairs.

“Drawer?” Alice wondered to herself, bending down to inspect the described center table. There was in fact a drawer.

She pulled it open to find bunches of CD cases, charging wires, and what clearly seemed to be unusable gadgets or “e-junk” as her father would, in a terribly corny way, put it.

Alice noticed a notable amount of movie musicals in one bundle of CD cases. The one that got her attention was Moulin Rouge!, unfamiliar with the title and very taken by the red-haired beauty printed on the cover. There was Jesus Christ Superstar, West Side Story, Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a bunch of Disney Princess movies. Upon further inspection of the non-musical movies, Ted had a diverse taste in film, though it was primarily pretty basic in Alice's opinion, minus a few exceptions.

She closed the drawer, further inspecting the Moulin Rouge CD cover by reading the synopsis on the back. An aspiring writer falls in love with a courtesan but other things get in the way? Alice could not blame the writer, in fact, she was quick to identify with him, even if she had not seen the movie yet.

“Alice?” Ted called from upstairs, “Are you allergic to anything I should know?”

“No,” She called back, playing with the CD cover.

“Good! I’m getting us a Bacon Surprise,”

“Alright,” Apparently Ted chose to order from that  Witchwood Ovens Shop downtown.

“What movie do you wanna watch?” Ted asked as he went back down. Alice showed him the CD cover.

“Moulin Rouge?” He mispronounced, “I actually have that in there?”

Alice handed the cover to Ted as he approached her, “I don’t think I’ve seen this one,”

“No shit, Alice. This movie’s got prostitution; if I know your Dad enough,” He stared at the cover, trying to remember when he got it, "he would make sure you'd never see it. God, I remember seeing this in the theater, like, when I was about your—h-how old are you again?"

"Fifteen, but I'll be sixteen later this year,"

"Eh, close enough," Ted then placed the CD cover down, ready to set up the television set in the living room.

"Nicole Kidman, man..." Ted dusted the CD player, plugging the TV into it, "She was the fucking best in that thing."

"Do you even know what happens in it?" Alice asked as she watched Ted at work, "Or were you just hoping Nicole Kidman would step on you?"

"Don't you fucking shame me, Alice!" Ted gasped back as he blushed, "If you had any taste in women, you'd want the same Goddamn thing."

Ted guessed correctly, keeping the girl from returning his snark.

It was around the Elephant Love Medley when the pizza arrived. Ted was kind enough to pause for Alice as he went to get the pizza. Alice was still recovering from the exhilaration of the past few songs, overwhelmed with the crowd-like effect of the cheesy-Jukebox mashups that introduced Christian to that infamous dancehall, the gratuitous use of slow-mo effects, and the ridiculous use of that Can-Can. It was "Spectacular Spectacular" indeed!

Alice almost choked on her pizza during the Like A Virgin scene. It was also very clear to her, as they watched, that Ted must've forgotten a lot of what had happened in the film given some of his reactions. Ted cursed The Duke repeatedly, particularly at that scene when he found out about the true nature of Christian's play.

Ted believed that he should've seen Satine dying coming. He saw this movie before. The movie literally said so right at the start!

Why, as he watched, did he want that happy ending when the opposite was inevitably going to happen?!

Something about Satine charmed Ted, in a particularly nightmarish way. The idea of further thinking about it was repressed repeatedly, refusing to confront the roots of it all. Surely it was just him being a horny bastard, right? Right?

This totally had nothing to do with the fact that Satine had vibrant red hair, cerulean eyes, polished milky skin, and a beautiful figure.

This totally had nothing to do with how familiar this fictional character seemed to be, resembling someone Ted remembered with intense, bittersweet longing.

This totally had nothing to do with the sight of Satine breathing her last breath on a bed of roses reminding Ted of a memory that he swore hadn't happened yet.

Or it did happen?

Why debate when it happened when it shouldn't have happened at all? It wasn't supposed to happen, whatever that thing was that Ted didn't need to remember at the moment. And yet...

She didn't make a sound. Heartbreak was never so loud.

Alice's sniffling brought Ted back to reality. Ted put a hand on her shoulder.

"God, I-I look so stupid," Alice chuckled out from her tears, rubbing her teary eyes, "they literally say it in the beginning, ugh!"

Ted coddled her closer to him so he could hug her but Alice recoiled back.

"T-Thanks, but we both smell like pizza," Ted nodded back in response.

As he cleaned up the living area, he asked Alice, "How was the movie?"

"It was pretty cheesy," She pulled out her phone again, inspired to write, "but kinda fun? Like, you don't get fun movies with this much energy, at least, when I try to compare, well. You know what I mean."

"Yeah," Ted replied absent-mindedly, "It certainly brings back memories of, well,  certain times."

"I think it kinda comes off as an epic-like piece,"

"No need to wax academic, Alice,"

"You asked for it!"

"I asked about how it was, not for an essay about its themes and shit!" Ted straightened himself up with a chuckle, "It's just a movie, after all."

"It hits different though," She spat back, focused now on her phone.

Witchwood Oven Shop pizzas were notably heavier on the stomach compared to their competitors. Any leftover pizza the two had for lunch that day, Ted proceeded to reheat for dinner. He scavenged his refrigerator for any packs of instant lemonade, which were thankfully there, and prepared two glasses for the two of them.

It was a shitty excuse for dinner, but Alice didn't seem to mind. She was very concentrated on her phone.

"What'cha writing about?"

Alice tilted her phone as to hide it, "It's not really much yet. It's all a bunch of prompts so far."

"You can pitch me stuff," He swallowed a bite, "Which ones really get to you?"

"Well," She hesitated.

"Well?"

"I-I've got a traveling adventure in a fancy, cultured but mysterious new town..."

"Anything else?"

"Still deciding whether I should make it a horror or a comedy. Besides that, it's all gonna rest on a foundation of romance between our main character, and, well..."

"Who?"

"I don't know! It's all I got so far!"

"Hey, it's not bad," Ted sipped his lemonade, "You know, I bet with enough time, it can become something really fucking great. I'd be invested if this was a movie or a staged production of sorts, I don't know,"

"Y-You think it's good, Mr. Spankoffski?"

"Oh hell yeah," He placed the glass down, "Not to be cheesy, but romance really gets me."

"Yeah, same."

"Have you considered making it some sort of horror-comedy romance? I would love it if you could pull it off."

[joealwyndaily]

Sometimes the best Christmas presents are the ones we don’t think we need; a new Christmas Carol, for instance. Indeed it may be indicative of a certain unappreciated vacancy around the Christmas tree that in discussing the BBC’s new version of the Dickens classic both its director and leading man refer back to The Muppet Christmas Carol made way back in 1992.

“I was sent the script,” admits Nick Murphy, best known for directing the Rebecca Hall ghost movie The Awakening, “and my first thought was, ‘For God’s sake! The Muppets! They nailed it. What’s the point?’ ”

Joe Alwyn, who plays Scrooge’s clerk Bob Cratchit in the BBC three-parter, has meanwhile posted a trailer on Instagram with the caption: “Hard to fill the shoes once worn by Kermit. But I tried.” The self-deprecation was quickly “hearted” by the singer Taylor Swift, who is the actor’s girlfriend and who will be watching the mini-series with Alwyn and his family in London in the final days before Christmas.

There is nothing wrong, of course, with The Muppet Christmas Carol. It is probably in most people’s top three adaptations of Dickens’s masterpiece (alongside, I would say, Alastair Sim’s 1951 version and Scrooged). Its endurance does suggest, however, that it may be time someone did something a bit more serious, a little darker and a touch more grown-up with a tale that excoriated Victorian neglect and associated Christmas with the relief of poverty for ever more.

And this is exactly what Nick Murphy has achieved with a bracingly fresh script by the Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight. Guy Pearce’s Ebenezer Scrooge is still a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner”, but since Pearce is only 52, there is rather less of the old. At the end of the novel, Dickens wrote that “ever afterwards” — that is after Scrooge’s Very Bad Night — “it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well”. That is rather more of an achievement when, as in this version, you may have 40 Christmases, rather than a couple, left to you.

Equally remade is Cratchit, who in Alwyn’s incarnation is far from the bashfully gulping frog thanking his master for granting him Christmas Day off before scampering back to Miss Piggy’s fleshy arms. Although Alwyn grew a rough beard for the part, his is also the best-looking Bob Cratchit you have seen. As the actor and I talk at the Picturehouse Central cinema in London, I find him as mesmerising off screen as on.

“Bob is trapped by Scrooge,” Alwyn says. “He’s abused by him. He’s not treated fairly. He’s there only because he has to be. He’s treated like shit.”

I’d say there’s a definite feeling in their shared scenes that Bob might just snap and hit Ebenezer over the head with a poker. “That was the intention. He’s at breaking point. He’s pushed right to his limits and Scrooge, I think, relishes winding him up. All Bob can do is hold his ground and fight back as much as he can — but he isn’t such a sap in this version.”

Scrooge and Cratchit’s relationship so much resembles an unhappy marriage that the niggling, bitter exchanges invented by Knight, with very little reference to Dickens’s dialogue, resemble Steptoe and Son rewritten by Strindberg. The easy contrast would have been with the Cratchits’ poor but happy marriage, but this too comes under scrutiny. There is an acknowledgment of the challenges a disabled child can bring to a household, and it is somehow emphasised by Tiny Tim being played by Lenny Rush, an extraordinary young actor, aged ten, who has a rare form of dwarfism called spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia congenita, the same condition as Warwick Davis.

“It really mattered to me that nobody was photo-fit,” Murphy says from a studio where he is dubbing the last episode. “Bob Cratchit is always a winsome, put-upon nice guy and the Cratchits themselves represent this idea of an ideal, working-class, lovely family. So we looked into their relationship on the page and there seems a genuine tension between Bob and his wife. Things are hard. It isn’t easy to have no money and a disabled child, and they lean on each other and they’re not straight with each other and there is a genuine antagonism between them.”

Knight has written into the narrative a family secret that connects the Cratchits to Scrooge. The secret belongs to Mrs Cratchit, played by Vinette Robinson, whose part is greatly expanded; indeed, the novella does not even grant her a first name, although the Muppets, and other adaptors, opted for Emily.

“Inevitably the secret begins to surface and cracks appear in the family,” Alwyn says. “Something has to happen. I think what Steven has done is take the story and drill deeper. He hasn’t taken too much liberty. It’s not bending the truth too much from what Dickens would have wanted. Or I hope not.”

Murphy insists that worthwhile adaptations of classic texts should be “edgy” and have “a good bite to them”. “If you absolutely don’t want any variation from the book then I strongly suggest you sit in a corner at Christmas and read it again. But if you want to see it used as a prism through which we can see a broader and slightly different subject explored, then this one’s for you.”

Alwyn’s performance is part of the iconoclasm. “Joe’s instinct as an actor is always to push away from the obvious and into ambiguity,” Murphy says. “He’s very quietly spoken. He’s not brash at all. He’s a gentle, intelligent guy, but he just simply wasn’t interested in fitting a Dickensian cliché.”

“I’ll take that,” Alwyn says when I pass on the compliment, having not considered his technique in such terms. He is 28 and would probably accept that he is best known for two facts: the first is that he is Taylor Swift’s boyfriend; the second that, aged 25 and with no professional acting experience, he won the title role in an Ang Lee movie.

He is from north London, the middle of three sons. Their father is the television documentary-maker Richard Alwyn, renowned for making The Shrine about the public reaction to Princess Diana’s death.

“He was away a bit,” Alwyn says. “He made quite a lot of films in Africa when I was growing up. He was often in Uganda, Rwanda at one point, South Sudan. So he’d come back with stories and artefacts from all over the place. He made a great documentary in Liverpool during the World Cup about two kids on an estate growing up there.”

His mother, Elizabeth, is a psychotherapist. So, I say, although his family were comfortably off and he was sent to the fee-paying City of London School, he knew something of other people’s lives?

“All different kinds of people, all different kinds of stories,” he says. “Obviously, she couldn’t share them with me in the same way that Dad could, but both their jobs take an interest in other people and are about how to empathise, understand, and listen to stories and tell stories. I suppose it’s not a million miles away from an actor’s job; listening to other people, understanding them, trying to tell stories.”

I ask about the contemporary political resonances of A Christmas Carol. I cite the wealth of certain members of his profession and of Swift’s. Only the other day I have read that she has a private jet so she can visit Alwyn on a whim. He promises me that 99.9 per cent of what the press write about them is false, and this is an example.

I ask if he finds it embarrassing.

“Find what embarrassing?”

The disparity between the amount some people earn and the wages of workers in, say, Amazon fulfilment centres.

“I saw something in The Guardian the other day, I think, saying that the top six richest people in the UK accumulate the same amount of wealth as the poorest 13 million. I think that was the figure,” he says.

And politics today?

“It’s bigger than Scrooge, but it’s the same thing amplified; not being able to see beyond yourself, building walls, cutting yourself off from other countries. If there was ever a story to counter that, featuring someone who epitomises that and then who remembers who he is as a human being, it is A Christmas Carol.”

Unlike the young Dickens, Alwyn was not a boy to stand on a table and sing and dance. As a child he auditioned to play Liam Neeson’s son in the Richard Curtis film Love Actually, but didn’t get it. He harboured ambitions to act, but pursued them only later at the University of Bristol, where he took plays up to the Edinburgh Fringe. One night he acted before an audience of one: the writer’s mother. Undeterred, he went on to the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, joining the scramble at the end to find an agent. Weeks later, his new agent rang to say that Ang Lee was working on a new film, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, and wanted to see an audition tape.

“I got some mates to film me in a lunch break and then my dad filmed another scene, and we got a call that night saying, ‘He wants to meet you this weekend. He’s saying, we’re going to put you on a plane and take you out of school. Come for the weekend. Learn these scenes.’ ”

As Billy, a young US Marine fêted for killing an enemy assailant in Iraq, Alwyn was painfully believable; a virgin solider returning home to be exploited for an act that had devastated him. The film did not do well, mainly because it was shot at a hyper-reality frame rate that few cinemas had the technology to show, but Alwyn was on his way.

“Things only evolve by change and people taking risks,” he says. “And Ang Lee is someone who I admire for that. None of his films are the same. Maybe thematically they draw on the same things, but he’s always pushing the boundaries.”

The same can be said for A Christmas Carol and, even more, about Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Favourite, in which Alwyn appeared alongside Emma Stone and Olivia Colman. It applies less so to his other recent films, Mary Queen of Scots, Boy Erased and now Harriet, a faithful biopic about the slave liberator Harriet Tubman in which he played a slave owner’s son. What he has managed to do consistently is work and learn from some seriously good actresses — Colman, Stone, Saoirse Ronan and Cynthia Erivo. “I know. I am targeting them,” he jokes.

I tell him my daughters have insisted I ask if he minds Swift writing songs about him (whole albums, actually, but check out London Boy if you are in search of a little cringe). “No, not at all. No. It’s flattering.”

Does it matter to him that the press — it’s a bit metatextual this, I admit, for I’m probably doing the same thing — make it obvious that they are as interested in his girlfriend as they are in him? “I just don’t pay attention to what I don’t want to pay attention to,” he explains tolerantly. “I turn everything else down on a dial. I don’t have any interest in tabloids. I know what I want to do, and that’s this, and that’s what I am doing.”

The boyf, described only the other day as “mysterious” in one of those tabloids, is no mystery at all. He knows what he wants for Christmas, and it is the career he is already forging.

A Christmas Carol begins on BBC One at 9pm on Sunday

[inspector-montoya-fox]

let’s talk about the themes of the Sly games

Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus (2002):

Paris: this might not be the game’s main theme but it’s the theme that is most omnipresent. Paris is the glue that connects everything together. it immediately has such an impact on the player, even though it’s just the tutorial and the gang’s base of operations. Sly being a thief but also living in Paris just sounds so right, like it’s the way it should be. it fits. 

The Thievius Raccoonus: this is the main theme and what provides the game with its premise. it’s the book that needs to be glued back together and its importance is highlighted throughout. almost every level has a page included so we’re constantly reminded of its significance. the skills we earn by retrieving the main ancestors’ pages elevate the gameplay and force the player to respect it. other than that it’s a clever way to spotlight the ancestors and establish that Sly does come from a long line of thieves.

Family: this doesn’t need much explaining but i’ll do it anyway. we start off with Sly’s parents getting killed and him landing at an orphanage where he creates a new family for himself with Bentley and Murray. you’ve got 3 different types of family: (A) Connor and Sly’s mom getting murdered and Sly’s aim to avenge them, (B) Bentley and Murray being true brothers when Sly was left with no one (i’m tearing up), and (C) the ancestors, which are explored more in-depth through the theme of The Thievius Raccoonus. Family as a theme explores Sly’s motivations and drive, even though Connor’s role is minor, especially in comparison to his role in Sly 3

Morality: Sly 1 is rudimental in its gameplay. it was a little game with a big promise at the time it was released, hoping to serve Sony and the Playstation 2 with a worthy mascot and an even worthier title. but right off the bat the player is bombarded with a shit-ton of lore about the world Sly lives in and how he operates. we immediately find out he’s an antihero, an honourable thief who has a code of conduct. this comes into stark contrast with the game’s villains who are basically filthy crooks. thief takes down thieves and the theme of Morality is SP’s attempt to make the player distinguish between good criminal and bad criminal. Morality as a theme is spotlighted immensely in Cold Heart of Hate when Sly saves Carmelita because he truly is the good guy, but also when it’s revealed that what’s been keeping Clockwerk alive all these years is the lack of morals and the hatred. the game establishes Morality as the outlining theme of the entire series, placing Sly on a pedestal because he’s honourable. morals trump hatred, so fuck off Clockwerk (even though ‘perfection has no age’ might be one of the coolest lines in the game lol)

Sly 2: Band of Thieves (2004):

Paris: this is the theme from the first game but on steroids. like make it x10. when you take the plot of Sly 2 and boil down to its core, it turns out to be a full-on race against time to save Paris. it provides both a nod to the first game and a sense of closure at the end: the game begins in Paris and ends in Paris. It’s both a setting and a catalyst, and it is absolutely brilliant in the game. you spend most of the game globetrotting, away from home but as soon as you find out ClockLa is on her way to unleash her psychotic brain waves and turn the city evil, you find yourself at the edge of your seat, caring more about Paris than anything else. it’s omnipresent and powerful and i don’t know why but i love it.

Spice: if you wanna be my lover. here’s an amazing replacement for drug trafficking as a plot device in a children’s game: spice. the spice trail is what pushes the narrative forward but also gives the gang something to face before the pieces fall into place and the larger scale of things is revealed. before ClockLa steals the show, spice is the main antagonist in the game. it brings the villains together, leads the gang from one location to another, provides some memorable missions and obstacles (Spice in the Sky and a raged, spice-infused Murray). but it’s not to say that it fades away in the long-run. Spice is actually the subtle thread that connects the episodes together but also is significant to the final master plan of hypnotising Paris.

Deception: obvious one here. Neyla pretending to be an ally is the major example. we’ve got the Contessa pretending to be loyal to Interpol, we’ve got Arpeggio seemingly being the mastermind behind everything (which he kinda was until he wasn’t), we’ve got the whole evil plot reveal on the spice, we’ve got Neyla ripping off Arpeggio on her journey to become the most well-written villain in video-game history. lots going on here. overall great theme. on a wider scale (and i’ve touched on this before in some recent posts) we’ve got SP deceiving the player into thinking the plot is all laid out at Rajan’s ball until it all turns to shit and nothing goes as expected. Appearance V Reality is a sub-theme that pops up when Bentley fights Jean Bison and Bison constantly underestimates Bentley until the turtle fucking blows his lights out. it’s not an instance of Deception per se, but it’s worth mentioning

The Past: Clockwerk’s return makes this a theme instead of a motif. before ‘saving Paris’ becomes the main objective, it’s Sly’s determination to prevent Clockwerk’s revamping that kicks off the game’s events. the events of Sly 1 play a pivotal role here as they lay the groundwork for the plot of Sly 2. it’s not just Sly 2: The Sequel. with its own set of characters and an intricate story it becomes its very own thing. but Clockwerk is the link that connects everything.

Morality: this one sneaks up on you in the game’s second half and just bites you right in the ass when you least expect it. Contessa, who until her boss-fight seems to be just another selfish spider bitch witch, manifests into this advocate for Sly’s inner demons through simple dialogue. fucking brilliant. ‘You’re an ignorant child playing dress-up in his father’s legacy’ (in my opinion, the best line in the entire series) kicks it all off. and then the theme becomes obviously present throughout. it explores the fine line that Sly walks between robin hood and scumbag thief, it shows how the villains are down-right criminals who want to benefit from their crimes, it cracks black and white into a million pieces because in a single game there are like a million layers of good and evil: Barkley at the very top as the authoritarian white, Carmelita as a sympathetic cop who tries to grasp onto her own code of ethics while occasionally running with the thieves, Sly and the gang as antiheroes, the villains as... villains, and Neyla as the embodiment of satan. it’s a scale and the game spotlights this. i had a different bullet point for Justice but i think it falls under Morality. basically, Carmelita’s story arc in Sly 2 deals with blurring her views a bit and re-defining justice

Sly 3: Honour Among Thieves (2005):

Ancestry (Cooper Vault): this is what the game is all about, or at least the premise. after stitching the cottdamn book back together by the end of the first game, Sly 2 doesn’t give any attention to the Thievius Raccoonus. in fact, Sly 2 exists on a completely different plane, using its amazing plot to elevate itself away from the lore of the first game. ancestry is rarely mentioned. flashforward to Sly 3, where SP takes us back to the mythos for a new caper involving a new reveal: the Cooper Vault. what we thought we knew about the ancestors is thrown out the window to pave the way for this mystical place where the Coopers buried their secrets and their loot. i’d like to point out that the theme of Ancestry is great and all but SP does a shitty job in spreading it throughout the game. whilst recruiting the new gang members we often forget why we’re doing so and it’s not until the last episode of the game that we get the fulfilment of the theme’s promise. it’s also worth mentioning that the theme pops up in A Cold Alliance when Tsao is comparing himself to Sly and he speaks of his ancestors but we somehow get the feeling that his ancestors were all colossal jerks like him and had absolutely 0 honour

Family: this is not the same as Ancestry. the new gang members could have very well been distant with each other if not for the adventures that made them bond. Bentley’s fascination with the Guru, Murray being the Guru’s apprentice, Bentley falling for Penelope, Penelope and Panda King helping Murray with the van, Panda King and Sly working alongside each other to kill vampire mantises and the Crusher. these are all moments that helped sell the ‘group of thieves’ aspect of the game. but Family also explores the bond of the original trio and how, even when they face their differences (Bentley and Murray living in the shadow of Sly), they can still make it through, even stronger than before. other references here might include: Panda King and Jing King, Dimitri and the Lousteau diving legacy, Dr. M and McSweeney being Conner’s “sidekicks”

Honour: this replaces the theme of Morality from the previous two games as the situations the characters face allude to honour (doing what’s right for the greater good) rather than morality (black and white, good vs evil). what i mean by that is SP making an effort to distinguish why Sly is a different thief and ultimately an antihero. this was sorta explored in the previous games by having Sly put an end to the villains’ various operations but the overall plot overshadowed those instances. Sly 3 on the other hand fully explores the theme of Honour by including the word in the title and having the gang save the day in every episode. stopping harm to the environment (polluting the Venice canals, destroying the Australian outback), helping Penelope come to terms with her inner demons by encouraging her to drop the facade of the Black Baron, saving Jing King from forced marriage, etc. the theme also ties into the theme of Redemption (below) but what i’d really like to point out is that Carmelita gets in on it as well. i can’t think of a more honourable moment than when she finally, after 3 games, puts the petty cop bullshit aside and comes to Kaine Island with her squad to save Sly from Dr. M. she makes Sly’s battle her own and doesn’t give up, showing up at the very end to save him from Dr. M’s horrific boss-fight (ugh)

Deception: although not as major as in Sly 2, i’ve said this time and time again: Flight of Fancy perfectly encapsulates the theme of Deception. Penelope dressing up as the Black Baron is not the only instance of deception. you’ve got Bentley and Penelope blowing their online avatars out of proportion, you’ve got Dimitri who was initially a villain finally turning sides, you’ve got an episode card full of sunshine and bright blue and gold fonts for a hub that’s all gloomy rainclouds. beyond Flight of Fancy, i can think of a few more instances: some Shakespearian shenanigans when Carmelita disguises herself as Jing King, or when the gang doesn’t reveal their Dead Men Tell No Tales plan to the player and we’re left thinking that Sly is going to get eaten by sharks

Redemption (Choices): speaks for itself, really. this one ties in with Honour and is a sub-theme, maybe a motif. we’ve got Murray’s desire to redeem himself for feeling guilty over Bentley’s accident. we’ve got Dimitri and the Panda King joining the gang after previously being villains in the series, and eventually redeeming themselves through helping with the heist. we’ve got Penelope redeeming herself as the Black Baron by joining the gang. i also named it Choices because these characters chose to redeem themselves. Choices are all over the game, whether its the lack of free will or the sacrifice characters make: Jing King isn’t in a position to choose whether or not she gets married during her capture, Sly sacrifices his cane at the very beginning of the game to save Bentley and then jumps in front of Dr. M’s shot to save Carmelita (!!!)

Closure: or the lack of, smh. SP’s trilogy comes to a close and therefore the theme has to exist even if the game doesn’t provide the player with mass satisfaction. Sly finally gets together with Carmelita, Bentley finally gets over his fear and self-doubt and lives the good life (with Penelope), Murray kicks off his racing career, and we get happy-ever-afters for the rest of the gang as well

[itsamiraculous]

Miraculer- A Look in on Future Episodes.

Miraculer was awesome! but I feel it was slightly overshadowed by the release of Timetagger with Bunnix. 

Don’t get me wrong! That is just as awesome also but I have things I want to say.

Miraculer follows the same plot line as Antibug. Literally. I’m sure people drew many parallels from the fact that Sabrina was akumatized again, having her and Chloe play as Chat and Ladybug and Chloe falling out with Ladybug, but there is so much more. Despite living through a previous episode again, there is a reason, and it also gives us (what I believe), a stark look in to what we can expect in the future. 

I think I will go through Miraculer and draw the parallels to Antibug and go from there.

Sabrina akumatized, one of the better ones I would argue. As Vanisher (invisible) and also as Miraculer. Of course Vanisher had a weakness; she was tangible.

Chloe and Sabrina having a falling out. Literally the same thing. Chloe takes things out on Sabrina, because she has no one else to take things out on other than herself (hurts anyone close to her. Mommy issues).

Ladybug keeping Chloe out of the loop because she is trying to protect her and other people. In Antibug, it was also Marinette holding a grudge against her and we have clearly seen that develop (i.e. Despair Bear etc). 

Chloe just wants to help and she hates being cast out. It’s what Style Queen and Queen Wasp was about. She wanted people to notice that she is extraordinary. I would argue that she wants to grow up, but she doesn’t know how. Chloe is notorious for not caring about the consequences, to other people, but when it comes to matters with Ladybug, she won’t care. I think it’s possibly because she is grateful of Ladybug saving her, but also because Chloe wants to be better.

Chat being a prompt for Ladybug to trust Chloe. Chloe was needed.

From here on out I will just mention things from both Antibug, Miraculer and other things because I think it's important.

So obviously we only saw one half of Antibug play out again, but we are left with the same premise for the other half; Chloe’s withering devotion towards ladybug.

But Chloe was upset about it. For the end of Miraculer we don't see it, only what she expressed on the surface with being defensive. It wasn't until we see Hawkmoth that she's angry and then starts crying and gets akumatized. This is what I'm slightly expecting from future episodes. The lead on from Miraculer ending up to be the loveater episodes most likely.

Again reference to one of Ladynoir turning bad. Both by Chloe being anti-bug (Heroes Day and other episodes such as Sandboy with LB being bad) and Chat going across to that side (Chat Blanc and other S1 eps like Dark Cupid with Chat being bad).

The Antibug sword comes up a lot; Sandboy, Chris Master etc. You get the picture. It is just to reference Antibug. It's a huge episode. It tells you a lot about Chloe’s story, but also Ladynoir's and clearly is used as a plot device.

It’s also fun to see the difference between how nicely Marinette treats Chloe now. She has seen the other side to Chloe and now actually wishes to see her grow. It’s really interesting. Especially when you see one of the scenes with the Superhero group, minus Sabrina. It’s a nice foreshadow in what it could look like in the future; masks on or not. Alya and Nino taking no BS from Chloe, Marinette and Chloe being able to breathe the same air. You know, all that good stuff.

It’s also interesting looking at things with Ladynoir as well. You see Ladybug noping at every advance from Chat, but it changes after she comes back from de-transforming. I think it’s because of what Tikki says; sometimes you need to listen to others. Ladybug in S1 doesn’t always listen to Chat, she comes across as arrogant, this is why we see in Antibug Chloe saying “You’re nothing without Cat Noir” and also Ladybug’s speech(es) of her and Chat being an unstoppable team, and that they work together. Also showing us Chat’s loyalty. Totally think when Marinette is saving Chat, that its key. It’s a change. In fact it’s the change. Glaciator. Marinette/Ladybug see the different side to Chat, it changes her perspective, hence why we get Tikki saying about taking other people’s advice, doing things differently and listening. After that we see Ladybug listen to Chat about where the Akuma is (Chat being observational too, working as a team and communicating better) and then proceeds to tease him!!! That is no coincidence that it happens like that. It basically shows you the change from Ladybug not seeing Chat, to now seeing him. Hence why we are suddenly getting all those smiles and sudden puns and freaking Stormy Weather 2 to show all the changes. 

Funny we get the two pigeons as well, quite interesting after seeing Timetagger. 

Miraculer, also reminded me how Marinette is the only one who doesn’t train...

Okay, arguably Adrien does and doesn’t- he does fencing, but he seems very agile without powers. Chloe we know has danced for years, Frighteningale proved that she is flexible and agile etc. Then we see Alya and Nino training together on the pier. Holy Moly that was cute. Ladynoir or Adrienette reincarnation of that scene pleeeaaaseeeeeee.

But yeah, Marinette just... doesn’t. It’s a shame because honestly.

Chloe was excellent when she went after Mayura, and also when she mentally fought off Hawkmoth. She is incredible in Miraculer. She almost took off the brooch, and she has a strong mentality in order for her not to be swayed, except of course she doesn’t fully accept what Ladybug is saying, believing that Ladybug doesn’t want to give her a proper chance. I think Marinette/Ladybug needed to word it differently, or maybe it just be them two instead of the whole team standing around. 

Secret Identities also coming back more and more. Honestly, everything in these two episodes makes me think it is laying the groundwork for Chat Blanc. I was talking with a friend and we decided it must be to do with Chat still being in the dark from everything with Master Fu. It is like Chloe’s situation; feeling like they are being left in the dark. There is also the temptation of trying to get the other to become corrupt, but they are too loyal to Ladybug. Which is why it’s hard to know what is going to happen to make Chat/Adrien go against Ladybug unless it is to do with his family situation. I don’t think it will be Ladybug’s rejection. It doesn’t fit exactly. The themes that always come up with Chat and Ladybug is her rejection or Chat feeling useless or being left in the dark. It is the exact same as Chloe. I’m wondering if Chat Blanc is actually Chat Noir Akumatized, because I honestly can’t comprehend it happening. They can make the description seem like something completely different.

Copycat comes back in both episodes “That little copycat” “Quit being a copycat”. Copycat also has a funny link. Alya says “Think of it this way. No more secrets” in response to Marinette accidentally telling Adrien. Something that Adrien was doing as Chat- explaining his feelings to LB. Not directly to Miraculer per ce, but a theme throughout that does kinda link

Something bad happening to Chat as well, concerning his own cataclysm. That’s going to be prominent one day. It also effected Plagg though, which means if he’s not careful it can damage his miraculous, like it does with Bunnix, as we are told, but that alters the timeline(????)... surely. Possibly is a hint at why/how the Peacock miraculous is damaged...

So other little things...

Ladybug more concerned over Chat, You saw her Gasp and watch him just before Chloe came in. 

As Heroes gain more allies, so do the villains. Seeing those two networks is just purely awesome.

Honestly thought Ladybug was going to do a pound it with Chloe, it would have made a difference instead of just holding out her hand for the miraculous.

Miraculer could summon the powers more than once. That’s always been a thing with most of Hawkmoth’s villains, but we know it’s now possible for proper miraculous holders to have that same power, as Hawkmoth can do it. It’s different from Antibug where Chloe has the exact same powers, only evil. All we know is that it can’t be possible for two or more at once yet.  Hawkmoth needed Catalyst to do that.

Even Hawkmoth says “We’ve set the stage for the future” 

Marinette is actually trying to be friends with Chloe... and Chloe was super close to seeing through Lila. 

List of Episodes Miraculer references: Every episode (more or less) that the Antibug sword has been used in, Every episode that has Chloe’s development (Zombizou, Despair bear! Queen’s Battle trilogy etc), Copycat, Antibug (of course), Gigantitan, Sandboy, Glaciator, Heroes Day. 

So much is going down.

Sorry if this is too long for some people. I thought of so much more, but I’ll do another post for it. I’m trying my best to cut everything down. 

[kcwcommentary]

VLD5x06 – “White Lion”

5x06 – “White Lion”

Though because of how these seasons were released this episode is officially a season finale, I don’t know if I’m supposed to truly see it as a season finale or as a mid-season finale. I wonder how the writers’ room blocked out the story progression which of the two they decided to write this as. Especially compared to the rest of the episodes this season, this episode is decent.

Allura and Lotor present the compass stone and the plan to use it to go to Oriande to Team Voltron. Coran reacts with disbelief, and I don’t know why Allura doesn’t then cause the stone to project the map to prove to him it is real. Lotor is open to everyone about how his goal is that if Allura can master Altean alchemy, he wants her to help him make his ships capable of entering the rift (which here he’s calling a “quintessence field”) to get to the quintessence therein. They somehow have the stone interface with the Castle’s systems to upload? data about Oriande to the Castle.

Per the map, Oriande is located in reference to three specific planets. Coran apparently recognizes it as some area of space where ships disappear “and are never heard from again” (this latter part feels like an empty attempt at adding tension to the moment).

They wormhole to where they’re going and find a lot of destroyed ships there. There’s a massive, white, glowing area where they’re at, but they act like they don’t see it until after they’ve been there a little while; if they could see the destroyed ships, then they most definitely could have seen the much, much larger bright thing that those ships surround well before they could see the ships. Pidge identifies the object as being a “white hole.” I’m not sure why Hunk responds, “Take that theoretical physics!” since theoretical physics is what has predicted the existence of white holes.

After reciting something he read carved somewhere, Lotor says they have to enter the white hole. I laughed at Hunk’s interjection, “We’re navigating by cave poetry now?” Allura proposes that, to avoid the destruction that befell the other ships there, they wormhole into the white hole. Since this show has had the production of wormholes be connected to Allura’s space magic, they’ve never had the usage of them require any form of astronomical calculations to ensure the wormhole goes to the right place, so it fits the show that she could produce a wormhole into the white hole. Allura seems to believe in herself and in Voltron. Shiro calmly seeks to be reassured by Allura. Others, Coran and Lance especially, freak out.

The form-Voltron animation suddenly happens. That was a transitionless transition.

It is weird to me that the show in its early days established Allura as being necessary for the Castle Ship to open wormholes. But since the show decided to rearrange characters and put Allura in the Blue Lion, she can’t be on the Castle Ship to open wormholes now, so they had to clumsily handwave the established rule of Allura creates wormholes to say that Castle stores some of Allura’s energy in it and Coran can use it to open wormholes when she’s not there. It functions as a reminder to me that Allura’s connection to the narrative was not designed for her to be the Blue Paladin, despite the show putting her into that position.

The wormhole only takes Voltron slightly closer to the white hole, so I don’t quite get why the story has them use a wormhole at all. The wormhole didn’t really add anything to the development of the plot. As Voltron slowly gets closer to the white hole, giant eyes glow in the white center and the image of a lion forms. It blasts Voltron. Voltron blasts back but hits nothing. Seeing this, Coran freaks out and yells at Lotor, “What have you done?” before being shocked to see Lotor now has Altean facial markings. Lotor thinks for a moment and describes them as “the mark of the chosen,” and then identifies the White Lion as a guardian. He advises Voltron to pull back, saying only Alteans can get past the White Lion. The Lion then blasts the Castle Ship, which sustains significant damage. The White Lion also blasts Voltron into separating into the respective Lions, which lose power. Shiro tells everyone to abandon their Lions and return via jetpack to the Castle.

Coran gets some power restored to the Castle, but he says it won’t last long, that they’ll eventually run out of air. Lance responds with, “Maybe we can decrease our breathers by one,” while glaring at Lotor. Precisely how is Lotor expected to have known the White Lion existed? Also, the existence of the White Lion should prove to everyone that they are on the right track in trying to get to Oriande, which they weren’t necessarily sure of before.

Lotor even apologizes to everyone and points out his and Allura’s Altean marks are glowing, indicating they alone are able to enter Oriande. Lotor says the White Lion won’t hurt them, and Lance responds, “Before, you thought it wasn’t going to hurt us!” Uh, no Lotor did not. He didn’t know about the existence of the White Lion until the moment everyone knew about its existence. I know the writers think they’re doing something interesting by having Lance being aggressively anti-Lotor, but it would be nice if the writers could at least pay attention to their own writing in the process.

Coran tries the “it’s too dangerous” argument with Allura, who rejects it. Lance then yells some more and gets called down by Shiro. Shiro even points out (something no one else has acknowledged) that unless Allura is able to do this, they won’t be able to restore the Castle Ship and leave here.

Allura and Lotor take “personal transport crafts,” which I initially thought meant a shuttle pod, but they’re using the space jetskis the show has had Allura use before. The fact that she and Lotor use them invalidates the show having Voltron have to use a wormhole earlier. (Thank you, episode, for proving me right that the use of the wormhole was narratively meaningless.)

Allura and Lotor successfully make it to Oriande. Now, the show has established in this episode that the facial markings glowing and admittance by the White Lion are supposed to be indicative of some kind of approval. How then is Lotor a villain if he’s been approved to enter here? The show eventually uses Lotor and his colony as proof that Lotor is villainous, which means he would have to be villainous right now, but he’s literally marked as “chosen” and the White Lion admits him. So, either the show’s sudden 180 to have Lotor turn into a cliché villain at the end of season six is not supported by the story being told in this episode, or this episode’s declarations about the importance of the “mark of the chosen” and the White Lion are meaningless.

While Allura and Lotor are on Oriande, everyone else is in the power generator room of the Castle, though only Pidge, Hunk, and Coran are working. The show continues having Lance be jealous of Allura, which is not the least bit interesting. Maybe Lance’s jealousy of Allura could have been interesting if it wasn’t so constant and if there was any kind of resolution of him realizing all of his jealous behavior in the series was inappropriate. Even though I strongly dislike jealous-Lance, he is clearly in emotional distress in this scene, and the show plays it as supposed humor by having his words and the words of team-Pidge-Hunk-Coran match up but with different meanings. Pidge’s repeated “We are/he is not talking to you” does nothing to make me like Pidge. I know team-Pidge-Hunk-Coran are busy, but come on! This show really does not know how to write behavior for characters who’re supposed to be friends.

Upon Pidge’s prompting, Shiro takes Lance into the hallway. (Why did Shiro need to be told to do this?) Lance clearly needs some emotional support here, as he slams his head into the metal wall and dejectedly says, “You don’t need to babysit me.” Shiro doesn’t engage with Lance over what’s bothering him, so the story doesn’t have to risk letting Lance grow as a character any.

Instead, we divert into Shiro asking Lance about the weirdness that happened between them in the psychic space in 5x03 “Postmortem.” I guess, at least they’re following up on that now. Shiro tells Lance he can’t remember what happened then. Lance asks if Shiro is okay, and Shiro says he feels “confused. It’s like I’m not myself.” Of course, the show is increasing the hints that Shiro is a clone. This should be an important scene, but I don’t feel it does enough for the narrative. The only thing it gives us is that Shiro is indeed continuing to think about what happened. Lance tries to be supportive, saying “We’ll get through this.” So, the scene doesn’t really advance this plotline any. That the clone is concerned by this, though, is further evidence that the clone, despite what the show eventually has everyone say about him, is not an “evil thing.” He’s clearly bothered here by that event.

Out of nowhere, the narrative of the episode then shifts to Ezor, Axca, and Zethrid waiting around for Haggar to “do her magical pondering,” as described by Zethrid. That line kind of made me laugh. Zethrid likes the idea of potentially replacing Lotor as emperor, but Axca shuts that down, saying “No one is replacing Lotor.” Sounds like she still has some loyalty to him, despite not being in his service currently.

Allura and Lotor are climbing a mountain on Oriande. Lotor tells her about how much he envies her having grown up with Alfor. He says he “always wanted to be an explorer and learn about the universe.” He talks about how when he was put in charge of a planet and running a quintessence mine. He talks about how he did not govern in the traditional dominating way of the Galra. He talks about how he only ran the mine such that they extracted quintessence at a rate at which it could be replenished. And yet the EPs expect us to think Lotor is a villain here. Lotor tells her that Zarkon ordered him to destroy the planet and that he refused and that’s when Zarkon destroyed the planet himself and banished Lotor to the fringe of the Empire.

They eventually get to the ornate, white, glowing pyramid. The White Lion meets them in the door and indicates they can enter and follow him. The make their way to a room with huge Altean statues. Lotor identifies the statues as representing “the life-givers, the first to unlock the secrets of Oriande.” That phrasing suggests Oriande existed before these Alteans. Maybe I’m mistaken, but I thought that ancient Alteans created this location on Oriande?

The statues animate and start to attack until Allura brandishes the compass stone. One statue takes the stone from her, and she and Lotor proceed further into the pyramid. The White Lion stands at the center of the room and disappears. The door closes, and the ceiling starts to descend. That ceiling: No, thank you! That’s a trope that creeps me out. Allura recognizes the dual pedestal, for lack of a better word, in the center of the room that’s reminiscent of her control mechanism on the Castle Ship. She points it out though after looking around the room for “a clue, something a trained Altean would recognize” at Lotor’s prompting. I would think that the White Lion literally standing at the pedestal would have been enough of a clue that they wouldn’t have to have looked around like they did, but whatever.

Allura touches the controls, everything starts glowing.

Lotor then stands on a field of white and clouds, the White Lion walks toward him. Allura then stands in the same kind of location and the White Lion comes at her too. Lotor gets bitten but says, “I will never yield. I will gain your secrets.” He says, “Victory or death!” and magically draws a sword out of nowhere. Does he actually have a magical, teleporting sword, or is this all just a manifestation of his mind? He slashes the White Lion, which disappears, and he’s deposited back at the pyramid’s entrance. This is the only thing from Lotor this season that could hint at him still being a villain. Even if this is supposed to show us he’s still a villain, the way the show has had him behave and present information about his life in other scenes throughout this season is starkly contrasted from villainous thought and behavior that all those moments still feel discordant with the idea that Lotor is secretly a villain the whole time.

Allura meanwhile, says, “No, this isn’t the way. I seek the secret of life. I give my own.” The White Lion jumps into her.

She then opens her eyes to be floating in some glowing, starry space. She asks where she is, and a disembodied voice says, “You have returned to the realm of your ancestors. The Alteans and the life-givers who came before.” What is this mysterious space? Is this supposed to be the inside of the rift? That would explain why the rift has so much quintessence if it’s supposed to be the realm of the life-givers, who apparently are different than ancient Alteans if we go by what this voice says (“Alteans and the life-givers,” as in they’re separate things). That wouldn’t explain why quintessence in the rift is poisonous or where the rift creatures come from though. I think it would have been super interesting if the rift between realities had been this realm of the life-givers though.

Allura says she wants the knowledge of the alchemy that created Voltron. The voice says that this realm is Allura’s “home” and that “the secret is already within” her. Granted, this is all undefined magic, but “the secret … within” means there’s no skill required, and it’s really cliché. But I’m still willing to go along with such a thing in a story if it’s used well. Unfortunately, I don’t think this show does. It works nice in revealing some character detail for Allura. In some ways, she’s always had a supplicating side of her personality, which is made prominent here. I like the statement that she doesn’t have to be given anything by the forces this voice represents. I’m the kind of person who vastly prefers characters to have their own power rather than to gain power because some other entity gives it to them (it’s why clerics and warlocks don’t satisfy me in Dungeons & Dragons). Had the show further developed the idea that there’s this “home” for Allura outside of the universe, and that she was going there at the end of the show instead of dying, maybe that ending wouldn’t have felt like the show killing her character.

Everything grows bright white again.

Back on the Castle Ship, they’re low on oxygen when Allura and Lotor return. Allura reboots and powers the ship’s system. It’s obvious Lotor feels disappointed, but he tells Allura in front of everyone, “Oriande was for you, not for me.”

The music turns ominous, the camera focuses on Shiro, and then we see Haggar watching Allura and Lotor through Shiro’s perspective. Haggar then goes to the bridge of her ship and tells Axca she has their next destination, “a place I’ve been searching for my entire life.” The story of Allura and Oriande in this episode was relatively interesting, I really wish the show hadn’t tainted it by bringing annoying, uninteresting Haggar into it here at the end. Since this was released as a season finale, this functions as some supposed, dramatic, high-tension cliffhanger ending. Not every ending has to be a cliffhanger. Not every ending has to be a reminder of the villain’s existence. But if you’re going to keep ending on a villain note like this, at least make the villain someone interesting. Haggar is not that.

[statusquoergo]

would really like to hear your thoughts on pja/mike coming back cause honestly, i’m not sure how i feel about it. it will be nice to have him back that’s for sure but with the turns this show’s took i’m slightly worried what they are gonna do with it. somehow i just can’t bring myself to be excited anymore.

Hm…Well, let me start off by saying I think it’ll be nice to see Mike again. I’mnot saying the episode will do him right, but I think the moment that heappears, assuming they don’t completely fuck it up, will have that sweetnostalgia factor that comes with favorite characters who’ve gone their own wayreturning for a guest spot. Remember when Jessica came back for Mike’scharacter and fitness hearing? She hadn’t even been gone long, but it was so coolto see her show up! “Hey, I know that person!”

Ofcourse, Mike will most certainly play a bigger role in this coming episode thanJessica did in “Character and Fitness” (s06e16)…although I don’t think it’smuch of a reach to say that whatever this case is that requires Mike, a lawyerwho is based in Seattle, to trek all the way to New York, which is on literallythe opposite side of the country and has plenty of locally practicingattorneys, will be at best a flimsy pretense. But based on the fact that Season8 went out of its way to demonstrate how far apart Harvey and Mike have grownand how much Harvey has adopted Mike’s values and habits as a means of dealingwith his absence (e.g., Harvey taking on Mike’s former client Max as he triedto prove his best friend and business partner hadn’t betrayed him [s08e02],helping Anna the cleaning woman whose mother needed an operation she couldn’tafford [s08e03], calling Mike’s voicemail after the Pavonotti case[s08e13]), two possible outcomes occur to me:

One,those adaptations will be dialed back or ignored outright and Harvey will fightlike hell to win the case no matter what, regardless of the fact that Mike isback, because he hasn’t spent the past year or whatever trying and failing tofill the hole Mike’s absence has created in his heart, what the hell are youtalking about, get out of here with your “evidence-based reasoning.” Two factorswhich might come into play here are Harvey treating Mike as his equal as a signof respect (the student has become the master), and the erasure of Harvey’sMike-related grief by way of his new relationship with Donna.

Two,those adaptations will be magnified, and Harvey and Mike, having become muchmore similar in terms of their values systems than they were at the start ofthe show, will ultimately work toward the same end of finding justice for themore morally upstanding party, regardless of which of them is defending him (orher, or them, or it; I have no idea what kind of case this is going to be).Based on Korsh’scomment that “They are on opposite sides but it doesn’t gettoo testy for the first chunk of it, and then as it ratchets up, things get alittle bit more heated,” this seems unlikely, but I suppose one never does knowwith this show.

One small caveat to the above: in light of the events of the Season 8 finale,Harvey might start the case off as his old hard-hearted self, defending hisclient regardless of moral and ethical shortcomings, only for Donna to pop inat the last moment to remind him to “do the right thing.” Maybe with a fivecents extra side helping of Guilt, if Mike’s abrupt return has somehow put himon the defensive. I hope this doesn’t happen, I really do, but it did cross mymind, so I feel like I have to put it out there.

Now, as I mentioned, I have no idea what the nature of this case willbe, nor what this episode will be about in full, but if you’ll permit me onemore moment of idealism, Korshalso said of the story: “There is more than meets the eye going on.”While I don’t trust Korsh as far as I can throw him, this does make me wonderif Mike and/or Harvey is lying about or otherwise hiding something, becausethat has the potential to be a very interesting narrative.

I would argue, based on his depiction in the first half of Season 8,that Harvey was essentially in mourning after Mike’s departure, and I’m beinggenerous when I call their farewells at the end of Season 7 unsatisfying, so ifHarvey and Mike suddenly meet up again, especially if it’s a surprise(it won’t be, Korsh said that Mike knows Harvey is involved when he signs on,but imagine the possibilities), an erosion of trust between them could play outin quite a captivating way. The foundation is already there; Mike didn’t tellHarvey about moving his and Rachel’s wedding date until the last possiblemoment, nor did he tell him that they were moving to Seattle, and as far as weknow, he didn’t return Harvey’s phone call about the Pavonotti case. He’s goingabout it terribly, but Mike is “outgrowing” Harvey, whereas for Harvey, Mike’sdeparture is death by a thousand cuts, some of them self-inflicted. They’ve gota lot to talk about.

Yeah, let’s be real, if this even sort of happens, it’ll take at leasta three-episode arc to play out properly. Nice to think about, though.

Puttingaside my wild conjecture, from a business perspective, Mike’s return does kindof make sense. I mean narratively it’s almost guaranteed to be a disaster—Korshasserts that they tried “to put some fun scenes and some emotionalscenes with Mike and the old gang,” as if they can all get right back to theirold dynamics and everyone will conveniently forget that Mike left withoutwarning and kind of really fucked them over—but speaking logistically, it hasall the hallmarks of a ratings grab.

For one thing, the show’s ratings are tanking,down from an average of 4.28M viewers in Season 1 to 1.02M in Season 8. For another, Season 8 is spent laying the foundation for the exactopposite of this happening. Harvey is shown to be, as I said, in a form ofmourning; Donna spends the first four episodes reminding Harvey that Mike isgone and not coming back; Mike goes from as many as 10 mentions per episode (episode3) to as few as zero (episode 5, 7, 10, 12). Harvey has moved on (ostensibly), theshow has moved on, and suddenly he’s coming back for…reasons? In its advertising, USAis trying to maximize the momentum of this being Suits’ final season,and publicizing now that Mike is coming back in episode 5 means thatthey can tease it until then to keep people invested until at least theseason’s halfway point.

Actually, there’s one more thing I want to bring up, speaking of Mikein Season 8. The first four episodes focus emphatically on the fact that Mikeis gone and Harvey misses him (e.g., “Is there a chance that you’reoverreacting to Mike having just left?” [s08e01]; “You meant a lot to Mike,which means you mean a lot to me” [s08e02]; “I just thought, ‘What would Mikedo?’” [s08e03]; “Donna, I might be missing Mike, but I’m not Mike” [s08e04]). Episode5 is a Mike dead zone, episode 6 gives us “Everyone leaves: Mike, Rachel,Jessica, my sister-in-law,” and then a funny thing starts to happen: Mike stopsbeing a person people miss, and starts being a point of reference. Aside fromthe phone call at the end of episode 13, most mentions of Mike in the secondhalf of the season are either about Mike’s prison sentence, and how hard it wason Harvey, or Mike’s secret, and how difficult it made life for everyone else.(Point of order, that was at least as much Harvey’s secret as it was Mike’s.)

Thereason this makes me nervous for Mike’s return in s09e05 is that, while we theaudience became invested in Mike as a character during his tenure on the show, he’sonly going to be back for a single episode (as far as we know), and not onlythat but one in which “there is more than meets the eye going on.” If this showhas any tact left at all, the conflict will be a multifaceted one, but it wouldbe jarring, to say the least, to see much of the narrative from Mike’s perspective—he’sa guest star, after all, a mere interloper in someone else’s territory—which meanswe’re probably going to see the majority of the action play out from Harvey’spoint of view. My fear is thus that Mike will be little more than an object, aconvenient shiny thing to throw our way to keep us engaged; we’ll be investedin him because we used to be, because we remember him as he was, even though henow deserves more criticism for his actions (or lack thereof) than support forwhat he might be thinking.

Of course, this is pure speculation on mypart; who knows, maybe Mike will come back and tie up all the loose ends heleft behind and we’ll all have a great time! (Well, we can hope…)

[girlobsessed21]

The 100 season 6 predictions #2

As promised, here’s another prediction post. I checked my previous one and most of it occurred or might still play out in some way. This time I’m not so confident but I try. My mom vetoed only two of the theories I discussed with her and she’s brutally honest, so that’s something, at least.

That said, I’ll start with the basics. 

The Episode guide

6x09 - What you take with you

UNLIKELY COMPANIONS - Bellamy must venture out into enemy territory with an unlikely companion. Meanwhile, Octavia is forced to confront her past.

This is also the title of the biography of Therese Greenwood about wildfires that destroy an entire community in Canada causing its inhabitants to flee to safety.

A snippet from Rich Malloy’s article ‘What’s In There? Only What You Take With You’ about Yoda’s teachings to Luke Skywalker in the cave. “As we move through life, facing challenges, enjoying moments, getting excited, or being calm, how we are in that moment depends on what we take with us. Did you get blindsided by a difficult conversation? You faced it with only what you took with you. Did you prepare for the meeting? You faced it with only what you took with you. Each day we have new caves to enter with unknown challenges to face, and we do so with only what we take with us.”

6x10 - Matryoshka

REUNITED – Russel seeks justice. Meanwhile, Gabriel must make a difficult choice. Lastly, the Blake siblings reunite

The following was taken from Kerry Kubilius’s article: The Origin of the Matryoshka, Russian Nesting Dolls

A matryoshka (plural: matryoshki) is a Russian nesting doll, and they are often simply called nesting dolls. It's pronounced mah-tree-YOSH-kah. These dolls open to reveal increasingly smaller versions of the same doll, one within another. The dolls can be pulled apart in the middle to reveal the next smallest doll, with the smallest doll being made of a solid piece of wood.

6x11 - Ashes to Ashes

Ashes to Ashes is a British crime drama series, serving as the sequel to Life On Mars. The series tells the story of Alex Drake (played by Keeley Hawes), a police officer in service with the London Metropolitan Police, who is shot in 2008 by a man called Arthur Layton and inexplicably regains consciousness in 1981.

"Ashes to Ashes" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie. Described as "containing more messages per second" than any single released in 1980, the song also included the plaintive reflection:

I've never done good things

I've never done bad things

I never did anything out of the blue

Instead of a hippie astronaut who casually slips the bonds of a crass and material world to journey beyond the stars, the song describes Major Tom as a "junkie, strung out in heaven's high, hitting an all-time low". 

'Ashes to ashes' derives from the English Burial Service. The text of that service is adapted from the Biblical text, Genesis 3:19 (King James Version):

“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”

6x12 - Adjustment Protocol

Adjustment - a small alteration or movement made to achieve a desired fit, appearance, or result

Protocol - the official procedure or system of rules governing affairs of state or diplomatic occasions

6x13 - The Blood of Sanctum

Fire. Blood. Romance. Death. A glorious return. A shocking end that will change everything forever.

Blood Sanctum is a combat anomaly that can be found in null security space with Blood Raiders presence.

Blood globally represents life itself, as the element of divine life that functions within the human body. ... Blood and WINE are interchangeable symbols; in Chinese symbolism, blood and WATER are associated as complementaries, as THE YIN AND THE YANG. The term cold blood refers to unfeeling.

I’ll get into more details below but what I take from all of this is that the primes cannot continue to cheat death and that time dilation will play a big part in the series. Either in the current season or the next. 

Aboard the Eligius ship

Indra is back! Yes! I’ve called out to this awesome warrior in almost every analysis and finally, someone heard me. Kane will most certainly be less than pleased with his new body, but while he has it, he might as well put it to good use.

We’ve seen Abby’s downward spiral season after season, episode after episode, yet Kane’s transformation might be an all-time low. It’s known of drug addicts to purposefully re-invent themselves after hitting rock bottom. Abby Griffin stopped the pills and then focused all her energy on saving the man she loves, whose death was ultimately a subject of her addiction. 

He will certainly try and find a way to punish her for the selfishness and simultaneously rescue her from the compulsive behavior - he does still love her. How? By finding a way to undo what she did. They do not know how the mind-wipes work exactly. Kane would want to give Gavin his body back. So, if there’s a way, he’d want Abby to find it.

I don’t know if I’ll get used to Kane II. When I see Kane, I see Henry Ian Cusick. That body looked pretty dead to me but there might be a minuscule chance to save him. 

Kane’s new peaceful outlook will not involve killing the primes, but saving their hosts and protecting Sanctum. This is probably what he will conspire with Indra and Raven. Yeah, I doubt that plan will play out as they hope. Simone is still on that ship and will make life hard for them. 

Leaning on the Matryoshka themed episode, with the last of the dolls being a simple piece of wood. They’ve lived so many lives and come to see themselves as superior, that they’ve become cold and hollow through the centuries. Willing to do whatever it takes to maintain their immortality and power. Another fact, the dolls are all replicas, meaning Josephine must have matured into who she is by some sort of example from her parents. 

Daytrip 2.0 featuring Bellamy and Josephine

Bellamy is in for a bumpy ride in the woods. The sociopath will break him down and torture him to break free. My guess, she’ll use the betrayal tactic. Telling him that Clarke never really loved him, that she has always used him. That he wasn’t even in her mind when she took a peek. Only Lexa, Finn and Madi. She’ll try to make him believe that he’s not important to Clarke and that he should let her go.

We’ve seen some guy kill himself for Josie and Gabriel can’t shake her either, she’s clearly a master seductress. As a last resort, she might use these tactics to try and win Bellamy over. Make him fall for her using the body of the woman he loves? I’m not saying he’ll give into it, but hell it might be hard to resist. This will all be while watching her deteriorate.  

Reverting to the ‘what you take with you’ theme, how will he act in lieu of this information? Clarke apologized but does she really care? In season two she told him he should risk his life and go into Mount Weather, then left him in the end. In season three she chose to stay in Polis when he begged her to come home. In season five she left him to die in a fighting pit. They’ll have to sleep somewhere in the woods, perhaps Clarke finds another way to reach out to him.

When they reach their destination, Gabriel’s tough decision will obviously be Clarke or Josephine and when he saves Clarke, does he destroy Josephine? I doubt it. It won’t be the last we see of her. Octavia will beg him to save Clarke for her brother’s sake. This will somehow lead to peace between the siblings. She has A LOT to make up for, but it’s a start.

The Anomaly

A temporal anomaly is a disruption in the spacetime continuum which can be related to time travel. Temporal anomalies can take many forms and have many different effects, including temporal reversion, the creation of alternate timelines, and fracturing a vessel into different time periods.

The Octavia that returned looks like a younger version of herself. She may have lost her memories and be attacked by them once she takes a nap in the same way Clarke took a trip down memory lane. That is surely a night of terrors, reliving the Bloodreina phase. How will Bellamy react to this? 

Gabriel might see this as an opportunity to save both Clarke and the original Josephine. If it reversed Octavia’s age, won’t it do the same for them? They’re both in there, perhaps they can come out as younger versions of themselves? It fits into the Matryoshka theme.

The anomaly also picks up the soundwaves, implicating that they might have a way to contact the Eligius ship to collect them.

The synopsis of the finale states there will be a glorious return. I believe this is Diyoza coming back from the future, with Hope. Both her child and the abstract noun. If we’re going full-on time travel in season 7, she might contain the secret of how to stop the first Apocolypse. This is crazy, I know, if it’s where they’re headed, it will only happen in the series finale.

Sanctum’s blood

Russel will find Madi guilty for her attack. Maybe Jordan will explain that it’s not her actions, but the dark commander in her head which will lead to a painful exploration of the flame and perhaps even the destruction thereof. Although it seems like the writers are hesitant to let go.

Like I said in my previous analysis, Jade will turn on them and team up with Echo and Ryker to take them down from the inside. Unfortunately, there’s no way to communicate with the ship. Russel already said they’ll save Jordan’s life. If Ryker and Jordan can convince Priya, she might switch sides as well. 

Murphy is a bit of a conundrum. I still think those chips exist for a reason, yet Emori, the hero of the previous episode, convinced him that dying is an option. That she’ll love him forever even if the end is near. 

Anyway, Bellamy will most likely follow Kane’s plan with a bit more force aka guns and manpower. They’ll enter Sanctum to take out the primes but will ultimately walk into a war and have to fight it. 

Who’s on my deathdar?

Madi - Russel wants revenge. If he tries to take out the flame without the necessary knowledge, it might result in Madi’s death

Murphy and Emori - Their story is trudging dangerously close to happily ever after and that’s never a good sign on this show. Emori has also shown some great strength and character development. This might be the end for one or both of them if they don’t co-operate with Russel.

Gaia - She’s been outcasted to the dangerous woods, not sure how this will end when another eclipse appears.

Russel, Simone, and the other prime chips - Bellamy and his army might have to face countless tribulations to succeed but I believe they will eventually take them out.

Kane - If Abby doesn’t find a way to save his original body, I think he’s a goner.

The romance section

Right now there’s not much romance except for Memori, and that one scares me because it’s bittersweet. Remember the Marper moment in 5x08 where Monty asked Harper if she’ll still love him even if he’s just a farmer? This is following right in their footsteps.

Is Becho dead or alive? I’ve been called misogynistic and typical based on my Becho views but I’m not blind. I do not watch this show with shipper goggles. For a long time, I even thought Becho to be endgame. What in this season so far has broadcasted their relationship except for a sweet moment after Bellamy apologized for calling her an emotionless spy. 

What I think we might get a hint of is Jade and Echo based on what Tasya Teles said. Apparently, her favorite dynamic is between Echo and a new character. On another occasion, she said that Echo is bisexual. What would be better than this lesbian, mixed race pairing? They’re two badass female spies who will diminish the false gods from within. Who knows, we might see a spark.

Early on I saw a subtle hint of Raven and Ryker, but that’s on hold for now. It might turn in the future now that we’ve learned Ryker is on Gabriel’s side.

Xatavia or Gatavia - There was a momentary connection. I wrote about it last week, then some people told me they saw it too. I like it. I ship it. Okay, Octavia still has a long way to go within herself before she can pursue relationships with others but she’s making progress and I’m loving her this season. 

Jordan and Delilah/Priya - Perhaps Abby (and Gabriel) can find a way to bring the hosts back. If they can’t, Priya defended him, it might turn into something.

Mackson’s still going strong, I don’t see anything breaking them up.

Kabby is dead, by all means.

Bellarke - I wish I could be as positive about them as I was in my previous posts. What I see on screen, what I’ve watched for six seasons straight is the two of them within every romantic trope in the book. Now, once again, Bellamy is risking everything, leaving everyone behind to save her. People call him out on only caring about her. Bellamy is the one thing in Clarke’s mind she cannot face. He’s also her biggest regret. 

I never thought they’ll go the romantic route with Bellarke this season, Becho is still a couple, yet I banked on a confession of some sorts. I’ve read articles and seen tweets about misinterpretations on-screen which means they’ll remain platonic soulmates, for now. On the other hand, it’s bs. While discussing this with my mom, who does not ship, at all, she asked, “I’m waiting for the Bellarke theory...”

And all I had was Bellamy might head into the anomaly in the end and see this cute kid who makes his debut in the finale. He has the freckles and the hair, maybe it’s Bellarke’s child. But it could just be a young Bellamy. Or not related to him at all. What do you think? If it is, they won’t say it is but he’ll have a role to play in season seven.

Argue with me, I know I’m often wrong. Tell me about your theories, I’d love to hear them. Okay, until next week, bye.

[zahumnypodcast]

Episode 6 notes – Populism is the new black

Populism is the new black, or so it seems judging from the ubiquity of the terms populist and populism in public discourse. Seriously, your policy is not relevant if it has not been called “populist” at some point at least once.

We are in the business of political science though and we do not take using academic terms lightly. That is why we set out to clarify what populism really is and show that not everyone who is being labelled populist really is one. Here is what we talked about in episode 6.

First of all … what is populism.

If we did this episode ten years ago we probably would have spent the whole half-hour on the different definitions political scientists argue about. But thanks to Cas Mudde, a Dutch political scientist, we have a definition that everyone more or less agrees with.

Populism as such is always somewhat context-specific because the particular segments of society that populists define and use depend on local realities. Nevertheless, in order for someone to call a person or a party populist, the following four attributes should be present in their language.

Number one, anti-elitism. Elites and the establishment are the primary “enemy” (often without the inverted commas) and populism presents itself as being in direct opposition to them. Populists claim to speak for those who have been overlooked, oppressed or left behind and present themselves as champions of the people. Which brings us to number two, the people. Borrowing the famous (and overused) quote about government being of the people, by the people, for the people, it is implicitly assumed that “people” is more or less everyone, or at least everyone who voted. This is not the case in populists’ eyes because the people is constituted by those who are the real, pure, uncorrupted and hard-working. That means that apart from elites, those on benefits or immigrants are often also excluded, especially by far-right populists.

Defining “the real people” is of course arbitrary albeit based on sentiments present in a given society. A good example of an instance of using these sentiments is birtherism in the United States. This conspiration theory maintained that Barack Obama was born outside the U.S. and as such unable to serve as the American president (as the Constitution prescribes that every American president needs to be born on the U.S. soil). For those who felt Obama was unfit to serve because he was...well, not particularly white, birtherism presented a great opportunity how to put a legal stamp on these feelings (racism, shush!).

Number three, the people as a homogeneous entity. When society is comprised of two opposing groups there is an implied assumption of common interests and common will of the people. That means that populism is, while not undemocratic per se, incompatible with liberal democracy – populists see themselves as the only representatives of the will of the people, and nothing is more sacred than that will – not even constitutional courts for example. Moreover, if you believe that the people is a unified entity you do not need to recognize minorities or even hold parliamentary debates. When all you do in office is exercising the will of the people, there is no need for blathering on.

And finally, number four, appeals to morality. Those follow from the distinction between the rotten elites and the pure people, in the sense of morally pure. That is why populism has the capacity to stir up emotions, it discredits its opponents through accusing them of being morally corrupt. Populist leaders can therefore be very rich and still claim to represent the common folk – social class or wealth is only secondary to moral purity. A not insignificant part of the appeal of populist leaders comes down to their accessibility enabled by social media, further showing how different they are from those in power.

What is missing from this definition of populism is any kind of ideology. Populist parties are difficult to place on the traditional left-right spectrum, which is also one of the reasons what it took political scientists so long to agree on a definition of populism. Some claim it is only a communication strategy, the aforementioned Cas Mudde uses the term “host ideology” because he sees populism as a vessel that can be filled with leftist or right-wing ideas. This will then influence the way leaders define the people and identify the enemy.

One of the best examples for this flexibility of populism is Italy. The country had the first Western all-populist government, with both the left and right represented. On the left it was the Five Star Movement. The Five Star’s priorities – their number gave the party its name - are why they are being classified as left-wing populists: public water, sustainable transport, sustainable development, access to the internet as a right and environmentalism. What makes the party populist if for one that manifesto rejects traditional party politics and political elites as well as the distinction between the left and the right simply because all politicians are equally corrupt. Anti-establishment stance – check.

The Five Star Movement is sometimes referred to as digital utopists but for our purposes we could call them digital populists. As traditional party politics is corrupt they set out to capture a collective intelligence of sorts that can be defined through and on the internet. The party’s app Rousseau is the tool for that and theoretically, after everyone becomes a member, the will of the people will emerge through consensus on everything from confirming election candidates to bills to be presented in Parliament.

Despite the fact that the Five Star Movement exhibits features traditionally associated with the (far) right – Euroscepticism, an aversion towards migration or links to the anti-vaccination movement, they are still mainly associated with the left thanks to their environmentalism or emphasis of de-growth. Undeniably right-wing on the other hand is The League of Matteo Salvini.

Originally called the Northern League, the party called for the separation of Northern Italy, or Padania, from the rest of Italy. The interesting thing about The League is that it has always been populist but the subjects and contents of their message changed. The definition of the morally pure people shifted ideologically from regionalism to nationals. Geographically, “us” is no longer Padania but the whole of Italy and the main “them” is no longer rotten Rome and lazy Southerners but migrants.

Salvini is also an avid user of social media. As opposed to the Five Stars who use new technology to build a platform to define the will of the people, Salvini uses the internet to build trust and give his voters the feeling he is one of them. There are more than enough selfies with the bare-chested Salvini than Tim Bernes-Lee would approve of but it works. Emotions and emotional charge spread like wildfire online and Salvini, as well as Trump, mastered it.

When speaking of Italian populism, we also have to mention Forza Italia and Silvio Berlusconi who used populist tactics before it was cool, in the nineties. He is a good example of another trait that populism often has – a charismatic leader. Forza is rather a centre-right party using populist tactics which only reinforces the idea of a rather blurry line between “pure” populism and a party taking a page out of the populists’ book. Forza has been ideologically flexible over the years but the core values stayed – freedom and individualism, which does not sound much like the quest for a unified people.

What Berlusconi mastered though was the use of media, the reason why we mention him in connection to populism. Before the internet was widely used, people watched television. And Berlusconi offered a very different TV experience – a lot of reality and comedy shows and according to one study published in American Economic Review, there is a direct link between consumption of Berlusconi’s media and support for Forza or even the Five Stars today. The researchers claim that these viewers expected easy solutions and also, simplyput, showed signs of cognitive decline. Which is of course not to say that people voting for populists are stupid but there seems to be a correlation between people being more receptive to populist messages and their media consumption preferences.

Generally, the quest for clear definitions and then using them to pigeon-hole different parties or politicians into neat categories is not always welcomed by conditions “on the ground”. The Five Start Movement is no doubt a populist movement, but they are also utopian. The League checks all the boxes for populism but is also far-right. On the other hand, there are those who only use populist tactics such as Silvia Berlusconi so is it a good idea to describe him as a populist?

There is a good argument for why not to do that because it distorts the original meaning of the word. But we also cannot come up with a new word every time something does not exactly match the definition we came up with. This struggle is of course nothing new, we have the same problem with the word democracy. The main lesson here probably is to be aware of the fact that words can be misused as a label and populists are not the only ones who are good at using emotionally charged terms. Trying to discredit ideological or political opponents by labelling them as populists not only muddies the terminological waters of politics but also leads to the question of why it is such a bad thing to be accused of “working for the people”.

Populism therefore is not only an interesting phenomenon by itself, it also demonstrates a broader point of the difference between “official” academic definitions of terms and the way they get used – and misused - in everyday language. So, beware of your words!

References can be found on the episode page here: https://soundcloud.com/za-humny-podcast/06-je-to-populista

[clairen45]

Who Let the Dogs out? A story of wolves and dogs in Star Wars

This meta was a long-time coming and prompted by @blacklakeinavalley. I always keep my promises, no matter how long it takes me, so here it goes.

Wolves or Dogs?

There have been some awesome metas on wolves in relation with Rey and Kylo more particularly, notably by resident she-wolf extraordinaire @raven-maiden (I am using the term in the most reverent way possible!). I also plead guilty to a meta I did with parallels between the Company of Wolves movie and the ST. I won’t necessarily go back to all the cool theories that have been made about wolf behaviors in Kylo and Rey, but I will draw the following distinctions, though:

in terms of symbolism, per se, there are not so many differences between wolves and dogs. There are both qualities and flaws associated with these particular animals. The qualities and the flaws are, more often than not, interestingly the same from a certain point of view

Qualities: fertility, sexual desire and power, fidelity/loyalty (to partner, pack, or master), fierceness, intelligence

Flaws: debauchery and savagery.

They are both considered chtonian divinities, that is to say linked with the “underground”, or the realm of death and Hell. Think of Cerberus, for instance, the mythical Hell hound, or Anubis in the Egyptian mythology. Which means that, as a symbol, it means both death and the potential for rebirth. The dog can guide the soul back out of Hell , or guide it through its journey into Hell (something usually called a psychopomp creature) . Dogs and wolves are usually associated with elements such as the moon, fire, and the earth. So, water (the moon is considered a watery element), fire, and earth.

So on the one hand heralds or bringers of death through destruction and carnage, and on the other hand, companions, fierce parents, and bringers of life. Life, death, decay that brings new life, peace, violence etc... Very ambivalent creatures that are either loved and revered, or despised and deemed as impure and dangerous.

If there is no huge distinction between wolves and dogs as far as symbolism goes, I would say there is a big one to draw, though. A dog, after all, is a domesticated wolf. What it gains in familiarity and companionship for mankind, it loses in grandeur and nobility. Also, this 4-legged favorite pet moniker is often used to insult people. A “bitch” is not in itself derogatory: after all, originally it just means a female dog. Yet, it is anything but when you apply it to a woman. Same goes with “dogs”. When you call someone a “dog”, except when you are the Snoop, this is usually not to sing their praises. Note that some people will even go as far as sometimes changing the spelling to avoid confusion: “dawg”... And what about “mongrel”, or “cur”? Dawg be darned, what about “rabid cur” for one?

Die, Jedi dogs!

So, in our beloved Galaxy far far away, this is how dogs find their way into the story and the mythos. On the battle of Geonosis, in ROTS, as C3P0 finds himself -as usual- flustered and confused after a mixing up of his body parts with a battle droid, he utters these very lines.

No wonder that the “dogs” get involved in an insult. Dogs are the persisting attribute of all the "wretched hive of scum and villainy”:

The bounty hunter Bossk and his ship called Hound’s tooth

The bounty hunter Embo and his hound called Marrok

That one has got a really interesting story in itself. The species is called Anooba, and is native of Tatooine, which of course will link straight to Anakin and Luke. The name is also full of possibilities: it probably comes from a medieval tale, the tale of Sir Marrok, who was a werewolf.

The vicious Corellian hound used in Solo by Moloch and his gang. BTW, one of the hound was “played” by one of “GOT’s direwolves” ... Funny thing.

Not to mention THIS famous dog in SW lore:

Oh, yea, this is happening. Because, ANH called it right away when Leia served this line to Tarkin about her papa:

Governor Tarkin. I should have expected to find you holding Vader's leash.

As mighty as the Dark Lord has become in the SW universe and collective psyche, this awesome and powerful villain is presented as nothing more but a dog. Maybe not quite the poodle, but still a dog. Obedient, trained, who will bite only when his master commands. Gives the word “MASTER” quite another meaning, not just as an apprentice, but literally as seen from a dog’s perspective.

So, no surprise then to see the term re-employed by Snoke to talk about Hux, when he calls him a rabid cur in TLJ. Interesting also that the one using a reference to being “tied at the end of a string”, aka a leash, is also Hux, the rabid cur. Except, that, well, there is indeed an implicit distinction to make. Kylo is also, in many respects, as much a dog to Snoke’s bidding as Hux. Many viewers would even expect Snoke to call Kylo the rabid cur instead, given the tantrums we were privy to in TFA. But he doesn’t call him a rabid cur, and that’s the whole point. In Snoke’s mind, there is nothing rabid about Kylo -though people would have assumed as much- and he is certainly not a cur. A cur, after all, like a mongrel is clearly used to define a mixed breed. The term “rabid cur” is derogatory on two levels.

When referring to Kylo, Snoke is a bit more complicated. There is, on the one hand, the idea that, contrary to Hux, Kylo is valued as “pure breed”, a prized possession cultivated for “the potential of his bloodline”. Purity of blood (damn you midichlorians) being also alluded to, and mocked, by Luke when he talks to Rey about his failure to be a master to Kylo. Yet, at the same time, Snoke keeps on chastising Kylo for being a fraud. He is not the pure breed he expected. He has the feeling he got a mongrel that was tainted by the Solo blood. Hence the insistance of erasing Han Solo of the picture and denying him and his legacy. Yep, Ben Organa Solo is a mixed breed. Snoke wants a pure breed, maybe even a wolf. Pure blood. Untainted, untampered with. Leader of the pack. Well, that’s the project. A wolf and no lapdog.

Or not... Because, this is a little something I found on The astroly Web about the wolf and symbolism, and I will say it is quite interesting:

What I love about this portrait of Kylo as a wolf is that you get some of Kylo and some of what he could have been as Ben Solo. Some of the qualities remain, such as the sense of mystery, exuberance, instinctive and shrewdness. But most of it has been ironically ruined by his lack of self confidence. So as a wolf, he is not complete. The compassion bit really got me because it is the one thing that Snoke reproaches him with... Is he a wolf, or a dog in wolf’s clothing? Or a dog that dreams of being a wolf? Half and half, mayhaps?

Good dog! a rehabilitation

So are there any positive references to dogs in SW yet? Yep.

Anyways, dogs have always been part of the Star Wars mythos, altough not necessarily the obvious way. Take Chewbacca for instance. There would not be Chewbacca as we know him had it not been for George Lucas’s faithful pet, Indiana (who can also be thanked for giving the famous adventurer his moniker). Allegedly, Lucas got the inspiration for Chewie, Han’s copilot, when seeing his wife leave on her car with their huge dog on the copilot seat.

Funny thing is no dog played any part in Chewie’s distinctive sounds, which turn out to be recordings from a bear,a walrus, a badger, a lion, and a seal. The fact remains that Chewie exemplifies the dog’s most praised qualities throughout the saga: as a staunch and loyal friend, as a source of love and comfort (the famous Chewie hugs), and as a protector. Yes, just like dogs, Chewie can be fierce and defend his friends.

You could also argue that there are other examples of companions who exemplify the same doglike qualities in the movies. Droids such as R2D2 and BB8 just fit the model. Loyalty, check; defense, check; huggable, check. The perfect pets and companions. It says a lot that Chewie and R2 are the characters that have endured the longest in the general scope of the saga: R2 appearing in episode 1, and Chewie in episode 3, which make them the only ones that have recurring roles in the three trilogies (Chewie also scores Solo and R2 Rogue One).

There is a subversion of “dogs” as an insult that is quite interesting in the ST. Maybe it starts from this “Die Jedi dogs”, which is quite an oxymoron: the one time it is used as an insult it is to the people that are normally the golden moral standard, and also uttered by someone who is always all too polite and all too diplomatic. Also also, it is not totally incorrect as you could view the Jedi as the guard dogs of the Republic...

But wait, all that was before the ST. In the ST we get brand new examples of dogs and doglike behavior to ponder. Take Rey, for instance. Sitting there, loyally, on Jakku, waiting for her parents to return, a behavior not so different from the countless examples of dogs keeping watch on their dead masters’ graves (like that little famous Scottish from Edinburgh, Greyfriar’s Bobby, who even got his statue to commemorate). After all, this is exactly Rey’s place: Jakku is pictured as a graveyard, a place that is described literally in the novelization as where “technology came to die”. And where does she make a house for herself? As @blacklakeinavalley pointed it out to me in her original ask, in an AT-AT walker which is called non the less: the Hellhound!!!! 

Seriously, like, of all the stupidest dumb names this is the one they picked! An appropriate one, to boot, since the At-AT has always had that distinctive look that made it look like a dog... And I have always been intrigued by this particular rendering with a little girl holding an At-At on a leash...

So, yes, the dog. Here really the corpse of a hound. But symbolism is not lost here... Death that feeds off new life, reborn out of hell... And who could this hellhound be, pray? Well, it gets even better when you know that this particular Hellhound was part of a ship called the Interrogator... Interrogator, mind you, and not something as dreadful as, say, an inquisitor. No, the Interrogator is quite a good one because who is the interrogator since the beginning of TFA? Ummm? Who else but our boy who “interrogates” Lor San Tekka, and Poe, and well... eventually Rey. Rey makes a home for herself there. It’s like Kylo is her home already... ain’t it cute...Also, Kylo as a dog, a “hellhound” is a good one as his job at the beginning is somehow to “hunt down” Luke, sniff his trace throughout the galaxy if you will, and then fetch the information back to Snoke. Good boy Kylo eventually fetches quite another prey... Even though again, Kylo seems more like the wolf at the begining of the story to Rey the dog... Look at the symbolism of the dog from The Astrology Web

Adventure, patience, hardworking!!!! You need to spend more time with your family!!!!!

There was yet another girl that exhibited some interesting doglike behavior in the ST, in a positive way. Unfortunately the scene got cut out. But when Rose bites the finger of Hux on the Supremacy as he mocks her and her system, this is an interesting one. Dog fight, right? What better way to get back at the rabid cur than bite him back?

Wolves will show the way

And then there are wolves in SW Rebels. When I did a piece on birds in SW, I mentioned the convor but as I hadn’t watched any of the Clone Wars or SW Rebels episodes yet, so I had no idea how truly symbolic these specific creatures could be. Careful not to make the same mistake again, and time to tie it in. Wolves (and thus in a way dogs) play quite an important part in these two series. Time to focus on Mortis then, and the World between worlds, introduced to us in SW Rebels. I think it is obvious that this is a very important addition to the SW universe. How they will eventually exploit it in ix is hard to say, yet, but the possibilities are huge in the expanded universe that Disney is preparing between the new shows and comics, and possibly future movies.

Ok, so, I don’t want to get too much into a detailed explanation (too long and complicated and some have done a good job on that already), but, as a reminder, Mortis is introduced in season 3 of Clone Wars to Anakin, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan as a mythical/mystical realm of the Force, dominated by three figures: the Father (the balance), the daughter (the light side), and the son (the dark side). Cool thing, even though we don’t get the convor and the wolf but rather a griffin and a bat, there is a moment when a wolf is plainly visible on the right next to the father:

And then, years later, comes SW Rebels. And so we get Ahsoka followed by a convor, which turns out to be the totem spirit of the daughter. Birds are therefore linked with the light side of the Force, the Eros, the life force, the one that points to protection and life. Which is really the whole point I made in my bird meta anyways (especially with porgs). So one would naturally assume that the wolf, as the creature associated with  the son, the dark side of the Force, represents death, Thanatos, the impulse for destruction, the symbolic triad of the Force being the convor, the snake, and the wolf as depicted on the mural uncovered in SW Rebels in quite an Indiana Jonesque formula (evil guy covets mystical artefact that will give him superhuman powers):

But then, there is more than meets the eye... Because the wolves we actually get in the SW universe are not pictured as merely destructive powers. Quite the opposite. In SW Rebels, the wolves give access to a portal, the world between worlds, with a potential to alter past, present, and future. They truly are psychopomp creatures that guide a lost soul (here Ezra) through a world that can be at best described as a vacuum...

And there are the other wolves to reckon with.

Wolffe, the clone trooper commander, linked to Ahsoka and Anakin, one of the few who refused to be part of the code 66 protocol and became rogue, the one who lost an eye (a very symbolic type of mutilation), and lives like Rey in a modified AT-AT. which thus makes Wolffe a link of continuity between the different generations and arcs within the SW universe and saga.

The Loth-Wolves which are featured on the mural of Mortis and frame the portal to the world between worlds. Loth wolves have the ability to communicate with humans, are strongly connected with the Force, and seem to become a vessel for the soul of Kanan Jarrus after his death. Again, the psychopomp.

What to make of it eventually... well... it all depends on what type of creatures we get in IX. Keep you eyes peeled out for birds, wolves, and dogs. But mostly keep your eyes open for Porgs. Always.

To conclude, for your appreciation, this is from a photoshoot Daisy Ridley did for Vogue in 2017 .... The girl that walks with wolves... one black, one white, no less..