#the way they changed this scene in the film (just a little but still significant!!!) drives me bonkers

[iz1331]

Gonna have to rewatch Beetlejuice and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice back to back to compose a list of "movie canon" that were deemed not brought back/continued in the sequel.

For example: Like how the sequel "disregarded" the fact that only those who "died of suicide can become civil servants in the afterlife".

NO ONE CONFIRMED THAT! It was just a throw away line by Otho, WHO WAS A FRAUD AND KNEW LITTLE TO NONE OF THE SUPERNATURAL!

The sequel even subtly corrected that misconception. Not everyone in the Civil Service in the Afterlife died of suicide, several were wrongly assigned that cause of death.

Miss Argentina was the only significant character that had an accident in Beetlejuice that we've seen who works as a civil servant. And maybe the flattened guy, but not sure if that was an accident or not. He looked quite jovial for a flattened guy.

Case in point: we have Wolf Jackson, and he certainly didn't die of suicide, yet he works as a self-proclaimed cop and runs the whole police joint there.

The earlier scrapped concept of Betelgeuse hanging himself was just that. An idea/concept of how he died. They never used that in the film, thus it's not canon. It's considered fanon in the fandom cause it's been more than 30 years of no solid confirmation of a sequel and we were hungry for any scrap of Beetlejuice material that we can consume and use as inspiration for art and stories to feed ourselves over the years until news of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice was announced and got released.

The sequel answered some questions and gave us new content to work with. For both the characters and about the Netherworld/Afterlife in the Beetlejuice universe.

I'm all for creative liberty and freedom, make a canon divergent or write an Alternative Universe of it all, but don't just shit on the sequel and say that it's an "elaborate fanfiction" like the screenplay writers didn't put a lot of thought in it that even Tim Burton, Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, and Catherine O'Hara finally, after DECADES of turning down script after script, found THIS story for the sequel to have the most potential and having the right tone as a follow up for the movie that meant so much to all of them.

Everyone who worked behind the scenes in creating the film from props, set location and design, puppetry, stop-motion, costume, stunt people, make-up, lights, sound, extras, production, marketing, EVERYONE put a lot of effort and passion and did AMAZING work on this project. I'm still amazed by every large and miniscule details I discover every time I rewatch it.

Was the story of the legacy sequel perfect?

Of course not.

No sequel ever is. Someone will always find something to complain about and that's just how things work in this industry, in this world.

But, was it fun? Was it both new, and brought the same feel from the original? Did the actors brought to life the characters we've loved for more than three decades and counting? Did it introduce new characters that fit the ensemble and had the same eccentric aura of the Beetlejuice world? Was it a relief that the story didn't just end 30 years ago?

Yes, it did. For me. I loved it. It's not perfect, but for someone like me who's a bit of a perfectionist on my works, and then finding the imperfections actually making the finished product better than I expected, it means a lot.

And for what it's worth, at least the time and love and the littlest of delusion I invested for Beetlebabes actually had something to show for. A one-sided romance it may be, at least I now know that Betelgeuse isn't harboring any lasting ill will towards Lydia for all these years.

That Tim also saw it that way. That Michael and Winona were open to this dynamic and relationship between the two characters/roles that they love and cherished to play.

Also, people change. No one stays the same. Life throws curve balls at us, and yes, to FICTIONAL characters as well. People mellow with age. One person or experience can change someone, even when they've been dead for 600 years.

[tossawary]

Regarding "The Hobbit" film trilogy, even if I ended up personally disliking and resenting how much time and focus the elf characters (and others) ended up taking away from the dwarves whom I think deserved more focus as rich internal characters (I know that studio pressures are a factor in that terrible love triangle and so on), I still... vaguely appreciate the effort to create and include named female characters like Tauriel, when the book is sadly lacking in them. I think she's fine, actually. Comparatively, there are many other elements in these adaptations that I think are much, MUCH worse.

But still, if you want to add female characters to this story, the obvious answer to me seems to be to just make half the Company into dwarf women? (With similarly fancy beards and other facial hair! Because I think that's fun.) It's just... so much easier?

Do NOT come at me with that "dwarf women are rare" bullshit. Unreliable narration. Logistically unlikely. Also, if you believe that "men are the warriors and craftsmen, the women stay at home" is how dwarf society strictly functions (boring, honestly, on top of being incredibly sexist), I could argue that the Battle of Azanulbizar and other struggles probably left a significant dent in this dwarf group's male population, leaving behind many widows and mothers without children to pick up the work. The battlefields have come to and TAKEN both Erebor and Moria from the dwarves. I see no good reason why dwarf women would not have equal investment in reclaiming their home and the gold. Many of the Company are not presented to be formally trained warriors, anyway.

Now, ideally, we could do way queerer stuff in terms of both romance and gender here, but we know cowards with veto powers would not let this happen. Still, I feel like basic genderbending would have been a very doable move and is, actually, a very reasonable ask of an adaptation that would have added some depth to the story even if you didn't acknowledge the change at all.

Like, preferably, this would be an adaptational change that would be directly addressed. Maybe all of the Company appear male at first due to traveling that way (and assumptions made by humans and hobbits), then Bilbo might learn that some of the Company are dwarf women when he becomes closer to all of them. We could have a brief scene acknowledging that dwarf women are fighting these battles for their pasts and their futures too. It doesn't have to be a big thing! They can just be there. Existing. Participating.

I even think it would be fun if two of the dwarves were actually an older married couple traveling together, instead of brothers or cousins, because loving married bickering and battle couples are fun. You can have running jokes in the background about how Smaug's invasion ruined their wedding day, and going back and forth with "you never take me anywhere nice" @ each other whenever they're stuck in Goblintown or the Mirkwood dungeons. (I like seeing good marriages & partnerships in fiction and established couples going on fantasy quests together. I just think it's neat.)

But another (sillier) direction is that you could just cast some actresses in beards to play some of the dwarves, then leave the fact that some of these characters are probably dwarf women (traveling as men) as a fun detail for the audience. Bilbo is either too oblivious to notice or much too polite to bring it up at all. It's canonically compliant to the text this way!

Now, obviously some few people would have complained that Tolkien's work was being ruined by "political correctness", but they complained anyway about Tauriel (when there are MANY other bad choices in these movies), and what worthwhile arguments could they have possibly made against genderbending some of the THIRTEEN dwarves? Like, most casual fans I know cannot NAME the entire Company, who get so little character development in the book that the films had to come up with unique designs and backgrounds for most of them anyway. Bro (directed towards someone objecting to the idea of including female dwarves), be real, there's no way that you honestly cared this much about "Nori the Dwarf" before right now.

[sapphicscholar]

Hacks Episode 3x09 Thoughts

Okay, so back during S2, I wrote up my thoughts about each pair of Hacks episodes as they dropped – partially for sharing but largely as an archive for myself of my own thoughts/feelings to revisit when I watched the episodes later to see how they held up, how it compared to watch them serially vs. as a whole season, etc. Anyway, I was incredibly stressed out and busy for much of this season (after over a year of that being the key set of words to describe my life), but I wanted to throw out my thoughts about the finale before they grow too stale! And maybe I’ll come back and revisit the prior episodes in posts later when I have the time (hopefully in just a couple short weeks!) to enjoy them properly

As always, disjointed bulleted lists are the name of the game, going from the big picture to the detailed:

Overall, this felt like a very solid episode in the vein of season 1 in many ways! It brought us back to the interpersonal as the primary ground of conflict after many episodes (here and in S2) of the new hour, the special, and the Late Night host gig quest being our main plot drivers (which, at many times, made for weaker storytelling for reasons that exceed the scope of this post!). In particular, I felt like this episode hit its stride around the halfway point, and never really faltered after that in impressive ways!

That being said, I had two somewhat significant critiques of the finale (both of which reflect larger trends about strands of the show that continue to leave me a little disappointed)

We should have seen Marcus' conversation with Deborah about the new job. Period. I'll get into what could have been cut in my second critique, but even if there weren't weak spots in the episode, I still would have been deeply disappointed in the show for this oversight, especially since they apparently filmed it. Although Hacks is clearly a show with a leading duo, it once had a core ensemble, but S2 saw them moved more and more to B-plots and bit roles, and now S3 has seen many of the characters we know and love eliminated almost entirely--a point that's particularly galling given that it's almost entirely characters of color (many of them canonically queer) who have been cut in favor of new white characters. Moreover, this scene would have been SO IMPORTANT - I could have seen it going 2 ways: a) Marcus quits after the convo where Deborah tells Ava she's willing to lose her, and Deborah has a reaction that is so utterly outsized because it's the terror of losing the person she's had with her the longest now compounded with the reality setting in that she's also driven away the woman who gave her new life when she most needed it; or b) Marcus shows up to quit, and Deborah immediately launches into a rant about Ava's leaving, which puts Marcus in the awkward spot of adding to that at a pivotal moment in the career of the woman he's spent much of his adult life with or giving up something he needs to do for himself; it could have been a lovely callback to S1 when he shows up with his whole speech prepared but then accepts the promotion without ever telling Deborah how he feels - only this time Marcus would have changed so much, and he'd have the opportunity to showcase that growth by insisting that he needs to do this for him. So many lost opportunities...

re what could have been cut because imo it did NOT work: Kathy Vance's return. Now, I love Hacks in large part because it insists on the complexity of its characters. No one is purely the victim or the hero of the story, and Deborah's "click" moment showcased that better than anything. AND YET the writing here did not work. Back in the Christmas ep, I messaged a friend saying I was glad that they brought Kathy back but seemed not to ask us to side with her - after all, she comes crashing back into Deborah's life, doesn't take ownership over her actions and in fact insists she was in the right because it only happened a few times, because Deborah wasn't sleeping with him (very "you weren't playing with it, so it's mine now" little sister energy that is deeply unappealing in a grown ass adult), and because they were the "better couple" which is, I'm sorry, NEVER the fucking thing to tell someone whose marriage and life you destroyed. I joked then that I'd take back my compliments if her role in the finale suggested that actually we should be on Kathy's side here. And lo and behold... What's a real bummer is that there were ways to do this better! Because you can have sympathy for an imperfect character--this show is a testament to that fact!--but not like this. We as an audience have no reason to side with Kathy when she insists that Deborah will be worse than ever and berates her for cutting their weekend short. Instead, we see a woman with a large sense of entitlement she's done nothing to earn and directorial choices that don't make it a smooth transition. But what could have been lovely is, for instance, treating the Christmas and finale reunions as these deflationary moments of anticipation and disappointment because they are, after this many decades, essentially strangers to one another. Had we seen two women who longed for the deep affective ties of their childhood relationship only to be confronted with the cold hard fact of their estrangement from one anther, it would have been so much more powerful. And here you could ACTUALLY garner sympathy (some) for Kathy by having it be this moment of "I lost my sister" partially through her own actions "to Late Night once, and now, right when I have a chance to try to build something with her again, I feel like I'm going to lose her again before I can even really try to do right by her this go around." THAT could have worked. This was just too much time on something that did almost nothing in the grand scheme of the plot (because we didn't have the emotional connection to feel it as another compounding loss for Deborah in an episode where Ava's "and you're going to die alone" could have landed with even more force)

Okay so it turns out this is getting hella fucking long, so some shorter praise and giddy feelings things:

I LOVE how often Ava got to say the things we've all been squeeing about for years during this episode - especially that the material is good because of their relationship, not the other way around; their dynamic is not incidental to the work, and that's so important to me personally.

I had guessed that Ava would be offered head writer and quit her current job, only to have it taken away because Deborah was too scared to rock the boat, but I did NOT see the end coming! In fact, I kind of thought Ava might end up suing Deborah for intellectual property theft (using material Ava wrote outside of her contractual appointment for the new show because, surprise surprise, the writers who sucked when she was a guest still suck now compared to Ava!) In fact, I sort of thought that end scene might end up being a return to the car scene, and was relishing the thought of Ava's mimicking Deb's "It'll be fun, honey." But the blackmail as a form of love/devotion was soooo much better. Truly chef's kiss.

Also the way this rewrote the S2 finale even as the underlying message remained the same is so special to me - I'll stay with you even when it's bad for me (sacrificing my career -> sacrificing my morals) because it's good for you and more importantly it's good for us and the work. JPL know how to write a finale, and I'd give up a kidney to have that same energy be there throughout a whole season again (not that the eps are bad, but they lack some of the sharpness in writing and emotional depth that JPL do so well with finales and also often with the first couple eps of a season too)

Lastly JPL going on the record that Deborah was turned on by that final scene + Ava's "I would, wouldn't you?" and "Let's begin" - truly some of the hottest TV. We're so back babyyy. No more half naked superheroes with all the eroticism of a desk chair. Give me messy women determined to fling themselves into the air because they know the thrill is worth everything good and safe they're leaving behind, even if they hit the ground with no parachute!

I have many, many thoughts about S3 and what's to come, but I'll save them for another post because phewww this got long as fuck

[velvet4510]

Possible Explanations for the Continuity Errors of X-Men: First Class and the Original Trilogy

I know some people just write off X-Men: First Class as a separate timeline from the OG trilogy, given that it was originally intended as a reboot anyway, and there are several continuity errors.

But I think it’s extremely important from a narrative perspective that they happen in the same timeline that results in the Sentinel future and the events of Days of Future Past.

It is the events of the OG trilogy that shape Logan into becoming the only person who can possibly save mutantkind, not just with his healing factor that enables him to safely time travel, but also with the growth and perspective that he’s gained, which enables him to successfully guide Charles in the past just as Charles once guided him. Plus Logan’s memories that Charles sees further indicate this is the same Logan.

DOFP is the culmination of Logan’s character arc across the series. He goes from dismissing the X-Men in the beginning to literally traveling time and space to save them. In the process, he manages to save Jean and Scott while finally letting go of Jean and intentionally telling young Charles to recruit Scott as well, ensuring that Jean and Scott will still be together and giving up on trying to have her for himself.

DOFP is also the culmination of Charles and Erik’s arcs as they seek a second chance at the life they could’ve had together, finally seeing how their rivalry throughout the OG trilogy was never worth it, and trying to, as Erik says, have a precious few of those lost years back. (And if you don’t see how unbelievably romantic that is, well, you have no media literacy. But I digress.)

Furthermore, DOFP closes the arcs of the younger team members, like Rogue, Iceman, and Kitty Pryde, all of whom start off new and inexperienced when we first meet them in the OG trilogy, and ultimately play crucial and indispensable roles in saving the world. (Big reason why the Rogue Cut is the superior version.)

So, with all that significance established, how can we smooth over the bumps in continuity between FC and the OG trilogy? Well, let’s take them one at a time.

Charles and Raven’s relationship. It’s totally understandable that Charles never mentions Raven is his sister in the OG trilogy. Raven abandoned him on the beach and showed no interest in reconciling with him, especially after the experiments done on her when she killed Trask - it seems that the trauma of that experience broke her and turned her into the colder and more ruthless Mystique of the trilogy. There’s no point in bringing up their past together when it’s not relevant to any of the main events. Plus it probably pains Charles to remember Raven in that way, considering that she left him and has made no effort to get back in touch with him. They haven’t truly been siblings for 40 years by then. Also, in what scene could he have mentioned it, anyway? The two of them never directly interact in the OG trilogy, and the only time Mystique is discussed in front of Charles is when Hank reveals she’s been apprehended, and even then you can briefly see a moment of tension in Charles’ face before the subject is changed. So it is hinted at, even if it wasn’t intended at the time the OG films were made. (This also explains why Hank has little reaction to seeing Mystique in The Last Stand; they broke up when she left the beach 40 years ago, and so they’ve both moved on.)

The creator of Cerebro. The OG trilogy establishes Charles and Erik built Cerebro, whereas FC shows Hank building it. However, this issue has an easy explanation. Hank built the very first version of Cerebro at the CIA facility. In both the OG trilogy and DOFP, we see another Cerebro built inside the mansion. Naturally Charles and Erik helped Hank create the new Cerebro for the mansion during their training there.

Charles saying he met Erik when he was 17. This can be written off as Charles making a joke and trying to make himself seem younger than he is in front of a stranger. Or an exaggeration like when we say “i met him a hundred years ago.” So much has happened since he first met Erik, and he’s matured so much since then, that he probably in retrospect believes he may as well have been a teen in 1962. Not the smoothest explanation, yes, but an explanation nevertheless. Again keeping in mind that he just met Logan and has no way of knowing how close they will become, so he lets himself be a slightly unreliable narrator to a stranger with regard to his own age, as many people do. Another possibility is that Charles and Erik - soulmates that they are - did briefly and unknowingly encounter each other, or at least pass each other by, in their teens, but didn’t realize it until years later.

Charles’ awareness of Erik’s helmet. In FC, Charles knows his telepathy is blocked by Erik’s helmet, whereas in X1, he is confused as to why he can’t find Erik in Cerebro. However, Erik’s helmet in the OG trilogy is clearly not the same helmet as his helmet in First Class; the design is very different. Considering that he was always imprisoned for JFK’s death in every timeline (the DOFP change meant he escaped earlier than before), this means the old helmet was taken away from him when he was locked up. So this explains why Charles is confused as to why he can’t sense Erik in X1; he knows Erik’s old helmet was lost, and Erik hasn’t needed s helmet for years. He doesn’t realize until then that Erik has now obtained/created a new helmet, knowing that the anti-mutant legislation proposal is the start of the war.

Charles walking in the 80s. This one seems irreconcilable, but it does have two possible explanations. Either 1) Hank created an updated serum that enabled Charles to walk and use his powers, that only worked for a while and then failed again so Charles just committed himself to the wheelchair during the OG trilogy to avoid any more fuss. Or 2) Charles may have created a telepathic projection of himself walking as a way of showcasing his powers to the mutants he recruited. Furthermore, I theorize that perhaps the opening scene of TLS isn’t real at all, but rather Charles’ own La La Land what-if fantasy - in his grief for Jean’s apparent death and Erik’s Alkali Lake betrayal, he imagines his ideal version of events where instead of recruiting young Jean alone in his wheelchair, the Cuba accident never happened and thus he and Erik never parted ways and recruited Jean together. Obviously Charles’ walking appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine can’t be explained as a fantasy, but I honestly don’t care about that movie and I know hardly anyone else does either.

Moira MacTaggert’s lack of aging. This also has a few explanations. It could be that TLS shows a completely different woman from FC who happens to have the same name, and that is quite possible since CIA agent and doctor are two very different professions. Perhaps the doctor is a relative of Moira’s, i.e. her daughter or niece who was named after her - which I think is the most likely explanation. Another possibility is that Moira actually is a mutant who doesn’t age, and not a human. IIRC, there was a recent twist in the comics that revealed she is actually a mutant who doesn’t age. So that also could be the case. But fact that Charles erased Moira’s memories at the end of FC means that even if it is the same woman somehow, via either mutant longevity or massive amounts of de-aging cream & hair dye, she has no mental connection with what came before, so she in a sense is a different woman in TLS, no matter how you slice it.

Kitty Pryde’s powers. We never see Kitty use her powers for time travel before DOFP because there’s no need for it. Plus she’s quite young in TLS and so she probably didn’t even know yet that her abilities could phase through time as well as space.

Sabretooth & Wolverine, and Wolverine’s broken adamantium claws. I don’t care for either XMO:W or The Wolverine and just disregard them altogether. But if one must count them, then maybe after all those years Sabretooth just doesn’t care about his brother anymore and feels no need to mention their relationship when he’s devoted to Erik’s cause and Logan is in the way. (Similar to Charles and Mystique.) Also when it comes to Logan’s broken claws post-Wolverine, Erik’s very presence explains it; the threat of the Sentinels made it a necessity for Logan to have his adamantium claws back for self-defense, so Erik used his powers to put the adamantium, or something similar, back into the claws.

I’ll end with this note. Remember Erik & Rogue’s powers and Charles’ resurrection between TLS and the future of DOFP. Honestly, the fact that TLS essentially reverses two of its most major plot developments in the final moments, with Erik moving the chess piece and Charles waking up in his twin’s body, is proof enough that all the “continuity errors” do not actually make it impossible for these films to be happening in the same timeline. The “cure” wears off and Erik & Rogue are at full power again during the Sentinel war, and Charles is able to use his twin’s body to continue living and looking the same. So if there can be canon explanations as crazy as those, then there’s no way any of the explanations I just suggested for the other discrepancies can be completely impossible.

[recklessvigilant]

My Solution to the JJ Problem

Now that the backlash around OBX has started to settle and after reading through various fan theories and reflecting on my own ideas, I wanted to share a potential solution for how JJ’s return could be handled. Importantly, this theory doesn’t rely on the Crown. Like many fans, I feel that using something as supernatural as bringing someone back to life through a wish would be a bit too over the top. I’d also be okay with the crown approach—as I’ve said before, OBX already took its first steps in that direction with El Dorado. However, I’d still prefer a non-supernatural solution if possible. It just feels more in line with the show’s roots and tone. Such a storyline would require exceptionally strong writing to feel believable within the OBX world. ______

The Setup Since we’ve already seen a body being buried in the desert, there aren’t many options left that make sense. The words spoken during the campfire scene wouldn’t add up if it wasn’t JJ being buried but instead Lightner aka the guy Pope shot (at least if everyone knows). However, the fact that Rafe is the one burying the body opens the door to an intriguing possibility.

The Twist Everyone’s been saying the Pogues couldn’t bring themselves to bury JJ, so Rafe stepped in. But what if, after finding JJ’s body, the Pogues were overwhelmed and needed a moment to process everything? Maybe Kie (or one of the others) stepped away from the scene and the others followed to comfort her, leaving JJ’s body unattended for a short time. In their absence, Rafe might have offered to carry JJ’s body.

It looked like the body was wrapped in sheets, so it’s possible that Rafe left to find something more secure to cover JJ. On his way back, however, he might have noticed people—perhaps cops—closing in on JJ’s location. (After all, there were gunshots during the sandstorm, and someone must have heard them.) Rafe would have been forced to abandon JJ’s body.

To prevent the Pogues from risking everything to recover their friend’s body—and to avoid any emotional outbursts that could draw attention—Rafe might have made a quick decision. He could have wrapped Lightner’s body in the sheets and returned to the group, claiming it was JJ. At this point, Rafe isn’t a completely different person yet. He still wants to take down Groff and knows he’ll need the Pogues’ help. Believing JJ was already dead, Rafe’s thought process might’ve been, “It doesn’t matter.”

The Payoff This sets up the possibility that JJ is later discovered alive—barely—and rushed to the hospital. However, such a twist wouldn’t happen early in the season. It would make sense for the reveal to come midway through, or even closer to the finale, to maximize the emotional impact.

The Conflict This twist could lead to a compelling arc in Season 5, where Rafe slowly becomes part of the group, convincing the Pogues that he’s changed. But when they eventually uncover the truth—that Rafe lied to them about JJ’s burial—they confront him. This betrayal would hit even harder because they had started to believe in his redemption. Even though Rafe’s lie wasn’t malicious and he thought he was doing what was best, the damage to their trust would create significant tension within the group (even if only for a short time).

A Practical Solution This storyline could also serve a practical purpose: it would allow Rudy to stay largely out of the show, aside from a few key scenes. If the rumors about pre-filmed hospital footage are accurate, these could be incorporated seamlessly, requiring only a few additional scenes from the Pogues’ perspective to be reshot.

Final Thoughts Yes, I know this theory has its flaws. For example, how would Rafe convincingly wrap Lightner’s body so no one realizes it isn’t JJ? But let’s be real—plot holes like this aren’t exactly out of place in OBX :D

At the end of the day, this is just my way of holding onto a little hope. With all the drama surrounding the show—unfollows, gossip, and everything else—it’s hard not to feel like JJ’s return is unlikely. But this theory feels like a solution that could work without straying too far from the OBX we know and love.

[nightshades-hq]

I have this lingering fear about Tyler’s role in S2.

I believe that the show runners originally had significant plans for Tyler, but were forced to change it cause Jenna wanted no love interest.

It makes me worried and wonder if they gonna ruin his character or find some way to kill him off because of that. Are they just gonna scrap how they set him up in S1 just to focus on something different? Cause I will be so angry by it.

We’ve seen no photos or clips of him in the content that’s been released about S2 so far. We’ve seen Wednesday, Enid, Bianca, Morticia, Gomez, Ajax, Pugsley, and Eugene etc in photos, clips and the bts video. But no Tyler. I know some of my online friends suggest that they’re deliberately hiding his role because they think he’s important. But what if they’re just trying to minimise his role?

Wdyt?

you bring up a wonderful point! i will be outraged if they ruin his character, though killing him off isn’t necessarily that it could be a huge plot point as opposed to “getting rid of him” and in a universe such as this nothing is stopping the dead from coming back.

i will say however that i doubt that’s truly something to worry about.

He was set up as a love interest in season 1 and i believe that’s likely over. if it were to actually be a thing s2 would still be too soon. i tend to think the og idea was to pursue xavier in season 2 but obviously that won’t be happening which is fine.

but he is still a major player. for one there are several plot points surrounding him that need tying up. two he has so much potential and is so popular it would make no sense to scrap his character. and three he was introduced as a starring role, if he was only there for a little while he would be listed as a guest star that’s just how it works

yes he hasn’t been in promo material but that could be for so many reasons; intrigue (we don’t know what state he’s in or where he is post s1finale), scheduling (film/personal schedule may have not lined up for hunter to film promo. seeing as most ‘clips’ have been the actors and not actual scenes), it could be personal choice of hunter’s, it could also be that the characters shown WEREN’T major players before so they’re getting their limelight now. It could be any number of things.

all in all we just don’t know. i’d say don’t worry theres a good chance nothing is gonna happen to him but then again i’m not the showrunners so take this with a grain of salt.

thanks for the ask ily and i hope my answer was satisfactory

[carpooling-the-internet]

Star Trek fanfic recs

A long list of some of my all time favorite Star Trek fics. Not in any order. I just combed through my ao3 bookmarks for fics that still resonate with me and really blew me away. I will try to tag the authors if I can find blogs for them. If you know an authors blog I haven’t tagged, please tag them!

I dont have the spoons to write lil reviews for each fic bc theres toooooo many but maybe I’ll come back and edit some in sometime.

And eventually I’m gonna make a list like this for Sherlock Holmes and a few other fandoms. Also want to make one specific to podfics. We’ll see what happens first! This took me way longer than I thought it would…

Recs below the cut!

Star Trek TOS and AOS

The Thousandth Man (56187 words) by Ophelia_j In the wake of pon farr, the events on Vulcan are weighing heavy on Spock and his Captain. But will their attempt to fix the problem only make things worse?

The effect of sucrose on Vulcans (2290 words) by Ophelia_j After a successful diplomatic mission, Jim begins to suspect there's something wrong with Spock. Some Old Married Spirk Fluff for the 2019 OMS Challenge, for the awesome plaidshirtjimkirk.

The Eleventh Hour (8551 words) by Ophelia_j During a joint lecture at the Academy, Spock senses that Kirk is growing tired of the secrecy around their relationship and takes steps to resolve the matter.

A Crazy Little Thing Called Love (14940 words) by VTsuion The development of Kirk and Spock's relationship over the course of The Original Series, told in a series of off-screen moments.

The World Turned Upside Down (24777 words) by Jenna Hilary Sinclair On a planet torn by civil war, Kirk must battle insurgents, a Vulcan Healer, and his own heartbreak to find his way to Spock.

The Ren shat'var Trilogy (184,403 words) by CateAdams A split-second decision changes Jim's life forever, as he enters into a bond with Spock in the face of certain torture. Enemies to the Federation emerge from unlikely places, and the command team must contend with unexpected threats, as well as challenges within their own intense relationship. In this three-part series, the Enterprise races across the galaxy to confront the unknown, and Jim and Spock discover the true significance of their unprecedented connection.

First, Best Destiny - Parts One and Two (387733 words) by Ophelia_j A novel-length retelling of original Star Trek canon through the lens of one of the greatest relationships ever committed to film. Using missing scenes, episode tags, and original story-telling. Ultimately a Generations fix-it.

All the Time in the World (27856 words) by LSPINGLES The death of Edith Keeler affects Kirk and Spock in different ways. Spock invites Kirk to come with him to Vulcan to heal. Along the way the learn something about their feelings for each other.

Spice (276553 words) by eimeo It’s a question of biology. Vulcan biology. The problem with falling in love with a member of an insanely private species is that it just might take you the best part of a five year mission to work out that the feelings are requited. And then you might discover that he’s already decided that the two of you can never be together. And what are you supposed to do if he won’t tell you why?

Fulfilling the Needs of the One (Or the Both) (8741 words) by plaidshirtjimkirk Spock begins to wonder if his relationship with Jim has been one-sided in his own favor.

Touch Upon the Wonders that You See (4071 words) by waldorph Sarek does not always understand his son, but that does not mean he does not love him.

Entering Orbit (30957 words) by museaway Jim escapes to Iowa to avoid the media frenzy following the Narada incident, but a late-night miscommunication results in Spock turning up on his front porch.

Something Smart to Do (21322 words) by kianspo In which Jim finds himself fake-married to his first officer every other month. It's not his fault. Mostly. Dowries and Klingons are involved. Starfleet is decidedly not amused.

Don't Stop Believing (205901 words) by kianspo The story follows Spock from his own days as a cadet at Starfleet Academy to the ‘present day’ when he’s Kirk’s first officer and the Enterprise is on its five-year mission. Essentially, the story of Spock’s first real love followed by the story of him finding the love of his life. Ad astra per aspera.

And Then I Let It Go (10632 words) by kianspo Post-Star Trek Beyond. The crew of the Enterprise gets a breather while they are waiting for their new ship. Jim uses the time to do something he had sworn he would never do.

The Lotus Eaters (93594 words) by aldora89 Stranded on the planet Sigma Nox while searching for a missing away team, Spock and Kirk find themselves pitted against a disturbing native life form. With the captain out of commission on a regular basis and Spock struggling to preserve his stoicism, staying alive is difficult enough – but when a slim chance for escape surfaces, their resolve is truly put to the test. Together they must fight for survival in the heart of an alien jungle, and in the process, uncover the mystery of the planet’s past. Slow build K/S.

Atlas (135529 words) by distractedKat Between what was and what will be stands James Tiberius Kirk, in all his fractured patchwork glory. Because saving the Federation was only the beginning. A novel-length continuation of the 2009 movie told in four parts. Cross-posted from FFN. PODFIC AVAILABLE! https://archiveofourown.org/works/652116/chapters/1187249

The Word Withheld (12032 words) by j_s_cavalcante After retrieving Kirk from the interspatial rift of "The Tholian Web," Spock realizes his oath to Starfleet and his service aboard the Enterprise are in jeopardy because he has denied to himself—and withheld from Kirk—a certain truth about the nature of the Vulcan relationship called "t’hy’la."

this is what happens when you save earth, apparently (5454 words) by WerewolvesAreReal “So, why haven't you settled down with some lucky lady yet?” the interviewer asks. Maybe it's the blinding set-lights, or the fact that he hasn't slept in thirty-five hours. But for some reason Kirk blurts, “Honestly, they all end up getting jealous of Spock.”

Four times the Enterprise Crew didn´t realize that their commanding officers were married to each other and one time they finally found out (4130 words) by razzleberryicedtea In which Spock and Jim casually forget to mention that they are married, and the Enterprise crew is too oblivious to notice on their own

A Star to Steer By (32043 words) by Borealisblue Kidnapped, injured, and headed towards Romulan space, Kirk could only be grateful that his last act was saving Spock from the same fate. And all it had cost was a stolen kiss.

An Open Secret (3495 words) by TransScribe Amanda Grayson knew her son. She could read him, easily. That might've been why she had suspicions about his relationship long before he said anything. It was more likely because subtlety was not a trait Spock had inherited.

the book of love (7297 words) by miss_frankenstein When yet another away mission goes awry, Jim and Spock are left stranded on a hostile planet with nothing to do but talk. What follows is a conversation about art and literature, life and death, love and friendship.

Take My Hand (My Whole Life Too) (5981 words) by pastmydancingdays Whilst in one of the most dangerous situations of his life, Jim Kirk came to a realisation that he should have had a very long time ago. Two, in fact, and he was about to let neither go to waste. A potential epilogue to Amok Time.

Ashayam (3378 words) by Willowe Spock knows he has no right to refer to Jim as any sort of endearment, even in the privacy of his own thoughts. If he had only listened to this logic he wouldn't find himself in this position, standing on the bridge having just called his captain "ashayam".

@ophelia-j

@razzleberryicedtea

@vtsuion

@plaidshirtjimkirk

@cate-adams

@pastmydancingdays

@werewolves-are-real

@eimeo-blog

@aldora89-blog

@museaway

@kianspo

@lspingles

@waldorph

@miss-frankenstein

[ibm7094lover]

Is Sarek abusive?

After a lengthy argument/discussion with my mother (og Trekkie, strangely unfamiliar with K/S culture), I seem to be at a stalemate. It's fascinating because there's a lot of points on both sides. I'll provide my own argument and my mother's argument under read more.

Mine:

-Sarek's behavior (and by proxy, many Vulcans) towards Spock's mixed genetics is a direct contradiction to IDIC (Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations) as Spock represents a small portion of that ideal: Mixed race, arguably queer, and neurodivergent.

-In the Star Trek 2009 deleted scene, Sarek calls him "so human," and from some theories it's believed Spock was surgically altered to appear more Vulcan

-Arguably, you could say this was so other Vulcans wouldn't bully him for looking so human, but we already know how that went.

-Amanda is passive in her parenting, and does little to engage Spock in human traditions along with Vulcan. She goes along with Sarek's beliefs, even if it hurts him.

-Sybok was exiled(?) for embracing emotion and encouraging others to do the same. Michael ran away and is a complete emotional mess (but probably the best out of the three). Spock has identity issues. See a pattern?

-Tuvok is seen to embody a healthier ideal of Vulcan: Permitting himself positive emotions, because it is illogical to deny himself of that. You could imply Sarek's family is just very dysfunctional.

-You can only go so far when excusing behavior with culture, but if someone is being hurt or caused harm, however indirect, it must be addressed by the society or a third perspective in order to improve.

Mom:

-everyone is abusive by modern standards / by human standards, everyone's abusive

-Sarek is an extreme outlier for marrying a human

-Most surgical procedures for Spock make sense, because they'd have to fix some conflicting issues (iron-blood/copper-blood, organ arrangement, etc.) but it is sad Sarek thought to change Spock's appearance when it didn't hinder him in any way.

-By Vulcan standards, Sarek isn't abusive because if anything he's less strict than other Vulcan parents.

-Sarek wasn't considered abusive when the show aired, and he isn't considered abusive now.

-You can't judge another culture by your own standards. (Side note: also believes you can't judge the cult in MidSommar for drugging someone, along with other things they did because it's "their culture.")

With all this in mind, I'm curious to know the general consensus around this topic. I'll leave some extra context below:

My mother comes from an extremely abusive family. Jack Stauber's Opal-level abusive. (I showed her the film and she cried with me) As such, it's understandable that we might have different definitions of abuse, given the generational difference (she's an older mom) and cultural difference (she's Mexican).

Because of this, I'm a pretty sheltered kid, but that also means I don't have a lot of exposure to difficult situations or significant abuse. I can acknowledge that I still have a lot to learn, and I'm trying to peel off my black-and-white mentality as well. I'd appreciate any feedback relating to this and the poll above so I can revise my perspective if I'm wrong!

[snackara]

King Manuel

The Audacity of Dis Bitch

Can we all agree that Magnifico is kind of a dumb name? Yes? Coolio. In this rewrite the king probably has the least changes, at least when it comes to design. I wanted to keep him closer to what we see in the first half of the movie, where he tried to act sincere, but you can also tell he’s kinda bullshitting and hiding more then he’s letting on. My main focus was to make him (and by extension Amaya) more of a threat in the story. In the movie he really doesn’t do anything that’s all that bad. Sure, he steals people’s wishes, but they don’t seem too upset about it, and he just keeps the wishes in a tower. In this story however…well he may end up having a kill count.

Again, I really wanted to lean into the show host side of Manuel’s personality. He takes a lot of inspiration from Hades in this rewrite, able to crack jokes here and there while still being a large threat to our heros. He’s highly manipulative, even towards his own family. He presents himself, Amaya, and Flazino as the perfect royal family, when behind the scenes he’s a power-hungry dictator, his wife is a witch who may or may not have married him just for power, and their son is depressed.

As far as his design goes, I would change very little. The only significant change I would make would be to make his clothing more gold and blue like above. It would add a lot more color to his design and make him stick out better from the subjects of Rosas, like with Asha’s design. (small side tangent here, but I hate how muted the colors are in the movie. like it’s not a problem in any of their other 3D films, so why is it here?)

Onto his backstory:

In this rewrite, Rosas was founded by Manuel’s father, Enrique. It was nothing special, mostly adverted as a place where all people could find a home, no matter their background.

As Manuel grew up, he began to learn magic and grew to be even more powerful than his father, and helped people with all sorts of things. Through his youth he also became friends with a young man named Tomás (remember him for later), who taught him about the Celestial Realm. Manuel became obsessed with the realm, and was determined to find a way to use it to fuel his magic further.

When he was around his twenties, he met Amaya during one of the wish granting ceremonies and instantly fell in love with her. It was hard to say if Amaya reciprocated those feelings at first, but when she discovered Manuel was the prince, she quickly warmed up to him and they became married.

One day, thieves began to raid the kingdom and killed many people, including Enrique. They were eventually stopped, but the damage was done. Looking for someone to blame, the people turned to the stars and rumor spread that a wish gone wrong had been the real cause.

The stars slowly started to disappear from the sky one by one, and people could no longer rely on them to grant their wishes. However, once Manuel took the throne he began to grant wishes himself. He also made it law that every citizen had to give up their wish when they turned eighteen to avoid history repeating itself.

Most people agreed to the new policy, still shaken up from the previous events. However, a small amount of citizens were suspicious of Manuel and his intentions, especially Tomás. His and Manuel’s friendship had been on a gradual decline over the years, but after an huge argument between the two where Manuel even lashed out at his friend, Tomás left the kingdom with a small amount of people, never to be seen by the king again. (or was he? who knows? oh, only I do!)

Admittedly I don’t know how I’ll convey some of this backstory in the story yet, if I will at all, but I feel pretty good about what I came up with here. And now we just have Amaya to go, for now anyways.

Thanks for reading! Stay tuned for more.

[small-screen-superman]

3 Less-Discussed Flaws in The Last Jedi

Though I usually write posts on my independent blog about Superman and other superheroes, I recently decided to try my hand on writing some of my (mostly very negative) thoughts on the most divisive Star Wars film, The Last Jedi. Go to the independent blog by clicking below, or just keep reading here on Tumblr if you prefer.

Unfortunately, I hate The Last Jedi. I haven’t made any super-negative posts on this blog yet, so I feel a little awkward saying this. But the truth is, I found it an awful watch despite its technical competence. I don’t feel like I can “pull my punches” without belying my actual opinion.

I’m glad some people are able to find enjoyment in it, but I find it terrible for many reasons, including its poor plot and characterization that mismatch horribly with the other Star Wars movies. But in this blog post, I don’t want to talk about that, or about everything wrong with the film in general, since that would be very lengthy and would feel redundant in light of how well-discussed this movie’s issues are. (For a great example of this discussion, check out this Jedi Council forum thread, which also contains posts from people who actually like or love it.) It’s possible I might someday make an exhaustive review of The Last Jedi, but I’m not super eager to do so when it’s probably one of the most talked about movies ever.

Instead, I’m going to focus on 3 complaints that are more rare for people to talk about or are generally referenced as minor side notes. Along the way, I will reference the movie’s other flaws, but they won’t be the main focus.

Chekhov’s Gun? What’s That?

This is certainly not one of my biggest complaints about the movie, but it’s still really annoying. I have so many serious complaints about this film that even the relatively small ones are significant.

Stories oftentimes have surprises and twists, but those surprises and twists should still build on things that are already established. A good surprise isn’t something that no one could ever even imagine happening. In fact, with a good twist, you can look back at what happened before and see that it actually makes sense, that there were indications this was a possibility.

In sci-fi and fantasy settings, many things are possible that aren’t in the real world, but good writing makes establishing what is possible a priority. Introducing a major new fantastical aspect suddenly to make a dramatic plot change, with no prior indications anything like that was possible, is usually a bad idea, unless done carefully. And the farther you are into a setting, the worse it is, since people will naturally feel like they understand “the rules” of your world and will be annoyed if you suddenly change them.

Unfortunately, in The Last Jedi, Force powers we’ve never seen before in any of the many movies prior to this are suddenly introduced to make dramatic moments happen. If these force powers existing was so essential, the movie’s creators should’ve had the common courtesy to make them Chekhov’s guns – to let us know of their existence in a fairly minor way before using them for huge plot points. But that doesn’t happen, leaving me extremely annoyed. How are we supposed to have tension in this setting if the Force can just let characters do whatever the writer feels like?

The first major example of this happening is the scene of Leia flying through the vacuum of space using the Force and surviving. Not only is the Force letting you survive the vacuum of space a new invention of this movie that was not set up prior to this dramatic moment, but we also haven’t even been told about Leia learning how to use the Force. We know she’s Force-sensitive, but she hasn’t been shown actively doing things with the Force. But now, she can suddenly use the Force in a major way that we haven’t even been shown is a possibility for Force users to do! As a result, the drama, emotion and intensity of this scene are nullified and replaced by annoyance and amusement.

The other instance of this problem is the climax of the movie. Luke fights Kylo Ren, but it turns out it was just a Force-powered hologram. This was not established to be something a Force user could do in this film or any previous. Annoyingly enough, Rian Johnson (the movie’s writer and director) has apparently justified this by pointing out this ability being mentioned in a minor book that was already declared non-canon with the rest of the old Expanded Universe material. It’s frankly insulting to imply that obscure, non-canon supplementary material that the vast majority of your audience won’t even know about is adequate as setup!

There’s a lot of subjectivity in terms of how much setup is or is not needed for concepts in fantastical settings. But the Star Wars movies have given us so much exposure to Force users and their powers over the decades that radically different powers suddenly being introduced feels obtrusive. They’re not like superheroes who can have a wide range of different powers or traditional wizards that can learn all sorts of spells. Millions of people have a pretty solid idea in their head of what Jedi are capable of, so adding onto that is something that requires a lot more care than The Last Jedi took.

Tone and Humor

Unlike the above, I actually would consider this one of my biggest problems with The Last Jedi. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a piece of media with as much of a tone issue as The Last Jedi. The movie as a whole feels depressing and hopeless, but it thinks nothing of interjecting childish, obtrusive humor at seemingly random times. It doesn’t help that this movie’s sense of humor doesn’t amuse me (despite me having a pretty immature sense of humor) or fit the Star Wars series. The humor doesn’t provide genuine levity or enhance the characters. It’s just there, sticking out like a sore thumb, providing nothing but annoyance. If anything, it makes the movie’s dour atmosphere feel more artificial and meaningless.

Humor can certainly work against a dark and sad backdrop, especially considering humor is often a coping mechanism that references the negative aspects of life. But here, I see no congruency between the sad atmosphere and the jokes. It’s not as though the tragedy of situations leads into the jokes in any way. We’re just feeling morose and then – bam! – (terrible) joke. Several times, these jokes happen right after cutting away from a different scene, and it’s not as though they’re referencing the scene that was cut away from. We just are thrown into a joke randomly.

There are further issues with the tone, but these overlap with the other big problem I’m going to discuss in this article, which is the film’s issue with theme.

Theme

Part 1: Hope and Bleakness

Ironically, though this is one of The Last Jedi’s greatest flaws to me, it’s also kind of one of its only good aspects. Because this movie touched on some intriguing themes that have a lot of potential in the context of Star Wars, but the exploration and development of these themes fails for me. There are multiple interesting themes The Last Jedi brings up but does not adequately resolve, but let’s start with the one that I already lead into with the previous section.

Just as The Last Jedi attempted to marry humor with its overall dark and dour atmosphere, it also sought to ultimately promote a theme of hope, particularly at the very end of the movie. In theory, this could be great – what’s better than encouraging people to find hope in the darkness? But the movie went so far with making the hero’s situation bleak (the Rebellion/Resistance is left with a dozen people and almost no resources!) that it honestly didn’t work for me. In order to promote a message of hope in such a context without it feeling artificial, it would have to honestly admit that the situation is, for all practical intents and purposes, hopeless, and that choosing to have hope is mostly for your own mental health as you simply try to survive.

To be clear, while it may be bleak, I think this is a fine thematic conclusion to have in a story. It feels horribly, grossly unfitting for Star Wars, but I might be able to appreciate it if it was well-executed. But that’s not what this movie did. After basically spending the whole movie assaulting the audience with negativity and hopelessness, it turned around and tried to make things straightforwardly hopeful at the very end. It was clearly trying to go for a “deconstruction and reconstruction” type of thing, but there was way too little of the “re” for it to work.

With most of its themes, it’s hard to tell what exactly The Last Jedi was trying to say, and they don’t dive deep enough into the themes for this to be OK. But I think I understand the hope theme…to some extent. Based on the hopelessness of the situation and the movie in general and the fact that the hope is caused by the formerly-failing Luke creating a hologram (but in a heroic fashion that is helpful and costs him his life), the movie is essentially trying to show heroism and therefore hope being fake and real at the same time. Luke has generally been a failure of a hero, but at the end he became a hero by projecting the illusion of heroism. I guess it’s trying to say that false hope can be genuinely helpful.

I think this is true to some extent, and maybe even a bit profound. False hope can become real hope because hope in general can inspire actions, and these actions can inspire further hope. But I don’t think the narrative supports the theme well enough, because to me, the situation still feels very hopeless. They try to show a random kid is Force-sensitive and inspired by Luke, which is nice, but is it really enough to turn this situation around? I guess the implication is that a lot of people around the galaxy will be inspired, but I don’t know if I buy that this will be enough to turn things around when it wasn’t long ago that the whole galaxy showed no interest in helping the Resistance. In short, I just don’t really believe that the hope generated by Luke’s action is going to be enough.

In the end, it almost makes everything feel bleaker, even though the movie is clearly trying to generate a genuinely hopeful feeling. Because the big “triumph of hope” is actually pretty lame. While thinking about it right now, I can appreciate there might be a deep idea here, but watching or thinking about the actual story undercuts it heavily.

Part 2: Other Themes

Some of the other themes in this film are developed and substantiated even more poorly than this. Because with the hope idea, the film is not that far from the theme working; if the hope actually made a big difference, it would work. Many of the other themes are a lot farther from actually saying anything.

In theory, one of the most interesting themes in this movie is Luke’s disillusionment with the Jedi, but the movie does a poor job portraying his exact perspective on the Jedi and what parts of his rejection are right or wrong. I loved the line where he said that the Force doesn’t belong to the Jedi and is beyond them; that actually felt profound, to point out that the spiritual exists on its own as its own thing rather than its existence being owed to or controlled by the practitioners of spirituality. I felt moved by that. But it’s just one line, and we don’t go into detail about it, or about the other concerns Luke has about the Jedi. Heck, I’m not even sure if Luke has a serious problem with the Jedi as an institution or if it’s just excuses for his self-pity.

There are other attempts at messages throughout the film, and I don’t want to go over every single one. But I’ll just point out a couple of others that annoyed me. The subplot with Admiral Holdo and Poe Dameron is deservedly infamous and seems to have a message about trusting or submitting to authority, which is not only ironic, but is also poorly justified, as the movie doesn’t do a good job demonstrating Holdo to be a leader worth following. This is not exactly a niche complaint, so I won’t belabor it.

This movie also seems to have some sort of theme about protecting good things being better than destroying bad things, which is most blatantly demonstrated when Rose tells Finn, “That’s how we’re gonna win. Not fighting what we hate. Saving what we love.” Frankly, I find this message…rather confusing and annoying. Surely saving what you love frequently requires fighting what you hate? Especially in a literal war? I’m not sure what they’re really trying to say here.

Conclusion

The Last Jedi is a fascinating movie to discuss and think about. It tries a lot of genuinely interesting things. And the fact that it failed pretty horribly in so many categories makes it all the more fascinating to me, honestly. It seems to me that two people can passionately hate The Last Jedi for entirely different reasons. I kind of love that. It’s a bad movie that has a lot of depth to its badness. I have a certain genuine appreciation for it taking such big swings, making such outlandish decisions, and trying to use some genuinely promising ideas, even if the end result is a film that’s extremely off-putting to me and many others.

Criticizing The Last Jedi is often stereotypically associated with being a “fanboy” or even being racist or sexist, but in my experience, this is often not the case. Sometimes dissecting why a movie didn’t work for you or many others can actually be a surprising enriching experience. Looking into and discussing a movie in-depth can be rewarding even if, well, you hate the movie.

That’s how I feel about The Last Jedi, at any rate. I don’t criticize it out of anger, but because it’s an interesting enough movie that it deserves to be dived into…even if it may feel like a dumpster dive in some ways.

[bugsbenefit]

do you have where the duffers said that there will be pre-time skip scenes? I thought it was all fan speculation

don't have that handy as a legit source rn sorry, i can only give you word of mouth that originally, right post s4 coming out, the Duffers mentioned in an interview that they would do a time skip again (to account for the actors ages and time lost with the pandemic filming delays) and that it would happen a few episodes into s5. they brought up the idea of it happening around episode 2. and that s5 would pick right back up where s4 ended. opposed to filming s4 and s5 back to back like what their original plan was. but they were also vague and things clearly weren't finalized yet

so the obvious conclusion at the time was that there would be pre time jump scenes (episode 1 and potentially 2) and that's all we had to go on for over a year and that's why a lot of people are so sure there will be a significant amount of time spent pre time skip

but that was all the way back in 2022 and wasn't repeated since

personally, i definitely think there's a possibility the time skip is going to happen right into s5. which would also help them avoid pacing nightmares like having to "re-start" the action/tension build up over an hour into the final season

but from where we are right now we just really don't know how they'll do the time skip. a lot of people are very adamantly sticking with what was said in that one initial interview, but, again, that was a single interview from autumn of 2022. so yk. what people also took to mean time spent pre time skip is the Duffers saying s5 will jump "right back into the action" since they don't need to establish motive for the characters anymore (actually Do have a link for one of those articles lmao). but the opening of s5 going fast could also easily be meant to be post time skip. there just won't be much introducing the characters or having them find the plot anymore, that's going to happen whether we pick back up where we left off or start up post time skip

but lacking confirmation by the Duffer's aside there is a few things suggesting they already filmed more than what we saw in s4, which would make sense as pre time skip scenes for s5 since the actors would still be the same age and they wouldn't have to rebook old locations, like:

bts of Rinkomania existing of things we never saw in the show. like Will wearing the outfit from the van trip and finale. despite the filming in that location happening in an incredibly short amount of time which would mean a packed filming schedule

bts existing of the cast sitting in the Sinclair's living room while in full costume (might add a link to that later but i don't have it handy right now)

also the script of the final episode we got by the official writers account not ending on the usual ending but on a literal "end season" cliffhanger, which a lot of people took as there potentially being more they filmed of that scene as an opening for the next season (that's purely speculative tho, not as solid as the other two things where we have image proof, i'm just mentioning it bc i've seen it discussed before, so just to cover Everything yk)

since we know so little, those could be scenes we see right away, but that could also be flashbacks we see later on, post time skip. so while there are things pointing to there being more 1986 scenes filmed that we haven't seen yet, that's not really indicative of when the time skip itself will happen

my Current personal guess is super early into e1 but that's not based on anything specific except what i think would make the most sense from a logistical and story telling pov (opinion up to change at any moment based on news we get tho)

[darsynia]

A Line from Iron Man 1 You Probably Don't Remember...

So I just was reminded of this because of having to go back over the escape while writing Trust Fall-- but there's this line in Iron Man 1 and it KILLS me, okay.

This moment (near enough I could find in a gif):

They've booby trapped the cave door and Yinsen is putting Tony into the suit-- and after the explosion at the door...

Tony: How'd that work?

Yinsen: Oh my goodness! It worked, all right!

Tony: It's what I do.

That last line there, it's not said with any force, any significance, and honestly, Yinsen's next line ('Let me finish this') is said right on top of it-- but think about that!

Tony has to know what's coming up for him during the escape. It'll be a lot of death, a lot of pain, even though it'll be happening to 'bad guys.' The armor he's wearing is literally made out of his life's work, which he's come to understand through Yinsen's description of the injuries those weapons inflict ('we call them the walking dead') and the evidence of who uses them is not the legacy he wants, anymore.

He has yet to build a new legacy, so for now, that explosion? It's 'what he does.' It's what he's good at. This makes Yinsen's iconic statement later so much more poignant. 'Don't waste your life.'

We don't really think of Yinsen as a character that has much of an arc, but Shaun Toub did something really subtle with him. That scene when they meet in the cave, Yinsen's attitude is uncomfortable to watch. He's almost jovial, certainly dismissive, and the more times I replayed it, I realized how brittle Yinsen is. This man he's just saved was ultimately responsible for the deaths of people Yinsen was unable to save. The people destroying his village, who have already killed his family? They used Tony's weapons to do it.

Yinsen's already been dismissed by Stark before he saved his life.

Even so, he slowly warms to Tony, and Toub shows us this by easing up on the brittle, false amusement that Yinsen uses as a shield in the beginning. This is a man who expects to die, but there's no way he expected to die in the way that he does.

At first, I was a little disappointed in RDJ's line reading with 'It's what I do.' I feel like it took re-watching that part multiple times for me to even catch it, and it's such a powerful insight into a Tony Stark who has recently decided to be a former weapons manufacturer.

At the same time, haven't we all experienced this moment? The point at which we decide to change, but before we've proved we can do it? There's never any fanfare. We haven't earned anything. We still need to Do the Thing, instead of just WANT to do the thing.

In a way, those two statements-- 'It's what I do' and 'Don't waste your life' inform the rest of Tony Stark's arc throughout multiple films. It's not 'Don't waste your life' that has him in confrontation with Steve Rogers on the helicarrier in Avengers 1. That's all a refutation of 'It's what I do.'

And in the end, Tony Stark doesn't waste his life, and he does it with something he designed, just like he'd designed those weapons. He does it with a defensive aspect of that suit. He saves the world-- the universe.

It's what he does.

[morethanaloveinterest]

A Placid Review of Leia's Costumes in ESB

Let's talk about Leia's costumes in the Empire Strikes Back and they reflect her character.

This is the first costume we see Leia wearing in this movie and she wears it (or a version of it) for most of the film. To compare with her previous movie, where she just wore a couple of white dresses, this is a substantial deviation. I'm glad she didn't have to wear a dress on Hoth - instead, she gets this great snow suit. It is still in her signature color and she still has her hair up in a similar (though more flattering) style than in ANH. We see other folks wearing similar things and she seems to have rank information on the vest, which goes a long way to establishing her place in this organization in a way that did not happen before (she should have gotten a costume change for the trench run is all I'm saying).

Female representation: 10/10 For a lady in science fiction? Yeah, it's perfect. It's a full body snow suit and it could have easily been a catsuit or something figure-hugging. Instead, it is clearly padded and looks actually appropriate for this snow scape.

Practicality: 10/10 Obviously, it is the most practical option! It is probably the most practical thing we ever see her wear (or any of the other ladies in this series, honestly). And I may be biased because I, too, live in a frozen winter wonderland for a significant part of the year, but this is just so perfect. I would absolutely wear this all the time.

Leia wears this costume on Cloud City. It is very nice to see her get a costume change during the events of the film! The dress is quite different from either we have seen her wear before and having some color is great. It also makes sense for her to wear this for the more romantic scenes with Han. The colors are close to red and her hair is starting to come down a bit - all indicating that she is more available for a love story than she was in the last movie.

Female representation: 10/10 Honestly, Leia is probably gonna get 10s almost all across the board. But this one is great because it gives a more feminine impression as well as showing off her figure a bit without either removing her agency. It makes sense for her to wear this based on what we know about her.

Practicality: 8/10 I suppose it is a bit less practical - she changes out of it as soon as the action starts up again. Presumably it is a little difficult to move about while wearing it, but it's still pretty good.

Battle Leia for the end of the movie! I love how she wraps up her love story and then gets back to the business of rescuing everyone. So she changes out of the soft warm colors and back into her white practical outfit. Without the vest - it would be too hot and she doesn't need to show her rank anymore. But because she has that romantic scene with Han, her hair is still down. So this demonstrates how she ends the movie having a similar outfit, but enough differences to show that she has changed because of her experiences.

Female representation: 10/10 I love this jumpsuit so much, you guys. Where can I get one? Anyway, same above - even without the vest, it is not scandalously figure-hugging. It again makes sense as something she would wear.

Practicality: 10/10 Just as practical. Presumably less hot and her hair is down a bit, but not enough to get in her eyes as she runs around shooting at storm troopers.

This is the dress she wears in the final scene of the movie. It is the same design as the one she wore for most of ANH, but obviously it is not literally the same dress. It might be supposed to be but this is clearly a different fabric (likely thicker material). Her hair is up in a way reminiscent of the end of ANH but much simpler. Both choices make sense as she has finally returned to the Rebellion after the adventure of this movie and is going to get a bit of a respite before the next.

Female representation: 10/10 As I said about this dress before, it is a great costume for our leading lady to be wearing. Especially for the time period. And it can be made into costumes for all ages - an added bonus - without actually infantilizing her or whatever. She is an adult, dressed as a Senator and it's great.

Practicality: 9/10 Again, it may not be the most practical for running around (certainly less than her jumpsuit) but is still reasonably practical for what she needs to do.

If you enjoyed this, check out my Star Wars for the Girlies Series (New episode on Leia!)

[derekscorner]

Fated Rantings: Airgetlám

It's been a while, no? Welcome to my 11th (or was it 12th?) march into the Fate series. Albeit it delayed by covid, I finally saw the second of the two Camelot movies.

I made a small post after watching the first movie but I didn't make my usual long post for it since it was one part of two and because I had little to say.

In fact, some of what I said in that post apply to both films. Such as how the pacing feels a bit rushed, some characters change quickly, and some events are moved around or removed.

However, I can't call these faults with the movies since they're adaptions of the FGO mobile game and do not let the "mobile game" moniker fool you, FGO has novel volumes of text.

Some of it's arcs are even written by the original novel writer Nasu. He may be even more involved than that but my development knowledge on FGO isn't as broad as other series.

All that you need to know is that there was no way to compress that full Singularity into a movie just as there's no way to compress FGO into a full anime.

The one FGO anime that does exist just covers one singularity in of itself. (Babylonia Front) That is how each entry is.

So while I won't fault the movies for such things I do still miss certain aspects the mobile text had. Such as the lengths to convince Ozymandias, the hilarious fact that Hassan had beheaded him before the story started, Sherlock Holmes making an appearance, etc.

Instead I'd rather focus on how the movies made story moments full highlights. Such as Arash's sacrifice, it was damn near beautiful. Then you have any scene with Da Vinci in them. There's a fun troll energy to everything she does and I liked seeing it animated.

The glow up of Nitocris also caught me off guard. Her sprite and art in FGO is "eh" but she's downright adorable in these movies...and more powerful than the game gave me an impression of.

I am also glad I got to see at least some of the uneasy tension between Lancelot and Mash. Mash, being possessed by Galahad, Lancelot's son, does not give him any slack. You only see bits of it in the movie but each scene reminded me of the sheer disapproval Galahad has for Lancelot in the game.

For as badass as Lancelot is in legend, for all his power as a spirit, he can't deal with his son and it's amazing.

I also haven't forgotten other characters such as the Hassan's, the mountain people or even our leads Mash and Fujimaru but I will admit I have little to say about them.

The mountain people are shown little for the novel to movie compression reasons I already covered and the Hassan of the Arm and Serenity are good characters but I do not know what add about them.

I do like their characters thanks to the mobile games context but what you see is also what you get. They are great assassin's and the movie gives them great moments.

It would've been hard for them to compete with the original "Old man of the Mountain" anyway. Hassan, the real one, is legitimately intimidating and I looked forward to every scene he was in.

The way he taunts Gawain with the truth just moments after rendering his powerful holy sword useless. The way he just appears or vanishes, Hassan truly is death personified and you see even more of that ambiance in the game. Even a primordial god (tiamat) comes to fear him.

In turn, Mashu and Fujimaru are more or less "just there". Mash gets more interaction than Fujimaru but she does not take spotlight. The most significant of her time is in relation to Sir Galahad who had possessed her when FGO started.

Even then Galahad does not physically appear. He'll talk through Mash toward Lancelot but most of the relation is the other Knights realizing (usually in shock) that he is there thanks to Mash's shield.

You wonder why since Galahad doesn't appear in many movies/shows based on Arthurian legend but the short of it is Galahad's talent.

The Fate Galahad reflects his IRL myth, he was the perfect knight. He was nearly uncontested in swordplay, loyalty, and overall skill. He was the only knight to successfully get the Holy Grail, the real one.

In other words, even if just in spirit, Galahad's presence is to be feared. Him opposing knights is also a clear reminder to them that they're in the wrong because they know Galahad's moral compass is flawless.

Fujimaru felt the most like he was "just there" to me but I expected it in some form since he's just one of the two gender options for the FGO protagonist. A person you're supposed to name and see the PoV of in the game.

I see lots complain about how perfect or "overly good" he can be animated and while I can understand someone finding that annoying I also do not know what they expected. Fujimaru is a stand-in, they took the safe route with him for these films.

Granted, I know some of those complaints are levied at the Babylonia anime which is a bit more fair since it was a full anime production. It's also hard to not feel the flatness of him when you see his opposite, the female option in FGO dubbed "Gudako", being downright chaotic and funny in several Fate productions.

Her appearance in Carnival Phantasm is comedy skit gold and whoever wears her mascot attire in Japan is known for being a chaotic lil shit. I kid you not, look up videos.

And yes, I know that "Fujimaru" refers to both as well as that the male version is often called "Gudao". My point is that our mobile game PoV insert isn't too fleshed out a character nor do they have odd quirks to identify with.

I think this is fine because the two Camelot films aren't about Mash or Fujimaru. No, the true star of these films is Bedivere.

Knights of the Lion, Knight of the Round

I don't even know what to say about this man to get myself started. He, like most of the round table, is a tragic soul. More so in the Singularity than he is in other versions of history.

The movie didn't mention it but the sole reason this singularity existed, the catalyst for history altering, was Bedivere. Lion King Arthur is a result of Bedivere's actions, not the Mage King or the grail.

This movie also reminds me of the thing that pulled me into Fate to begin with, it's odd but loyal use of Arthurian legend. You may see female Arthur and laugh but do understand that King Arthur and his knights are more faithfully portrayed in Fate than they are most modern western media.

Bedivere is no exception. Everything from his personality to his fake arm are a nod to it. I'm not sure how true it is in Fate's history but the earliest versions of our history portray Bedivere as missing a hand (or arm) and while handsome he was not among Athur's most well known or even skilled knights.

He, however, was the most loyal. Galahad excelled in all areas but most knights matched (if not surpassed him) in one and for Bedivere that was loyalty.

That loyalty is shown in every version of Arthur's myth with his death. Bedivere was the one at his side when he died and he was the one that thrice approached the lake to return Excalibur.

It is also here where this version of Bedivere failed, in the final moment he was not loyal.

He could not accept Arthur's death and did not return the sword as instructed. That single act altered history and doomed it because Arthur was not by her tree when Bedivere returned.

He knew that Excalibur made her ageless & immortal but he didn't know that her holy spear Rhongomyniad did the same thing. By denying her Arthur's destined death she also held onto the spear and became a wandering spirit.

You see, the thing about gods in Fate is that many were originally something else before human faith and worship elevated them into a god. What Bedivere had no way of knowing is that centuries of wandering with a holy spear would eventually turn Arthur into a god or "divine spirit".

And this is more tragic than you can fathom because gods in Fate do not comprehend humanity. They are affected by it but they do not think on the same level and what they deem rational a person will not.

The great sin Bedivere committed here was rob King Arthur of her human heart. Something that her subjects already doubted that she had.

A good deal of Bedivere's guilt is see in the two movies as he realizes what exactly he has done.

He already felt guilt before the movies started and he was already warned by Merlin that the end of his journey would be rough but he didn't realize the extent of those words.

He, now ageless due to Excalibur, spent 1500yrs looking for Arthur hoping to apologize. A truly grueling punishment within the Fate series because souls, like bodies, degrade.

Your "essence" will go back to "the root" when you die but a soul can degrade overtime if left clinging to the mortal plane. For many, this results in their mind breaking and going mad.

Even the gods only thrive as long as the civilization that believes in them does. Nothing is eternal and that is the lesson Bedivere had to learn in the movies.

That's why I say that he is the star of this story. Over two films he has to learn that everything ends and that endings have meaning. Something doesn't just vanish when it's over.

He could not accept that Camelot was over or that Arthur was meant to be over.

Idolism

For many reading this you probably ponder "why?" but the movie also answers there albeit it in spurts. The best window into his loyalty and guilt is seen in how he reacts to the other knights.

Many of them look down on Bedivere even if they also praise his loyalty to the king to the point that him standing against the Lion King shocks them.

Even then, they see Bedivere as beneath them. Mordred especially chides Bedivere harshly for weakness. But what's telling is his words and replies to them, especially Mordred.

Bedivere looks down upon himself. Even after 1500yrs he does not understand why Arthur made him a knight when he's essentially just a normal person.

He was not blessed by faeries, he did not have a holy sword or other magical weapons...in Fate. Irl he supposedly had a magic spear but Fate seems to have forgone that.

In Bedivere's mind he's outclassed by the Knights of the Round in every possible aspect. Even his loyalty, the thing that the other knights were say he's best known for, is lacking in his eyes.

That does not mean Bedivere is a depressed or self loathing individual either...well originally. He's very harsh on himself in the movies for what he's caused but there's no indication he was that way originally.

He was truly at a loss as to why Arthur made him a knight and fully believed himself inadequate for the role but worked his hardest anyway.

This eventually put him in the pitfall that nearly everyone fell into, they idolized Arthur. All of the knights in the movie have flaws in their logic due to their idolized views and it's reflected in their words and oath to the Lion King.

Mordred & Agravain are possibly the biggest victims of this mindset but they're a topic for another day. What is unique here is that Bedivere wanted to see Arthur's true smile or see her drop the ideal king act.

This was not for any grand or selfish reasons Bedivere just wished for his king to be happy in a sense. Ironically, he too only ever saw the perfect king and could not let them go.

Even at the end of the movie I wonder if he ever truly understood Arthur. Because when I saw the film, the flashbacks, I didn't just see the tragedy of Bedivere's quilt and choice but I saw what Arthur saw.

Personally, I think that Artoria valued the normalcy of Bedivere. He truly was not blessed by faeries, heaven, or by magical blades. He was a guy that tried his best and he saw things the way a normal person would.

I can't say to what extent of course but I do think she saw true value in what he saw as shortcomings with himself.

Either way, these movies are truly beautiful and what makes them so isn't just the animation or OST but the tragedy that is Bedivere.

Other Knights and Conclusions

As said earlier, Mordred is a topic for another day and I've already talked about Lancelot in my Fate Zero post. In fact, the Lancelot here seems either loyal in spite of what happened to Guinevere or because of it.

Had the other knights not referenced his betrayal I'd have assumed he was summoned lacking those memories.

And I haven't read the 'Garden of Avalon' novel to truly know about the whole round table. Let alone Tristan who is infamous for the line about “The king does not understand the hearts of men.” which is misinterpreted.

Not in the sense that it's mistranslated but in the sense that how people took his words both in-story and out were not his intented feelings.

And I know next to nothing about Gawain in Fate other than he, like many, was a child of Morgan. Much of the chaos in Camelot was either direct or indirect thanks to Morgan's relationship to her children.

Agravain is a fascinating case study due to his nature. He famously hates women despite his king being a woman and it's thanks to his relation to his mother Morgan.

A trait he shares with Mordred oddly enough. Both have a complex relationship to Arthur based solely on how their mother warped them.

You can also see Agravain's dynamic with Lancelot in the movies. There's a disdain there and Lancelot is quick to suspect him despite being a betrayer. This is presumably due to Agravain exposing Lancelot's affair in life.

It is also due to people misreading Agravain's intent. He often appeals to Arthur's kingly or inhuman side and many assumed he was trying to run a shadow kingdom but Agravain was just trying to help his ideal king the best way he knew how.

He, to the disbelief of many, is actually very loyal to the king and country. His actions and feelings are just complex due to his hatred of Morgan and women compounded with his ideal king being a woman herself.

One day if I manage to read the novel I may come back to give Agravain a proper post since he fascinates me.

For now though I think I'll stop and focus on the Mordred post while it's fresh in my mind.

I can't really think of anything else in-depth to add. These movies are amazing, especially if you view it as Bedivere's story more so than an adaption of Fujimaru's.

The animation is godly and the scene of Bedivere returning Arthur's sword and her heart/memories with it is beautiful. The music is beautiful.

The OST for that scene is 'walk by' btw. Go give it a listen, bye now~

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For my other experiences with Fate go here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/tagged/fated-rantings

[thestrengthofevil]

What are your honest thoughts on Lonnie+Family?

Sorry for the wait, but I wanted to finish Lonnie's warrior sword so I will probably be focused on that

Anyways onto my answer...

I was liken 14-15 ish when I watched the first two films and I really liked her and I still do too but now I kinda grew up and had a chance to look into her character more and realised she wasn't really well written.

What is most upsetting for me is she could be a key point at any time in the movies but also in the books. But no piece of media in this franchise took that opportunity. Like she is there, yeah and she has some lines and stuff but nothing more. Shes in the back like literally any ak. Except for Ben and audrey. And we see audrey as a big character only in the last film.

I've seen people say that the movies especially are really mal centric and I agree, majority of the characters are just there.

Now I dont remember much about Lonnie in the books. It's been a while and I'm planning to reread them but I doubt she had any significant scenes for herself.

In Lonnie's warrior sword, which I literally just finished so it might be a bit too detailed,

First we had a memory with mulan, and I was so happy but that was the end of it. Now I think living up to the name of Mulan AND SHANG is a great plot point for her and her character but they couldn't do it well. Lost opportunity... but we have Mulan's name being mentioned at couple more places which all serve the 'living up to the name' and if the book was a bit longer they could explore it a bit better.

There is the matter of Li Shang. The matter is he is not there. Everyone ignored the man like they ignored Lonnie in the third movie. I would love to see some father-daughter bonding and we WERE ROBBED. so if anyone has any fic recommendations about Lonnie and Shang I would love that. Anyways, Shang in Lonnie's Warrior Sword was mentioned one (1) time.

"...sword fighting with her mother in the gardens, running laps around the palace with her father..."

That's it. And although I love the image of little Lonnie trying to keep up with her father while Shang purposely slows down for her is incredibly adorable, how would anyone think this would be enough to feed the fandom

Shang Jr is a whole other thing. Again I would love to see a relationship between Lonnie and Shang jr. And I also would like to see how filling up the name of Mulan AND SHANG would affect him. Because it would affect him as much as Lonnie.

Then there is the name situation. Firstly, I am not familiar with Chinese culture and I dont have anyone I can ask beside the internet so let me know if I need to include/exclude and/or change anything.

From what I've understood from the fandom, naming your child after yourself is very disrespectful so that is an issue. Honestly even if they were not gonna look into his name, all they needed to do was to search for some Chinese names and meanings. Like I could do that (and I am planning to cause there is no way I'm using Lil' Shang as a name in my version of descendants. Same goes with Lonnie. I did started to research about that but like Lonnie? Why? Naming with the same initials as your parent is a thing in the universe but by that logic they were supposed to do a name with m for mulan or s for shang, why did they go for L (I am assuming L is for Li but still) So they are nicknames given to them by Auradon and Sherwood Academy(was that where he was, I don't really remember)

For once I want Lonnie and Shang Jr (I am intentionally not calling him Lil' Shang cuz honestly between the two Shang Jr is not as disturbing to me as Lil' Shang) to be sassy. And that 100% came from grandma Fa. You know Mulan's grandmother. I want that woman to teach her great grand children things she wasn't supposed to. Like and she words and how to trick mushu or something.

Another point is (I've seen someone talk about it, I'll credit them if I can find it) the situation with Yi-Min. They grew up together with Lonnie and her cousins. Like Mulan saved China with these man of course their children are best friends. Also I love that she also competes in the Auradon warrior thing.

One more thing, I know it's already too long and I didnt have my fixation on Mulan and Mulan 2 yet so Lonnie and family are not people I've given much thought about but still....

We knew King beast had like all magical and non magical stuff collected in the museum but why? Like why would you disarm MULTIPLE KINGDOMS. I hate that man.

Also, in Lonnie's Warrior sword it says "... There it(Shan Yu's sword) could be watched over by the Imperial Council, who oversaw all official matters in the Imperial City, until Lonnie was old enough to inherit it." Why? Why does Lonnie inherit a council. Okay I know her parents saved China but why does Lonnie inherit a council. (Do I need to rewatch the mulan movies? probably)

Anyway... with the addition of the All-Knowing-One and her potential is also being lost... I will finish my rant here.

I hope I answered your question and I am sorry if it's too long

[dorminchu]

semi-organized impressions of dune, parts 1 and 2

below the cut. mild spoilers.

12/??/21

pt1

+ despite never reading the books and going in blind, I was very interested in the world and characters. could follow along pretty well despite the density of the plot.

+ favorite characters would be leto and lady atredies, and reverend mother mohiam. the baron is a good adversary too.

+ paul's perception of chani, and his fate/fates of others around him, changes multiple times over the course of the film. I love that scene where they finally meet for real, and she asks, something along the lines of if his visions of her were true, and he doesn't quite answer.

+ there's this air of both majesty and inescapable tragedy that permeates in this film.

- music, at times, felt like set dressing. I think toto's score compliments the vibe a bit better (the prologue/main theme certainly fits the trailer). which hurts to say, as I am a big fan of hans zimmer's work.

02/29/24

pt2

+ jessica is still a fantastic character.

+ chani and paul really grew up! both of them have excellent character arcs (and a very touching, bittersweet romance). I went through a complete 180 on my opinion of both characters (found her a little undercooked & him ambivalent to the point of vague in pt1, it feels more intentional by pt2). I've heard chiani is quite different in the books, but I can't imagine her character or their relationship being written another way.

+ paul's nutty cousin feyd was a lot of fun, as were the reverend mother(s).

+ the emperor's daughter might be my favorite character so far. paul might've met his match when it comes to strategy.

+ the zero gravity suits are so sick! guerilla warfare between the fremen & harkonen was interesting to watch unfold.

+ paul's duel with feyd is worth the price of admission.

+ riding sandworm scene(s) also worth price of admission.

- I almost wish this movie was 30-60 mins longer. could've fleshed out little bits here and there (the significance of the sand worms & loss of the temple? what/why is spice? what are the other houses like?) but at the same time, it was so much fun to be engrossed in the world and its mystery.

bonus: funniest scenes (to me):

pt 1:

during paul's duel with jamis, his mom decides NOW is a great time to chime in, "oh, paul's never been in a real duel before" or something to that effect.

pt 2:

paul explaining to chani about optimal sand-strafing technique, which was taught on the holobooks, and chani gives him a look that could either be interpreted as, "what's a holobook?" or, "okay nerd, you're still doing it wrong, let me show you how to do it properly so you don't get killed".

the baron clumsily attempting to clamber up the stairs while everyone else is busy apprehending paul. then paul looks over like, "oh hey, I haven't gotten to you have I?" and ignores EVERYONE else including THE EMPEROR just to put the baron out of his misery.