hchollym

[hchollym]

I really want to be supportive of the creators of this show. I really want to hype up the release of this new season. TDP has a bit of smaller fanbase than most shows like it and I want to show and share my love for it as much as I can. I especially don’t want to seem too negative or critical of minor details and flaws within the new season the day it gets out.

But honestly… I know I might still need to sit with my thoughts for a little bit longer so I can properly digest them, but I have so many thoughts overall on how they wrote Viren’s arc that I feel the need to share. And let me just say, plain and simply, I was not a fan.

I just have… so many mixed feelings regarding it.

Look. I understand why they made certain choices. I think it’d be really interesting to go back and analyze those choices. And obviously they had specific intentions in mind by making those choices. But do I still agree with those choices? No. I’m just going to put that there bluntly. I do not.

And, before anyone makes assumptions, no, I’m not complaining about him not being redeemed or forgiven. That’s not the part that rubs me off the wrong way.

Sure, I have other criticisms too for the season, but I feel like I can wait to share those. But with Viren, I’m kind of actually trying to resist the urge to post a whole tangent listing my complaints with how his arc was handled. I might be a little bit biased because he is my most favorite character in the entire series, but I also think that he plays a crucial role in the show as he used to be one of the main antagonists and there’s a lot of reasons I can think of how they could’ve handled his character arc in a way that would have honored his role more.

But mainly, I’m just wondering if anyone else shares this sentiment or a similar one? I don’t know if my takes on Viren’s arc will turn out to be controversial or not.

I might actually make an elaborate post explaining my thoughts on his arc more coherently later. Again though, I still need to process and evaluate my views on it for me to finalize any of my opinions.

[hchollym]

I wouldn't have minded Viren's death the way it happened if it had occurred later. Maybe in the final season, but here it unfortunately left me feeling betrayed and disappointed.

I know the intention was to show that he was finally being completely selfless and humble, sacrificing his own life to save the people of the kingdom. But the way it happened, the journey leading up to his death, just seemed cruel and unfair to me. Especially when I think about everything that happened in his life.

First, we know that his journey to darkness began precisely because he used dark magic to save his son's life. He used dark magic to save others and to serve the king. In other words, he spent his entire life destroying his own body and soul to save other people's lives, to feed the people of two entire kingdoms because somehow their rulers were incompetent to do so in the first place. So, once again, he destroys his body and soul and ends his life to save people who are okay with dark magic being useful to them once again but still continue to hate whoever uses it.

Moreover, he is forced into this when he said he wouldn't do it anymore, when he finally felt free from it. And he dies repeating that he is a servant. Again, I understand the intention of showing that he is no longer selfish and power-hungry, but when I remember that his hunger for power came from the insecurity of being someone without importance and value, seeing him die saying that was very sad. As if he, a servant, could never be anything else.

So, no, I didn't like Viren's ending as it was done.

Honestly, I find myself wishing he had died at the end of Season 3 because it feels like all his development in the last two seasons was thrown away and served no purpose. Because if Viren remained dead and Claudia still chose to follow Aaravos, Soren doesn't discover the truth, then what was the point of bringing Viren back to life? What was the point of him being, as far as we know, the only person ever resurrected? What was the point of him being able to see a vision of himself from the future and the past? Why did he have visions of Aaravos' mirror? And his constant visions with Claudia? That obvious connection to the Star Arcanum served no purpose?

Besides, knowing the true reason for Aaravos' revenge plans simply makes the way he dealt with Viren, Claudia, and Sir Sparklepuff in the last three seasons very, very strange. And here, I'm not judging the character but the writers who crafted this confusing plot. Because noticing the similarities between Viren's and Aaravos' stories, I don't see why Aaravos didn't reveal that to Viren. I know that if he had treated Viren as he did in Seasons 2 and 3, he would have convinced Viren to stay on his side. But instead, Aaravos pushed Viren to a complete breakdown, to the point of wanting to give up dark magic.

And what was that about Lissa not wanting to shed a single damn tear to save her own son? Honestly, the revelation that Viren had to pull her hair to get the tear to save THEIR SON, when Viren had already made the greater sacrifice with his own body and soul, didn't make me mad at Viren, it made me mad at her. She even abandoned the kids afterward, and Viren is the only terrible parent here?

All that being said, Viren was my favorite character because he was the most complex, the most real, and the best written. With him dead, I've lost interest in continuing to watch the show, which is really a shame.

[hchollym]

Johnny: You good?

Ponyboy: In what sense?

Johnny: Generally.

Ponyboy: Oh, definitely not.

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Ponyboy: yeah, I'm not depressed or sad or anything.

Darry: yesterday you dropped a piece of your cake and your immediate reaction was to say "I am so sick of being alive."

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Tw:cursing

Soda: *picks up broccoli* look, it’s a tiny tree! Can I eat it?

Two bit: *picks up cauliflower* oh shit this ones dead

Darry and pony:

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Two bit: Do you think lava would taste spicy?

Darry: Please DO NOT eat lava!

Ponyboy: Actually, since lava is molten earth, it would probably taste very bland and dusty.

Two bit: Pony you're the only one here who understands me.

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*after an argument with pony*

darry: packing pony a lunch

darry: these were not made with love today, by the way.

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Darry: I'm... I'm at a lost for words

Pony, narrating: Despite being at a loss for words, he proceeds to yell at me for the next twenty minutes

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*Ponyboy, Sodapop, and Darry are playing poker. Ponyboy is winning by a long shot.*  Sodapop: Aw, come on.  Darry: It’s not fair! He doesn't even know what we’re playing!  Ponyboy: Go Fish?

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darry: u ever get so tired u start seeing spiders

pony: me after i take 17 benadryls and start seeing the hat man

darry: THE WHO???

pony: oh this isn’t a safe place suddenly

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Soda: Steve and I got married!

Pony: don’t share your personal problems with everybody else

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Ponyboy: Am I in trouble?

Darry: Take a guess.

Ponyboy: No?

Darry: Take another guess.

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Ponyboy: you know when I said bring me back something from the beach, I meant like a cool rock or something.

Curly, struggling to hold a seagull in his grip: well you didn't say that, now did you.

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Ponyboy, when Darry is paying attention to him: I have never met you in my life. You bastard. You fiend. Stop this at once.

Ponyboy, when Darry is busy and can't be with him right that second: Where are my kisses from brother? Where is my snuggles and cuddles that I crave so dearly? You are cruel and unjust, brother, and I am going to scream.

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Darry: I've only slept nine hours over the past four days, so I'm right on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Darry: *bites the handle of his coffee mug*

Darry: This isn't a bagel.

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*Ponyboy and Sodapop standing by the DX and watching Steve from a distance*

Sodapop, pointing to Steve: That's the man I've gotta crush on.

Sodapop, turning to Ponyboy: Thoughts?

Ponyboy: ...

Ponyboy: And prayers, man.

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Johnny: I am very small and I have no money, so you can imagine the kind of stress that I'm under.