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Season Review: 13 Reasons Why - Season 4 (Netflix, 2020)

Netflix’s dropped the final season of their controversial teen drama 13 Reasons Why last week and, as expected, it quickly climbed to the number one spot and was trending. Albeit the trending topic was full of just as many people saying “don’t watch the show” as there were fans talking about the show but that’s too be expected.

Inspired by the teen best selling novel by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why was adapted into a television series by Brian Yorkey in 2017 and has since spanned four seasons despite controversy from critics, parents, and teenagers. The fourth and final season of the series follow the same group of Liberty High teenagers, now seniors, as they grabble with the aftermath of their decision to frame a murder on a fellow Liberty High student who was sent to prison for sexual assault and ultimately died in prison. Each of the core cast is dealing with the aftermath in different ways with Clay (Dylan Minnette) experiencing the most negative reaction due in part to his deteriorating mental health.

In true 13 Reasons Why fashion, the season deals with a variety of topics ranging from the ongoing drug use of students, their safety in school, mental health, and it even touches upon the very timely topic of police brutality and racial profiling. And of course, it had to pull one last controversial publicity stunt which left one of our beloved characters dead before graduation day.

I’ve already written about my overall thoughts on the characters outcomes but I felt the final season also warranted its own review. In addition to the usual categories, I’ve also includes a spot for my favorite character and favorite couple of the entire season since this is the final season. Least favorite character of the series will not be featured because I don’t feel the need to write anything more about Bryce. I’m also going to try to keep the character portions short so that I don’t repeat myself.

As always, spoilers are ahead.

Favorite Episode: 4×09 — “Prom”

All I’ve ever wanted is for this group of teenagers to be happy and actually enjoy their youth instead of dealing with whatever shit was complicating their lives. Episode 9 finally gave that to us, if you ignore the last 3 minutes of the episode like I’m choosing to do.

This episode had some of my favorite scenes that left me crying tears of joy and had my heart swelling with pride. It was also the first time, in a long time, that we saw the entire group back together in Clay and Justin’s bedroom. I’ve always said this show is best when it’s characters are all united and share the screen together and that scene proved I was right. If only they would have supported each other from the beginning of this season instead of just at the end.

Episode 9 is also home to both Charlie and Alex’s coming out moments and they could not have been more perfect. I absolutely love that both of their families were accepting and didn’t even question their sons. Charlie’s scene with his dad literally had me laughing out loud when they were talking about Charlie’s obsession with Eli Manning. It’s such an innocent thing and yet it showcases that LGBT kids and teens are just like their heterosexual counterparts who have innocent crushes on celebrities and athletes. I also love that his dad basically said he knew but wanted Charlie to come to him when he was ready.

Alex’s coming out moment was equally as cute. I really loved the fact that his wasn’t a coming-out moment in the traditional sense because he didn’t sit his parents down and talk to them about his sexuality. Instead, he just shows up with Charlie who he introduces as his boyfriend. It was perfect and honestly, I think more shows and films should deal with coming-out stories that happen like this. I was once again laughing when Alex’s brother got all excited because he was dating the quarterback of the Liberty High football team. Plus, the heartfelt moment with both of his parents warmed my heart. All they’ve ever wanted for their son is to see him happy and healthy and they finally got that.

I loved Charlie’s promposals and how he kept trying to one-up them to get Alex to say yes. I’m wondering though if maybe he should have tried something more low-key and intimate since that seems to be more of Alex’s style. Either way, they were all cute and I’m glad Alex finally said yes. Also, I love that they finally realized that Jess didn’t need a boy on her arm to have a good time. Having her go with Ani was cute and felt a bit full circle since the only ever girlfriend she had was Hannah who she had a falling out with before her death. And I also love that Clay tagged along with Alex and Charlie to make sure Alex was comfortable. He’s always looking out. Honorable cute mentions also go to Caleb for finally getting Tony to participate in high school activities and Tyler for going with Estella and having the best time ever.

Of course, the prom scene as a whole was amazing (again, until the last 3 minutes which I will not be mentioning again…hopefully). Seeing these kids get to be teenagers warmed my heart and it was everything I ever wanted. I loved that the football team was behind Charlie and Alex winning Prom Kings. It really showed a growth in the team since they’d been homophobic and rapists in prior seasons but have finally started to mature and “be better” as Zach and later Charlie helped instill in them. I also love that Ani and Clay finally hashed out their weird relationship and that they were able to move on as friends.

I was so glad when Justin showed up at the prom. He deserved to have a great time and enjoy his dwindling senior year just like the rest of his friends. I love how they show the scene when Jess spots him in this cinematic and romantic way. Was it cheesy? Yes, but dammit these two deserve all the cheesiness after everything they’ve been through. I also love Jess’s line telling him to never love anything more than life. It was perfect and everything I wanted.

Oh, and Clay asking his mom to dance was equally as adorable.

The only thing I felt this episode needed (other than a different ending) was the inclusion of “The Night We Met.” That song is a staple of this series and it would have been nice to have it played at their final dance. Perhaps, they could have all come together on the dance floor like they did in season 2 for Clay.

Least Favorite Episode: 4×03 — “Valentine’s Day”

To be honest, the whole first half of the season was a hot mess but I think my least favorite episode had to be the third episode. I literally almost stopped watching after it because it no longer felt like I was watching 13 Reasons Why.

I found it to be an interesting choice by the writers to write another episode centered around a dance when we were going to get a prom episode and have had multiple dance centric episodes in prior seasons. I think it would have been more interesting if they set the drama somewhere else. Then again, dances seem to be the only way to get all these characters in one place at the same time so I digress.

My biggest issue with this episode was the whole plot surrounding Clay and the mysterious phone calls. I felt like I was watching a cheap knock off of Scream every time Clay answered the phone and was tormented by the caller. Of all the dumb things this show has done, this was the dumbest and completely unnecessary. After all, Clay had been cleared from being a person-of-interest in Bryce’s murder before Ani’s confession that Monty was the one who did it. Therefor, the football teams motive for taking their anger and emotions for Monty out on Clay made zero sense. Not to mention, they did it in the most unoriginal way ever.

This episode also featured Winston and Alex getting closer and dating. Look, I believe most characters can change and be good people but Winston doesn’t seem to be one of those people. Granted, Alex didn’t know who he was or his involvement with Monty at the time but we did which made it hard for me to root for these two. Winston may have actually had feelings for Alex, but to me he was just using him to get information and that is totally not cool.

I also greatly disliked Clay and Ani in this episode. It’s clear that their relationship has run its course and Ani’s constant need to keep pushing Clay to be with her was dumb. Ani is such a smart character and yet she does the stupidest things. She definitely needed one of Jess’s woman empowerment speeches.

Also I absolutely hated Zach yelling at Justin and then Jess yelling at Justin — even if she was right to do so.

By far the worst thing about this episode had to be the ending sequence with Clay in the shower and then on the football field. Of course, the episode then ended with him walking into the gym with a red stained shirt holding a knife. Definitely not a good image for Clay but what really killed me is that everyone blamed him for brining a knife to the dance when Diego and his boys literally planted it for him to take! Once again 13 Reasons Why forgets its own plot for more drama.

Favorite Character This Season: Charlie St. George

While Charlie might not be my all-time favorite character, he definitely earned the prize of being my favorite character this season.

Charlie was the one character this season who was actually there for everyone around him and wasn’t consumed with his own issues. In fact, Charlie is so selfless that he chose to get involved with all their drama last season when he didn’t need to but did anyway because he knew it was the right thing to do.

As for this season, well Charlie continued to out do himself. He helped Justin hold the football team accountable when they were being dicks. He made sure Jess was getting the team’s undivided attention during her speech. He tried to help Tony decide on what to do about Tyler’s gun pictures during the lockdown and he even calmed Alex down during one of his anxiety attacks. Not to mention, he researched Alex’s TBI so that he’d know what to expect and how to handle any issues that may arise from it. His helpfulness didn’t stop there. He also tried to be there for Clay and for Justin during the season. And he even went as far as tracking down Zach and forcing him to go see Justin in the hospital when he was dying.

If all that doesn’t prove that he’s the best character than I don’t know what will.

He also had the best coming-out moment and literally ruled the prom with Alex as his date.

So yeah, Charlie was the best.

Favorite Character Of The Series: Justin Foley

Since this is the final season, I also wanted to speak about my favorite character of the entire show: Justin Foley. If you read my other post this should come as no surprise that Justin is my ride-or-die character.

Justin is my favorite character because he has one of the best character arcs of the entire series (if you ignore the final episode and is horrible fate). In the first season he was this angry and broken kid who was so distraught with guilt that he turned to the streets for some kind of relief and eventual revenge. Thankfully, Clay and Tony were there to save him and the Jenson’s were kind enough to offer him a home when he had no where else to turn.

Sure, Justin still struggled with his addiction but he tried and fought so damn hard to get better. Relapse is part of the recovery process and if you recall, most of the times Justin relapsed were do in part to major things happening in his life, like his biological mother’s overdose which lead to her death.

Despite all the things against him, Justin finally got help this season and was on the path to recovery. He was thriving in school, had a college acceptance letter in his hands, and was finally happy. All Justin ever wanted to do was live and he constantly tried to do that.

As you know from my character thoughts post, I was completely devastated when he died. It’s been a week and I’m still not over it. I honestly feel like I lost someone I knew in real life.

Despite his ill fitted and unnecessary ending, Justin Foley had the best character development of this group. He was the one character who deserved to live more than anything. In my head, he’s alive and thriving in college while having regular FaceTime dates with Jess.

Least Favorite Character This Season: Winston

Avoiding the obvious answers like Bryce and Monty, who I hate with my entire being, I’ve decided that Winston is my least favorite character of season 4.

I mentioned this in my other post but I’m going to say it again, Winston is nothing more than a knock-off Clay who doesn’t have half the heart that Clay Jenson has.

I can’t get behind Winston because his entire character is rooted in being a rapist apologist because he “loved” Monty. Obviously, I don’t think Winston is a terrible person but I do think something is wrong with him since he is able to have feelings for Monty despite knowing all the terrible and hurtful things he did to people. I mean Mrs. Walker couldn’t look her own son in the eyes after learning everything he did and you’re telling me that Monty can turn a blind eye to it because he’s in love. I call bullshit.

I didn’t feel like Winston’s actions this season were rooted in good like Clay’s were. I think every relationship he formed with the core group was made because he wanted to get information out of them.

The only good thing Winston did was not turn Alex in for killing Bryce. In my opinion, though, that doesn’t redeem him for spending the entire season trying to seek revenge for Monty.

Favorite Couple This Season: Alex and Charlie

Let’s be honest, 13 Reasons Why doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to relationships. Even the most iconic and shippable couples on the show are problematic. Which is why I was so shocked and proud when the writers finally decided to show a happy and healthy relationship, between two boys to top it all off!

While I’ll admit, I had been hoping that Alex would end up with Zach this season I am 110% sold that he was destined to be with Charlie. As I’ve said before and in this very post, Charlie is so caring and attentive to Alex that you can tell his feelings are completely authentic and he has no ulterior motive for wanting/choosing to be with Alex.

In fact, if you watch the third season carefully, you’ll notice that Charlie had taken an interest in Alex during that season. It just wasn’t as prominent on the screen. Perhaps, that’s part of the reason Charlie decided to get involved with this group. And once he found out Alex was the one who needed saving he jumped into action to plant Bryce’s tape on Monty. But that might be my brain stretching.

Regardless, Charlie and Alex are the perfect teenage couple and the by far the healthiest couple of this entire show. They’re there for each other, they celebrate each other’s victories (even if Alex doesn’t always understand them) and their love is unconditional.

These two may be Prom Kings but they’re also Kings of healthy relationships.

Favorite Couple Of The Series: Justin and Jess

Even though Alex and Charlie are the healthiest couple and by far my favorite this season, I can’t help but continue to ship Jess and Justin.

Now listen, these two are not a couple that should be idolized. They’re extremely toxic at times and they are way too dependent on each other. Not to mention, the origins of their relationship are complex and for some, immensely problematic. And yet, here I am stanning this couple because they’re so made for each other.

Part of what makes Justin and Jess work is that they understand each other, even when they don’t always want to. They both have been in each others shows. They both know what it’s like to be at rock bottom and to climb out on top. Beyond that, they’re (usually) always there for each other or at least are cheering each other on in some way.

Was Jess wrong this season to lash out as Justin when he told her he needed to focus on herself? Absolutely. But Justin was also in the wrong a few seasons ago when he didn’t fight to help Jess enough. Regardless of their issues and arguments, these two are always finding their way back to each other.

I loved that Justin went to Jess’s aide during the lockdown. Sure, it took Diego being an ass to get him there but I’m pretty sure he would have went regardless. Frankly I’m convinced that Justin was texting Jess during the lockdown before he even went down to see her. And, despite everything going on, in that moment they felt safe, because they were together.

I love that Justin, even though he was jealous of Diego, never really made it an issue — or at least, a major issue. When Zach is trying to rile him up at the Valentine’s Day dance Justin reminds him that Jess doesn’t belong to him. It’s the smallest thing but it a sign that he loves and respects Jess enough to let her be on her own. In fact, I’d argue that the real issue he has with Jess seeing Diego is that Diego is a complete dick to Clay and is obsessed with finding out the truth about Monty.

I love that Jess is (almost) always there for Justin. Should she have pulled him out of the alleyway when she finds him doing drugs again? Absolutely, but I think her choosing to walk away was an extremely hard decision for her to make. And I’m glad their story didn’t end there. I absolutely loved Jess’s speech to Justin at the prom. And the scene of them in the hospital completely wrecked me. Hearing Jess say that Justin taught her to love when he was still convinced he ruined her life was seriously the most heartbreaking thing ever.

As I said, I’m pretending these two are living a happy and healthy life because that’s what they deserve.

Complaints:

13 Reasons Why is strongest when the cast is together and supporting each other. Unfortunately this season everything felt disjointed, especially these characters relationships with each other. Alex and Jess had barely any scenes together despite committing a murder together. Zach was messy the entire season and acting very out of character. And no one cared enough to help him. Alex did try but it didn’t feel like enough, or maybe Zach was just too stubborn to accept it. The golden trio (Clay, Justin, and Jess) had little to no scenes until the end which hurt me to my core. I felt like Justin was missing from the first half of the season and then when he did get more time on screen he was literally dying. Clay and Tony barely had any scenes together and seemed annoyed with each other. Tyler was basically on his own this season – at least he had Estella. I guess I had higher hopes that our core group would be stronger than ever but that simply wasn’t the case and I’m upset about it.

My other major problem this season was the show’s need to try to be a psychological thriller. I fully support them wanting to show Clay’s deteriorating mental state and I found it interesting that they chose to go the disassociating route but I am not a fan of how they did it. I felt like the writers forgot the genre of their show. As I mentioned above, I also hated the football team using their phones to torment Clay. It was stupid and unoriginal.

Another issue I had this season was the fact that both Ani and Zach out Alex to different people. In Ani’s case she outed Alex to Clay by confessing that she caught him making out with Winston in the hallway during the dance. As for Zach, he outed Alex to almost all of their friends during the senior camping trip after learning that Alex broke up with Winston. While neither of them outed Alex with malicious intent, it was still wrong. I would have liked to see Alex confront them about it, at some point.

I absolutely hated and was disgusted at the fact the show tried to portray both Clay and Zach as people who would rape unconscious women who were unable to consent. I will never forgive the writers for that. It literally served no purpose and completely went again both of their characters.

I also found it extremely random and unneccesary that Clay hooks up with Valerie, Sheriff Diaz’s daughter, at that party. I don’t care that he hooked up with someone but because it was the daughter of the Sheriff I wanted that to be a bigger moment. I was waiting and expecting Sheriff Diaz to find out and flip out on Clay but that never happened. As it stands now, the only purpose that scene had was to inform us that Sheriff Diaz did have a family which would make his speech to Alex’s dad at the end of the season make sense.

I also wasn’t a fan of Monty and Bryce’s presence this season. Both of them already got their moments in the spotlight we didn’t need to see them again. They were monsters who don’t deserve any sort of redemption or yet another attempt of a redemption arc. I also found it extremely peculiar that Clay was the one that was seeing them. As I’ve said before, Clay wasn’t the one who came up with the idea to frame Monty so I wasn’t totally sure why he felt so guilty. I also hated that they gave Jess another scene with ghost Bryce at the end instead of having her see ghost Justin. If anyone deserved to be in that final scene where they’re burying Hannah’s tapes it was Justin. After all, he’s where the story began.

Speaking of the final scene, I felt it odd that they decided to bring Courtney and Ryan back. If they were going to reunite the entire tape crew where were Marcus and Sheri? Even though they weren’t prominent in the episode I felt their screen time could have been given to one of the other core characters instead.

Another minor thing, I missed the smooth transitions in and out of scenes that 13 Reasons Why always seemed to nail. I know they were mainly used when the story was switching from past and present but I truly missed them this season. Everything felt harsh and jagged and I wasn’t a fan.

Lastly, and this one is going to be obvious. I hated that they killed Justin. There was no reason for his death. There was no hint that he was the one who was going to die. It was unnecessary and a last ditch attempt to be controversial and shocking. I’m not over it and I’ll never be over it.

Praise:

Most of the things I’m going to write here I’ve said elsewhere so I apologize for any repetition.

As I said above, one of my favorite things about this season was Alex and Charlie’s coming out scenes. Something I have yet to mention though, is that I love how Alex turned to Tony when he was still in the midst of questioning his sexuality. It was a really sweet moment and it showcased Tony and Alex’s friendship. I also love that Tony answered the question without questing Alex on why he was asking. Tony could have asked Alex if he was questioning his sexual identity or something else but he chose not to because it’s not his place.

Speaking of Tony, I adored the scene with his father when Caleb told him about Tony’s college opportunity. Tony was so adamant on turning it down because he wanted to keep the auto shop going and to hear his father tell him that Tony is his dream was heartwarming. I think we all knew that his father just wants what is best for Tony but to hear him say it was important.

I did like the scene where the tape crew was reunited. It felt very full circle but I think they should have burned the tapes instead of burying them. I swear to god, if in 10 years this show gets a reboot because someone finds the tapes I’m going to die. I was a bit confused though since it didn’t appear that all the tapes were in the box. And I still think Justin should have been a part of it in some way. After all, he was the start of the tapes. Bryce may have brought them all together in a twisted way, but without Justin they wouldn’t have existed either.

Everything considered, I’m glad we did get to see Jess and Justin together in the end. To me they are endgame — even though Diego tries to get Jess to date him right after Justin’s death. I’ll cherish the prom scene and even the scenes in the hospital forever.

Also regarding Justin’s fate, I loved his final scene with Clay. The series spends so much time trying to get us to believe that Justin found a brother in Bryce, but I never bought it. Justin’s only brother was Clay and that essay proved that. It was so heartfelt and sad and I loved it. I also love that Clay admits to Justin that he doesn’t know how to go on without him but Justin assures him that he does.

I also did like the ending scene with Clay and Tony, even though in my perfect world it was Clay and Justin driving off to college together. It was a nice full circle moment. Although, I will admit my anxiety was through the roof because I seriously thought they were going to get into an accident. After all, it is 13 Reasons Why.

Lastly, I want to discuss the final scene at the police station between Alex’s dad and Sheriff Diaz. I spent a lot of this season and last season hating Sheriff Diaz but he certainly redeemed himself in that moment. There’s no doubt in my mind that he realized that Alex was the one who killed Bryce. And yet, he understood that Alex is a good kid who doesn’t deserve to be in jail. He understood that Bryce and Monty were both monsters. He knew that if the truth got out Alex’s dad would fall apart. His speech about putting family before his job was important and impactful.

As I’ve said, of all the shitty things this show has done the one thing they actually got right was letting Alex walk free. I never would have forgiven them if they had sent Alex to jail. After all, he’s not a monster he’s the hero of the story.

                                                         * * *

I still have mixed feelings about the final season and I think I will for the rest of time. Had they not have killed Justin I feel like I would have felt a lot better about the conclusion of the show. But if 13 Reasons Why has taught me anything its that life is not fair and that we cannot let tragedy dictate our entire lives. We must live (and continue watching questionable television shows).

You can stream the final season of 13 Reasons Why on Netflix.

What did you think of the final season of 13 Reasons Why? What was your favorite and least favorite episode? Who do you ship? Are you happy with the ending? Let me know in the comments or by tweeting me @3RsBlog.

Featured Image Source: Netflix

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13 Reasons Why: Season 4 -- Character Thoughts

I’ve written about 13 Reasons Why twice before. Once when the first season came out and then last year I did a character breakdown for season 3. It feels a bit surreal to sit down and write what is quite possibly the last thing I ever write for this godforsaken Netflix show.

Here’s the thing, 13 Reasons Why has been a downright mess from the beginning. It is by no means a show that people should watch lightly or a show that should be consumed to understand mental health issues despite what it tried to market itself as. It was controversial for the sake of being flashy, it constantly disobeyed the recommendations from mental health consultants, and it was god awfully graphic when it didn’t need to be. And yet, despite graphically showing a suicide, showing multiple sexual assaults, and trying to get viewers to sympathize with rapists the worst thing this show has ever done is write season 4.

Now, here me out on this.

Were their amazing and heartfelt moments during this season? Yes, absolutely and they warmed my heart and made me smile. As a whole though, this season was a disoriented shit show that culminated in an almost two hour finale that left me sobbing so hard I gave myself a migraine.

I have a lot to say about the season and these characters and to be honest, this rant is probably going to be as disjointed as this season felt but I’m going to write it anyway. So here I go with another (and final) character analysis for the cast of 13 Reasons Why.

Clay Jenson

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again Clay Jenson has never been my favorite. And yet, I’ve spent four entire seasons hoping and praying that this boy gets the mental help he needs.

When the trailer came out for this season I was really upset because it made it seem that they were going to have Clay go to therapy with a therapist who was going to make his life a living hell. I was literally ready to write a rant about how disappointed I would be if this show ended with the message that “therapy isn’t helpful,” so I am extremely glad I didn’t have to do that.

Honestly though, I wasn’t sure why Clay was having such a strong reaction this season. After all, he wasn’t the one who spearheaded the cover up campaign nor was he a fan of Bryce or Monty. Clay should have been relatively okay this season and yet that’s not what we got.

To be honest, I spent the first part of this season extremely annoyed with Clay. One of his biggest issues, and issues for the entire cast of characters, is that they don’t reach out for help when they need it. Sure, Clay didn’t realize he was the one who vandalized the school and tormented his friends but he also didn’t tell the truth on how his depression and anxiety were manifesting worse than ever. Instead, he pushed everyone away…again.

Speaking of the disassociation, the way they shot those scenes and him coming out of them was bizarre. It’s almost like they forget 13 Reasons Why is an angsty teen drama and not some psychological thriller. I was definietly not a fan and truthfully almost stopped watching this season because of it (maybe I should have since it would have saved me a heartbreak).

The disassociation scene that really got me upset though was the one where he’s in the frat house with the passed out girl. I will never understand how the writers could write that scene. How could they put Clay and Bryce in the same room with an unconscious girl and have Clay actually consider raping her. I was floored and disgusted. This entire show is built on the fact that Clay Jenson actively despises rapist. That he would never and I mean NEVER take advantage of some girl for his own selfish gain. I hated this scene and the way the writers tried to make it seem like Clay was just like Bryce all along. That’s the furthest thing from the truth. Clay might be fucked up but he is no where on the level of Bryce.

I also don’t understand why Clay kept visualizing Bryce and Monty. Once again it felt like the writers were trying to get us to sympathize with these two rapists but fuck that. Bryce and Monty weren’t good people, they were monsters. And Clay actively hated them which is why I don’t understand why his subconscious kept dreaming them up. I understand the writers wanted to keep them in the show but I can’t stand behind the way they did it.

Something that really suck out to me was when Clay was in a therapy session and the therapist said something along the lines of you try your best to save everyone else but maybe you need to focus on you right now. Obviously, I’m paraphrasing here but that scene was impactful. For four seasons we’ve seen Clay set aside his trauma to help his friends. He tried to find justice for Hannah after her death, he talked Tyler down from doing something he’d regret, he literally saved Justin’s life, and he was willing to take the fall for Alex. All of his friends knew they could count on him and yet, Clay could never count on himself. I’m glad that started to change towards the end but I wish he would have realized it sooner and also confided in his friends to help him out.

One of my biggest complaints this season though has to be the way Clay treated his friends — in case that hasn’t been clear. Yes, he needed to focus on himself but that doesn’t mean he had to be so distant from his friends. He could have confided in them. He could have told Justin the truth just like he should have seen that Justin wasn’t okay. He could have talked to Tyler about the guns instead of being annoyed that Tony wanted him to help him stalk Tyler. He could have been there for Ani when her mother got injured. He could have been there for Zach who was clearly struggling. He could have been there for Alex who was clearly lost. He could have but he didn’t. Yes, he needed to focus on himself but alienating himself from his friends was the wrong move.

There is no denying that Clay Jenson has had a rough go at life. I did appreciate the fact that he got to give the graduation speech. Clay does have a way for words and he does have a thing for standing up for what is right. I like that Clay’s speech was honest but also hopefully, especially since he spent this entire season actively despising the future. After all, Clay has to live a life for himself and for the three people he loved who don’t get to have one.

I also loved that despite their rocky relationship this season the writers showed us that Clay and Justin were brothers, always. It absolutely broke my heart when Justin asked Clay to hold his hand in the hospital bed (and now I’m crying again). I’m glad in the end though, we got to have one more sweet and brotherly moment between these two when Clay found Justin’s college application letter.

There is a lot to unpack when it comes to Clay Jenson and I’m not quite sure I’ve had time to fully process him. One thing I do know for sure is that Clay Jenson loves so much and has been hurt so many times it’s unfair. He’s come so far from the jaded, out for revenge boy from the first season. I just wish he didn’t have to go through so much trauma to get there.

Justin Foley

Of all the death on 13 Reasons Why of all the fucked up shit this show has explored, nothing could have prepared me to watch Justin die.

I can count on my hands the amount of times I’ve cried over a character’s death but nothing compares to the sobbing that occurred in the final episode. I literally had to stop multiple times because I was crying so hard I couldn’t even hear.

Justin Foley has been my ride or die character from the very beginning. It’s like Hannah said “so that’s where the trouble began, that damn smile.” I have never rooted for a character as hard as I rooted for Justin Foley because the boy had potential, he did.

In case I haven’t made myself clear, Justin Foley did not deserve to die and I will never forgive the writers for taking yet another character from us and from this group of friends.

Here’s the thing that’s so frustrating, Justin has the best character development of any of the characters on 13 Reasons Why. In the first season, he went from this cocky jock who felt he found brotherhood in his rich best friend to this broken boy who felt so alone and responsible for Bryce’s actions that he ran away and turned to the streets and drugs for comfort. And then Clay saved him because Clay saw two things in Justin. 1. He knew Justin could help them get Bryce behind bars and 2. He saw potential in Justin. And so from that moment on Justin tried as hard as he could to do the right thing. Did he fail at times? Of course, but no character in this show actively tried to do and be better than Justin. No character wanted to live more than Justin. And to have him die feels like such a slap in the face to his journey.

I had such high hopes for Justin this season when he came back home from treatment. He was taking his recovery seriously, so seriously he even broke up with Jess which killed them both. He was helping Coach with the team, he was doing well in school and not skipping classes, hell he was even excited at the idea of being able to go to college. He was finally able to see a future for himself and then, within a second it was gone.

Even though Justin relapsed after his mother’s death and pushed everyone away, he still came to his senses and realized he fucked up. He detoxed himself, again, and came clean to Clay and his family. He wanted to get better, even in his lowest moment. He even pulled himself out of bed because there was no way he was going to miss prom.

Thank god he got his fairytale dance with Jess before everything came crashing down.

I am so mad about his death because the writers had the ability to chose a different fate for Justin. They had a chance to actually do something good with their show and show that people with HIV can live happy and fulfilling lives and instead they bought into this bullshit that an HIV diagnosis is a death sentence. Instead of giving us the happily ever after Justin deserved they let him become another character lost.

And for what? For shock value? For controversy? For attention?

There was no reason Justin should have died. There was no hint that it was his funeral we were seeing until the last two episodes. Some might say that’s good writing since they mislead us but I think that’s bullshit. What was the point of showing us a happy and thriving Justin only to have that imaged ripped away from us?

Someone please make it make sense.

And then, as if that wasn’t bad enough they have Clay see Justin with Bryce after his death. Why are these writers so hell bent on making Justin and Bryce seem like brothers. Newsflash, Justin already had a brother and his name was Clay Jenson. While I understand the point of Justin’s forgiveness speech was meant to get Clay to realize that he needed to forgive Hannah I am so pissed that they framed it within the context of Bryce. Once again I say, Bryce was not a good person he was a serial rapist and a monster. Stop humanizing him! Thank god, that wasn’t Justin’s final scene because I would have been so pissed.

In the end, I’m glad we got to see and hear what Justin thought of Clay. I know we’ve heard and seen them be brotherly before but hearing Justin say that Clay was his positive influence, his brother, and the reason he was alive was everything. Here’s the thing though, Clay may have saved Justin but Justin was the one who stayed alive. It’s like Jess said “don’t love anything more than life.” And Justin didn’t. He loved life so much and they took that away from him.

What was the point of having the boy, this broken and soft boy, do all this work and come so far just to have him ripped away from the future he so desperately wanted. The show had already made its point that life isn’t fair and it sucks it didn’t need to take Justin too.

Justin Foley deserved to graduate with his brother, love of his life, and best friends. Justin deserved to go to college. He deserved to have more family breakfasts with the Jensons. He deserved to settle down and have a family of his own. He deserved so much more.

I am so proud of how far Justin came and the writers can fuck off for ending it all.

Jessica Davis

I’ve always loved Jess but she is really stupid sometimes. Unfortunately, she was stupid most of this final season.

I know Jess was expecting to be in a relationship with Justin when he got home from treatment and I know it must have hurt having him tell her that he needed to focus on himself but she was so wrong for lashing out at him. She should have stood by his side. She should have understood! And maybe she did in the end because she did tell him not to love anything more than life ever again but fuck she needed to tell that to him in that moment.

So yeah I was annoyed with Jess this season. Not just because she left Justin when he needed support but because she, too, pulled away from everyone who cared and loved her.

I would like to preface this by saying that I read someone say something like “Jess can’t call herself a feminist because she fucks with boys to fuck with their emotions.” My response to that person and that thought process is fuck you. Newsflash, a person can be a feminist and like sex. A girl can be a feminists and still make mistakes.

Now that that is out of the way, I will say that I do not agree with Jess’s choices this season. She should have never got involved with Diego. I don’t care if she was “trying to keep him at bay” or “trying to see what he knew” she should not have been with him. After the thing with Justin, Jess should have taken the time to figure out who she was just like Justin was trying to figure out who he was. After all, no one really believed that Jess and Justin weren’t still in love with each other. Her story would have been so much more interesting if we got to see her support herself and support Justin in his sobriety instead of doing whatever the fuck she thought she was doing. Not to mention, she should never have walked away from him when she caught him relapsing in the ally way. I don’t care that he yelled at her, she should have pulled his ass out of there and taken him home. Not because it’s her responsibility to keep him alive but because she knew him better than anyone and knew that he didn’t deserve to be there again.

Not to mention, her dating Diego took away from all the cute Justin/Jess moments we deserved and now are never going to get.

The sad thing is, that’s not the only mistake the writers made with Jess.

Aside from abandoning Justin in the moment, one of my biggest issues with Jess was her complicated feelings around Bryce continued to be a big part of this season. Which again I say, Bryce was a rapist who didn’t deserve redemption so stop trying to make it happen.

The final scene after graduation where Jess sees Bryce and goes up to him ignited a rage within me that I actually stopped my inconsolable crying. In the scene, Bryce tells Jess that he won again to which Jess responds that they never would have all be friends if it wasn’t for him. Bryce then tells her “well that’s something right?”

While yes, this group of friends probably wouldn’t have been friends if it wasn’t for Bryce that doesn’t suddenly make Bryce a good person. Jess shouldn’t have even given Bryce the time of day. The ghost she should have seen should have been Justin. Let’s face it, Justin was the one who deserved to be in that final scene not fucking Bryce.

The only thing that Jess did do right, in regards to Bryce, was confronting Ani for sleeping with him. I’m glad she finally got hash that out because I truly cannot believe it was never a bigger issue with their friendship.

Another thing I still can’t get over is the fact that Jess dated Diego who spent the entire season trying to bring justice to Monty, a rapist who happened to rape one of Jess’s best friends. So yeah I’m anti Diego/Jess. Oh, and I also hated the fact that they tried to make it seem like Jess was going to end up with Diego “in a month.” Hello, the love of her life just died! The two of you are getting HIV tested because of his death and you think now is a good time to ask her out? Give me a fucking break.

I also didn’t understand why she pulled away from Alex and the rest of the group this season. Jess and Alex literally are ride or die and yet they basically ignored each other the entire season. I would have liked to see them bonding more. It would have been nice to see Alex confide in Jess about his sexuality. Maybe Alex could have helped Jess understand why Justin couldn’t have been in a relationship. I just wanted more of them together.

Again I will say, this cast is strongest when they rely on each other and no one seemed to rely on each other at all this season.

For all the negatives regarding Jess this season there were some positives. The scene where she leads the walk out after the fake shooter drill and the cameras and Diego being racially profiled was amazing. That is the Jess I love to see. The strong and outspoken Jess who stands up for what is right, even if it means she’s going to get in trouble. That episode was also extremely relevant in more ways than I can even begin to explain (but that’s a topic for another day).

I am glad we did get some quality Justin/Jess content. Though I would have liked more. I wanted to see the exchange that occurred when she found out his mother died. I would have liked to see them celebrate Justin getting into college and figuring out what Jess’s future was going to be since she got denied from her top three schools. Again, I wanted to see them support each other. However, I am so glad we got that dance scene at prom. If only the show had ended there. Truthfully that scene encompasses why I love Justin and Jess together so much. Are they a toxic couple, yes? But dammit, they love each other so much while also reminding each other not to put their love for one another above their love for life.

I’m also glad we got to see Justin and Jess in the hospital together even if it killed me. I’m glad Jess got to tell Justin one more time that he didn’t ruin her life, that he helped her find love. I’m glad they got to spend one more moment cuddled together in bed. I wish they had a lifetime more to spend together but dammit at least we got that scene.

When looking at Jess’s storyline as a whole from the entire series she really has come so far and yet this season she felt so stagnant. I just wanted and expected more from her.

Alex Standall

Alex Standall went from “I’m not gay” to making out with three boys and landing the best boyfriend ever all in the span of 10 episodes and I could not be more proud.

Given all Alex has been through he honestly was way more composed than I thought he would have been considering he was the one who killed Bryce. And yet, the only time we truly get to see him deal with the complex emotions he feels is during the camping trip when he breaks down in front of his dad. To be honest, I’m kind of glad we didn’t get an entire season of Alex being “woe is me” for killing Bryce because he really is the fucking hero of the story if you ask me.

That’s not to say Alex’s story this season is without faults.

One of the biggest issues I had with Alex this season is his disregard for Zach’s well being. Zach spent the entire second and third season working with Alex to get better. Zach was there for him in more ways than he could imagine and yet when Zach was struggling Alex didn’t show him the same kind of support. Now, some might say that’s because he felt embarrassed for kissing Zach but that’s a coup out. While the moment might have been awkward, they moved on from it. So no that’s not a reason and Alex should have been there for Zach. Hell, even in his fucked up state Zach was still championing Alex and pushing him towards Charlie. I am glad that Alex did push him to see Justin in the end but the support was long overdo.

The other issue I had with Alex this season was his relationship with Winston but to be fair, he didn’t know who Winston was when they started seeing each other so I’ll forgive him…I guess.

Now on to something positive, for once.

Alex Standall. Little Alex Standall who put Hannah and Jess against each other, who spent his entire high school career hating Justin for dating Jess, who nearly took his own life, who killed a rapist, who’s been through so much shit finally got his happily ever after. I know a lot of us were rooting for Alex and Zach to be endgame but I honestly could not be more thrilled that he got his happy ever after with Charlie.

To see Alex go from this broken and lonely kid to prom king with his boyfriend is the true definition of growth and happiness. Is Alex healed because he found love? Absolutely not, but he’s with someone who knows that Alex has a lot going on and he doesn’t care. He loves him regardless.

I really loved how causal Alex’s coming out scene was with his parents. And I loved that his brother was like “you’re dating the quarterback, that’s amazing.” It was not only heartwarming but it was funny and I loved it. I also loved that Alex didn’t have this coming out moment with his friends. He didn’t have to explain his feelings for Zach or Winston or Charlie. He didn’t have to say “I’m gay or bisexual ” to them. He just showed up with Charlie and that was that. I really applaud the writers for making that move.

I also loved that despite all their differences, Alex was able to be there for Justin in the end. It didn’t even feel like a forced thing, he wanted to be there for him. Alex even spoke, or tried to speak at Justin’s funeral and told everyone that Justin was there for him when it mattered. That showed tremendous growth for Alex who literally wanted to kill Justin more times than I can count.

Lastly, I would just like to say that I am so glad that Alex Standall is free. He didn’t deserve to go to jail for killing Bryce. There was a moment during prom where Alex, Jess, and Zach are all sitting there talking about Bryce and how he didn’t deserve to die. And I was so mad because dammit Bryce was a piece of shit who didn’t deserve to live but I think Zach really said it best, “he didn’t deserve to die, but we deserve to live.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. I’m glad Alex gets to finally live.

Zach Dempsey

All I’ve wanted for four seasons is for Zach to get the storyline he deserves and once again he was fucked over by the writers.

Here’s the thing, if Justin had the best positive character development of this cast, Zach Dempsey had the worst. After all, he spent this entire season regressing.

When Zach was first introduced back in season one he was this misguided jock who liked Hannah but had a weird way of showing it. And he was there for Alex in the second season and welcomed Justin back in the third season. We also saw him in the third season being cautious around the rest of the group after the Tyler incident. But he eventually warmed up to them all and realized that this group of friends are ride or die when it matters.

Sure, Zach had a hell of a season three ending after losing his entire athletic career at the hands of Bryce and beating the shit out of him but Zach knew he didn’t kill Bryce. In fact, the police flat out told him that in the third season which is why his choices this season made no sense to me. Perhaps, though, I’m being too narrow minded. Perhaps, Zach’s decision to drink and be reckless didn’t stem from his guilt over Bryce but rather his anger over the fact that his future was going to look completely different because of Bryce.

I will say this, Zach Dempsey deserved better from the writers but he also deserved better from his friends. I talked about this briefly with Alex’s breakdown but I’m going to say it again. Why wasn’t anyone there for Zach? Zach helped Justin get back on the football team so why the fuck didn’t Justin do more to help Zach? Surely he knows what its like to go down a destructive path. He knows the signs. Where was he?

And what about Clay? Clay practically leaves Zach for dead after crashing the car. Like what the fuck! Or Tony? I don’t think these two even say more that two words to each other this season and that’s pushing it. These two practically saved every single one of the people in the group and yet they didn’t care enough to reach out to Zach. And yes, I know everyone was going through their own shit but everyone is always going through their own shit. Zach deserved friendship. He deserved friends to call him out on his bullshit. I am glad that Alex and Charlie were able to pull him together to see Justin I just wished they had given him that pep talk sooner.

What about his family? Where was his mother or his sister? Why was no one watching out for this poor boy who was struggling? Where was his therapy session? Zach was just as worthy of being saved as everyone else.

Also, I absolutely cannot forgive the writers for making it seem like Zach was going to rape his barely conscious, sex-worker prom date. Just like Clay would never do that, Zach would never do that. He spent multiple seasons actively shutting that shit down so for the writers to even suggest he would become a monster like that is so disrespectful.

The one thing I can and will praise Zach on is his reaction when Alex kissed him on the rooftop. That scene reminded me of the sweet and innocent Zach that we had known prior to this seasons events. I love that he didn’t make things awkward or yell at Alex or anything. The two of them were able to laugh about it and move on. It never made their friendship awkward and they even joked about it later.

I am glad that by the time graduation came along Zach turned himself around. The death of Justin saved him in my opinion and in some ways I feel like Zach and Justin’s stories are eerily similar. They both saved each other at some point in time. They were both saved by their coach who gave them hell but saw potential in them. Perhaps, Justin was Zach’s cautionary tale.

Tyler Down

While I was disappointed in the lack of Tyler this season it did somewhat make sense. In my eyes, Tyler has already gotten his redemption arc so it seems fair that he could have faded in the background this season. However, when you set up the first half of the season revolving around Tyler being called into the police for the guns and then don’t explain it there a problem.

Did I think Tyler was working for the police? Yes, but it still should have been explored more. If anything else the failed sting should have been explained more. That episode ended in a cliff hanger with a gun shot going off and then the next episode started with no mention of anything. I seriously thought someone got shot but apparently that wasn’t the case.

While I understand why Tyler couldn’t tell Clay and Tony about his involvement I do think he could have given them more than just an “it’s handled.” After all, when has had anything been handled neatly when it came to this group.

I did find his relationship/friendship with Estella to be quite interesting. In some ways it’s the biggest fuck you to Monty and in other ways its extremely confusing because why on earth would someone want to be hang out with the sibling of the person who raped you. But then again, we are not products of our families, we are products of our own choices and Estella actively chose to speak out against sexual assault.

Overall, I’ve been pleased with Tyler’s journey over the course of the four seasons. I’m glad he got to live. I’m glad he’s happy. I’m glad he’s healing.

Tony Padilla

To me, Tony Padilla constantly gets treated like a secondary character when he has an important place in the overall narrative of this story. Last season we did get to learn more about his personal life and I am glad that continued this season. But I still think the writers could have given us more.

I did enjoy seeing him find himself in the boxing ring. In the first seasons Tony was this kid who was constantly getting in trouble for fighting and over the course of the remaining seasons he really learned to harness that anger into something a bit more positive. And he’s damn good at it. I’m glad Caleb and his father were able to talk him into going to college. Tony deserves the world after everything he’s been through.

One complaint I do have is how the show wants to write Clay and Tony as this ride or die friendship but they’re rarely ever there for each other unless a disaster is on the horizon. Why wasn’t Tony checking in more on Clay’s deteriorating mental state? Why wasn’t Clay present at any of Tony’s boxing matches? Why didn’t they have conversations that didn’t revolve around Tyler and the mysterious guns? If the writers really wanted us to believe that these two were ride or die they didn’t do enough to show us. And while the end scene of Clay and Tony driving off in the mustang was sweet and made the show come full circle, Clay should have been driving off with Justin.

However, I will say this, it absolutely warmed my heart when Tony realized that his friends and adults around him did care and want the best for him. For so long Tony has been the back bone of this friend group, the one that is there to clean up their messes and be a shoulder to cry on. And for the first time he gets to be the one who gets support. We see this happen during the school walk out when his friends try to tell him not to leave the fight but they realize he has to, to protect themselves. And eventually Tony does join the fight to protect Tyler. But then something happens, the police officer who’s been training him steps him and lets Tony go because he knows Tony can’t get arrested. He knows Tony will face bigger consequences for his actions and he doesn’t want that because he sees the potential Tony has to do great. It’s not just that scene though, we see Caleb and his father supporting him throughout the season too.

Overall, I think Tony is a character who grew into his own but also stayed true to himself.

Ani Achola

Just like many of us, I am not a fan of Ani.

She was irrelevant and annoying in the third season and she became even more irrelevant in this season. Honestly, I think it was wise of the writers to have her take a back seat role during this season because of all the criticism they received from last season. I do feel sorry for Grace Saif who plays her though because she is extremely talented.

Ani was a bit all over the place this season, even more so than she was last season. To be honest, I wasn’t sure why she wasn’t on edge knowing Winston and Diego and the rest of the football team were trying to figure out what happened to Monty. After all, she’s the one who spearheaded the campaign to frame him. She felt too okay and too calm with everything going on — it’s almost as if she thrived on the chaos.

I’m glad that her and Clay ended up breaking up. They were never a good match to begin with and it never sat well with me how she introduced Clay as her boyfriend to her mom without even asking him. I think there need to fix people is what became their demise because neither one was able to confide in the other without having them try to be the rescuer.

I do applaud the writers for finally having Jess confront Ani about her relationship with Bryce. That was such a major part of last season and while they touched upon it they never really discussed it further. Ani needed to be held accountable for her actions so I’m glad Jess set that in motion. I’m also glad they were able to come away from that and still be friends. That took courage and strength from Jess that I don’t think I would have.

The scene between Ani and Mrs. Walker was interesting. At first I thought she was being dumb for not talking Bryce’s college fund for herself but then in the same breath I understand because why would she want anything from the person who ruined all of her friends’ lives, even if she did “see something in him.” The resolution to that plot point was perfect though. What’s better than using a rapists money to fund the anti-sexual assault club at the school? It’s the ultimate revenge.

I also am grateful to the writers that they didn’t give us an Ani scene where she talks to ghost Bryce. One of the few good choices they made this season.

My biggest complaint regarding Ani this season is the fact that she was completely missing when Justin was dying. Sure, we didn’t need a scene with her in the room with him but she wasn’t even in the lobby. Regardless of her feelings towards Justin she should have been there. She should have been there to support Jess and Clay and Alex and every one of her friends who sat in that hospital lobby waiting for their turn to say goodbye to yet another classmate gone too soon.

Overall, I think Ani was irrelevant as a whole. She had no business befriending all these people and while she may have saved them I think they could have saved themselves without her help.

Charlie St. George

In the history of good Liberty High jocks, Charlie St. George is by far the best one and my favorite.

Standing up to your team especially when your the young player is a hard thing to do but Charlie did it last season so well. In fact, he even earned himself the captain spot this season and that’s a title he truly deserves. He constantly held his teammates accountable and put them in line when they were being disrespectful and assholes.

I also loved that his coming-out scene was just a casual conversation with his father who didn’t lash out or challenge his views. In fact, his dad joked about his obsession with Eli Manning and how he wouldn’t love him any less. Of all the fucked up things in this show, the one thing they often got right was showing parents who unconditionally love their children and that’s important.

Charlie’s greatest moments though are in his scenes with Alex. At first, I was a bit blind-sighted by their relationship (albeit I did support it right away) but then someone pointed out that in the final scene of last season, Charlie is watching Alex and that’s when I knew the writers had this planned all along. As much as we all wanted Alex and Zach to be a thing, Alex and Charlie was everything we wanted and more.

Not only was Charlie an amazing friend to Alex and willing to cover up a murder when he hardly knew him but he’s also a loving and supporting boyfriend, even before he had the label. Charlie researched Alex’s TBI and knew how to calm him down when he was having a panic attack and hearing things. He knew when Alex needed a shoulder to cry on and when Alex needed some space. And he knew, even when Alex didn’t want to admit it, that Alex deserved him.

I loved their first kiss. I loved the scene at the pier where Alex tries to push Charlie away but Charlie won’t let him. I love the promposal sequence. And I absolutely loved prom.

Liberty High’s Class of 2019 having two prom kings was everything we ever wanted.

I think what made it even better was the fact that they won at the hands of the football team. A team that was previously lead by two rapist who were constantly making fun of people’s sexual orientations and being homophobic assholes all the time. To see that team supporting and rooting for Charlie and Alex was a truly magical moment.

While I was and still am a bit confused why he got involved with this messy group, I’m glad he did. And I’m so glad there isn’t a fifth season that will ruin him because he needs to be protected at all costs.

Winston

I’m going to say something controversial here and I’m not sure how people are going to take it.

Winston is a gay version of season one Clay who falls in love with his made up version of people and then seeks revenge so that he’s not the only one in pain.

Literally, if you look at Clay’s arc in season one and Winston’s in this season you see they are the exactly same person. Winston may have transferred to Liberty after getting kicked out of Hillcrest but his true motivation was to figure out who framed Monty. And for what? They hung out what, two times? And the first time Monty literally beat the shit out of Winston!

Winston had this idolized version of who Monty was in his head. He essentially turned Monty into this manic pixie dream boy, just like Clay did with Hannah. This is proved in the prom scene when Winston dances with ghost Monty. In that scene Monty confirms that there was never a possibility that the two of them would ever be able to dance like this together, that Monty would never have let Winston fall in love with him. In fact, he tells Winston to live with the living. It’s the only thing Monty ever did right.

What’s even better is that Winston ends up falling for Alex, next. In fact in one scene he’s telling everyone that Alex is the first boy he loved and yet a minute later he’s back to seeking revenge for Monty because he loved him. Which is it Winston? And doesn’t that remind you of Clay?

I don’t feel sorry for Winston and I’m not his fan. He spent the entire season being a rape apologist and even went as far as befriending Tyler to get more information about Monty. That’s despicable. He doesn’t get a gold star for not telling the police the truth because he only didn’t do it because he “loved” Alex.

But unlike Clay who supports his friends and does this out of the good of his heart, Winston only did it to seek revenge. And I truly don’t think he cared about anyone.

For all I care Winston can go rot with Bryce and Monty.

Diego Torres

I don’t have much to say about Diego other than I wasn’t a fan.

The only redeemable thing about him was that he supported Charlie and Alex and wasn’t a homophobic asshole. However, being a decent human being in one aspect of life doesn’t make him worthy of anything. Especially when we spent most of the season being a rape apologist and tormenting Clay who was already in a fragile state.

Also, I absolutely hated his final scene with Jess when they were getting the results of their HIV test. How on earth could this dumbass kid ask Jess out after she just lost the love of her life to AIDS and they’ve just been HIV tested. How selfish and stupid can he be?

I will say that he did not deserve to be racially profiled during the fight scene between him and Justin. And I’m glad that Justin stood up for him and Diego in turn stood up for Justin during the fight with the police. Again, though, that doesn’t excuse the rest of his actions this season.

Perhaps if he would have admitted his wrong doings and apologized to Clay I could have gotten behind him but he didn’t and therefor he can rot with the rest of them.

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While I have a lot more to say about these characters and this season I think I’m going to have to end it here. Perhaps, I’ll end up writing another post or review for this show but we’ll see. As I’ve said before there’s so much to unpack about this show that it’s hard to analyze everything.

You can stream the final season of 13 Reasons Why on Netflix.

What did you think of the characters this season? Do you think Justin deserved to die? Were you happy with the outcomes? Let me know in the comments below or by tweeting me @3RsBlog.

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

Season Review: Never Have I Ever (Netflix, 2020)

I’m a little late to the party since Never Have I Ever released on Netflix on April 27th but there’s just so many amazing shows nowadays that it can be hard to keep up. At least I joined the party!

Co-created by Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher, Never Have I Ever is Netflix’s latest coming-of-age dramedy to take the world by storm. The show centers around 15-year-old Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) who is desperate to change her social status and redeem herself from her disastrous and traumatic freshman year of high school. Let’s just say, the only thing worse than being known as the freshman who lost her dad during a recital is being the girl who lost the ability to walk because her dad died and she went into shock. Just as quickly as she lost the ability to walk, she gained it back and now Devi is determined to redefine herself and make sophomore year her bitch. With her friends by her side, Devi devises a plan to get them boyfriends so they can start climbing the high school social ladder. In addition to her plan, Devi must also learn how to finally grieve her father’s death, deal with her nemesis Ben (Jaren Lewison), and figure out how she’s going to get her crush Paxton (Darren Barnet) to fall in love with her.

In true coming-of-age fashion, the show deals with friendships, crushes, parties, and the general displeasure that comes with being a teenager. It’s cringey, hilarious, heartbreaking, and emotional all at the same time. Plus, it’s a fun and easy binge you can knock out in a day or two if you’re a hardcore binger.

Now, here is my review of Never Have I Ever.

As always, spoilers ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

Favorite Episode: 1×10 — “…Said I’m Sorry”

Season finale episodes can be hit or miss but Never Have I Ever knocked it out of the park. It truly did the impossible by tying up loose ends while still leaving us on a cliffhanger of sorts so that we beg Netflix for a season two.

With the title, “…Said I’m Sorry,” it’s safe to assume that episode 10 is going to be the redemption episode for Davi. What’s so incredible about this episode is that it’s not just Davi who is saying sorry for her actions, everyone around her is. The episode begins at Ben’s house since she has moved in with him so that her mother can’t force her to move to India. When Nalini shows up at Ben’s house Devi is less than pleased. Her displeasure soon turns to anger when Nalini tells Devi that she plans to spread her father’s ashes today, on his birthday. Devi freaks out and refuses to attend because she fears this is another “spring cleaning” attempt so they can go to India.

When Ben finds out that Devi isn’t going to the beach to spread her father’s ashes he springs into action. He convinces Devi’s best friends Fabiola (Lee Rodriguez) and Eleanor (Ramona Young) to put aside their annoyance with Devi and come convince her that she needs to do this with her mother. The girls show up and eventually convince Devi that she needs to do the right thing. Ben offers to take Devi to Malibu and though they face some obstacles, Devi makes it and is able to reconcile with her mother.

Meanwhile, Paxton gets a reality check from his sister Rebecca (Lily D. Moore) and shows up at Devi’s house. When she’s not there he calls and leaves her a voicemail. Devi doesn’t get the message right away though since she discovers Ben waiting for her in the parking lot of the beach. Instead of checking her phone, Devi and Ben kiss.

All of that happens in less than 30 minutes so its a pretty intense episode but an amazing one nonetheless.

As I mentioned above, I love this episode because everyone gets their apology moment.

Devi must first apologize to Fabiola and Eleanor, again, for her shitty behavior. What I love though, is that it’s not just Devi who’s apologizing, Fabiola and Eleanor also recognize that they’ve been a bit unfair to Devi too. One line that really stands out to me is when Eleanor says “just because we aren’t talking doesn’t mean we don’t care about you.” It speaks volumes about what teenage friendship looks like. It’s messy and there will be fights but true friends will always be there for you when needed. And they’ll always be there to call you out on your bullshit and point out harsh realities.

The true emotional moment of this episode comes when Devi and Nalini reconcile on the beach before spreading Mohan’s ashes. While it’s Devi who begins apologizing for her terrible behavior and for telling her mother she wished she had died, it’s Nalini who steals the show by apologizing for making Devi feel like she didn’t love her. It’s the perfect mother-daughter moment for these two and one that is so important because it shows that these two do love each other despite everything they’ve said and been through.

There’s one more apology within this episode, though it’s more subtle. To me, Devi and Ben finally apologize to each other for their years of bickering and nonsense fighting when they kiss in that car. Not only did Ben prove that Devi can count on him in the hard times, but Devi also proved to Ben that she could appreciate his presence.

Least Favorite Episode: 1×06 — “…Been The Loneliest Boy In The World”

Before you yell at me, it’s not what you think. I absolutely adore Ben; in fact, he’s my favorite male character in the show. And I don’t even hate that they decided to give Ben a stand-alone episode, what I hate about it is that it didn’t do anything to further tell us who Ben Gross really is.

The episode, which is narrated by Andy Samberg, opens with Ben on the bus on the way home from the disastrous Model UN event. Not only is he hurt that Devi turned on him causing him to lose, but he’s also hurt because he thought they really had a breakthrough moment at the hotel party. Things only get worse for Ben when he gets home and finds out his mother is leaving for another retreat so she can “be a better mother.” In addition, Ben’s father informs Ben that he’ll be unable to go to an NBA game with Ben.

Things aren’t much better for Ben at school. Sure, he has a girlfriend but she’s only with him for his father’s money and he’s definitely lacking in the friend department. In fact, Ben becomes so overcome with loneliness that he agrees to meet some dude he met in a Reddit forum. Of course, that goes about as well as one might think and Ben flees the restaurant after the dude is revealed to be a middle-aged man who asks him to “blow on his pizza.”

After a large pimple finds a home on his face, Ben goes to Dr. Vishwakumar’s office to get it dealt with. While in the chair, Ben breaks down and Dr. Vishwakumar ends up inviting him over to her house. Let’s just say Devi is less than pleased to have her nemesis sitting across from her at the dinner table. Despite it all, they end up having a great time together. In fact, Devi and Ben even have a moment while doing dishes together.

See, I told you it wasn’t a bad episode!

As I was researching the show I stumbled upon an article published on Forward.com that exposed the show’s “Jewish problem.” The author, Mira Fox, makes some good points, and its one of the reasons I decided to pick this episode as my least favorite.

Fox points out that while the other characters are either not defined by their backgrounds or are allowed to have nuanced opinions about their backgrounds. Everyone that is, except for Ben who is trapped under endless Jewish stereotypes.

Ben’s stand-alone episode could have given us the depth to his character and his personality. It could have introduced us to his family and his life that is drastically different than Devi’s. It could have even explored his Jewish background in the same way that Devi got to explore her Indian heritage in episode 4.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that this episode lacked depth until the final scene with Devi and Ben in the kitchen together. When I realized it was Ben’s point-of-view episode I had high hopes for it but unfortunately, all I got was a bunch of character backstory I already knew and a weird catfish scenario.

Favorite Character: Devi Vishwakumar

I’ll be honest, I had a really hard time picking a favorite character because there were so many amazing ones to chose from. My honorable mentions include Ben, Kamala, and Mohan but I eventually decided to pick Devi since I had more to say about her as a character.

Devi is insufferable at times and she’s selfish pretty much all the time but that’s why I love her so much. All too often we expect the female characters to be nurturing, to be selfless, and to be this perfect stereotypical version of what a woman should be. It’s refreshing to see a teen girl who’s allowed to be a mess because let’s face it, teenage girls are messy.

While it might seem that Devi stays static for most of the season, it’s simply not the case. With every minor mistake and fall out with a person, Devi is getting closer and closer to working through her grief and trauma to become a better person.

One of the things I love about her is that she’s so ready to have the best sophomore year ever that she doesn’t stray away from asking for exactly what she wants. Is her asking Paxton to have sex with her even though they’ve barely talked weird and probably qualifies as harassment? Yes, but when has a teenage girl ever been allowed to pursue what she wants so stubbornly?

More importantly, I think Devi is an extremely interesting and important character because of how she deals with her father’s death. While it might be an odd statement, I found that a lot of people I knew in high school, myself included, went through their first death while in high school. High school is hard enough with the pressure to succeed academically and socially but when you add in the need to grieve it gets so much more complicated.

Devi’s grieving process explores one that’s not traditional but is common. She’s so affected by her father’s death that she simply cannot process it. Dr. Jamie Ryan (Niecy Nash), Devi’s therapist, nails it when she tells Devi that all her issues with people stem from her trauma from her father’s death and the fact that she hasn’t been able to grieve it. And while I don’t condone Devi’s constant need to use her father’s death as an excuse or pass for her behavior, I do understand it.

Lastly, I want to briefly discuss Devi’s relationship with her Indian heritage. I love that the series chooses to introduce her right from the start as someone who isn’t “traditional” or rather is “Americanized.” We further see her complex relationship with her heritage explored in the fourth episode of the series. In fact, she even states that sometimes “she doesn’t feel Indian enough” to a family friend who used to feel the same way but after going to college has reconnected with his heritage.

It’s a theme we’re seeing explored a lot with characters who are both American and from a different ethnic/religious/racial background and one that is so important. I’m glad we got to see Devi’s version of her struggle to fit in and I hope (assuming the show is picked up for a second season) we get to see it explored more later one.

Least Favorite Character: Eleanor Wong

Similar to my disclosure before my least favorite episode, I also don’t really have a least favorite character from Never Have I Ever. Part of the reason why this was so difficult that all because all the characters are sort of terrible which is the point of the series!

While I could have picked a guest character, I decided to pick a character that was a bit more permanent to the story at large. In the end, I ended up choosing Eleanor as my least favorite character. While I did like aspects of Eleanor’s character, I felt that she was just another stereotypical theater kid. While it’s true theater kids can be over the top and dramatic, it’s not true for everyone. I wish the media would understand this and diversify it’s theater kid characters.

I also wasn’t a fan of her plotline with her mother. While it was interesting and unique it didn’t pull the same emotional weight as Devi or Fabiola’s storylines. I had a lot of questions regarding the plot. Why was her mother hiding from her? Was she ashamed? Why did Eleanor decide to give up acting when she finally was finally the lead? I know it’s because she didn’t want to be like her mother but by giving it up she became her mother.

Again, I just wanted more from her both in her character personality and in her storylines.

Favorite Pairing: Devi and Josh

Like most teen shows, Never Have I Ever does have a love triangle but unlike most shows, this one doesn’t seem forced. You’re either Team Paxton or Team Ben and I am 100% Team Ben.

While Devi and Paxton are cute (if you can get past the fact that the actors are literally 10 years apart in age), but they’re nothing unique about them. The cool guy falling for the nerdy girl is a tried and true trope and Never Have I Ever doesn’t do much to make it fresh. Nemesis to lovers, on the other hand, is something I haven’t seen done in quite some time which is why I was so excited when the show decided to explore Devi and Ben’s relationship.

Ben and Devi just get each other, even if they don’t think they do. They’re both competitive and smart, they both deal with familial struggles, and they’re both desperate to figure out who they are so they can fit in. In fact, the one thing constant in these two lives is each other’s presence. Even in their most vulnerable moments, these two seek each other out because they know they’ll be real with each other.

I mean come on, Ben ends up at Devi’s house after being neglected by his family and his girlfriend and Devi literally moves into Ben’s house when she has nowhere else to go. Not only that, but Ben literally rallies Devi’s best friends because he knows they’ll be able to convince her to do the right thing.

When will your favs ever?!

I knew I was shipping them the entire season but what really sealed the deal was the fact that Ben stayed at the beach when he didn’t have to. He could have dropped Devi off and left which would have forced her to work things out with her mom or else she’s been stranded at the beach. instead, he chose to stay because he didn’t want Devi to be forced into any situation she didn’t want to.

In my eyes, there is no love triangle after that kiss!

Complaints:

One of my biggest complaints regarding Never Have I Ever is that the series didn’t utilize it’s reoccurring characters as strongly as they should have. Obviously, the show is mainly about Devi and her struggles but that doesn’t mean that the other characters couldn’t share some of the action. There were several episodes where they were MIA completely. I would have loved to see Fabiola struggle to figure out the right way to tell her family that she is a lesbian. I would have loved to see Eleanor in action in the theater club and how her relationship with a crew member made that better or worse. I wanted to see more of Paxton and Rebecca’s relationship. I really really wanted to get to know Kamala better. It almost felt like Never Have I Ever was pulling a Twilight by having all these amazing secondary characters who didn’t get the time they deserved. I hope we get to see more of them in season 2!

Another complaint of mine was the arranged marriage storyline. While I’m not Indian and I can not speak to the culture at large, I personally felt like it was an outdated stereotype. For a show that’s so diverse and progressive, I felt they could have done something else with her character that was equally as entertaining and conflict inducing. Or, at the very least I would have wanted them to dig deeper into why she was being subjected to an arranged marriage. I guess what I’m saying is that I didn’t like that the storyline was played for laughs instead of actually digging deeper into it. It still could have funny elements but I wanted a deeper meaning out of it. Who knows, maybe that’s something that’ll happen in season 2.

Lastly, and this one is minor and has nothing to do with the writing, I was displeased with the fact that they cast two actors who are ten years apart to play romantic love interests. Look, I get it, when an actor is right for the part they’re right for the part but at some point, you have to be cautious of age. Maitreyi Ramakrishnan who plays Devi is only 18 and yet Darren Barnet who plays Paxton is 29. Maybe I’m too old but I just can’t ship a couple knowing that there is an age difference of 10 years! Ramakrishnan and Barnet are both amazing actors and they did an amazing job portraying their characters and I wouldn’t want them re-casted. I just would prefer it if they weren’t love interests.

Praise:

I haven’t loved a show so quickly and so deeply in a long time so it was refreshing to have that moment again while watching Never Have I Ever.

The humor and the dialogue was spot on from the beginning to the end. I literally laughed through every episode of the show not because I had to because I genuinely thought it was hilarious. From one-liners to entire conversations I seriously couldn’t believe how funny the show is. And it’s not just cringe humor nor is it purely physical humor. It’s not even just the humor that the dialogue nailed but also the serious and awkward moments. I cried through the entire final five minutes because of the dialogue leading up to that moment and the dialogue in the moment itself.

Never Have I Ever completely nailed the awkwardness of being a teenager in high school. I don’t know what exactly it was but watching the show immediately transported me back to my sophomore year of high school which is both a bad and a good thing. The friendships dynamics were spot on. I loved that they explored a friendship break in an authentic and positive way instead of it being a bigger moment than it needed to be. Had friendship breaks been acceptable when I was in high school I probably would have had more friends. Even the relationships were spot on — both romantic and familial. In fact, I really appreciated that Devi and her mother weren’t the perfect mother-daughter duo and that they both were still grieving Mohan’s death.

I absolutely love the show’s diverse characters. One thing I think was groundbreaking about the show is that none of their sexualities/races/ethnicities/religions specifically defined who they were. Devi wasn’t just an Indian-American character. Fabiola wasn’t just a lesbian. Eleanor wasn’t just Asian-American. Ben wasn’t just Jewish. Paxton wasn’t just Japanese-American. They were those things but they were teenagers first and foremost. Were there times I wished we got to know more of their backgrounds? Of course, but I also appreciated that it wasn’t the focal point of their characters or the story at large.

Finally, I did love that they gave Ben a stand-alone episode — even if it was my least favorite episode. It was refreshing to have a different point-of-view character and it helped keep the series fresh and entertaining as I binge-watched. I really hope they continue with this trend and that we get to see Ben have his own episode again but also that some of the other characters get there’s too. I’d love to see Kamala and Paxton get one to explore their characters more. Fabiola and Eleanor would also be interesting too. Even Devi’s mother would be interesting!

* * *

Overall, I did really love Never Have I Ever. I thought it was fun, fresh, diverse, and entertaining. I will definitely be rooting for the series to get a second season because I’m not done with these characters.

You can stream Never Have I Ever on Netflix.

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[ramblingsrantsreviews]

‘THE HALF OF IT’ IS A LOVE LETTER TO THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF LOVE

Netflix has once again nailed the coming-of-age genre thanks to Alice Wu’s latest film The Half Of It. Notice I said coming-of-age genre because yes, this is a coming-of-age story, despite what the trailer wants you to believe.

Let’s recap.

Ellie Chu (Leah Lemis) is a shy Chinese-American high school student who lives in the fictional Squahamish, Washington with her widowed father. In addition to doing her father’s job, Ellie runs a popular business where she writes her peer’s paper for a small fee. Despite helping them pass high school, Ellie’s peers aren’t her friend, and they constantly make fun of her. After hearing about Ellie’s business, Paul Minsky (Daniel Diemer) approaches her with an interesting job opportunity. See, Paul wants Ellie to help him articulate his feelings in a love letter for the most popular girl in school Aster (Alexxis Lemire). In a bind for cash, Ellie accepts his proposition but there’s one problem, she’s secretly attracted to Aster too.

One letter turns into two which eventually turns into secret text messages where Ellie is pretending to be Paul. Not only does Aster not know that she’s not talking to Paul but Paul has no idea what Ellie is saying to her. This becomes a slight problem when Paul and Aster actually go out but Ellie somehow manages to save the day yet again. Things get even more complicated though as feelings get muddled and Paul ends up falling for Ellie who is definitely falling in love with Aster. Eventually, the truth about everything comes out and these three characters are forced to deal with the realities of their secrets.

While it’s true The Half Of It deals with love, it’s not a romance film, and its definitely not a rom-com because the focus isn’t really on who’s going to end up together. Are we curious? Of course, but we’re more invested in these characters discovering who they are and working through their feelings to uncover what type of love they’re actually experiencing.

What are the different types of love?

Well, the ancient Greeks believed that there were 8 types of love, each dealing with its own set of rules and feelings. The eights types are believed to be:

Agape (unconditional love)

Eros (romantic love)

Philia (affectionate love)

Philautia (self-love)

Storge (familiar love)

Pragma (enduring love)

Ludus (playful love)

Mania (obsessive love).

On the heels of the ancient Greeks, Dr. Robert Sternberg developed his own theory of love in the 1980s, which included some of the ancient Greeks’ findings but also expanded to include his own. Dr. Sternberg’s theory relies on the idea that love is a triangle. In other words, there are three components to love: intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment. These three components work in varying ways to create 7 types of love:

Friendship (intimacy without passion and commitment)

Infatuation (passion without intimacy or commitment)

Empty Love (commitment without intimacy or passion)

Romantic Love (intimacy and passion without decision/commitment)

Compassionate Love (intimacy and commitment without passion),

Fatuous Love (commitment and passion without intimacy)

Consummate Love (intimacy, passion, and commitment are all present).

The Half Of It explores several of these types of love through the characters’ relationships with each other. In addition, it showcases how the types of love can change as relationships change.

Ellie and Paul

Much of The Half Of It centers on Ellie and Paul’s complicated relationship with each other. At the beginning of the film, Ellie and Paul are nothing more than strangers. Paul approaches her on her way home from school to ask her if she’ll help him fix his love letter for his crush Aster. As you know, Ellie originally declines the offer but eventually has no choice but to help Paul out because she needs the money. Only after Ellie agrees to help Paul to these to begin to move towards being friends. And that’s only the beginning of their relationship journey.

As Ellie begins to help Paul their relationship can be defined as entering philia (affection love) or friendship as Dr. Sternberg would identify it. This means that their relationship has an intimacy component to it but that it’s lacking passion and commitment.

Ellie and Paul’s friendship truly starts to blossom after the disastrous date between Paul and Aster. Despite the awkwardness of the night, Paul is determined not to give up on Aster even though Ellie advises he does. The film could have ended their and Ellie and Paul would have remained weird acquaintances but instead, it chooses to make a calculated move. See, this is when the popular teens drive by Ellie shouting out a mean nickname they have for her. Instead of ignoring it, Paul jumps into action to defend Ellie. This is the turning point and the scene that pushes Ellie and Paul into a friendship.

After defending her Ellie has no choice but to help Paul win over Aster and so they come up with a plan. As they gather information about Aster they spend more and more time together. Thus, their intimacy is further explored as they get to know each other beyond the confines of their high school. The first time we realize this is when they’re outside Aster’s house and Paul asks Ellie how she ended up in Squahamish and why she’s still there. Ellie is upset at first and tries to leave but after Paul rambles about his own home life, Ellie climbs back into the car and opens up to him. Most people don’t tell their entire life story to acquaintances which is why this is the scene that proves Ellie and Paul are friends experiencing a philia type of love. This is further exemplified as they continue to get to know each other beyond a surface level, like when Paul asks Ellie what her mom was like.

Ellie and Paul’s relationship with each other is complex though and it begins to shift, at least for Paul it does. See, Ellie maintains that philia type of love for Paul throughout most of the film — until the one climactic scene occurs. Paul on the other hand, well, he begins to mix passion into his feelings and thus his love begins to change from a purely platonic one into one that’s romantic. In terms of the Greeks’ beliefs Paul’s feelings for Ellie fall somewhere between ludus, the playful love and eros, a more romantic love. While there is a playful component to it, Paul is so desperate for love that its fair to believe that he’s chasing an eros type of love which is what he begins to think he’s feeling for Ellie.

It’s hard to tell when exactly this shift for Paul occurs because he’s still actively pursuing Aster for most of the film; however, we do see hints that his heart is longing for someone else. Part of me wants to believe he begins to realize he has feelings for Ellie when he listens to Ellie describe all the things Paul should love about Aster. As he’s listening to her talk he’s watching her and smiling almost as if he’s thinking similar thoughts about Ellie. Of course, that’s not how the scene plays out and instead of confronting his own feelings, Paul flips out because Ellie makes love sound so easy and yet he can’t articulate his feelings for Aster at all, despite supposedly loving her. Ellie feels bad and in turn, tries to build Paul back up by telling him that he puts in more effort than she’s ever seen someone put into loving someone and that’s what love is about. To me, hearing Ellie say those things about Paul caused him to see her in a different light. After all, isn’t Ellie putting in a lot of effort to help Paul out when she doesn’t have to? Perhaps, this is the scene that makes Paul question if Ellie is falling for him instead of him questioning the very real reality that Ellie is in love with Aster.

Still, their relationship is still grounded in the intimacy of friendship for the time being. We see their friendship continue to blossom as Ellie brings Paul home and Paul finally gets Ellie and her father, Edwin to try his taco sausage creation.

After that scene, their friendship enters a shift, and no it’s not because Ellie might have feelings for Aster but rather Paul might have feelings for Ellie. The issues begin to arise however as Paul misconstrues the Ludus type of love he is feeling for an eros type of love he’s yearning for.

Paul slowly begins to realize his feelings for Ellie, during Ellie’s piano recital. Ellie sits down at the piano only to discover that it’s been tampered with. Instead of letting her get laughed at, Paul jumps in once again and slides a guitar across the stage asking her to play her song. The way he says it shows he’s timid and scared something you wouldn’t usually see on a friend’s face. And as she plays we see Paul in the background looking at her with wonder in his eyes. And when Trig asks “when did Ellie Chu get kind of hot” we see Paul’s face shift to one that borders on jealous.

Paul’s romantic feelings begin to grow after that and it becomes clear that he might love Ellie as more than just a friend when he stops her from drinking at the party and takes her to his house to sleep off her drunkness. What makes it so clear that Paul loves Ellie is that he doesn’t try to sleep with her at that moment like so many other boys in films and in real life would have. Instead, he gives her his bed and sleeps somewhere else because he doesn’t want to hurt her or ruin whatever it is they have. In doing so he uncovers that she’s been the one who’s been writing letters to critics to get them to try his taco sausages. This is the first moment where Paul considers the fact that Ellie might have feelings for him but he’s still not sure.

Paul knows he loves Ellie at this point but he’s not sure if Ellie feels the same way, even though he thinks she might. And that’s why he doesn’t make a move on her that night. In fact, he only makes a move after Ellie, who avoids all school functions, shows up at the football game to see Paul. In his mind, that along with the letters he found confirms that Ellie likes him as more than a friend and that’s why he tries to kiss her after the game. Of course, it’s revealed that Ellie doesn’t have feelings for him and the truth about her feelings for Aster comes out.

Paul says some pretty hurtful things to Ellie which causes them to drift apart, except they still aren’t back to being strangers because they still care about each other. Instead of saying they hate each other, I would instead say that Ellie rejecting Paul caused him to go back into a philia state of love. This becomes clear when he googles “how do you know if your gay” and when he delivers his apology speech at the church towards the end of the film. And of course, there’s that playful friendship moment where Paul chases after the train when Ellie leaves that reminds us that these are just two goofy best friends who just want to see the other be happy.

While Paul is trying to figure out what type of love he feels for Ellie, Ellie has her feelings for Paul mostly figured out. However, I would argue that she too undergoes a shift of some sort. While her feelings towards Paul remain platonic throughout the film her love for him does grow. If we look at Dr. Sternberg’s types of love I would say that Ellie begins to experience companionate love for Paul. This is because she has made the commitment to have him in her life and she’s intimate with him but there isn’t any passion.

Given both of their journeys, I would say that at the end their love for each other borders on a pragma one meaning their love is built on commitment, understanding, and long-term best interests. They know they’re not going to marry each other and that they won’t always see eye to eye but they’re determined to see each other succeed and be there for each other no matter what.

Paul and Aster

Paul believes he’s in love with Aster and therefore he believes he’s experience Eros but that’s simply not the case. Paul isn’t in love with Aster though, instead, he’s experiencing a Ludus love for Aster, or infatuation as Dr. Sternberg would refer to it as. Both of these types of love mean the same thing in that they both deal with the feelings one goes through when they have a crush on each other.

infatuation which is defined by a person feeling passion for another person without feeling intimacy or making a commitment.

This is the most obvious form of love in the film and one most of us are accustomed to. Ludus, in essence, is a crush which is exactly what Paul has on Aster. After all, you can’t love someone without knowing someone and Paul knows nothing about Aster. In fact, he can’t even have a conversation with her because he’s so nervous about messing things up. That’s a recipe for disaster.

The idea that Paul isn’t in love with Aster as he claims he is becomes clear in the scene where Ellie asks Paul what he likes about Aster. Instead of rattling off things with true meaning, he responds to Ellie by saying “she’s pretty, and smart, and never mean.” While these things are nice they lack the depth that is shown when Ellie explains what else he could possibly love about Ellie. In fact, even after that scene Paul still can’t think of reasons to love Aster and instead recycles Ellie’s lines on Aster during their second date.

Instead of trying to get to know Aster, Paul continues to let Ellie do the heavy-hitting. He also completely blows the opportunity of having a real heart-to-heart conversation with Aster when she asks him if he believes in God. And yet, she kisses him in that moment perhaps as a test to see if he does truly love her. And while Paul does invite her to his big game after, once she’s gone he looks back at Ellie’s house because he doesn’t want her to see him kissing Aster because he knows now that he doesn’t love Aster, he loves Ellie.

In some ways, I think Aster is feeling the same sort of infatuation for Paul as he feels for her. After all, her whole life is being decided by her father, her boyfriend, and her faith so of course she’d be intrigued at someone who was standing in the way of that. And yet, for most of the screen time Paul and Aster share, she’s reminding him that they are just friends. Regardless of her feelings, I don’t think they’re ever truly friends like she believes because their relationship never develops into a philia type of love they way Ellie and Paul do.

In the end, Paul and Aster are nothing but acquaintances for each other.

Ellie and Aster

Much like Ellie and Paul’s relationship, Ellie’s relationship with Aster is complex.

There’s no denying that Ellie is infatuation with Aster even before Paul comes into the picture and as such, she is practicing a Ludus kind of love. What’s interesting about Ellie and Aster is that their love stays rather constant throughout most of the film with both of them feeling the same feelings towards each other — even if they don’t quite realize it.

Let’s start at the beginning, when we first meet Ellie she is carefully passing out the English essay’s she has written for her peers in music class. It seems like no big deal until the camera gets to AAsterstir who is studying her sheet music. When the camera goes back to Ellie it’s revealed that she’s been staring at her. It’s an innocent stare and one that lines up with Ellie’s crush on Aster.

Her feelings for Aster are made abundantly clear in the hallway when Aster helps Ellie pick up her books she has dropped. Ellie introduces herself to Aster because she thinks she’s invisible but she’s not because Aster responds with “Yes, I know.”

If you’re still not convinced, you definitely will be when Ellie tells Paul that she will not help him write a love letter to Aster Flores. Sure, maybe it’s because Ellie doesn’t want to be deceit, someone, into loving them but really its because Ellie doesn’t want to help someone else fall in love with the girl she’s already crushing on.

Once Ellie decides to help Paul out things get interesting. After all, Ellie was only expecting to write one letter for Paul but when Aster writes back they have no choice but to respond. Ellie could have told Paul that she was done and that Aster wasn’t interested after she called them out on plagiarizing but instead she tells Paul that they’re still in the game. Let’s face it, Ellie doesn’t want to stop writing to Aster because this is the only way the two interact — even if Aster thinks she’s talking to Paul.

The scene in the bathroom in an interesting one because its the first time we see Aster and Ellie together since the start of the fake letters. Ellie notices Aster first. She steals a glance and then goes back to adverting her gaze. While she’s not looking Aster steals a glance before looking down. For a moment that’s it until the both of them lock eyes through the mirror and Aster smiles. Of course, Aster walks out after the girls in the stalls start talking bad about her and nothing happens.

Except something does happen in the next scene that is important. We hear Ellie’s voiceover narration stating “people don’t see what they’re not looking for” as she walks down the hallway. Ellie walks in the center passing Aster who appears to be staring at Paul but if you look closer, she really appears to be looking at Ellie. This is the “obvious unseen” Ellie is talking about and our first clue that Ellie isn’t the only one who is infatuated in this relationship.

This infatuation begins to shift however to one that’s more playful and reminiscent of the Greeks’ ludus love type. ven though I’ve said infatuation and Ludus are basically the same, in Ellie and Aster’s case they are a bit different. See, the infatuation these two feel in the beginning is purely based on passion but as they get to know each other intimacy comes into play which is why it shifts to a strong example of ludus love.

One of the first scenes where we see this playful flintiness come to light is when they’re taking turns painting on the brick wall. They tease each other and encourage each other to keep painting, to keep reaching for their boldest stroke. Eventually, the painting morphs into a beautiful painting of a girl reaching for a star. They both return to it to stare at its perfect and its a touching moment that showcases the beauty that these two can create when they work together.

As the letters continue and evolve into texting Ellie’s feelings towards Aster move away from infatuation and enters a friendship or philia type of love. This is because the two of them begin to open up with each other, again even if Ellie is pretending to be Paul, and thus are becoming intimate with each other. But it doesn’t stay there for long because Ellie already has feelings for Aster and as they continue to get to know each other it becomes clear that Ellie might be experiencing an eros type of love for Aster. This is abundantly clear during the scene where Ellie lists off all the things Paul could love about Aster.

This playful love really plays out in the scene where Aster invites Ellie to come to her favorite secret spot with her. Aster shows up at Paul’s house to show him a painting she’s been working on but instead of finding Paul, she finds Ellie in his bed. Ellie is quick to jump into damage control but its really not needed. The mood of the scene shifts when Aster shows Elie the painting and Ellie points out her favorite stroke of the painting. For a moment, Aster looks at Ellie with confusion. It’s almost as if Aster has figured out that she’s been talking to Ellie all this time.

Perhaps that’s why Aster asks if she can go with Ellie because she wants to see if Ellie really is the one she’s been talking to all this time. This is truly the first time Aster and Ellie have interacted in a physical way outside of school. Ellie introduces Aster to her “secret” world at the train station and in return Aster introduces Ellie to her secret favorite place.

The scene at the hot springs could have gone different, and it probably would have had these two been partaking in an eros type of love. Instead, their relationship is grounded in the playfulness of ludus and we see this as they interact with each other. They’re vulnerable and intimate with each other without it turning into a sexual thing. In fact, they could have kissed at that moment but they don’t This is the moment, the scene where it becomes clear that Aster might be interested in Ellie, for herself instead of the Ellie who hides behind Paul’s letters.

Even though we think it’s clear that Aster has a thing for Ellie, Aster doesn’t acknowledge it until the final scenes of the film. In fact, she doesn’t even fully realize that Ellie has been the one writing Paul’s letters until they both come clean in the church scene. Or rather, when Ellie directly quotes a message she sent to Aster as Paul. Of course, Aster doesn’t run into Ellie’s arms which is understandable. However, these two do get a happy moment in the end.

Ellie apologizes to Aster and even though these two haven’t talked since the revelation, there’s still that playfulness between them. In fact, Aster even admits to Ellie that deep down she thinks she knew the whole time. She goes even farther by stating that she has thought about Ellie in that way. This is earth-shattering to Ellie who for the most part believed she had a crush on a straight girl. Once again, it’s only after a character has gotten a clear sign of interest from the other part does Ellie makes her move and finally get her kiss.

Even then, Ellie and Aster are still the perfect example of ludus love. Of the playfulness, uncertainty, and joy that comes from a crush.

Trig and Aster

We don’t see much of Aster and Trig’s love type in the film since it’s not the focal point. I do want to briefly talk about it though.

In Trig’s mind, it’s clear that he thinks he’s experiencing an eros type of love. He knows he’s in love with Aster, he’s met her family and they love him. He’s even got their entire wedding and future planned out. Aster, on the other hand, isn’t so sure of her relationship. In fact, she spends most of the film emotionally cheating on him with both Paul and Aster — but that’s a topic for another day.

These two clearly are not on the same page and lack intimacy to sit down and discuss their difference with each other. They’re your textbook example of a high school couple who has grown apart. Dr. Sternberg has a term for their type of love: empty love or love that lacks intimacy and passion.

In other words, Trig and Aster are only with each other because of its safe option. Its the option that they had committed to when they first started dating. Though they aren’t in love, or at least Aster isn’t, they can’t bear to break it off because what if this is as best as it’s going to get.

Ellie and Edwin

Another relationship that is explored in The Half Of It is the storge love that Ellie and Edwin have for each other. Storge, as defined by the Greeks means familial love. While it’s true that these two do love each other because they are family I also believe they’re experiencing a pragma, or endearing love, for each other. I say this because storge love is too basic to explain the love that Ellie and Edwin share.

If their relationship was purely storage they would have a more traditional father-daughter relationship but they don’t. Instead their love for each other is built on something stronger, on pragma.

This is first made clear when we see Ellie taking over the responsibility to call the gas company because her father is unable to do it. While its true some children would do this for their parents, most of them would have to be asked. Instead, Ellie takes the responsibility upon herself because she knows it’ll make Edwin feel better.

We get a better glimpse into Edwin and Ellie’s complex relationship when Paul asks her how they ended up in Squahamish. This is the first time we get a sense of just how unhappy Edwin really is and how stuck they really are in Squahamish because of his inability to become an engineer like he’d hoped for. Ellie’s unconditional love for her father is further exemplified by her taking over his job in the wake of her mother’s death since Edwin has been too depressed to do it.

Some might say that Edwin isn’t experiencing any time of love towards Ellie since he is willing to burden her with the responsibilities of caring for him despite being only 17, but that’s simply not the case. Edwin loves Ellie just as deeply and unconditionally as she loves him. The scene between Edwin and Paul is where this becomes clear.

See, Paul goes over to bring Edwin his monthly supply of meat. Edwin naively asks if Paul and Ellie broke up since he hasn’t been around. Not wanting to out Ellie, Paul does his best to explain why Ellie seems sad without saying the words outright. This is enough to make Edwin understand what isn’t being said. Instead of freaking out, Edwin opens up to Paul. He explains how much Ellie has helped him since her mother died. And he goes on to ask Paul, “have you ever loved someone so much, you don’t want anything about her to change?” That right there is Edwin’s way of saying that he knows who Ellie truly is and that he’s okay with it. Not only that but it’s the scene that proves Edwin loves Ellie with his entire heart. That their love is not just storage but its pragma.

In the end, Edwin loves his daughter so much that he is willing to overcome his depression to ensure that she can live the life she deserves without having to worry about him. And that is why they’re love is enduring and familial.

Ellie and Self-Love

Finally, I want to talk about Ellie’s journey to practicing self-love or philautia as the Greeks would have called it.

At the beginning of the film, it’s clear that Ellie doesn’t think highly of herself. She doesn’t have friends and she doesn’t try to make any. She content with living the same day over and over again. And she completely shoots down the idea of going away to college to pursue a liberal arts degree when her English teacher brings it up.

Through her friendship with Paul and her own self-discovery, as she connects with Aster, she begins to realize that she does have worth and a purpose that’s bigger than Squahamish. Its only then does she decide to be truthful with herself and her desires. She applies to the liberal arts school, she comes clean about her feelings towards Aster, and she forgives Paul for his ignorance.

The Greeks believed that you have to love yourself before you can properly love someone else which is precisely why Ellie doesn’t end of with anybody at the end of the film. In fact, its the reason why none of the characters end up with someone in the end because they all need to grow and understand themselves before they can open their hearts to someone else.

In the end, The Half Of It tells a beautiful tale of love, loss, and rejection all the while showcasing how love comes in many different forms.

The Half Of It is streaming now on Netflix.

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‘On My Block’s’ Controversial Season 3 Ending Makes Total Sense

Last week Netflix released the third season of On My Block, a coming-of-age dramedy that follows a group of friends in South Central Los Angeles as they navigate everyday teenage life with the challenges that their neighborhood brings on.

The third season picks up right where season 2 left off, with the four friends (Monse, Cesar, Ruby, and Jamal) being kidnapped on their walk home from school. Once their kidnapper is revealed the four friends are roped into tracking down a former Santos gang member, Lil’ Ricky, who has been presumed dead for decades. The remaining seven episodes follow their struggles to find Lil’ Ricky while navigating their changing friendships and trying to have fun on their summer break.

Fans were shocked during the finale episode when all seemed fine until the show decided to give us a glimpse into these characters’ futures by jumping two years into the future. Many of them took to Twitter and other social media websites to vent their confusion and disappointment with the season 3 finale episode.

While I’ll admit the ending was shocking and tears were shed I completely see where the writers were coming from and am going to defend their decision. After all, if you watch the series closely enough you will see that the characters’ outcomes aren’t that shocking at all.

Don’t believe me? Keep reading and you will.

*Spoilers Ahead*

Monsé Finnie

From the very beginning of On My Block, Monsé has been the de facto leader of the core four and the glue that holds them all together. As the only girl of the group she also takes over the reins as the “mom friend” who is forced to worry about her three best friends who are constantly getting themselves into trouble.

At the start of this season, she’s caught in the middle of wanting to get out of Freeridge to attend a boarding school and staying to keep her friend group together. Over the course of the season, we see her exhaustingly try to keep Cesar, Ruby, and Jamal together. She’s consonantly refereeing the boys and their countless arguments that sometimes get too personal.

On top of that, she’s trying to move on from her own grudges including forgiving Cesar for sleeping with someone else while she was away during season 2. And she also has to deal with the loss of her estranged mother this season which brings up and interesting array of feelings for her.

By the end of the season, Monsé is generally scared about what her future holds. On one hand, she’s just gone through an extremely traumatic experience with her friends and she’s seen them fight and nearly leave each other for dead. On the other hand, she’s mended her relationship with Cesar and finally has a girlfriend she can confide in. And yet, she has to give it all away to go to this new boarding school.

After everything is said and done, Monsé texts the core four asking when they can hang out again. We see each of the characters look at the message but no one answers. This is the beginning of the end of their ride or die friendship. Fearing this, Monsé begs her dad to let her stay in Freeridge but her dad and Cesar stand firm. Monsé was destined to get out of this place and this is her ticket out. We watch as Ruby, Jamal, and them on the curb to say one last goodbye.

Jasmine hands Monsé a homemade frame with her face decorating the edges and a picture of the core 4 inside. Monsé looks at it dearly and promises that she’s going to display it prominently in her new dorm room. The core four plus Jasmine share a group hug and for a moment everything is right in the world. But if you look close enough you can sense the tension and strain this is going through.

Eventually, Monsé gets in the car and drives off with her dad, the core four has officially split. And even though Cesar, Jamal, Ruby, and Jasmine watch Monsé’s car disappear together that sense of “everything is going to be okay” is lost now that the glue to their friend group has left.

And then the writers stab us in the hearts by showing Monsé two years later in her new dorm having a movie night with her new friends. The camera slowly pans to her nightstand and we see the beloved picture frame has been pushed to the back of her nightstand, overshadowed by pictures of her new friends and her new life.

Some might say it’s a classic case of teenagers growing apart and I think that’s part of the reason. After all, not everyone is destined to be best friends forever with their childhood friends. I think the other reason they grow apart is that Monsé can’t play her role as the mediator from towns apart. She isn’t there for the day to day arguments, to calm everyone’s nerves and remind each other why they’re all friends. In addition, she’s now living a very different life than her friends are. They don’t have the same problems anymore which means Monsé doesn’t have all the answers anymore.

More importantly, maybe she’s flat out tired playing that mediator role and with her new friends, she doesn’t have to. These new girls don’t force her to fix their problems, they don’t expect her to be the one constantly reaching out and checking in on them. Perhaps, they actually support her unconditionally which is something Monsé desperately needed not too long ago.

In the end, Monsé’s worst fear did come true — the core four disbanded but instead of being sad by it she almost seems relieved. And fans felt that was out of character for Monsé but is it? I don’t think it is. Monsé has spent years defusing arguments and we can see that’s she’s really fed up this time. She’s broken the vicious cycle of forgiving her friends (at least for now).

Of course, I don’t think Monsé purposely forgot about her friends, I do think they drifted away. And I don’t think this rift is permanent; after all, that’s what season 4 is for.

Cesar Diaz

Cesar has had a very tumultuous ride over the course of On My Block. In the first season is was forced into the Santos gang by his older brother and was instructed to kill a member of the rival gang. Unable to pull the trigger, the ramifications of his actions hurt those closest to him and jeopardized his future with the Santos. We saw those ramifications play out in the second season as Cesar struggled to live on the street and get back in his brother and his friends’ good graces. And by the end of season 2, he had succeeded.

Season 3 opens with Cesar being pulled back into the Santos life by the leader of the Santos herself. He and his friends are left with no choice but to help Cuchillos get what she wants or else their life is on the line — something Cesar is accustomed too but his friends are not. On top of that, Cesar’s estranged father, Ray, gets out of jail and wanders back into Cesar’s life. Having never had a relationship with him, Cesar jumps at the opportunity to get to know his father despite his brother’s warnings.

As time goes on Cesar begins to realize the severity of the situation he and his friends are in. After realizing how much Cuchillos has hurt his family, Cesar decides the only way he and his friends can win this war is if they kill her. As we get closer and closer to the end goal, we see Cesar tap into those gang mentality thoughts he fought so hard against in prior seasons.

After everything is said and done, we see the Cesar from prior seasons emerge as he comforts Monsé and pushes her to leave Freeridge. The old Cesar isn’t long for this world though. In fact, when we jump two years into the future we see Cesar’s worst fear has come true, he is now the leader of the Santos wreaking havoc on the rival gangs.

Out of all the time jump scenes, Cesar’s was the most jarring and the most heartbreaking. In fact, it’s the scene that got the fans most riled up because they felt it was wrong and uncalled for. Once again, though, if you watch the season closely enough you can see Cesar undergo this transformation from a teenager who wanted nothing to do with the Santos to a teenager who is ready to join them.

Cesar’s father returning is the first catalyst in his transformation from anti-Santos to Santos leader. That might seem silly since Ray is a new man after prison and is trying to have a better life now, but it’s the truth. Cesar has always known his father was part of the Santos but seeing him for the first time reinforces this idea that Cesar’s family lives, breathes, and dies because of the Santos gang. It’s their way of life. And even though Ray praises him for getting out and being smart, there’s still this undertone that Cesar is meant to be a Santos because it’s all they know.

If Cesar’s dad’s presence is the first catalyst to his transformation, his dad leaving is the final push Cesar needs. Why? Because it fills Cesar with rage and resentment and as Oscar said rage is how he survived in Freeridge for so long. Instead of channeling his rage into something positive, Cesar does what his family does best, turn their rage into violence.

When Cesar finds out Ray has left he tries to fight Oscar. He puts the blame for his shitty life on Oscar’s decisions. In fact, he utters the same exact words to Oscar that Oscar screams at Ray. One would think this would make him want to break the cycle of violence and his family’s need to be in the Santos gang but it only drives him closer to it.

We really see his transformation begin when the core four and Oscar decided its time to take Cuchillos down. After three days of not hearing from Oscar, Cesar begins to get worried and jumps into the action. The only problem is, he doesn’t want to put his friends in more danger than they already are so he turns to the only other family he has, the Santos. Cesar gets extremely agitated when he realizes the Santos aren’t looking for him. Worried that they’ve turned on him, Cesar confronts them and is ready to fight them but luckily he doesn’t have to. Oscar’s right-hand man steps up and defends Cesar’s wishes sending the Santos to the streets to find their leader. In doing so, Oscar’s right-hand man tells Cesar “We got you, Little Spooky,” which is the first time Cesar has ever seen the Santos truly protect him — and he likes it.

In the same episode, the core four is pulled together by Ruby after he receives a text from Cuchillos. This leads them to believe that Oscar has failed and forces Cesar to make the decision that he needs to be the one, now, to take Cuchillos down. Before the core four arrive at the hotel, Oscar’s right-hand man meets with Cesar to give him a gun. He promises to ride with Cesar no matter what, another hint that the Santos are willing to accept Cesar as their new leader if and when the time comes.

If you’re still not convinced that Cesar is beginning to accept his Santos lineage, the scene between him and Monsé should have you convinced. Monsé looks at Cesar holding the gun and asks him straight out, “this is just a one-time thing right? Because you have to.” Cesar has to pull his attention away from the gun to look at Monsé but his reaction doesn’t scream “one-time thing.” In fact, this really isn’t a one-time thing considering Cesar has held a gun to someone twice before. The difference is this time Cesar has the rage and motive to pull the trigger — and perhaps, he likes that power.

Because that’s the thing, being in the Santos means power. It means belonging. It means mattering. In the earlier scene with Cesar and Ray, Ray tells Cesar that he’s never needed anyone that he’s always known who he is and that Ray is jealous of that. But it’s not the truth. Cesar has struggled with his identity from the very beginning of the series. He’s struggled with finding acceptance within the core four because of his ties to the Santos. And for the first time, he’s seeing that maybe his place really is in the Santos where he can’t put his friends in danger anymore. Where he can be in control and be powerful instead of scared and helpless.

As if deciding to kill someone isn’t proof enough that Cesar is becoming a Santos, his willingness to fight Ruby when Ruby speaks the truth and “disrespects” Cesar. It only escalates when Jamal chimes in that being Cesar’s friend is a “liability.” Cesar’s fears have come true his friends have turned on him and the only one left for him once Monsé leaves is the Santos.

And the final knife into old Cesar happens when we watches Oscar make a deal with 19th Street to end the senseless violence and make things better for themselves. Instead of praising Oscar for this groundbreaking deal, Cesar tells Oscar he’s soft and that it’ll never work. As he watches Oscar give up his position in the Santos, Cesar sees this as his opportunity to take over.

Because even though everyone in Cesar’s life tells him that they’ve made them a better person and that he has the ability to be different and be better, Cesar doesn’t see it. He’s filled with rage. And the only way to take out that rage is to be the new leader of the Santos.

Jamal Turner

Jamal’s journey to the two-year time jump is a bit less intense than Monsé’s and definitely not nearly as intense as Cesar’s, but it was still a shocking twist for fans.

When we first met Jamal in the first season of the show he was the core fours goofy friend who was always up to something. He spent most of the first season trying to figure out a way to get out of playing football because he was afraid of getting hurt. After he finally quits the team, Jamal spends his time trying to find the rumored Rollerworld money. At the end of the first season, he does, in fact, find the money which is great considering the money becomes a key component of the second season.

The third season opens with the Rollerworld money gone and no puzzle for Jamal to solve, though that’s fixed rather quickly once Cuchillos gives them their new mission to find Lil’ Ricky. Jamal spends the rest of the season trying to be the leader of the group which is harder than he thinks given Jasmine’s new presence in the core four. In addition, he gets his first glimpse at high school romance thanks to a strange homeschooled girl who has taken to stalking him.

Jamal goes through a very emotional journey as he struggles to come to terms with his new role amongst his friends and how to juggle his new relationship with the rest of his life. In addition, he’s stuck trying to solve an unsolvable puzzle.

By the time the two-year time jump happens, Jamal has accepted he’s not the leader, fought with his friends, broken up with his girlfriend, and realizes that he doesn’t have a mystery to solve anymore. In turn, when we see him two years later he is now laughing and enjoying his life while wearing a football jersey. As Ruby passes Jamal and him share a look so many of us can relate to — they’ve grown apart.

A lot of fans were caught off guard that Jamal, who actively spent an entire season trying to avoid playing football, would suddenly join the football team again. But it’s not that shocking.

Think about it, the only reason Jamal was against playing football was that he was afraid of being hurt. By the end of the season, he’s literally been threatened by a powerful gang leader and cheated death on more than one occasion. He’s faced his biggest fear of getting hurt and being dead and now, with that fear gone he can enjoy the game of football without worrying what’s going to happen to him.

It’s not just his newfound bravery that makes football the perfect fit for him though, it’s also the fact that Jamal loves puzzles. He spent three seasons tracking down money, missing people, and trying to figure out how to get his friends out of trouble and he loved it. When you think about it football is a great place for someone who loves to solve puzzles because plays are puzzles. He would actually be a great asset to the team if he was able to dissever the opponent’s plays.

On top of that, Jamal’s always wanted to be a leader and yet, his friends have never taken him seriously. He’s never been a leader in the core four’s eyes and its something that has frustrated him for years. In that time jump, he has the undivided attention of the team, he’s the one telling the story that’s making everyone laugh with him and not at him. Jamal finally found a place where he could be a respected leader.

The most jarring thing for fans to come to terms with in regards to Jamal’s time jump scene was the fact that he and Ruby don’t talk. While I agree that we don’t see Jamal and Ruby growing apart from each other as much as we do with some of the other characters this season, the tensions in their relationship are still there. The fact of the matter is while Ruby was desperately trying to help his parents pay off his medical bills this season, Jamal was prioritizing finding Lil’ Ricky. So yeah, maybe they did just grow apart organically or maybe they truly needed time apart because they weren’t on the same page anymore.

Ruben “Ruby” Martinez Jr

Out of the core four Ruby has the most heartwarming transformation.

When we first meet Ruby he’s a hopeless romantic who’s a little too obsessed with girls. He’s often the one friend who gets the core four out of trouble and he truly is ride or die even if he doesn’t always show it.

At the end of season one, Ruby ends up getting shot at a family friend’s quince which leaves the family friend dead. Ruby spends much of season 2 juggling his intense PTSD while also trying to help his friends get Cesar out of harms way yet again.

By the time season three rolls around, Ruby is somewhat better but he still suffers from survivor’s guilt and is a bit numb to the world. His one wish at the start of the season is to just be a normal teenager but of course, that’s impossible given the world he lives in and his friends.

He begins to have feelings for Jasmine, a girl who’s been obsessed with him since childhood that the core four have often brushed off as crazy. On top of that, Ruby learns that his parents are going through marital problems partly due to Ruby’s growing medical bills after being shot.

Ruby spends much of the third season trying to figure out a way to help their friends while also trying to survive his impending death for a second time. On a positive note, he’s also trying to discover if his new feelings for Jasmine are permanent or if they’re a stress reliever given their current life or death situation.

Ruby once again takes charge of the core four after Cuchillos leaves him a burner phone that allows her to communicate with the core four. He’s the one who pulls the group together after they realize that Oscar is probably dead and he’s the one who devises the plan on how to take down Cuchillos together. Even though his actions make him appear as the leader of the group, he doesn’t feel like that.

In fact, he feels alone even when he’s with his friends. Jamal is too caught up in his first relationship and the newest puzzle to help Ruby with his financial trouble. Ruby tries to bond with Monsé after her mother passes but even she ends up pushing him away by expressing her fear of being numb to pain and loss — something he has first-hand experience with. And he nearly comes to blows with Cesar after finally admitting that everything that’s wrong with him is because of Cesar.

After he utters those words, there’s no going back. It’s the crack in their foundation that makes Ruby distance from the core four make sense in the time jump.

Even though Ruby losing his friends is sad and not what viewers wanted, it’s what he needed to finally live a normal teenage life. And the time jump is the proof of that since we see Ruby and Jasmine walking the halls of their high school happy and in love for the first time in a long time.

Oscar “Spooky” Diaz

Oscar, or Spooky as he’s known for most of the series, has the most positive drastic change during the two-year time jump. And it’s the one fans welcomed the most.

When we first meet Oscar he’s fresh out of jail and back to reclaim his seat as the leader of the Santos. His first mission is to innate Cesar into the gang life which isn’t an easy task given Cesar’s hesitance. The two have a very tumultuous relationship in season one but they do manage to share a few heartfelt moments together. Most memorable is the scene on the beach where they both fantasize about what their life could be if they weren’t stuck in Freeridge and had parents who were actually capable of being parents.

Unfortunately, that closeness doesn’t last long and in season two, Oscar is forced to turn his back on Cesar after he puts the Santos lives in jeopardy after not killing a member of the rival gang at the end of season one. It takes the entire season for Cesar to prove himself to Oscar but eventually the two reunite and take down the Prophets once and for all.

Season 3 should have been an amazing season for these two brothers who are finally starting to heal but instead, their father, Ray, comes back into the picture and drives a wedge between them. See, Cesar doesn’t remember what his father’s presence is like but Oscar does and Oscar doesn’t want Cesar to go through any more shit than he’s already had to deal with. But Oscar can’t protect Cesar from himself — and that’s an important thing to remember as the season continues.

If season 3 for Cesar is about Cesar’s transformation into a Santo, then Oscars season 3 is about his transformation away from the Santos.

This shift becomes clear halfway through the season when Oscar confronts Ray about all the shit that he did to Oscar. Oscar blames Ray for everything that’s wrong with Oscar’s life. He blames Ray for forcing him to grow up and be the leader of the Santos even though it’s not what he wanted. Ray tells him he needs to let go of his rage and move on because he can’t fix the past. In a pivotal move, Oscar tells Ray that he can’t let go of the rage because it’s the only thing that’s kept him alive in Freeridge for so long.

The ironic thing is, in telling his father off, Oscar has let go of his rage. And from that moment on, we see Oscar take steps to distance himself from the Santos. The first move comes when he helps the core four plan to take Cuchillos down by sacrificing himself for them. For the first time, Oscar realizes that the Santos aren’t his family and that they don’t have his back the way he might have thought they had.

By sacrificing himself for Cesar and his friends, it’s the first step Oscar makes against the Santos. Thankfully, his mission pays off and he’s able to make a deal with 19th Street that would allow both gangs to live in peace without fear of being shot over meaningless issues. This scene is Oscar’s final act as a Santo and in turn, it’s the turning point Cesar needs to step into his brother’s role.

When Cesar confronts Oscar about being soft and being played Oscar can’t bring himself to care. He even goes as far as telling Cesar that he wants “adult problems” and that he’s done with this way of life. That he’s done living his life with resentment and missed opportunities. Instead of agreeing with Oscar, Cesar asks him “what if someone takes your power?” To which Oscar responds “let him.” And in that moment, it’s clear that while Oscar is done with the Santos life, Cesar is just beginning.

And so the two-year time jump shows the drastic reality that Cesar has taken over the Santos; while Oscar has finally gotten what he’s always wanted — a wife, a kid, and a normal life.

Now, many have criticized Oscar’s happy ending wondering why he didn’t get Cesar out of Freeridge too. They’ve been vocal about their issues with him leaving his baby brother to run a gang he knows will ruin his life.

But here’s the thing. You can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. Oscar knows this.

He knows Cesar is still full of rage and resentment, especially towards Oscar. And at the end of the day, Oscar doesn’t want to be in charge of his baby brother anymore. He never wanted to in the first place. And even though we’ve seen Oscar be a good brother over the course of the season, we can’t forget the fact that he literally forced Cesar to sleep on the streets for nearly an entire season.

Oscar finally chose family over the Santos, but unfortunately, Cesar didn’t make that same choice and that’s no one’s fault but Cesar’s.

And that concludes my long rambling essay on why I stand by the writer’s finale decisions. Even though I support them, I know that this is not the end of the core four. And I can’t wait to see what season four has in store for us because I’m certain we’re going to get one.

Even though the season 3 ending might be realistic, it doesn’t match the positive tone On My Block has always given us. Which is why I know this is not the end of the core four’s journey.

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My Casting Predictions for 'High School Musical: The Musical: The Series' Take on 'Beauty and the Beast'

Today’s the day we’ve been waiting for. Disney+ announced what production the cast of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will be tackling in their second season. Bad news, they’re stepping away from the High School Musical franchise, something we knew was going to happen. Good news, they’re staying close to their Disney roots and their fall musical will be … Beauty and the Beast! Oh, and the cast and creators have promised that we’re still going to get High School Musical AND original songs in season two too!

To say I’m excited is an understatement!

If you watched the first season you’ll know the casting process was extremely difficult for Miss Jenn and the students. Everyone was vying for the roles of Troy and Gabriela and I’m certain we’re going to see the same sense of competition when they go out for Belle and the Beast.

One big thing to consider for this season is the possibility that Nini might not be an East High Wildcat anymore. Obviously, her presence or absence is going to affect the casting. It’s also worth noting that the season one finale of HSMTMTS left us with a hint that two other cast members have a lot of talent that we didn’t get to see — Kourtney and Big Red.

With all these factors in play, my mind immediately started wondering who was going to be playing who. I’ll admit I had some crazy thoughts — like Ashlyn and Big Red taking the stage as Belle and the Beast but I’ve reigned them in a bit. So without further ado, here are my casting predictions for HSMTMTS‘s production of Beauty and the Beast.

Ricky as The Beast

With Ricky’s newfound love for theater and a leading role under his belt, there’s no denying that he’s probably going to go out for the lead role in Beauty and the Beast. Though it might be fun to see him channel his inner anger and take on the role of Gaston or even channel is goofiness into Lefou, he’s destined to be the Beast.

One of Ricky’s strong suits according to Miss Jenn is his ability to relate to the material and make it feel real. I think Ricky can relate to the Beast. They’re both still learning to be comfortable with themselves and trying to adjust to their new normal. And they’re both a tad insecure. Beast definitely has more of a temper than Ricky has but it’ll be a challenge I know he’ll be willing to take.

Besides, if nothing else Ricky has to be the Beast because Nini is obviously going to be Belle and their real-life love story parallels Belle and Beast’s love story to a tee.

Nini as Belle

Nini’s future at the end of season one is unclear. She has just been offered a spot at a prestigious arts school in the city but she’s also just rekindled her relationship with Ricky. Just like in the original HSM franchise, Nini’s going to be forced to choose between her dreams and her relationship.

To be honest, I think Nini is going to give the new school a shot and realize she hates it making her transfer back to East High just in time to audition for Beauty and the Beast. I’m really, there’s no possible way they can put on this production without their star. Sure, Gina, Ashlyn or even Seb could rise to the occasion of being Belle, but no one is more inherently Belle than Nini.

And like I said, she has to be Belle because Ricky has to be the Beast because their love story is Beauty and the Beast. I mean come on the song “Beauty and the Beast” was practically written for them!

E.J. as Gaston

If Ricky is Beast, E.J. is going to be Gaston there’s no question about it.

Unlike E.J.’s disappointment in being cast as Chad in the first season, I think E.J. would love being cast as Gaston. I also think it would allow him to show Miss Jenn that he can connect to the material. After all, he basically was Gaston last season.

E.J. and Gaston have a lot in common. Plus, I really do think E.J. has the perfect singing range for Gaston.

Gina as Babette 

For those of you not familiar with the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast, Babette is the feather-duster who has a bigger role than she does in the film. And Gina is the perfect Babette!

Babette is confident, fun, and flirt. So, basically, she’s Gina if Gina was turned into a feather-duster. She also gets to dance the Tango with Lumiere which Gina would obviously be great at giving her dancing talents.

Honestly, I think it would be a really fun role for Gina to tackle and she needs a little bit of fun right now! Plus, it would be fun to see Gina get to perform an original song as Babette.

I will say, I would also love to see Gina take on Lumiere’s role but for now, I’m sticking with my prediction that she’ll be Babette … unless they decide to get ride of Babette’s character which would be a shame.

Ashlyn as Mrs. Potts

I hate to typecast since Ashlyn played the motherly role in their production of High School Musical, but in this case, I just can’t help it. Ashlyn would make the perfect Mrs. Potts.

Ashlyn is kind and sincere. She wants everybody to be happy. She looks after her friends. I mean, hell, she basically invited Gina to live with her so she doesn’t have to leave East High!

Mrs. Potts is also kind and sincere. She’s attentive to Chip and to Belle. She just wants to make Belle feel comfortable and at home in her scary new reality. Ashlyn did the same thing for Nina when she got cast as Gabriela.

There’s just no denying it Ashlyn would make the perfect Mrs. Potts. Plus, she would kill it seeing “Beauty and the Beast.”

If for some reason Nini doesn’t return to East High, the only other person I would accept as a Belle is Ashlyn. They have a lot in common too. Plus if Big Red somehow manages to be the Beast well then their love stories will parallel too.

Big Red as LeFou

Last season Big Red was part of the crew which was a perfect place for him to be. After his epic tap number in the season finale, I can’t help but feel like it’s Big Red’s turn to take the stage. Though I’d love to see Big Red tackle the Beast or even Lumiere, I think he’ll shine the best as LeFou. Plus, it’s a minor role to ease him into the acting life of the theater world.

LeFou and Big Red have a lot in common in that they’re both underdogs and kind of goofy. Even though they’re similar, Big Red might find LeFou challenging to play if E.J. is in fact cast as Gaston because they’re supposed to be best friends. What’s even more fun about this is that it could add some off-stage drama to the season. Who knows maybe Big Red and E.J. will really hit it off making Ricky jealous.

Kourtney as Madame De La Grande Bouche

If you didn’t know who Babette was you probably don’t know who Madame De la Grande Bouche is. Well, she’s the enchanted wardrobe who used to be a famous opera singer. Obviously, she’s the perfect role for Kourtney who we have just learned can really belt out a song.

Not only can Kourtney sing, but she also loves the world of fashion and was part of the costuming department during season one. Hello, she’s basically already Madame De La Grande Bouche just in reverse.

Seb as Lumiere

Lumiere was really hard for me to envision. Not because the HSMTMTS cast couldn’t do him justice but because so many of them could! Eventually, I ended up deciding that Seb would make the perfect Lumiere.

Lumiere is charming and so is Seb. He’s also gets arguably one of the best numbers in the entire musical which obviously Seb would love! We’ve seen Seb command the stage as Sharpay and kill it which makes me know that he would kill it as Lumiere.

Carlos as Cogsworth

Similar to my struggle with casting Lumiere, Cogsworth was another difficult one for me to envision. Honestly, Seb could make an amazing Cogsworth too but I think I’m going to stick with my prediction that Carlos will be Cogsworth.

Now, in the first season, Carlos stayed behind the scenes, working as assistant director and choreographer. Obviously, he loved his job but I for one would love to see him take center stage this time around.

Cogsworth would be a fun character for Carlos to take on because they’re similar and yet different. Carlos knows how to have fun, something Cogsworth isn’t so great at. But he’s also very tightly-wound and loves perfect, which is literally the Broadway character description of Cogsworth.

Plus, I love the idea of watching Carlos and Seb play off each other on stage!

As far as Chip and Maurice go well, maybe they’ll be played by some new characters. I mean this is a high school show so people are going to graduate. It’s always a good idea to bring in younger cast members. We’ll just have to wait and see!

As I said, I have a few crazy theories but these are my more realistic predictions for who will be cast in East High’s production of Beauty and the Beast. I can’t wait to see if I’m right or wrong!

What do you think? Do you agree with me? Who would you like to see be Belle and the Beast? Let me know in the comments below or by tweeting be @3RsBlog.

Don’t forget season one of High School Musical, The Musical, The Series is streaming now on Disney+, along with a sing-a-long version. Season 2 is expected to start streaming in late-2020.

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SEASON REVIEW: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (Disney+, 2019)

I’ve been a Wildcat since 2006. High School Musical was a national event in my house. I went to the High School Musical on Stage! show in my Limited Too outfit. I saw High School Musical 3: Senior Year in theaters on opening day. And I cried when Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens ended their real-life relationship. #RIPZanessa.

When High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was announced I was a little bit skeptical. It wasn’t my High School Musical and none of the original creators were tied to the series. Then, I attended the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California in 2019 and got to see the cast perform and introduce us to their characters. I’m not gonna lie, hearing “We’re All In This Together” made tear up but I was still skeptical.

I mean how on earth could a show called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series be any good if they couldn’t have even come up with a creative title? Well, let me tell you, I was wrong. Not about the lame name (I’m still not a fan of that) but the show quickly became a must-see for me.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series was created by Tim Federle and airs on Disney+. HSMTMTS, as fans have abbreviated it, follows a group of East High drama kids as they put on a production of High School Musical, chosen by East High’s new drama teacher. The show is a mockumentary and juggles the teenagers’ lives outside of school with the crazy world of high school theater. It features a mix of High School Musical songs and original songs written for the series.

The show features Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett who play Nini and Ricky our new leading couple. Along with them are our “wonderstudies” Matt Cornett who plays E.J. and Sofia Wylie who plays Gina. Larry Saperstein (Big Red), Julia Lester (Ashlyn), Dara Reneé (Kourtney), and Frankie Rodriguez (Carlos) round out our main high school cast. Of course, a show set in high school needs some teachers. That’s where Kate Reinders who portrays Miss Jenn, the new East High drama teacher and former background dancer in the original High School Musical and Mark St. Cyr who plays Mr. Benjamin Mazzara, the STEM teacher who is anti Arts come in.

Now that the series has officially aired its final episode for the season, it’s time for my review.

As always, spoilers are ahead. You’ve been warned.

Favorite Episode: 1×08 – “The Tech Rehearsal”

Picking my favorite episode proved to be insanely difficult but after much deliberation, I decided that “The Tech Rehearsal” is my favorite episode.

“The Tech Rehearsal” centers around the tech rehearsal, obviously. The cast shows up to the East High theater for tech rehearsal only to find that their beloved theater has been set on fire and deemed unsafe by the fire department. As the popular saying goes, “the show must go on!” Thanks to Carlos’s uncle they are able to move the production to the abandoned El Ray theater downtown, much to Miss Jenn’s dismay.

Once they arrive at the theater disasters continue to strike. E.J. gets his hands on Miss Jenn’s audition notes and discovers that he didn’t get the part of Troy Bolton because he has difficulty connecting to the material. Nini and Ricky are banished to the attic of the theater to rehearse a scene but end up reminiscing about their friendship. And the crew scrambles to get the theater for their production. Oh yeah, and Lucas Gabreel (aka Ryan Evans) guest stars during Miss Jenn’s dream.

So, yeah, a lot is going on in this episode.

The reason why it’s my favorite is because of the dialogue and the connections the characters have with each other.

I’m not even slightly embarrassed to admit that I am a 23-year-old who squealed in delight watching Big Red and Ashlyn flirt with each other. Their one-liners were honestly the cutest thing ever. Hallmark movie-level cheesy? Yes. But, oh so amazing regardless.

Another reason I love this episode is the scene with Nini and Ricky when they realize unlike their characters, they do have a history with each other. Nini is rehearsing Gabriela’s line where she tells Troy that singing with him felt like kindergarten where it was so easy to be friends with someone because you could be yourself. The line reminds Ricky of his past with Nini and the fact they actually did meet in kindergarten.

The two go on to reminisce about their early friendship and it becomes clear that these two kids are so not over each other. It’s the classic best friends to lovers to exes troupe and I love it.

It’s also a really authentic scene. Their reminiscing happens organically. When they first start remembering it’s playful and fun but as they continue it quickly turns to remorse as they realize that they miss each other, in more ways than they thought.

“The Tech Rehearsal” also lets Kourtney take center stage as she belts out a song on stage while Big Red tries to work out the lighting kinks. Kourtney’s “fifteen minutes of fame” moment causes her to realize why Nini is so passionate about theater.

I do have one complaint with this episode and that’s that I wanted more of a technical aspect to it. Yes, there was some with the crew trying to figure out how to work everything in the decrepit theater but it didn’t feel like a tech rehearsal. It’s a really knit-picky critique but I needed to say it.

Least Favorite Episode: 1×01 – “The Auditions”

Thankfully I have a policy to never judge a show by its pilot episode. If I didn’t have this policy, I would have stopped watching High School Musical: The Musical: The Series immediately after the first episode.

“The Audition” is set at the start of the school year. Ricky returns to school to find that his ex-girlfriend Nini (they were on a break) has come back from summer theater camp with a new boyfriend, senior “it” boy, E.J. Things are awkward as expected. The students all enter the gym where they are introduced to the new drama teacher, Miss Jenn, who announces that East High will be putting on High School Musical as their fall production. Nini, of course, decides to audition for Gabriela and E.J. plans to be Troy. Determined to win Nini back, Ricky, who’s been anti-musical his entire life, decides he’s also going to audition. The drama unfolds and the episode ends with the cast list being posted — Nini and Ricky have been cast as the leads.

As I said, going into the first episode I was skeptical. High School Musical was my childhood and I didn’t want that to be ruined. I was afraid HSMTMTS was going to be too gimmicky and rely on nostalgia to gain its fan base.

Unfortunately, my worries were confirmed when the first episode aired.

I felt that it relied too much on nostalgia. It was super cringy. And I couldn’t accept the fact that someone else was singing High School Musical songs. Obviously, I got over those initial concerns but that doesn’t change my opinion about the first episode.

It’s honestly not a bad episode. It does what a pilot is supposed to do. It sets the tone, introduces us to the characters, and lets us know what the series will be about. I just wasn’t ready for all those questions to be answered when I watched the pilot.

Favorite Character: Ricky Bowen

Ricky Bowen stole the show and my heart.

Ricky got off on the wrong foot in the first episode. He’s pretty self-entitled and jealous when he finds out that Nini found someone else while she was at theater camp. Ricky feels like they weren’t supposed to see other people despite being on a break — sounds like Ross Geller to me.

Thankfully, over the course of the season, Ricky works through his feelings and sheds that Ross Geller, self-entitled attitude. Though he’s sad that Nini has moved on from him, he’s more upset that he’s lost her as a friend since the two have been inseparable since kindergarten.

He really goes through a huge character development transformation. Sure, he tried out for the musical in the hopes of winning back Nini but by the end of the season, he’s cultivated a new love for theater.

He found a home away from home and true friends who will be there for him no matter what. Plus, he gets to have Nini back in his life which is the ultimate win for Ricky.

One of the things I really loved about Ricky is his ability to be vulnerable. He’s definitely a character who wears his heart on his sleeve. It’s easy to tell when he’s angry, upset, and happy. We see him cry when he finds out that his parents are getting a divorce. We see him struggle to come to terms with the fact that his mother has moved on so quickly.

And he’s not only vulnerable in the safety of his house but, he’s also vulnerable in public. In episode nine, we see him visibly upset when he discovers that his mom has invited her new boyfriend to his opening night without telling Ricky.

Another reason I love Ricky is that he’s not afraid to confide in others or ask for help. He shares his feelings and frustrations about Nini to Big Red who listens to his endless rants and doesn’t complain. He confides in Gina when he learns that his parents are splitting up. And when everything is going wrong in the middle of the production, he reaches out to Nini because she’s the only one who will make him feel okay.

Ricky is what every teenage boy (fictitious and real) should aspire to be.

Least Favorite Character: E.J. Caswell

E.J.’s character is really interesting. He’s described as being a “jock-type theater enthusiast” which is basically Troy Bolton. Given this and the fact he’s just finished a summer at theater camp where he played the lead, he feels like he’s a shoo-in for the lead role. Of course, that doesn’t happen and E.J. spends the rest of the season being #bitter.

He’s upset that he didn’t get cast as the lead and instead is cast as Chad and he’s worried that Ricky is going to steal Nini from him. Of course, no one can steal a person from another person but E.J.’s behavior makes it pretty easy for Nini to realize that he’s not the one for her.

E.J. is a typical jealous-paranoid boyfriend. He’s so worried about losing Nini that instead of showing her all the reasons why she should stay with him, he instead drives a wedge between them by being manipulative.

Ricky may start off as the Ross Geller, but E.J. quickly takes over that title.

E.J. does begin to evolve over the season but it’s a more gradual and cringeworthy transformation than Ricky’s is. E.J. apologizes to Nini for what he’s done to her and telling the truth gives him such a rush that he begins confessing to every little thing he’s done wrong through social media posts. This causes his social media followers to plummet and makes him severely insecure. How Gen-Z of him.

With his self-esteem already in the dumps, E.J. makes things worse for himself when he snoops in Miss Jenn’s binder and learns why he wasn’t cast as Troy Bolton. E.J. then tries to prove her wrong which doesn’t go well either.

Honestly, E.J. only has two redeeming qualities at the end of the season. One, he did eventually leave Nini alone. That’s a pretty big one considering fictional and real-life men tend to continue to pursue a woman even when they’ve said no a hundred times. I appreciate E.J. for respecting Nini’s wishes and backing off.

The other thing I really did love about E.J. was that he was (most likely) the one responsible for getting Gina back to East High for the opening night. This is one of the first times we see him be truly selfless. There’s nothing in it for him. Gina’s presence doesn’t affect him or his performance. And yet, he knows that his cast is missing Gina — and he probably is too.

When E.J. flies Gina out for opening night, we finally see him embrace the “We’re All In This Together” motto.

My hope for E.J. going forward is that we continue to see him mature and grow into a generous person instead of one that is so caught up with his own issues that he doesn’t care about anyone else.

Favorite Pairing: Ashlyn and Big Red

Bet you weren’t expecting that one.

Listen, I love Nini and Ricky. They’re my favorite troupe come true (childhood friends to lovers), they understand each other on a deep level, they’re always there for each other, and they’re just downright adorable.

It’s hard for me to say they’re my second favorite couple because I really do love ‘Rini,’ but Ashlyn and Big Red really won me over.

To me, Ashlyn and Big Red embody what a high school love story should be. They’re innocent and playful. Half the time they’re unsure of if they’re flirting with each other or just being friendly.

Honestly, their dialogue is what really sealed the deal for me that they were my favorite pairing. They’re always so sweet together. They make the most subtle compliments sound like true poetry.

Big Red: “How do you light up an entire room?”

Ashlyn: “You walk into it.”

I mean, come on! How cute are they!

Sure, Nini and Ricky got each other cute and heartfelt gifts but Big Red got Ashlyn a giant bouquet of flowers! And they weren’t even a thing!!!

And then there’s the end credit scene during episode 10 that completely sealed the deal.

Big Red and Ashlyn understand each other. They’re both the underdogs of the series.

Ashlyn’s outgoing and talented but she’s never even talked about in regards to being the lead. She’s constantly in the shadows of her cousin E.J. who jeopardizes her friendship with Nini and the rest of the cast. And she doesn’t really mind. She stays in her lane, writers her music, does her thing, and really, is just happy to be involved.

Big Red ended up on the crew for the production because he had no other place to be. Ricky is his best (and only) friend and the only way the two of them could spend time together after Ricky gets cast was to join the production. It’s not what he thought he would be doing but he learns to love it — just like Ricky does. Big Red excels and ends up coming out of the production with a group of friends who truly love and care about him. I also love that through his character we got to see some of the tech side of high school theater. As a former high school technical theater kid, I loved that about the show.

Even though Big Red and Ashlyn aren’t an official thing yet, I ship them 110%. I can’t wait to see them develop and hopefully explore a relationship in season 2.

Complaints

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series really took me by surprise because I fully expected to hate it. I’m glad I didn’t. Given this, I really don’t have many complaints — they’re more knit-picky things.

I was sort of disappointed that we didn’t get a dress rehearsal episode. After the disaster that was the tech rehearsal, it would have been nice to see them get to practice one time through in the gym where opening night would be. If they would have done a dress rehearsal it would have given us a chance to see more of the High School Musical production. Or, if the creative team didn’t want to make the series longer, the dress rehearsal could have even been just the first act and then the second act could have been the opening night episode. I just feel that a dress rehearsal is an important part of theater and it was a shame we didn’t get to see this cast go through the dress rehearsal struggle.

I was really sad the characters Kelsey and Ryan didn’t get attention in this production. Kelsey’s role was completely nonexistent in this production. On one hand, I understand that the cast was already huge and adding a Kelsey would have made it larger. But I still missed her. It’s also worth noting that Ashlyn’s character is very similar to who Kelsey was in the film. Perhaps, the creators felt that they didn’t need to cast a pretend Kelsey because the show already had a Kelsey-like presence with Ashlyn.

If Ashlyn embodied Kelsey, then Carlos embodies Ryan. Carlos was the choreographer and Miss Jenn’s right-hand man. Ryan is very into choreography and is always willing to help Miss. Darbus in the originals. Plus, in High School Musical 2, he acts as the choreographer for the talent show.

Unlike Kelsey, who was nonexistent in the production, there was someone playing Ryan but we never learn anything about him. I think it would have been fun, fresh, and interesting if Seb would have played both Sharpay and Ryan. Truthfully, that’s what I thought was happening since he sang both parts of “Bop to the Top.” They could have split him and had one side of his wardrobe/make-up Sharpay inspired and the other side Ryan inspired. A missed opportunity if you ask me.

I wanted more character development for some of our characters. Ashlyn is so interesting and she mentions she does all these other things outside of just theater but we never get to see her beyond the walls of the theater. I hope we get to learn more about her home life and her other hobbies in season 2.

I also wanted more development when it comes to Seb and Carlos’s relationship. Yes, I am ecstatic that Disney went there and made a same-sex couple canon (something the original films were never able to do) but it’s not just enough for them to exist. They need screen time. They need a story. I want Seb and Carlos’s relationship to be just as important as Nini/Ricky and Ashlyn/Big Red. Fingers cross season 2 redeems themselves.

Another knit-pick, I wasn’t a fan of the changed “We’re All In This Together” choreography. The dance in the original is so iconic. I can still do it 14 years later! I felt betrayed when they didn’t do the exact choreography. I appreciate the show wanting to bring a new take to the production but this was one thing that shouldn’t have been changed.

My biggest critique isn’t about the plot of the series but the title as a whole. Even though I love saying High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, it’s the dumbest name ever. It’s clear that they were trying to cash in on the original High School Musical pandemonium. I’m sure it worked, but I also think it narrowed the reach the series could have had.

Not to mention it’s going to complicate season two. The series title makes sense for season one because they are putting on a production of High School Musical: The Musical but what happens when they are not putting on a High School Musical production? Tim Federle, the creator, already confirmed that season 2 won’t be about the beloved franchise. So now what?

Personally, I think the show should have been called East High Drama or something like that. It would have resonated with High School Musical fans but also wouldn’t have put the show in such a box.

I’m interested to see if the series will be renamed ahead of the second season. Or if it’ll be named something like High School Musical: (INSERT NEW MUSICAL NAME): The Series instead.

Praise

Obviously, there were a lot of things I loved about the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. I could probably go one for days, so I’m gonna try to keep this list reserved for the highlights.

I absolutely loved the fact that the show was able to distinguish itself from the original films. I loved that they included original music and I loved it, even more, when I found out that Olivia Rodrigo and Joshua Bassett got to write “Just for a Moment.”

Another thing I was really excited about is that they didn’t really drag on the “love triangle” too much. It was there in the first few episodes but after E.J. betrays Nini, she breaks up with him and that’s that. Sure, both boys are still actively pursuing her but she’s not pursuing either of them. It’s still a love triangle I guess, but it doesn’t feel like a cliche one.

I loved that they allowed Seb to play Sharpay. I thought that was genius and amazing. It’s a shame that they’re not going to do High School Musical 2 because he would have killed “Fabulous.”

I applaud the show’s attempt to be diverse and inclusive. The characters are diverse in race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation but they’re also not defined by identities. I do think they could have done a bit more in terms of the LGBT inclusion but I applaud the moves they did make. The Homecoming scene between Seb and Carlos was everything.

I mentioned above that I liked that they included a technical aspect to the show. It could have played a bigger part but I’m glad it was mention to some extent.

One of my favorite moments of the entire series was the “Breaking Free” performance at the end. It’s such an iconic moment in the original film and I was worried it was going to fall flat in the series. It did not! Having the roles switch was genius. Instead of our Gabriela being the timid one on stage, our Troy is. Gabriela must coax him into joining her onstage. I think this move really embodies the series. We’re meant to believe that Nini = Gabriela and Ricky = Troy but they’re both more complex than that. I also felt it was very reminiscent of the “This Is Us/Gotta Find You” moment from the DCOM Camp Rock. Regardless, I loved it!

Oh, and I can’t forget Ms. Darbus’s original number. Though I did feel it was oddly placed, I thought it was an amazing song and a wonderful moment for Ashlyn to shine.

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. I am definitely a fan of this new era of Wildcats and can’t wait for season 2. Speaking of season 2, Disney+ announced that High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will return with new episodes in Fall 2020!

For now, you can stream the first season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series on Disney+.

What did you think of the High School Musical: The Musical: The Series? What was your favorite and least favorite episode? Who do you ship? Will you be watching season 2? Let me know in the comments or by tweeting me @3RsBlog. 

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Merry, Happy, Whatever Review (Netflix, 2019)

When I first saw the trailer for Netflix’s new sitcom Merry, Happy, Whatever I was so excited. It combined all my favorite things Christmas, sitcoms, and Ashley Tisdale together. What could be better?

The show, which was created by Tucker Cawley, follows the Quinn family as they get ready to spend the next 10 days celebrating a perfect holiday season in true Quinn family fashion. Of course, perfection and the holidays don’t exist and the Quinn’s quickly learn that family traditions can be hard to keep up when families are constantly evolving.

Don Quinn (played by Dennis Quaid) is the widowed, no-nonsense patriarch of the family. The most shocking thing about him is that he forms a crush on an emergency room nurse who happens to be black. It’s 2019 and interracial relationships shouldn’t be shocking but if you’ve watched the show you’d agree that it was a pretty surprising relationship to explore given Don’s conservative beliefs.

Don has four kids — 3 daughters and a son. Patsy (Siobham Murphy) is the eldest daughter who feels it is her responsibility to be the “mom” of the family since their own mother has passed away. That’s literally her whole purpose of being in the show and it gets old, fast. Kayla (Ashley Tisdale) is the middle daughter who learns her husband wants a divorce the moment they enter her childhood home. Sean (Hayes MacArthur) is Don’s only son who just so happens to be hiding a secret from his father — well, a secret or two. And then there is Emmy (Bridgit Mendler), Don’s youngest daughter and quite possibly his favorite child. Emmy has come back from LA to celebrate the holidays with her family and she’s brought along her struggling musician boyfriend Matt (Brent Morin) who Don is not too thrilled about.

In addition to the family, there are the two in-laws or “outlaws” as they call themselves, Todd (Adam Rose) who is married to Patsy and Joy (Elizabeth Ho) who is married to Sean. There are also a few grandkids in the mix rounding out the Quinn family.

With so many people together during a stressful time, chaos is bound to ensue and it sure does. Just like the Quinn’s rocky holiday celebration, Merry, Happy, Whatever faces a rollercoaster of good and bad episodes.

Without further ado, here’s Dani’s Desk review of Merry, Happy, Whatever.

Spoilers ahead.

Favorite Episode: Episode 4 – “Happy Mall-idays”

“Happy Mall-idays” is the episode that finally intrigued me enough to sit down and binge-watch the rest of the show. I was ready to give up after the first two episodes, the third was a little bit better but the fourth episode is where I finally started to connect with the characters.

The fourth episode follows the Quinns as they brace the holiday crowds at the mall to complete a multitude of tasks. Don is looking for the perfect gift for Nancy and enlists Sean to help him out. Emmy and Matt are faced with their first argument of the holiday season as they disagree on how to spend money. Meanwhile, Joy ends up crashing her car while trying to find parking space which means Patsy and Todd must wait in the Santa line until Joy can get the car situation under control. Oh, and then there’s Kayla who spends the entire time trying to hit on the cute barista she’s been secretly crushing on.

Pretty standard for a sitcom and yet, this is where the characters start to shine. I felt myself cringing along with Kayla as she tried to win over the barista who just thought she was interested in a job and not her. Matt and Emmy’s debate over how they spend money was relatable — especially when the conversation centered around how much was appropriate to spend on a Christmas gift. And I was really loving Joy’s heart-to-heart with the elderly woman whose car she hit until the woman said that. You’ll know what I mean when you watch it.

From episode 4 on it finally feels like we are apart of the Quinn family and not just some uninvited visitor.

Least Favorite Episode: Episode 1 – “Welcome Matt”

It’s a well-known fact in the television world that pilots usually aren’t that great. Merry, Happy, Whatever’s pilot episode is no exception to that fact. The episode is terrible and that’s putting it lightly. It’s a miracle I kept watching the show after that episode but I try to give every show at least 3 chances before calling it quits.

The plot of the episode goes like this: Don picks up his beloved daughter and her struggling musician boyfriend at the airport in his police cruiser. Matt hopes to make a good impression with the Quinn’s but his presence is quickly outshined when Kayla’s husband announces that he wants a divorce in front of the entire family. The writing staff was smart to include the standard “how could you do this in front of my entire family/everything we do is in front of your family” joke. From there chaos ensues as more secrets are revealed to certain characters setting up the promise of chaos to come.

The issue with “Welcome, Matt” is that it relies on sitcom gimmicks as a crutch. The plot isn’t fresh and neither are the characters who rely on sitcom troupes way too much. It’s a shame considering the premise of the show has so much potential and could really elevate Netflix’s original sitcom repertoire.

Favorite Character: Kayla Quinn

Kayla Quinn saved Merry, Happy, Whatever for me.

In the beginning, I was disappointed in Kayla’s character. Ashely Tisdale is such an amazing actress and it felt like she was playing a character I had already seen her portray (you can’t deny the Sharpey vibes). Thankfully, the third episode gives Kayla some depth when she confides in Matt about her feelings towards women.

Netflix isn’t a stranger to exploring LGBT character’s but Kayla’s revelation is really one of the first times I’ve seen a grown adult question their sexuality on television. We talk a lot about how important it is for younger generations to see themselves represented in media but it’s also important for older generations to see themselves represented as well. Kayla does that from them.

Here is a character who has been in a marriage that isn’t bringing either partner happiness but it’s what they’re “supposed” to do. When Kayla finds out her husband wants a divorce she’s sad at first but then she feels free. Free because she doesn’t have to hide behind a lie anymore — except, for the fact that her father is ultra-conservative and she’s not sure if he’ll accept her. Which, spoiler alert, he eventually does thank goodness.

So yeah, Kayla redeemed the show for me and she also has the plot that I was most invested in, making her my favorite character.

Least Favorite Character: Patsy Quinn

I physically groaned in annoyance every time Patsy was on the screen. Now that’s not to say Siobham Murphy’s performance was horrible because it was not (remember actors are not their characters), her character just had the worst plot and traits of the ensemble.

Patsy is a character reminiscent of the traditional “sitcom wife,” which, okay would have been fine except she wasn’t Don’s wife! It seems silly for the writers to decide to not have the wife/mom be alive and yet have this character do exactly what is expected of a wife/mom.

Listen, I get what the show was getting at. There is this perception that if a mother passes away the daughter should step into that role and help the family out. I’m not totally opposed to the show exploring that dynamic, however, it didn’t feel like a daughter stepping into her mother’s shoes. It felt like she was the damn mother and it was weird!

Patsy’s character is stereotypical and annoying when she could have been so much more. Underneath all that “sitcom wife” nonsense is a character who desperately wants to be a mother to her own children but is struggling to get pregnant. I would have loved to see the idea that Patsy mothered her siblings and father because she can’t mother her own children explored more. Instead, her role is there to provide laughs and be the kitchy sister.

If this show gets a second season I hope Patsy gets the justice she deserves.

Complaints:

One thing that struck me as interesting was the fact that the show never ventured into the world of politics despite its ability to do so. Yes, this is a holiday event sitcom that released on Thanksgiving in the hopes of bringing families together for co-viewing but then again, it’s family and holiday-themed and politics usually always find a way to be discussed. Instead, the show focuses its debates on sexist viewpoints (“are you the lady CEO of your job yet”) and religious differences (Catholic traditions vs Jewish traditions). It works for the contents of the show but it would have been interesting to see politics come into play somewhere. Let’s face it Don is a total Republican and Matt is not.

Speaking of Matt, though I did like his character, I couldn’t help but feel like he was a knock off version of Nick Miller from New Girl. I mean come on, Matt and Nick have a lot in common. They’re both dating women with successful careers, they both have no idea what they’re doing with their lives, and they’re both a little nerdy and awkward. Not to mention the actors kinda look similar. I would have liked to see Matt stand out more since he is the show’s main antagonist.

Another complaint of mine was how the show centered around this premise that Quinn’s follow tradition and that Don never breaks those traditions only to have him break these traditions three episodes in! And he doesn’t even feel guilty about it at first! It all just felt very out of place for me.

My biggest complaint comes from the pilot episode when Sean and Joy’s eldest son announces to his parents that he is an atheist. Now it’s not the announcement that bugged me, it’s the fact that they made it seem like the son was going to have his “coming out” talk with his parents and instead chose to divert from that to which the parents’ response was a sigh of relief. It seems odd and out of place for the show to laugh at or feel relief that this wasn’t a coming-out moment since the show eventually explores a true coming-out moment. I don’t know, I just hate when scary and heartfelt situations are played for laughs.

My one final complaint about Merry, Happy, Whatever is that it played it safe for a Netflix sitcom. Yes, multi-cams are more lighthearted than other forms of television but even Netflix’s One Day At A Time found a way to tackle heavy topics in a comedic way. Merry, Happy, Whatever felt very safe and very conservative. In fact, it could have aired on CBS and fit right in with their line up of multi-cam sitcoms.

Praise:

As I’ve said above, I love sitcoms and I love Christmas so the fact that Merry, Happy, Whatever is a combination of both is amazing. Do I wish it was better? Yes. Ultimately though, I did love the premise. I thought it was fun and had a lot of potential to be great and different. Netflix was wise in creating an event-based sitcom because it’s something that traditional broadcast sitcoms simply cannot do.

I did enjoy that we got to see Todd rival Don in a Jewish vs. Catholic tradition debate. Could it have gone deeper? Of course! But I think the way it was done was perfect for the tone of this show. I find that we often overlook other culture’s holiday’s because they aren’t popular with the masses and that’s not okay. I’m glad Todd got his point across to the Quinn’s. Hopefully, if we see the Quinn’s again during the winter holidays we get to see them explore Todd’s Hanukkah traditions.

By far my favorite thing about Merry, Happy, Whatever, was the bond between the “Outlaws.” It’s funny since I didn’t name any of them my favorite character but truthfully their scenes together were my favorite ones to watch. The idea of in-laws feeling unwelcomed and out-of-place isn’t something that’s talked about much and I liked that Merry, Happy, Whatever chose to go there. What I really loved though was that the outlaws bonded over their crazy extended family instead of choosing not to interact with one another. Watching Joy and Todd take Matt under their wing was heartfelt and hilarious. It’s definitely the highlight of the show for me and will be the reason this show stands out in my mind years from now.

Overall, Merry, Happy, Whatever ended up being cute and entertaining. It was a bumpy ride but it was certainly worth it if you love the holidays and quirky multi-cam sitcoms. Is it for everyone? Definitely not. But is a nice escape from your own holiday family drama.

It’ll be interesting to see if Netflix decides to pick the show up for another season and if it does, what the season will revolve around. The creator hopes the show can serve as a “potential anthology series with future seasons exploring other holidays,” hence the name Merry, Happy, Whatever. Only time will tell.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Merry, Happy, Whatever is streaming now on Netflix.

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

Daybreak (Netflix, 2019)

There’s no easy way to describe Netflix’s new show Daybreak. It’s part teen drama, part teen rom-com, and part post-apocalyptic nightmare. The best way to describe it, as many professional journalists have, is teenage Mad Max meets Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Now, I’m not a fan of Mad Max or anything to do with the apocalypse or post-apocalypse and yet, I found myself drawn to this story — mostly because I wanted my brother and dad to stop pestering me to watch it. I was surprisingly shocked when the pilot captured my attention and willed me to press that “next episode” button Netflix. Yep, I was hooked.

Daybreak is an adaptation from a graphic novel of the same name written by Brian Ralph. The tv series which was created by Brad Peyton and Aron Eli Coleite, tells the story of Josh Wheeler who is on a quest to find his girlfriend (ex-girlfriend?) Sam Dean in the aftermath of the apocalypse that left only teenagers (and 10-year-old girls?) alive.

With no adults to bring order to the town of Glendale, the high school students do what they do best — create cliques. The cliques, or tribes as they’re referred to in Daybreak, are all controlled by one dominate tribe — The Jocks. Sounds like high school, doesn’t it?

Our protagonist, Josh, has decided the best way to survive the apocalypse is to keep to himself, avoid all tribes and not be a dick. Except, he doesn’t want to be completely alone. No, he wants and needs to find his true love, Sam Dean. Of course, hunting down your true love in a town you’re relatively new too and that’s crawling with Ghoulies (Daybreak’s version of zombies — who are all adults who repeat their last sentence over and over again) is not an easy task for a loner. Despite, his better judgment Josh does end up cultivating his own tribe of sorts out of the misfits roaming around Glendale. Together they form the tribe Daybreaks.

Get the gist? Good.

Now, here’s Dani’s Desk review of Daybreak.

Spoilers ahead. Proceed with caution.

Favorite Episode: Episode 2 — “Schmuck Bait!”

While I admit the pilot was interesting, the only reason I tuned in to the second episode was because of the cliffhanger in the pilot. Episode 2 is what really got me hooked on this show because I wanted to learn more about our core characters.

This is the episode where we start to understand who our characters are. We get to see Josh begrudgingly start to bond with his former bully Westly, who has taken on a new outlook on life that has to lead him to become a rōnin searching for redemption, an Angelica, the 10-year genius and pain-in-the-ass Josh occasionally babysat. Also added into this found-family mix, is Eli Eli Cardashyan (yes, it’s pronounced the same way. No, they’re not related) who has claimed the Glendale mall as his own sanctuary and is not happy about the other’s presence. And I can’t forget about the “Witch” who is better known as former-biology teacher Ms. Crumble who has somehow survived the apocalypse and isn’t a total Ghoulie like the rest of the adults in Glendale.

What’s so special about this episode is that we get a sense of who these characters are and the struggles they’ve been facing on their own. Let’s face it, no one wants to be alone especially in a post-apocalyptic world that run by teenagers. It also really sets up the different stories that are going to be explored over the course of the 10 episodes.

This episode is the starting point. The characters are nervous around each other. Some still want to be alone (Josh), others desperately want to belong to a tribe (Angelica) and some just want their mall back (Eli). This is the episode that sets up the before so that the conclusion, in the end, will show us that these characters have undergone a change.

Least Favorite Episode: Episode 10 – “FWASH BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!”

This is the final episode of the series and honestly, it should be my favorite. Obviously, it’s not. Is there action? Yes. Is there a resolution? Yes. The biggest problem I had with this episode was that it didn’t answer any questions.

Daybreak poses lots of questions over the 10 episodes. Who started the nuclear bombing? Why did only teenagers (and Angelica) survive? Is it the same everywhere? Why did the adults turn into Ghoulies? Why didn’t Ms. Crumblr or Mr. Burr turn into Ghoulies? With so many questions, it’s an unfortunate disservice that the conclusion of Daybreak doesn’t answer one of these pressing questions.

Favorite Character: Ms. Crumble / The Witch

For viewers of this show, this might be a shocking surprise. Ms. Crumble certainly wasn’t destined to become anyone favorite’s character. If anything, she was the comedic C plot to an already comical and dramatic a and b plot. And yet, here I am declaring her my favorite character.

Ms. Crumble is intriguing because she’s unlike any character we’ve ever seen before. Josh is basically this decade’s Ferris Bueller. Angelica is a modern Hit-Girl. Ms. Crumble is something totally different.

She’s also the character that really sticks to her values and inequity. Every other character slips up. Josh becomes a dick. Westly plans to kill despite his road to redemption. Even, Angelica gives up on her goal of creating a tribe with Josh and Westly by her side. Ms. Crumble, though, never goes back on her word. She has a few close calls but it never happens. She never eats a child.

What’s even more interesting is she could have been like Principal Burr. She had every reason to turn on the teenagers who tormented her for years and forced her to change her name to Ms. Crumble, but she doesn’t. She loves kids. She wants to help kids. Even with a blood-thirsty urge to consume her former students, she doesn’t.

She also has the single greatest line of dialogue I have ever heard. “My shit is like a Health Valley granola bar that feels solid, but when you open it up, there’s shit everywhere.”

Don’t get me wrong, she does have some faults — like her involvement with Principal Burr before the apocalypse, but her highs far outweigh her lows.

Least Favorite Character – Samira “Sam” Dean

Yeah okay, I know what you’re thinking. Shouldn’t Baron Triumph/Principal Burr who killed and ate students for no reason or Turbo who killed classmates out of jealousy and rage be your least favorite character? Probably. Don’t get me wrong their terrible characters, but they’re not necessarily terribly written which is why my least favorite character is golden girl Sam Dean.

Sam Dean is a textbook manic pixie dream girl. For most of the story, she’s MIA leaving us only to see her as Josh sees her. So maybe my statement is a little unfair. It’s not that she’s a manic pixie dream girl, it’s just that Josh sees her as one. But that’s not the only problem.

Sam Dean is Principal Burr’s go-to student. She’s the self-proclaimed “human sorting hat” when it comes to figuring out where kids belong in the social circles of high school. She’s the nice girl on campus and the it-girl after she makes a viral video of her randomly complimenting her classmates.

But is she really the nice girl we think she is? No, she’s not.

She lashes out at Josh and blames him for her new homecoming queen status since he’s the one who posted her video that went viral. Why else would she have asked him to film it if she didn’t want it to be posted?

She lets Baron Triumph out because she’s convinced he’s the one who can bring order to the students — despite the fact that he’s the one who’s been eating them!

And to top it all of, she goes around whining that no one knows who she really is but doesn’t bother to show them who she really is. Even Josh, her boyfriend who claims he’s in love with her, doesn’t get to know the real Sam Dean.

So yeah, Sam might be Josh’s manic pixie dream girl but she’s also her own manic pixie dream girl. Clearly, she has an idea of who she is that no one else does.

Since no one knows who the hell Sam Dean is, not even herself, her ending is confusing and slightly shocking. Is that who the real Sam Dean is?

Complaints:

Lack of answers.

Again, I don’t understand how a show that presents so many questions can leave so many unanswered. We literally do not know why anything is happening or how it’s happening. I get it, writers want to leave things open for a second season and we need cliffhangers. While that is the truth, they still could have answered at least one question.

And yeah okay, there’s Principal Burr’s crackhead theory that the teenagers are the only ones who survived because they got their HIV vaccine but it’s played for laughs. I certainly didn’t take it seriously. Nor would I be happy if that truly was the reason why all the teenagers were able to survive.

What’s the deal with Turbo? How did his face get messed up? Why doesn’t he talk? When he does talk, he bleeds, why?

Exceptions to the Rules.

Daybreak does an amazing job of establishing the world we are now in and the rules for that world in the first episode. And then, we’re presented with all these exceptions to the rules without an explanation.

If Jayden Hoyles was held back several times in high school, wouldn’t he be an adult? If he’s an adult he should be a Ghoulie. Why isn’t he? I certainly don’t know because it’s never even addressed.

What about Angelica? She’s just a 10-year-old kid. How did she survive? Are their other kids out there trying to survive without their parents? What about babies?

How about Principal Burr and Ms. Crumble? They were both adults that survived the apocalypse. And yet, they’re nothing like each other. Yeah, Ms. Crumble comes to the conclusion that she’s the way she is because she has suffered a traumatic brain injury but is that the truth? Regardless, how are they able to continue to survive?

The reason for the Nuclear War is never addressed.

It seems like a disservice for the show to not even mention or even search for the reason why the nuclear war occurred. Yes, the kids know it was all the adults’ fault but what caused it? Given the times we are currently living in, it would have been fun and interesting to see the kids come up with ideas on why the war started that parallel things happening in the real world.

Praise:

Direct Addresses.

I’ll admit at first I was skeptical of the extent that Josh broke the fourth wall. It was a carbon copy of Ferris Buller’s Day Off (and even borrowed some of his taglines) and seemed like a crutch the writers’ used to explain what was going on. Thankfully, it moved away from a crutch and became an amazing device.

I really loved that each character got their own version of a Fourth Wall Break that fit their personality. Josh had the standard, Ferris Buller one. It fit his character and eased us into this device in a way we were comfortable with. Our resident wild child and wannabe gangster Angelica took a different approached and borrowed from mob movies by narrating her episode with voiceovers. Westly’s episode was narrated by Rza, the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan, and relied on Japanese animation to help get his point across. Ms. Crumble used flashbacks in the form of a zany multi-cam format to get her story across and Turbo addressed the camera directly relying on doodles on screen since he is mute.

Soundtrack.

Simply put, the soundtrack was amazing. Go stream it on Spotify!

Overall, Daybreak was entertaining but the conclusion left me annoyed and wishing for at least an hour of my time back. The series certainly ends with a hope for a season 2 but I’m not sure if I’d be invested enough to tune in.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Also follow here or on Wordpress to stay up to date with all my reviews, rants and rambles. 

Daybreak is streaming now on Netflix. You can catch the trailer for it here.

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

13 Reasons Why: Season 3 - Character Thoughts

The third season of the controversial Netflix show 13 Reasons Why dropped on August 23rd. Since I am the world’s slowest binge-watcher, I recently finished the season and damn do I have some thoughts and opinions.

This isn’t the first time I’ve talked about this show here. I did a review for the very first season back in 2017 when it first aired. Two years later and here I am again trying to wrap my head around everything that occurred over the 13 episodes.

Since there’s a lot I want to stay and I am still processing the entire season, I figured I’d make a couple of different posts regarding the show. This one is going to be all about the characters and what I thought of them this time around.

So sit back, this might take a while.

Let’s start with our main character, the person of interest, and our hero Clay Jenson. I’ll be honest with you, Clay Jenson was never a favorite of mine.

His biggest flaw to me has been his need to place his crushes on a pedestal. He did it with Hannah, he did it with Skye, and he did it with Ani in this season. You’d think he’d learn his lesson but nope! The boy just keeps on putting unrealistic expectations on his crushes. He projects an imaginative version of his crush onto the real thing and it never turns out well for him. They’re never as pure as he thinks they are. They’re never as good-hearted as he thinks they are. They’re never truly who he thinks they are. And that’s his own damn fault. Yes, Ani shouldn’t have been lying about her friendship with Bryce but at the same time, Clay shouldn’t have thought that she never said two words to him.

Clay has a heart of gold. He will do anything and everything for his friends -- even if it means going down for a murder he didn’t commit. And he feels deeply. As Justin said, “He’s a good person. If he acts out of emotion, it’s because he fucking cares.” 

Clay, by definition, is a nurturer. He takes care of the people he cares about and he sees the best in them even when they don’t. He gave Tyler hope and courage, Justin a second chance on life, and Tony a friend he could rely on. What’s interesting, and not all that surprising is that Clay saw potential for greatness in almost everyone he met except two people -- Bryce Walker and Montgomery De La Cruz. That’s not a coincidence.

Going forward, I’d like to see Clay grow as a person without a romantic interested because the boy has real potential. And I’d really love to see him go to therapy. This is my plea to the writing staff -- GET CLAY A THERAPIST!

- - -

And then we have our new narrator and new character Ani Achola. Oh, Ani you had such big shoes to fill and you didn’t even come close to filling them.

One of the biggest issues I had with Ani’s character is that she came out of nowhere and suddenly she’s BFFs with these kids who barely like each other. I find it so hard to believe that she would be so quickly accepted within the tape squad -- especially when they’re harboring a giant ass secret about a foiled school shooting!

And it’s not only that she accepted, but it’s also the fact that they trust her. Never once does anyone ask Ani to leave when they’re talking to Clay about what really happened after Homecoming. NO ONE! It took Clay an entire season to get people to trust him and here comes Ani worming her way into everyone's business. I just don’t get it.

As if that’s not bad enough, she fucking lives with Bryce! Okay, she lives in Bryce’s guest house but still, she lives on the Walker’s property. You’re telling me the writers want me to believe that this group of teenagers who loath Bryce Walker are suddenly BFFs with a girl who lives on his property? Give me a fucking break.

The nonsense doesn’t even end there. This girl, this dumb new girl who hangs out with a group of people who loath Bryce and who were put through hell because of him decides that she knows him better than they do. That Bryce Walker has changed and suddenly he’s a good person. And then she has the audacity to fucking sleep with him! But she’s fearful of Clay — fucking Clay Jenson would couldn’t hurt a fly even if it landed on his dinner. The amount of hypocrisy that spews from Ani’s mouth is astonishing.

But don’t worry cause by the end Ani has come to her senses and spearheads the entire idea of placing the blame of Bryce’s death on Monty. Are we expected to applaud her a hero? I certainly don’t.

Ani Achola is nothing more than a talented manipulator. It’s no surprise she got along so well with Bryce who also has mastered the art of manipulation. Ani goes around telling everyone that she knows and sees things in people that they don’t see in themselves. She builds them up, learns all their secrets, and then slowly uses those secrets against them.

She did it with Jess — telling her she saw a badass girl inside her, learning she was raped by Bryce, and then fucking sleeping with said rapist. Not to mention she comes up with the ridiculous idea that Jess slept with Bryce to regain her power. COME ON! 

She did it with Clay — befriending him and earning his trust and love, knowing he had feelings for her and stringing him along, using his anger towards Bryce after what he did to Hannah against him to justify him being the murderer.

She manipulated every one of the core characters into trusting her so that they would spill their darkest secrets to them. And she made them believe that they needed to speak up so that they could protect Clay, but really, I think she was trying to figure out who killed her beloved Bryce Walker.

I don’t trust Ani. I hated how things ended with her telling her mother that she was seeing Clay — she didn’t even ask Clay first, she just assumed that he wanted the same thing. I’m skeptical and I will remain skeptical.

Also, if it isn’t clear enough, I don’t think she should have been the narrator of the season. This season could have followed a similar narrator pattern as season 2 did with each character narrating their own interrogation.

- - -

This season tried really hard to give redemption arcs to two irredeemable characters when it wasn’t necessary. The season already had its redemption story -- Tyler Down.

I was really hard on Tyler in the first season because let’s face it, he crossed a lot of boundaries. Lurking around the school and taking candids pictures of students for the yearbook is one thing. It’s an entirely different situation when stalked Hannah and took those pictures of her and Courtney. It was an invasion of privacy and at the time his crimes against Hannah ranked him extremely high on my list of hated characters.

Then, season two happened. Just like all sexual assault victims, Tyler did not deserve to be sexually assaulted. To this day, that is one of the most disturbing and jarring scenes of media I have ever consumed. I still get sick to my stomach thinking about it. Tyler was so affected it by it that it lead him to nearly become a school shooter -- thankfully, Clay stopped him.

Season 3 Tyler is the Tyler that the world deserved. We got to see Tyler deal with his trauma and the ups and downs with being a sexual assault survivor. In the end, Tyler becomes a happier and healthier version of himself. Yes, Clay and everyone who kept Tyler’s secret helped but it was really Tyler who did all the heavy lifting. Tyler was the one who had to want to get better and, though it took a while, he realized that he did want to get better.

Tyler went from a misunderstood, bullied teenager who felt so much hatred and fear that he was willing to kill to a happy teenager with a group of friends who truly care about him -- not because they have to but because they want to.

Tyler’s relationships with the other characters are really interesting because you can tell he’s very skeptical of them at first. He knows they’re just being friendly to him to ensure that he doesn’t do anything bad again. He feels like he’s being babysat and yet, he follows them around when he’s scheduled to because he knows they’re helping him. As the season progresses, we see these relationships develop into real friendships.

Tyler’s actions are redeemable not because of his past trauma but because he understood he was in the wrong. He understand he was making a poor choice because of the trauma he was facing. And he wanted to change -- he didn’t want to die. He realized he didn’t want people to hurt the way he hurt.

Not only was he a redeemable character, but his character is so important in the larger discussion of sexual assault and male victims. Tyler didn’t have to tell Clay or Jess or the entire school or anybody that he was a sexual assault victim. But he did and in doing so he allowed the world to see that, yes, men can be sexual assault victims too. When he stood up at the assembly and uttered the words “My name is Tyler Down and I am a survivor” he opened the door for his fellow male classmates, like Justin Foley, to stand up and live their truth. Not only that, but it made the other members of Hands Off realize that Tyler was more than an ally, he was a survivor.

I never thought I’d say this but Tyler is one of my favorite characters now. I hope we get to see him continue to thrive and maybe even help Jess run the Hands Off organization.

- - -

Justin Foley. I don’t know what it is about that boy, but I have loved him since day one -- I think it’s the puppy eyes. Don’t get me wrong, Justin has his flaws. He started the shit storm that leads to Hannah’s suicide by taking that picture of her at the park. And he played a part in the rape of his girlfriend, Jessica Davis by not doing more to stop it.

Now some might say, how could you forgive a character who let their girlfriend get raped? How could Jess forgive the boy who let her get raped? Unlike Bryce, Justin showed remorse instantly -- at least on the inside.

Like Tyler, Justin has a redemption arc, though his arc is still a work in progress. I absolutely loved how ride or die Justin was when it came to Clay. Justin couldn’t stand Clay in the first season and now the two are living together and on the road to being brothers. He was willing to lie to the police about his whereabouts that night to give Clay a solid alibi. He pulled Clay away from the Homecoming fight to protect him from getting hurt. And he was willing to lie to the Jensons, even after all they’ve done for him, to make sure that Clay wouldn’t go to jail.

Justin may have thought he found a brother in Bryce, but he never knew brotherhood until Clay took him in.

My biggest issue with Justin is his constant drug use. I knew the moment he went searching through his bag when Clay left the room that he was still using. How could he not have been? The second season literally ended with us seeing him inject himself with heroin. A person doesn’t just stop heroin - they need professional help to do it. In fact, Justin may be in even more trouble now that he has added prescription drugs to the mix. I’m so glad he spoke up about needing help in the final episode. I sincerely hope we get to see his journey to sobriety in the final season.

Justin standing up at the assembly and telling everyone that he too was a survivor was such an important and impactful scene. Jess’s face says it all, she had no idea. In hindsight, it’s really not a surprise. Justin’s mom was constantly strung out and bringing home men who were not only bad for her but bad for her son. What shocked me more was his admission that he sold himself for sex when he was on the streets and sometimes things went south. That small little line is so important because it points out that sex workers can be survivors of sexual assault to. They can be taken advantage of. Their trust can be broken. And their willingness to sell themselves can be misconstrued as consent for any and all actions.

Also, the fact that Justin told Jess he didn’t come out sooner because he didn’t want to distract Jess from her own journey -- SOBS! I love you Justin Foley -- you incredibly dumb, yet incredibly kind boy.

But please, get him away from drugs and drug dealers. I want to see a happy, healthy, and SOBER Justin Foley next season.

- - -

The queen of survival, the inspiration for change, and the girl who is done with everyone’s bullshit Miss Jessica Davis.

For the past two seasons, we’ve seen Jess as a victim and for the first time, we got to see her as a survivor. Seeing her as student body president fighting for change and spearheading the Hands Off club was the right move for Jess. I liked seeing her come into her own and understand that she is not her past.

I think it’s important that even though Jess is getting better, she still struggles with what has happened to her. We see her in a flashback tell Bryce that even though she’s healing, sometimes she still feels like he’s on top of her. That feeling is never going to go away, but that doesn’t mean it needs to define her.

Though I’m not keen on the idea of showing teenagers having sex so freely, Jess reclaiming her sexuality was an important milestone for her and for survivors everywhere. I found it interesting and not all that shocking that this time around Jess wanted to be the one in control when it came to sex. It was a way for her to feel safe and enjoy herself because she knew she was the one calling the shots. And even though she was in charge, she still made sure Justin was comfortable as well. Consent is key!

Jess has a lot going on this season. As I said, she’s student body president and the president of the Hands Off club. She’s trying to change the school and how sexual assault victims are viewed. She’s harboring secrets like Tyler’s foiled school shooting and her involvement in Bryce’s death. She’s trying to have a relationship with Justin which leads to backlash from the HO group. And, on top of all that, she’s dealing with her feelings surrounding the death of her rapist.

One thing I found really interesting about Jess this season is her feelings towards Bryce’s death. Her reaction is even more interesting and shocking when we find out her involvement in the murder. When the news hits that Bryce’s dead everyone has a reaction. After Justin opens up to Jess about his complex feelings around the death, Jess comforts him and reassures him that Bryce didn’t deserve to die. And yet, we find out that she watched Bryce die! I kind of wish we got a sense of what her true feelings were regarding Bryce’s death.

Jess is on the right track and I hope we get to see her continue to grow as a person. I hope she finds comfort in herself and continues helping others work through their trauma and understand that they are survivors.

- - -

Alex Standall is another character I’ve been a fan of from the very beginning. His near suicide in the finale of the first season crushed me. So it should come as no surprise that I was extremely disappointed in Alex this season.

I found it extremely out of character for Alex to willingly interact with Bryce — whom he’s hated even before Hannah’s tapes were passed to him. One could blame his interactions with Bryce on his need for steroids but that’s a copout. Alex could have found someone else to buy the drugs from. He could have not done the drugs at all and instead worked harder with Zach. There is no excuse for him turning to Bryce for drugs.

What’s even more alarming is his interactions with Bryce didn’t stop there. He hung out with him on other occasions including helping Bryce break into his alleged father’s new home. Now, yes, Alex came to his sentences shortly after this interaction but he should have already known to stay away from Bryce.

It’s clear that Alex was hurting. Jess dumped him yet again for Justin and he felt vulnerable. But his vulnerability doesn’t excuse him going to his ex-girlfriend and best friend’s rapist to purchase drugs.

And then there’s the small fact that Alex Standall is the one who killed Bryce. There’s certainly a lot to unpack when it comes to his involvement with Bryce. The fact of the matter is, Alex didn’t go to the pier with Jess to kill Bryce. He went to support Jess. In fact, he even tried to help Bryce but in those final moments, Bryce sealed his fate by acting out and accusing Jess of setting him up — how I’m not sure.

I’d imagine the final season will explore Alex’s involvement and his feelings about it even more. And I’m sure his complex relationship with Jess will be involved in his journey.

So, is Alex redeemable? Well, that’s a discussion for another day.

- - -

Once again, Zach Dempsey got the short end of the stick — or so we thought.

The season started out with him being isolated from the rest of the tape squad. Though he didn’t sell Tyler out he certainly thought about it. He definitely wasn’t going to waste his time babysitting Tyler who may or may not act again. And yet, he still showed up at every meeting and played a part in covering up who really killed Bryce.

Zach actually had a lot of great moments this season. His relationship with Chloe was interesting and complex. There’s no denying that Zach hated Bryce and yet, he still offered to help Chloe raise Bryce’s child if she wanted to keep it. And he never once tried to pressure Chloe into getting an abortion even though she was carrying a rapists baby. I found myself applauding when Zach went along with whatever Chloe said regarding the pregnancy. If she kept it that was fine. If she wanted an abortion that was fine too. Zach definitely gets a gold star for that one — isn’t sad I have to praise common human decency?

I also enjoyed Zach’s brotherhood moments with both Justin and Alex. Zach needed friends just like everyone else did and I’m glad he found people he could rely on. His relationship with Alex seems esepcially special and I hope they keep their promise to be the kind of friends that tell each other everything.

Zach’s story becomes even more complicated when it comes to the Homecoming game and his altercation with Bryce. Bryce’s reaction to finding out that Chloe is friends (or maybe more) with Zach is alarming since he’s claimed and shown how into Ani he is. If he was so in love with Ani, why did he need to go after Zach like that?

Thanks to Bryce’s irrational anger, Zach lost his entire future that night. In fact, softie Zach was so pissed off he found Bryce and beat the shit out of him with a broken leg nonetheless! I was a bit confused as to how Zach found Bryce though. From what we saw, Jess was the only one who knew where Bryce was going to be after the game. And it’s not like Zach could have followed him there because he had to go to the hospital to get his leg check out. PLOT HOLES!

Honestly, I’m not really sure what to think of Zach. I will say I’m glad he acknowledged that he had no right being on Tyler’s picture wall at Monet’s. And yet, Tyler put him there for a reason.

Frankly, I think Zach needs some therapy too so hopefully he gets some help in season 4 too.

- - - 

I can’t believe the internet is romanticizing Monty and his sexuality when actual angel Tony Padilla exists.

I honestly can’t understand why Monty and Winston are getting all the attention when Tony and Caleb exist — but then again, I do understand. Why would the world idolize an interracial gay couple when two white (or white-passing boys) are hooking up. Tony and Caleb deserve better from the world and from this fandom. They are the true icons.

Tony had a rough go this season. I certainly wasn’t expecting him to have to deal with his family’s deportation but the minute he walked into his home and they weren’t there I knew. What’s a little confusing about this plot, is the fact that his dad owned a legitimate business. The plot definitely felt like more of an afterthought but I do think it was important. It gave the show an opportunity to comment on a very real thing happening in our country and showed how it affects everyone. I’m sad Tony didn’t confide in Clay earlier and that it took Clay’s interrogation and digging for him to tell him. I really hope these characters learn to trust each other next season — they’ve all proved to  be extremely good at keeping secrets.

Tony seemed to be the only character who adamantly did not want Bryce’s help this season. He was hesitant to take the money from Bryce for the Mustang especially after learning that Bryce’s father was the one who sold out his family to ICE. The only reason Tony is seen with Bryce again is because he made a promise to Hannah to see that everyone on the tapes listened to them. I found it just as shocking as Tony did that Bryce never listened to them, even when they were spread around the internet. That says a lot about his character. 

Tony choosing to sit in the car with Bryce and listen with him says a lot about Tony’s character. I think Tony stayed with Bryce because a) he wanted to make sure he listened to all the tapes and b) he wanted to make sure Bryce wouldn’t destroy the tapes. I don’t think it had anything to do with making sure Bryce was going to be okay while listening. Also, Tony telling Bryce that all of Hannah’s tapes are his tapes was a serious mic drop moment.

Tony, like Clay, is so ride or die for his friends. The minute that Hillcrest moron grabbed Jess at the Homecoming game Tony was ready to fight. If it wasn’t for Caleb reminding him that he could go to jail Tony would have been down there throwing punches.

To me, Tony’s biggest flaw is his necessity to be the tough boy. He doesn’t allow himself to be vulnerable or open up to those he cares about. I hope this changes in the final season.

- - -

Bryce Walker was and will always be a rapist.

This season tried really hard to humanize Bryce, to show that he was capable of change but I wasn’t buying it. I don’t think he was ever remorseful for his actions, I think he only showed remorse when things started to affect his own life. I’ll talk more about that in a different post though.

Bryce is nothing more than a massive manipulator and a rapist.

However, I don’t think he deserved to die. Oddly enough, I think his death benefitted him because he no longer had to live with the fact that he would always be the rapist kid. Bryce deserved to live so that he would have to wake up every morning knowing he was a rapist. He deserved to live with the knowledge that he fucks up everything around him. Death was easy for him, living is where he truly would have suffered.

- - -

Montgomery De La Cruz was and will always be a rapist.

Monty was not a good person. He didn’t even attempt to change like Bryce tried to. He was simply a terrible human being. Giving him a troubled home life and having him suffer from internalized homophobia when he was gay does not excuse his behavior.

Monty’s relationship with Winston was a ploy to earn him sympathy and from the looks of it, it worked on some viewers. I’m sorry, thousands of gay individuals have troubled pasts and live with people who don’t accept them but they don’t go sexually assaulting people or beating up those they’ve slept with.

Monty is no better than Bryce; in fact, he might even be worse because he never even acknowledged that what he did was wrong.

If television has taught me anything, it’s never believe someone is dead unless you see a body. Not only did we not see a body, we never saw Monty get into an altercation in the jail. And there are never any hints that he could end his own life. The only source we have that Monty is dead is from some shady drug dealer. It’ll be interesting to the truth next season.

- - - 

Now for the honorable mentions.

Mrs. Walker had a really interesting journey this season. The complexity of her character was astonishing. I liked that she didn’t make excuses for her son and that she understands that he was (and is) a bad person.

The scene with Chloe where Mrs. Walker tells her that Bryce should never be a father was so powerful. Look, Bryce is Mrs. Walker’s only chance at being a grandmother and she’d sacrifice that experience to save her grandchild and daughter-in-law a life of hell like the one she’s been leading.

When it comes to motherly love everyone always talks about how it’s unconditional. Mrs. Walker’s love wasn’t unconditional. In fact, it took her a long time to look at Bryce and not see the monster that she helped create. I did find her speech at his funeral about sometimes seeing him as a 9-year-old boy moving. I empathize with Mrs. Walker because no mother should have to bury her son. And in the same breath, I almost wonder if Mrs. Walker is relieved that she can finally be free now that all three of the abusive men in her life are gone.

I’m interested to see if she’ll make an appearance in the final season. What is her reaction to the news that Monty is the alleged killer?

- - - 

If Mrs. Walker is interesting and complex, Mrs. Baker is a damn badass.

Her speech to the Sheriff about how much trouble they're going through to find Bryce’s murder was amazing. I literally stood up and applauded. Mrs. Baker isn’t taking any shit any longer. And she’s certainly going to take any chance she can to point out the injustices in the justice system

And she isn’t going to let Bryce Walker off the hook for what he did to her daughter and dozens of other girls. Mrs. Baker said it best “I wish you a lifetime of learning what sorry is.”

I really enjoyed the scene between Mrs. Baker and Jess. A part of me felt like Mrs. Baker was talking to Hannah through Jess. I think Mrs. Baker sees what Hannah could have been in Jess. I also enjoyed her scene with Clay. It was almost as if she was telling him to tell the police about her so that they would leave Clay alone. Mrs. Baker couldn’t protect Hannah, but she’ll do anything to protect Hannah’s friends.

- - - 


Finally, I want to talk briefly about Alex’s dad, Deputy Standall. 

There’s no denying that he loves Alex. He would literally do anything for Alex — including jeopardizing his job as a deputy.

In the final episode he tells Alex that when he found him [Alex] after he tried to kill himself, he wished the bullet was in his head. That was a literal and figurative speech. Deputy Standall was admitting that he would take a bullet to protect his son — and he did just that.

Deputy Standall knows the truth. He is a good detective who followed the clues even when the Sheriff was convinced Clay was the murderer. In fact, Deputy Standall even goes off record to ask Ani where his own son was that night. Now, maybe this is a test to see if Ani is telling the truth (since he knows the answer) or maybe it’s a test to see how far she’s willing to go in lying. Either way, Deputy Standall knows the truth.

He knows his son killed or played a part in the murder of Bryce Walker. And yet, he’s willing to risk his career and livelihood, to protect his son from going to prison for the rest of his life.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the final season. Will the truth come out?

- - -

That concludes this long-ass character thoughts post. I do plan on making another post where I talk about what characters are worthy of redemption and why (I’ve teased it a bit here). I also want to make a post about my top 13 scenes from this season. We’ll see how that goes.

For now, let me know what you think of these characters. Do you agree with me? Disagree? Why?

Season 3 of Thirteen Reasons Why is streaming now on Netflix. Due to the shows graphic nature viewer discretion is advised. If you find the material uncomfortable please do not watch or find a trusted family member or friend to watch with you.

If you or someone you know is struggling please reach out for help.

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Last night I attended the fan event for Mary Poppins Returns at my local movie theater. The event came with tickets to the show in the Dolby theater, a Mary Poppins pin, and a digital download code for the soundtrack.

As a diehard Disney fan I was excited to see the movie but then again I’m excited to see anything the Walt Disney Studios creates. However, I think I went into this movie expecting it to blow me away as the original Mary Poppins did, and it did not.

Don’t get me wrong, the film was good but it wasn’t iconic. Had the film not been a Mary Poppins movie it would have been phenomenal. Unfortunately, Mary Poppins Returns gets lost in the shadows of the iconic classic.

So what didn’t work for me?

For one, the soundtrack was lackluster at best. Once again, it's not that the songs weren’t good because they were good. They’re catchy when they need to be catchy and they make sense in the plot of the movie but like the film as a whole, they’re lost in the shadow of the original.

“Trip a Little Light Fantastic” is good but it’s not “Step in Time.”

“Can You Imagine That” is good but it’s no “A Spoonful of Sugar.”

“Turning Turtle” is mediocre at best and it’s certainly no “Super-cali-fragil-istic-expi-ali-docious.”

And while “The Place Where Lost Things Go” is heartfelt and carries the films deeper message, it didn’t have the same “tug at my heartstrings” appeal that “Feed the Birds” did.

Secondly, I felt the film relied too much on nostalgia.

Yes, Mary Poppins Returns is a sequel but I felt that it followed the structure of the original film all too closely. While I appreciate the film wanting to keep iconic dance numbers alive and intersect live action and animation like the original did, it all felt a bit forced. It was almost like Walt Disney Studios understood that they too were competing with the original and wanted to one-up iconic scenes. Unfortunately, their methods didn’t work for me.

Lastly, while Emily Blunt portrayed Mary Poppins beautifully, she just wasn’t my Mary Poppins. And Lin Manuel Miranda’s performance as Jack the Lamplighter was equally as beautiful but he didn’t have the same appeal as Bert the Chimney Sweep did. They certainly had chemistry together but it didn’t stand up to the chemistry Julie Andres and Dick Van Dkye had.

As a side note, both my brother and I came out of the film with the same critique. Mary Poppins Returns would have been better suited for the live stage than the two-dimensional big screen. And I stand by that critique.

Had Mary Poppins Returns been created for the stage rather than the screen I think it would have had earned a bigger and better reaction from me. That’s what was missing. The buzzing energy from the audience as we all marvel of the world in front of me.

Certainly, the Lamp Lighters dance number would have fared 100 times better had it been on a live stage.

But alas, Mary Poppins Returns is not a Broadway Musical but instead a Hollywood Musical and must be enjoyed and judged as such.

So what did work, then?

The set pieces, the costumes, the colors! All of those things blew me away. The film really is visually captivating and certainly gets one’s imagination turning. And imagination always has been one of Mary Poppins favorite things.

And again, the acting wasn’t bad. I enjoyed the performance from the entire cast as well.

At the end of the day, Mary Poppins Returns is definitely going to make The Walt Disney Studios money. It’s going to do well in the theaters because Mary Poppins does have a cult following. Whether or not Mary Poppins Returns will carry the same cult appeal as the classic original did, is yet to be seen. In my opinion, it won’t hold up.

However, one thing is certain. Mary Poppins Returns is going to introduce a whole new generation of kids to the world of Mary Poppins and imagination. At the end of the day, that’s what Disney is all about. Creating a story, building a fan base, and then passing the torch to the future generations to enjoy and continue.

Mary Poppins Returns is playing now in a theater near you.

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

The Holiday Calendar (Netflix, 2018)

The Holiday Calendar was everything I know and love about Hallmark Christmas movies but with a more modern feel to it. Don’t get me wrong, it had its fair share of Christmas whimsicalness, a magic advent calendar will do that, but it still felt more real.

I can count on my hands how many times I’ve seen a person of color be the main character in a Hallmark Christmas movie. I can NOT count how many times Hallmark characters own a bakery or are the CEO of some mega-corporation trying to take over a small town. The Holiday Calendar really challenged the traditional (read: white) casting of Christmas movies; as well as, the traditional occupations and troupes of the genre.

For starters, our protagonist inThe Holiday Calendar is Abby Sutton (played by Kat Graham) a bi-racial portrait studio photographer who has bigger dreams for her photography. Opposite her is her best friend Josh Barton (played by Quincy Brown) a successful black travel photographer who has come back home for the holidays. It’s that wonderful Hallmark Christmas charm we love just with new faces, new diverse faces.

Both Graham and Brown deliver amazing performances. They each have their own ways of highlighting their characters quirks and personalities. Plus, they have amazing chemistry on screen which only heightens the believability of their friendship status as the story unfolds.

It’s not just the diverse casting that makes this Christmas movie more authentic, it’s also the story. That might sound crazy given the fact that the plot relies on a magical advent calendar presenting Abby with small figurines that predict some part of her day, but it’s the truth.

Perhaps it’s the fact that while this movie takes place in a small town, it’s not Small Town, USA like Hallmark movies tend to portray. Not everyone already knows each other in Abby’s town. When Josh comes home the whole town isn’t there to welcome him with open arms, only Abby’s family is because they're the ones who knew them. This might just be a small detail in the bigger scheme of the movie but for me it made it feel more authentic.  

Or maybe it’s because the film doesn’t center itself around a giant tree lighting ceremony (though there is a tree lighting ceremony) or the buying out of an antique building (though there is some of that in there as well). Whatever it is, The Holiday Calendar made me believe more than the typical Hallmark Christmas movie does.

It could even have to do with Abby’s parents. At the beginning of the film Abby’s parents want her to find a “real” job. One that will allow her to support herself better and make photography more of a hobby than a career path. It’s your pretty standard parents vs. child’s dream troupe except it ends differently. Instead of Abby fighting outright with her parents or the typical meltdown that ensues, they leave her be. And in the end, they come around to her chasing her crazy dreams because they understand just how talented she really is.

With that being said, I also had some problems with the film.

One thing The Holiday Calendar kept in tradition with the impossibly large apartment Abby lived in. Though it’s never said where exactly the film takes place I am pretty sure that her portrait photographer salary is not nearly enough to afford her luxurious apartment. It’s just a minor thing in the grand scheme of things but it’s one of my movie pet peeves. It would have been more believable if she had lived at home with her parents.

Also, the movie is called The Holiday Calendar and yet for a large portion of the film the calendar was missing. I know, I know it was for plot and to build for the dramatic reappearing towards the end of the film but I would have liked to see the calendar continue to predict elements of her day. What was inside the small doors the three days she refused to leave her apartment? I will never know.

That’s really it, though, when it comes to my dislikes. I genuinely enjoyed this movie. Would I add it to the list of Christmas movies I watch over and over again during the holiday season? Probably not. But I would add it to my regular list of must-see Christmas movies I watch once during the holiday season.

And if my rambling hasn’t convinced you to watch this movie yet. You should watch it for Ron Cephas Jones (or William Hill from This Is Us)  portal of Gramps Sutton, alone.

The Holiday Calendar is streaming now on Netflix.

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

Thirteen Reasons Why

This post contains spoilers

Where do I even begin?

I was a sophomore in high school when I first picked up Jay Asher’s novel Thirteen Reasons Why. And while I can’t recite the book from memory, I do remember not being able to put it down. At the time, I remember the book being hard to get through but I don’t remember it lingering on my much after I finished the book. Perhaps, that was the naivety of being a high school sophomore weeks away from summer break.

Fast forward five years and the book has been turned into a Netflix original series.

It took me four days to get through it and today, day 5, is the day I finally start to wrap my head around what I just watched.

By now, most of you know the gist of the plot. There have been tons of posts on tumblr and the internet outlining why the show is important and on the opposite end why some people (or all people) shouldn’t watch the show.

To some the show glamorizes suicide, to other it shows the realities of how little things can affect people in big ways, and to other it’s a lame story of a girl who blames everyone but herself.

But what’s the truth?

Like many things it’s in the eyes of the beholder.

For me, personally, I found the show impactful. However, it’s definitely not for everyone. The content is serious and triggering throughout and it doesn’t get any lighter as things go on. And while there are trigger warnings on the three hardest episodes, that doesn’t mean the rest of the show is rainbows and butterflies. It’s heavy. If you know it’s going to trigger you don’t watch it. If you think it might trigger you don’t watch it. If there’s any doubt in your mind don’t watch it. Your health is way more important than the latest show being binge watched.

With that said, the show is so important to people who joke and don’t realize the severity of bullying and suicide. It’s important to people who see injustices happening and don’t do anything to help. It’s a show that opens your eyes and makes you realize that everything you do does effect somebody.

The show is heavy. It’s raw. But mostly, it’s real.

So what did I think?

It’s hard to say I loved it or enjoyed it when the topic is so devastating but I will say I was activated from beginning to end.

For me, the writing was phenomenal. It’s one of the most accurate portrayals of teenagers in modern day media. The parties, the language, the banter between Clay and Hannah everything about it was real. Even the dynamic relationships the kids had with their parents spoke to the realities of teenagers everywhere. And, we can’t forget about the fact that whether big or small every character had a flaw. Some were forgivable while others deserved to be sentences to life in prison. And yet, despite their flaws, even the bigger flaws, people still loved and wanted to protect them. It doesn’t get more real than that.

Casting really did a good job with casting talented, diverse actors and actresses to bring to life these characters. Despite the ages of the actors in real life I think the casting choices really showed truth in the diversity of high schools. Not to mention, it showed different people socializing together, something we don’t see as often as we should in modern media.

The cinematographer and editors need a round of applause as well. I mean did you see all those flawless transitions from past to present? Those subtle match cuts? I could have cried just watching the smooth transitions. Seriously, i’ve never seen a show switch from past to present so fluidly.

In my opinion, this show is so important. The important message bottled within the thirteen heart wrenching episodes is simple; every small interaction, every time you chose to smile or not smile at a person, every thing you do can and will effect someone else. And that no matter how small that action may seem to you it could set off a slipper slope for someone else. We never truly know what someone else is going through and how our actions might affect them.

Isn’t that what Hannah’s tapes are all about?

No one knew exactly what she was going through, partly because she didn’t feel safe enough to share them. And no one realized how much there actions would effect her.

What Zach Dempsey did didn’t seem like a big deal to him. He was just stealing stupid little notes from Hannah’s bag. But to, Hannah, to mattered. It’s like she said, he took something precious from her. The simple happiness she got in finding something in her bag.\

Ryan? Ryan needed material for his magazine and he found it in Hannah’s poem. I think in a way he though he was doing her a favor, giving her work light but that was the complete opposite of what he did.

And what about Sheri? All she did was give Hannah a ride home and accidentally hit a stop sign. Surely, that wasn’t enough to effect Hannah? But it did. And Hannah blamed herself for the accident that occurred because of the missing stop sign.

And Clay? Clay loved Hannah and she knew it, deep down, but it wasn’t enough. But Clay was a nice guy. He gave her her space when she needed it, and isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?

And then of course there were the bigger actions that characters should have realized would negatively impact Hannah but chose to ignore it. Perhaps out of ignorance, perhaps out of selfishness, or perhaps because they are so wrapped up in their heads they didn’t thin anything was wrong.

Justin spreading rumors about the origins of that innocent picture opened the flood gates. And Alex adding her name to the list added fuel to the fire. Courtney was so afraid of being herself that she through Hannah under the bus when she already knew Hannah needed help.

Tyler was down right creep. Marcus was a downright asshole who tried to assault her in broad daylight. And Bryce? Bryce deserves to rot in hell.

Jessica represents the reality of girl friendships in high school. Her and Hannah both needed each other but they let dumb boys get in the way. I will say this, Hannah should have done more for Jessica. I get why she didn’t or why she couldn’t but that a flaw of Hannah’s character.

And what about Tony? He didn’t get a tape but clearly he mattered to Hannah, just not enough to make her stay.

And Mr. Porter. Mr. Porter is the reason why every adult with kids or who works with kids need to watch this show. It’s so important. I think sometimes adults forget how hard was to be a teenager and the truth is its only getting harder. Mr. Porter didn’t try hard enough when he should. And his “move on” message is so often given to victims of assault its no surprise most rape cases go unreported.

So while the show is geared towards young adults and it’s important for them to watch. It’s also important for parents, teachers, and counselors to watch to.

And while yes, Hannah made the decision to end her life. And Hannah played a role in how everyone of these people negatively effected her. She also needed help, help she tried to get in subtle ways but never received.

Thirteen Reasons Why is important, it has the ability to open eye’s and allow people to finally grasp how serious these topics are. Again, its not for everyone and your personal health is more important than the show.

If you or someone you know is struggling, please reach out to a professional or hotline.

Thirteen Reasons Why is streaming now on Netflix. 

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

When We Rise

When We Rise is a miniseries that aired it’s first episode last night on ABC. The miniseries documents the personal and political struggles of the LGBT movement from the early 1970s until current time. The story follows a group of diverse activists as they fight and work together to ensure they are protected by the law. 

I had high exception going into the show from the promos that have been playing on ABC and I was not disappointed. The show is captivating, the characters deeply relatable, and the plot educational. 

I’ve gone through thirteen years of public school and am currently in my third year at a public university and I have never once encountered any of the subject matter this show is broadcasting to the masses. Sure, I’d heard of the Stonewall Riots because of tumblr and I know of the AIDS epidemic (the show is going to explore this in later episodes) but that’s it. But I guess, what can I expect from a public school's education system when according to them the African American’s Civil Rights Movement only existed in the 50s and 60s and ended there or that the Women’s Movement only exists in regards to suffrage. 

When We Rise is so important. 

As a native Californian it’s no secret that San Francisco has been a safe space for the LGBT community but I never realized it wasn’t always like that. Watching the police beat and arrest people for simply loving someone of the same gender or fighting for a decrease in violence amongst women was jarring and really put things in perspective. 

The protest scene where the police literally created violence for no reason was insane. The police raid of the gay bar broke my heart. When they all surrounded the car in protest I got chills (and cried more). 

These stories are so important to tell. They’re so important to listen to. And this show couldn’t have come at a better time given this country’s political climate. 

Seeing the struggles of the LGBT community of the 1970s and seeing where we are now is terrifying. These people fought 40 years ago and still, today, people are still having to fight for the right to be seen and safe in public. It’s ridiculous.It makes me sad and it makes me angry but something tells me that’s what I need -- what we need.  

When We Rise is not only about showing the struggles of the past but it’s about inspiriting a new generation of kids to stand up and fight for themselves and their fellow human’s rights. 

Please watch this show. Please let it educate you on a very real reality for so many people. Please! 

When We Rise Part 1 is streaming now on ABC.com. Part 2 airs to 9 o’clock on Wednesday on ABC. 

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

5 Best Academy Award Moments and More

I know what you’re thinking, “do we really need another best moments blah blah blah.” Listen, I know the internet is flooded with these recaps and best and worst moments but those are all from professional journalists! So here is a fan’s very unbiased opinion on the 5 best moments of the 89th Academy Awards, in noparticular order. 

1. Auli’i Cravalho and Lin Manuel Miranda’s Performance of “How Far I’ll Go” 

Lin Manuel Miranda opened the performance by wrapping a prologue setting the scene for Auli’i Cravalho. Auli’i, only 16 years old, looked confident and sang beautifully as dancers behind her acted as the sea. She wasn’t even phased when one of the dancers accidentally hit her with the prop, a true sign that she is a professional and ready to take on the crazy world of Hollywood. 

You can watch the performance here.

Also, Auli’i announced on the red carpet that she will be an upcoming NBC pilot so keep your eyes opened! 

2. The tour group crashing the live telecast 

In true Oscar host fashion, Jimmy Kimmel arranged one of the best Oscar skits since Ellen DeGenerous’s impromptu pizza party. An entire Star Line Tour thought they were walking into an Oscar museum only to walk into the star studded room. It was one of the funniest moments of the show. The group of tourists were brought right to the front row where they interacted with A-list stars like Denzel Washington, who un-offically married a couple, Meryl Streep, Emma Stone, and Mahershala Ali, who let some of the lucky tourists hold is Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Oh, and Jennifer Aniston gifted the newly “married” couple her sunglasses. 

Watch the moment here.

3. The inspiration segments

This segment was so touching and unique. It was really interesting to hear where some of today’s rising actors got their inspirations from. I mean where else would you see Seth Rogen and Michael J Fox getting out of a delorean? And of course, Kimmel has his own inspiration segment where he joked with long time frenemy Matt Damon and his role in We Bought a Zoo, which isn’t a bad movie btw! 

Watch the moment here. 

4. Moonlight winning Best Picture 

Come on, you knew this was going to make my list somewhere. Though it came in a crazy misunderstanding, one that I’m sure you’ve read all about by now, Moonlight winning best picture was well deserved. The independent movie that focuses on the life of an African American boy was also the Golden Globe winner for Best Drama Picture. The film which was shot in just 25 days with a measly $1.5 million budget was surely a little engine that could and did. 

Watch the iconic moment here.

5. Viola Davis’s acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress. 

I’m not even going to try and summarize the beauty in her speech. You can watch it here. I will say that Mrs. Davis is one Grammy Award away from joining the talented ranks of EGOT winners. 

So those are my top 5 moments but there was so many other moments that were memorable! My honorable mentions are: 

The In Memoriam Segment 

The fact that the late Carrie Fisher ended the segment by a simple, yet powerful message of “May the Force is with you.” I was in tears. Also shoutout to whoever designed that segment for including both 19 year old Princess Leia and General Organa. 

The candy drop 

Bring on the redvines and junior mints! 

Asghar Farhadi’s acceptance speech by Anousheh Ansari for Best Foreign Language Film 

The fact that Farhadi stood in solidarity with his country was something I will never forget. His absence spoke volumes about the current immigration position in the United States. 

Okay, while the show was great not everything can be perfect. So enough of my positivity here are the biggest “what the fuck” moments: 

Casey Affleck winning Best Leading Actor 

The only good thing that came out of this was the fact that a good majority of the people in the room also seemed to be annoyed at this. Can we at least save Academy Award Winner Brie Larson from this nonsense? 

Jimmy Kimmel’s constant jokes about names

Not. Cool. 

Kimmel lifting Sunny Pawar up in the air like Simba in The Lion King

I have no words. 

Needless to say the 89th Academy Awards was a roller coaster ride. I think it deserves an Emmy Award for most dramatic award show! But hey, at least we saw an end to #OscarsSoWhite that’s progress, even if it’s just a tiny baby step...which it is. Maybe next year we can go for even more diversity and maybe we can get some ladies in those technical awards. Wishful thinking I know. 

Oscar season is officially over so I guess we can all go watch these Oscar winning movies now instead of pretending we know what they’re about!