#And I can definitely see Reynie as a more 'well meaning' villain

[sophieswundergarten]

Can I talk about the whole Reynie is a villain thing for a second because your Reynie in the snow story has been living in my brain RENT FREE since I read it and it WILL NOT LEAVE and can you just imagine building off of that to make him into a villain? (idk if you saw my comments or not on @nobodysdaydreams post but yeah)

Oh, absolutely. Go for it, friend!

I have a couple of ideas running around too (Several of them thanks to you!), but I'm super excited to hear your thoughts :D

[serial-serializednovelreader]

A Beginning at the End...

I made a post the other day about MBS getting cancelled and honestly that was just a quick vent post and didn't have much of my actual thoughts and feelings about what why I was so upset. So I want to tell a story about my history with the book and later adaptation, just so I can give it a bit of a sendoff and celebrate my love for the series as a whole.

To begin, I believe I'm neurodivergent in some way (undiagnosed for reasons I won't get into), so you can imagine that I wasn't very welcomed by many of my classmates. While it was a small class and I was close with them, I didn't feel that they really understood me. I often felt alone and found my home in books, as cliche as that sounds.

On a Friday in elementary school, a book on my teacher's shelf called The Mysterious Benedict Society caught my eye. I pulled it out and asked her if I could borrow it. She hesitated a bit before saying yes, as long as I promised to take care of it as it was a very special book to her. I, of course, agreed, not knowing how special it would become to me too.

I immediately began reading and fell in love with the world of the novel, finishing it within a weekend. I loved how clever Reynie was at solving the puzzles he was given, how Sticky rattled off facts like a machine, Kate's positivity and agility (I wanted to be her sooooo badly), and Constance's stubborn nature. And of course, the world-building, themes, and overall plot were superb.

But most of all, it was the kid characters I loved, because I felt they were like me in some way (the neurodivergent coding makes a lot of sense now!!), that if I knew them in real life they would be friends with me. And this only increased when I read the rest of the series. The only unfortunate part is that almost everyone I knew had never heard of these books, let alone read them. The few who actually did I didn't get to stay in touch with due to outside circumstances.

Over the years, I've reread the series several times and I still can't get over just how GOOD this book series is. First off, they're funny. There are so many good moments where I STILL laugh, no matter how many times I've read them. The characters are well-thought out and the main four kids are dynamic characters; they each have a realistic and clear arc over the course of each book (which I hope to make a post about someday!). Book Curtain is a bit of a cartoon villain I'll admit, but his funny moments add to the charm and is still a credible threat as a villain. The themes are interesting, and understandable for kids while being even more hard-hitting for adults. The plot structures are fun and while a bit predictable definitely keep you on your toes.

So in 2019, when I found out that the fourth book, The Riddle of Ages, was releasing I was SO excited and of course bought a copy as soon as I could. It was really emotional for me, as it showed the characters aged up and coming to terms with growing up and what that could mean for their friendship. I needed it, especially with the transitional period I was going through at the time.

Around that time, another bombshell dropped: it was actually getting a TV show adaptation (on Hulu at the time)!!! This was a dream come true for me, who had imagined it so many times (and had actually wanted to play Kate lol). I was a bit wary of what they would do with the characters, but honestly I was just happy it was getting an adaptation at all. That at least some people knew about it and wanted to see it come to life.

When it finally came out on Disney Plus, I watched it every week like clockwork. I loved both seasons and how much detail they put into it. While the show changed a lot of things from the book series, I actually loved what they did with it. Kate's arc of not wanting to be a team player is even more prominent from the beginning, Show Curtain, SQ being Curtain's adopted son, I could go on, but those are just *chef's kiss* 👌👌. More than that I could just feel the LOVE that went into the show from the actors, writers...just everyone!! Even the choices I didn't like still worked for me just because I could tell how much care was put into the series. The community on here shared the love even more through posts, fanfiction, art, etc. Finally I felt like I had validation for the series I loved so much and that people were seeing how great it was!

Then I found out it wasn't being renewed for a third season... and it hurt a lot. I felt (and still feel) that it's just another example of a streaming site looking over the quality of the show for pure numbers. What has helped is the MBS blogs I follow/lurk around (shoutout to y'all <3 I know I need to engage more) and the actors of the kid characters, who have all spoken out about how they're sad it's ended but also enjoyed the journey and love the time they had with getting to play the characters, which cheered me up a lot.

So in the end, I'm still upset the show was cancelled. And I'm still holding out hope that maybe it'll get renewed somehow, or picked up by another studio. But no matter what, it'll never take away the love I have for the book and TV series and the community surrounding it, so I'm glad I'll always be able to celebrate that.

TL:DR: I have a lot of history with the original book series and while I'm still sad about the show ending, the love I have for the MBS series as a whole and the community surrounding it won't go away. I'm happy there was an adaptation that got so much love from everyone involved and that people got to enjoy it.

[jerichomere]

MBS EPISODE EIGHHHHT

weak. I hate to say it but I could feel it in my heart from the start. It had good moments but this episode just didn’t bring it home. I’m going to break this up into my usual notes and then some general evaluation. Notes: What is the deal with curtain and food? He has so many weird scenes with meals.. there’s probably some hidden meaning here but I don’t know what it is And they didn’t get to chuck-root the school :((((( Constance? Wants to pour acid on curtain’s feet Haha I liked Kate’s little “Nyoope” when the recruiters found her Martina redemption and the fighting tetherball team, sure Jackson and Jillson get even more unhinged. they terrify me We got Kate yeeting Constance up the tower, but her bucket had a built in rope motor somehow WE GOT KATIE-KAT but we didn’t get Sorry it took me so long And Milligan’s still moody instead of joyous Go Constance, break the thing, yay Number Two and Rhonda had some real shippy energy in this episode and PLEASE they are SISTERS Two more close profile shots of curtain in this episode, one where he is physically shorter than Milligan but dominating the interaction, and one where he’s physically looking down at Reynie but Reynie’s getting to him. Reynie has a heart to heart and curtain passes out. That’s different. Sticky even said, “it’s anger” and he was like “no, it’s vulnerability” oooooookay then. The whisperer is not an intercom/loudspeaker. sheesh. So the kiddos leave and the twins talk, resolving nothing, then curtain escapes REYNIE AND MISS PERUMAL NO COMPLAINTS HERE *sobs* Kate and Madge at the end <3 Constance refuses adoption!?!?!?!??! And no age reveal obviously rip Sticky’s family redemption he’s going to the totally not made up Boatwright Academy now Mr Benedict is like, I love you all, no snowball fight, the end. SIKE Curtain, SQ, and a totally real engineer lady are on a BOAT. You know, I felt bad for the engineer this whole series, as she is portrayed as kind of doing the technical work hoping it’ll be used for good, while curtain abuses its practical application, but her mood really shifted in that last scene. She was like heheh hey guy that I know is definitely is evil, howabout this mysterious blueprint... are they really trying to set up the sequel. Some tree branches will have to get pretttty bent.

Evaluation: keep reading! (sorry it gets long)

To recap what I’ve said from the start, I think the casting is fantastic but the tone is wrong. The darker, more saturated filter, the isolating camera shots, and very understated music make things colder and stilted. This is a constant throughout the whole series. The book was warm, messy, and full of charm, which I didn’t feel watching the show.

characters were.. compromised? Mr B starts off with a LIE about test winners going to Boatwright Academy. That undermines EVERYTHING he does from then on. “Regrettable but necessary” DOESN’T cut it. He’s also just so anxious and jittery instead of his gentile, kind, strong book self. Just from the show, they didn’t frame his genius very well. He seems more like a fool. Not really confidence-inspiring. In the same way, Being directed to cheat is one thing, but Reynie should NOT have lied to SQ to manipulate him into seeing the forest or whatever. Yeah reynie felt bad about it and SQ called him on it, but this is like the core values of our protagonist team, the strong love for truth. Also, I feel like in the show Reynie’s leadership isn’t highlighted. Like, everyone else has their thing but you almost wonder why he’s framed as the main character. The girls got bonding and the boys got bonding but there was hardly opportunity for him to really bring the team together into a cohesive unit Also, as much as I love Number Two’s life of crime (because it’s funny), she too should have that love of truth, but instead regularly does unlawful things. AND they never explained her eating, and even stopped having yellow clothes :( Additionally, the side story of her and Rhonda’s friction (entertaining I suppose) also really changed the character dynamic. In the book, the adult team was unwavering and wise, a sturdy basis for the perilous missions of the children. But their internal strife, while adding drama, makes them seem unreliable and less absolutely good and trustworthy. And I think trust and integrity are key parts of the book’s solid narrative. Constance’s refusal of the adoption felt wrong too. She was like, “Respectfully decline, but. I’ll stick around here.” I think they were trying to keep going with her contrariness, but it just comes across as foolish pride? Constance is a LITTLE GIRL. She DESERVES a FAMILY. SHE DESERVES A LOVING PARENT (and two wonderful sisters). Yeah family doesn’t have to be by blood OR lawful paperwork, but her actions in this scene really just. cuts off the feels at the knees. We KNOW she’s strong and independent but that doesn’t mean she HAS TO BE or even necessarily WANTS to be all the time. Over the course of the series we see her warming up to people, a kind word here, a little smile there, but this adoption refusal is.. harsh. Then we’ve got Sticky. Yes, he struggles with the comfort of the whisperer. And he overcomes it. BUT in one of the earlier episodes, they had him fighting with the team, defending the whisperer, dismissing his friends... and I count this as betrayal. It may be extreme on my part, but I think he went too far. The Society is the Society. In the book he bested his fears for them and with their support. Yeah he desperately wanted to just give in but he had PRINCIPLES and knew why he couldn’t. His honor, his responsibility to stop curtain, and his loyalty to his friends got him though. But in the show he just dumped them. And then was like, oh oops jk I’m back. (I knowwwwww the book has the privilege of being able to explain characters’ thought processes and emotional states, while shows have to work with more tangible actions and words but stilll I did not Like That) And finally, curtain wasn’t smart. He had hired people doing all the work. He just used it to his ends. Less evil genius and more manipulating creep. But this? I’m more ok with. As an villain, he got the job done. But this makes him less of a foil for Mr Benedict and more of an antagonist, if that makes sense. In the book they never knew each other, but were both alone in the world and greatly smart, and they chose verrry different paths. Whereas in the show he and B were always kind of opposites, warring in motivation and method from the start.

Let’s talk about the boss battle (such as it was). I said it was weak and I meant it. The book is heart pounding. There is so much going on, and so many people in play, the narration jumping all over the place in real time, all culminating in that clash at the top of the tower. Now, the show... the highs weren’t the highs. It felt more like checking off story points. Kate and constance outside - check. Resist the whisperer to stall for time - check. Milligan reveal - check. Reynie starting to figure out narcolepsy triggers - check. Constance shouting then you are the greatest fool of all - um, no, that didn’t happen. Constance defeating the whisperer - check. Curtain escapes - check. We got zero action. No good fights. I know Emmy Deoliveira is a kid and I’m not mad at her for not being able to do action sequences or run with Constance piggyback. But there was almost no physical conflict on-screen, and that’s Kate’s real time to shine. Also they had Number two and Rhonda in the tower ready to fight and then they just didn’t. All this build up for nothing. Furthermore, and I think this is the biggest problem, there was no momentum. Yeah they cut from scene to scene, but the music and tone cut scene-to-scene too. So there was like, dramatic music, Kate’s ready to fight! Get hyped! and then cut to absolutely silent, mr curtain staring at someone. feel mildly disturbed. and then cut to Rhonda and Number two being friends and ready to fight! Aww! And yay! Get hyped! And then cut back to Sticky sitting in a chair, dead silent. It goes on like this. The music, the urgency, should have carried throughout, building in intensity and desperation as the kids come together and curtain unravels more and more and then BAM! curtain down and OH NO! the whisperer and finally Constance’s “I... DON”T.... CARE!!!” and then the madcap escape from the island. Watching, I just couldn’t get swept away. Storywise, they tied it all up and logically it made sense but the emotional culmination just wasn’t there. It was over and done too quick. It fell flat. I didn’t feel the struggle, the suspense. And then they gave us a fabricated Mr B and Curtain conversation that didn’t really help anything. And then the falling action had some nice moments but as I mentioned, the things with constance and sticky kind of made it feel less relieving, joyful, and sweet. I know a snowball fight is elaborate to set and film but I would have loved to see it.

Final thoughts I can’t help but love the kids. I’ll say it again, I sure liked this casting. And for all the changes they had to make, the original central plot was there, and most of the characters were recognizable even with all the alterations. So I did have problems with some of that underlying integrity, as well as the overall tone and execution, but I also laughed at the little funny things, jammed to the title theme, and was excited to see this, my favorite book in the world, get more recognition. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to adapt a work of prose into an audiovisual medium, and considering how outlandish the book sometimes got, they gave it their best shot. I didn’t love it but I can recognize the accomplishment. In terms of faithful and well-made adaptations, on a scale of Percy Jackson to Harry Potter, I’d give The Mysterious Benedict Society a 6.5/10.