#Or the one where a main characters deadbeat dad shows up and makes him forget about everyone he loves

[sandymybeloved]

School Reunion is probably one of the lightest episodes Sarah Jane appears in post 2005, pretty impressive for a character with their own children's TV show

[frazzledsoul]

There's something so fucked-up about creating a cozy rom-com to redeem Jimmy Mariano, of all people.

Let's forget the first attempt at the backstory because it was obviously changed. Jimmy knocks up this teenage girl, somehow agrees to marry her, they have an apartment and a life set up and they're at least going to try family life, and he bails before the baby comes home. The show doesn't talk about it because the subject is supposed to be about the Gilmores and the betrayal of Lorelai running away and choosing a less prestigious lifestyle, as well as how it's always more important that Lorelai is embarrassed to tell her wealthy father she's sleeping with his wealthy business partner or how Jess won't plan for dates and how this is the worst thing in the universe or whatever comparatively trivial thing is often going on with the main characters, but the Danes really could not take the stress of Liz being left alone as a teenager with a baby. The business was failing, William Danes got very sick at some point, and Luke (also only a teenager when this started) was the only person to hold it together...Jimmy left Liz in the middle of that, likely knowing she didn't stop drinking while she was pregnant, knowing she couldn't and wouldn't stop partying, knowing the rest of the family couldn't handle it. He didn't come back for eighteen years (and I doubt he paid child support, either) and when he did exactly...what was he expecting? Liz is gone, Luke is barely holding it together, Jess at this point is something of a broken husk of a kid who's finally failed at keeping his demons at bay...what did you think would happen, buddy? You abandoned your kid to that, two decades ago. I guess you thought it's like giving a kid up for adoption and you'd show up and find out that he's done fine without you and you can stop thinking about it, but you didn't sign the papers to give him a better life, you just left. And once you find out that he's not better off, that you had a big part in making him what he is, you leave again.

And when Jess comes to find him, in a beach bum version of Stars Hollow where he will never fit in and that he's going to hate worse than the place he just left, he rejects Jess again, because he just can't handle it again and even after making all the effort to go and see him in the first place, he doesn't have any room for Jess in his family or his life, even if Jess has no one else. He has to beg to be given half a chance, and Jimmy barely takes it. Where's the shame, the guilt, the sense of responsibility? Why does the kid you abandoned have to beg YOU for a chance, Jimmy?

And I don't care if he's cute and charming and ASP thinks throwing a handful of la-la-las in this bucolic environment is going to cover up the ugliness here. I don't care if the excuse of being a teenage father is going to be what Jimmy keeps riding on, because Luke and Lorelai were children when they got the huge responsibilities of a small baby and a dying dad dumped on their laps, and they still tried to care for the people that needed them. I don't want to see THAT GUY, who has no shame or guilt over what he's done and seems to resent Jess for asking for anything, redeemed. Fuck you, deadbeat dad. Put in some effort. Oh, it might harm your laconic hot dog stand owner vibe. I forgot.

So I'm glad it never happened, because Jimmy Mariano didn't deserve it, and I don't think it was what Jess needed, and the fact that he comes back to Stars Hollow angrier than ever and still spitting nails at Luke, unable to offer either Luke or Rory any sort of an apology or explanation, is definitely an indication that things did not go well out there. I know ASP would likely have had all kinds of excuses for Jimmy just like she did for Christopher and fail to really account for the harm he caused the kid he left behind, just like she did for Christopher but I think...we had more than enough of that for this universe, especially with the attempts to wave away Liz's behavior that we got over the next few years.

We didn't need more of that. Let Jess silently hate his worthless dad. Rory didn't get to. There should be one character that does.

[hamliet]

What Does It Mean to Save?

I keep seeing it said that Deku, Ochaco, and Shouto will “save” Shigaraki, Himiko, and Dabi, but that there will be no redemption and/or no survival for them. I’m truly not trying to vague these posts and everyone is entitled to their opinion, but literary criticism is fundamentally responsive so I’m writing this anyways.

I personally think that’s not BNHA’s definition of saving nor of redemption. So here, have a deep dive into literary tropes related to redemption, genre, and character arcs as they pertain to BNHA and the question of: what does it mean to save Shigaraki, Touya, and Himiko?

Before we begin, let me say that while we might be personally uncomfortable with redemption (there’s a redemption arc in BNHA I am personally quite uncomfortable with), that doesn’t inherently mean the narrative won’t go there. The key principle I’m operating on here is BNHA’s message that heroes save people. It’s held up as the highest ideal. 

So let’s talk redemption in BNHA-verse. With this guy, whose redemption arc I dislike in principle but accept as part of the story so don’t come for me stans and/or antis. I’m analyzing because it shows us what redemption means in BNHA-verse, whether or not that is satisfying to you personally as it fits/does not fit with your own morality/philosophy.

If Endeavor can be redeemed and live, and he’s Bakugou’s negative foil, I highly doubt Shigaraki and Deku as well as Touya and Shouto and Ochaco and Himiko will be any different. Why? Because Enji is an adult character. The others--well, Himiko’s age we don’t know, but we do know that Shigaraki and Dabi are technically adults. But does the story consider them adults?

(It doesn’t.)

Child-coded characters are generally more likely to survive a redemption, which I’ll explain more later. First I have to define what I mean by child-coding, because I DO NOT mean this in the way it’s often (mis)used in fandom wank. Child-coding is a real thing, but it is not done to infantilize and it has nothing to do with shipping.

Child coding frames the character as a child for a few narrative purposes to convey a story’s theme or purpose. For example, if it’s a coming of age story coding a character as a child even if they legally are not emphasizes their journey to an understanding of self-actualization, or a true understanding of self with self-awareness and an understanding of self-value. An example of an adult coded as a child is The Kite Runner, wherein Amir is a legal adult for half the story, even married for fifteen years so we’re talking 30s-40s, but he does not truly become an adult until he returns to his homeland and takes responsibility for a childhood sin. In Attack on Titan, the main characters are now nineteen, but are still struggling to take responsibility as adults and have only started doing so now that their mentors/parental figures have started dying.

Along those lines, in any kind of story, you can code a character as a child of someone, regardless of biological relationship, to convey the type of relationship they have (usually a mentor one). For an example of this, see Bungo Stray Dogs’ Dazai and Akutagawa. Despite their two year age difference, Dazai recruited him to the mafia, abandoned him, and Akutagawa desperately seeks his approval. Usually in these stories a character will “overcome” their parental figure. This can be done through overcoming their need for the parental figure’s approval in stories where the parental figure is kindly (such as in Harry Potter, when in the final book Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave the Weasleys to find the Horcruxes despite Mrs. Weasley’s please) or through like, killing/stopping/leaving the parental figure when they are abusive (see fairy tales like Rapunzel and Cinderella). The parental link to self-actualization is because it is childlike (and a part of actual psychology that is reflected in literature) to see yourself as a part of your parent; self-actualized person would see yourself as a distinct person from your parent, but also acknowledge the ways in which they’ve shaped you.

So, how do you code a character as a child? BNHA isn’t subtle about it, because Horikoshi seldom is subtle about anything. The villain trio are all coded as children.

Shigaraki Tomura:

Who cannot achieve self-actualization so long as AFO has access to his body, as he’s literally trying to possess him. He’s trying, but it’s not gonna work because Shigaraki can’t keep AFO and become an adult at the same time. It’s a choice the narrative is setting up: your dream of destroying, or your freedom? (To get the latter, he’ll probably have to destroy AFO).

Todoroki Touya, who is repeatedly emphasized as a small child when compared to his siblings, and yes, I know he’s now tall. Specifically he’s spotlighted as the child of Endeavor:

And he’s the least self-actualized one in a lot of ways, contradicting himself constantly. I’m not Endeavor, DUH! But these are Endeavor’s flames! He’s gonna have to choose one or the other, because the tragic irony is that the more he takes out his rage on those around him, the more like Endeavor he becomes.

And Toga Himiko (who might well literally be a legal child), who is actually the most self-actualized one thus far, because she rejects Curious’s child insistence (Curious holds her in a Pieta pose, based on Michelangelo’s statue wherein Mary holds a deceased Christ):

She’s still got, like, a way to go though:

Because Himiko also wants to be like the people she loves to the point where she loses her own identity in them, which is er, not self-actualization. So she’ll have to choose whether or not she really wants to be like the people she loves or whether she wants to live her own way, which she herself tells us how that would end (death):

Deku said it himself: it’s good to focus on what someone is doing now. And look, I have issues with this statement and how it’s framed. I’ve talked about it at length and it was doomed to fail because Shouto himself told us long ago that it was annoying to hear a righteous speech by a stranger when you hadn’t gone through the same, plus Endeavor kinda failed by choosing being a hero over a dad here. But, the principle is that if the past doesn’t preclude Endeavor from seeking a better self, why would it preclude three characters coded as children, one of whom is literally somewhat the product of Endeavor’s sins? BNHA doesn’t think the past keeps someone from a better future. 

So what about Dabi’s counterpoint, which is indeed valid? Well, redemption doesn’t mean the past forgets, either. It’s complicated and nuanced, and we can debate how well Horikoshi strikes this nuance (it’s got its flaws), and admittedly I don’t know how this will go down in the future. But it is asking Endeavor: how do you redeem yourself to the people you’ve hurt? And we have Endeavor asking this question to Touya’s shrine. I mean, the foreshadowing is obvious. Endeavor has to redeem himself by trying to save Touya. However, it will still probably come down to Shouto to save Touya.

For our three villains, it’s a little harder to predict... well, sort of. For Shigaraki it’s extremely obvious: he has to help take down AFO. Dabi probably has to do something to help his family (siblings probably), but it’s vague. Toga needs help and not condemnation, but presumably she’ll help Ochaco with something.

So, is this redemption? I’d define it as redemption in the eyes of the narrative. To address what makes a redemption is another essay unto itself, but if we bring in the oft-compared Star Wars example: did Darth Vader get a redemption? Did Ben Solo? Everyone says yes to both. However, only Luke witnesses Vader’s redemption, and only Rey Ben Solo’s. So the rest of the galaxy? Doesn’t think so. When I say they’ll be redeemed, I’m defining it as their role in the eyes of the narrative, not whether or not society will accept them or even whether their victims will forgive them (of note, in canonical novels, Leia never forgave Darth Vader despite learning he was her father and obviously knowing Luke’s account of his redemption was true).

So, redemption in a narrative doesn’t mean all of society has to forgive and accept them. Dabi has still like, murdered 30 people--many of whom were thugs, but he himself acknowledges they didn’t deserve to die. Additionally, he himself also acknowledges that the families left behind--their feelings matter:

But why does that mean they have to die? Why even does it mean they have to languish in prison forever? (If there’s even a safe prison at the end of BNHA which I kinda have doubts about.) Heroes have also killed: see Hawks as Exhibit A. In fact, some people want revenge on the heroes precisely because they arrested or killed their loved ones (jail isn’t held up as a rehabilitative place in BNHA’s world. In most countries it isn’t in real life, either, but again that’s for another essay). So why don’t the League’s feelings on Twice’s death matter just as much as the feelings of unnamed and unseen (and thereby less important narratively) characters?

Additionally, regarding death... the villains routinely get called on their death wishes. Himiko’s determination to decide how/when she dies is called out because this is right  before Twice overcomes his trauma to save her, and the next arc they appear in is when Twice dies trying to save her again. Dabi’s suicide wish keeps him from getting close to others, and it keeps getting thwarted. Shigaraki’s obsession with destruction and death is clearly not a good thing, and his rejection of his family’s desire for them to join him in death this past arc is growth.

In other words: what Dabi said and what Snatch said about families and how they feel matter for the villains too. The villains are their own weird found family (Dabi as the deadbeat prodigal brother of both his families). Their deaths--Magne’s and Twice’s thus far, and I’m not ruling out further deaths in the future--affect the others. People’s feelings on losing loved ones matter. The villains are people, as Himiko said herself this arc:

Their feelings about each other matter:

How would Touya dying affect the Todorokis? At least they saved him spiritually, I guess, but that’s absolutely lame narratively, and if you have Enji eventually do a sacrifice to save Dabi (pretty likely, even if I personally think Enji will survive said sacrifice) then what’s the point of Dabi dying? How would Himiko dying affect society? As a martyr like Curious wanted her to be, even a redeemed one? A tragic warning story? What even is the point of Ochaco saving her if that’s the case? If Shigaraki dies, well, who would mourn besides Deku? How would Shigaraki dying affect the surviving members of the league? He just couldn’t be saved physically? 

It’s not impossible some of this happens, but it doesn’t seem like great writing, especially with panels like, oh, these that show us BNHA’s perspective on death:

Sacrificing something is a type of death that occurs in stories; this should happen in a redemption arc, which is why I’ve been saying Enji needs to sacrifice his hero reputation to help save Touya and even then it’ll still be Shouto imo who does the saving. But physical death?

If you want further analysis of the latter two panels and how they relate to the ending, see here.

We already have another villain who will definitely die redemptively (Kurogiri--an adult coded character--because he’s already, like, dead), and Spinner and Mr. Compress aren’t coded as kids so I hold them with anxiety towards the end. But again, this isn’t me being ageist or saying this is the way things ought to be in fiction or real life: it’s me looking at writing tropes and saying that child-coded characters tend to survive their redemptions. See: Zuko. Why? Because the death of children or child-coded characters is a tragedy. When a child-coded character dies redemptively it doesn’t feel like a happy ending and if framed as such, it’s often criticized for bad writing (see: Ben Solo). Curious even called this out in her fight with Himiko. I would hope Horikoshi doesn’t end the story being like yeah Curious was right that’s the best use of Himiko’s/Dabi’s/Shigaraki’s arcs:

Additionally, as for the believability of a character getting a new chance after so much destruction and murder... well, it’s kinda a thing in shonen and even in seinen? For better or for worse, it’s a thing. We have Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z and Kaneki Ken in Tokyo Ghoul (Kaneki, by the way, is absolutely an inspiration for Shigaraki). We can debate how well-written these redemptions are (I personally have been quite critical of Kaneki’s despite wanting it to happen narratively), but it can be done. BNHA’s Japan especially isn’t as harsh a world as Tokyo Ghoul’s Japan, so it would make even more sense for something like Kaneki’s ending.

The reality is that the cycle of revenge via hurting people and then leaving hurting families and loved ones has to stop somewhere. Someone has to be the bigger person and step up and be like “naw.” That’s heroic. That’s brave. That’s sacrificial itself. Justice itself doesn’t really exist in its purest form without mercy.

There’s another genre-reason I don’t see death or jail as likely (I could see, like, maybe a mental health ward like Rei’s? But it’s too soon to speculate).

If saving is considered a good thing for the story, if it’s truly the highest ideal, then saving someone should be rewarded by the narrative. The characters who save should have a positive result to show us this a good thing.

This is why it doesn’t work for the heroes’ end journey to be accepting that some people cannot be saved. The notion of just accepting that you cannot do something, you cannot save everyone, you cannot, cannot, cannot, is called out as a flaw of society. Determination, on the other hand, is rewarded.

We see it with Deku as well as with Mirio.

So, what if they save them and the redeemed characters then go on to sacrifice themselves in their redemption and die (come to the same end)? If saving changes absolutely nothing for the saved person, if it’s too late for the saved from themselves to change and/or do anything that matters besides die, then the narrative theme of saving as important is left unemphasized at best and undermined at worst. Simple intrinsic knowledge that the kids “did the right thing” doesn’t cut it for a story with so much focus on physical saving when the kids are already doing the right thing; moral struggles about whether to choose to be good aren’t really Deku, Ochaco, or Shouto’s arcs. It works for Aizawa’s arc with Kurogiri, but not for the kiddos. If BNHA was more of a philosophical/spiritual text, that would indeed make sense, but it is not. Genre-wise, BNHA is a fantastical superhero optimistic story, not a gritty real-world set drama.

[greatfay]

The fosters 😏

Ohhhhhh my godddddddd I’m gonna diiiiiie. Ok let the memories resurface, this may take a minute.

my all-time ultimate fave character:

Stef. I just really liked her arcs, how straight forward she is, etc. Classic ISTJ tbh... cautious, reserved, protective, methodical, quietly affectionate. Like at the end of the day, I think she’s my fave. The kids go through so much ups and downs and Dumbass Moments that none of them can be my fave, and Lena is a close second but the writers only gave her one strong arc, and that’s when she tried to have a baby and that was so painful.

For several seasons I used to say my fave was Mike because he was Prime Dad Material. Like in the very first episode, he comes off as this douchey, entitled, deadbeat asshole who oversteps boundaries, right? Classic switcheroo. You find out this man is a saint, this man oozes emotional sensitivity and communication and affection, this man is also a dilf with eyelashes longer than should be legal. When he fostered AJ (I’m crying right now). Getting Ana through rehab??? Fighting his own alcohol addiction and not breaking once. Like the only time he ever let me down was his reaction to Dani MOLESTING Brandon, but he realized like whoa wait a minute... Brandon’s been taken advantage of and if Brandon were a girl he would see it different... Like all of Mike’s mistakes were temporary mistakes, he recovered quick and tried to do the right thing. If only his son was as quick on the uptake 😒

a character I didn’t used to like but now do:

Brandon. It took five seasons for me to like Brandon. You know how many seasons this show had? Five. And it’s because he’s pulled through the ringer of Suffering™ and it’s almost ALL his fault so that by the end when he’s doing the right thing again and again for the first time ever... and meets that super sweet girl... and then she DIES 

a character I used to like but now don’t:

Jude. He was such an intuitive, intense child, with wisdom earned from awful trauma, and watching him slowly assert himself was a wonder to watch. I do think the writers got lost with him, because his second love interest was a bore, his pothead thing was awful to watch, and when he became a twitch streamer with Taylor—WHAAACK. By the time of Good Trouble (which takes place years after The Fosters, so Jude is a sophomore/junior in college) Jude is drinking a LOT, partying a LOT, and fucking!!! a LOT!! Makes me concerned. Idk, it just felt like he lost his intuition halfway through the show and kept doing dumb stuff.

a character I’m indifferent about:

Every ex of the family lmao, idr them and I was not too fired up about any of them except maybe Emma. Like all of Jesus’ and Brandon’s exes I can’t remember.

a character who deserved better:

I’m just gonna make a list

AJ. Literally just him and Mike are just the cutest because of how earnestly the actor plays AJ, you know I love found family tropes and stuff.

 Mat. Such a sweetheart, the most accommodating and supportive boyfriend. So talented. Gorgeous hair. Mariana didn’t deserve him.

Cole. This boy fought SO HARD to be recognized for his gender, organized an LGBTQA prom for all his classmates who were rejected from their school’s prom, had to get hormones off the black market, and was so intuitive and loyal... honestly I loved Cole.

Aaron. SUCH a confusing end. Out of all the love interests, he and Callie popped with the most chemistry. The shared quest, the rides on the motorcycle, pictures at the beach, his great college advice. Their fight at her prom was so left-field and upsetting, and we know it’s because they wanted Callie to be single when the series ended so she could be free to date in Good Trouble. If I’m not mistaken, theirs is the first trans/cis relationship portrayed on network television... ever? And I mean a relationship, not a hook up.

Wyatt. Another sweetheart, what happened between him and Callie wasn’t really about him, it was about her and it was definitely about legal issues, and she was right to set her boundaries, but ouch that hurt. Gorgeous hair.

Notice how most of this list either dated Callie or crushed on her lmao except for Mat. Also

Rita. The woman lives and breathes childcare and youth advocacy. Let her win.

DAPHNE KEENE. She had her daughter with her in the series finale but I haven’t heard mention of her yet in Good Trouble, she’d better have custody and a job salary over 70k for what this show put her through.

EMMA. This poor girl was practically torn in two between the twins, from Jesus’ messy/horny ass to Mariana’s bossy controlling ass. She should be president.

a ship I’ve never been able to get into:

Most of Jesus’ relationships. He’s a fuck up so all of them are basically waiting for a train wreck. His most healthy one was with Emma, who was too good for him, and the one with most chemistry was with Lexi, but she was messy af too so that wasn’t going to work.

a ship I’ve never been able to get over:

Jude/Connor. It sailed and sunk in two minutes. So apparently, Jude/Connor have the youngest LGBT kiss shown on television. This show really made history, huh. They were adorable, they literally struggled to be a couple (since Connor’s dad is homophobic) and then after being a couple for like 2 episodes, Connor’s dad walking in on them kissing and basically blowing up was so traumatizing for the kid that he moved in with his mom in LA to get away from him. They try to do the long distance thing but they're middle schoolers... and it’s their first relationship each... and both of them are just now figuring out that they’re gay. it doesn’t work out. Would love for Connor to come back in Good Trouble and try to woo Jude or something (cuz Jude...???? he’s just FUCKING... ALL the time. Like one second he’s the adorable 12-year-old you just want to shield from the world, and then it’s like TIME SKIP, he’s a college frat boy now and he fucks “straight” boys every weekend).

a cute, low-key ship:

Lol this show didn’t do low-key ships, everything was loud.

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it:

Stef/Lena; because they’re the main couple on the show and yet we as the audience forget that they’re even an option as an OTP. These two are marriage goals. They fight, they argue, they have conflicting viewpoints, but they always sit down and talk at the end of the day, and they pull it together because of their love for the kids and each other. I live for them, I seriously wanted them to adopt me. I’d cook for the family so they would be an ounce less stressed. They’re such great moms and they try SO hard to be there for the kids, who each come with truckloads of baggage and problems all befitting network TV teen drama protagonists.

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened:

BRALLIE. They’re SIBLINGSSSS AHHHH. “But they’re foster siblings” I DON’T CARE. This is not a damn Victorian novel, it’s gross. Maybe in season 1 it wasn’t as bad since Callie had zero intentions of staying with the Adams-Fosters family and was used to being bounced around in foster care, but after bonding with them all and truly believing they wanted her, season 2 onward Brallie disgusts me.

Mariana/Nick. Let’s talk about his actor for a second. Louis Hunter played a teenager in The Secret Circle back in 2011 (don’t @ me but I loved that show) and guess what, friends, he was TOO FUCKING OLD to play a teenager THEN. That opinion stands 7 years later. An absolute creep who traumatized Mariana, the girl had to go to THERAPY. She went to THERAPY because of him.

Lena/Monte. UGHHHHHHHHh this made me so mad. Monte was being so gross and inappropriate, like not only is Lena her employee/subordinate... but Lena is a WOMAN. She’s grown as hell and confident in her identity and has a whole ass wife (a WIFE) and a family to take care of, and here comes Monte with her weird ass flirtations and stuff. She could NEVER. Lena is a goddess and Monte but an ant crawling on the sidewalk outside her temple.

my favourite storyline/moment:

When Stef confronted her internalized homophobia and misogyny during his breast cancer scare and she cut her hair to symbolize her ownership of her femininity. That was POWERFUL. Stef actually had so many great emotional arcs throughout the show; losing her father (who never really “got” her “lesbianism”), her mother’s breast cancer scare, HER breast cancer scare, her fight to become a detective, maybe it’s Teri Polo but Stef is such a stand-up, rigid character with such a strong moral center that watching her trudge through emotional trauma every gd episode was riveting.

Jude’s selective mutism. I remember this out of nowhere, but Jude went mute?? And he had to see a therapist, who deduced his problem and attributed it to an anxiety disorder and advised the family not to stress him out or pressure him to talk, and he went like this for a couple episodes. Like this boy went through so much trauma that it took like one thing, one little thing, to make him shut down. And Callie like patiently waiting for him to speak, and then her seeing her rapist and the only person she wanted to talk to about it was her little brother and he still wouldn’t talk, he just sits there playing video games, and she sends him a message on Xbox Live saying ‘Please talk to me’ and he ignores it then she sends another message “I saw Liam today” and he just looks at her as tears are falling down her face and places his hand on her arm in support. I. CRIED. Even after that moment, like in the next episode he’s still mute and Callie reminds him again that he’s been so strong compared to her that he’s “due for a breakdown” and not to feel any pressure to talk before he’s ready, and they fucking plant flowers together for Lena (I’m covering my mouth with one hand to keep from crying, I’m getting old feels. Remember when we used to say ‘feels’?). Ok I’m done.

Ok the storyline where Brandon is caught cheating for people on the SATs and won’t be able to go to Juilliard was POWERFUL. I loved that Brandon and Lena had a lot of bonding moments, and Lena was honest with Brandon in a way no one else was, she was like these are the consequences of your actions. You had decisions to make and you made the bad decisions every time, and now you’re here. Remember when you selling fake IDs for that dealer ended with your hand getting smashed so you can’t play classical music any more? Did you learn from that? Clearly not. POWERFUL. Lena scalped me on that day.

a storyline that never should have been written:

Most of Brandon’s storylines lmao. Him selling the fake IDs, him taking SATs for other students, him dating that 21+ woman with a kid and deciding he has to drop out of school and get a full time job to take care of her??? I love how Stef had to pull him aside and tell him “You’re Captain Save-A-Ho! And I know this because you got your Save-A-Ho gene from me!!” Brandon was MESSY. Despite being the typically “boring” of the kids in that he didn’t party or drink, he had interest in typical teen stuff, he was also impulsive in the worst way with his relationships and would get tunnel vision. Remember when Stef and Lena had to pull a restraining on Brandon for Callie??? My godddddd, a MESS. We’re not going to talk about how he finally fell in love with the right girl and she fucking dies.

BRALLIE. That bit where Callie didn’t think she was getting adopted so she FUCKS BRANDON, I’M NOT OVER IT. AHHHH.

Jude becoming a pothead. It was really dumb. I’d have been happier if the focus was on his anxiety and how it helped him.

Everything Monte related.

The time Jude downloaded Grindr and met up with a guy in his motel room?? And the guy was a grown man?? And of course he freaks out because Jude is a kid and tells him to gtfo??? That made me SOOOOO uncomfortable, which is why I hated it. BUT, I liked how the moms handled it, because obviously he’s a boy who’s curious and he’s surrounded by other kids—especially his four siblings with their tumultuous whirlwind of relationships—who are constantly making out with this person and hooking up with that person, and because he’s gay... and has this limited dating pool... and his first love moved to another fucking city to escape his homophobic dad... how does he get to explore his sexuality? who does he get to kiss at a party? This was so relatable, so many lgbtqa youth deal with this everyday, this sort of social pressure and FOMO as the cis straight kids around us are hitting all these romantic and sexual milestones while we’re sitting on an island. And obviously Stef and Lena sympathize, but then empathize how incredibly dangerous it was because Jude could’ve gotten hurt, there are guys out there who could do terrible things to him and he has to think these things through, not to mention the guy in question could’ve been just a normal dude trying to get it on and that he was put in danger—and this was the same season that explores how Jesus and Mariana’s birth father ended up on the sex offenders’ registry. It was handled well but remembering this storyline gives me anxiety.

The Jack storyline. I forgot this kid’s name and what happened to him so I had to peruse the wiki and I fell down a rabbit hole. Basically, this is a kid who was in a privatized group home, during a season in which Callie does volunteer work with a woman, Justina Marks, who is trying to pass a bill to reform child social services—only to discover that she wants to privatized the foster system to make money off of them, which of course makes Callie like do a BUNCH of risky stupid shit to take her down. So Jack gets temporarily moved into the Adams-Fosters home, proving to be a very quirky, quiet, sensitive boy, he kisses Jude after Jude’s breakup with Connor? Then reveals he’s not actually gay, he just wanted Jude to be happy? And it’s really fucking sad because he has this bleeding heart and this need to make everyone around him happy because he sees himself as this burden. Then he gets placed into a new foster home, despite Stef and Lena wanting to keep him around... and he gets put in the same foster home with the same man who abused Jude in the show’s pilot—and like the inciting incident for the show itself (Callie destroying his car to distract him from beating her brother > her going to juvie > her getting beat up in juvie > Lena seeing this poor bruised up girl and thinking “she’s my daughter now”). So Jack ends up being fostered by the horrible, abusive man who should never have been allowed to be within feet of a child again, and Stef just so happens to be one of the officers nearby when a domestic disturbance is called in, and when she arrives at the house with her partner she’s like “bruh I know this house” and when she goes into the kitchen she steps on something: a pair of glasses. Whose glasses???

JACK’S. And she quietly lays a sheet over his dead body. His foster father, who’d already been arrested once for beating Jude, shot him in a drunken rage. And CALLIE LATER FINDS OUT JuSTINA MARKS SET IT UP TO USE AS HER FACE CASE IN SUPPORT OF HER BILL.

my first thoughts on the show:

Literally the first time I heard the theme song when I randomly decided to watch it on Netflix in like 2014 (2015? I can’t remember, I don’t think season 3 was out at that point so it might’ve been 2014) I was like oh this is going to be the crying show.

my thoughts now:

I was right. I would not rewatch this show lmao, but I’m fond of it. I did randomly decide to start watching Good Trouble and surprisingly I like it and I missed the characters. I can look back and appreciate how this show handled a lot of tender topics as tastefully as they could, and examine them from a lot of different angles.

Ask me about a tv show/movie/franchise/book!

[potpie8]

Thoughts/Theories

So I saw a few posts where people were saying they felt this season painted the Prophets($) as all bad, but humanized the Santos. I'm personally not offended, and don't necessarily see it that way(speaking for myself here), and I think the humanization of the Santos is purely due to the fact that one of the main characters is being raised by the Santos. I also think it's one of those situations where there is more than one side to the story and it's up to the interpreter. For example in the episode where Monse was trying to down play the gang violence in Freeridge to her dad she says, "you were raised by Prophets, your dad was a prophet, I don't get the difference". Her dad responds these Prophets are not like the ones I grew up with, when they changed that S to a $ things changed. So Oscar and Chivo are saying the Santos didn't start off that bad, and it sounds like Monty is saying the Prophets didn't start off that bad. Also, let us not forget a big part of the gang war involves the fact that the Santos stole a bunch of money from the Prophets. So I def don't see the Santos as the innocent knights. I'm also curious to see if Tyrone is going to show back up in season 3, I thought for sure he was going to be one of the Prophets this season (pay attention to ep 4). I thought his character was going to be the humanization of the Prophet's that people have been talking about. I might be totally off base with this though, maybe the gangs won't even be a big part of the story in season 3. Anyways with all of that being said, I do think that they can incorporate black culture and history into the show more. I personally love the cast, I think the core 4,(sometimes 5),is perfect as they are right now. The chemistry is good. I just think that we get big dose of Latin culture in the show, the quinceanera in season 1, and the scene where they were making like tamales with Abuelita,(which is beautiful), but maybe in season 3 we can get a scene where the squad goes to Jamal's house and they eat soul food. I think little things like that would go a long way.

Something that I will never stop giving the writers credit for this season is the portrayal of positive black male role models. I loved the fact that we got to see Jamal and Monse's says Dad, (Monty), more this season. I definitely want to see that aspect of the show roll over into season 3, especially the budding relationship between Monty and Cesar. I think the fact that Monty was raised by Prophets, but was able to make it through life without getting into that life makes him the perfect role model for Cesar. I know Oscar loves Cesar but he's so deep in the life that it just makes him and Caesar's relationship complicated. I think Monty is the guy on the other side that can really help Cesar.

What I want to see next season:

1. Monse and Cesar thriving, both separately and together. Life has put these two kids through the wringer, they deserve to be happy. They both have abandonment issues (Cesar even more so than Monse), and that's what makes us want to pull our hair out, but that's also why we sympathize with them. They love each other deeply, but their life circumstances hasn't taught them how to love properly. So I want to see them loving each other the right way next season.

2. I just want Ruby be happy. I want him to find what makes him happy, if it's planning events then let the Ruby fancy festivities continue lol.

3. Jamal (prob my fave). Same as everyone else, I just want him to be happy and to find himself. Brett Gray has a great voice so if they can find a way to incorporate singing into Jamal's story that would be great. Ruby and Monse better put some respect on his name. One thing I do appreciate about Caesar's character is that when crap blows up, he never blames his friends. He didn't blame Ruby for getting him deeper into the gang, he wasn't mad at Jamal that roller world might not be real. Anywho, I also want to see more of Jamal's parents, I love them!

5. Jasmine deserves to be happy as well, and I want her and Monse to become friends.

6. Another of my favorite things about this season was how much time the squad got to spend together. So I hope that continues into season 3, at the beginning of season 1 the squad was spending a lot of time together, but as the season progressed life started pulling them in different directions away from each other. This season we saw how the tragedies of season 1 has made them even closer. In season 3 I just want to see them continue to grow, but also maintain these friendships and relationships they've built with each other since kindergarten and 4th grade.

Bonus: Can they please explain where the heck Oscar and Cesar's parents are?! I don't need a long drawn-out story line, I just want to know if those deadbeats are actually dead, in jail, or if they're alive and just don't give a crap about their kids.

[themattress]

I Grade: Charon

Spoiler alert: this is the franchise’s absolute lamest Big Bad type of villain.

Games: Team Galactic’s Charon debuted in Platinum, as he was not a character in the original Diamond/Pearl games. I’m of two minds when it comes to his presence in the story: on the one hand it’s nice for Team Galactic to have a head scientist to be a figurehead for the Red Chain project, he’s an amusingly egomaniacal character, and he’s pretty refreshing in that he’s an unabashed greedy jerk who exploits Pokemon for money ala Team Rocket, which helps to break up the monotony of self-righteous terrorist foes we’d been getting. But on the other hand, was he really necessary?  The two scenes he was added to in the main story worked just fine without him back in D/P, and the Stark Mountain quest in the postgame where he serves as the main antagonist doesn’t really accomplish anything either...we could have gotten closure for Mars and Jupiter and had an encounter with Heatran through other means, an entirely new character didn’t have to be created to provide those elements.

In the end, I can’t say Charon is terrible as a villain, but I can’t say he’s all that great either.

Score = 2.5

Anime: In the Diamond & Pearl anime series, Charon is definitely pointless. The Team Galactic subplot is entering its last stretch, and he just pops in out of nowhere and doesn’t do much of anything except be a smug, laid-back asshole who makes no secret that he’s only following Team Galactic for his own purposes. He is so unnecessary that he literally vanishes into thin air during the arc’s finale and we never see him again. He’s not ever seen getting arrested, he’s ever not seen escaping, it’s just poof! He’s gone. Literally the only thing this version of Charon has going for him is Mike Pollock’s perfect voice for him in the English dub.

Score = 1.5

Manga: Charon is a fleeting, shadowy presence as Team Galactic’s head scientist in the Diamond/Pearl Chapter, being in charge not only of the Red Chain project but also of the program that brainwashes the Team Galactic Grunts into an efficient, emotionless hive mind. As the Big Bad of the Platinum Chapter, we get to see his true ambitions as he seeks to gain control over all of Sinnoh’s Legendary Pokemon in order to use them to conquer the world. This has got to be the best depiction of Charon, being both comical and threatening in equal turns. Sometimes you laugh at him, other times you just want to punch him, especially when he thinks that Giratina has killed Dia and laughs about it in front of a grieving Pearl. In the end, he gets what he deserves, being the only of the Galactic commanders left unredeemed. 

Score = 3

TCG: Charon shows up the Rising Rivals expansion as part of the Rotom sub-set with the card “Charon’s Choice”, which shows him preparing to lock Rotom away after getting all he need from it to form his research document. In essence, Charon is a “filler villain”, stuck between two sets where Cyrus plays a major role, so it’s easy to forget he’s in the game.

Score = 2

Other: In the Diamond & Pearl Adventure! manga, Charon takes the Big Bad position from Cyrus in the last three volumes. They got his basic character down in that he’s an arrogant, morally reprehensible cretin who will hurt people and Pokemon in order to make money, but not only did they get the look wrong by making him larger and stockier than how he’s supposed to be, but good lord is his role ridiculous: he comes out of nowhere after never being mentioned or seen before and yet several characters act like they know him, which is a textbook case of Remember the New Guy at work. Then we see that he’s captured Cyrus and Hareta’s deadbeat dad in order to get information on how to obtain Giratina for himself. And as time goes on, he keeps getting retconned into having involvement with almost everything that has gone wrong in the story. This transparent attempt to make him the source of all evil and a greater Big Bad than Cyrus is ridiculous and hamfisted, only making Charon lamer. 

Pokemon Generations featured Charon in episode 12, and not only is he also large and stocky as opposed to dwarfish and hunched over, but they didn’t even seem to get his character right, as he’s talking about doing things for the glory of Team Galactic. The whole point of Charon was that he didn’t actually care about Team Galactic and its goals, and was only on board to profit from it. And was his Stark Mountain scenario really worth an episode? 

Score = 2.5

TOTAL FRANCHISE SCORE = 2.5 out of 5

With the exception of Pokemon Adventures, there seems to be a pattern with Charon in this franchise, a certain word just keeps coming into my mind. And that word is “unnecessary”. Team Galactic already had a great boss and sub-commanders, a great theme and goal going for them, and a great evil plan to pull it off. This greedy old scientist being added doesn’t ruin any of that, but it doesn’t add to it that much either, and as a major villain, he’s pathetic. Still, there are several highly enjoyable factors to him, and when at his best, I’m glad he’s around.

BONUS: Which version is my personal favorite?

Not much more to say here than what I said already. Charon being changed from some jerk who only wants money and whose efforts on behalf of Team Galactic are put off-screen to a budding megalomaniac actually making use of Sinnoh’s copious amount of Legendaries and whose affect on Team Galactic is very visible really made him a much stronger antagonist.

[shayne-or-something-blog]

Episodes 4-6

Episode 4 and we're still getting flashbacks to the first episode.

Ash had a chik-fil-a cow suit just ready for that pun.

Pikachu decides to take a nap even though just a second ago he was walking with Ash just fine.

All bug pokemon worship Misty.

Have no fear Ash is here, blatent Underdog copyright infringement.

Pidgey's Gust attack in episode one sends Ash flying, Pidgeotto's Gust attack barely moves Weedle at all. Ash’s Pidgeotto is a bitch by comparison.

Samurai bug catcher guy was trained by the blade and tips fedora mightily.

How did he even hear about Ash to begin with?

Why does he keep pulling a rubber sword on people as his way of greeting them? What kind of manners?

Pidgeotto just whipped Weedle without getting hit once, but is somehow too tired to fight.

Pinsir somehow has compound-eyes, an ability not introduced until Gen 3.

Ever sending a Metapod into battle, ever.

Kudos for showing Metapod just getting cut in half though, that's rad.

He legit said Metapod using Harden was clever...that's all it can do.

Harden battle begins, goes on for way too long.

Cardboard tank will protect Jesse and James from Beedrill, yeah okay.

Why did neither of them even try something different? Like, String Shot or something?

Beedrill swarm is coming, better pull out my Pokedex.

You have to aim to return your Pokemon? Who thought that was a good idea?

Pikachu shocks Ash and Misty but only Ash takes damage. Misty is a ground-type confirmed.

I wish the "Who's that Pokemon" weren't always just the main Pokemon of that episode. Make it challenging.

So Beedrill took Metapod to the Kakuna tree where Ash and Misty end up going, but then don't leave any Beedrill there to guard said Metapod.

Kakuna tree mass evolves the moment our protagonists show up, for a reason.

Samurai guy has a log cabin just chilling within running distance of Kakuna tree.

Everyone rips on Ash so hard, like he could've just stopped the entire swarm of Beedrill from kidnapping that Metapod.

Second person to reference all 3 trainers of the other trainers from Pallet Town but still only lists Gary by name.

Kakuna tree has replenished it's supply of Kakuna through the night.

Team Rocket voice actors changed.

Ash thinks that if he runs past the Beedrill they'll just forget he was the one that fucked Weedle up and fight Jesse and James.

It works.

A bunch of Weedle eat the paper tank. The paper. tank.

Metapod doesn't wanna go in the Pokeball because Ash didn't die for him. What a guy.

Ash falls over nothing just to throw Metapod and have a reflective moment on something that he didn't even do. Character development made easy.

Metapod fucks that Beedrill's world up for life and then evolves into Butterfree, leaving me with ruined expectations on how long it takes Pokemon to evolve for the rest of the series.

Apparently it takes a week for Metapod to evolve into Butterfree, what have Ash and Misty been doing for the last week?

How does Ash just know all these moves his Pokemon have immediately upon them evolving?

Sleep Powder doesn't even have that great of accuracy but hits everything in the forest basically.

Apparently his Metapod evolving makes him a true master in the eyes of rubber sword guy even though it's literally just a matter of time. You could leave Metapod in a puddle for a week and it'll still evolve.

Team Rocket somehow made the paper tank into Kakuna suits and hung themselves from the Kakuna tree? These are the antagonists.

Five episodes in and this theme song still jams so hard.

This is the episode that begins Jesse and James' hole digging fetish.

Team Rocket step in their own pitfall trap...I mean...come on.

Flint sells rocks...he sells rocks.

Looks can be decieving, beard prejudice.

What kind of ten year old uses the word "revitalize"

Another Nurse Joy, thus begins the vast network of identical twins that all took the same profession.

Flint's laugh is so fake, who is trying to fool?

Ash stares at Misty's ass, my guy.

Snap on lights, classy move, Brock. Brock’s Gym is complete with rock terrain that easily snaps together.

The weird jump Brock did seemed unnecessary, why even have those stairs?

Let's be honest, the first time we saw Onix we thought it was the strongest thing ever.

Onix uses Bind before Brock gave it the order.

Ash's aim with his returns is ass, but he blames it on Onix.

Flint takes Ash to spy on Brock and his ten younger siblings, that's not weird.

Brock has ten brothers and sisters, giggity.

Deadbeat dad and dead mom, slow down there Pokemon.

Let's hook your Pikachu up to a power plant to power it up. Pokemon logic.

River is dry making the power plant not operational, but let's not say that until after we're here.

Ash just let's the dirty hobo hook shit up to his Pikachu without even saying a word.

Misty finally says something intelligent but Ash says he's going to go all by himself (While getting help from Flint)

Ash says, "If I can take it you can take it" while walking on a stairmaster and his Pikachu is having a power plant put into it's cheeks.

Gust has literally changed every time it's been used in this show so far.

Flying is weak against rock, so my Geodude is gonna grab at your Pidgeottos’ feet until it faints.

Pikachu's random discharge sets all the lights on fire, but we just ignore that.

Ash wants to battle to the death as Pikachu fainted but he wants to continue.

Oh, the fire actually mattered after all, leading to some Deus Ex Aqua letting Pikachu fuck Onix up.

Ash has 10 people on him and thinks it's all in his head. He's actually crazy.

Brock's character changed so drastically in this one episode. He went from calling Pikachu a nerd to being a softie in 10 minutes.

Brock wants to be the best at making Pokemon get it in, and enlists Ash to do that for him.

Cold spaghetti for breakfast and cereal for dinner, these kids really do need a father.

Agrees that he has to pay Misty back, then tries to run away from her.

Why were Team Rocket even in this episode?

Zubat. Just. Zubat.

Wow I hate this scientist immediately.

The lights hanging from the cave are fucking up all the Pokemon, so instead of just pulling them down or turning them off, Seymour the Scientist just watches.

These poems are almost as bad as the ring from the telephone.

Pokemon are aliens, Moon Stone spaceship.

Clefairy is holding a Moon Stone but isn't evolving?

Seymour stops Ash from catching a Pokemon under the pretense "I'm sure you understand" but there's literal no context to what Ash is supposed to understand.

Ash understands anyway.

"Trouble?" Team Rocket announces as Ash triggered their trap card.

Random "You can't join us" thrown at Ash even though he never said anything about joining them.

Brock randomly catches a Zubat offscreen even though he's only a Rock-type trainer. Your ploy to get me to like that shitstorm of a Pokemon won't work.

Misty just throws a Pokeball in the water. Sure Staryu may like it, but that was a fast moving river, that thing is gone.

Ash has never seen Pokemon food.

Seymour and Ash both decide to eat Pokemon food.

Pikachu is the Naruto of Pokemon. Makes friends with everything by just saying his name over and over.

This one particular Clefairy was holding the almighty fragment of Moon Stone that made the thing glow and cause the rest of the Clefairy to show up.

Clefairy rave.

Ash doesn't understand Clefairy, but understands Pikachu because it's "his Pokemon".

Ash can only understand 90% of Pikachu's words, the rest must be done in a game of shitty charades.

Clefairy worship and pray to the Moon Stone, causing Seymour to lose his shit over space travel.

Seymour the Scientist just turned into Velma, but if she wasn't hot or interesting but instead the devil.

Onix versus Ekans results in a "size doesn't matter" joke from Jesse.

Jesse and James are able to move this MASSIVE meteor with no one noticing or making a noise.

I'm really confused on how much of each other's language Pokemon and people know.

So many Pokemon know Counter in the show.

Mass Metronome is just one of those "Put your hands in the air" moments.

Misty continues to have inner ear problems as moving her head back and forth slowly makes her dizzy.

Sing-Song Seymour is still a cunt.

The Clefairy Metronome explodes the Moon Stone into smaller Moon Stones, only now making some of them evolve into Clefable? I can’t follow what’s happening.

Secondary Clefairy/Clefable rave entices Seymour to live with them.

Postcards from space comment.

Why does Gary make fun of Ash here? Didn't they only meet once and for like, less than a minute? What makes them rivals, they barely know each other exist.

PokeRap is still bomb.