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lol-jackles · 5 months

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I know its beens awhile but what did you think of S15 as a whole?

As a whole I think season 15 was an above-average season due to below-average execution and ended with a stellar series finale that added rewatch value not just for season 15 but also all of 15 seasons.

Season 15 started and ended with callbacks to previous seasons; from season 1's woman in white and Sam's goal of returning to a normal life, to season 5's Dean's time in hell as Alastair's apprentice and bringing closure to Adam Milligan, to season 8's endgames for Sam and Dean.

The first half of the season 15 was about free will vs determinism, with Sam representing the former and Dean representing the latter. Sam and Dean’s confrontation with God parallels how they've reacted to family and authority their entire lives: Sam challenged God’s Divine decree over His Creation while Dean accused God of abandoning His Creation. When Abraham spoke with his heart and mind to God over His plan to destroy Sodom & Gomorrah, it led to Abraham transcending himself, leading the way for God, and becoming the father of faith. Metaphorically it's all about lessons in honest, meaningful relationships with our fellow human beings. People often suppress their true selves and principles for the sake of avoiding conflict instead of taking the relationship a step further into a place of sincerity. From season 11 to 14, Sam and Dean spoke their hearts and minds to God and the brothers' relationship became at its strongest, never wavering even when occasional arguments sprouts up because they were honest with each other.

Sam and God became connected through Sam's hope which manifested in their identical wounds. Secular-based hope is about anticipating something good to come in the future. Sam has hope in a better future, so Chuck showed him a bleak future to make his lose that hope. Once Sam lost his hope, God leaves. That’s pretty much what happens to people in real life, when they lose hope, they feel there is no God or God abandoned them. Another physical manifestation of a bleak future is Dean's old friend who retired from hunting, Lee, who became so corrupted that Dean is forced to kill him.

The return of Sam and Dean's half-brother, Adam, brings welcome closure. Adam is not out for revenge as he acknowledged his own culpability for agreeing to vessel-ship in the first place. Him and Michael only having each other for 10 years in the Cage led to their codependent-symbiotic-ish relationship that parallels Sam and Dean to some extent.

I like to call the second half of season 15 the "Dean redemption tour" where side characters were used to address Dean's unresolved issues in order for him to be good enough for Sam in their eternal afterlife. Normally whenever Dean interacted with side characters it is about the side characters, not Dean (see example here and here). But when the formula is reversed, it becomes a bit disjointed, and the audience picked up on it. The final redemption act target Dean's anger issues that both Amara and Chuck discussed.

Chuck: This is my ending. My real ending.

Very next scene: *Dean pulls a gun on Sam*

Dean’s been so obsessed with having free will that he’s actually following Chuck’s writing. As usual Sam broke through to Dean, in effect breaking Chuck’s influence. Then a very mad mad Chuck shows up.

Chuck: “Are you kidding me? After all that, you did it again!”

Then 15x18 happened. Ignoring the hilarity of that scene, the speech was supposed to remind the general audience that Dean is A HERO before he dies two episodes later. By 15x19, free will vs determinism comes to a conclusion. Michael and Lucifer betrayed the Winchesters and succumb to determinism, fulfilling their destiny to destroy each other. Sam and Dean manipulated Michael to lure Chuck into a trap to replace him with a new God, Jack. Chuck is left only with human frailties and for the first time Chuck has no idea what happens next, bringing the free will theme to a full circle.

Due to interactions with Sam, Rowena became the new queen of Hell while Jack becomes the new God of Heaven. Jack promises Sam that He will have a hands-off approach and people don’t need to pray or sacrifice to Him. Jack’s perception of humanity is distilled down to, “When people have to be their best, they can be.”

Before the story ends, the protagonist is supposed to accomplish their primary goal that had kept them driven and move the story forward. Sam’s goal was attaining normal life, it was never about eradicating monsters to extinction or avenging his mother’s death. In fiction it always seems like the main character want many things, but there is always a primary goal. Harry Potter gets dragged into many subplots such as conflicts with his best friends, romantic misfires, and incidents with secondary characters, however his main goal was always to defeat Voldemort and that's what the audience is holding out to see. Sam Winchester’s journey is flipped from Harry Potter’s; Sam gets dragged into many subplots of saving the world, defeating the Big Baddies, and conflicts with his brother, however his main goal was always to have a chance at a normal life. But this can't happen while Dean is still alive.

Dean has everything he wanted: Sam and hunting. Dean is a complete person; he doesn’t need anything else. But Sam had given up just about everything so that Dean wouldn’t be alone. 15x16 reminded the audience that Sam wanted out of the hunting life since he was a child. Sure, Sam is very good at his job and even became a leader, but they always made sure to show that Sam doesn’t have passion for the family business other than saving people’s lives. Claire Novak shows way more enthusiasm for the job. But Dean would never retire from the hunting life. Even when Michael gave Dean a fantasy life, Dean still conjured up monsters so he can fight and kill them. As long as Dean is alive, Sam will never be free to pursue a normal life. Think back to Dean's speech in season 8 telling Sam to pursue his normal life only after Dean dies with a gun in his hand and a smile on his face.

The pivotal barn scene in the 15x20 finale was genius, bringing the series to full circle with callback to the pilot, fleshing it out, adding backstory to Dean’s pov that brings his fear, need, relief, and love to stark relief. It hurt like hell, and at the same time, cathartic because Dean was honest. The way Dean said, “Come here. Let me look at you. There he is!” That’s Dean in dad mode, the parental figure to Sam. The show reminded the audience in 15x18 that Dean raised his little brother. Still in dad mode, Dean then tells Sam that he is proud of him. It’s what every son wants to hear from their dad.

Dean then goes into brother mode and tells Sam he admires his strength even when they were children. Sam’s strength is such that Dean was afraid that Sam doesn’t need him. Fearing rejection, he stood outside of Sam’s dorm for hours before finally going to Sam because it’s always been Sam and Dean, and Dean can’t comprehend if he didn’t have Sam.

From there Dean gives Sam his blessing to keep living his life. “I love you so much, my baby brother”. Sam’s reaction was pure and raw, he has always been honest about his wants and needs but craves Dean’s approval to pursue them, and now he has it. Sam’s faith in Dean went answered with Dean saying how proud he is of Sam, how much he admired Sam’s strength so that Sam knows he is strong enough to go on living without Dean.

Another reason why the barn scene is genius is the pilot callback sets up Sam and Dean’s reunion in New Heaven as pilot 2.0. From there they will build their relationship just as Sam and Dean. They are at peace without monsters disrupting their lives, without vindictive angels disrupting their afterlives, and without childhood angsts weighing them down. They have both freedom and peace.

This applies to all of the hunters. Jack’s New Heaven is like a retirement home for hunters where they can enjoy their peace and socialize with their friends and loved ones and even upgrade themselves to the people they were meant to be on earth.

#Supernatural #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester #season 15

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cursedvida · 3 months

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Rewatching the Planet of the Apes- Ceasar lost alot of loved ones along his journey to become what he was. Good for a typical Hero’s journey in storytelling.

Do you think Noa would lose one or two from the Sunset Trio? or his family in the future? To further push him to become the leader he will become. The first movie was his coming of age story. Im betting the future movies would be more serious and raise some stakes to justify and strengthen his development.

Theres alot we can think, like Im betting either Soona dies or Anaya becomes a Koba version and possible Mae could accidentally be the cause of one of his loved ones deaths further testing Noa and his question “Can Ape and Human live together.” And will he be merciful and wiser through out all this?

Whatever will happen Im rooting for that Kiss/Hug/touch forehead ending with Mae and Noa. both learned the most important lesson of the franchise - to set aside differences and become one. Would be such an impactful ending!

Of course. The saga has shown itself to be quite brutal when it comes to the deaths of characters important to the protagonists. Caesar lost many loved ones along the way, and although in Noa's case it may not be as many, I firmly believe it will happen to him as well. The first was his father, and with that death, he begins his journey; it's to be expected that he will continue to suffer losses along the way. Personally, I think Anaya is most likely to be chosen as a tribute from his district (xD) because he is very close to him and also a character who elicits enough sympathy for the audience to justify an extreme reaction from Noa. I wouldn’t dare to assume that something will happen to his mother, and with Soona it depends a lot on the role they have planned for her in the following installments. But yeah, I'm pretty certain about Anaya lol.

#kingdom of the planet of the apes #planet of the apes #kotpota #kotpota noa

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gx-gameon · 5 months

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About your Yugi adopts Jaden AU, I know you wrote the spiritshipping part and Jaden meeting Jesse but I want to know more.

Specifically after Jesse sacrifice

This is once again a fluid idea. It might change a bit once I actually rewatch this part of the show.

Once the school returns Yugi finds Jaden pretty fast. Between his duel spirits leading the way and Jaden’s screaming. Luckily since Jaden is freaking out it doesn’t look to suspicious that Yugi went to comfort him. (Though that’s the last thing on Yugi’s mind at the moment)

Seto has all the students called to interview, he wants to know what happened. Most of the students don’t know anything and to be honest Seto doesn’t really care. They help get the whole picture but his staff can talk to them. The DM crew pulls Jaden’s friends to talk to. Excuse: they are the students they talked to when communicating with the other dimension and the staff said they were in charge.

Téa takes Alexis and Blair

Tristan takes Hasselberry and Axel

Joey takes Jim and Syrus

Mokuba takes Chazz and Bastian

Seto handles the supposed adults in his staff. He is not happy right now and what’s to know why a group of children took charge durning an emergency.

This is just a cover so Yugi can get Jaden away from everyone and talk to him about what happened. Why were you screaming?

While the rest of the Gx crew is filling the DM crew in on what happened, Yugi and Atem are with Jaden.

The boy is having a full break down. He just lost his best friend. Who, he only realized once they were in that mess, he has a massive crush on. Jesse sacrificed himself to save Jaden and the rest of the school. But it shouldn’t have been Jesse’s job it should have been Jaden.

Yugi has worried about his son’s hero complex for a long time. And the apparent fact that both the school and his friends use it to have Jaden fight their battles. His son has always taken in the weight of the world on to his shoulders, even when he didn’t want to. It reminds Yugi so much of Atem in the early stages of their partnership. There were many times in their adventures when Atem would say a problem was his alone, even if it had nothing to do with him, and Yugi would have to remind him that they were a team. Lucky their friends always stepped up to the plate as well.

Did Jaden have anyone to remind him the world wasn’t his responsibility alone? (Yes it was Jesse and he’s gone now)

Atem understands perfectly where Jaden is coming from. After all he lost Yugi’s spirit to the oricalcos. He knows exactly what it means to be separated from a dear friend. But the difference is that was his fault, he played the seal and Yugi choice to sacrifice himself to save him. Jaden didn’t force the school into that dimension, nor did he put Jesse in the position where sacrifice himself was the only way to safe Jaden. It was whoever brought them there/attacked them’s fault.

But while was that?

When Jaden reveals it was Yubel, the air was sucked from the room. Atem and Yugi are horrified. At this point they know all about Jaden’s birth parents and how they requested to send Yubel to space as well. Seto had been looking for a way to retrieve Yubel for years. But it was hard to talk to Jaden about them since his memories of them were blocked. Atem and Yugi also remember when Yubel would reach out to Jaden’s dreams and how terrified the boy had been. They knew for a long time there was something wrong with that spirit. And now they had attacked Jaden and his friends.

Jaden blames himself. He sent Yubel away and know all of his friends have suffered for his selfishness.

(Baby you were a child under the age of seven (the age of reason) there’s no way that was your fault. Like in this au he was threeish when it happened I don’t know who old in cannon. But there is no way Kaiba Corp built a second satellite just because a child was like “my card spirit is sick do you think the space radiation will help them?” No. However if his parents were like “this card is evil and we will pay you to shoot it to the stars, maybe even blow it up.” That I can believe. I know Kaiba Corp does some crazy things but I never believed they launch Yubel just because Jaden asked. Also even if it was because he asked he was a literal baby)

Needless to say Yugi and Atem try and tell Jaden that Yubel’s actions are not his fault. They also start to come up with a plan. Seto had the ability to send individuals to other dimensions. Now that they have a lock on the other dimension maybe they can go after Jesse.

Jaden instantly wants to join this rescue mission. But Yugi hesitates, he doesn’t want his son in any more danger. Especially since Yubel will be targeting him. It’s best to keep him away from all of this.

Atem however understand exactly where Jaden is coming from. He would have done anything to save Yugi from the Oricalcos. Which is why he’s not sure if Jaden should come. The actions Atem took in the direct aftermath of losing Yugi still haunt him. And he hadn’t snapped out of it until Yugi’s spirit came to pull him back into the light.

He knows how Jaden will be in this mission. He’s going to make rash decisions. He’s going to be focused on saving Jesse and his own safety and those around him will be secondary. It’s the same way Atem was after he lost Yugi.

But neither of them know who to tell Jaden this. Telling him now when he’s already this upset and agitated will only make the situation worse. So they put it off. “Let’s talk to your Oto-san and see if we can figure out where Jesse is. He has Rainbow dragon and we got a pretty good read on that cards energy signature.” They want to see if it’s even possible before have the discussion with Jaden that he can’t go.

Seto has already started looking into it and scanning through dimensions for Jesse’s deck. Since it’s only one person dragging him into one of the pods will be easy. Doing a whole school evacuation would have taken too much time and energy and would have fried the pods. But a quick mission to grab one person they could do that easily.

But Jesse isn’t showing up in the dimension they just left, meaning he’s moved or been moved. He informs Jaden and Yugi of this when they come over to ask. (Thankfully everyone is in shock and also so used to Jaden inserting himself into problems that no one really questions why he’s talking to the King of Games and the head of Kaiba Corp.) he tells them that it will take time to find Jesse.

Jaden wants to go now but understand that they can’t. His friends come over and they all decide to head to the Slifer dorms to get some real sleep. After all competent adults are here now. They have a plan, there is nothing else they can do.

But Jaden hates waiting and after two years of being everyone’s hero and forced to solve all the problems on his own, being stagnant his driving him mad. Boys having massive anxiety over this. He goes to ‘check on the machine’ (be with his family.)

While he’s away Sheppard decides to be MESSY and tell the other students Jaden’s history with Yubel. (He was not messy enough to tell them about Jaden’s family.)

Progress is slow and it’s been a few days and Jaden’s city is reaching new heights. His dad and family help but the only thing that going to truly calm them is Jesse being alright.

Yugi and the crew finally break the news to him that he won’t be joining them on the rescue mission. Yugi, Seto, Atem, and Joey are going. The promise to be carful and to get Jesse. And no Jaden this isn’t because your weak or we think you’d slow us down. We are very proud of you. But you’re literally the target of a crazed Duel Spirit and we want you safe.

Jaden hears “this is your fault, we don’t need you. You’d put us in more danger.” This is not what was said at all but Jaden is in deep spiral mode. He’s also freaking out because Yubel wants him and now his family is going and they’re going to get hurt because of him. If anything happens to them it will be his fault! This is his mess and he’s the only one who should be going. Yubel’s after him anyone who puts themselves in between is just going to get hurt. And ya, Jaden’s terrified to face Yubel but he’ll do it for Jesse and to keep his family safe.

Needless to say Jaden gets really upset and runs off. Yugi goes to chase after him but is stoped by Atem advising he let the boy calm down. They don’t realize just how badly Jaden is spiraling. Yugi does wait but only for a bout an hour then the DM crew are all about to lose their minds and head after Jaden.

This is also a big mistake. Because Wnged Kuriboh finds a portal.

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lookingkindofdumb · 4 months

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Midoriya, Bakugou and teacher intervention:

More meta rants ahead!

Okay, so I just rewatched episode 61 of the BNHA anime the Deku VS Kacchan, part 2 where they fight after the hero licensing exam...and I actually liked it. (I do prefer the manga but I'm sticking with the anime for now).

I dislike Bakugou as a character, he's abrasive, rude and a bully. But, we catch him as he's in the process of evolving and while there are many legitimate complaints; I do think what happens with his character is good writing.

But this isn't about that! This is about this episode in particular.

We have Bakugou hitting a low point in this episode and getting Midoriya to come with him to another low point of his: Ground Beta where he lost the first classroom exercise to Midoriya. It is, from him, a cry for help. (Even more so in that he's actually verbalising his feelings enough for Midoriya to interpret them.)

Bakugou has treated Midoriya abominably.

And both of them acknowledge this! (Okay, roundabout for Bakugou but it is progress - something that is a theme of this story, people continuing to work on bettering themselves.) Midoriya even admits their relationship is screwed up and that Bakugou was so, so mean.

Before their fights never felt even.

But for the first time I felt that their fight was somewhat even footing. And i honestly feel that is some impressive writing/animation skills.

(Usually before it was Bakugou being the instigator and aggressor and Midoriya just fighting to, well, stay alive. This starts that way but it, too, evolves.)

This one feels like a fight. Rather than Bakugou just trying to punch Midoriya down.

It takes a while to get there and Midoriya is far more forgiving and accepting than anyone should ever be, but it really works for his character and the narrative place.

And we see that reflected in Yagi Toshinori's commentary.

(I always feel like he gets the wrong end of the stick in confrontations, and this is no different, but. He doesn't get core of it wrong.)

By this time both Yagi and Aizawa have to realise that there is something fractured about the dynamics between Bakugou and Midoriya but it really is too late by now.

Teacher intervention now isn't going to help. (It would have helped before now - the quirk test, the first battle trial, the exam.)

But after this episode they've, well, cleared the air. Teacher intervention now is just pointless - water off a ducks back.

I do think that Aizawa and Yagi failed Midoriya (at least in the beginning) but are they not allowed to improve too?

And this episode was such a brilliant showcase for the entire themes of the series. A true turning point.

...I wanted to end it there, but there is something else. Another theme of the series is that Midoriya is once again holding up the pieces of something broken and carefully gluing it together.

(This being Bakugou's psyche. This time.)

It isn't on Midoriya: Bakugou has bullied him, suicide baited him, and generally verbally insulted him non stop...but he does it anyway. Because, impossibly, he still cares. (It would be incredibly valid if he didn't.)

But again, Midoriya sees a way in which he can help, so he does.

He also says that he's not nice enough to let Bakugou just beat him up (at that point he still believes Bakugou is cross at not passing the licensing exam and just needs to blow off steam). Which again, is such an important line.

For all that Midoriya is forgiving and accepting of peoples flaws, he doesn't just stand by when they choose to inflict these flaws on the world.

We see this when he stands up to Endeavour in the sports festival, when he shouts at Todoroki and Yoarashi and saves a bystander during the licensing exam and every single time he saves someone. Even if it is just saving someone from themselves.

...now, obviously this is an anime and very very fictional, but i really think there is something to be taken away from this. That an action of genuine care, no matter how small, is in of itself: heroic.

#bnha #My Hero Academia #meta #Midoriya Izuku #Bakugou Katsuki #Yagi Toshinori #Aizawa Shouta #characterisation

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tarisilmarwen · 1 year

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Rebels Rewatch: "Twin Suns"

In which the end of the Malachor arc is profoundly beautiful.

First off, obligatory live reaction version from 2017.

Second, I would be remiss if I did not link back to this close read of "Twin Suns" (by greenreticule here on Tumblr), from which I draw quite a bit of my own analysis and opinions about the themes and messages of the episode. Check it out sometime, there's ten parts (technically eleven but the last post in the series is more of a memoir/personal reflection by the author and therefore not as relevant to our meta purposes) and it is a loooooong read but worth it, in my opinion. I don't always agree with every single point of the analysis (the stuff about the Sequel Trilogy, for example) but there's a lot of things that resonate and that I incorporate into my own interpretation of the episode so I figured I'd mention the source.

Onwards!

Rather appropriately we open on a shot of the titular twin suns themselves.

The next series of shots are stark and empty, nothing but the vast white desert, emphasizing the loneliness and isolation of both Tatooine itself, and Maul in particular.

And he is not, ah... taking Ezra's rejection or the long wanderings out in the desert well. To say the least.

From this first opening monologue we can already tell that Maul is fraying. He spent ten years in the depths of madness and it seems like he's descending into madness once again. Even his clothing reflects this, sandblasted and torn, a ragged hood recalling the one he wore at the beginning of Malachor as he feigned being weak and decrepit, and uneven wrappings circling his arms, asymmetrically.

His mood swings from "Visions and Voices" are more pronounced, one moment warbling pitifully about being lost, about being so close to his target, the next shrieking Obi-Wan's name skyward like an obscenity.

Obi-Wan has managed to elude him all this time since Dathomir, and Maul is beginning to get desperate.

RIGHT, SO THIS IS THE PART WHERE I GET BACK INTO MY BLUBBERING KENOBI SHOW FEELINGS BECAUSE "JEDI CANNOT HELP WHAT THEY ARE. THEIR COMPASSION LEAVES A TRAIL. THE JEDI CODE IS LIKE AN ITCH. [THEY] CANNOT HELP IT." AND SOB FOREVER ABOUT HOW WHOEVER IT WAS ON THE WRITING TEAM THAT CAME UP WITH THAT RAW-ASS LINE, THEY UNDERSTOOD THE ASSIGNMENT.

So not only is this a callback to the previous times Maul lured Obi-Wan out to him in TCW, this now also a call-forward to Kenobi and I just want y'all to appreciate for a moment that Maul is using the exact same tactic on two different Jedi, simultaneously.

Maul is luring Ezra and taking advantage of Ezra's compassion, hero complex, guilt complex, and sense of hyper-responsibility, in order to then exploit Obi-Wan's compassion and protector-guardian streak, so that he can kill Obi-Wan when Obi-Wan comes to Ezra's rescue.

Because that's what Jedi do, that's what Jedi are, the Jedi Code is like an itch they cannot help it--frick man, I'm already emotional and we're not even two minutes in.

A general overview of the music this episode, and I'll comment on specific cues as they happen, but I mostly want to point out the frequent lack of music, actually. This episode is very stripped down in terms of theme and instrumentation and there are long stretches of utter silence, to help us absorb the atmosphere. It's very effective in making Tatooine feel utterly desolate, like we're alone on this journey with the characters.

This episode had originally been very ambitious, we've been told from behind-the-scenes commentary, longer, more complex, a lot more plot points, but as it was coming together they very wisely pared it way down to the barebone tacks, cutting out all the excesses and stripping things down to a simple character journey narrative, making the resulting story that much more profound and intimate.

(Plus the saved budget allowed us to get some absolutely gorgeous animation and new pajamas for Ezra. XD)

He looks so comfy in them.

This sequence is heavily styled after the cold open in "Legacy", camera movement and shot choice almost exactly matching. This is not a coincidence, as the basic premise of both episodes is the same: Ezra receives a vision through the Force, and it moves him to action.

Unlike in "Legacy", however, when the Force itself was moving to comfort Ezra and connect him to the voices and images of his parents one last time before their death, this vision is artificially constructed, sent to him by Maul--like the ones in "Visions and Voices"--to deliberately manipulate him, pull him away from his support network, make him act out of fear.

A false Call To Action, in an artificial Hero's Journey narrative that Maul has constructed for Ezra to follow. (More on that later.)

Side note, completely unrelated to all this meta, but an observation I just want to point out: It's the middle of the night and Kanan is not in his room on the Ghost. Where exactly was he eh? Perhaps a certain Twi'lek pilot's room? *eyebrow waggle*

Anyway, after Ezra's Weird Force Tele-Distance Holocron Call we move to a scene that is a bit heavy in the exposition department, by virtue of it having to hold the burden of the extra plotlines they pared down. It's maybe not quite as effective as it could have been but it serves its purpose: It establishes that they identified the "desert planet with two suns" as Tatooine sometime offscreen, and that they asked about Obi-Wan and Bail Organa lied through his teeth about the man being dead. So therefore they must have decided to give the matter up, and let Maul chase ghosts in the Tatooine sands.

Rex being clearly distraught at Obi-Wan's assumed death. :(

Kanan also reminds Ezra that the last visions he got from and about Maul were a trick designed to manipulate him.

Ezra's insistent though, as he always tends to be whenever the notion of being able to obtain "the key to destroying the Sith" pops up. So Hera takes him aside for a moment.

Her face and how often she touches Ezra's arms and shoulders in this scene hurts. :( And the strain in her voice when she asserts that if Obi-Wan were alive he wouldn't be hiding in the desert, he'd be helping them, Hera understands Jedi nature too, she just hasn't gotten the full picture, doesn't know the reason why Obi-Wan is doing... well... exactly that.

This is where the story beat parallels to "Legacy" end, because this time, Ezra does not receive Hera's blessing to go. Instead she reminds him, rather sternly, that he is supposed to be there with them, planning the attack on Lothal, she needs him and his focus here.

Recall Yoda's line about Luke: "Never his mind on where he was. What he was doing." Since all the way back in Season Two, when his mere presence started to become a danger to the safety of his friends, Ezra has been growing more and more obsessed with finding a way to kill the Sith, whenever Maul turns up more distracted. It ties straight back into his motivation for becoming a Jedi in the first place that he told Yoda in "Path of the Jedi".

"I just want to protect myself and my friends. And not just them, everyone. I'll protect everyone."

Ezra has an abundance of that natural Jedi urge to protect (planted by his parents, nurtured by Hera), the itch inside him intermingles with his clingyness and attachment to his Ghost family in particular. When everything went wrong on Malachor he internalized that failure severely, and his natural Jedi compulsions went overdrive into a crippling sense of hyper-responsibility, magnified by his guilt and leading him down the same path Anakin walked--seeking more power, from dubious and deceitful sources, in order to prevent another personal tragedy from happening to him again.

His desire to protect got twisted into attachment, into a clingy possessiveness, into a fear of more potential loss. In this way his flirtations with the Dark Side mirrored Anakin's, though ultimately Ezra never went far enough that he wasn't able to come back, the disaster at Reklam and his reconciliation with Kanan enough of a kick in the head from the Force for him to be all, "NOPE, I REGRET EVERYTHING, I'M NOT DOING THAT AGAIN."

But even though Ezra came to his senses and rejected the Dark Side, he was still not on the right path. The aftereffects of Malachor remained and he kept letting that Sisyphean unattainable goal of defeating the Sith--himself, personally, or else personally enabling it to happen--pull him away. Kept letting it move him out of place in the narrative.

He was supposed to be here, Hera needed him here. "You're in the wrong place, Ezra Bridger," Obi-Wan tells him gently, later. Ezra lets Maul, lets his obsession with destroying the Sith, yank him out of order in the cosmic destiny of things.

The Force has a place for him. But it is here and not there.

But he kind of has to go on this perilous journey for it to finally kick in.

(One of the scenes I do kind of wish they had kept from the original extended plot is the one where Hera and Kanan and Zeb all kind of commiserate about how "the kids", meaning Ezra and Sabine, are growing up and leaving home, and how they have to let them go, even if they might make bad choices, really playing into that whole parental angle and explaining why they didn't immediately rush off after Ezra.)

Despite Ezra's half-hearted assurance to Hera, it's clear he has no intention of obeying her order to stay put. His sense of impulsive hyper-responsibility is too strong, he's following the same instincts that led him to obsess over and misinterpret his other two major Force visions.

So he swipes a training A-wing.

He's such a little shit I love him. <3

This is the point of no return and Ezra is unwittingly drawn into Maul's trap, which mimics the beats of a classic Campbell Hero's Journey.

Joseph Campbell, for reference, is a writer and philosopher who purported the idea of the monomyth, that in all stories and all mythologies across cultures there are similar patterns and cycles. His Hero's Journey is often styled as a closed circle ("It ends where it began."), with a dividing line between the Known and Unknown worlds and various stops and characters and plot elements mentioned along the sides. The Hero's Journey monomyth, incidentally, was one of George Lucas's major inspirations for writing Star Wars, wanting to create one such classic mythological narrative.

So we have all the elements in place here. We have the Call To Adventure (the distorted holocron message). We have the Refusal Of The Call (Hera ordering Ezra to stay and him initially not fighting her). We have the Supernatural Aid (the pieces of the holocron that function as some kind of magic compass). We've outmaneuvered the Threshold Guardian and crossed over into the Unknown (Ezra swiping the A-wing from under the technician's nose). Along the way we'll pick up the Ally or Helper (it's revealed Chopper snuck along and went with him). And we will be facing Trials, Tests, and Tribulations (everything from the initial Tusken attack to braving the harsh elements of Tatooine's unforgiving sand and heat).

...But it's all wrong.

See, Ezra has already answered the Call to his own Hero's Journey, the one that started for him all the way back in the pilot, when he returned Kanan's lightsaber and crossed the Threshold into the Unknown world of being a Rebel and a Jedi Padawan. This falsely constructed cycle Maul has drawn him into is not his narrative. It was never intended to bring him enlightenment, never intended to complete, only to be used to further Maul's selfish ends.

That Ezra manages to find enlightenment and complete the cycle anyway is something that happens in spite of Maul, and not because of him, and takes some severe course-correcting from Obi-Wan. Over and over this episode we'll hear this idea repeated, that this was not where Ezra was supposed to be in the story, it's not his job or responsibility to deal with Maul, he is where "[he] should never have been".

We'll table that for now and come back to it, have a moment to enjoy some pretty caps.

Thus far, music-wise, we've had a couple ominous cues, and a bouncy jaunt full of Rebellion flutes and brass as Ezra made his escape, in between a couple of the aforementioned long bouts of silence. There's a bubbly little bit when Chopper is discovered. (And I can't even tell you how much I love the touch with Ezra startling so bad he smacks the A-wing cockpit window and bumps the steering column so that the ship swerves out of place--PART OF THE METAPHOR MUCH?) Soft vocals filter in as Ezra consults the holocron shards, holding in long, mystical notes. A lone viola sounds, mournfully. Higher strings sound with spiritual reverence as Ezra gets out of the A-wing, as if to suggest his goal, his enlightenment, is just up ahead.

Then, darker notes like a pulsing heartbeat. The voices go discordant.

Then the Tuskens attack and hell breaks loose.

One of the underlying threads this episode is Ezra and Chopper's devotion and loyalty to each other so I really like how, even though Ezra told him to find cover, Chopper doesn't and charges in to get a Tusken off Ezra instead. Ezra in turn shields him with his own body when the Tuskens score hits that make the A-wing explode.

And that's Ezra's, "I'm in so much trouble." look lol.

Maul, meanwhile, decides to go ahead and murder all the Tuskens and I would not fault you for thinking back to another lightsaber-fueled Tusken massacre.

In fact, probably any parallel or allusion you think of during this episode is in all likelihood deliberate. Frankly I'd argue that this is one of the most important episodes of the show, with how integral it is to Ezra's character arc.

Which is why it was so annoying and asinine that people complained that Ezra took up most of the episode's focus and whined that it should have been only about Maul. Hello, do you understand the concept of a protagonist?!

Speaking of allusions though, we get some lovely call backs to "Visions And Voices" with Maul once again letting Ezra hear him inside his head and catch fleeting glimpses of him, this time in order to lure him further out into the desert. Maul is still trying to keep him in the false cycle, tempting him away from escape.

And Ezra's sense of hyper-responsibility, of This is all my fault and I have to fix it, leads him right down Maul's preordained path.

"I have to help Master Kenobi, if I can." As if Obi-Wan needs any help dealing with Maul, ha ha.

Another moment of pure heartwarming loyalty from Chopper here, he has the opportunity to keep going along the path to safety, but begrudgingly chooses instead to stay with Ezra, through thick and thin.

Ezra once again returns the favor by refusing to leave his side when he runs out of power.

Subtle animation appreciation moment: The way Ezra staggers, looking completely exhausted. Also the sandblasting in his hair and clothes kjhfkasjfha.

Taylor's acting here is heartbreaking, he makes Ezra sound SO lost and scared. :(((((((

Maul decides to rub things in a bit and oh hey some mirror dialogue here, eerily similar to a certain exchange in "Gathering Forces". :D

Grand Inquisitor: The Darkness is too strong for you, orphan. It'll swallow you up even now. Ezra: No. Grand Inquisitor: Your master will die. Ezra: No! Grand Inquisitor: Your friends will die, and everything you've hoped for will be lost. This is the way the story ends. Ezra: NO!

And in comparison:

Maul: He is dead... He is dead. Ezra: No... Maul: You led me to him. Ezra: No. Maul: You failed your friends. Ezra: No! Maul: You will DIE!" Ezra: NOOOO!

~It's like poetry, it rhymes.~

Also this is terrifying.

So I've legitimately teared up like... twice watching this show. This was one of the times. This moment right here where Obi-Wan's feet step softly into frame.

Yeah it got me.

Cut to... Night. A quiet campfire. Ezra comes to and things are suddenly put into perspective.

"You're in the wrong place, Ezra Bridger."

(The voice they got for Obi-Wan is perfect btw, sounds just like Alec Guinness.)

Obi-Wan explains gently that he is not "the key to defeating the Sith". He never was. Maul's desires muddied the holocron vision, he used Ezra to get his own answers and left Ezra with only partial answers. Because Obi-Wan is associated with the key to defeating the Sith but he's not the Chosen One.

And neither is Ezra.

He is a narrative "chosen one", a key player picked by the Force, imbued with purpose, but defeating Vader, killing the Emperor... that was never his task to take. After the loss he suffered in "Legacy" Ezra had been letting himself get obsessed with the idea that he could fix that problem--the problem of the Sith--himself.

But that is not his role in the story.

It is not yet sunrise (Luke and Leia). So the moon (Ezra) must endure.

"You win by killing an Inquisitor." "No, you win by surviving."

Ever since before Malachor, Ezra has been stepping outside his station, trying to do things he was never meant to do, instead of what he was supposed to do, which was to help the people in front of him, right now, do what good he can in the moment. (Something that he'd gain clarity on via a falling out with Saw in Season Four.)

"What you need, you already have."

Ezra lost sight of that in the grief over his parents, in his guilt over Malachor. He was never going to be the one to defeat the Sith. Yoda and Obi-Wan both knew the only ones who even stood a chance... would be Vader's children. Maybe Ahsoka. Perhaps that was even why Yoda advised going to Malachor, to test and see if Vader could be saved, or killed, by his former padawan. Someone who he might have had a strong enough attachment to that it would cloud his judgement. (Just as Obi-Wan's mere presence would drive Vader mad with irrational murderous rage and yet, paradoxically, a cloying need to have him back.)

"We asked for a chance to destroy the Sith... and we failed."

Vader has no connection to Ezra, therefore Ezra will not be the one to end him.

His task is to endure, keep the darkness back, and hold the line until the narrative chosen one who will do that task (Luke) is ready to take up the sword. This is not Ezra's role in the story. He has his own destiny, his own part to play in the Rebellion.

And he needs to return to it.

Obi-Wan closes the broken cycle for Ezra, rescuing him from The Ordeal or Abyss, and sending him back to the Known world with the Boon (his sage wisdom) irregardless of how false the path there to him was. Ezra is freed from the obligations, responsibilities, and burdens he wrongly took on himself... to return home, and rejoin his own Hero Cycle.

And then all that's left is to "mend this old wound". (Maul)

Maul has what he wanted, or so he thinks. His old enemy, his past, ready for the killing. His future and legacy, his apprentice, within reach for taking.

But things have changed. Obi-Wan is older, wiser, more serene and at peace with himself and with the Force, in spite of all he's suffered. He has grown from his failures, let go of the past, and found balance, while Maul has regressed, repeated the same mistakes, clung to the hurt and pain in his past and deteriorated, been sucked almost dry by the Dark Side.

And Obi-Wan pities him.

Maul is scalded by this, upset that after everything he's endured, Obi-Wan seems to have taken no ill effect. And it's not like Order 66 and Anakin's betrayal didn't hurt him (hell we have all of the Kenobi show to demonstrate otherwise) but that he's processed those emotions and feelings and traumas, and returned to a settled baseline. He is more a Jedi now than ever, and revenge is not the Jedi way.

And can I flail a little bit inarticulately for a moment about the dichotomy between Obi-Wan's "I had no intention of fighting him, though that seems inevitable now." and Thrawn's "It was not my intention to utterly destroy Lothal but that is inevitable now."?

So Maul digs for something to bait Obi-Wan with, touching about the reason he's there on Tatooine to begin with, discerning that there is someone that Obi-Wan is protecting. Notes of Sith vocals creep into the music here, a sequence that sounds like Maul's arrival on Tatooine from Phantom Menace ("It ends where it began.").

And with this implicit threat towards Luke, Obi-Wan ignites his saber.

SO much ink has been spilled about this duel. I was surprised at how short it was at first too, but it makes perfect thematic sense in hindsight. The way Obi-Wan slowly baits Maul, drawing Maul's mental frame of mind back to Naboo, because he knows that Maul is stuck in the past, constantly reliving that moment of triumph and defeat over and over again, fixated on it as the shatterpoint where things in his life first went wrong. He can't let it go. He can't move on. He has to keep going back to that moment over and over to make things "correct" and kill the one he pins the blame on for his pain. (But this will not fix him, even if he accomplishes it.)

An entire story is told solely through foot placement and stances. Maul moves through the stances he's used in duels with Obi-Wan before. Obi-Wan shifts through his classic New Hope lightsaber grip, to his iconic Soresu.

And then he switches to Ataru, to the same stance Qui-Gon used.

The music has been tense throughout, but now the Force Theme creeps in. There's a flare of recognition in Maul's eyes; He knows this, this is familiar.

So he lunges, using the same lightsaber trick that he used to kill Qui-Gon...

...except it doesn't work.

I love the look of quiet realization and acceptance in Maul's expression. It's just like, "......Oh."

Maul submits and falls in defeat, into his enemy's arms, yet another parallel to Phantom Menace, to the start of everything between these two men. And then he asks something heartbreaking: Is Obi-Wan protecting the Chosen One? The one who would defeat the Sith?

And because Obi-Wan no longer believes that Vader can be saved, he answers yes. (Amazing how well this scene fits with the later Kenobi show.)

With his dying breath, Maul finally recognizes his true enemy, accepts and forgives Obi-Wan as his brother, as a fellow victim of Palpatine, and declares with almost prophetic insight, "He... will avenge us."

Not take revenge, avenge. As Trilla Sundari would admonish Cal Kestis in the Jedi Fallen Order video game, Maul also asks for restitution and justice with his last words.

(I do kind of wish we got one brief reaction shot from Ezra as he sensed Maul passing, just for confirmation that he knows. It's inferred but still.)

Back with Ezra as he returns home with the Boon, and he's also claimed the prize of Maul's ship, the Mandalorian gauntlet. (Again, just the briefest scene of him finding it, that would have been nice.)

"I was wrong. This is where I'm supposed to be. You're my family. And we should go home."

Ezra has finally forgiven himself for Malachor, completed the arc he started in "Legacy" (or maybe even earlier), and returned to his proper place. His family accepts him back with the laying of hands like a benediction.

And meanwhile, just to wring your heart one last time, we return to Tatooine, to watch Obi-Wan watch over Luke from a distance, a scene drenched in OT nostalgia, from using the exact audio of Aunt Beru calling Luke to closing us out with Luke's Theme and Binary Sunset for the credits, reminding us that the shadow will not hold sway forever.

Eventually, the sun will rise. And a new hope will emerge.

Trust in the Force.

Man, there aren't enough words to tell you how much I love this episode. It's so beautiful and poetic and thematic. It's the lynchpin of Ezra's character development, he needed to be in this episode, to go on this journey. It's gorgeously animated and there are so many many layers of parallels and themes, motifs and archetypes, that tie into the monomyth in general and Star Wars in particular. I'm astonished how well it melds with later canon material (JFO and Kenobi), but I guess that just speaks to how true to the spirit and essence of Star Wars it is.

It's just beautiful.

#star wars #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #obi-wan #kenobi #rebels rewatch #liveblog #meta rambling #long post #music #soundtracks #this is a pro jedi blog #i love rebellion era jedi they come pre traumatized #rebels rambles

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mobileleprechaun · 16 days

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oubgh Tagged Game

I was kindly tagged by the eminent @femboty2k, thank you so much for tagging me!

This one is about introducing yourself with the following:

- One tv show

- One movie

- One album

- One game

However, she went the extra mile and did two each, so I'll do that as well!

TV Shows: Whatever Happened to Robot Jones and Making Fiends

I'm not entirely sure what it says about me that both of my picks here were ill-fated and obscure cartoons cancelled before their time, but I certainly hope it's nothing premonitory about the trajectory of my life!

Robot Jones was a full-on obsession for me when I was young. It's about a robot child having to attend junior high in the 1980s so he can understand humans better, and all the awkwardness that goes along with that. Something about it struck such a chord with me – probably the fact that the protagonist was a sheltered misfit who couldn't understand his peers. I was homeschooled until college, and all of my interactions with other kids were painfully awkward along those lines, so I guess I just felt seen?

It's a weird show, and the tone is pretty bleak. He's mercilessly bullied by both peers and authority figures alike, and episodes rarely ever end with anything working out for him. Maybe I felt seen by that too. It's kind of fucked up, and I'm 70% certain bits of it didn't age well, but for what it's worth, people still really enjoy the one episode where RJ comes to the conclusion that he's nonbinary. It's also lost media at this point, so there's an inherent rewarding feeling that comes with being able to find it at all.

Making Fiends is also pretty bleak, but in a very silly and fun way. It's about a town that lives in mortal terror of Vendetta, this extremely cruel grade-schooler who is able to make monsters (fiends) that can serve her every whim. However, her nasty little gangster baby life is turned upside down when a very dense friendly girl named Charlotte comes to town, and Vendetta finds herself terrorized for a change.

I was obsessed with this one too and was a young stan of its creator. I love that it's about two girls just being dumb as all hell and having weird and fucked up things happen to them. Nobody's boy-crazy, either – both of these little gremlins just get to be people. Neither of them are particularly deep in terms of characterization, but they're so much fun to have a romp with, and they get to fill that slapstick-heavy role that's usually only reserved for male characters. Also, the humor is super fucked up and morbid, but the way everything is delivered will just keep you hooting. It's definitely less emotionally exhausting than Robot Jones.

Movies: Chicken Run and The End of Evangelion

Weird pair, I know!

Chicken Run is another of my childhood obsessions that persists to this very day. It's a fun and surprisingly poignant tale of an insurrection on a farmyard and the brave hens (and one mostly useless rooster) who make it happen. Aardman just knocks it right out of the park with the quirky designs of their ensemble cast and just how rooted it feels in its 1950s setting. The villains are fun, the heroes are fun, somehow Mel Gibson doesn't completely ruin it, and I dunno, it's just very cozy. I could rewatch it over and over again. Also, Mac is best girl.

End of Evangelion is not cozy at all! It's the fucked up and horrifying ending to a fucked up and horrifying anime, and it pissed a lot of people off at how mean-spirited it felt, but like... it's a fucking masterpiece, like it goes incredibly hard. Every element of it – the music, the voice acting, the visuals – it's all stunning, like all the way through. Yes it's sad and upsetting and very strange, but that's just how the anime went. None of it feels out of place, either. I can go back and watch Episode 1 again and not feel like EoE mismatches tonally. I still think about it on the regular, and I still bop to Komm sußer Tod.

Albums: Spirit Phone and Act II: The Father of Death

I've picked these two because these are both albums I always feel the need to listen to as a whole rather than piecemeal. There's some other amazing albums that I feel dirty not including here, but these two are just the ones that hit me the hardest as albums, and I have to be fully honest with myself about that.

Spirit Phone came into my life when I desperately needed it. I had just lost my youngest brother and was trying to find my first apartment after years of being my parents' adult subject. It was such a heady and wonderful thing for me, all these skrunkly-ass songs about the occult and the inherently fucked up nature of American culture. I played it on repeat for almost a solid month, and it gave me the strength and optimism I needed to muscle through the most terrifying time of my life. It's still such a cozy and wonderful thing for me, and I thank Neil Cicirega from the bottom of my heart for putting it together.

The Protomen: Act II wasn't something that got me through a crisis, but it was a fucking crazy-ass bop and a solid goddamn chaser to their first album, which I also love listening to as a whole. The story of Thomas Light's descent into living as a pariah in his own city after his own friend turns on him is masterfully told by this band, and every track hits like a truck. The whole subplot with Joe was incredible, too, and that guy who sings as Wily is so fucking good, and Panther is ridiculously versatile... I still get goosebumps thinking about Breaking Out. Gorgeous album through and through.

Games: Sonic & Knuckles Collection and Cave Story

It might be cheating to include the whole collection as one game, but I don't give a phuck!!!!

I was like 7 or 8 when I got the Sonic & Knuckles collection on CD-ROM, and holy fuck, y'all. I knew I loved The Adventure of Sonic the Hedgehog on TV, but getting my hands on that game about spoiled me rotten. It just felt so perfect in every way. Having gone back and played earlier entries in the Sonic series really gives me an appreciation for how well they perfected the formula here, it's just so smooth and refined. Going back through each stage playing as Sonic, Tails or Knuckles is so good, too, like you really get a feel for how much there is to explore with their different styles of movement. I just love it so much, it's so cozy and so jammed to the brim with pure fun.

Cave Story was something I encountered later in life, and was pleasantly surprised to find as a free download. I was not adequately prepared for what a ride this humble-looking little platformer would be. God, it was such a wonderful challenge, sometimes frustrating, but always so compelling as to keep me coming back. And what a beautiful story, too, and what a gorgeous setting. I full-on cried at many points. Pixel just put his whole heart and soul into this game, and it's so sickening and unfair that he got fucked over by that shitty licensing deal. If you haven't already, please show this man's work some love. It went hard enough that when Undertale was first announced, I assumed it was going to be a Cave Story fangame. 😝

waow that's media!!! I must tag four people; @sammytoesis, @fetus-cakes, @johannesson and @badgrlebie. But if you wanna do it too, DO IT!!!!

#tag game #this was fun ty again fembot!

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its-short-for-jackalope · 1 year

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WOW! THAT WAS SOME LORE, HUH? :D

reposting this meme bc it's true and bc I really like it, lol

I have quite literally been scribbling notes on a scrap of paper like a madman while rewatching TGOA part 3 as many times as possible, just jotting down all the mindboggling information we've been given, and some less direct stuff that I could be reading too much into but is fun and neat even if it doesn't amount to anything crazy and galaxy-brained, lol.

So click/tap below the cut for rambles about the final part of Pulp Musicals episode 3

The Ghosts of Antikythera ⚓️

Names, Names, Names!!!

Hey, might as well start with all the new names we've gotten!

The captain of the Antikythera — the ghost ship from 'someplace else' — is Addison Arvad.

Kal (my beloved/beloathed ❤ ) is Kalfu

The Traveler we met in TBS is Sia 💖💖

Ahlaam is another Traveler. I adore her already, and not just because she saved Rose.

Dakkar is... somebody. As expected, I've been going crazy in my dms with @man-down-in-hatchet-town, and she believes Dakkar is probably inspired by/based on Captain Nemo? 👀

King(?!) Itzal is... probably bad news! Kal's the one who calls him a King and he is obviously pretty loyal and devoted to him, and wants to impress him (aww), so methinks Itzal is maybe not so good???? (I am also a proud supporter of Brooke's Dylan Saunders as Itzal campaign, lol)

The Blazing World is home. It's where the Travelers and the Antikythera's Searchers (rip) are from, it was destroyed once—but is being rebuilt?—and Kalfu and Itzal seem to want it gone for good.

Lincoln Island is the mysterious island our heroes on the Ellen Austin are approaching at the end of the episode, the place Ahlaam sent Rose and the Antikythera to via orrery.

Quick *Approximate* Timeline

Eh, what can I say? We got numbers and I decided to do a tiny bit of math about it.

1874 — the Antikythera & the Ellen Austin

🔴 YOU ARE HERE

🎶 When are we? 🎶 Well, Morgan Reese informs our time-traveling heroes that, uh yeah lol, last he checked the year was 1874. What a funny question from a bunch of rapscallions!

Captain Arvad's logs from the Antikythera start in January 1874, so we know the Searchers were out and about in this same year. Their disappearances were recent and the ship hasn't been empty for all that long, I don't think.

1865 — may this monument stand forever

On this site in 1835, Sir John Herschel and Anna Hanover launched the first brick satellite, the Sagitta, in what was known as Township Number Nine. Erected to commemorate their bravery, to thank them for their gift to all mankind, may this monument stand forever.

Dedicated August, 1865.

1864 — the dark angel appears

A desperate AJ makes his ill-fated deal with Kal in exchange for his crew's safety during the Battle of Mobile Bay.

Damn the torpedoes.

1835 — the beginning of our adventure

🎶 IT IS EIGHTEEN THIRTY-FIVE 🎶 and the Great Moon Hoax and The Brick Satellite both happen in this year. Things were so simple back then!

1829 — the Blazing World is destroyed

In 1874, we are told (first by Arvad's journal, and then by Sia) that their home, that the Blazing World was destroyed 45 years ago. If my math is right and they're not hippity-hopping too much in time (they have time travel capabilities so idk for sure) that would put the destruction of the Blazing World in 1829.

If the world being destroyed is also the Event that Kal alludes to in Gunpowder and Rum, pt. 3 ("Your powers are returning and you still don't remember what happened? 😒") AND it's the one that left Margaret without her memories and powers, then... could Margaret have been feeling lost, alone, and disconnected with her phantom pain in New York for 6 whole years before the Stratfords wrote the hoax that would bring the quartet together??? 🥺

And while we're on the subject of time passing!

If Sia and Kalfu and everyone besides the quartet has gotten to 1874 the long way 'round... (which I think is the case if Kal snarked at Sia for hiding Margaret in the future—if he has a sense of the future in relation to the world and time, I'd say this also implies he & the others have a pretty consistent present?) ...have they aged? Or does their magic also lengthen their lives? I imagine it would be mentioned if Sia was visibly older, and since Samuel described Kal as looking ~40 years old, then how could he be younger than the war he's been in? lol. But idk, this is just food for thought!

Kal Loves His Lore Dumps, Doesn't he? This one's mostly about Margaret <3

"You've proven quite elusive over the years... We've searched across the seven seas... I suppose it's only fitting that I find you here by chance, looking for an orrery! I'd have settled for the ship, what's its name? An-ti-ky-ther-a. But you will be quite the prize. It's you that will seal our victory! A ship from the Blazing World would have been quite the quarry. But you? That could end things once and for all!"

"The ship, the orrery, they don't matter now. Not when I can dispatch the two biggest traitors in history with just one blow!"

Seems like our girl is pretty special~ 🥰

I mean, of course she is, she's our Margaret, but if Kal is willing to let the Antikythera go to get her instead, and he's so convinced that taking her out will win the war... our girl is Pretty Special™ right? Maybe she's a princess or something, or maybe her Radiance is just that heckin' strong. idk, but I'm excited to find out either way.

I'm also wondering if there's a connection between Margaret and the orrery/orreries... If Kal thought it was fitting to find her when he was after the orrery, does that mean something more? Could Margaret have created the orreries and/or the magic behind them? 👀

...actually maybe this isn't such a good and fun thing. 😅😟 Things don't usually go very well for special and important characters—what is the saying, tragedies love heroes? I mean, Margaret has lost her powers and memories once already, as well as her home and whatever family she may have had before. I know all our pulp blorbos have been in dire straights a few times now, but I don't want them to get MORE DIRE than this!

Kalfu, Sia, & Margaret's history

Kal: High marks for cloaking the fleet, but seriously—

...

Kal: Come on, it's a Traveler reunion.

...

Kal: Just a drink between three friends.

...

Sia: Oh, you were once a man that I trusted. Tell me, where has he been?

...

Sia: Itzal poisoned your mind!

Kal: Itzal opened my mind!

...

Sia and Margaret: *powering up*

Sia: Hey, Kalfu!

Kal: Huh? Ugh, not again.

Kal: *team rocket fog's blasting off again*

I think it's pretty safe to say that, once upon a time, these three were once close. Maybe they were friends and peers, or maybe Kalfu was once Sia and/or Margaret's mentor with that "high marks" comment. Whatever the case, they used to be allies who trusted each other.

I think it's also safe to say all three of them are/were Travelers. Obviously Sia is, and Margaret probably is/was one as well, since she and Sia have a badass combined attack (that I'm betting they used against Kalfu ~45 years prior). As for Kal... I don't know how the radiance and the fog fit together exactly, whether they've always been separate or the fog is a dark bastardization of the radiance, but it seems like he is on equal footing with Sia as far as magic powers go, and he can teleport like they do—AJ witnessed this at the Battle of Mobile Bay, and Samuel did (kinda) on the deck of the Ellen Austin. I don't know if that's the only qualification for being a Traveler, but it's worth mentioning.

It seems like Itzal was a pretty big factor in this trio splitting up—for whatever reason, Kal turned his back on Sia and Margaret to follow him, or perhaps Sia and Margaret left Kal behind when he wouldn't leave with them. I don't know, but I want to—I have questions!!!

Sia and Itzal — Future sight?

Kal (to Sia): You know, for someone with precognitive abilities, you sure like to cut things close. 😒

...

Kal: How I wish King Itzal was here to witness this. Or did he already know? Eh.

There's not much to say about this, really, I just think it's interesting.

But it does make me wonder if Sia *knew* that sending Margaret and the others to Hanover in 1874 would lead Margaret to the Antikythera and help her regain her memories, even if Sia couldn't see much more than that. Like, if she knew that Kal would be there, I don't think she would have put Margaret at risk like that when she was still vulnerable. Unless she was betting on Margaret figuring things out before Kal could make his move... gah, who knows! (Matt. Matt knows.) We do know that Sia can't see everything, though—she knows that the crew of the Antikythera are gone but has to ask Kal what he did with them.

Also, obligatory "yikes 😬" at the idea of having an enemy (King Itzal) who could possibly see your attacks/plans before you make them. That can't make this war any easier!

Fogging the vortices, you say?

Kal: We've been fogging the vortices for decades. There was bound to be an Antikythera sooner or later.

Vortices.... plural for vortex, yeah?

"A mass of whirling fluid or air, especially a whirlpool or whirlwind."

Is one of these vortices located here in the Sargasso Sea? Is that why Rose already knows plenty of ghost stories about these waters, why this is a strange place that'll one day be dubbed the Bermuda Triangle? Where are the other vortices??? How many are there??? What are they, exactly???

Okay, but what about the gates?

Kal: A war for a world of power and might

Sia: A war for a world of courage and light

Kal: Fought over decades

Sia: Over ascension

Kal/Sia: No chance of surrender, no chance of redemption

I'm just throwing darts here, but I feel like 'ascension' has to do with the gates that have been alluded to a few times now?

First, in TBS, Sia told Margaret that she couldn't take her to the gate until her memories were back. Then in part 2 of TGOA, Kal said something about the Antikythera's orrery leading him to the first gate.

I don't think these gates are the same thing as the vortices—if the bad guys have already been 'fogging' them, then Kal wouldn't need an orrery to find them.

The gates probably lead to the Blazing World, right? Kal and Itzal want to destroy the Blazing World for good, which is why Kal was trying to get the orrery, to get to the gate, to ascend to the Blazing World and turn it to dust once and for all.

Travelers and Symbols/Elements/Associations

To finish up, here's one of the things I've noticed more recently. We have four magical characters now who seem to be at similar levels of power and might all be/have been Travelers, and maybe it's just a fun bit of flavor rather than anything Extremely Vital to the plot, but they each seem to have their own kind of... niche?

Lemme run through 'em real quick.

Kalfu—

● Want a drink?

● Gunpowder and rum, too strong for some! 🎶

● And poison... is kinda my thing.

● Non-lethal fog, my latest brew

Kal's easy to figure out—he's been pretty clear with his gunpowder and rum (delicious!) and once he revealed it he's been very cheeky and upfront about his use of/preference for poison too. He also stands out as the only person wielding fog, but I'm sure that'll change as we delve further into the dark and into this war we're learning about.

Sia—

● "Was that sunlight shining in the sphere?"

● We're here to light the fuse

● Lay another hand on her and you'll go down in flames

● I will always be that feeling burning under your skin

hehe okay, Sia is the reason this whole section of my post exists lol. I noticed the references to fire in enough of her lines/lyrics in part 3 that I thought it couldn't be a coincidence, and then I looked at the others. I just think it's neat!

Maybe these lines are just nods to the fact that light can burn as well as illuminate—Kalfu would probably know, hah—but it is fun to think that maybe we could see our first and dearest Traveler friend whip out some cool fire magic later on—when she's not duking it out with somebody on a wooden boat, lol.

I'd love that for her, tbh.

...especially because alcohol is flammable. :)

Ahlaam—

Narrator: In a blinding flash, a woman materialized, and with a single motion, she pushed the water of the room with her mind

Okay, I fully admit this is mostly just a reason for me to make another waterbending joke. Ahlaam's appearance in this episode wasn't really long enough to give us much information about her, but I mean we also haven't seen anyone else do anything with water until she came along, so... if we see her do more stuff like this and she has more associations with water in episode 4 onwards, I will feel pretty smart. 😌

Margaret—

● the moon

● the sea

● astronomy

we might not know much about Margaret's magic beyond how brightly it glows—which isn't unique to her—and what she's been able to do with it, be we do know that she has a connection with the moon, of course.

I think we could also argue that she has a pull to the sea—mostly because of the view from her window and the rooftop, overlooking the water. Learning about the Searchers and the fact that Kal was looking for Margaret on the sea supports this connection, but again, that doesn't really single her out from the others.

Margaret does have an appreciation for astronomy, but even that might not be super unique, if her people have orreries on every ship and they all look up to the sky. However... my brain is still chewing on a possible connection between Margaret and the orrery, because of what Kal said. It would be pretty rad if she was the one who designed and crafted them, figured out that magic. So idk, that could be something.

If her memories are returning, maybe we'll see her really start to shine amongst her fellow Travelers as she recalls more about herself and brings together the person that resides in her memories and the person that losing her memories made her into.

phew, okay! this is a long post and I am now very sleepy, lol. I'm sure I missed a few things—I didn't take any *literal* notes during parts 1 & 2 and it'll be a few days before I get the album and lose my mind again—but maybe there's a few things I managed to catch that y'all will enjoy.

As always, feel free to reply/reblog with your own thoughts!!!

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askatrigenderlgbt · 1 year

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Team Captain v.s. Team Ironman

I've been wanting to write this for a little while, but I wanted to do some rewatching and research on the topic again.

This is my view on the topic of who was right, and who was wrong.

My answer? They were both right.

Let me explain:

Tony, after all the damage done that leads to this conflict, wants and does sign the accords. He wants the Avengers to be held accountable for the damages they cause and to have some restrictions so supers can't do anything they want willy nilly. He has the point here. People need rules and structure to avoid anarchy and chaos, to avoid things just ending up a mess.

Steve didn't want to sign the accords because his point was that the avengers couldn't be held down waiting for the green light, not when lives were at stake. His argument is made further when you take in the question of: 'who could actually hold this power?' Hydra invaded SHEILD, the government isn't safe either, and lord knows how corrupt politics are anyway. Hell, after Thanos snapped the government had to go make a consensus. Nobody could hold the avengers when lives were on the line.

Steve and Tony are both right. But they end up also being wrong too.

Tony is blinded by his overwhelming guilt at this point. After all he lost, the new trauma, and dealing with everything, Tony is hyper focused on redemption here. He wants to make up for the things he did, for the people lost in the cross fire. But he ends up not seeing the issues presented to him about signing the accords.

Signing the accords is a problem because, like I talked about with Steve's point, no one can simply have a leash on the heros. If they have to wait then people die, if they are leashed then Hydra would have been pulling the strings. Hydra invaded SHEILD and the government, if they pulled the strings then it's over. Not to mention that the person pushing the accords is General Ross, the man who hunted down Bruce to use him- to make the super soldier serum. General Ross is not an ally, he is a threat.

Steve was also wrong too. Avengers can't have full freedom to do whatever they please. Having powers being used recklessly and causing unnecessary damages to surroundings isn't a good thing. It's a risk to the people he wants to protect.

So Both are right and wrong. Mainly cause this conflict is complex, when you see the risks and factors of why things couldn't work one way or the other. But also remember, this is a conflict created by design too. Zemo had a part to play in this issue. Playing the game just right that would cause the leaders of the avengers to reach a boiling point on the argument that they split.

What I personally feel is that because of the trauma, pain, and exhaustion the two of them were dealing with when the accords were just presented that they were even in a good healthy mindset to even begin dealing with any of it. Both were stressed, dealing with issues on all sides, and couldn't see past the black and white view of absolutes. Steve and Tony were stuck on a chest board as pawns and both were fighting to win. Only we know how this ends up going.

I am Team Captain America AND Team Iron Man.

Cause in the end they are still a team, and I don't pick sides of my team- I choose all of them.

Bonus~

As an added part to this post I wanted to share my thoughts on Steve lying to Tony about his parents. It was wrong and unjustified, yes but I'm not talking about that. That is a simple fact. I want to explain my view on Steve's reasoning for this decision: He wanted to protect both friends of his. He wanted to protect Bucky cause he was brainwashed and innocent, he didn't want him hurt or kill for it. He wanted to protect Tony cause already he was traumatized, beaten, and utterly exhausted from so much happening. He didn't want Tony to have another thing on his mind that could potentially cause him to snap a part.

In the end it didn't matter, Tony finds out and everything falls from there. Steve here, from my pov, is the people who have the purest intentions and want the best for us, but end up making decisions that only harm us in the end unintentionally. When we make choice that we think help, but don't.

In conclusion: Do I think one or the other is wrong? No, both are right and wrong for their own reasons- making the answer a more complicated discussion.

Do I think Steve or Tony deserves the bashing they get from either side of the conflict? No. They are fundamentally human characters who wanted to do the right thing but were blinded by their own issues and too twisted and turned to properly communicate things.

Should either one be hated for these choices they made? No. They made the choice they did but in the end worked to fix what had been ripped apart, doing their best to mend that scar. They were adults about it and made up while finally having a more healthier mental state to deal with everything.

Are both still my favorite characters and ship? Fuck yes.

#marvel #tony stark #steve rogers #stony #avengers assemble #avengers emh #team cap #team iron man #team captain #team ironman #marvel mcu

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autumn816 · 6 months

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tell me abt the hockey au since u brought it up😼

All my knowledge of hockey is from NHL which I haven’t watched in more than five years😭😭 so if there are any hockey fans here, look away. There are probably loads of inaccuracies.

- George gets drafted by Mercedes at the age of 21 (have to make him younger in this because NHL drafts European/International players from ages 18-21)

- Or maybe George gets drafted by Williams at the age of 18 and then gets traded by Mercedes when he is 21

- Positions: Lewis as centre and George as left winger

- Oh, also, Lewis is the captain of the team

- Mercedes have won the Stanley Cup for 8 years and Lewis has won NHL Art Ross Trophy for 7 years- 1 with McLaren and 6 with Mercedes

- George obviously grew up watching Lewis and is one of his heroes. He knows Lewis’ strengths and weaknesses by heart because he has rewatched his games so many times and learned a lot from them

- Lewis doesn’t exactly hate George but he is… indifferent to George in the beginning. He is just this new kid that is way too confident for his own good (Lewis can’t complain when he was this way too, he still is)

- Mercedes downfall is happening just like in F1 (will have to figure out a reason if I do write this au)

- They lose one of the games biiiiiiiiiig time and they both blame each other because they are angry and frustrated. None of them knows which one moved first and kissed the other. They fuck in the locker room that night.

- The frustration fucking starts from that day onwards which of course changes to feelings

- During one of the games, a player from another team (don’t know which one. probably rb) slams George hard, injuring him. Lewis is the first one to react and slam the other player just as hard because no one touches his boy. Media makes it a big deal because Lewis hasn’t lost his temper like this since Nico. Lewis spends the night at George’s and takes care of him. It’s the first time they have spent time together without fucking

- Lewis asks George on a date (something he has wanted to for a long time) after George has scored the most goals in one game (he scores 3 out of the 4 goals)

That's all I had so far

#ask games #gewis #cherie🌞

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licantropa · 1 month

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Hi, so, I rewatched the scene where Furia kills Capsize for a reference I needed.

And like the fact that Tom alerted and warned Furia that Capsize was behind them into the temple just fully got me and threw me into a loop

Cause like everyone wise definitely could've done something, but maybe Capsize never would've been in danger at all if Tom had decided not to tell Furia she was there

And just Capsize and Tom's friendship thoughts (guilt and betrayals but inspiration to become a hero or something like that)

Hiiii!! Yes, 100% to all of that!

I think from an outside perspective, the story needed a permanent death to show that shit was getting serious and that they needed to revive Ianite, although the way it happened felt like the most boring way possible.

The story from the pirates onward should’ve heavily focused on Tom not Jordan. He wants everything all the time all at once. Tom wants to be able to stab his friends in the back and continue to be able to call them his friends! Wants to be the very best champion for Dianite, while also maintaining his friendship with Capsize, and these two wants come into direct conflict with each other. So, it’s not surprising to me that he calls her out to Furia.

The interesting thing here for me is to interpret it as a decision that Tom thinks he can amend later. Death isn’t final for him, so who cares if Capsize dies, he’ll make it up to her later. But she does die! And now he’s made a decision he can’t take back!

Everyone in that room could’ve done something to avoid her death, especially given the fact (if my memory is correct) that it was previously stated that Furia couldn’t die by mortal means or something, so they really shouldn’t have even been in the nether in the first place! They gained ZERO information about Ianite and in fact lost more than what they bargained for.

And that right there is what makes the sequence of events so boring to me. I think Capsize’s death could’ve served the story well if Tom played a much more active roll in it. It shouldn’t have been by Furia’s hands, it should’ve been by Tom’s (or Dianite’s). Tom’s relationship with both Dianite and Capsize is important, as is his lack of understanding in the finality of death.

I don’t know if it would inspire him to be a hero, but I think it would make him consider his future actions a little bit more than he would’ve before.

#mianite #thank you for the ask #I hope I didn’t fuck up on my Tom interpretation. him being a conscious zombie with respawn abilities is cool

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deancasforcutie · 1 year

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hi, I’ve just seen your posts about references to queer cinema in spn and I would absolutely DIE to hear you talk more about that- and also maybe explain some of the ones in the posts bc there’s a few I couldn’t catch. hope ur doing well! toodles

(In reference to these two posts)

First of all, thanks for the interest; I feel like I owe a lot of influence to prominent meta writers who've discussed this over the years, which I've reblogged in the #dean is bi and #spn is queer tags, so I feel honored to be asked about this.

It just so happens I'm about to do a full series rewatch and hopefully come out with a long (much more coherent) meta series later this year. The basic thesis: Supernatural's queer narrative emerged both organically as a result of the early seasons' genre influences and deliberately on the part of writers constantly commenting on/transforming the series' foundations. The early seasons started as a critique of toxic masculinity, the nuclear family, and the American Dream, which invariably involves a critique of heteronormativity, but due to their tragic structure never fully proposed solutions to these problems; later seasons, through the writers' good-faith groundwork designed to circumvent and comment on their own external constraints, specifically situated the solutions in queer love and found family.

I'll argue that much of the queer coding and subtext of Kripke era was not so much "accidental" as a result of the series' genre heritage. Being influenced by the Gothic, a genre all about unveiling counternarratives to master-narratives like the American Dream, queerness emerges in the text implicitly as something outside of that paradigm; look at episodes like 4.05 Monster Movie and 4.14 Sex and Violence for some examples of old-school cinematic queer coding. Then you have Dean as a bisexual character, which essentially started with his inspiration from On the Road's Dean Moriarty (likely also James Dean and other figures that reveal the disillusioned American "bad boy" archetype was always more queer than initially advertised). Later seasons, in actively, deliberately queering this text, both transformed it and revealed/made explicit what was already there. And -as exercises in audiovisual audacity like 15.07 Last Call and 15.10 The Heroes' Journey attest- they consciously leaned into well-codified queer cinematic conventions to reveal (and subvert!) how they were made to literally tapdance around it. What results is a critique of heteronormativity that requires the audience to jump through hoops to maintain it as a critical lens, scathingly lampoons their choice to do so, and situates queerness as "what about all this is real" - "[happiness is] in just being", and in queer ways of seeing/reading.

I really enjoy it, in case that's not clear.

Not sure which examples in my posts to highlight, so here are some links to further reading:

Pink Flamingos: x, x, x

Porky's II: x, x

Thelma and Louise: x, x

Rebel Without a Cause: x, x

My Own Private Idaho: x

Ben-Hur: x

Rent: x, x

Reservoir Dogs: x

Brokeback Mountain: x, x, x

Lost Boys: x

Project Runway: x, x

Sesame Street: x, x

On the Road: x, x

Will & Grace: x

Halt & Catch Fire: x

Freddie Mercury: x, x, x

Orange is the New Black: x

The Sandman: x

Hellblazer: x

"Let's Misbehave": x, x, x, x

Thanks again for the ask! I hope this answers your question; I look forward to exploring this in much more depth in the future.

#no joke this series gave me a crash course in queer media second only to Celluloid Closet. and guess which fandom taught me about that #supernatural #spn #spn meta #dean is bi #spn is queer #mine

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crossovershipstournament · 1 year

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SIDE 1D: ROUND 1: Applejack (My Little Pony)/Hol Horse (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders) VS Jake Long (American Dragon: Jake Long)/Juniper Lee (The Life and Times of Juniper Lee)

Propaganda for Applejack/Hol Horse:

I humbly submit my crossover pairing: Hol Horse from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Applejack from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic! I've been shipping it for years now as I immensely love both series, but it initially started as a light musing gag: "What if a cowboy fell in love with a cowpony?" Hol Horse stuck out in my mind because on the surface they're polar opposites: Applejack is brave, honest and hardworking while Hol Horse is cowardly, dishonest and lazy. But diggin further... If you're not aware, Stardust Crusaders (the Jojo part Hol Horse appears in) has most of the Stands/powers themed around Major Arcana tarot cards, his Stand being called the Emperor. Upright, it represents paternal leadership. Reversed, it represents instability and stubbornness; what he first appears to be, having a strong philosophy in being #2 and refusing to fight without a partner otherwise. He almost joins the heroes/ the Crusaders twice- but backs out due to his overwhelming fear of DIO. Though not without leaving the group with a bit of advice regarding their enemies. But it's around the fight where he partners up with Boingo (a child who wields the Stand call Thoth- named after the Egyptian god of writing; a manga that predicts the future) where we see more of the gentler side behind the jerk facade. He makes sure Boingo is near him at all times, gave him a coin purse in case got lost, and a cute little detail noticed upon re-readings/ rewatches: Hol Horse never says any swear word stronger than "damn" or "hell" around Boingo. (He used to be a smoker as well but cut the habit) In a spin-off manga, a flashback showed he ran away with Boingo without a second thought when the final battle happened. Halting Hol Horse's analysis let's move on to Applejack. Applejack values honesty, but above that it could be argued she values her family even more. Given she lost her folks at a young age, she's had the farm as her main objective. (When given the opportunity to attend a gala, she sees it more as a means to earn money for her family.) Holding responsibilities in the highest regard, near the point where it hurts her at times- it takes a lot of coaxing to get her to even accept the smallest bit of help, given her sense of pride in being independent for so long. In her little sister Applebloom's words: "Applejack keeps us all organized and does her part on top of that!" It's even noted by Pinkie Pie that she has a tendency to bottle negative emotions/ "crying on the inside." I feel like they would compliment each other nicely in terms of growth- Hol Horse softens up a bit on being a tryhard to compensate for his lack of self confidence and Applejack shoulders less responsibility without guilt. TL;DR Yeehaw Horse Romance

Also the art in the bracket image shown here~!

Propaganda for Jake Long/Juniper Lee:

No propaganda submitted :(

Art Credit:

Applejack/Hol Horse art by @/thetalkingwave Jake/Juniper art by @/kannra-orhara

#Crossover Ships Tournament #Poll Tournament #Hol Horse #Jojo's Bizarre Adventure #Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders #Applejack #My Little Pony #Jake Long #American Dragon: Jake Long #Juniper Lee #The Life and Times of Juniper Lee

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dangermousie · 1 year

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Before I get to the substantive meta post, let me just say that Sun Yi Zhou is ridiculously my RL type in terms of looks, and is 100% equipped to be one of those sexy general mains in danmei or het web novels.

But also! The first time around and even more so on this run, He Xia is a wonderful character who is just as interesting and complex (and in some ways more so) than our OTP. This drama is 62 eps and sometimes it’s to its detriment (the separation near the end could have been shortened in terms of runtime) but most of the time it uses its time wisely and the run time allows all characters to breathe, not just focusing on the OTP, making it more epic and real.

In another drama, he’d be the hero, a loyal, brave and competent general betrayed and hunted by his own king out of insecurity and returning to seek vengeance; Lan Ling Wang is actually about that very topic! (And is next on my rewatch list.)

The pontentiality for him and Chu Bei Jie is actually the same - both of their rulers are insecure losers and CBJ’s king comes pretty close a couple of times to doing to CBJ what He Xia’s king did to him. The difference is solely in that CBJ’s king is somewhat more functional (and has a somewhat deeper relationship with CBJ than Yan ruler does with He Xia) and that CBJ is older and tougher. But in a less lucky universe, I can easily see the Jin king overstepping irrevocably and you know CBJ would embark on the path of vengeance. In a way, it is fitting that He Xia is CBJ’s ultimate and final opponent because it’s CBJ who created him by intriguing with Yan king against Yan’s best generals’ family. It is totally understandable CBJ would do that as a Jin subject but the concept of you sow what you reap is delicious.

Why yes, the Yan king is the type of man who decides to hunt down his best general(s) while he’s fighting an existential war. Clearly he doesn’t have TV and never watched The Young Warriors, Patriot Yue Fei, Rebel Princess, Lan Ling Wang or a dozen other dramas about perils of the same (and not even getting into reading a single rudimentary chronicle either.)

The thing that gets me in these early eps is that He Xia is just...good. He is a good person - a loyal subject, a brave general, a devoted son, a lovely quasi-brother/potential husband for Ping Ting and his incredulity about what is happening to him, to them, his attempt to believe that if he could only EXPLAIN, they would understand they are wrong and this is a good faith error, is heartbreaking.

By the end of the drama, he is a broken monster for whom death is a kindness, a man who amassed huge power but lost all humanity and everyone he’s ever loved. And he should be removed; a monster should not be allowed to rule the world. But when Chu Bei Jie kills him it isn’t a pure triumph of good over evil; it’s bittersweet at best and tragic at its base. Because CBJ is not the only reason He Xia is broken - the monster dimwit ruler is one, his psycho family (I agree with @mousieta his father’s “I am gonna off myself so he seeks revenge” is gross as hell), his own descent into darkness as the result of sufferings and humiliations he undergoes all play a part. But in a lot of way, Chu Bei Jie is putting down a monster he himself created, a man he once respected and who respected him, even if only as an honorable enemy, he is the one who set into motion a set of circumstances that turned a chevalier sans peur et sans reproche into a rabid animal.

It’s interesting though because CBJ is ruthless but he has his own set of rules and honor. When he comes for the old prince of Jin’s head, it’s because the man broke his word to retire. Unlike so many others in this narrative (including later He Xia), he is willing to give you an out if you take it; it does not have to be blood. (Side note, hell of an entrance!)

Even here, he spares the old general because he realizes he’s too old to be a threat. Too bad the man is one of the characters who’d rather die that be worsted and live to fight another day. Old man, congrats, you are building a road for your son to become a psycho.

CBJ’s grim face at that. Old man ain’t wrong, he’s wrecked CBJ’s life for many years to come as payback (though ultimately works out.)

And He Xia survives his horrible battle and finding his mother having stabbed herself to death (a woman who did not think about her kid, both his parents are no good) only to find his father dead (I love love love that CBJ respected his fallen foe and made him a plaque.) PS when he starts digging into the burial mound with his bare hands!

PS This convo before it all goes truly to hell is super interesting because they are loving and affectionate but I do not get any romantic vibe on their part, just friends and quasi-siblings. The thing is, if nothing bad somehow happened and Ping Ting and He Xia got hitched, it would be a functional marriage with liking on both parts but not only is it not the passionate love she experiences with CBJ (or he with the Princess), Ping Ting would never truly be as fierce, as unleashed, as her own woman coming into her own as she is with CBJ. She’d always feel she owed He Xia’s family, and also much as I love him he’s not her equal the way CBJ is.

@renewedmotionforjudgment said that one of the things she liked that Ping Ting and CBJ are adults making adult decision in an adult way and that is so perfectly put! But also, the rest of the characters are the same. Even characters who are petty or self-absorbed or immature are so in an adult way, if it makes sense. This drama is so damn good!

#cdrama #general and i #angelababy #sun yi zhou #wallace chung

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