#because they were juggling such a large cast that needed so much development!

[some-zer0]

I'm so angry that we never got a proper trilogy for the AA: Apollo Justice characters because I normally require at least 2 games of good characterization to get truly attached to someone so even though I love Apollo, Trucy, and Klavier I will never be able to get as into them as the OG trilogy characters

[pochqmqri]

With how OtonaPre ended up being mid and had several questionable choices, I know that there are some, myself included, who are worried about how the MahoPre adult sequel will turn out. Even so, I remain cautiously optimistic, as this was always the one out of the two I was the most excited for.

Going back to the initial announcement for both OtonaPre and the MahoPre sequel, it's interesting to note that they only tentatively call it Mahou Tsukai PreCure! 2. They don't outright call it something like Otona Mahou Tsukai PreCure!, so maybe it's not really tied to the OtonaPre brand.

This would be a welcome change because one of the main problems with OtonaPre was that they tried to juggle a main cast of 8, arguably 10, or even 13, in just 12 episodes. This meant that several characters got shafted in development, notably Rin, Komachi, and Mai. In a MahoPre sequel, we'd only really need focus on Mirai, Riko, Haa-chan, and Mofurun, and maybe a few of the other side characters. Realistically I don't see what other seasons they could try and jam into MahoPre2, like not GoPriPre or KiraPre. MahoPre has such a distinctive style to it with all the witchcraft stuff.

Another thing to note from that initial announcement is that MahoPre2 will be airing on the late-night Animazing!!! block owned by TV Asahi and ABC TV, on Sundays 2:00-2:30 AM. This is quite the unusual choice because even OtonaPre, which aired on NHK-E, aired as late as Saturday 6:30PM. Similarly, Tokyo Mew Mew New aired around midnight when it broadcasted. I don't know what this really means in terms of "adult content" though, because even TMMN was mostly restrained in that regard. OtonaPre aired on a night/afternoon timeslot, but it also aired in the same block that had stuff like Spongebob, so they couldn't get too "adult," the most being stuff like alcohol consumption and climate change.

From this article back in March, Producer Takashi Washio notes that when NHK-E ("E" standing for education) was chosen to air OtonaPre on, he was asked if they could focus on topics related to SDGs, sustainable development goals. This is why OtonaPre has a large focus on climate change and sustainability, despite it feeling a bit out of place. I appreciate the focus on such topics, but I felt like it was taking up too much space in OtonaPre when combined with the topics of adulthood struggles and usual PreCure stuff, especially for just 12 episodes. I also think that the aforementioned Tokyo Mew Mew New, which aired last year and earlier this year, was much better at conveying these topics.

There's not much we know about MahoPre2, but I think I can say for certain that it won't have much of heavy environmental theme to it, and more so focus on expanding the lore of the Witch World. I expect the sequel to have 12-13 episodes like OtonaPre did, so not trying to jam several themes into such a limited scope will be good.

Another thing, that's a bit small is that, personally, I wasn't a fan of the art direction, notably the character designs, of OtonaPre. Toei outsourced the anime primarily to Studio DEEN, so most of the staff, character designer, series director, animation directors, art director, etc. were assigned to people who didn't seem to be that familiar with the series and the final product sort of reflected that. It's understandable why Toei outsourced most of the production, as this year, they also had to focus on the usual yearly PreCure, One Piece, the Sailor Moon Cosmos films, etc., and I expect more of the same next year for MahoPre2.

But I think that, at least in terms of character designer, we might get Emiko Miyamoto, who was the CD for the original MahoPre, back. The reason why Toshie Kawamura, who was the CD for Yes! Pretty Cure 5 and Yes! Pretty Cure 5 GoGo!, didn't come back for OtonaPre, seems to be that she's currently not accepting new work due to her poor health, as stated in her Twitter bio. This makes sense, as Kawamura recently did the character designs for the all-male Dancing Star PreCure, which, as a live-action stage play, had less commitments for her to deal with compared to OtonaPre. In contrast, from what I could gather, Miyamoto appears to be in good health, and she hasn't really done much work since Dragon Quest: Adventure of Dai, which ended last year. She did do some small animation work for the recent PreCure All Stars F film, but that's pretty much it. I think there will be time for her to return next year for MahoPre2, along with other staff like head writer Isao Murayama and series director Masato Mitsuka.

Ideally, I would hope that MahoPre2 has the women transform into adult Pretty Cure, unlike what OtonaPre did, but there's really nothing right now that I can predict, other than that it seemingly not being apart of the OtonaPre brand may raise some hope.

So yeah, these are the reasons why I'm holding out hope that MahoPre2 will still be good. Hopefully they don't do what they did in OtonaPre and have Mirai and Riko be paired off with random faceless men, and instead with each other. They have to make it gayer, with maintext, not subtext, like how they kissed in the manga.

[selfproclaimedunicorn]

14. What have you been finding frustrating with writing this chapter?

Accurately objectifying Ella's man.

Figuring out how much of which characters I should show off & further develop. I've had to introduce a few characters that were/are important to the plot (however fleetingly), & have minor characters existing on their peripheries in order to make them feel real/their unseen bits of the narrative feel lived in. That on top of the characters who have already been introduced is a lot to juggle. I'm having fun, because needlessly large casts are just what I do, but it's so much. Especially since I decided this would be the one time I abide completely by one of the show's more unreasonable time jumps. Reestablishing my previously introduced cast on top of more of House Strong & Ella's Man™ while weaving in how much of a bitch Ella is capable of being & my One Chapter Ship Tease is...a struggle. Lots of typing & deleting and going back to redo something because of my GRRM level character list needing to organically work with my altered episode 3 plot

[themovieblogonline]

Knox Goes Away Review: Michael Keaton's Directorial Debut Is Tame

Anybody that knows me knows that I have been a massive fan of Michael Keaton ever since I was sixteen years old. Despite being a lifelong Batman fan, it wasn't until that age that I took the character very seriously and it became a big part of who I was. The 1989 Batman film is by no means the best, but it probably means the most to me, and a large portion of why is because of Keaton's undeniable charm and enthusiasm. It's a career-defining role. He's also done quite a handful of films since then, of course, and I've made an effort to see every one of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ8SeYVnc9A That's why I was so excited to hear that Keaton had directed a movie of his own called Knox Goes Away. I didn't even need to know what it was about and who was in it - I just wanted to see it. Period. But, unfortunately, although there are certainly some strong elements on display here, I found myself mostly let down by Knox Goes Away. There are moments of true greatness that made me realize just how much potential Keaton has as a director, but there were other moments where the film came across as very boring. The film aims to weave a complex narrative blending crime thriller elements with the tragic unraveling of a mind under siege by Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Despite its ambitions and a star-studded cast including James Marsden, Suzy Nakamura, Joanna Kulig, and Al Pacino, the film ultimately delivers a disjointed narrative experience that dilutes its more compelling themes. Keaton's portrayal of Knox is arguably the film's strongest asset. He demonstrates an adeptness at conveying the nuances of a man divided by his life's decisions, and the relentless advance of a disease eroding his sense of self. The scenes capturing Knox's struggles with his mental deterioration are crafted with care. It provides glimpses into the vulnerability of a man who has spent his life in the shadows. The dynamic between Knox and Annie, portrayed with a delicate balance of hope and melancholy by Joanna Kulig, stands out as one of the film's more poignant threads, offering a rare glimpse into the softer side of Knox's world. However, the ambitious scope of the plot seems to be the film's Achilles' heel. The narrative attempts to juggle too many subplots. This includes the complex relationship with Knox's estranged family and the investigative thread led by Detective Emily Ikari (Suzy Nakamura). The film's pacing suffers as a result, with crucial character developments and narrative twists feeling rushed or, at times, superficial. The detective storyline lacks depth, with Nakamura's character feeling underdeveloped and sidelined. The script, penned by Gregory Poirier, occasionally shines with sharp dialogue and intricate character interactions. However, it fails to maintain a consistent narrative rhythm. Plot developments feel contrived, especially in the third act. The film's climax, meant to shock, comes across as predictable. The resolution leaves a number of thematic and narrative threads unresolved. The film's portrayal of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is convenient rather than accurate. The progression of the disease in Knox feels inconsistent. It serves more as a plot device than a grounded portrayal of the illness. This not only undermines the gravity of Knox's predicament but also diminishes the emotional impact of his deteriorating condition. The supporting cast delivers commendable performances. James Marsden's portrayal of Miles Knox adds a necessary depth to the strained father-son relationship. Al Pacino, as the crime lord Xavier Crane, brings gravitas to every scene he's in. Although, his character's motivations remain somewhat murky throughout the film. The ensemble cast, including Marcia Gay Harden as Knox's ex-wife, is underutilized. This hints at lost opportunities to explore the richer backstories and dynamics that could have enriched the film. Knox Goes Away does succeed in moments that capture the introspective and existential challenges faced by its protagonist. However, these moments scatter within a narrative framework that struggles to cohere into a compelling whole. The film's attempt to blend crime thriller elements with a personal story falls short. The visual direction and cinematography provide some redemption, with scenes masterfully capturing the mood and tone of Knox's turbulent world. The score, while effective in heightening the tension, occasionally feels overbearing, detracting from the subtler, more emotionally resonant moments. Overall: Knox Goes Away is a film that, despite its potential, struggles under the weight of its ambitious narrative. It offers a thought-provoking glimpse into the human condition and the complexities of redemption. But it ultimately fails to deliver a coherent and emotionally satisfying experience. For fans of the genre and the cast, it might be worth a watch. However, one wonders what might have been if the film had had a sharper focus and execution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK6-Xq9910Y Read the full article

[frustrated-writer-skyeknight]

HiJack AU - Rise of the Guardians Plotbunnies

(Context: Before Hiccup returns to HQ when the Guardian signal came up, he was spending time with Jack, as per usual. When the signal came up, he had to go. Jack looked disappointed, because Hiccup had just arrived a bare ten minutes ago. It was the quickest the Aide of Hope had to leave. Hiccup was in a rush to leave, since it was the first time in a long time that the urgent signal was put up to assemble all guardians at the same time, the last time was to report about what had happened to Kozmotis. In his rush, he wasn't thinking, and accidentally kissed Jack on the cheek in a parting kiss.

They were both shock.

Before Jack could collect himself to make a respond, Hiccup dashed off, all the while thinking "Shit shit shit shit shit what did I just DO?!)

More details added to the Answer (an ask from @hamish-fanfic-fangirl )already mentioned here

The Guardians love children, as they are the Guardians of Childhood. They can't, however, have children. With the exception of Kozmotis and Anastasia's relationship, as they were created together at the same time by Manny.

Manny formed Pitch to safeguard chaos energy that would strike fears in children and leave them traumatize, impeding a healthy and happy development of growing up. Anastasia was formed at the same time, because children, and to an extent people, need to live in a harmonize environment, right?

The Guardians do consider themselves, as what humans coined nowadays, as 'Found family.' Addition to that, they think if they could have kids, they would be like and be treated like their aides.

They joke about it sometimes; North fits the role of a dad, as leader of the Guardians, Thiana being like the mother, with Aster, Sandy, and Kozmotis like uncles. Sandy's the "cool" uncle with a lot of stories to tell (or show). Kozmotis is the "chill" uncle who leaves you be but offers sage wisdom whether or not you ask for them. Aster is the one who nags a lot, sometimes more than the parents but is exciting to spend time with because of all his cool tricks.

Jamie and Astrid found it awkward, but Thiana was being playful and pretending to be like a parent and giving Jamie 'the shovel talk', when Astrid and Jamie got together, as she heard a story told to her by North, from Jim.

She was sweet about it though, going on about how they should be caring of each other and how lovely it all was so Jim made a remark later that he didn't think the guardian of memories got the point of a 'Shovel talk'

Even to the aides that aren't their own, the Guardians do feel rather paternal/maternal towards them.

Dialogue

North: Sandy, thank you for coming.

Sandy descends from the plane and floats to the ground. He joins North, Bunny and Tooth as they walk through the Globe Room. Sand glyphs appear above Sandy's head communicating

Jamie: He says that he is busy and has a lot of work to do.

North: I understand, you work ‘round the clock, da, But I obviously wouldn't have called you all here unless it was serious.

North, Bunny, Tooth and Sandy reach the center of the room. Tooth does her best to shush her mini-fairies.

North: Kozmotis as the Boogeyman was here at the Pole. *points to the globe. The everyone turns to look.*

Astrid: *shocked* Sir Kozmotis? Here? After all this time...

Jamie: Jim, did you really see...

Jim: Well, I didn't but sir North had. I think, I... Wait. *frowning as he looked around in concern* Where's Dimitri?

Tooth: But... Pitch Black? Was it really him?

North: Yes! There was black sand covering the globe.

Aster: What, what...what do you mean black sand?

North: And then a shadow!                                                

Aster: Hold on, hold on, I thought you said you saw Pitch.

North: Well, ah, not exactly...

Aster: Not exactly? Can you believe this guy?

Bunny turns to Sandy, who shrugs while forming a Dreamsand question mark above his head....

Aster: Yeah, you said it, Sandy.

Bunny goes back to painting one of his Easter eggs.

North: Look, he is up to something very bad. *gropes his gut* I feel it, in my belly.

Aster: *eyes narrow* Hang on, hang on, you mean to say, you summoned me here THREE DAYS BEFORE EASTER - because of your? Mate, if I did this to you three days before Christmas-

Tooth (to her fairies): Argentina. Priority alert! A batch of bicuspids in Buenos Aires.  Weather advisory, Astrid?

Astrid: *Pauses* Fair, all of them. Snowstorm warning in Moscow.

Jamie: Maybe that's where Jack is now.

Jim: And maybe Hic too; would explain why he's running late... Now Dimitri...           

North grabs Bunny's painted egg, casually juggling it in his          hand as he walks off. Meanwhile Sandy, who is being served          eggnog by a yeti, suddenly notices something high above.         

North: Please. Bunny. Easter is not Christmas.

Aster: *sarcastic laugh* Here we go... North, I, I don't have time for           this. I've still got two million eggs to finish up.

The moon rises into view, high up in the ceiling; its rays of light begin to shine brightly through as they cascade down the walls of the globe room.

North: No matter how much you paint, is still egg!

Sandy points to the moon unsuccessfully to get the others' attention. Even Jamie is distracted with Jim and Astrid, talking about whether one of them (Jim) should go and get Dimitri. Their guardians are distracted and they didn't want to interrupt them...

Aster: Look, mate, I'm dealing with perishables. Right. You've got all year to prepare.                                                

Tooth (to her fairies): Pittsburg, boy eight, two molars. Saltwater taffy.

Sandy puts his fingers in his mouth to whistle, a silent musical note forming above his head.                                                

North (to Aster): Why are rabbits always so nervous.

Aster: And why are you always such a blowhard!                                  

Tooth (to her fairies): Ontario, sector nine: five canines, two molars, and fourteen incisors. Is that all in one house?

Sandy waves a sand flag above his head, pointing and jumping and down as the moonlight continues to fill the room.

North: Tooth! Can't you see we're trying to argue.

Tooth: *Good naturedly* Sorry, not all of us get to work one night a year. Am I right, Sandy?

Sandy tries to signal with a golden arrow, pointing toward the ceiling, but to no avail as the others continue their bickering. Sandy thinks Tooth has noticed for a split second, but then-    

Tooth (to her fairies): San Diego, sector two! Five incisors, a bicuspid and a really loose molar on stand-by.

North: I know it was him. We have serious situation!

Aster: Well, I've got a serious situation with some eggs.

Tooth: Hey, I hate to interrupt the, "We work so hard once a year club" but could we concentrate on the matter-

A silhouette comes out from a black spot of a shadow in the middle of the room, and Dimitri comes up and stumbles out from it. The aide of the former Guardian of Chaos seemed recovering from injuries. Even with his quick healing, it's taking some time...

Jim: Dimitri!

Jim rushes to help support him...

Tooth: Oh dear!

Astrid: Is he okay?

Dimitri: Sorry... The darkness is more restless than ever for some reasons. I had to defeat about a dozen minions before securing and leaving the base.

Jim: Wha- so if Pitch is really back, why hadn't he showed up here yet?

North: He did lad!

Jim: All due respect sir, you said it was a shadow.

North: Shadows are his thing!

Dimitri: I don't think that was Pitch yet, but a harbinger, maybe? If he had awoken, I think I would be the first to know.

Aster: Hah!

Sandy can't take it anymore, grabs an elf by his hat, and vigorously shakes it's bell. The other Guardians are finally silenced and all turn to look at Sandy, who points up, a sand crescent moon forming above his head. The dizzy elf staggers away. Finally the others turn to see the shaft of moonlight as it concentrates on the circle between them as Manny starts beaming down into the room...

North: Aah! Man in Moon! Sandy, why didn't you say something?

Sandy gives him a deadpan stare, Dream sand smoke shoots out his ears.                                                

North (to Man in Moon as he finally appears, with Anastasia by his side) : It's been a long time old friend! Madam Mother Nature *bows curtly*

Manny: Likewise.

Anastasia: A pleasure as always, North.

North: So... What is big news?

Manny: Before I get that, there is one thing I need to address first...

Everyone looks to the center of the room where Manny manipulates moonlight to shine down intensely, the light ebbs away, leaving a dark spot ---- which resolves into the shadowed silhouette of Pitch. The Guardians look on, stunned.                                                

Aster: It is Pitch.                                  

North pats his belly and gives Bunny a look...

North: Manny... what must we do?

Manny: The matter I mentioned needing to be addressed...

The shadow of Pitch disappears and the circle of moonlight intensifies and shrinks, concentrating further luminating an ornate symbol on the floor, at the center of their circle. The symbol rises out of the ground revealing a large gem at the head of a pillar.                                                

Tooth: Ah, guys, you know what this means?

The moons light suddenly refracts through the gem casting          light all over the chamber.                                                

North: He's choosing an aide for himself.

Aster: What?! You never needed one before, why now?

North: Must be big deal! Manny thinks we all need help!

Aster: We have our help. *Gestures to all aides present* Now if my own would show up too...                                               

Tooth: I wonder who it's gonna be?

Then a bright flash, a rush of wind- and a FIGURE resolves over the central pillar: slight, hooded, bearing a familiar  hooked staff.                                                

North:

North: Jack Frost.

The Mini-Teeth all sigh and swoon as the Guardians stand there, stunned.                                                

Jim: Well then, at least Hiccup's going to be happy

Astrid: *Shrugs, and idly shifts her axe from one hand to another* Well, as long as he does his part in caring for the children…

Tooth: And Hiccup’s going to be motivated more than ever now too.

Aster: Jack Frost!? He doesn't care about children! All he does is freeze water pipes and mess with my egg hunts. Right? He's an irresponsible, selfish...                                                

Manny: Aide.                            

Aster: I can tell you that Jack Frost is a lot of things, but he's--

Hiccup finally flies in with Toothless

Hiccup: I'm sorry I'm late! *He jumps down from Toothless* Snow storm in Moscow delayed me... Er, among other things...

Everyone looks at him

North: Perfect timing Hiccup! We need you to find Jack and bring him here.

Hiccup, remembering his final moments with Jack before leaving, looked mortified...

Hiccup: Do you guys hate me or something?

[retvenkos]

OLIVE HOW WAS THE HSMTMTS EPISODE??? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE OF YOUR THOUGHTS ON IT esp after yesterday’s callout you kinda died i missed your chaotic thoughts ✋🏽❤️

oKAY, SO HERE WE GO—

firstly, i loved the chaos that was both nini and ricky wanting to do the window serenade (even though if anyone were to ever do that to me i would get soooo upset. idk - i don't like big displays like that. i'm an introvert). but after that.... how they continued to miss each other..... it felt very contrived and was too much™.

i feel like, a lot of the time, hsmtmts wants to parody things while also balancing a sense of reality, but they take it a little too far and it messes with the tone.

like - two examples:

ricky and nini missed each other! haha, how funny. then they call each other and they're laughing about it and nini says something along the lines of "yeah, i've only had three nightmares about that lady in the window." and it's supposed to be for a laugh, but it just sounds.... passive aggressive? like, maybe it's the fact that ricky doesn't really laugh or the tone of nini's voice, but it just sounds like nini is trying to guilt trip him. the script is trying to extend the joke further, and it just doesn't work.

the second instance was when miss jenn was talking to lily. the circumstances and the lines are already a joke in and of themselves, and it would come off as funny with subtle or deadpan (like mr. mazzara) acting. but miss jenn is an Over The Top Character, so she pushes the dialogue, and it really just... made the scene less funny?

idk. hsmtmts really wants to be relatable™ while also being a parody™ and it's struggling to juggle the two. i haven't rewatched season one, so idk if it was a problem then, too, and I'm only now getting a little annoyed by it, but i have conflicting feelings over the genre of the show.

please tell me i'm not alone.

after that,

i love the fact that there are some cute romantic relationships in the show, but when shows add a romance, it always means that the side relationships and side characters get cuts on time because, in the mind of the show, a romantic relationship needs more screen time development.

and when you combine that with the addition of new characters (i love howie, by the way - keep him, please), some characters are getting the short end of the stick.

ej? he had like one (1) line. they introduce him in the episode and then completely sideline him. i........ just don't have him appear in the episode if you're not going to have him do anything?

and that brings me onto another thing!

what was great about hsmtmts season one was that..... the musical had plot relevance. a lot happened in the rehearsals, so it earned its presence. i love beauty and the beast but damn.... it's really kind of unimportant this season.

that rehearsal was largely unimportant - it was just an excuse to get the whole cast together.

the only character who the musical serves is ashlynn and i love her storyline! i think it's important, and it's one of the serious plotlines that is very sweet and endearing.

and speaking of characters i love and adore.... gina is the perfect character for this show. she feels real, and her blunders are totally relatable. she's been dipped in the river of chaos, but just enough. gina's energy is what the whole show wishes it had and honestly? i love that.

(they're also just juggling so much™ plot wise.... they could really benefit from slightly longer episodes. so much is happening. it's a fever dream.)

[logfanjams]

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

Published in 2019

Overall Rating: 4 stars

Dark Academia + ghosts + a pretty decent murder mystery that managed to sustain itself for 400+ pages

Some parts were very good but some parts dragged and I didn’t like the last few chapters

TW: sexual assault, rape, gore (if you’re wanting to pick this book up please take a minute to search potential triggers as this book is dark)

General Thoughts:

On the whole I really enjoyed this book, not only because I tend to really like Leigh Bardugo’s writing style (I am a sucker for descriptive prose and she does not disappoint) but I also enjoyed how Bardugo was able to tackle such a detailed plot in a way that didn’t feel overly draggy and clunky. I liked that the murder mystery aspect of the narrative was able to sustain itself over the course of the entire novel (seriously, it’s brought up in the first full chapter and doesn’t resolve itself until the last few pages). That’s not an easy thing, and the way that she was able to keep the focus on both the murder mystery without sacrificing character and introducing the audience to the overall world of the novel was really well done, since she used both to support each other. I also really liked the characters (most of them anyway but I’ll get to that later on), with Dawes being my number one fave, but I also adored Alex and loved when Bardugo really delved into her backstory and how her position with having little power due to her poverty and previous drug addiction affected how she interacted with the people with clear power and influence. I also liked how Alex was aware of these power structures and how they were clearly set against people like herself and Tara and how this, again, affected how the societies and the antagonists saw them

Full Review and Final Thoughts (with spoilers!) under the cut.

Review (Here There Be Spoilers!):

All that being said, I did have some issues with parts of the novel, since it absolutely dragged on for way too long, with the bigger plot twists happening in the last fifty pages and really negating some of the previous story set ups. For example, I hated, HATED, that it was Dean Sandow who was the actual culprit of Tara’s murder instead of someone more inundated within the societies, since it really felt like that was who the primary culprits were, the rich, powerful Ancient Eight who were primarily responsible for the issues Alex was dealing with as Dante as well as Daisy and North’s murders/deaths. I also really hated that, in the end, the Ancient Eight had ZERO to do with the creation of the nexuses and it was all Daisy. It really didn’t connect back to what had been previously established with the societies having no actual oversight through Lethe and them being allowed to get away with whatever they wanted. I also guess I just really wanted Dean Sandow, Dawes, and Alex to be a team since having an actual adult look out for her was something that Alex desperately wanted and I was sad that Sandow, who up until the very end of the book had been a pretty nice dude, wasn’t that. I was also mad that Belbalm/Daisy also wasn’t that, especially since Daisy was a Wheelwalker like Alex and could have helped her out (instead of like TRYING TO EAT HER???). 

In terms of character, they’re all very well done, even the side characters like Trip, Mercy, and Mira (Alex’s mom). Everyone felt distinct and specific and I liked that Bardugo was able to juggle this large cast of characters while not reverting to vague descriptions. Each character was clearly defined and given time to be fleshed out. Dawes really was my favorite character in the whole novel and I am so glad that she and Alex became such good friends by the end of the book, especially when it would have been really easy for Bardugo to make them antagonistic to one another. I also really related to Dawes because, while I don’t remember ever learning what her major is, she feels very English-y and I absolutely was her in grad school. I also liked how Turner became a friend too and I hope that this is carried through to the next book, since I liked that he and Alex came to a good understanding and respect for each other and how they get results and deal with solving Tara’s murder in different ways. Seriously, the scene where they frame the crime on the whiteboard was the funniest scene ever to me and I was howling the whole time. 

 However, it’s really interesting that we learn so much about everyone as a character in the novel, but I felt like Darlington was really the least developed Seriously, the dude had entire chapters devoted to him and his backstory but I really felt that we got more characterization by the characters just talking about him, instead of the actual parts of the book that were dedicated just to him. Also, why was it necessary to have Darlington chapters, and then just drop this halfway through the book? I understand that it was meant to be giving us background for the Houses of the Veil and their specific rituals through the eyes of someone who was familiar with them and show how they contrasted with Alex’s general non-knowledge, but Bardugo dropped that and then just focused on Alex...Why couldn’t we have just done that from the beginning? I get that, apparently, they’re going to get Darlington (or some version of him) back in the sequel, but I still feel like it was a little clunky and didn’t really work out. Heck, I knew more about Hellie as a character, who we got almost no actual backstory about, through Alex’s flashbacks and her just talking about Hellie than I ever got with Darlington, who had multiple chapters devoted to him and a specific narrator in the audiobook. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I really did like this book and enjoyed the narrative that Bardugo gave throughout the book. I also liked the themes of power and class that she discussed and how that affected the way that the characters interacted with one another and perceived themselves and others. While I do wish that Bardugo had touched on some of the racial aspects (Alex being a brown girl + Daisy targeting and harming women of color to fuel her immortality) a bit more, I understand her not drawing attention to it because of the nature of adult novels themselves. I also wish that she hadn’t sequel baited quite so hard with the whole “Let’s go to hell to save Darlington!” but again, it didn’t entirely ruin the book for me. There were also a few issues with just general denseness, as there was a lot of front matter to get through before the plot started up properly, which I felt was done well, but was a little rough to get through.

I do recommend this book if you’re looking for a good adult mystery novel with some strong characterization and description, but be prepared for some parts to drag on a little longer than needed (looking at you last 100 pages). Also, if you are going to read this book, I highly recommend that you look up a list of potential trigger warnings in this book, since there are A LOT, the most recurring being themes of sexual assault, rape, gore, alchohol, and drug use, but there is a very good chance that I have missed others. Leigh Bardugo really wanted to get away from her YA work and it’s clearly represented here, so just make sure that you’re comfortable going into this very wild ride. 

[cherry-valentine]

Winter 2021 Anime Season:

What I’m watching:

Log Horizon season 3 is all about the politics. Of all the “trapped in a video game” anime I’ve seen, Log Horizon has always been unique in the way it focuses not on the drama and action (although there is some of that), but on the world building of the “game” the characters find themselves stuck in. It’s less a game and more an entirely new world, one that the players, called “Adventurers,” are keenly aware of their influence on. The show focuses much more on the politics, economics, history, etc. of this world than it does on battles or romance. This sets it apart from things like Sword Art Online and the .hack franchise. Season 3 so far seems to be focusing on how the hub town of Akiba will be governed, with an actual election taking place. The Adventurers have to form good business relationships with the “People of the Land” (NPC’s, who in this world have their own personalities and lives and are just as developed as the players). The series goes into things like power systems, food supply, the politics of arranged marriages, and so many other things that make this world so interesting. Because of this, I’ve seen people calling the show boring or slow. I can understand how it could be seen that way, but I honestly find it fascinating. When the show does focus on action, it really nails it. So far season 3 has had pretty much zero action, but I’m guessing we’ll get some in the later part of the season. The animation is nice, with tons of characters sporting various designs. The music is great too. While I do miss the “Database” opening theme from season 1 and 2, this new one is pretty good. Watch Log Horizon if you’re into fantasy world-building. Avoid if you think a few episodes without a fight makes a series boring.

Beastars season 2 is a delight. I didn’t watch the first season as it aired, so I quickly caught up on Netflix before season 2 started, and I’m so glad I did. The show is definitely something I didn’t think I would enjoy, but everyone seemed to agree it was fantastic, so I gave it a shot. I intended to watch the first episode one evening to see what it was like and ended up watching the first eight in practically one sitting. For those unaware, Beastars is about a society of vaguely human-like animals (almost all of them walk upright on two legs and wear clothes, for example) and the conflicts between the carnivores and the herbivores (many of whom live in constant fear of being eaten, even though eating meat is illegal). The core of the story is about a wolf, Legoshi, falling in love with a rabbit, Haru, and all the complications that arise from that. Apparently, inter-species relationships are allowed, but frowned upon (I guess? It’s never explicitly stated either way). What makes this relationship interesting is the fact that the wolf is shy and awkward (and just generally a sweet guy) while the rabbit is more experienced and worldly. Something that struck me as interesting is that the rabbit Haru is sexually active, and has been with several different male characters. While the other characters, naturally, have things to say about this (calling her a “slut” or a “bitch” - the main setting is a high school after all), the story itself doesn’t condemn her for it. In fact, the story presents her in a positive light, sexual history included. The fact that she sleeps around is never portrayed as a negative aspect of her character, and Legoshi is very much aware of her activities. It’s a surprisingly sex positive take. Of course, this positivity doesn’t extend to the audience. Avoid comments sections on episodes of this show unless you want to see some rampant slut shaming.

I ended up talking mostly about season 1, but I didn’t get to do a write-up about it so there’s that. Season 2 is so far very good, dealing with a plot thread that had been left dangling in season one: an herbivore student was murdered and eaten in the first episode, and the mystery of who the killer is was pretty much dropped in favor of character development and world building. But season 2 is addressing that mystery in earnest, and it’s been exciting to watch Legoshi pursue the case. Overall, it’s an engaging show that I regret sleeping on until now. The opening and ending themes are real bangers and the animation looks great.

Dr. Stone Season 2 was easily my most anticipated series this season. It was my favorite show during it’s first season and is my favorite overall this season as well. The show is just so fun. The very quick and basic plot setup is that humanity was turned to stone in the modern age and, thousands of years later, the earth has been retaken by nature. A teenaged scientific genius named Senku breaks free of his stone shell and decides to save everyone and bring science and technology back to the world. In conflict with him is Tsukasa, a physical powerhouse who wants to destroy all the stone adults and create a utopia for the youth. Season 2 leaps right into the war with Tsukasa’s army, with Senku and his allies actually building a primitive cell phone to communicate over wide distances. The charm of this series has always been in its mixture of science facts and methods (all based on real-world science and theoretically possible) and dramatic action between well developed characters, both presented in equally exciting lights. It’s just as much fun watching Senku and his friends gather materials to make a vehicle as it is watching the various skillful warriors battling it out. The art style is something often commented on, as the character designs take a little getting used to, but the animation itself is very nice. As per usual, it has amazing opening and ending themes, with my favorite opening of the season.

The Promised Neverland Season 2 is a bit of a mess. I don’t follow the manga, but I enjoyed the first season of the anime very much and, just by virtue of being on Tumblr and being aware of the series, I ended up hearing about some major plot points from the manga that had me excited. So season two started and the first few episodes were great. But then things started seeming rushed, or just not quite right. A glance at the comments on the episodes revealed that entire story arcs had been skipped, and it really shows even to someone like me who hasn’t read the manga. And one major event I had seen so many images of from the manga is clearly being done in a completely different way in the anime (one that lessens the scene’s impact quite a lot). So... I’m not sure how to feel about this series. It was one of my most anticipated shows this season, but now it’s dropped down toward the bottom, and that’s disappointing. I guess I’ll finish this out and then consider picking up the manga, since apparently this is so different it won’t be spoiling much.

World Trigger Season 2 was a bit of a surprise. I only found out about it a few days before it began airing, and I honestly hesitated when deciding whether or not to watch it. When the first season aired, I loved it. I was sure it would be a new favorite. But then the filler arcs started, and they were almost unbearably boring. I dropped the series and always wondered if the show went back to its former greatness. So when season 2 started, I wondered if this was more filler, or if the filler arcs had ended in season 1 and I’d missed out on some content that I’d need to watch to understand season 2. Plus, my memory of season 1 wasn’t so great. With these thoughts in mind, I decided to watch the first few episodes of season 2 and see if I could make sense of it. Luckily, all of my concerns flew out the window pretty quickly. By the end of the first episode, I was enjoy it so much that I didn’t care about any of the things I’d been worried about. Sure, I might not have remembered all the names or all the details, but the important stuff was coming back to me.

The thing World Trigger does best is juggling tons and tons of characters. I know a lot of anime have large casts, but few of them have so many characters active in a single story arc, and even fewer of them handle those characters so well. Even though it’s been a few years since I watched season 1, and there were dozens of characters popping up in the first few episodes alone, I remembered most of them as I saw them. This is because all of them are memorable, well-designed, and interesting. I think it says a lot about the cast that, in the first several episodes, the three main protagonists are completely left out of the action, and we only get a brief glimpse of them. And this did absolutely nothing to hinder my enjoyment of the show. The supporting characters are so strong (both in-series and in terms of the writing) that the protagonists were not even missed. And I’m not dunking on the protagonists here. They’re great, fun characters. Aside from all this, the show has simple yet attractive art with a ton of variety in the design work. The music is nice, with one of the better opening themes of the season. The action is well choreographed and it’s just a fun series overall.

Sk8 is one of only two totally new series I’m following this season, and it’s a blast. Following a handful of eccentric skate boarders who engage in one-on-one races, the show is equal parts funny and exciting. The main focus is on two skaters, the energetic Reki and the Canadian snow boarder Langa, whom Reki is introducing to the world of skate boarding. The first thing you’re likely to notice about this series is just how colorful it is. It’s like the show itself is in love with color. It makes the art very striking and pleasing to look at. Honestly, it’s worth watching for the eye candy alone. Luckily, the series has other things going for it as well. The budding friendship between Reki and Langa is humorous and sweet, with very little of the usual “rivals who act like they hate each other but are actually friends” shenanigans we see so often in anime. They’re just two nice boys who are nice to each other, and that’s refreshing. Another high point is the gloriously flamboyant villain, Adam. He’s a real treat whenever he’s on screen. The show has an overall light-hearted feel, with enough emotional moments to keep it from becoming too silly. I don’t know much about skate boarding, but this anime makes it look awesome.

Kemono Jihen is the only other new series I’m watching this season. It primarily focuses on a small group of mythical creatures (or half-human/half-mythical) living in Tokyo, operating a detective agency for cases involving creatures like them. The protagonist is Kabane, a young boy who is half human, half ghoul. He’s apparently immortal, to the point that severing his head doesn’t even seem to cause pain. Due to being neglected and mistreated by his adoptive human family, he lacks social skills, but his earnest attempts to make friends and help his companions make him an endearing character. While this type of “urban fantasy” story isn’t new, it’s executed rather well. The characters and their abilities are varied and interesting, the art is competent, and the music fits. There’s a bit of a gross-out factor, with at least two cases involving insects, so be aware. It’s not my favorite show this season, mainly because it doesn’t seem to bring any new ideas to the table, but it’s entertaining enough to keep a spot on my watch list despite me being absolutely brutal when trimming that list down this season. Worth watching, for sure.

Carry Over Shows From Previous Seasons:

Black Clover

Jujutsu Kaisen

Best of Season:

Best New Show: Sk8

Best Opening Theme: Dr. Stone Season 2

Best Ending Theme: Sk8

Best New Male Character: Langa (Sk8)

Best New Female Character: Kon (Kemono Jihen)

[popculturebuffet]

Loud House Reviews: The Purrfect Gig

The Sam/Luna trilogy comes to an end here, as we get to the most recent of their now annual episodes, each so far produced and aired toward the end of the season. That being said like last season Sam had at least one apperance before this as I saw her in the thumbnail to “Deep Cuts”, the OTHER Lunacentric episode this season. And while it sounded bad to me at first looking into it.. no. The writers, for the most part, gave almost every kid two episodes a piece, and last season gave each 3, so to the writers credit they TRY to ballance out who gets episodes.  

The exceptions are Lincoln, who has around 5 that don’t also feature the girls as a whole, and 2 of those are with Lana, Lori who has 4, 2 of them shared and justifed as she’s possibly leaving for College next season and thus her episodes outside of one focus ont hat, and Lana and Lola: Lana has 3, and Lola has 2, and both have one together. And really even with those imballances it’s really impressive the show juggles 14 leads, with the parents themselves getting 2 this year too, along with Clyde, not counting his ones with Lincoln. | And that’s WITH the baffling decision this season to have the first 5 episodes be “With THe Cassagrandes”, i.e. 5 episodes of the Casagrandes that are counted as loud house episode that weren’t produced over at the sister show for some reason. And I have nothing against the Cassagrandes, what i’ve seen it’s not a bad show: I already have gone on about how much I love bobby, and I also love CJ and new comer Sam. I love the fact it has plenty of representation and a diffrent kind of big family, I love the theme song and I love the fact Melissa Joan Heart is on it because she’s terrific and spent the last decade really not picking her roles well. She was the lead in Holiday in Handcuffs, aka the movie where she kidnaps Mario Lopez and holds him at gunpoint to pretend to be her fiance until he gets Stockholm syndrome for really flimsy reasons. But I dont’ feel i’ts fair to the show to wedge it into another show’s spot: The Cassagrande-Santiago clan has shown up in 2 half hour loud houses and 2 15 minute eps. The kids watching KNOW these characters, and reception of the loudest mission was positive enough to get a spinoff made. You don’t need to spend a huge amount of another show’s episode order to promote a show kids will likely watch because it has characters from a show that airs all the time and is uber popular and has a similar humor style, and fans of the Loud House will at least try becuase they like the mothership and have known was coming for years now. This show HAD an audience going in. I watched both American Dad and the Clevland Show because it was from the same crew as family guy which I liked at the time. Granted American Dad had a decent stretch and Clevland Show .. had David LYnch as a recurring cast member I guess? Seriously david, this and not gravity falls? The point is it feels insulting that they felt the need to try and promote the show more, and all they did was take up episodes of the loud house and confuse children, and possibly turn viewers off a show they would’ve watched anyways. And if your wondering why I took such a massive detour it’s simple: Other than noticing the fact they’ve been specifically making sure each sibling gets more than one spotlight episode, shared or not, and this dumb decision.. Season 4 isn’t THAT much diffrent than Season 3. It carries on plots started there  (Lori heading towards college, Luann and Luna’s relationship), but otherwise it’s basically just more shipping and shenanigans. But really. .that’s far from a bad thing, as I consider season 3 a highwater mark for the show, and it introduced a lot of neat new elements (Lynn’s Table, Stella, Leni having a job) that are still prevelant in season 4. It’s not bad and it’s even more understandable given that next season, every character is growing a year (thank you press releases), meaning they have tons of new plots to explore, and large status quo shifts with Lincoln going to middle school, which out of the four schools shown is so far the most underdeveloped and will need development, and Lori possibly moving out of the house and going to college, among many other things that have me chomping at the bit for next season. But that’s probably a few months away so for now, it’s time to get back on focus and with everything else out of the way, the actual review of this episode starts under the cut. 

We open with Luna sitting in bed sighing when her poster of Mick Swagger starts talking to her. Whatever she’s smoking I could really use some. Depression is a bitch. Anyways, her drug induced hallucination of her hero starts talking to her. I haven’t really talked about Mick yet since the show uses him sporadically but he’s exactly what you’d expect; The show’s version of Rolling Stones front man Mick Jagger, only slightly younger.. maybe. I dunno. Maybe he’s been around since the 60′s and is just a timelord. Or a groovy robot. Or has a dorian grey thing going on. We haven’t really gotten into Dino Spimoni situation yet where Luna helps her idol and has to help him reunite with a partner or convince him to stop faking his death. Just a reminder that Hey Arnold is great and that if you think it’s odd his crooner dean martin based idol got talked out of faking his death by a 12 year old, keep in mind he also tracked down the daughter his vitamise neighbor gave up so she could go to america and have a better life, helped convince his neighbors not divorce, and had to save his pig from being eaten in a revolutionary war reinactment. Hey Arnold was far weirder than I remembered and i’m here for it.  Anyways, Hallucination Mick asks if Luna is coming to his concert this weekend, and she HOPES so she just dosen’t have the money for  VIP pass to meet the actual version and do drugs with the actual mick swagger for a change. He says you never know when opportunity will come a knockin and it does in the form of the McBrides! Clyde’s dad’s Howard, the skinny one voiced by national treasure Micheal McDonald and Wayne Brady whose also great.. and i’m not just saying that because i’ve seen this. Don’t be absurddddd....

Howard and Harold are Clyde’s dads... and while Clarence and Steven Universe beat them to having Gay parents in a children’s cartoon, their still the first interacial gay couple in a children’s cartoon, and on a nicktoon period, and even if they weren’t either of those it’d still be fucking great. Anyways the two are nice characters, while i haven’t seen EVERY ep with them their a loving couple, nice parents, and treat the loud kids as their own.. granted that goes too far in one episode, but still, thems good people.  Anyway Howards having a panic attack, respect, and as his husband calms him down, we find out why: the mcbrides are going to pick up nana for the annual family reunion, and their catsitter cancled. Hence Howard’s freakout and Harold worrying about the 20 pounds of amish potato salad in the trunk. So naturally their hoping someone can watch their cats, Cleopawtra and Nefurtiti for the day, and them going to the louds makes sense, both for the obvious of the Louds being their closest friends in the neighborhood, and the not so obvious of a previous episode I haven’t seen having established the older kids as the best babysitters in royal woods, meaning that in addition to knowing them they have skill and this likely isn’t the first time. Luna, not thinking about herself, admits Lori went to hit the golf course early and Leni is at work, a nice way to explaning why it’s Luna that gets the job: She was there and it was implied by the fact she was getting high and talking to her hallucination that Luann isn’t, so most of the other options they’d have without some reservations are gone with no contrivance necessary.  Anyways Luna’s Drug Fueld hallucination,  points out money can be exchanged for goods and services, such as VIP passes, and also mentions sam already has hers. Either Luna’s forgot or her hallucination can use her phone. Either is probable, and is backed up by Hallucination Sam, before both start playing their guitars and Luna air guitars with them. I”m unsuprsied by all of this. She offers and the McBrides take her up on it immeditley. I do like that it avoids the “I don’t know if your up to this” cliche that always happens in these types of scenarios, the McBrides have no reason not to trust her, so they just.. do. Hell Harold only sets out one rule: don’t invite anyone over.. and it’s not even because he dosen’t trust Luna to have anyone over or anything like that, he just knows the cats get anxious with a crowd, though their therapist is working with them on that. And of course the two rich men with a single child have a cat therapist. I would too if I were rich. Harold and Clyde throw and unconcious Howard into the car and their off, they’ll be back at 6. And TOTALLY won’t be home hours early for hyjinks. Totally.  Luna arrives to find a massive binder on feline care. Someone went to the Amy Santiago school of binders. It says to feed the cats at 10 sharp.. and it’s 10:02. Luna tries feeding them but the cats instead attack her in a full on psycotic rage and dump food all over her, so dinners on her. 

Anyways, Luna then tries walking the cats which goes as well as you’d expect.. not because she had to put harneses on cats and expect them to do anything at a certain time, but because they pull hard. I can relate to that with my dog.. not my cat. He just goes wherever he wants because he’s old and kind of an asshole.  Anyways, with the cats now messy from running over a guy with a cake, because of course, Luna looks up what to do next which is.. give.. them a bath. 

Who.. who does that. I know their messy, but use a rag or something. No animal likes being bathed but cats, esepcially one who this episodes shows aren’t declawed (And rightfully so but still), do not LIKE being bathed. Granted they wouldn’t like being cleaned off with a rag or something either, but it still feels less cruel to both them and any prospective babysitter to just hold one down and wipe it off then find the other and repeat. Look witht he walking thing I can see why someone would, in their case because their probably too skittish to let their cats wonder around, and in some cases because said cat is young. But this.. this even for a comedy contrivance is stupid. It’s not the worst uninetional cat abuse i’ve seen in media, Elmyra exists and the mother of the lead of get fuzzy tried putting her cat on a vegetarian diet, which Rob, said lead and a staunch vegetarian himself, not only found concerning but gave said cat the money for takeout.. keep in mind in this strip cats can talk and walk upright. Also I miss when Get Fuzzy was both daily and good. So Luna naturally ends up in the bathtub, soaked and depressed and not sure what to do when her friendly neighborhood sign that the drugs haven’t worn off yet comes by and tells her to shape up if she wants to go to the show with Sam. This gives Luna a great idea. LIke a Zack MOrris great idea it involves breaking the rules.. unlike a Zack Morris idea, it dosen’t involve sexual harassment or a zany scheme. She decides to call Sam, since she’s apparently great with cats and given we saw how she was with chickens last time, not a real stretch. She also pops Mick’s bubble which.. hurts him.. somehow. I dunno.  Anyway cut to Sam arriving. She arrived fast because she was picking a new character up from his gamer’s club meeting: Her brother Simon, who’d been mentioned in side materials but makes his first apperance here. I like him, he has a neat design and i’ts nice to give sam a family life of her own, and he’s a nice if glued to his not-nintendo switch kid. Frankly I hope he and LIncoln meet at some point. I mean he has an opening in his friend group starting next season there’s no way Rusty passes 5th grade. And even if he somehow does, it’s not like adding another member is too much of a stretch given, once they got past courting her, the rest of his group warmly welcomed stella in and it’d be an intresting dynamic having his sister’s girlfriend’s brother in the group. Also if your wondering if i’ll ever stop finding ways to bash rusty in these reviews even when he’s entirely absent..

Anyways, Luna slams the door in the kids face, which he takes in stride , and explains the situation, and after fred fliintstonning him is taken off the table, go with “Sneak him past the cats”. It works because cats never look up at the backs of a gay teenage couple sneaking a small child inside. Luna decides to leave Simon in the entertainment room while she and Sam watch the cats and he finds Clyde’s VR gear and asks to try it on, with Luna reluctantly agreeing as long as he’s careful.. which as far as we see.. yeah he entirely is. The Sharpe’s are good people. 

Cue a montage! Sam helps luna scrub the cats, with brushes as they should’ve done minute one, put them through spa type pampering which is also a call back to the first time we saw the McBride’s house in the series, take selfies, and then sing the cats to sleep, in a really sweet and really well sung lullaby, notable for being the first time Sam’s sung on the show and Allyson Stoner, who I haven’t mentioned but should’ve before this shame on me, does a terrific job and has done a terrific job as Sam in general. Luna thianks her for the help, Sam says no sweat they get to see the show together, and Sam ducks out... before realizing she forgot something. Her wallet... no wait she has that.. OH SHIT HER BROTHER. And before she can get him DOUBLE OH SHIT THE MCBRIDES ARE BACK.  Harold is grumbling about the potato salad... apparenlty Aunt Brenda brought some and wasn’t supposed to. I do like how both McBride dads have their own quirks:While Harold IS the more rational one, he can slip up just like anyone can. Luna prepares to leave.. only to realize oh shit her girlfriend’s brothers in the house still. Her not all complex scheme! She fakes having left something behind to get him out, and once sam calls comes up with a plan: Sneak Simon around back. Sam sneaks around with the bush she ducked into, and we get one of my faviorite tropes: A scooby doo doors sequence! Also the dads speak in unison. Dawww. We also get an adorable bit of Sam gesturing for Luna to hand her the boy. I couldn’t find a gif of it sadly, and I would’ve credited it, but I did find 50 tons of creepy Sam X LIncoln fanart. Just.. why. Why exactly. Why do you do this to me tumblr. And to be clear I have ZERO issue with shipping a character whose sexuality isn’t fully confirmed as just gay in canon with a male character, Bi and Pan representation is important. It’s why I get annoyed at the people who throw a hissy fit any time Della Duck is shipped with Launchpad. Here though I do because it feels like this ship is ENTIRELY a troll, especially since LIncoln has 80 other options, not at all including the icky incest ones, and that I cut and dry have every problem with, and is being done soley to annoy people who ship sam and Luna and are finally enjoying some gay/bi representation on children’s television. If this is a troll then kindly 

Thank you John. So anyways Sam does grab the boy and nearly gets him out the door.. only for the mcbrides to run into their bisexual catsitter shoving a small chubby child out their kitchen window only to have a lesbian fall out into their kitchen. Naturally Howard faints again and Harold is displeased... probably because his husband fainted again.. and you know the shenangians in his kitchen. The only time shenanigans are allowed in that kitchen are when Clyde is sleeping at a friends house for the night and only on the table dammit. They got reinforced oak for a reason.  We cut to the boys playing, which is a nice touch: Clyde being a nice kid dosen’t mind sharing, Simon has similar intrests, and the only time we’ve seen him be eh on sharing is letting Lincoln borrow his new console.. and he not only felt BAD for not wanting him to borrow it and having to try and get it back, but he only did so because the Loud house is insanley chaotic and understandbly he wasn’t sure it’d get back to him safetly. His dad’s rasied him well, he’s a good boy once he got past his ‘Stalking his friends older sister” phase and got into his “anything besides that “ phase.  Luna comes clean to the McBrides and.. Harold appricates the honesty. And both are impressed with how well they took them, with Sam and Luna giving each other credit. So instead of getting upset, especially since Luna was both honest and only called in Sam for help and Simon was an unexpected guest and they both did a fantastic job, they offer to split the money instead. Sam, in a really sweet gesture, then gives Luna her half with no hesitation or prompting from her girlfriend, Luna gives her a cheek smooch and they hug. Then Luna acciently wakes the cats, and we end on the girls singing the cats, Simon and the McBrides all to sleep. Also Luna’s hallucination is alsleep.. those drugs wore off hours ago after all.  Final Thoughts:  A really fantastic setup. Once again the show shows it’s slowly gained talent for taking stock plots (in this case a babysitting episode) and making them actually intresting, mostly by having the characters behave reasonably. While it didn’t really expand Sam’s character, it didn’t really need to , the previous ep with her having fleshed her out as a sweet, kind girl with a talent for animals, and Simon is a wonderful addition to the series massive cast of side characters that , unlike some additions , will hopefully show up again. Seriously half the reason I bitch about Rusty is that the show is great at making charcters, and improving them after a few bumpy episodes as seen with Clyde, Lori and Luann, but yet still uses him and dosen’t make him any funnier, while I can name handfuls of characters who either need more apperances (Girl Jordan) Or haven’t shown up again at all (Carol Pingery, Rocky, Maggie). And that’s not even all of them obviously, but my point stands. But given he’s the brother of one of the main characters girlfriend and would fit in with the main character well, I have a feeling we’ll see simon again at some point.  I also really liked seeing the McBrides, mostly because I haven’t seen many of their episodes, and found them to be delightful, helped by having wonderful va’s behind them as standard for the show and great chemsitry and it was a nice bonus to have the shows two main gay couples interact, without it feeling at all forced, and neither did Sam’s inclusion. And while we haven’t gotten a full on kiss with Sam and Luna, which really they should, CN beat them again on that, the cheek kiss and hug was still very sweet, as is the episode really. It’s funny, heartwarming, and really enjoyable. While itd osen’t have as much emotional weight as the last two eps, I like that it didn’t: For once the conflict was low key but understandable and now Sam and Luna are a full couple, they can just do cute couple shit and get into wacky shenanigans like any other couple on this show without any angst attached. It’s really nice. It also shows that no, a couple being together isn’t boring fuck off will they or won’t they, but i’ve ranted enough about stuff unrelated to this episode. I really liked it and hope to come back to these two someday.  For now as I sign off Pride Month is far from over... as next up I have multiple things planned, but one of the biggest is a FIVE PART series on Red Action and Enid from OK KO. Yes FIVE. All 3 of their romantic eps, and Red’s first two for proper context both for the finale, which uses both episodes as part of the plot, and for a proper view of her character arc and to ease readers into the series better. So be there for that, and a donald duck birthday celebration, and until then, later days! 

[imaginativecrime]

7 reasons The Witcher series is a mess (or damn I need to vent)

Unpopular opinion time! For the record, I’ve read the books, played the games, hell, I’ve binged the Polish movie and series (because my love for Michal Zebrowski and Zbigniew Zamachowski is undying, sue me), and I was super hyped. Then I spent the entire series yelling at the TV, so I made a handy numbered list of the reasons why I personally consider it mediocre at best.

Because I’m fucking disappointed and I’ll never not be bitter about it. Fact.

Be warned, there are all sorts of spoilers below.

Let’s look at some of the issues that affected the show as a whole:

1) Adaptation is hard work - but you have to do it right

Adapting a story from one medium to another is difficult, you inevitably have to change things to make it suitable to the new form of expression and also, everybody wants their adaptation to be unique, to emphasize points they think are important, to reflect on the current times, you name it. But changes in an adaptation should make sense and lend themselves to the storytelling.

Many changes in the series were arbitrary, nonsensical and contributed absolutely nothing. One such example is the Battle of Sodden Hill, a terribly executed “siege” with not enough extras to fill a classroom instead of a battle of 100 000 people. Writing out Redania, Aedirn and the Brotherhood of Sorcerers from the conflict doesn’t seem to have a point to it, while the delayed arrival of the armies of Temeria and Kaedwen is both unexplained, unlikely and underwhelming, not to mention that it completely undermines the Nilfgaardian threat as a whole. This, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg of all the things that are wrong with Sodden Hill in the series. 

Or take Foltest and his affair with Adda. It is perfectly clear in the books that after seven years of wizards, witchers and all manner of frauds coming and going while Foltest is obsessed with breaking the curse instead of killing his daughter, even the very last blind and deaf peasant knows about his shenanigans. It’s only logical, too. The story is relayed to Geralt in no uncertain terms at the very beginning. Now in the show the whole episode is too short to set up a murder mystery that requires Geralt’s incredible detective skills (uhuh) to unravel. What is worse is that you cannot make a big reveal of something that your audience actually has previous knowledge about. So why even bother to have Foltest deny it and have Geralt beat it out of Ostrit? 

Which brings us to point two:

2) We all know which way to Temeria, don’t we?

Even if you have popular source material, you cannot expect everyone to know it. An adaptation has to consider people who are just getting their first introduction to the sandbox. When your lore is as rich as that of the Witcher, you need time and careful effort to set up your world. The show made a total shit job of this one. As in the above example, sometimes the show ignores that we, as an audience, know things. 

Another example is Vilgefortz. We know him, his plans, abilities and allegiances, we have very specific expectations of his character. Besides completely failing these expectations (and doing a very unconvincing early reveal of his true colors), the show goes as far as taking Vilgefortz’s iconic sentence (You mistake stars reflected in a pond for the night sky.) and putting it in Fringilla’s mouth. Like did they actually think we wouldn’t notice? Or not be pissed?

At other times the show expects us to fill in its glaring blanks exactly by knowing our lore and characters. One obvious, overarching example of this is the issue of the separate timelines, that sometimes left even fans a little confused. Also, fun fact: one of my friends (who has no idea about anything in the Witcher’s world) for instance needed some time to realize Pavetta wasn’t, in fact, a grown-up Ciri, and he remains to this day very confused about Blaviken.

Basically, we are on a swing here, which is actually made even worse by another thing: bad pacing.

3) Hold your Roach for a moment

The first season wants to cram too much into its limited time and it has a severe negative impact on worldbuilding and character development. By bringing in all three timelines from the beginning, the show has to juggle time allotted to each. 

To be frank, Ciri’s timeline at this point consists of a lot of running and screaming, which in itself hardly merits all the time we spend with her. It could have been utilized in part to provide us with a view of the war from ‘below’, to show that beyond the high politics and heroic battles there are burned villages, dead peasants, people who lost everything, cripples, deserters, ruined fields, and so on. Instead, we get one refugee camp of neat tents, actual beds, food and complaints about Calanthe (though not of dead husbands, lost homes or winter). Though I guess it should come as no surprise that the shock value of paint being made from a woman’s reproductory organs (that never happened in the books) is more important than actual large scale human suffering.

Now giving Yennefer an extended back story is great. But by that level of extension once again time is being consumed that is taking other opportunities away. Opportunities like giving Geralt himself a bit more background, clarifying points for fresh faces in the audience, giving characters more time for meaningful interaction. Because there is not enough time to let the story breathe and progress naturally, episodes are often rushed, choppy, and shallow. 

4) Reverse worldbuilding, aka welcome to nowhere 

Another serious issue with worldbuilding is what I suspect to be a deliberate departure from the game visuals and aesthetic. One of the things I adore most about the games is that it built heavily on Eastern European history and folk tradition. Nothing compares to the feeling when you ride into a village and you feel right at home because things are inherently familiar, or you go out into the woods and hear the exact bird song you are used to.

Netflix is very careful not to even offer a whiff of this particular identity to its show, but it doesn’t seem to have a clear artistic vision beyond that. Thus while landscapes are nice enough, other settings such as cities, taverns, ballrooms and the like are horribly bland in that “this is how we imagine the middle ages in Hollywood” way and look exactly what they are: sets. While one is not likely to quickly forget the red rooftops of Novigrad or the wild beauty of the Kaer Morhen pass from the games, there is nothing memorable about the locations presented in the series. (Even more bewildering is the depiction of the elite boarding school of Aretuza as a creepy dungeon with elf skulls everywhere. I cannot even begin to address this one unless it is all in caps.) 

Point being that the show lacks an actual visual identity that would distinguish it from any other dime a dozen medieval fantasy.

5) My kingdom for a decent wardrobe

Sadly enough, the bland and flavorless visuals have a terrible effect on something else: clothes and armor. While some costumes are well done, there are way too many examples of the opposite. One very obviously is Nilfgaardian armor, which looks like fossilized trash bags with sad dick helmets. The fact that armor in the show is treated as the equivalent of cardboard is doing no one any favors. Please do your homework next time. Please?

Another inexplicable departure from the books and games is the appearance of the nobility, and most jarringly, sorceresses. That dress Yennefer picks out the first time? It’s literally the drabbest, ugliest thing I’ve ever seen, and the others are not much better. When it comes to period-accurate choices, the range is just so wide: we are talking cambric, velvet, silk, cloth of gold and silver. We are talking luxurious furs, embroidery, colorful feathers, bright dyes, coats of arms and jewelry. Brooches, necklaces, bracelets, rings, hat badges, belt buckles, hairpins, you name it. People wore their wealth. Making them look like sad orphans will not make them look any more medieval.

Peasant clothes also had their decorations, though to a lesser degree than nobles, obviously. But I guess it’s too much to hope that those would get any attention when queens are dressed like they lost a bet.

6) I see your people and I raise you mine

Including people of color in the casting choices caused a lot of heated debate amongst the fans, but at least it means that the show cares about minority representation, right? Right?

The world of the Witcher has its own minorities, and what we have seen of them so far is so incredibly pathetic that I haven’t the words. For one thing, they look so terrible that elves in the Polish series actually look better, and that was so not a high bar to exceed. To make matters worse, they again seem to lack any sort of distinguishing visual identity (except for the Dryads. I’m also willing to make an exception for Chireadan, as he actually looks right and he’s a settled elf.)

Sadly, unlike the games, the series also fails to establish even the beginnings of a compelling narrative for its minorities, which definitely needs to be in place by the time Thanedd happens at the very latest. What is more, we seem to be given something called the Great Cleansing, which is plenty obscure but comes across as a Night of Broken Glass sort of thing (though that could be just me). While still salvageable at this point, this shift in narrative is cause for some concern, and so far doesn’t make much sense.

7) Your villains are not my villains

Unlike the books and games, the Witcher series sadly doesn’t seem to excel at presenting opposing sides without the need to vilify one (which again, makes me worried about what they are going to do to the Scoia’tael later). 

Nilfgaard is now an Empire of Evil (TM) that lives for killing and religious fanaticism, Fringilla is a psychopath, and Cahir... Well, Cahir is a thousand shades of wrong all on his own. Stregobor and Istredd are now assholes of a whole different caliber, and even poor Eyck of Denesle gets to enjoy his five minutes of fame as a madman frothing at the mouth instead of a paragon of knightly virtue.

This is going so well.

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

My favourite Charmed episodes - season 5

This is the fifth part of my Favourite Charmed Episodes meta series all posts in the series will be tagged as #favecharmedeps.

Season 5 is honestly one of my favourite seasons and has two of my all time favourite episodes from across the series. There’s something about the whole vibe of season 5 that I just love. It feels very different from seasons 1-4 and generally I’d expect to dislike that, but it really works for me. I love the more mystical and fairy tale-esque theme running through it which taps into the lighter side of magic. The sisters have fantastic arcs in this season (and I’d argue it’s the last season that they receive truly good characterisation); Piper struggles with adjusting to becoming a mother; Phoebe tries to move on from an unhealthy relationship and creates a new life for herself with her job and Paige’s arc is my absolute favourite. I just love seeing Paige embrace being a witch and work through her identity issues in regards to where she fits in with the sisters and the world at large. I’ll discuss this more, but I honestly just adore Paige in this season and I think her characterisation is beautifully built upon from season 4. I’ve chosen 5 episodes from season 5 - A Witch’s Tail, Happily Ever After, Sympathy for the Demon, Y Tu Mummy Tambien and Centennial Charmed. 

A Witch’s Tail (5x01+2)

Initially I wasn’t going to include this episode because although I like it I don’t love it, but I had to because of what this episode means for the sisters. Generally, I like mermaids, but I’m not particularly invested or taken with Mylie or her story, it’s what it means for Phoebe that’s significant. Overall, this episode perfectly launches the three main character arcs that the sisters have this season, which I’ve outlined above, so let’s explore that in more detail. 

After seeing Phoebe go through literal hell in season 4 in her relationship with Cole, this episode is the perfect follow-up from that. She’s trying to divorce Cole so that she can move on and when he comes back her reaction is completely understandable. All she wants to do is runaway and never come back. Who can blame her? I’m a huge fan of the show using magical transformations as a metaphor for the sisters emotional or mental struggles and in this instance, a mermaid is the perfect creature for Phoebe to become. Mylie explains that their hearts are as cold as the ocean, that they don’t love and that they simply swim in the ocean completely free from all ties and responsibilities. Phoebe truly deserves to have this arc in this episode, it’s only sad that she doesn’t get even more focus. I’d argue that she suffers the biggest trauma of any of the sisters in season 4 and yet after Long Live the Queen and Wombraider, she’s never really given adequate time to deal with those traumas and the writing doesn’t give her space to do it either. The second Wombraider has finished it’s all just swept under the rug and I have a lot of problems with that. What this episode demonstrates to me is that through all of that heartbreak, Piper and Paige don’t know how to be there for Phoebe, in fact, nobody does. Phoebe carries the hurt caused by Cole completely alone because she feels that no one else can understand or that she’ll be judged. This is where I can criticise Piper and her sister relationship with Phoebe, because I feel like Piper doesn’t support Phoebe at all. Paige is more open-minded about Cole (despite being the one that hated him in season 4) and works her ass off to vanquish Cole for Phoebe’s benefit. But back to the point, Phoebe turning into a mermaid and running (or perhaps swimming is the more appropriate term) away at sea is because she doesn’t have that support and understanding that she needs. Notice that the sisters and Leo aren’t enough to bring her back home, it’s Cole that is responsible for her turning back into herself. And I love that final scene between them on the beach because it’s such a peaceful moment between them where they get to acknowledge all the hurt and damage they’ve caused each other, but that they still love each other. Cole describing Phoebe’s desire to wash away the pain with the waves of the sea explains perfectly why Phoebe chose to stay as a mermaid. This scene is overall one of my favourite Phoebe and Cole scenes because of how simple it is but how strongly it conveys the love and loss that’s between them. In some ways it’s sad that this wasn’t the end of their relationship, because I think it would’ve been a very courteous and sweet ending. 

Moving onto Piper, this episode is the beginning of Piper’s journey to becoming a mother. We see her struggle to conceive in season 4 and the heartbreak she feels at finding out she may not be able to conceive naturally, but this season is all about the process of her becoming a mother. I admire what the writers do with Piper in this episode (and season 5 generally), because I assume that a lot of Charmed’s viewers back in the day were young women and girls that perhaps didn’t have children so a large chunk of the audience probably couldn’t relate to what Piper was going through. However, becoming a mother is one of the most significant and life-changing things any woman can go through and it deserves to be explored properly. I know from close friends and family that have children how emotionally and mentally difficult it is. The assumption is that having a child should be a happy time - particularly the pregnancy when you’re celebrating and enjoying getting everything ready for the baby - but it’s actually very overwhelming. Piper’s feelings of fear and panic are particularly fitting when you consider the context of her pregnancy and life. She’s been trying a long time to get pregnant, so immediately she’s putting pressure on herself for everything to be perfect; she’s a first-time mother with no other women close to her that are mothers to seek advice and comfort from and she has very specific fears due to Patty dying when she was very young. I like how the episode starts out portraying Piper’s fear as coming from wanting to protect the baby, but that in the end it actually runs deeper than that and it’s her fear of leaving her baby without a mother. It echoes many of the fears that Prue had of repeating Patty’s history, and now as Piper is becoming a mother it’s natural that she would start to feel that way too. The fact that Piper casts a spell to remove her fear is not unlike Phoebe becoming a mermaid to avoid her emotional issues - they’re both trying to erase and suppress their feelings as a way to deal with them. But Piper removing her fear only endangers her and her baby (I still don’t know how the baby survived after the physical trauma Piper endured in this episode, I’m assuming Wyatt was constantly healing her from the womb) and Patty coming to her towards the end of the episode is the beautiful ending to that. Patty reassures her that Piper isn’t her, she’s her own person and things are and will be different for her child. It ends with Piper realising that whilst Patty only had Penny for support, she has Leo and Paige and Phoebe. She has a fantastic support system and she needs to start leaning on them instead of trying to handle it all on her own. 

As for Paige, she doesn’t have as much of a clear defined arc in this episode, but what is made clear is how much responsibility she’s taken on within the family. In addition to working a full-time job as a social worker (she gets promoted in this episode, yay!) she works her butt off to save Mylie, to get Phoebe back and to help Piper. She has to juggle all of these aspects of her life and all these responsibilities, and the chaos she has to endure perfectly sets up her fantastic arc which spans across the series with Paige quitting her job and devoting herself entirely to witchcraft. 

Happily Ever After (5x03)

God, I love this episode so much. Like I said, I’m a sucker for fairy tales and this entire episode is all about fairy tales, so what’s not to love? I enjoy the magic in this episode, the folklore but like nearly all of my other favourite episodes, it’s a great episode for character development. There’s a continued exploration of the arcs that were established in A Witch’s Tail and each sister’s arc is handled well. 

Piper is still trying to find a way to handle the responsibility of being a mother-to-be and whilst she’s overcome her initial fear of leaving her child motherless, she’s now concerned about what it means to have a magical child. This predicament leads to Piper summoning Grams and I always love to see Piper and Grams interact. Whilst I appreciate seeing the sisters stand on their own two feet and find their own way, these moments are really necessary. Everybody needs guidance and support from our parental/guardian figures and Grams visiting at this time feels very fitting. Piper needs her and Grams has a lot of valuable advice to share. However, Grams being back taps into a vital part of Piper’s personality that rears it’s head whenever Grams is around - her passivity. I’ve mentioned it before, but naturally Piper isn’t a leader, she’s very passive and allows others to take charge. Since Grams is an authoritarian anyway and has a very strong influence over Piper, we see Piper getting overshadowed by Grams. Grams starts dictating what Piper and the sisters should do, and instead of making her own decisions Piper falls into the habit of agreeing with Grams’ decisions because she doesn’t have faith in her own ability to make decisions. This also taps into another insecurity Piper has - her capability as the matriarch as the family. As I discussed when analysing Long Live the Queen, Piper feels that she fails to live up to Prue’s standards as the eldest sister, but she also feels that she fails to live up to Grams’ standards as the matriarch. For Piper, this episode is all about reassuring her that she is a powerful woman and witch that is a capable wife, sister, mother and matriarch. As Grams says at the end of the episode, she was there to remind Piper that she doesn’t need her. It’s such an important experience for Piper to have because up until this point she doubts her ability to assume that role of responsibility. Although it certainly doesn’t completely resolve Piper’s insecurities about this (as you’ll see as I talk about the other episodes), it’s a very nice episode for this evolving arc that she has. 

As for Phoebe, this episode is still about her trying to move on from Cole and the aftermath of their relationship. Throughout the episode she assumes Cole is the one responsible for bringing the fairy tales to life and trying to sabotage them, but of course, it’s not him. It’s easy for Phoebe to demonise Cole because that way she can project everything she’s feeling onto him and place blame, but all she’s doing is avoiding the fundamental issue which is that her experience with Cole has deeply affected her. She no longer has faith in herself, she doesn’t trust her own judgement and as a result she’s closed her off to those around her. The episode ends with Cole taking her to Adam and encouraging her to trust her initial instincts that he was a good guy. He says that she needs to learn to trust herself again before she can trust him. I appreciate the message that Phoebe needs to find a way to move on from Cole and that part of that is realising that not all men are evil and that she needs to trust her judgement of character, but personally, I wouldn’t have written it this way. It feels like there’s so much emphasis on Phoebe opening herself back up to love but it’s way too early for that. It makes more sense as part of an arc whereby Phoebe and Cole find their way back to each other, but that doesn’t happen so I do struggle to see the significance of this. Personally, I do have quite a lot of issues with the way Phoebe’s character is written post season 4 and the Source plot generally. I don’t think that Cole ruined Phoebe, I think that the writers lost sight of Phoebe’s character after season 4 and didn’t know how to write the aftermath of such a dark plot. They pursued the path with Phoebe becoming Queen of the Underworld and being pregnant, but didn’t consider how hard it would be to deal with the traumatic aftermath of that and their choices were pretty poor. I thought this was worth mentioning now, because from this point onwards, whenever I discuss Phoebe (and Cole or Phoebe/Cole) you’ll notice that I’m very critical because I don’t like the way it was handled or how the writers ruined both characters post season 4. 

Moving onto Paige, I really like her arc in this episode. Since quitting her job, she’s dedicating herself to the craft and is working on a protection potion that Grams did. This creates the perfect moment for Paige to meet Grams. The two bond over making the potion, Grams notes that Paige has a natural flair for the craft and it boosts Paige and allows her to see her own potential. Meeting Grams also provides conflict for Paige, who having been adopted and never having met Grams, has difficulty accepting Grams as her grandmother. I personally love that they bring up this issue and that Paige doesn’t immediately bond with Grams. Paige’s adoptive family are not mentioned nearly enough throughout the series, so it’s good to actually hear Paige talk about how important her adoptive grandparents were to her and how she loved them. It’s also good to see Grams accept this and to express her hopes that one day Paige can come to love her as a grandparent too but that she would never expect nor want to replace her grandparents. It’s nice to see that the two bond over their similar traits, in this case their stubbornness and the episode ends with a lovely payoff, with Paige calling Grams ‘Grams’ for the first time and it’s a lovely ending. It further establishes Paige in the Halliwell fold since she has now met Grams and had the opportunity to get to know her. I also like the responsibility Paige takes in this episode. I think the intricacies of Paige’s character tend to fade into the background, but honestly, throughout season 4 and 5 she is always right there working to help or save the sisters. In this episode, she’s with Piper to comfort her about having a magical baby, she follows Phoebe when she transforms into Cinderella to make sure she’s safe and she works to make the vanquishing potion. Paige is always actively there taking care of the family and I think those little details are often overlooked when it comes to Paige. 

Putting aside characterisation, I love this episode because I just think it’s fun. The big bad wolf, Paige in a coffin as Snow White with the dwarfs around her and Phoebe getting stuck in a pumpkin is kind of ridiculous but I still love it. I appreciate the way the lighter themes of fairy-tales are intertwined with genuine character development. 

Sympathy for the Demon (5x07)

This episode is by far one of the best in the entire series. I honestly just think this episode is brilliant. It’s a fantastic Paige-centric episode, a great Cole-centric episode, it provides great insight into all of the sister’s with the manifestation of their greatest fears and it’s generally an interesting plot that’s dark, scary and emotional.  Generally speaking, I see this episode as being a metaphor for mental health. Barbas consistently invades the minds of the characters, twisting their perceptions and fuelling their greatest fears and making them increasingly paranoid and frenzied. It’s comparable to mental illnesses like schizophrenia and other types of psychosis. I think that’s why I find it so dark and emotional.

I know that Cole is like marmite - you either love him or hate him - but this episode reminds me why I love him. The nature of Cole’s character opens him up to so many possibilities and this episode demonstrates that fantastically. Because of the evil powers he has he’s susceptible to corruption from Barbas and is also a target because of the amount of power he has. But in spite of the evil magic he carries, this episode shows that Cole is clearly not evil. His second greatest fear is that he is evil, and that in itself is proof that he’s clearly not evil because someone who is truly evil wouldn’t care about being evil. His greatest fear of all is hurting Phoebe, which is not only proof that he’s still completely in love with her but that he feels remorse and guilt for the hurt he’s caused her in the past and is terrified of doing it again. When Cole becomes aware that someone is playing with his mind he immediately orbs to the manor and asks for help from the only people he knows who have the capacity to be able to help him. He’s afraid he may hurt someone and he asks the sisters and Leo to stop that from happening. When Paige offers him the power stripping potion, he takes it despite knowing he won’t be able to protect himself, because his fear of hurting Phoebe is more powerful. Love him or hate him, in this episode Cole is a victim, just like he was in season 4 with the Source and it’s actually very sad to see how his mental state deteriorates as a result of Barbas’ influence in this episode. The clue is in the title “Sympathy for the Demon”, we’re supposed to feel sorry for Cole in this episode and I definitely do. When Paige strips his powers, Cole is once again free of that burden that’s plagued him for so long - evil magic - but then he’s forced to take his powers back. That final scene where he takes his powers back and shimmers out is pretty heartbreaking. He doesn’t want his powers back, but knows he has to so that Barbas doesn’t have them and you see that disappointment all over his face that he has to take that burden back. You can see how much it hurts him that once again he’s evil in Phoebe’s eyes and you can feel how much he just wants to be good and to not have to deal with having those powers anymore. Once again, I have to say that I have a lot of issues with the way Cole is written this season, particularly after this episode. If you want to know more about my thoughts you can read about them here. For now, all I really need to say is that this is probably the last episode whereby I can actually get on-board with the way Cole is written. After this I think the writers did him a complete injustice and unnecessarily and unfairly destroyed his character. 

Moving on from Cole, this episode is fantastic for Paige’s ongoing character arc. At the beginning we see her trying to perfect the Animal Conjuring spell created by Prue and her frustration at being able to do it. It’s the perfect way of showing Paige’s insecurity about living in Prue’s shadow and generally being on the outside of the Halliwell family. When Cole drops by the manor, Paige’s instincts are that he needs help but Piper and Phoebe dismiss this with Piper literally telling her, “It’s two against one”. This kind of treatment of Paige is common throughout the seasons, with Piper and Phoebe voting against her when making important decisions or dismissing her instincts, and it only further reinforces Paige’s insecurities and feelings of not belonging. Despite giving up her job to commit to being a witch full-time, she doesn’t feel she’s being taken seriously by her sisters and she’s still unable to do spells that Prue was able to. Paige’s inferiority complex with Prue is central to this episode, and a very valid and important aspect of Paige’s character to explore. Barbas articulates all of the emotions and thoughts Paige is experiencing in this episode: “So the fear that you're not good enough, that you're not worthy of the power of three. Oh, go on, prove yourself. Save Cole the same way Phoebe did before. Your sisters will be so proud.” As a result of this, Paige charges off on her own to help Cole which, as we all know, has disastrous consequences. Once again, it’s not the first time we see Paige behave this way. In Size Matters and A Knights Tale, Paige acted in a similar way and wanted to and/or chose to act alone on her instincts without her sisters. In this episode, the consequences of her actions cause the sisters to scald her which only exacerbates Paige’s feelings of inadequacy. When Barbas brings the sisters greatest fears to life, it’s interesting that Paige’s is claustrophobia demonstrated by the walls closing in on her. This feels very metaphorical for Paige’s emotions throughout the episode. She feels that she’s desperately trying to get ahead, to be better and do better, but it’s only causing the pressure to grow. She feels pressure from herself and her sisters closing in on her and it’s overwhelming. Paige overcoming this fear is only the start of her finding a resolution to her struggles in this episode. Next, she has to overcome her inferiority complex with Prue. To do this, she’s put in a position whereby she’s the only one that can defeat Barbas and strip his powers. It’s an interesting scene, because Prue is central to it: 

Phoebe: Paige, orb the potion. Paige: It's in a puddle. Piper: You can do it. Prue did. Barbas: Ay, there's the rub. You're no Prue are you?

In the end, it’s these comparisons to Prue that give Paige the strength and determination to orb the potion and strip Barbas’ powers. It’s the second part of Paige overcoming her fears. By this point, she’s overcome her claustrophobia (a metaphor for the pressure she’s putting on herself to be the perfect witch and sister) and in this scene she proves that she’s capable of defeating Barbas, something that only Prue has been able to do in the past, which Piper makes a point of earlier in the episode. The final step is Paige perfecting the Animal Conjuring spell, which we see Paige finally accomplish at the end of the episode, affirming that she’s every bit as capable as Prue was. Overall, this episode is a beautiful and emotional one for Paige that taps into the core of her character perfectly. The circumstances under which she came to find the family mean that her insecurities are completely understandable. And her feeling inferior to Prue is particularly understandable since Piper and Phoebe idolised Prue and Paige feels that to a certain extent she should fill Prue’s shoes. It’s interesting that Paige feels this way, because Piper as the eldest sister feels the exact same way and we see her struggle with that. It would’ve been nice to see a conversation between the two sisters about these feelings, because I think it’s something that they both could’ve bonded over and related to. 

This episode is undoubtedly fantastic for Cole and Paige in regards to their development, but it provides all of the sisters with good character arcs that build upon the ones we’ve seen from them in the previous season and the start of season 5. Piper’s magnified fears as a result of being pregnant are built upon in this episode. We see that Piper fears tragedy following her wherever she goes and that whenever she experiences a glimpse of happiness, it’ll be destroyed. This builds upon a core fear that exists within the Halliwell family generally of dying young and the high risk of death generally because of the danger that being witches puts them in. Piper’s fear of this is magnified at this point because she’s going to be a mother, and she fears leaving her child motherless but also of not being able to protect her child from harm and unhappiness. It’s sad that we don’t get to actually see Piper overcome this fear, but the point is that she does and in doing so she is able to save her sisters. I feel like this is a subtle call-back to Piper’s fears of not being an adequate big sister and of failing to protect her sisters, because in this instance she not only overcomes her own fears but actually helps Phoebe overcome hers and in turn saves Paige’s life. At the end of the episode we see Piper laughing and express that she’s realised that she’s experienced heartbreak before, but that she always survives so she should enjoy the happy moments whilst she can. 

Phoebe’s arc in this episode is the perfect follow-up from her experience in season 4. Her greatest fears are that her current boyfriend (Miles) is evil and that she is evil too. Once again, this is a fear that has a long history with Phoebe going all the way back to season 1 with Is There a Woogy in the House? whereby Phoebe worried that she was more evil than her sisters and that’s why she was targeted by the Woogyman. This is probably one of the best episodes for properly exploring the aftermath of the Source plot-line in how it affected both Phoebe and Cole. Interestingly, their fears almost mirror one another with both of them fearing that they’re evil. Phoebe’s fears are understandable and seeing her come face to face with them in such a brutal way which results in her nearly beating Paige to death is heartbreaking. I also feel like in a subtle way this happening to Paige was to remind Phoebe (and Piper) how much they love Paige and how lost they’d be without her. It’s clear that they love her, but I think they have a tendency to forget that they need to show that. At this point, Paige is still new to the family and it’s naive to think that Piper and Phoebe would have developed the same bond with Paige as they have with each other and had with Prue. So I like that there’s a moment like this where Piper and Phoebe experience what it feels like to lose Paige, because it affirms how important she is to them. Returning back to Phoebe, this episode is pivotal in getting her to trust herself again, just like Cole said in Happily Ever After. Phoebe’s relationship with Miles is very important to her recovery after her relationship with Cole, and it’s this episode that allows her to let her walls drop and let Miles in without being terrified that he’s evil or that her own judgement is unreliable. 

Overall, I think this episode is brilliant. It builds upon the sisters core character arcs that have their roots in previous seasons and brings resolution to them in a fitting way. It provides a great exploration of Cole’s character and I’d argue this is probably one of the best Cole episodes across the series because it captures the essence of his character. It’s a highly emotive episode that taps into the sisters worst fears and brings them to life in a very harrowing way. It’s memorable because it brings back one of the series most loved Big Bad’s. I honestly just love everything about this episode. It proves that when Charmed is at its best it’s a bloody fantastic show that has everything going for it.

As an addendum to what I’ve already said, I know that originally Brad Kern planned for Paige and Cole to have an affair in this season and I feel like this episode could’ve potentially been the starting point for this. I’m so glad Rose and Julian spoke against it, because I think it would’ve ruined Paige’s character and her relationships with the sisters beyond repair, but you can see the foundations for that potential in this episode. Paige sympathises with Cole in this episode, she helps him and she defends him throughout saying that he’s an innocent and needs protecting and that they shouldn’t return his powers back to him. Likewise, when the sisters are being hard on Paige for stripping Cole’s powers without consulting them first, Cole defends Paige. The fact that Paige shows Cole understanding and compassion alone could’ve been a potential building block for a romance since Cole essentially spends the entire season in isolation and desperately seeks human connection and affection from others, particularly Phoebe. 

Y Tu Mummy Tambien (5x10)

This is one of the episodes in this series that I think is very underrated. The concept of it is a little dumb, Jeric is boring and underwhelming, but I love this episode because it’s so significant for the relationship between the sisters. It also has some cute and funny moments which are always fun to watch. 

Lets start with the lighthearted scenes shall we? We have Piper trying on maternity clothes with Paige, which is one of my favourite casual sister moments. Later on, we have follow up scenes of this with Darryl trying to touch Piper’s stomach and her threatening to blow off his hand (typical Piper!) and Leo telling her that she looks beautiful when he catches her self-consciously looking at herself in the mirror. It was nice that this little bit that is supposed to be funny turns out to express and deeper issue for Piper that she feels that she’s being treated differently because she’s pregnant. It’s a very valid issue that lots of pregnant women experience and I’m so glad they gave Piper the chance to express that just because she’s a pregnant, she’s still the same person and she doesn’t want to be coddled or protected. 

It’s the latter half of this episode that makes it so special to me. The fight between Piper and Cole is one of the most badass moments of the series, but seeing Piper have to choose between saving Phoebe and Paige is heartbreaking. Considering the struggles Piper has had with being the eldest sister and forging a bond with Paige, this awful situation she finds herself in is quite fitting. It allows Piper to grow further into her role as big sister. She’s faced with an impossible situation and by using her smarts and trusting implicitly in her sisters, she manages to save both of them. This is Piper in full big sister mode and it’s so beautiful to see. What’s most important about this process is just seeing that Piper loves Paige every bit as much as she loves Phoebe and then when faced with a choice between them she literally cannot and will not choose. Not only does this solidify Piper’s love for both her sisters, and give some resolution to Paige’s worry that she’s not fully included within the family, but it shows how well the sisters work together. When Piper reads the spell to dispossess Paige, Paige intuitively knows exactly what Piper’s plan is and goes along with it without Piper even having to communicate it. Paige’s line at the end of that scene, “You really can’t mess with sisters” is great because it emphasises how united the sisters were in this and how unbreakable. It’s a great homage to how far Piper and Paige have come since season 4, since Piper found it difficult to accept Paige and bond with her and Paige felt pushed out by her. But here we see Piper loving and cherishing Paige as much as Phoebe and the two of them intuitively communicating and working together to save the day. This right here is really why the episode is one of my favourites, because you can’t beat those key sister moments and this is one of them. 

And the final scene of the episode has a perfect light-hearted ending which perfectly captures the dynamic of the sisters. We get Phoebe and Paige pampering themselves and Piper walking in with maternity clothes on, and we get this sweet moment between the three of them where they’re being goofy and just being sisters. It’s such a touching scene and a very underrated sister moment. 

Centennial Charmed (5x12)

Once again, this episode is one of favourites and definitely makes it into my top 10 favourite episodes of the series. In many ways it feels like a direct follow-up to Sympathy for the Demon, with the focus being on Paige and Cole and their conflict with one another. Whilst in Sympathy for the Demon Paige’s mission is to help Cole, in this episode it’s to vanquish him. It’s kind of sad that Paige and Cole wind back up in this place of resentment, when they were able to find compassion and understanding for each other earlier in the season, but nonetheless, their rivalry makes for a fantastic episode. 

Despite the fact that Cole has a lot of focus in this episode, I’ll mostly be skipping over his characterisation (just as I did in Y Tu Mummy Tambien), because I find it to be too problematic to analyse. I personally feel like the Cole we see in this episode is a black-washed version of him. Cole may be angry and frustrated and tired of Phoebe’s rejection and obsessed with winning her back, but he’s also smart. He’s smart enough to realise that Paige is not the reason their relationship broke down. He and Phoebe were at their happiest at the start of season 4 when Paige came into their life, and although Paige was uncertain of him in the early episodes of the season, she only really went hard for him after he became the Source, which she had every right to. So Cole resorting to creating an alternate timeline without Paige so he can be with Phoebe is illogical and not something Cole would do. 

As for the episode itself, excluding Cole’s characterisation it’s brilliant. Once again we get a Paige-centric episode that explores her position within the family and her desire to be the best witch she can be so as to make her sisters proud. Just as she has in the past, Paige decides to go off on her own without consulting Piper and Phoebe first and tries to vanquish Cole. You’d think by now Paige would’ve learned to confide in her sisters first, but I think this ongoing trait of Paige’s is very reflective of how anyone in her position would behave. She’s used to being independent and acting alone, she’s not used to having to run every decision she makes by other people and having to vote on it. Furthermore, she has a history of feeling ignored and suppressed by her sisters, which deters her even more from confiding in them about her concerns and instincts as a witch. As a result of this, Paige tells Piper and Phoebe that she wants to move out. And then Cole casts his little spell and Paige’s world is turned upside down, quite literally. 

The alternate reality Paige finds herself in is so important in showing the impact Paige’s character had on the show. Even after having been on the show for over a season and a half, there’s still a lot of ambiguity surrounding Paige. She still doesn’t always feel secure in her position in the Halliwell family, she’s lacks confidence in her ability as a witch, she feels overshadowed by Prue and in some way clings to her life before she met her sisters where she was an independent only child. Building upon what Y Tu Mummy Tambien showed us, this episode proves how important Paige is to the sisters and what they could’ve become without her. Without Paige, Piper is a vigilante demon hunter, who is divorced from her husband, estranged from her sister, is twisted up with vengeance grief about Prue’s death and on a relentless mission to kill Shax to get her revenge. Without Paige, Phoebe is unhappy and unfulfilled and trapped in a volatile situation with Cole in the manor which has been overrun by demons. Both Piper and Phoebe are visibly miserable and lack any of the happiness, fulfilment or purpose they have in the real timeline. This episode shows that Piper’s line from Sam, I Am “Paige is the reason I’m still standing here, she brought this family back together”, is 100% true. Paige isn’t just a replacement for Prue, she’s a special, unique and much needed and valued member of the Halliwell family who quite literally keeps the family together in the aftermath of Prue’s death. Everything Paige does for Piper and Phoebe is realised in this episode. Those subtle scenes or moments where Paige supports and encourages her sisters are more significant than anyone could realise. It’s a beautiful tribute to Paige and everything she’s done for the family, and that’s a large part of the reason I love the episode. 

In addition to that, I just love the sister relationships in this episode. Paige gets to bond with Piper all over again, and it’s wonderful to see that even in an alternate dimension, Piper is able to overcome her initial uncertainty to welcome Paige into her heart and trust her. Piper seeing Paige’s skills in witchcraft is a nice call out to all of the hard work Piper has put into teaching Paige and provides common ground for them to bond. Not only did Paige save Piper and Phoebe in the real timeline, she saves them in this timeline. She brings Piper and Phoebe back together, reconstitutes the Power of Three, helps ease Piper’s grief over Prue’s death and sets Phoebe free of her miserable relationship with Cole and reaffirms once again why she is so vital to the well-being of the Halliwell family. 

Just like Y Tu Mummy Tambien, this episode ends with a perfect final scene that is light-hearted and taps into the bond between the sisters. Experiencing life without Piper and Phoebe makes Paige realise how much she loves them and how grateful she is to have found them, which in turn makes her go back on her decision to move out. It’s one of my favourite Paige episodes, because it’s such an effective way of showing Paige how important she is and her family needs her and how much she needs them. It’s all part of the ongoing character arc of Paige trying to find her place within the family and I’m all for it. It might seem repetitive to some, but finding a sense of belonging with the sisters is no easy task. Prue, Piper and Phoebe had a very close relationship that was so intense that even Leo expressed in season 2 that he felt excluded sometimes. For Paige to walk into the family in the immediate aftermath of Prue’s death was very hard on her, because she knew how close that sister relationship was and felt she’d never have the same. Not to mention how difficult it was for Paige to adjust to having sisters after spending her entire life as an only child. From Paige’s perspective it can seem like a positive and happy thing that she found the sisters, which of course it was, but it was also incredibly hard and I love that even this late into season 5, the writers were still giving Paige’s transition onto the show and into the family adequate focus. 

Moving on from Paige’s arc and journey in this episode, the plot itself is generally great. I’m a sucker for time travelling episodes, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned already at some point when writing this series. It’s an intense episode that takes you on a wild ride. And despite how predictable many of Charmed’s episodes are, this one doesn’t feel quite so predicable. The alternate timeline makes it feel that anything’s possible and although we’ve seen Cole get vanquished before, you don’t really see it coming in this episode. Even until the last second when Phoebe is holding the potion, you doubt whether she’ll actually throw it. After all, alternate reality Phoebe may not be psychologically and emotionally in the same place as our Phoebe, and may still be in love with him and believe they can come back from everything. We’ve seen her kill him before, but to me, this doesn’t feel like one of those moments. It feels almost too good to be true, but narratively speaking, it makes perfect sense. Cole creates this hideous alternate timeline to win Phoebe’s heart and ironically it ends with his death. It’s karma; Cole’s punishment for going against the Avatars advice and manipulating reality for his own selfish desires without giving consideration to the consequences. It’s also a conclusive end to his hold over Phoebe, which at this point has been a long time coming. 

Overall, this episode is just brilliant. I can’t express how much I love it. It has a great plot, great character development and a great resolution. Once again, this episode is proof that when Charmed is at its best it’s damn good. 

There you have it, my favourite season 5 episodes. Originally, when selecting the episodes I was surprised I didn’t have more favourites since I consider season 5 to be one of my favourite seasons. But on reflection I realised that it’s really the quality of the episodes in this season that makes me like it so much. As I’ve already said, for me, Sympathy for the Demon and Centennial Charmed are two of the best episodes of the series and that makes a massive difference to how I feel about season 5. I know that many fans dislike the more “cartoonish” and “campy” vibe that season 5 creates, but I personally really like it. It’s a nice change in pace from seasons 1-4 and provides some amusing moments, but the show still manages to keep the serious and emotional undertones of the show. Plus, the characterisation is strong this season, particularly Paige’s. This is by far my favourite Paige season, I think she’s brilliant. Her sisterhood with Piper is also fantastically written and it’s lovely to see that develop after how much they struggled in season 4. I have an issue with Phoebe’s characterisation and the way her relationship with Cole played out, but regardless of that, we still got some amazing episodes out of it. The second half of this season lets it down a little for me. Whilst I like a lot of the episodes from the first half, after The Day the Magic Died my enjoyment for the show just seems to plummet. And ever since I was a little girl, whenever I’ve re-watched the show I notice the same pattern that I drop off around this point in the series and lose my motivation to keep watching. Nonetheless, this season will always be one of my favourites, because of the fantastic episodes it has and also because the first ever episode I saw of the show was from season 5 (I don’t remember which one because I was so young, but I just know that Paige had short red hair). 

Thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed reading my thoughts and as always feel free to share yours with me. The next post in this series will be season 6. A little heads up, the posts from now on are likely to be significantly shorter since I’m not a huge fan of seasons 6-8 and have a lot less favourite episodes from those seasons (in fact, I’ll probably have to scrape the barrel just to choose episodes I genuinely consider my favourites). 

[nadziejastar]

Do you think Subject X was created purely for the sake of the sea salt trio + Isa to have a role in future games?

Sadly, no, I don’t. Quite the opposite, actually. I think the concept of Subject X was thought up many years before this girl even existed. Ever since KH2FM+, Isa was meant to be Subject X. I mean, Saïx is the one with orange eyes and a large “X” on his face. I think the canon Subject X was created because Lea—and especially Isa—will never be able to live up to their true potential as characters. They are both irrelevant at this point. Lea and Isa were given almost no backstory in the Xehanort Saga because BBSV2 was cancelled, so they are awkward half-baked characters with little hope for improvement. They’re in the same boat as Xehanort.

Nomura said he wanted to explore Xehanort’s youth in a future game, but he was told the Dark Seeker Saga needed to be over with KH3, so he wasn’t allowed to. Xehanort is a joke now and he’ll never be able to be salvaged. I think the same is true for Lea and Isa. Nomura had all these concepts like mind control and human experimentation planned for them, but he couldn’t follow through, since they were connected to the Dark Seeker Saga. So, what he did was slightly tweak these concepts a bit so that they would relate to the Foreteller stuff instead. He gave Isa’s backstory to a new girl who was totally separate from the Xehanort Saga. That way he could have some kind of story to tell going forward.

IMO, Mystery Girl’s existence has nothing to do with providing other characters relevance. She wasn’t created for the benefit of the existing characters at all. She was created to be the new main character and to take their place. They exist for HER benefit now—to give HER a way into the existing story, not the other way around. Roxas and Xion don’t have a connection to her that I’m aware of. But Lea and Isa’s role going forward will simply be to shift the focus onto her. That’s the only reason they were given a backstory at all. 

They will have a marginal role going forward. They are effectively plot devices now. Then they’ll fade into obscurity once the new Union X main characters take their place. That’s apparently the plan. That’s why Nomura said he wanted a “blank page” when asked about the rest of the old organization and Isa’s scar. He’s effectively pushing the reset button on the story. That’s how badly the Dark Seeker Saga conclusion tainted everything.

The truth is, Nomura is not capable of juggling such an enormous amount of main characters. He never wanted to have such a bloated cast. KH3 showed that very well. Kairi might as well have stayed on Destiny Islands for all the good that she did. Roxas and Xion barely had any dialogue, and none if it had any substance. Their problems were instantly resolved. They didn’t even need to talk things out with Axel (or Saïx, for that matter!) Just…BAM! Everyone’s eating ice cream on the clock tower singing Kumbaya. Hayner’s group never even got their memories of Roxas back, at least on-screen. That’s how little Nomura cared about any of them by the end. They exist to sell DLC packs, that’s all. I am not expecting much in the future from any of them, since Nomura will have so many other things to deal with. Like the Foreteller stuff and…Verum Rex…

If you think about it, where is there to even go with them? All Roxas wanted was to live a normal life in Twilight Town, so he’s set. Xion had no real goal other than to find out her identity. Neither of them were friends with any of the other characters besides Axel. They’ve never exchanged dialogue with anyone else. Lea was never allowed to have his character evolve past being “the guy obsessed with Roxas,” even after he got a Keyblade. Despite being a Guardian of Light, he barely interacted with Sora. Even his relationship with Ventus was treated like a joke. 

He didn’t seem like he truly belonged in the group. He joined late and didn’t have strong connections to any of the other Guardians of Light. He didn’t know what was going on or who anyone was. Nobody knew who he was, either, or why he became an organization member. It didn’t seem like he grew close to anyone. The only new person he bonded with in KH3 was Kairi, but he forgot all about her by the end. He was relegated to the Twilight Town “clique” at the end because he had no backstory to connect him to his real home.

Isa was never allowed to evolve past being…Saïx. Now he’s just “Saïx but now obsessed with a random girl he barely knows anything about”. He definitely has no place in the series. His so-called redemption happened off-screen and he has no friends or bonds with anyone except Lea. And Lea doesn’t even seem to like him and barely tolerates him. All he existed for in KH3 was to provide Roxas a body and to mention Subject X for sequel-baiting.

Lea and Isa’s friendship had no real narrative importance. Lea had nobody to bring back anymore, so he got sidelined during his fight in favor of Roxas and Xion, who offered nothing to the story themselves. Then when they came back, Kairi wasn’t needed. If Skuld becomes the new star—which she no doubt will—I expect that Lea and Isa will share the same fate as the Final Fantasy characters. Cameos. Side characters, at best. Unfortunately, that is a very poor prognosis for all of these former Nobodies. FF characters have no role anymore because there are so many characters.

KH3 already had way too many unnecessary characters, so I have no reason to expect the sea-salt trio or Lea and Isa will have much significance going forward, considering poorly how they were handled in KH3. Nomura wasn’t interested in having that many characters, now there’s even MORE with all of the Union X ones. I don’t expect much effort will be put into all of them going forward. There are going to be casualties. There was no room for all of these characters in the first place. Most of them are a lost cause now that the Dark Seeker Saga is over and will be left collecting dust.

Roxas and Xion were never supposed to come back, anyways. Lea and Isa had the potential to be an important part of the main cast, but that isn’t gonna happen now. I’m sure Nomura didn’t intend it to be that way, but without receiving a real backstory or bonding with the rest of the main characters, they have nothing to do or contribute. Skuld certainly wasn’t needed if Lea and Isa developed a deeper bond with SRK or TAV.

If Isa was properly rescued, he could have become a Keyblade wielder and then he and Lea could have been relevant for their own merits, not just because of a random girl they barely knew and haven’t spoken to in 10 years. Isa’s certainly in no position to have a Keyblade now, since he’s barely even a good guy and nobody really likes Saïx. If a popular character like Lea couldn’t even get proper treatment in KH3, there’s no hope for a character like Isa, who was never even given a chance.

Of course, new characters would always need to be created in a long-running series, but they had enough main characters to continue the story. But now they’re adding an entire new cast of Union X characters on top of the existing ones? These aren’t supporting characters, either. These are brand new protagonists being introduced. That wasn’t done so Roxas and Xion or Lea and Isa could remain relevant. Isa wasn’t even popular enough to be rescued. Nomura doesn’t care about keeping him or Lea relevant. It was done to move on from them. Nomura has given up on them. He doesn’t even seem to like them anymore, if you ask me. 

I 100% believe that a lot of Axel’s dialogue in KH3 was meant to be a self-aware roasting of the awful story and characterization. That is how it read to me. Like Axel’s “especially Roxas!” line. It felt like it was put in to parody Axel’s embarrassing, one-sided obsession with Roxas. And I definitely think Nomura is ashamed over what Isa was reduced to. I don’t think he’s going to be very motivated to include either of them in the story very much going forward.

It’s no wonder he’s using Lea and Isa to introduce Skuld. They have no connections to anyone else. Roxas and Xion aren’t going to want to hang out with two grown men all day when they’ve got kids their own age to play with. And their relationship with each other is not even very solid. Saïx did spend all of KH2 trying to kill Axel, after all. They never did work out their issues in a healthy way, so they needed to focus on something else simply to make things less awkward. So what’s left for them? What else is there for them to do?

If you ask me, nothing really, other than to be used as plot devices to introduce one of the NEW main characters. Once they find her, what’s left for them? They don’t even have a REAL relationship with her, so I doubt they’re going to become a meaningful trio or anything. They’re also anomalies in the series due to being adults. Skuld was a teenager in Union X. All the other characters that have returned are the same age they were in Union X. I highly doubt Skuld will be any different. They’re not going to make her a grown woman. JRPGs have a bias against adults. So, Lea and Isa will probably be a decade older than her, too, which will just make them seem even more out of place. My expectation is that Roxas and Xion’s story is basically over and there’s nowhere to go but downhill for Lea and Isa.

[southboundhq]

MEET LILITH,

FULL NAME › Jacqueline “Lilith Adkins” Miller AGE › twenty seven GENDER › Cis woman (She/Her/Hers) FROM › New York City, New York LODGING › Silk Bonnet Hotel PRIOR EMPLOYMENT › Actress NOW PLAYING › Come Wander With Me by Bonnie Beecher

BIOGRAPHY,

trigger warnings: parental abandonment, emotional abuse/exploitation, substance abuse, brief mention of non-fatal overdose

“The only thing you’ve ever been good for,” Jacqueline’s mother used to say, “is zipping up my dress.” And, to Jacqueline, that seemed ever so true. A constant scapegoat for all of the worst parts of her mother’s life, it was gospel: “You’re the reason your father left.” “You’re the reason I can’t fit in my good dress anymore.” “You’re the reason we’re barely scraping by.” “You’re the reason for x, for y, and for z.” As the only constant in Jacqueline’s life, her mother certainly spoke nothing but the truth! Yes, yes – all Jacqueline would ever be good for were her genetics. Yes, yes – one day, she would be paying her bills using the money she received from pornography. Yes, yes – it was true! It had to be true!

Or, perhaps, there was another possibility for Jacqueline – a possibility her mother had not considered until the casting of an elementary/middle-school play. As with all elementary/middle-school plays of the day, it was no cut – it was, therefore, something to be brushed off when Jacqueline received the lead role… up until her mother witnessed the standing ovation she received, witnessed the secret talent she upheld. Ever the secret idealist, her mother took it as a sign.

She sent for various agencies, various managers, various anybodies-who-could-get-the-child-famous. It was originally a recording, originally a voice her mother exploited, but when the child’s new ego was born… oh, she could capitalize off of anything.

When an agency finally agreed to take her, there was one deal that needed to be struck: she was no longer ‘Jacqueline Miller.’ Nobody ever knew who Jacqueline Miller was. Nobody associated the name ‘Jacqueline’ with anything deeper than itself. Nobody thought ‘Jacqueline’ was the name of a big star. Nobody thought anything of ‘Jacqueline.’ Sure, there were Jackies to be associated with, but there was a different, much more unique name in mind: Lilith Adkins. It was for the shock value, you see – the shock value of a twelve-year-old becoming one of the most sinful characters of them all. As for the last name? Why, there simply had to be disconnect between herself and herself!  

From there on out, it was a whirl-wind. Jacqueline – forgive me, Lilith – had not signed up for the life she was now being put through. She had not signed up for the surrounding of old men in suits at all hours of the day (some much stranger than others); she hadn’t longed to take amphetamines in the morning and barbiturates at night; she had never wanted to sit in a chair for four hours while strangers touched her face, then spend the next ten filming something that would be worth nothing… to her. To her mother, to the studio, to the agency – oh, it would be worth millions, quite possibly! – but, to her… nothing.

- She was always smiling, though. She was always getting good press throughout the discomfort of it all! -

However, with age brought tolerance, and tolerance brought taste. Sixteen and she had developed a taste for this lifestyle – a taste for some of these old men, for all of these strangers, for filming all day and all night. Perhaps it was because there were times she was not filming at all – she had hit New York City, she had hit Broadway. Cast alongside veterans, she received the blessing of playing a secondary role. While the pressure was still there, still looming, she was no longer the top-billed actress. It was a different lifestyle, that she was sure of, but nothing would ever become more different, yet stay so very similar, than it did when she earned the ability to drop her mother from any and all projects two years later.

It was now Arthur Sher, her agent, who was largely in charge of what she did and didn’t do. The flipside of it all was that she actually had input. She had a name now, a name all her own, a name not attached to her mother’s, a name not unknown, and that name would only be seen when and where she wanted it to be seen. She and Arthur ventured back to Los Angeles and time began slipping away. Why it slipped away, she could not say. He fed her so many scripts, so many she wanted her name on, that it became harder and harder to keep track of what day it was, where she was meant to be, what the time was, who she was supposed to be at that moment in time. Why, she got married and hardly remembered it.

For as stressed as she had become, juggling so many projects (albeit, by her own volition), the papers only ever said kind things about her. She was an actress, after all – she had acted in plenty of scenes that required feigned happiness. She was praised in the papers for doing so much and keeping it all together. She was praised for her marriage – apparently it had been expected for a long time, although she had never even thought of this man – this ‘George’ – as a boyfriend. She was praised for her patience with the paparazzi. She was praised for her generosity when she was seen giving a man on the side of the street a bottle of (half-drunk, mind you) water. Oh, she was praised!

So it can easily be said that it had started out perfectly innocent. She would take one pill, as needed, as per her psychiatrist’s instructions. But she began ‘needing’ them more and more, you see. Oh, but just taking a handful of pills was far too simple, wasn’t it? Of course, they always paired best with alcohol. Oh, and the nights her mother rang? Well, she just needed extra then! Oh, and the days she’d have to spend filming something for over ten hours? One, two, three, four, more! To say it had truly shocked Arthur that she had still managed to make it on set every day – on time and fully able to cooperate – was an understatement.

Of course, it was a shock for a reason! At home, things had not been quite as nice. She and George, this man she would now claim she loved (although she was not sure what that was at this point), had gotten into more than their fair share of wars with one another. She would accuse him of infidelity, he would point out the liquor and pills, she would say the latter was prescribed, he would say that maybe someone else was just what the doctor would prescribe for him. It all seemed very over-the-top and dramatic, all very hyperbolic and unrealistic, to Lilith… up until she came home late one night, hoping to make some form of amends, just to find George and another woman on their couch.

He was forced out that night. The couch was cleansed using alcohol and a lighter. She took some extra pills that night, then some more the next morning – I mean, why not? Then she began messing up the shoots. Then she took some more. Then she blamed the best boy, of all people, on why she was doing so horribly (he was distracting her!, so she’d claim). Then she would be let go from her projects, replaced with someone younger as a cycle began to repeat itself. Then the press would turn against her. Then she would overdose. Then she would be forced into rehab by Arthur. Then she would fight it. Then she would get sober. Then she would return to New York City.

There was a show on – a musical – that they figured she was best for. It was all but tailored for her – the songs in her range, the designs perfect for her. ‘Oh, Honey!’ was her grand reintroduction before she had even said yes… but publicity that required forgiveness and sympathy – there was nothing better. Now that opening night… it was impressive! It was almost as though Lilith wanted everyone to hate her, to leave her. Months of perfect rehearsal, months of friendly mingling with her co-stars and understudy, months of learning tragedies she’d missed and still powering through, months of avoiding pills and alcohol, months of perfect preparation and perfect sobriety… all to collapse the night the curtain was meant to go up.

You see, some weeks before, she had found a new psychiatrist, had gotten a ‘different’ medication! …but had made the ever-so-wise decision to abuse it that night. It was to calm her nerves!, she would lie – lie to herself. The second they knocked on the door to her dressing room, telling her the curtain was about to go up – the second she opened it to reveal she hadn’t changed outfits since she’d gotten there – that was the second they gave up on her. George had left her. Arthur left her. Her co-stars left her. She had left her mother. Every bridge she had built, she burned. All she had left was the world, and even they began praising her understudy, beginning to forget it was her name in big letters above the title.

She gave up that night. She gave up the first night. She didn’t have anyone or anything left. She had no reason to be there. She had no reason to be anywhere. So she drove. She took pills and drank liquor and drove, just like the clown she’d always been under that false identity of hers. She drove, high out of her mind, and did not die – was not pulled over… some sort of miracle, yes? She drove, high out of her mind, until she simply couldn’t anymore. She drove, high out of her mind, until she reached some small western town called Boot Hill. She had nowhere else to be. Maybe there, nobody would know her. Maybe there, she wouldn’t have to see what papers said about her (oh, she hoped they were asking ‘Where Is Lilith Adkins?’ as opposed to praising the musical tailored to her that she was not in).

Three months. She has not cared to leave. She has not cared to try. She has not cared to reach out to the outside world. Only when she got fame-sick would she try to see if she could leave and find out just how trapped she was. She had not yet gotten fame-sick. She had to know they were looking for her to become fame-sick.

And they were looking for her. They had to be. They loved her, did they not?

❝ everyone has an identity. one of their own, and one for show. ❞

CENSUS,

FACECLAIM › Elizabeth Gillies AUTHOR › Lucky

[ruler-of-scientists]

Project SHELL

Deire was getting increasingly tired.

Not only was the backlog of work something she had to work through on top of all the daily work she already had, her attempts to extract more info on the blueprints she had discovered were turning up little progress. It was difficult juggling her daily tasks alongside her personal investigation- she could usually handle her personal tasks and investigations at the same time, but Veryn’s tasks as Homeworld Leader were on a whole different level of activity. It was no wonder she saw so little of Veryn outside of meetings, arranged or otherwise, and during worktime.

The fact that she was the one selected to succeed him in his area of work had never been daunting, but she was only now beginning to have a true appreciation of the job’s difficulty. The responsibility of an entire planet- no, an entire race- was on her shoulders and though she would not crack under pressure, she was beginning to face herself with the possibility of dropping the investigation and just continuing to do her job in her mentor’s absence.

But she refused to see this as an option. Veryn had hidden some projects from her before, but he had always revealed them to her shortly after they had proven viable. This was different. These blueprints were dated to at least a century ago, indicating the project had been ongoing for just over a hundred years- and all without her knowledge. It bothered her. It didn’t anger or displease her, but it bothered her that Veryn, her mentor and role model, the one she looked to for guidance and tutelage who trusted her with a lot more than he usually trusted anyone else....

It bothered her that he of all people was keeping a secret this great. She had stumbled upon it by mere accident during that conversation with Silver, it was unlikely Veryn had intended to keep the blueprints themselves hidden, but she knew as well as Veryn himself did that the blueprints were just the tip of the iceberg....

There had to be project notes. Lab reports, Experiment testing results. Images, videos, something, anything beyond blueprints which developed from each other, but that was all she could find. They were hidden, well hidden, and it was because Veryn not only didn’t want her to know. He didn’t want anyone to know. And that was why she knew it was important. Veryn was known for his secrets, but this was excessive even for him. A mechanical life-form designed to use PSI without risk or constraint was possible but still difficult without organic components to generate the natural willpower needed to utilise Psionics in the first place, and even a mechanical frame, no matter how resilient compared to an organic one, had its limits with the amount of PSI that it could channel.

This is why they’d never went beyond the ‘Final’ class in Starmen, because that class was the very furthest the Starman design could be pushed in terms of physical resilience and mental ability to channel- if they dared push further, there was no Starman frame with current technology levels that could withstand that level of power without rupturing, not to mention the disastrous damage that would be done to the organic mind utilising such power...

All these thoughts going through her head, and eventually she found herself laying her forhead in a palm with her eyes closed, beginning to drift off. She blinked a few times, then shook herself off and sat up in Veryn’s chair, casting a brief glance to the cityscape outside. A large ship could be seen hovering over the surface, transporting various materials transported from other colonies down to the metal planet while also admitting other supplies to take to those colonies. She had sanctioned an order for those materials some time ago, only to have to redo the order when Auri had pointed out to her that she had made a mistake in the document authorising the transportation of certain materials that were meant to be distributed to another facility instead of the Homeworld itself.

She had made the correction in time but such an error, while hardly disastrous, was unacceptable to a perfectionist like herself. Mistakes...she couldn’t afford to make mistakes but she recognised that she was reaching a level of overwork that made her far more susceptible to making the very mistakes she so despised.

Auri, stood to the side and observing her, chose this moment to speak up. “Ma’am...you are thoroughly exhausted. I must insist that you rest.” “I cannot,” Deire sighed in no small amount of tiredness, attempting to rub her eyes of the desire to close over; “I will use the Instant Revitalizer in short order, then continue.” “The Instant Revitalizer can only compensate for so much so many times,” Auri countered with a disapproving whirr, moving closer a step as if to make a stronger point. “You need real rest. Your working capabilities are declining and you -beep- are in no shape to continue operating your duties as de-facto leader of this society while Veryn is absent. It is against my -vrr- directives to attempt to enforce your need to sleep like when you were a child, but I would be enforcing this need right now if I were unbound.”

“Do not suggest such treasonous behaviour,” Deire hissed now, in audible irritation, irritation that she immediately took back, both because she knew it was unproper of an Arkan to display such emotion no matter the circumstances and because Auri only had her best interests at heart.

Try as she might, she could never seperate from the little girl inside her who had seen Auri as her guardian in the past during times of great turmoil for her. She would never acknowledge it openly, but it did influence her current act of sighing again, then sitting more upright in her chair and looking to her bodyguard. “My apologies. I merely...cannot understand why or where Veryn would hide all traces of this project, especially from me. I must understand.” “Perhaps it is not your place to,” Auri suggested, earning a squint from his ward. He continued, somewhat hastily but without any trace of uneasiness, “I mean -whirr- to say that perhaps this matter is something Veryn wants to keep secret from you specifically.” “...I cannot believe that,” Deire stated, and it was not one of faltering disbelief- it was a flat out denial of the notion that Veryn would ever want to keep something secret from her on purpose. And if it was the case, it only made her want to discover what the secret was even more. She frowned, then turned back to the console before her. She rubbed her temple, then shook her head. “...perhaps you are right on the front of me needing rest, however...I must not drive myself into a pointless rut achieving nothing when I have actual things to do with my abilities hindered by this exhaustion.” She almost yawned, but closed her eyes and let air out through her nose instead before nodding. “...very well. I will rest, then...Auri, take me to my ship.” “-click- Excellent, ma’am,” the Starman Deluxe replied readily, phasing over to Deire in preparation. “By the way, ma’am...you have a request from a collegue of yours in the Dome to meet tommorow. Will I organise it into your schedule?” Deire paused as she stood, her tail twitching at the tip a little; she looked at Auri, then back at the monitor...before looking back at him again, and nodding. “Yes. Very well. Allot whatever time is needed.” Another pause, then she gingerly reached out and took the Starman’s pointed hand. “Thank you.” “I will rearrange your schedule around it...and you are welcome,” Auri acknowledged, before flashing out of existence with her, the two reappearing in Deire’s personal ship far above in the planet’s skies. Meanwhile on the screen inside the office, before it automatically shut down, was a blueprint of a mechanical life-form that vaguely resembled Cercil, like before.

Except this time it was headed with the title: “Project: SHELL.”

[themovieblogonline]

Knox Goes Away Review: Michael Keaton's Directorial Debut Is Tame

Anybody that knows me knows that I have been a massive fan of Michael Keaton ever since I was sixteen years old. Despite being a lifelong Batman fan, it wasn't until that age that I took the character very seriously and it became a big part of who I was. The 1989 Batman film is by no means the best, but it probably means the most to me, and a large portion of why is because of Keaton's undeniable charm and enthusiasm. It's a career-defining role. He's also done quite a handful of films since then, of course, and I've made an effort to see every one of them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ8SeYVnc9A That's why I was so excited to hear that Keaton had directed a movie of his own called Knox Goes Away. I didn't even need to know what it was about and who was in it - I just wanted to see it. Period. But, unfortunately, although there are certainly some strong elements on display here, I found myself mostly let down by Knox Goes Away. There are moments of true greatness that made me realize just how much potential Keaton has as a director, but there were other moments where the film came across as very boring. The film aims to weave a complex narrative blending crime thriller elements with the tragic unraveling of a mind under siege by Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Despite its ambitions and a star-studded cast including James Marsden, Suzy Nakamura, Joanna Kulig, and Al Pacino, the film ultimately delivers a disjointed narrative experience that dilutes its more compelling themes. Keaton's portrayal of Knox is arguably the film's strongest asset. He demonstrates an adeptness at conveying the nuances of a man divided by his life's decisions, and the relentless advance of a disease eroding his sense of self. The scenes capturing Knox's struggles with his mental deterioration are crafted with care. It provides glimpses into the vulnerability of a man who has spent his life in the shadows. The dynamic between Knox and Annie, portrayed with a delicate balance of hope and melancholy by Joanna Kulig, stands out as one of the film's more poignant threads, offering a rare glimpse into the softer side of Knox's world. However, the ambitious scope of the plot seems to be the film's Achilles' heel. The narrative attempts to juggle too many subplots. This includes the complex relationship with Knox's estranged family and the investigative thread led by Detective Emily Ikari (Suzy Nakamura). The film's pacing suffers as a result, with crucial character developments and narrative twists feeling rushed or, at times, superficial. The detective storyline lacks depth, with Nakamura's character feeling underdeveloped and sidelined. The script, penned by Gregory Poirier, occasionally shines with sharp dialogue and intricate character interactions. However, it fails to maintain a consistent narrative rhythm. Plot developments feel contrived, especially in the third act. The film's climax, meant to shock, comes across as predictable. The resolution leaves a number of thematic and narrative threads unresolved. The film's portrayal of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is convenient rather than accurate. The progression of the disease in Knox feels inconsistent. It serves more as a plot device than a grounded portrayal of the illness. This not only undermines the gravity of Knox's predicament but also diminishes the emotional impact of his deteriorating condition. The supporting cast delivers commendable performances. James Marsden's portrayal of Miles Knox adds a necessary depth to the strained father-son relationship. Al Pacino, as the crime lord Xavier Crane, brings gravitas to every scene he's in. Although, his character's motivations remain somewhat murky throughout the film. The ensemble cast, including Marcia Gay Harden as Knox's ex-wife, is underutilized. This hints at lost opportunities to explore the richer backstories and dynamics that could have enriched the film. Knox Goes Away does succeed in moments that capture the introspective and existential challenges faced by its protagonist. However, these moments scatter within a narrative framework that struggles to cohere into a compelling whole. The film's attempt to blend crime thriller elements with a personal story falls short. The visual direction and cinematography provide some redemption, with scenes masterfully capturing the mood and tone of Knox's turbulent world. The score, while effective in heightening the tension, occasionally feels overbearing, detracting from the subtler, more emotionally resonant moments. Overall: Knox Goes Away is a film that, despite its potential, struggles under the weight of its ambitious narrative. It offers a thought-provoking glimpse into the human condition and the complexities of redemption. But it ultimately fails to deliver a coherent and emotionally satisfying experience. For fans of the genre and the cast, it might be worth a watch. However, one wonders what might have been if the film had had a sharper focus and execution. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gK6-Xq9910Y Read the full article

[pass-the-bechdel]

Continuum season one full review

How many episodes pass the Bechdel test?

80% (eight of ten)

What is the average percentage per episode of female characters with names and lines?

30.6%  

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 40% female?

One, episode 1.05, “A Test of Time” (41.18%)

How many episodes have a cast that is less than 20% female?

Zero.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twenty-two. Seven who appear in more than one episode, five who appear in at least half the episodes, and one who appears in every episode.

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Forty-four. Fifteen who appear in more than one episode, eleven who appear in at least half the episodes, and three who appear in every episode.

Positive Content Status:

Perfectly average, with nothing terrible, but nothing of note, either.  (average rating of 3.0)

General Season Quality:

Solid. It attempts to merge police procedural element with a more serialized narrative, and generally succeeds at both.  It is also clearly a series that realizes the potential of its premise and is interested in exploring it in depth.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) under the cut:

Let’s talk about heroes.

Heroism, in stories set in versions of Earth that are meant to resemble ours—see: the MCU, Supergirl, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, earthbound Doctor Who stories not set in the future—tends to be associated with maintaining the status quo. As disruptive as heroes often are by nature and necessity, they generally don’t work to change things for the better in a general way, but rather, to ensure things don’t get worse. Society, by implication, becomes “good enough”—something worth keeping around as is. This tendency is occasionally questioned—not surprising, given all the ways the status quo isn’t actually good for many people—but the story’s internal rules mean that the conclusion is often a half-hearted “eh, what other option is there?” with the occasional “but that way lies tyranny!” While this stance isn’t entirely without reason, it’s also often frustrating. Inaction and tyranny aren’t the only choices, so why pretend that they are?  

This right here is one of the main reasons why I really appreciate Continuum, and why I would probably do so even if the show weren’t as consistently solid as it is.  It is a show entirely built around the idea that the status quo is untenable, and that trying to keep things as they are can only bring about the destruction of the human race at the hands of the 1%.  While it’s far from the only series with a social conscience, it is one of the very few to declare that what is needed is massive, widespread and disruptive social change. That it does so while also being a police procedural, a genre that tends to be almost inextricably tied to conservative politics and an affinity for the status quo, is all the more impressive.  

I’m fascinated by stories about people vs. the future—it’s the absolute impossibility of the struggle that gets me. I mean, how do you fight change? Sarah Connors’ battle wasn’t just about deadly people-killing robots; it was a fight against progress, a refusal to acknowledge that humans will continue to advance technologically no matter what you do, and  “winning,” in those terms, meant undoing the previous fifty years of existence. Team Machine’s battle against Samaritan hit the same points: in the end, if didn’t matter whether one particular artificial super-intelligence was atomized, because another would take its place—maybe not soon but eventually.  

While Liber8’s struggle has some similarities to these fights, it is, in the end, fundamentally different. The Corporate Congress and the mass demotion of actual people to second-class citizens isn’t inevitable the way the advent of artificial super-intelligences is. There’s no reason why humanity can’t continue progressing technologically AND choose not to bring back indentured servitude. If the terrible future happens, it’s not because the arc of humanity inevitably bends towards corporate dystopia, but because the people in positions to change things…didn’t. Also, while artificial super-intelligences are still years away, Continuum’s apocalyptic future isn’t really the future at all.  Corporations aren’t going to wait fifty years before they choose to actively reduce people’s freedoms in order to obtain ever greater profits; it’s what they’re doing at this very moment.  Liber8’s battle is much more urgent and immediate, and that ups the difficulty level of the storytelling immeasurably—it would have been very easy for the series to fuck it all up.  

Fortunately, Continuum, for the most part, hasn’t.  It’s not perfect—its theory of oppression largely ignores the role of marginalized identities, and how these shape the way oppression is performed and perceived (and no, making most of Liber8’s members people of color isn’t enough to address this)—but the series’ heart and storytelling instincts appear to be where they need to be. They actually care about the issues at play, and that’s mostly evidenced in the fact that it treats Liber8’s fight as legitimate.  It could have been the easiest thing in the world for Continuum to be the story of cop vs. terrorists FROM THE FUTURE!, and for Liber8’s motives to be nothing more than the motivation to get the story going, or a cover for more traditional nefariousness. Instead, it is the whole point. Continuum is a series about getting from point A to point B, and about just how complicated things can get.

Speaking of complicated: Kiera Cameron.

While Kiera is very much a genre show protagonist—Continuum is very much a genre show—she actually reminds me more of a character from an entirely different sort of story—The Good Wife’s Alicia Florrick.   This is a good thing, since Alicia is one of the best protagonists on television and I love her for many of the reasons I love Kiera. I love that she’s an introvert who doesn’t make friends easily. I like that she likes systems, and feels most comfortable inside them. I like that she is fundamentally selfish. I like that neither she nor the series is exactly concerned about her being approachable or cool. Perhaps most importantly, I like that while the series is never short of sympathy for her, it is also very clear that her goal is completely incompatible with the good future.  

Unfortunately, none of the show’s other female characters manage to equal Kiera, or even come close. While there’s no glaring missteps I can identify in the show’s female representation—aside from the usual ones—there’s no real revelations, either: Sonya, Garza, and Betty, are, for the moment, just alright. Somewhat ironically, the one-shot female characters do better than the more promising ones, in part because they’re more numerous and varied, and in part because the series can’t afford to punt their development to a future date. While this feels like the result of circumstance rather than intention—with so much to cover and so little time to do so, something had to give—that’s really just an excuse. There’s no reason why the characters who got prioritized this season had to mostly be men.  

If there is something noteworthy in the way Continuum approaches gender, it is in Kiera’s relationship with Carlos, which is my favorite dynamic in the show. While I tend to look askance at calls for more purely platonic relationships between sexually compatible characters—I’m not often confident they’re made in good faith—I do like the idea in theory, and this relationship is an excellent proof of concept. Kiera and Carlos could get together. There’s tons of evidence that they’re compatible, and he’s a better person than Kellogg or—ugh!—Alec.  Heck, there’s absolutely no evidence here that they aren’t going to get together in the future. But it’s not happening now, and neither the characters or the show think there’s anything wrong with that or that it makes their relationship somehow lesser.  It isn’t that romance isn’t important or it’s incompatible with depth or great storytelling and character development; the elements of the relationship that I like— push and pull, between people who disagree on a lot but respect each other and are more than willing to meet each other halfway—could easily still be there if they were together. It’s just that sometimes, it doesn’t need to be there.

(I’m team Kiera / no one, myself.)

Kiera’s relationship with Alec, meanwhile, is not nearly as compelling, in large part because Alec is the element of the show that least works.  I understand his place in the narrative, and I can totally see how a character like him would end up eventually helping create the corporate dystopia, but this doesn’t make the present-day version of the character and his immaturity any easier to take (his future self is fine). He’s not intolerable, and I like the family drama that surrounds him—the best episode of the season is all about the Saddlers and Randols—but he’s also not great, and given just how many characters and concepts are fighting for attention, that’s something the series can’t afford.  

To mix metaphors, Continuum is a high-wire act, juggling so many balls that it is in constant danger of collapse. There’s a let’s-prevent-the-terrible-future time travel narrative, with all the usual complications of time travel stories. There’s a good half-dozen fish-out-of-water narratives.  There’s a traditional police procedural, except that it also involves future technology. There’s an exploration of class warfare and capitalism, and the evolving roles of activism and terrorism within it. There’s family drama. Taken together, it’s arguably more than can be properly explored in ten episodes, and that the series did as well as it did is genuinely surprising. While I’m not sure it can keep up the balancing act indefinitely as it continues, I’m interested in seeing how long it lasts.