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joyofcrime-elinorhigh · 4 years

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Hello everybody, my name is JoyofCrimeArt, and legacy can be an fascinating thing in regard to animation. Since cartoons are made with the intent of being seen years or even decades after they're created, it can be interesting to see how the general consensus people have about a series can change over time. One day you can be on top of the world, and your series is loved by critics and audiences alike. But then, something happens. Sometimes it's a specific episode. Other times a season. Maybe it's a controversy within the fandom. But whatever it is, something happens that causes peoples opinions to turn. And suddenly your show has gone from being universally praised to becoming much more divisive. And when something like that happens, it can be hard to recover. It happened to Steven Universe. It happened to Rick and Morty. And it happened to Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

Created by Daron Nefcy, Star vs. The Forces of Evil premiered on the Disney Channel and Disney XD in 2015, and quickly became one of the hot cartoons that everybody was talking about. It makes sense, as it came outright around the time where more continuity based fantasy series were really starting to take off, so it's natural that it became a hit. While the series was generally well regarded upon its debut, as time went on the series became much more of a "love it or hate it" type of show. And while that's not too uncommon for any show that amounts a large flowing, what makes Star vs. so interesting is that it seems like nobody can seemingly agree when the show got bad, if it did at all. Some people say the quality dipped after the first season. Others say the third. Some say the fourth. Others say that the show was good until the finale. And some say that the show was solid throughout. This divide among fans is why I feel confident calling Star vs. The Forces of Evil one of the most divisive shows of the 2010's, even if the debate around it isn't nearly volatile as other series. But now that the series has ran its course I have to ask, does it hold up? Did the show really go down hill, or is the hate undeserved? That's what I'm here to find out.

I feel like I'm in an interesting place to talk about this series because, while I tend to try to keep up with all the big name animated show coming out, I actually didn't watch most of Star as it was running. I watched the first season until my family cut cable right before the finale of season one (You know, around the time people started to care about the show.) And only caught up with the show in the last year or so while doing research for my "Top 30 Cartoons of the Decade" list. So I went into the series mostly blind with the exception of a few spoilers. I just felt like this was important to point out as I feel it may have an effect on my view of the show.

Also, while I usually try to go spoiler free when I do a general overview of a series, for this review I may have to go into some spoiler territory. Since this series features an ever changing status quo, as well as a lot of major characters who aren't introduced until late in the series' run, doing this review completely spoiler free would be difficult. So I'm going to be doing this review under the assumption that anybody reading this has already seen the show, and are just curious to hear my take on it, or don't care about being spoiled. So if you wanna go in blind I suggest you sign out now.

But to everyone else, let's dive in and talk about Star vs. the Forces of Evil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hJ5ecrpp8k

Star vs. The Forces of Evil stars (He, get it. I'm funny.) Star Butterfly. A princess from the dimension of Mewni who, upon her fourteenth birthday is given a wand of unbelievable magical power. However, after causing nothing but trouble with her new found powers in her world her parents decide to ship her off to Earth, where she can be somebody else's problem. There she befriends a human boy named Marco Diaz and the series mainly follow these two as they go on all sorts of magical adventures as they battle all sorts of evil monsters and ne'er-do-well who want to take the wand and use its power for themselves. Or at least that's how the series goes at first. As the series goes on it begins to focus more on the world building, as Star and Marco discover that the kingdom of Mewni isn't as great as they first believed, and are forced to battle political corruption, conspiracy within the royal family, and the generation spanning systemic racism against monster kind.

The best place to start when talking about the show are the characters. Lets start with the main leads.

We got Star, your typical fun-loving, ditzy, hyperactive action girl. Which seems to be a common trend in Disney Channel cartoons now that I think about it. But she does enough to stand on her own. She's a fun character, and an overall good lead for the series. I admit that her bratty nature and general stupidity could turn some people off, and there are times where it can get a little annoying, but I never minded it all that much. I think that's kinda suppose to be the point of her character. She's a royal, and spent her whole life with a silver spoon in her mouth. So it makes sense she would be a bit selfish and be unaware of the world around her. And she does improve over the course of the series, as she begins to take her job as a princess more seriously and spends much of the series actively fighting against monster prejudice. Though I'd be lying if some of these less desirable elements of her character don't continue to pop up every now and again, even later in the series and especially in the last couple of episodes. Also she's kinda a sociopath. Like especially early on in the show there are like...a lot of casualties to Star's antics. I'm kinda surprised Disney let them get away with that.

Also, can I just say that I am sick and tired of people asking "When is Disney going to include their first LGBTQ+ princess, completely ignoring the fact that Star is bisexual as fu*k. Like, come on now!

Marco is also a good lead. He's a neurotic, responsible, karate student who often acts as the straight man to Star's antics. However, I like the fact that he's not a total stick in the mud. Sure he's more cautious than Star is but he's still capable of getting in on the adventures as well. He comes across as a realistic teen with his own set of flaws. Namely his insecure nature and general social awkwardness. I also like that due to his expertise with karate he's able to hold his own in a fight even without magic. He always feels like Star's equal and never like a sidekick. He and Star have a great dynamic in general, and the two play off each other well. They contrast with each other and It feels like the two really cover each other's flaws. And it's kinda refreshing seeing two characters who are so different manage to genuinely get along with each other.

But of course, we also have the forces of evil that the shows title so clearly mentioned. Each season focuses on a different villain, and something that I really like is how all four major villains are introduced relatively early on. So the show doesn't suffer from that "Dragon Ball Z" type thing where it's like "Haha! I know you just defeated the villain, but now's there's an even BIGGER villain who we just haven't happened to mention until now!" They've always around in the world, and many of them even start out as joke villains only to become more serious later down the line. And they manage to do that in a way that feels very believable.

The best example of this is the shows first villain, Ludo. Who upon introduction is portrayed as a completely comedic villain who Star could easily take in a fight. But things change when a new more serious villain, Toffee, usurps him as the season one antagonist. Stealing his castle and army in the process. Come season two and Ludo is left alone, having lost everything, and is forced to toughen up in order to get back what he once had. He builds a new army, stronger than his first. He finds a new castle to form his base in, and becomes a genuine threat to our cast. Scrappy underdogs villains who lost everything might be one of my favorite tropes in fiction. Other examples of this trope used effectively would be Peridot in Steven Universe and Jamack in Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeast. However, while those shows use this trope as an opportunity to have these villains go through a redemption arc, Star goes the other way and uses it as an opportunity to make a character become more of a threat. That said, he never loses the comedic charm that made his fun to watch in the first place. Part of me honestly kinda wish that Ludo stayed the main villain of season two, instead of being usurped Toffee yet again. That said, the episode "Princess Quasar Caterpillar and the Magic Bell" does a good job giving his arc a satisfying conclusion.

Speaking of antagonist, let's talk about Tom Lucitor. Star's demon ex-boyfriend. While not a season spanning villain like Ludo or Toffee, he has several appearances early on as a recurring antagonist only to go down the more traditional "redemption arc" route later on. And I just want to say upfront, Tom is one of my favorite characters. Not in the show, but in fiction in general. It would of been so easy to make Tom your generic "toxic boyfriend" arch-type but even early on it's made clear that even though he's an antagonist, he isn't pure evil. His love for Star is genuine, but the problem is that he hasn't earned it. He tries to improve himself and become a better person but his own anger issues and jealousy keeps getting in the way. Specifically jealousy of Marco because he seems him as a romantic threat. But as time goes on, he does become better. He learns that he and Marco have a lot in common and eventually accepts that he can't make Star love him, and lets her have her space. And that, ironically, causes Star to becoming willing to open up to him again. They become friends and eventually get back together. But what I like is that while he has gone through efforts to improve and work through his problems, they still persist throughout the series. He's still very insecure and is looking for constant approval from Star. He still is jealous of how close Star and Marco are even though he has become friends with both of them. And it's shown several time that Tom tends to put his own problems above the problems of others. It shows that even though he wants to change and is willing to change, that doesn't mean that change come easy. It takes time and can be a long process. These are realistic character flaws that make Tom such a more complex and relatable character in my eyes. I relate a lot to Tom with his desire and constant struggle to improve as a person, and I feel like it's a struggle that's easy for a lot of people to relate to. Also...he's just such an edgy dork. He's...he is good boi.

Another fantastic character is Eclipsa. Introduced about halfway into the series, Eclipsa was a former Queen of Mewni who was imprisoned in crystal due to dabbling in dark magic and for running away from her arranged marriage and marring the King of the Monster, Globgor. The show builds up mentions of Eclipsa early on, with characters talking about how evil and dangerous she was. Eventually she becomes free from her prison (cause lets be real, whenever there's a villain sealed away somewhere you KNOW they're going to get out.) But surprisingly, when we see her she actually doesn't seem that evil. She's polite, kind, and is even willing to go through the proper legal channels to prove that she isn't as bad as people say she is. She is an excellent example of a morally ambiguous character cause for the first several episodes we the audience don't really know if she is actually a good person who's just been judged too harshly by society or if she is actually evil and this is all an act. As even as the show goes on and it becomes clear that Eclipsa is a good person at heart they still manage to keep the audience guessing. Much like Star, Eclipsa can be kinda selfish and impulsive, making her a bit of a loose cannon. Despite the shows title "Star vs. The Forces of Evil" Eclipsa goes to emulate one of the shows major themes. That life isn't that black and white.

The show deals a lot with shades of gray when it comes to its characters, as all characters have there own motives and backstories and relations with each other that can make them either allies or enemies depending on the circumstances. An example of this is the Magical High Commission, a group that monitors magic across all the dimensions. throughout the series it is shown that they stand on the side of Mewni. So in season two when Mewni is being conquered by Ludo and Toffee they're good guys. But just like most most people in Mewni they hate monsters and believe that Eclipsa is evil. Making them antagonist in seasons three and four. Their motives stay the same, but their role in the series changes.

However despite my praise not all the characters are great. In fact the show can be kinda hit or miss with their cast. The characters that are great are really great, but then you get characters like...

(Art by JelloApocolypse)

You know what, I have to be honest. I kinda like Pony Head. I know a lot of people say she's annoying and selfish and contributes next to nothing to the plot...and they're right. But I also just kinda like her. I think what makes her more bearable to me is that she's kinda disliked in-universe. Even Star, who is Pony Head's best friend, often times get sick of her crap. Real talk though, can we all agree that Pony Head is basically just a discount Lumpy Space Princess from Adventure Time? Like, they're nearly the exact same character.

A character who I don't like as much though is Glossaryck, the magical spirit guide that lives in Star's spell book. I never really got his deal. Sometimes it seems like he likes Star and genuinely wants to help her become a better magic user, while other times it doesn't seem like he really cares. He dies in the beginning of season three only to come back a few episodes later acting like a wild animal and yelling "Globgor" over and over again without any explanation as to how or why. Than at the end of season three it's revealed that it was all an act and he was fine the whole time. Like...why? We later learn that is a highly recognized historical figure in Mewni. Why is he yelling his name? And why does nobody question why he's doing this? I can buy that Star and Marco might not know who Globgor is but most everybody else seems to. I keep expecting that moment for his motivations to click. Where it's revealed how everything he's done was all an elaborate ploy to help Star or something, but it never really happens. Though my opinion of him does slightly increase in season four, but that's just because Keith David took over the role of voice actor. And adding Keith David can make anything better.

Some characters can even change in quality between seasons. Janna is this edgy punk girl who joins the main cast in season two as a new friend to Star and Marco. I liked her well enough in season two even if some of her more abrasive elements could be somewhat obnoxious. She's more or less absent for most of season three. Then come season four she returns and I found her more annoying. I don't know if her character got worse or if it was just the fact that her character didn't work as well in later episodes after the show had become more dramatic. But near the end of the season, they give her some long overdue character growth. Not a lot, but some. And I found myself liking her more.

There are other characters in the series as well, and they tend to vary. Star's mom, Moon is a BAMF and I like Buff Frog a lot. Jacki and Kelly are fine characters, though I admit there's not that much to them outside of being love interests for Marco, though they still have there own personalities. King River's kinda annoying but I've seen worse examples of the "dumb dad" trope and Alan Tudyk gives a great performance.

And since I don't have time to go over my thoughts on EVER character in this series, I'll do what ever online review does when they don't have time for nuance. Create a tier list!

If It's not apparent by now, the characters in this show run the gambit. With the best ones being some of my favorite characters of all time, and the worse one's just being generally annoying. However, if there's one thing that this show excels at is not painting things as black and white. No character is evil without a reason and all the heroic characters have un-heroic flaws to their characters with unique motivations that make sense for their characters. (For the most part anyway.)

The shows animation is also really good. Featuring thick outlines and a lot of nice coloring on the characters. (Even if some of the background colors can be a bit drab at times.) Most of the first season is done in flash, but it's good flash, which does well to accentuate the character expressions and the fluid action scenes. Part way through season one though the show's animation changes to more traditional animation. I think there is a bit of a divide on which style people consider to be better, but I personally prefer the look of the later seasons. The bouncy look of the early season one episodes look good, but I don't know how well that would of worked in the more dramatic and somber moments that happen later on.

I also appreciate the world building. The first two seasons are set mostly on Earth in the town of Echo Creek, but the last two seasons changes things up and focus much more on Mewni, allowing us to explore both settings. I know some people don't like the change as it resulted in several of the characters introduced earlier being written out of the show but I never really minded that. I think Mewni and the cast of characters who inhabit it are on the whole more interesting than the people of Echo Creek. (I mean does anybody really miss Sensei Brantley?) Plus the change in setting allows us to get a bit of a role reversal with Marco being the fish out of water, and Star having to show him how her world operates. And even if you do prefer the Earth setting we still cut back to it on occasion. And when you add it all up the total series runtime between the two setting is fairly evenly.

I like how characters can kinda come and go in this series, as it shows that the world doesn't revolve around Star and Marco. And it allows the writers to see which characters people gravitate to and focus on them while keeping less interesting characters out of the way. It also allows for character arcs to actually have conclusions, without the need for them to be drawn out just for the sake of keeping characters around longer.

Let's talk about themes for a moment. Specifically the main theme of prejudice and systemic racism in the show. It's handled...okay. It's kinda standard stuff and it doesn't go super complex on the issue, but for what it is it works though. That being said the show can be a bit confusing in terms of what counts as "monsters" and what are just regular races in this world. Which can make the metaphor a little muddled. I get that the idea is that there is no difference, and that monsters are only deemed as bad as an excuse for mewmans to justify their mistreatment of them, but it can still be confusing as to who's oppressed and who isn't and to what extent. I feel it would be even more confusing for a younger children watching who might not understand all the nuances of this stuff. However, the way the show tackles this isn't bad either. And the fact that the show tackles this element at all is admirable.

But who cares about systemic racism! That's not the real reason people are watching this show! We all know that everybody is really here for the shipping!

Yeah, as the series went on the shipping seems to become a much more major element within the series. So much so that to many the increased focus on the shipping is often cited as one of the main elements that caused the show to go down hill. However I never really minded it. I mean Star vs. has always been a bit of a love letter to the shojo/magical girl genre and romance is a very important element to those types of shows. So it makes sense that it would be used here. And I think it's used pretty well here overall. These are just kids struggling through these types of feelings for the first time, So it makes a lot of the stupid decisions that they make feel a lot more believable. But if this kind of thing isn't your cup of tea, it might end up bothering you. Because they do devote a good amount of time on it.

But you're probably wondering, who do I ship? Am I team Starco or team TomStar? And honestly, while shipping has never been something I've ever gotten too invested in, if I had to pick I would probably have to say team Starco. Which may be surprising as I previously went on and on about how Tom was one of my favorite characters of all time. But this is the way I see it. Tom's whole arc is about learning how to get over his jealousy and controlling nature regarding his relationship with Star. And it's shown that even after he's dating Star, and has everything he thought he wanted, he still couldn't fully get over his hangups. Even though he loves Star and Star loves him, it's clear that the relationship still isn't exactly the most healthy. And it's clear that they are going in different directions in their lives. Tom knows what he wants. To be with Star. But Star doesn't know what she wants. Not all relationships have to end because one person does something wrong or because one of the parties involved is a bad person. Sometimes two people just aren't compatible in that kind of way. And seeing Tom be the one to break up with Star shows just how far he's come as a character. Plus, like I said earlier, Star and Marco have great chemistry. And I do genuinely see them working as a romantic couple, beyond the fact that there the two main leads.

Besides, StarTom is technically incest so....

*record scratch!*

Oh wait, you didn't know about that.? Yeah, according to the official "Star vs. the Forces of Evil Magic Book of Spells" Star's Great Great Great Grandmother Rhina Butterfly was in a relationship with John Roachley, a second cousin to the Lucitor's. Now granted that would mean that Star and Tom aren't THAT related. But still. Incest none the less. Not that it even matters anyway since all of the Mewmans are descended from like five random people!

Seriously, this is some Ishigami Village levels of incest we got going on here.

But despite how heated the flames wars can be, I think we can all agree that Tomco is the best ship anyway. Like come on now.

So yeah, even the shipping elements didn't bother me. To be completely honest, while the show did have some problems here or there, I found myself enjoying the show well into the fourth season. But I knew it was coming. Since I was watching the show months after the series had concluded, I had heard things about the finale. A finale that figuratively "cleaved" the fan base. But in order to talk about the finale we have to go a few episodes back and talk about the episodes leading up to it. Obviously spoilers ahead.

To briefly recap, at this point in the series Eclipsa had become Queen of Mewni along with her husband Globgor after Star relinquished the crown to her. And many of the Mewmans are upset by Eclipsa's new "pro-monster" policies had left to live with the former Queen Moon. Meanwhile Mina Loveberry, a legendary monster fighter from generations far gone, had begun building up an army to invade Eclipsa's castle and take Mewni back from the monsters. A lot of people I hear don't like Mina as a final villain, but honestly I was surprised by how threatening they were able to make her despite how goofy she is. And her backstory about basically being a magically altered super solider driven to the point of insanity really helped to make her sympathetic. (Like I said, in this show everyone is painted with shades of gray. Even genocidal lunatics.) She invades with a Solarian Knight, a giant magic powered mech and it takes all of our heroes working together to barely defeat it. Until it is revealed that it was only one of many. It's an amazing twist that really leaves you wondering "How are or heroes going to get out of this one." Up to this point I was digging this final arc. But that's when I finally got to it.

To me, the moment where Star vs. the Forces of Evil got bad was the moment it was revealed that Moon was working with Mina to reclaim the thrown from Eclipsa.

It just doesn't fit Moons's character to do this. While it is shown throughout the season that Moon does not agree with Eclipsa more extreme policies, It was still shown that while Moon may be against Star's decision to give the crown to Eclipsa, she acknowledges that since Star was queen at the time and was within her right as queen to decide what was best for the kingdom. And in previous episodes she seemed generally happy not having the responsibility that comes with being queen anymore. But now she suddenly wants her kingdom back? If she wanted it back, all she had to do was say so from the start. At the start of the season most Mewmans still hate Eclipsa. It would not be that hard to stage a coup if she really wanted, especially since the magic high commission and all of Mewni would be on her side. Why would she work with Mina, who Moon knows is insane and racist even by Moons standard? Sure Moon and Eclipsa definitely don't see eye to eye on a lot of things but Moon still wouldn't want her dead, and Moon knows that Mina wants to kill her. I know she thought she could control Mina's army but that's still a big risk. It seems uncharacteristically reckless for a character as intelligent as Moon to make these choices.

So then, after it turns out that Moon can't control Mina's army, our heroes are basically screwed and are forced to hide out in a special tavern located at the edge of the universe to wait things out while Mina begins rounding up all the monsters in Mewni. They are all trying to figure out a plan on how to possibly defeat Mina's army when Star suddenly goes on a rant about how magic is bad. And this idea had been brought up a few times in the series, but overall had never really been portrayed as a major aspect. But suddenly the show treats this as if it's all the magics fault, and that everything would be better if it was gone. And that's when Star comes up with the genius plan to use go to the magic dimension to destroy all the magic. Thus making Mina's forces useless. And while I admit that yes, they are very much been pushed to a wall here, this has to be one of the most overkill ideas they could of possibly think of!

Now, I've seen a lot of people online saying that by doing this, Star would be committing mass murder on a multiverse scale, potentially destroying many universes. And I think that is a bit of a reach. From what we see in the series, it seems to me at least that magic is kinda a rare thing in the universe. That's why so many villains are trying to steal the magic wand away from Star. And I see very little implying that there are whole universes that are reliant on magic outside of Mewni. THAT SAID THOUGH, this would result in the deaths of a lot of innocent people. But Star really only seems concerned with the fact that once magic is destroyed, all people who come from parallel universes will return to their home universe, meaning she won't be able to stay with Marco. Which makes Star seem beyond selfish and generally pretty horrible.

Hekapoo, one of the high commission members, despite being made of magic and knowing that she will die from this, is totally on board for this plan because plot. And our heroes travel to the magic dimension to destroy all the magic. Which they do. Defeating Mina's forces and leaving her powerless. She still manages to escape however because nobody decides to actually, you know, try to arrest the person who just committed a political coup and nearly whipped out an entire race. They just let her walk off, because she's powerless now. I mean what's the worse she could possibly do, right?

So yeah, Mina is defeated, but everybody is sent back to their home dimensions. But somehow, through the power of love I guess, the universes of Earth and Mewni begin to merge. Thus allowing Star and Marco to be together. Happy ending, I guess? I don't know. Like Star and Marco being together is treated as a good thing. But we also see humans screaming as there world have now been overrun by monsters. Is this suppose to be a joke? A bittersweet ending? I'm not really sure.

In concept the idea of a universe merge is actually a pretty interesting idea. As it feels like a natural progression of the shows themes of racial tolerance and mutual understanding. Now that we've gotten semi-tolerance between monsters and mewmans we could now have an arc about trying to bridge the cultural gaps between the humans and the mewmans. Plus it would be a good way to appease both the people who enjoyed the earlier seasons focus on Echo Creek, and fans of the later seasons who preferred the stories set on Mewni. It's not a bad idea, but it needed to A.) be set up better and B.) needed more time to be fleshed out. I get that it's designed to be a sequel hook, but it's not like this is something that the series had been building up to to the point where we the audience can put together what happens next. As is, it's just weird.

So yeah, the last couple of episodes of Star vs. where a total mess. It's fitting that the finale to Star happened to come out the same day as the finale of Game of Thrones. While I'm not going to act like there weren't some parts I liked or some good ideas sprinkled throughout, this finale was pretty bad. How do you have a show that preaches acceptance and equality and end it with a genocide?! But hey, genocidal problems call for genocidal solutions am I right?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ufmrn7BCuA

My God, It's Dragon Ball Super all over again.

And the worse part is that the series didn't have to end this way. Cause the show actually had a pretty good episode about half way through the season, "Cornonation" which would of acted as a great series finale! With the series ending with Eclipsa as Queen and ruling with Globgor by her side, with the mewmans finally accepting monster kind. You'd have to change a few things, like rap up Mina's plot and put Star and Marco together, but other than that it could of really worked. Admirably it may end up feeling more like a finale for Mewne as oppose to a finale for Star but it would thematically fit with the message of the series. Or if you really wanna keep this finale more in tack just don't have Star destroy the magic. Just have Star, Moon, and Eclipsa go off and do the one thing the three of them had never tried doing. Working together. And have them defeat Mina the old fashion way. They even allude to this idea in the tavern episode before Star goes on her whole "We gotta destroy the magic" kick.

It is a bit ironic to think that a show that's whole message is about unity could end up being so divisive with it audience. I genuinely believe that had the show ended on a better note, people would look back on the show more fondly. Despite the flaws. To the people who don't like Star vs. The Forces of Evil, I can understand where you are coming from. Even if you ignore the finale there are things to not like. A lot of things aren't very well explained and the show has its fair bit of plot holes. The series can be repetitive with its frequent shipping and "racism is bad" episodes. And some of the characters can be a bit annoying, including our main lead at times.

That being said though, I have to say, I can't bring myself to hate this show.

I don't know what it is, but I just found myself getting really invested into this series. Maybe it was due to me hearing so much bad things about the later seasons that I had low expectations, and while that may be part of it I don't think that's the whole reason. When you watch as many cartoons as I have, and for as long as I have, it becomes harder for things to impress you. Sometimes it can feel like your just checking shows off of a box, which is something that I've been trying to improve upon. But watching this show, it brought me back to the way I felt back in the early 2010's when I first started getting into these types of series. For all of Star's flaws, and trust me there are many flaws, it felt like it was doing something unique. Like it was in it's own little world that wasn't quiet Adventure Time and not quiet Steven Universe. And the series stuck with me after I finished watching it, which is surprisingly kinda rare. It's why I became interested in doing this review in the first place.

Star vs. the Forces of Evil is a flawed show. Very flawed. But I'd rather have a flawed show that's unique than a perfect show that's something I've seen a million times. And while I may not be a fan of how it ended, I don't think that should completely take away from all the good that this show has to offer. This show isn't going to be for everybody, and If you somehow made it this far into the review without seeing the show than I hope I've said enough to help you figure out if this show is right for you. But for me, despite everything, the series still has it's magic.

What did you think of Star vs. the Forces of Evil? I really genuinely want to know on this one. Did it go downhill and if so than when? Leave those thoughts in the comments down bellow. Please fav, follow, and comment if you liked the review. And have a great day.

#Star vs The Forces of Evil

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jennifersylvesters · 5 years

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not so subtle - part eight

Pairing: Harrison Osterfield x reader Word Count: 3.3k~ Warning: swearing A/N: this was supposed to be posted in january. i am...bad with deadlines. i’ll be honest - it’s slightly a filler but important for the impending valentine’s day part. no surprise here but, feedback is always appreciated/loved wink wonk nudge nudge please gimme

Things dramatically shifted in the group dynamic after Vegas. It was painfully obvious that you and Harrison were no longer on speaking terms. Well, he wasn’t speaking to you while you assumed he hated your guts. Not that anyone wanted to talk about it. Tom and Emma refused to bring Harrison up around you, carefully tiptoeing around the subject. Occasionally Tom would almost slip up - almost dropping his best friend’s name - until he remembered better or Emma nudged him before the word could leave his mouth.

Despite their worries, you weren’t particularly sensitive about Harrison. It didn’t matter how many times you repeated that you were fine and that it wasn’t a huge deal; they viewed you like a delicate creature that was more fragile than you let on.

How many times did you need to remind them you were fine? Or well, you would be. Eventually. Hopefully. You didn’t have the luxury of mulling around in your thoughts, discussing your feelings about Harrison. No, you had schoolwork. You weren’t going to fail your education because you were pining like a Victorian character. Not on your watch. Deuces, bitches.

You knew Vegas in some ways had been both a wake up call and a fluke. It was the ever-so-polite reminder how you and Harrison weren’t going to be a thing. Ever. For real this time. Someone always ended up being an idiot - usually him though sometimes you - and someone got hurt in the process. Apparently you were never going to attain happiness through a love life. But what was more exciting than an affectionate and healthy relationship? Good grades! Well, hopefully.

So once again you threw yourself into your studies, not really bothering to go out unless Emma or Kimberly invited you. With how things ended, it was no surprise that Tom never brought along Harrison to movie premieres in the States. You hadn’t even seen Harrison - both in real life and social media - until you were tapping through Instagram stories one night.

In the story Tom was filming himself at some party, excitedly chatting about how he couldn’t wait for people to see his new film. If you hadn’t been paying attention, you wouldn’t have noticed the small detail that would sucker punch you in the stomach. But you did. And boy, you were not ready for that at all.

There in the top right corner was some blonde straddling Harrison, his hands glued to her ass and sucking face like it was no one’s business. Waves of jealousy crashed into you. You weren’t even sure why. Maybe because she was hot as hell? Possibly. Perhaps because he moved on so quickly? Potentially. Was it because you didn’t like seeing him with someone that wasn’t you? No, that couldn’t be right.

But there was one thing you were certain of: you really wanted to figure out where she got her cute top from. What kind of person thinks that? Apparently your dumb ass would.

A couple hours later your inbox was flooded with apologizes from Tom. He texted in all caps how he didn’t realize what was in the background, but that he couldn’t erase the footage. If he deleted that certain part, the video wouldn’t make sense as a whole. Yet if he deleted all of it, speculation would build up that something terrible happened.

“I didn’t realize that H was in the shot!” he sent you.

Huh. You couldn’t help but grunt at how Tom still wouldn’t use his best friend’s name in front of you. Was he afraid that you would somehow spiral? You contemplated messing with him, sending him crying emojis and telling him how terrible he was.

Tapping the buttons, you paused as you stared at your dramatic message. No, Tom didn’t deserve this. As funny as his reaction would be, you’d never hear the end of it from Emma and you knew he was coming from a good place.

You waved it off, telling him he had nothing to worry about. After all, mistakes happen all the time. Sometimes Tom made them more than most. Nothing wrong with that. Because it was fine. You weren’t dating Harrison. Whoever he chose to make out with wasn’t any of your business. He wasn’t any of your concern and never had been.

Yet something about the scene lingered in the back of your mind. There was this voice inside you whispering that things might’ve been your business if you had done things differently, if you had put in enough effort. Why didn’t you put in enough effort, Y/N?

The thoughts tugged on you despite your attempts to ignore it. You should’ve played it cooler on Halloween, Y/N. Why didn’t you? Should you have just worn lingerie and animal ears like he suggested? Or had you completely embarrassed yourself in that gigantic costume? You should’ve flirted with Noah to make Harrison jealous. Then he might actually have been interested in you. There was no way Harrison could ever get jealous about you. Plus you couldn’t flirt to save your life. But still. You could’ve tried. You thought you put in enough effort. Had you really given it your all? You didn’t do enough, Y/N. You should’ve done more.

Sometimes you fought with the voice, pointing out you tried your hardest. It just hadn’t been enough. Did you though? And somewhere down the line the voice won. Maybe if you had put in enough effort things with Harrison would’ve been different. You should’ve been better.

With that thought constantly nipping at you, you felt like giving up on dating. What was the point? You put all this effort into people only for things to fall apart. Why bother? So you dismissed your need to put in effort to things besides your studies. Who cared about looking good for class? It’s not like you were being graded on how sloppy you dressed. Who cared about what you ate? There wasn’t anyone to impress anyways. And you stuck firm to this new mindset, accepting the idea that you would die alone (and potentially eaten by wolves).

A couple weeks into the new semester, you shuffled around campus in an oversized sweatshirt and comfortable leggings; it was your preferred clothing choice for most of January. While you wouldn’t openly admit it, you’d been in a funk of just tossing on the same garb. What did it matter anyways?

Finishing off a bag of chips, you tossed the empty container into a nearby trash can. Your diet consisted of mainly take out and junk food, consuming whatever you wanted to eat. As you licked the residue your fingers, you wondered if it was appropriate to spend the rest of the day laid in bed marathoning a show on Netflix.

“Hey” a familiar voice called out, causing you to freeze in your tracks.

You turned around to see Steven politely smiling at you. It was as if the Devil and Steven decided to team up and catch you at your worst. How wonderful.

“Long time no see” he greeted you, taking a couple steps forward. You tensed up, unable to step back like you wanted to. Your brain screamed for you to take a step back - even if it was just one - but your body ignored the plea. Fuck. Him getting closer meant he could inspect your current state, something you weren’t ready for anyone to do. Someone like him didn’t even deserve that opportunity. Yet here he was.

The two of you hadn’t talked about what transpired Christmas night. When he texted you a couple days after the incident, you just texted back “sorry I’m busy”. The rest of his messages were left on read, unable to find the right response. It wasn’t like you could simply message “I know you made out with some chick even though we had something going on”. No, it was easier letting the messages just sit there. Because avoiding problems was what grown adults totally did.

“How are you?” Good question, Steven. A part of you wanted to curse him out, scream at him about how terrible he treated you. But deep down you knew you’d never have the nerve to say anything. You just wanted to forget about the night and memories of Steven altogether.

As his words looped in your mind, you couldn’t think of a response. It was as if your brain went blank, unable to think of anything intelligible to say. So you ended up humming a sound in response. It wasn’t an answer, yet it told him everything he needed to know.

“You look...Good” he managed to get out as he surveyed you. He was lying. Both of you knew it. You didn’t have any feelings for him anymore, but it still hurt. You didn’t want to care about his judgement, but his glance felt so disparaging that you wanted to crumble. What an asshole.

You wished that you didn’t look terrible, that you actually bothered to do your hair and clothes that day. Glancing down at your sweater, you screamed internally. Of course there would be Cheeto stains on your sweater. How glamorous could you get?

“Hey, babe. Sorry I’m late.” Steven stopped smiling while you tensed up once again. God help you now.

A strong figure wrapped their arms around your waist, pressing their front gently against your back. You turned your head before your eyes bulged out slightly. You stopped breathing for a second, taking in that beautiful face next to you. Oh. So he still had that effect on you apparently.

It was Harrison looking better than ever. You avoided social media, so afraid that the voice would come back, that you couldn’t believe how much he changed. Of course he still looked gorgeous as ever, but he had a shorter haircut now which you surprisingly liked. Not that you planned on telling him especially now out of all the times.

You hadn’t realized that he was in town. Usually someone warned you, giving you time to deal with the impending chaos. Or with how things had progressed, you planned on avoiding him. Perhaps it was a surprise visit, some potential acting gig or meeting up with Tom at a set. You certainly hadn’t expected him to come to your rescue. After all he didn’t owe you anything. So why was he helping you out now?

Despite holding you, he wasn’t actually looking your way. Harrison refused to make eye contact with you, only staring down Steven.

“Oh, so you’re with him.”

Harrison’s arms tightened around you slightly as he glared down the other boy. “Yeah, she’s with me, mate.”

The Brit pressed a kiss to your cheek to confirm his words. It caught you off guard, making you bite down on your lip. Oof. Even if it was a ruse, the sign of affection was still sweet.

He wiped cheeto dust off your cheek, and you wanted to die. Less sweet. God, of course you would ruin an absolutely cute moment. Playing the part well, he didn’t let it deter him. “Isn’t she the cutest?” he asked, kissing you once more. While the affection made your heart beat quicker, it caused Steven discomfort to watch. Good. You deserve it, bitch ass Steven.

“You know what I like about Y/N, Stevie?” he started with fake smile on his face. Steven grimaced at the nickname, which seemed to fuel Harrison. “She’s real. She’s honest with others, sometimes to a fault. But she’s never afraid to be upfront about her feelings.” You weren’t sure where he was going with this, raising an eyebrow. “That’s what I appreciate about her.

“And it’s nice to know she didn’t string me along with another guy.” Oh shit. “She didn’t make fake promises to me and then make out with some other person in a grocery store just because she had the options. She actually fucking committed.” Holy shit. Steven’s face paled as Harrison glared at him, words digging in with every syllable.

“Wait a-” Steven tried interjecting, but Harrison wasn’t having it.

“And she certainly didn’t need to be polite to others, especially when they didn’t deserve it. But she’s got a big heart and doesn’t treat others like garbage even when that’s what they are: absolute shit.”

“You c-”

“Because people who go around expecting everyone to fall on their knees and act like they’re amazing are usually total divs. Complete idiots really.”

Steven said nothing, only bowed his head as his hands balled up. His knuckles turned white, and you worried that this might get violent.

“Y/N isn’t some high and mighty twat. She doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone because it’s a fact that she’s amazing. She’s not some self-obsessed, narcissistic arsehole who misses out on great opportunities. D’you know what I mean, mate?” Harrison held nothing back, practically attacking everything about Steven in a fatal blow. What could he even say to that?

“Now if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to spend some private time with my girlfriend.” Harrison tightened his grip around you. You weren’t sure why, but you hands reached out to touch his forearms. He tightened at your surprising touch before relaxing slightly. You felt him kiss your head and you sighed lightly at this comforting gesture.

This was enough for Steven to understand his presence wasn’t wanted in the slightest. He said nothing, only walking away and refusing to look at either of you.

Once Steven was out of range, Harrison immediately dropped his arms. You turned, finally getting to take in his whole appearance. He was wearing a simple outfit of a hoodie and jeans, yet you couldn’t help but bite down on your lip. Even though it would take a little bit of time to adjust to his new haircut, your mind wondered what it’d be like to run your hands through his hair now. Not that he’d ever let you do that.

“You look like a fucking mess.” Ouch. The honest criticism stung. You probably needed to hear it; you just didn’t want to hear it from him.

You wanted to play it cool - possibly even snarky - like his words didn’t bother you. “I...like cheetos” You winced hearing the words leave your mouth. You couldn’t even register on the coolness spectrum.

He scowled, shoving his hands in his pockets. You expected him to walk away and leave, but instead he pulled out a tissue. Without warning, he began wiping the cheeto dust off your face as he grumbled how messy you were.

He was so close, brows furrowed as he rubbed off the orange residue. Your heart pounded as you watched him shake his head in irritation when he got the last of the grime. You nervously asked if he was visiting someone, expecting that he must’ve assumed that Tom was on campus or that he needed to speak with Kimberly for some mysterious reason.

Tossing the dirty napkin in the garbage, he shrugged in response. “Something like that.”

“Kimberly’s at work right now” you pointed out. Harrison stared at you with a blank expression. “Thought...You might want to know.” He said nothing, just continued staring. “And I think Tom’s shooting on some set so...Also not here” you added, flustered by his manner.

Harrison looked like he wanted to say something important, but he simply brushed off the thought. “Don’t worry about it.”

Neither of you said anything for a moment, both just standing in the awkward silence that currently consumed the space. There was a lot that you wanted to say - wanted to ask even - but you didn’t know where to begin.

“Tom’s getting worried” he finally spoke again now glancing at the pavement. “He’s asking about us.” Us? What did that mean?

“He and Emma...They’re being nosy. None of their business, really. But they’re afraid we might affect the group dynamic.” Oh. So that was it. “I think we should do what’s best for the group...Just pretend what happened didn’t happen.”

Oh. You weren’t sure why, but his words hurt.

You agreed quietly, nodding your head.

“We can just...Just go back to the way things used to be. Nothing but two acquaintances with mutual friends. That’s it.”

Oh. That comment felt like a slap in the face. Why though? It was smart to go back to the old days when things were so much simpler. You swallowed, trying to process everything. Why were you so upset? It wasn’t like he was being terrible, yet you were on the verge of crying. You sniffled, blinking back tears.

“Right. Sounds good” you agreed, voice slightly strangled.

“Okay” he nodded, finally looking at you.

“Okay” you echoed, your turn now to look at the ground.

“That’s what you want, isn’t it?” he asked. Was that what you wanted?

How could the two of you even go back to normal? Because now you didn’t hate him. You weren’t even sure how you felt about him.

“How do we do that?” You wanted to sound normal, like it was just a simple question with an easy fix. Yet your voice came out meek, strained, and so unsure of itself.

Harrison called your name, trying to get you to look at him. His expression softened as you continued sniffling, continuing to stare down. He called your name again, but you shook your head. You didn’t want to look at him when you felt so confused. Harrison let out a slow sigh before he took your hand, holding onto it tightly.

“Y/N, will you please look at me?”

When you finally turned towards him, he looked at you with a soft expression and a wistful smile on his face.

“We’ll just forget about Vegas, okay?” He made it sound so easy, like you could just dismiss those memories away without a care. “It’s like you said, right? ‘It didn’t matter to either of us’ so it should be fine.” He squeezed your hand, doing his best to comfort you.

“We’ll just go back to being Lil Skunk and Lil Shit. Things will...Things will go back to the way they were.” You weren’t sure if he was trying to convince you or himself.

“It’ll be weird at first, but...That’s how it always is, isn’t it? Weird starts.” You nodded your head, not quite sure what he meant, but it sounded right. “Things will just...Fall into place” he concluded. You stared down at his hand still holding yours. Even though hand holding would be off the table again, this felt nice. It felt comforting with your hand in his. You wanted to savor this for a moment longer.

“Obviously I can see why you’d have worries. After all, I was...Really amazing that night.” You looked at him, cocking an eyebrow. Was he actually bragging? “I’m probably the best shag you ever had, and it’s totally fine that no one will ever live up to that” he joked.

You couldn’t help but burst into laughter. “Oh my God! Shut up!”

“It’s okay. You can admit it. I have that effect on the ladies. Apparently not even you’re immune to me like you thought.”

“Shut up, Lil Shit!” And just like that, the two of you were back to some sort of normalcy. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to know it was possible let go of the incident.

He finally dropped your hand, and your smile vanished. So this was it.

“You, uh, heading out now?” You weren’t sure why, but you wanted him to say no. You wanted Harrison to stay for just a bit longer.

He nodded his head. “Just have some business I need to take care of.” He leaned in and for a moment you thought he might kiss the top of your head again. Strangely enough you wanted him to. But he pulled away at last second, and you remembered that normalcy between you and Harrison didn’t include kissing.

“Take care of yourself, Lil Skunk.” Right in that moment, the nickname felt more loving than it ever had.

tags list: @sleepybesson, @tomhaz | @almostrosadiazz, @alt-ernativewonderland, @blackstarryroses, @butithasntkilledyouyet, @chims-kookies, @choke-me-sweet-pea, @deleteidentity, @divosterfields-deactivated20190 / @bbk8lin (?), @highladyjel, @hollandhearts, @jessiq31, @kateelyse96, @kayla-m1996, @mylifesucksbuthereiam, @otheenglishsetters, @sadnoelle, @sarcasticvodka, @sleepwalkingdragon, @soccerstud004, @spider-mendes, @thefallenbibliophilequote, @wolvesofthewinter

part nine

#harrison osterfield x reader #harrison osterfield x you #harrison osterfield x y/n #harrison osterfield #harrison osterfield imagine #haz osterfield x reader #haz osterfield x you #haz osterfield x y/n #haz osterfield #haz osterfield imagine #harrison osterfield fanfiction #harrison osterfield fic #haz osterfield fanfiction #haz osterfield fic #fic: not so subtle #my writing

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/review-cbs-offers-2-comedies-of-upsetting-proximity/

Review: CBS offers 2 comedies of upsetting proximity

Updated 23 hours ago

CBS has two sitcoms to put on your New CBS Sitcom list. Each concerns what happens when a person or persons move next to or in with some different, dissimilar persons. (In each case, one party is black and the other white, though race is only a subject in one show.) Each coincidentally stars someone who used to be on Fox’s “New Girl.”

And apart from the lately departed “Superior Donuts,” in which Jermaine Fowler co-starred with Judd Hirsch, they are the first CBS situation comedies with black leads to premiere in more than 20 years, after the short-lived “The Gregory Hines Show” in 1997 and the longer-lived “Cosby,” which ran from 1996 to 2000. Make of that what you will.

A place to hide

In the weightless “Happy Together,” which does use the old Turtles song as a theme, Damon Wayans Jr. (our “New Girl” alumni) and Amber Stevens West play Jake and Claire, a couple in their early 30s who take in a hot Australian pop star named Connor (Felix Mallard) when a tabloid breakup sends him looking for a place to hide. (Jake is his accountant.)

Although it is based on the real-life experience of executive producer Ben Winston, in whose attic One Direction singer Harry Styles (since gone solo, also an executive producer) lived for 18 months, it’s a familiar king-among-commoners theme. It also resembles, in different ways, both “Bye Bye Birdie” and “Alf.”

The main effect of Cooper’s presence is to make Jake and Claire feel old and to proclaim that they are not (“We’re young and fun and full of beans”), though they have settled into a comfortable couch-bound, binge-watching, snack-eating Saturday night groove.

Jake: “We are living with a world-famous rock star. We cannot let him see us go to sleep at … 9:25.”

Claire: “Well, it can’t be worse than the time he saw us high five over a coupon.”

Jake, especially, is concerned with looking cool to Cooper, which he does not accomplish by saying weird things in funny voices (saying things in funny voices is a bit of Wayans Jr. thing), mentioning repeatedly that his nickname in college was Dr. Dunk (“It’s a life title”) and compulsively referring to Cooper by nicknames like “Cooper Gooding Jr.” and “Cooper Noodles.”

Cooper, for his part, likes that Jake is “an ordinary guy, living an ordinary life in a totally ordinary place.”

Nothing particularly interesting is done with the premise; Jake and Claire go out clubbing with Cooper and it destroys them; in another, Cooper puts them on a pop star health regimen; in another, his lack of possessions inspires them to try to de-clutter their lives. Though he sometimes gets a funny line (“I’m sorry, guys. If I’d known the lyrics to ‘Shake Your Booty, Yeah Yeah’ would cause so much pain, I never would have written them”), he is essentially a straight man, a catalytic agent. But Wayans and West develop an increasingly comfortable rapport as the episodes go on, and West is enjoyable all the way through, funny without breathing hard.

Makes political points

“The Neighborhood” is more substantial — there are more characters in it, anyway, and a splendid set representing the facade and yards of two side-by-side Southern California Craftsman bungalows that feels less like a multi-camera sitcom than legitimate theater. (The interior details are right too.) It has political points, about diversity and unity, preservation and gentrification, which are simultaneously emphasized and danced around. Stripped to its essentials, it’s a familiar sort of comedy about a person who would like to be left alone and the person who won’t leave him alone.

Max Greenfield (“New Girl,” there it is) plays Midwest-friendly Dave Johnson, a professional conflict mediator moving his family from a small town in Michigan into a predominantly black neighborhood in Pasadena; his wife, Gemma (Beth Behrs), has a job running a progressive school nearby. (They are also packing a young son, Grover, played by Hank Greenspan.)

Their soon-to-be-neighbor Calvin Butler (Cedric the Entertainer), meanwhile, associating the name Johnson with Magic and Dwyane, has been happily expecting “another successful black family moving into that nice house” next door. His awakening is rude; awakening, he is rude too.

“You let one family like that move in,” Calvin declares, “and the next thing you know, it’s going to be a bunch of dudes jogging around in their little short shorts walking their vegan Labradoodles.” (There will be shorts.)

Having barely unpacked, Dave wants to give Calvin a key to his house, because “What if there’s an emergency or you want to borrow something and we’re not home or it’s my birthday and you want to surprise me with a surprise birthday party?” (“Like I’m going to help him in an emergency,” sniffs Calvin, who meets Dave’s warmth with wariness: “There are two types of racists; there’s ones who hate black people, and ones who love black people.”)

In some ways, Greenfield is playing a less intense if no less needy version of Schmidt, his manic “New Girl” character (a more intense version of Schmidt can scarcely be imagined). Indeed, there are times when the show itself comes on to the audience in the way that Dave leans in on Calvin, forcing an intimacy it hasn’t earned yet. (As a professional mediator, he is peculiarly bad at reading people and also given to sulks; this is possibly meant to be ironic, or it might just be a case of consistency sacrificed on the altar of comedy.)

If Dave can seem too weird to be true, the Butler family represents a dynamic so familiar to situation comedy as to seem practically real. Cedric the Entertainer easily plays the part of grumbling patriarch, with solid work from Sheaun McKinney as his unemployed older son, Malcolm, who lives at home; Marcel Spears as younger son Marty, who has a job and an apartment but is always around the house, because that’s where the show takes place; and Tichina Arnold as Calvin’s well-centered wife, Tina. This is not the first comedy in which sensible wives bond while excitable husbands clash, and it will not be the last.

The premise is a flip, of course, on the old cry of the Racist White Homeowner, “There goes the neighborhood,” unleashing jokes and a speech or two about how black people are and white people are and how they see each other. (In fact, these are issues that have concerned the actual gentrifying, house-flipping neighborhood where the show is set.) But this is also a TV neighborhood, where the “community” for all intents and purposes extends no farther than the people next door — not even the people next door on the other side.

This may change: In the fourth episode, Calvin visits a local bar, where he laments to his friend the proprietor that “our community is being chipped away” and that the old barbecue joint and the hardware store have become a coffeehouse and a juice bar; Dave will also get a lesson in real local history that applies to locales all over this land. Of course, he will have something to teach Calvin too, about trust and acceptance. On CBS, everybody gets along, eventually.

Robert Lloyd is a Los Angeles Times (TNS) writer.

Source: https://triblive.com/aande/movies/14138133-74/review-cbs-offers-2-comedies-of-upsetting-proximity

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