#i can't take that episode personally they were just trying to pad out the season with what functioning 'mountain railway' models they had

[flightfoot]

I am worried this season will drop the ball on two important interpersonal relationships for Adrien and miss some great humor and tension opportunities:

Nino. Nino thinks Chat Noir is a fuckboy and Marinette and Chat Noir were seen canoodling in Elation! Chat Noir "stole" Adrien's crush from his POV. I need Nino to know about this and have funny misunderstandings over it. Tension. Realization. Woo woo woo. Then he and Chat Noir can be on better terms by the end. I've been waiting on this with each new episode released. I hope they do something with it! (Speaking of which, also waiting on Monarch to use Marichat against them like he said he would. We haven't even so much as gotten a "That Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a hussy, son!)

Lila. Lila is Marinette's enemy, true. However, I feel like she's been very antagonistic toward Adrien too and I wish they would interact more. She's lied to him, stolen from him, teamed up with his father to spy on him, was purposefully akumatized to get back at him and he has to work with her because of the deal they made. Lila is the only person that Adrien has shown blatant dislike for to their face and I REALLY WANTED MORE OF THAT! I'm hoping there is a scene where Adrien calls Lila out for not making good on their deal because she's been trying to sabotage Marinette in two episodes now. I also have this head canon that, the more she leans into being a jerk, the more she'd grind Adrien's gears. He gave her a chance because he thought she was the lonely new girl who put up a front because she just wanted to be liked. He saw some of himself in her. But now that she's doubled down on her lying and faking, that recognition of his own qualities in her must aggravate him. I've always thought that's why he can be so cold to her without a hint of his usual padding. She confronts him with everything that is fake in him and he can't bring himself to fake back. Basically, I think Lila is just as much of a foil to Adrien as she is to Marinette and the writers should use that.

Those are my main two, but there are probably other characters I wish Adrien interacted more with. I'd like to see a heart to heart with Tom as they do have similar backgrounds with their fathers? And I'm always down to see Adrien/Chat Noir and Alya/Rena Rouge interact because they're just fun together. They can talk shit (lovingly) about Nino and Marinette.

YES PLEASE. I'm down for all of these! I kinda doubt that Rocketear and Nino's thoughts about Chat will come up again, but I do suspect that Gabriel's gonna use Marichat against Chat Noir at some point - maybe in Kwami's Choice part 2? I dunno, we're missing so many episodes, it could easily take place in one of the ones we skipped past.

And yeah, Lila being one of the few people who Adrien will blatantly express dislike for makes her unusual. I like that she's Marinette's nemesis in that, frankly, Marinette needs more interpersonal challenges (Chloe hasn't been much of a threat since the series began, so Marinette's main challenges have just been her being unable to confess to Adrien, and then her own insecurities about how she's doing as Ladybug. Lila gives Marinette an external threat to her social life and mental well-being to look out for beyond just Monarch). But it's important to remember that Marinette's not the ONLY person she's hurt, not by a long shot. Marinette's just the one she's personally gunning for the most.

ALSO MORE OF ADRIEN INTERACTING WITH ALYA AND TOM YES PLEASE.

[electricprincess96]

Ep 3 of The Last Of Us was at least more interesting than last weeks episode. Ironic that the most fun I've had with the show so far is when I catch a glimpse of just how Joel was living his life the last 20 or so years. That being said they made one vital error that made me not be able to emotionally care about the characters spotlighted in this episode. They made Frank really unlikeable at the beginning and they rushed his romantic and sexual relationship with Bill. Like I get that in the apocalypse when you haven't seen another human being for a long time emotions can be heightened and the need for human contact can be so great that you aren't exactly going to be taking people out on 2 or 3 dates before you fuck them but come on ONE day? Not even a full day? For someone so paranoid like Bill I just couldn't buy that, at least give them a week or two. Also I didn't like how Bill seemed just so scared when they were about to sleep together for the first time (after knowing each other a couple hours maybe) like why the fuck was the actor told to play him that way?! It made me uncomfortable and made Frank seem like a predator and I didn't like it. Also Bill was right, Frank should not be using up his fuel just to mow the lawn and shouldn't have been inviting Joel and Tess to them without Bill's permission, just because it ended up working out doesn't change the fact it was a huge risk in the middle of the fucking apocalypse.

Overall though with some minor tweaks I'd have probably liked this episode more than Ep1 but because of the botched beginning to that relationship I ended up only caring about how Joel reacted to what happened to them because so far the only character I've managed to create any meaningful connection with is Joel. I feel like a better way to give us Frank and Bill's story would have been for Joel and Ellie to actually meet them in person first, let us get to know them through the characters we are meant to care about and THEN show us their story (and eventual joint suicide which I'm just gonna say it coupled committing suicide because one thing bad happens to one of them wasn't romantic when it was Romeo and Juliet and it isn't romantic now. Also bad case of bury your gays when one of those characters is apparently alive in the game so.....)

All that being said this episode was pure padding in a series that really didn't need it. The Last Of Us game is long. The cutscenes alone are almost 4 hours, that's almost 2 movie lengths, the season is only 9 episodes and they've already speedrun to getting Joel and Ellie meeting in Episode 1. Like I now know the creator who's helping on this show was the one with more or less full creative control of TLOU2 so he must really want to get to his story by Season 2 but considering I know most fans while they might like Part 2 most will agree its not as good as Part 1 (which is why Naughty Dog continue to milk Part 1 for all its worth) I figured they'd try to pass Part 1 out to at least 2 seasons on which case padding episodes like this would have been expected and necessary but they aren't. They clearly intend to finish this season with the end of the first game. They're apparently casting for Abby right now so next season is going to be Part 2 (poor Pedro Pascal they can't let his handsome face catch a break its either getting smashed in or hidden by a helmet these days).

Also why are they now telling us how many miles they are outside if x y or z place when in Episode 1 Joel and Tess just sort of teleport from inside the Quarantine Zone to wherever Ellie is without even showing us A. How they got there and B. Where Ellie even was in relation to where they started. Either locations and distances matter or they don't cause genuinely I laughed when Joel just appeared where Ellie was cause I was so confused I didn't know if they were in the same place this whole time or if someone had moved and we just weren't shown how it was all so bad it was comical.

Also what the fuck was Ellie doing to that Infected in the basement? Genuinely question like she's acting like one of the kids who'd burn ants it's quiet unsettling.

And lastly for the dudebros who'll tell me im a toxic gamer purist, I haven't played The Last Of Us. I understand changes have to be made. I'm not against Ep3 existing as I said I was at least less bored in this episode cause I decided I did actually kinda like Bill and thus what happened to him mattered to me. BUT I find it odd that such a short series based on quite long source material (I'm aware plenty of the gameplay material can't translate to television very well) needed padding but as padding goes this wasn't terrible.

[meanscarletdeceiver]

*studiously pretending yet again to not notice the THREE dunkin' duncan asks in my inbox*

[galactic-glamour-girl-posts]

First time watching Pinky and the Brain since childhood!

I watched Pinky and the Brain as a kid (before I had even heard of Animaniacs), but not much and for years I barely remembered anything about it other than the theme song and premise. I didn't even know it was a spin-off of a different show for years, I thought it was its own thing until about 7 years later! But now that I've already seen the Animaniacs reboot, then OG Animaniacs, and then Wakko's Wish, I figured I might as well watch (or I guess re-watch) this series too! Just a heads up-I won't go episode by episode and will just be giving general thoughts, and I'll try not to repeat opinions that have been said about this show over and over again. I've only watched season one so far and there are no other segments/main characters other than Pinky and the Brain so this won't be as long as my other Animaniacs-related impressions posts. Let's do this!

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-I think I always remembered the theme song because it's so unlike the theme songs of so many kids shows, it's sung by older men with deep voices rather than either the characters in the show or younger/friendlier sounding people, and it's a lot slower, it's almost something you could march to, which was probably intentional. In fact between that and the vocabulary used ("unfurled", "dawning of the sun", "twilight campaign", etc), it sounds like a song Brain himself probably would write.

-I was surprised to learn that like, half the segments are about 22 minutes, taking up the full episode. I thought that it's be like Animanacs where they only sometimes do full episodes (I think only about a tenth of Animaniacs' segments were 22 minutes). For the most part I prefer the 22 minute episodes so far, I guess because they're longer that forces them to be a bit more creative with the plot and that's why I like them. Ironically enough I didn't enjoy "Spellbound" (the Animanaics episode that's pretty much a backdoor pilot for this show) so that's a nice surprise.

(btw-I didn't like "Spellbound" because a lot of the jokes amount to "and then Brain gets hurt again", the cameos felt like they were just there to pad out the plot, and the running gag got old fast and made the ending predictable)

-Honestly almost all the segments so far seem a little less formulaic then the Pinky and the Brain segments in OG Animaniacs, so that's good.

-Songs are also less prevalent here, but that fits the tone of the show so that's not a complaint. The songs themselves are...okay. Not as good as most songs in Animaniacs, but they're fine.

-I like how the show expands on Brain's insecurities and megalomaniacal nature, with dialogue like "Good one Brain!" "They're all good ones Pinky." for example, or when he regrets making Pinky smart, even though it was beneficial for both of them, just because he hated the idea of not being the smartest person in the room.

-The show also does a good job of showcasing just how much how much Pinky cares for Brain, the Christmas special being a legendary example. It's really touching (and a little sad) to see just how selfless Pinky can be. In fact, Pinky and the Brain already in 13 episodes seem more fleshed as characters than in all of their appearances n the original Animaniacs, and it's pretty clear their depictions in the reboot were influenced by their characterisations in their spin off series way more than the original show.

-Now that I've watched his debut episodes, I can safely say that I think Snowball is...okay. He's fine, makes for a good villain. Still prefer Julia as an antagonist so far, but I know he shows up in more episodes so he'll probably be more fleshed out and become more of a threat. One thing though, his VA's performance is brilliant. He has such an unironically menacing voice. Roddy McDowall (RIP) did a fantastic job, and I can't wait to hear him in more episodes .

-In one episode Brain mentions that he's two years old. I like how the joke works on multiple levels-mice do have very short lifespans (about two or three years if kept in captivity), but also PatB debuted in 1995 and Animaniacs debuted in 1993 so by the time the episode aired the character Brain (if you consider the premiere of Animaniacs as his "birth") had literally existed for two years. Nice.

-Some moments make me cringe though, like sometimes they'll have characters who are POC but they're obviously voiced by white people yet they're still trying to do the accents and it's...not fun. Examples I can think of are "Tokyo Grows" and "Fly".

-lol the writers love to take digs at Bill Clinton huh? They did in Animaniacs a few times sure, but wow they do it every other episode in this show. I guess it makes sense, Brain thinks the people currently in power are buffoons so if the show doesn't portray at least some of them that way then Brain's motives wouldn't seem genuine.

-Actually, now that I think about it, this whole show so far seems a little more cynical than Animaniacs. Not only do the protagonists constantly lose, humans are often portrayed as mean and/or corrupt, idiots, or both. Yeah that would often be the case in Animaniacs, but mostly just when it came to the Warners' "special friends", otherwise the moralities and intelligence of the human characters would vary widely. Here, almost every human plays a significant role in their episode is awful in some way. Of course I know this was done on purpose-it makes it easier to understand where Brain is coming from...and because it's funny, that too.

-So Brain's given average field mice the ability to speak before Julia, some of those mice being his parents. Again, their segments in the reboot seem a lot more similar to their segments in their spin off than Animaniacs. God his parents were annoying, but it seemed Brain learned to be a bit more appreciative of Pinky by the end of the segment, so that's cool (fun fact, Brain's dad is voiced by Ernest Borgnine, the original voice of Mermaid Man from Spongebob) .

-This show's a little edgier than Animaniacs 1993 too. They've mention sexual harassment, in "Snowball" Brain tries to commit suicide by getting eaten by a cat, Brain literally gets trapped between a woman's breasts in a different episode, Pinky and the Brain get held at gunpoint multiple times (once even getting guns shoved in their mouths). It makes sense though, because the show used to premiere episodes during the WB Network's primetime schedule, however after season 1 episodes would premiere on "Kids WB!".

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It's looking good so far! I much prefer their segments here (and their reboot ones) to the ones from the original Animaniacs-they've really improved. Characters feel more fleshed out, plots are a little less formulaic, yet feels distinct from Animaniacs due to its more cynical and edgy humour. I like it. I still prefer Animaniacs as a show (mostly because there's more variety in terms of the episodes and characters), but I like it.

Link to Part 2

[aros001]

Going in blind: Watching season 2 for the first time. Random thoughts.

Huh. Only 7 episodes. Not complaining necessarily. For series with an ongoing plot I've definitely become more in favor with their seasons only having as many episodes as they need rather than them having to stretch themselves out to full up a certain number of episodes, which can lead to padding and just bad character moments.

Episode 1: Jeez. Catra visiting Shadow Weaver's cell just to rub her success in her face and verbally abuse her back for once. It's like a twisted version of Zuko and Ozai from ATLA. Catra's upbringing under her was abusive but this is far from a healthy way for her to deal with it. She's basically deliberately swimming in her resentment.

Episode 2: It's not that I'm rooting for her but by-golly was it fun to watch Catra act like just the absolute worst she could while she was Glimmer and Bow's captive.

I touched on this in season 1 but part of the drama of the heroes feeling guilt over leaving Entrapta behind is kind of lost on me a bit simply because it was her own fault it happened. She deliberately went back into the purge room because of her machine obsession, which then closed on her and erupted in flames. It was more than reasonable to assume she was dead and no one but her was to blame, so I'm not really able to be invested in their guilt over it.

That said, weirdly enough I do like that her "abandonment" doesn't seem to be even a blip on the radar for Entrapta herself. She hasn't joined the horde because she resents the heroes or felt left behind, she simply is so obsessed with machines and experimentation that she'll be on the side of whoever lets her do the most of that. Like, it's selfish and irresponsible but it's very in-character and I'd far rather have a traitor motivation be based in that over something stupid like a misunderstanding.

Episode 3: I love the mental image of Shadow Weaver thinking up princess-themed ghost stories to tell Adora as a child.

So, if the previous She-Ra Mara separated Eternia from the other realms/planets/whatever she did and that's what cut off the She-Ra line for 1000 years, I'm guessing Hordak may be from the time before that happened, thus his drive to create portals and calling Eternia a backwards world. Either he's naturally long-lived or his technology is extending his life.

Episode 4: You know, you could maybe argue it was vague enough that it could be taken other ways but I'm definitely getting some vibes here that Scorpia is crushing on Catra. She literally refers to the two of them as soulmates at one point. I know she says she's trying to be friends but this feels a level beyond that.

Fun little reference to the original She-Ra cartoon thrown in there (and maybe Cowboy Bebop...? James Bond...? What was Glimmer's art style supposed to be?). I like how it is more like just playful ribbing than anything outright dumping on the original. Again, I've never seen original She-Ra but whenever remakes/adaptations go out of their way to trash to the original I always kind of wonder why they bothered doing an adaptation if the original is just that bad? Also, I was having trouble sleeping so it was about 2am when I watched this episode and the very Eartha Kitt Catwoman Catra made it very difficult for me not to lose my **** and stay quiet. With how much of a contrast that version is from the one in this series, that was hilarious. Bonus note, it's a nice touch that Frosta's version of Catra is a pretty crasher in that sweet suit, since that's the only impression of Catra she's ever had.

Adora being a chosen one is definitely elevated up simply by how much the pressure of what she's supposed to be is getting to her. I'm likely going to keep making Avatar The Last Airbender comparisons throughout the series but that's partly because I went into this series figuring it'd be at least structured similar to ATLA (season 1 being more episodic and a little more kid-friendly as it builds up the world before getting more serious later). Adora and Aang are interesting to compare here. Aang's worries early on were less apparent because he was more in-denial/choosing not to think about his problems that much, which fit with his character as a free-spirited Air Nomad. While Adora is much more military-minded. She can't keep herself from thinking about her problems and trying to prepare for the worst-case scenario. And jeez, that idea of who/how Catra is in her mind. Not only beating her but making her watch as she takes everything she cares about away. Not Shadow Weaver, not Lord Hordak, but Catra. That whole Lion King Mufasa/Scar moment between them in episode 11 and their fight in the S1 finale really did a number on her mental image of her old friend. Not reasonably so.

Minor note: I'm sure I'm the only one who got this impression but by the look of it, the way the robot's eye moved, and the music, after getting the soda spilled on it that little spybot gained sentience for half a second and then immediately died. It was so darkly comedic I had to laugh.

Episode 5: So that red disc is basically She-Ra's Red Kryptonite, having an effect on the mind rather than the body. The drunk Adora joke doesn't really do it for me but it did get some nice interactions going between Scorpia and Sea Hawk, two characters I certainly wasn't expecting to bond. I did really like Catra's panic when berserker She-Ra nearly beheads her. The implication is that is Adora really wanted to kill her Catra would already probably be dead. It's a thing I like about powerhouse characters like Superman or Aang, who could just demolish everything around them and don't simply because they're a good person...which in turn makes them the scariest person on the planet when they're well and truly ticked off. I'm not going to lie, I do kind of want to see a She-Ra version of Aang when Appa was stolen or when Superman fought The Elite.

Also, Catra's line of "I have control over Adora. I'm not giving that up for anything.". There's a lot to read into there.

Episode 6: I guess my prediction was sort of right. Shadow Weaver became basically a magic parasite and while it did increase the power she's capable of the implication seems to be that she needs a constant fix of magic to keep herself going, thus her attachment to the Black Garnet.

Have we seen Micah before? Given how long ago the flashback seems set, the fact that Shadow Weaver didn't kill him and thus he probably becomes someone important later in life, I'm guessing he's Glimmer's dad and the queen's late husband, since I think he's the only important male character whose face we haven't seen yet. Also, he's voice by Ezra from Star Wars Rebels and that cracks me up for some reason. It's the exact same voice and a relatively similar character.

I compared Catra and Shadow Weaver with a kind of twisted version of Zuko and Ozai and that definitely still fits here. Both Catra and Zuko confront their parent and call them out for the inexcusable abuse they put them through but while that moment was the start of Zuko's upwards journey this and SW's betrayal seems like it's going to cause Catra to spiral even further. Makes sense why Adora leaving affected her so much. She's probably the only one Catra's ever had that she could consistently trust and rely on, even if she did somewhat resent her.

Not surprised Hordak is getting along with Entrapta. She's not socially aware enough to be scared or intimidated by him, so she'll speak frankly, and since all she wants to talk about is the machines, experiments, and how they could get them to work Hordak probably doesn't take much issue with that. She's producing results, which is what he cares about, thus also why Shadow Weaver and Catra started losing favor with him. I wonder if Catra is going through imposter syndrome? Shadow Weaver had that line that Entrapta earned her place next to Hordak and, if you think about it, Catra hasn't really "earned" anything. We saw that she didn't really take her training or studies that seriously, showing up late to combat practice and even getting partial credit for what Adora beat. She wasn't promoted to Force Captain because of her own abilities but because Adora had defected when she was supposed to get that title. She's come close to a few victories but never really had any except for Glimmer and Bow's kidnapping...whom she then basically let escape when she returned Adora's sword to her. She doesn't have the slightest clue how the horde's bureaucracy works when trying to get things done, like simply getting troops armor. Given how much better than her Adora always was and how little she herself has to her name, I wonder is subconsciously Catra believes she doesn't deserve her current position and thus why she's fretting so much over trying to prove herself.

Episode 7: Am I mistaken or did Bow's parents say that he's the youngest of TWELVE siblings? I was going to ask whether Bow was adopted or if his dad's used a surrogate or if maybe there's even just simply magic in She-Ra's world that allows two people of the same sex to have a child together but now I'm just focused on the 12 kids thing. I get nervous just imagining myself having more than one. You should see me when I'm with two cats. I have to pet both of them because I'd feel like I'd be making one feel left out and like the other is the favorite. I'm a mess with kids.

The dad with dreadlocks (Lance?), his design looked familiar to me and I finally realized it reminded me a of a fanart design for a human Grim from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. Very different voices between those two characters though.

I wonder if there's any significance to the robot protecting the crystal having the same design as those in the artic in episode 5? Obviously both have the connection to the First Ones but the robot in the forest who was also protecting First Ones' tech had a more insect-like design over these more worm/Graboid ones.

I'm kind of curious what Hordak would have done if Catra had told the truth. Given his interactions with her and Shadow Weaver he doesn't seem like the time to tolerate failure but I suppose the implication here is that he at least would respect those who own up to their failures. Or I suppose more simply he was just testing to see if she would lie to him and since she did there's little merit in keeping her in a position of authority anymore where she could lie about important things again.

Season 2 verdict: Still enjoying it. Another person on this reddit recommended I view seasons 2 and 3 as one since they are basically just one season split in two. I was going to do that but this ended up longer than I thought I would, so I'll just do 2 and 3 separate to keep them semi-organized and easier to read.

I think overall Catra is my favorite character since she has the most interesting backstory, interactions, and just general path through the story out of everyone. She's like Pearl from Steven Universe or, well, Zuko. There's just so much baggage there that she's trying and kind of failing to deal with. I'm always invested in whatever's happening when she's onscreen. Hordak so far is a good big boss villain for Adora to face but Catra is a good archenemy for her.

Original Reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/PrincessesOfPower/comments/o027y3/going_in_blind_watching_season_2_for_the_first/

[singingwordwright]

i have to politely disagree with you on the show intention with malec. if the show is trying to ground malec in their emotional framework first, they won't have their first time one episode after their first date. the show rushed their sex step bcz the next epi plot requires it. malec can't be a serious couple if they didn't have sex right? 🙄 i'm offended on behalf of real couples who chose to wait. i'd personally be happy to see them go to dates and have their sex step well into s2, even s3!

I get where you’re coming from, but I don’t believe the showrunners were ever saying they couldn’t be a real couple if they hadn’t had sex. I think it was an issue of where the story allowed for it to happen.

As I said in my long post a couple days ago, they needed to get the sex issue out of the way or it would have hung like an albatross around the neck of the rest of the Malec story arc for season 2b.

2x07-2x10 was entirely about getting the relationship to a point of full, whole-hearted commitment. That was going to be the launching pad for everything that happened in 2b. But having sex is really almost negligible. Instead, three things happened at the end of season 2a that HAD to happen before season 2b:

1) They had deal with the issue of the lack of acceptance from Alec’s parents (and even the skepticism of, for example, Jace) which they did by making a lot of very unambiguous statements. Alec unambiguously declared himself certain of wanting to be with Magnus, both to Magnus and to Maryse. Magnus unambiguously declared himself to Jace. They made a public display that forced Maryse to deal the reality of THEM. 2x08 was about commitment to the relationship.

2) They had to demonstrate that despite the shift in their relationship status since 2x06, they could still have conflict and come back to each other (2x09/2x10.) That would be important because of the conflict they would face in 2b.

3) They had to declare their love for each other (2x10.)

All that had to happen before the body-swap plot at the end of 2x11. They had to be grounded in all those things. or the body-swap plot wouldn’t have had nearly the emotional jeopardy that it did. There wouldn’t have been as much sense of “Alec should know who that person in Valentine’s body is” nor would the fact that Alec was complicit in Magnus’s torture and almost-execution have had as much relationship-breaking potential.

Sex is really incidental to all that. They didn’t need Alec and Magnus to have sex for those things to happen. So why did sex happen in 2x07 instead of waiting for a later point in the season?

Opportunity.

Look at all that has happened since 2x08. There has literally been no other place where there was both the TIME for them to have a reprieve, a breathing space, where they could step back from everything else and contemplate that sort of a change in their relationship, when they weren’t ALSO struggling with issues of trust and betrayal in the aftermath of 2x12.

Prior to 2x11 things were too busy. 2x07-2x10 takes place in a matter of a few days. And Magnus’s state of mind and the trust between him and Alec has been too fragile since 2x12; it wouldn’t have been the right time for them to take that step in their relationship if they hadn’t already taken it.

And yet the sex question had to be deal with. It couldn’t be put off until Season 3. Sorry, it just couldn’t. You might have been okay with it, but the longer it was delayed, the more it would have become this Major Issue for the fans that no one could move past.

If the sex question hadn’t been settled, the fandom would have been constantly questioning when it was finally going to happen instead of focusing fully on all these other things going on in Malec’s story arc. (I’m sure the showrunners also didn’t want anyone even asking the question of whether or not their first time would happen when Valentine was in Magnus’s body–ew!)

So, yeah, 2x07 was not the optimal place for them to have sex. But it was the only place in the story that it could happen without the question of sex hanging over the rest of the season in a way that would have detracted from the story and/or frustrated fans.

If I have one wish moving forward with this show into Season 3, it’s that they don’t pack the plot in so tightly, one episode after another, that there doesn’t feel like there’s breathing room to allow some of these other developments to happen more organically. But, judging by the showrunner interviews at SDCC, I don’t think I’m gonna get that wish.

[hen-universe]

character opinion bingo: them doggone diamonds - also the mail lady

For the Diamonds, I don't think anyone's surprised

Wooo boy, where to start?

I love them (shocker). I love their designs, I love their characters, I love their relationships. I wish so badly we'd had another season to give them a little more screen time, but what we have is so rich.

We start with Yellow, who the show teases as the possible end game 'big bad.' She's introduced as someone who's cold, calculating, and controlling. Everyone's scared shitless of her for good reason. Same goes for Blue's introduction in 'Story for Steven'.

But when we see Blue in person, it's her grieving at Pink's 'grave'. This Diamond who finds solace in Greg’s words is a far cry from Garnet’s portrayal. 'What's the Point of Feeling Blue?' is such an uncomfortably intimate moment. We eavesdrop on this private and raw demonstration of grief. It's jarring and uncomfortable. We get to see ‘cold’ Yellow trying her best to comfort Blue, and sadsack Blue turn vicious when Steven’s put on trial. 

We can sympathize with their interpersonal struggles, but they’re still the leaders of a highly repressive society. These things coexist without trying to frame their behavior as a tragic backstory responsible for their actions. It makes their characters that much richer, and the story that much better for doing so.

As for White Diamond... my feelings are a little more mixed. I love her design influences (her intro? Chilling. Perfect )  I just get caught up on the ‘she believes all Gems are her and she is all Gems’ bit. It just doesn’t feel like it quite fits with the rest of her ideology, but that’s just me. 

(I kind of wanted to circle 'they got done DIRTY' because there is an unfortunate chunk of the fandom that came away thinking 'SU is bad because the Diamonds are evil space-imperialists and Steven just forgave all their space-imperialism and they should have died/been banished/overthrown' but let's be real here: they also have a lot of folks who love them and gave them the attention they deserve, so that doesn't seem fair.

But part of the impetus for Dispatches was because at the time it started there were soooo many 'Homeworld is horrible/the Diamonds are cruel for shits and giggles' stories circulating that flattened them out to generic baddies. To be fair, they've done lots of things wrong, in their lives, often, but I want to read stories that actually take their characters into account.)

As for Barb, well...

'Actively dislike' may be a bit strong, but I've had enough experiences with people like her to not warm up to her. I've said this a hundred times, but SU does a fantastic job at realistically illustrating flawed people and dysfunctional dynamics. One episode is enough to tell us everything we need to know about Barb, Sadie, and why Sadie turned out the way she did.

Barb's enthusiastic and strong-willed. And she steamrolls. She does what she feels is best without allowing Sadie any input. So Sadie doesn't fight back and just accepts it as inevitable.

Sadie hiding the warp pad in Island Adventure makes so much more sense once Barb was introduced. Sadie 'knew' what was best for Lars and made an executive decision with long-reaching impacts over which he had no control. Sounds familiar, huh?

And it goes back to SU's storytelling that we're shown how damaging this behavior is. Barb isn't malicious; she's doing these things because she loves her daughter, but she's so caught up in herself she can't see how much this 'love' was hurting her. The catharsis of 'Sadie's Song' is her finally, finally, seeing her daughter as she is and apologizing.

(It turns out I actually have a lot to say about her. Discussions of generational trauma just seem to bring that out, haha. )