#i will still defend the overall narrative thrust of season 2 i think it was inspired and interesting

[littlestsnicket]

time of contempt!yenralt is geralt not trusting yennefer and being too scared of upsetting her to say it and sleeping with her anyway and the way netflix!geralt is different, that would never work.

i don't think the writers aren't fighting yennefer's arc in season 2 nearly as much as they are fighting this other version of geralt. and well... i wish some nuances of character interaction had gone a bit differently in season 2, but the thing that irritates me more than anything else in adaptations is when changes are made and the production backs off on them rather than following through. so whatever. i'm more interested to see what they do than anything else.

[wits-writing]

Castlevania Season 2 (TV Review)

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[Season 1 Review Here]

Netflix’s animated series Castlevania comes back to round out the story of Trevor Belmont (Richard Armitage), Sypha Belnades ( Alejandra Reynoso) and Alucard (James Callis) work together to find a way to bring down Dracula (Graham McTavish) in his mission to wipe out humanity.

Series writer Warren Ellis and director Sam Deats return to deliver paralleling narratives between the heroes and villains as the self-destructive nature of Dracula’s vengeance on the world becomes evermore clear. The technical compliments I gave to the series in its first season, stellar fight animation and overall design reminiscent of the most iconic entries in the game series, remain consistent here and are even further improved on. Outside of covering where I feel those technical improvements helped the most, this review will mainly cover the character journeys from throughout the season in as spoiler-free a manner as possible.

[Full Review Under the Cut]

Back when I covered season 1, I discussed how I was disappointed in the lack of varied monster designs. Season 2 rectifies that by pulling more monsters in from the games to fill out Dracula’s hordes. Monster variety feeds into variety within the monster fights. Trevor defending the Belmont Hold shows a lot to how this works to the fight scenes’ advantage. Each monster has different sizes, strengths and abilities that he needs to account for in addition to shifting circumstances of what items he can use. I took greater notice on my second viewing of the season how the visuals communicated Trevor taking notice and working around the defenses of each monster in succession during this sequence, whether he used the Morningstar, his sword or a stick. The design work also adds to the vampire generals working for Dracula. Each design calls upon different cultures and their folklore about vampires, showing how far Dracula’s influence reaches in the world of monsters. On principle of design alone, the monsters and vampires are clear mark ups from the previous season.

A minor note where it could be said they fall flatter than last time, the monsters are more purely bestial this time around. No moments like the church scene from season 1 this time around, where a monster will stop to taunt its victim before tearing into them. It also applies to most of the vampire generals not backing up their dynamic designs with powerful personality. Why this element lacks in these examples comes down to this season having more characters in antagonistic roles, so there’s less need for some random creature to go through a speech like the church scene.

Among the notable villains this season is the boorish Viking vampire, Godbrand (Peter Stormare). He’s the first example we’re shown of dissent within Dracula’s court. Stormare gives Godbrand a boisterous thrill from hunting for humans on its own, shown off in a flashback where he shouts out his own name in triumph during a slaughter. Keeping that side of the character’s personality from becoming too one-note comes back to how he’s quick to call out the holes in the pretense of Dracula’s plan to wipe out their “livestock.” His presence adds humor to what could otherwise be sullen moments in Castle Dracula. Godbrand’s role in the grand scheme of the season is minor, but he’s memorable for the time he’s given.

Operating less in dissent than subterfuge among Dracula’s court, Carmilla (Jaime Murray) arrives in the season’s second episode with her own plans in mind to seize control of the vampire community for herself. It all begins with a simple but cutting question for Dracula asked in front of the entire court, why he never turned Lisa into a vampire. She continues prodding the Lord of Vampires by questioning how much he truly loved Lisa, referring to her as his “pet” and “prize breeder” at different points. Her machinations provide the narrative thrust for the vampiric half of the season’s story. She knows the right way to get under the skin of everyone she needs to manipulate. As she works to get all the pieces where she needs them, there’s an underlying anger to her. It’s an attitude driven by how smallminded she finds everyone else’s motives, seeing the other’s in Castle Dracula as overgrown children rather than peers.

Central to Carmilla’s manipulations is one of Dracula’s human servants, Hector (Theo James.) He works in the castle as one of two Devil Forgemasters, bringing the dead back to life and transforming them through alchemy to add to monsters of the night hordes. Hector’s skill at forging comes from the art of the act itself, seen in how he keeps a large array of revived animals for himself outside of the tasks set for him. There’s a bizarre semi-detached outlook to how he views living creatures. While he sees no problem with the desecration of innocent victims’ corpses to create monsters, he still believes in the inherent value of life. His abilities as a Forgemaster letting him make life from death adding to his view that he has a deeper understanding of the true nature of life. Others seeing through this outlook to the man who simply wants to put his skills to use can manipulate him by playing on his beliefs. Dracula convinces him to go along with the crusade to wipe out humanity by lying about it’s true nature, saying the end goal is to cull humanity into a manageable size then “mercifully” treat them as livestock. Carmilla gets him on her side by saying she needs someone Dracula will hear out. She even gives him a surface level amount of respect until the moment she already has what she needs from him.

Less open to manipulation is Dracula’s other Forgemaster, Isaac (Adetokumboh M’Cormack), as his loyalty to the Vampire Lord runs deep in his soul. He’s the one person in the castle who was given the full truth of the war against humanity before it began and still dedicate himself to it. There’s no affection left in his heart for humanity after years of suffering at the hands of others, even those who should have protected him. While he denounces even the idea of love and ponders the futility of loyalty, his dedication to Dracula is unrivaled by any other alliance in this show. He doesn’t exempt himself from the “plague” of humanity, as we see him self-flagellate in order to “purify” his body and focus his mind. In contrast to Hector, Isaac’s cynicism about other people makes it near impossible to manipulate him. When he begins to see the likes of Godbrand and Carmilla question or scheme against Dracula’s goals, he sees his worldview proven correct as even vampires are susceptible to the “corruption” that plagues humanity.

Dracula values that perspective on both vampires and humanity from his Forgemasters. He values their loyalty above others as the only members of his court “not driven by thirst.” The vampire generals in the castle don’t see any values in humanity, not even the negative ones Dracula focuses on. He needs Isaac and Hector to confer with, so he has their understanding of humanity as thinking creatures, rather than as prey, livestock or pets. Graham McTavish’s performance this time around focuses in on how Dracula is past the rage that spurred his quest to get vengeance on humanity for what happened to Lisa. He’s softer spoken and sullen. His overall demeanor communicates how above everything, he’s just waiting for the end. Dracula has quick reassurances ready for those like Godbrand, worried about what the food supply will be like once the war is done, saying that they will be looked after. While Carmilla’s remarks about how never turning his wife into a vampire proves he didn’t truly love her brings out his fury. His crusade is referred to on multiple occasions as a prolonged suicide, one where he intends to take everyone else down with him. How much love and loss have changed the Vampire Lord’s outlook is shown as his present self gets contrasted with a flashback as Dracula remembers how he used to savor the detail of destruction and death. In the present, he’s willing to play right into Carmilla’s treacherous hands “as long as it brings silence.”

The other half of season 2’s story details how Trevor, Sypha and Alucard begin to grow into more of an alliance as they go to what remains of the Belmont estate to find a way to track and entrap the evermoving Castle Dracula. Alucard easily gets the most expansion in characterization this season, since he didn’t fully appear until the end of season 1’s last episode. He’s set on what he must do, even if the notion, “Honoring my mother by killing my father” as he puts it, leaves him uneasy. Carrying the weight of this mission is likely part of why he constantly goes at Trevor in their back and forth of snarky remarks. Another part of his unease around Trevor comes from how the Belmonts are vampire hunters and he’s half-vampire. When the trio makes it to the Belmont Hold, Alucard mainly sees it as a museum dedicated to the extermination of his species. By the end, his relationship with his father is what gets put up front and center during the climactic battle in Castle Dracula. Some of his angst may also be a product of him being “an angry teenager in an adult’s body”, as Sypha puts it when she learns Alucard aged rapidly growing up.

Among the trio of heroes, Sypha’s characterization this season is more of a mixed bag in terms of what I liked about it. A lot of what doesn’t work about her character this time comes down to her being placed in the role of rolling her eyes as Trevor and Alucard go through their back and forth of verbal jabs. Her getting some jabs of her own in on them both and vice versa provides some good material, on average I’d say the banter between the three of them is one of the best parts of the show, but she’s usually stuck playing the straight-man for jokes to bounce off. Sypha’s best material this season comes from her reacting to the experiences life outside of the Speakers has provided her in such a short period of time. She marvels at the Belmont family’s collection of ancient recorded knowledge, impressed enough to denounce her people’s dedication to only obtaining and passing down knowledge through memorization and oral history. Her magic makes her the main player in the plan to ensnare Castle Dracula and she finds exhilaration in her ability to accomplish that. Her more intimate, personal moments with Trevor and Alucard provide some further insights into their characters, as she tends to see right through them.

While I found Sypha’s material this season to be a mixed bag, the problem with Trevor’s characterization is that he doesn’t grow much beyond where we ended with him in season 1. There he ended with a new resolve to carry on the Belmont family legacy as monster hunters protecting the innocent from the terrors lurking in the night. He’s still dedicated to that cause now, but the way it manifests this time is the story using him as a delivery system for exposition about the history of the Belmonts as the trio spends most of the season within his family’s underground library. He’s not totally informed on everything about his family’s history, since they were driven out of their home when he was twelve, a bit of his nostalgia for happier days shines through as they approach the estate. If there are major developments for Trevor this time, one of them comes in the form of him stepping up to determine strategy during combat and other moments of peril. Another comes from his relationship with Sypha starting to show the potential to become something more, as the man with no family and the woman with no home become closer over the nights leading up to the attack on the castle. His interactions with Alucard are very action-adventure story style guys who piss each other off but ultimately earn each other’s respect in the end.

In case this amount of analysis on each major player in Castlevania season 2 wasn’t enough of an indication, this season has a lot more going on in it than season 1 did. If I wasn’t pausing to take notes as often as I did upon my second go through of the season, I know there would’ve been plenty I had missed and not all of it gets the screen time to fully develop. There are plenty of paralleling moments, themes and character beats between the stories in Castle Dracula and the Belmont Hold. The importance and power of collected knowledge is a major one and ends up tying back into an overall theme of family legacy that ties together Trevor, Sypha and Alucard as they become more of a team. The way these themes resolve in the final battle with Dracula managed to get me emotional on both watches. Castlevania on Netflix has firmly placed itself as my favorite original animated show on the platform with this season and I look forward to seeing how the threads left at the end of this one lead into season 3.

[enguardebitch]

Top 3 twdg seasons?

1. My absolute favourite season has to be Season One. The plot and the writing had a goal and understood what they wanted to get across to the player, and they were not afraid of using mature themes without going overboard and leaving the player apathetic to what happens next. You had dozens of moments in the season where you could take a breather and just walk around while getting to know the characters that you’re trying to survive with, helping the player learn their fears, their doubts but also what keeps them going when everything else goes to shit.

Not only that, but all the choices in the game weren’t meaningless or had unfortunate implications about you or Lee. No matter how trivial the choice was, there was always some sort of effect that happened later on, whether it was the relationship you had with another character or who would even be there later on. The main success over this is because, no matter what we choose, we have to think about how it would affect Clementine. Whether we choose to feed her back at the motor inn, whether we choose to steal from an abandoned car or if someone’s life was in our hands, even to the point of whether Lee chooses to fix the swing rather than let Andrew St.John do it, it always had an effect on Clementine and you knew about that effect.

Last point of my reason is simply the protagonist. Lee was a man who lost everything but was given another chance when the apocalypse came and ruined everything for everyone. It’s like Lilly said, it’s good for Lee that everyone’s lives were ruined shortly after his. Taking care of Clementine, protecting a life, is Lee’s way of redeeming after he took a life. Even outside of player control, Lee has some personality, some character, that comes through when he is interacting with his world, whether it’s something as trivial as how he reacts to looking at a picket fence, or how his dialogue options differ depending on his character being in a certain situation. You felt like you were Lee, but you also felt like Lee was a character outside of your control, and this bond the player has with him is why it hurts so badly when he eventually dies at the end of the season. 

2. A New Frontier is a close second for me because, while it’s an improvement over Season Two, this season did show some of the faults that brought the previous season down so much. The plot isn’t as haywire but sadly it still goes into a plot where it just goes by so fast that the player doesn’t really have time to register what had happened. After being at a community for half of the first episode, and then ten minutes into the second one, we’re suddenly forced out by the season’s main antagonists and find ourselves stuck with a wounded family member and another settlement to travel too, which oddly feel much like Clementine and her group trying to get to Wellington with a pregnant Rebecca, only for Rebecca to die and the group looking after an infant. 

The player isn’t given any time to feel for these people. Every death in Season One was felt, you knew some bits about a character that when the time came for them, you would feel more for them rather than just accept their death without so much as blinking. However, despite the fast pace of the plot, I do find myself more interested in the plot because we have some influence on it. With the choices, Telltale had improved and made me enjoy what I enjoyed in Season One. While some choices lead to nowhere and even then have anti-climatic endings, such as Ava/Tripp dying in Episode 5, there are choices that have an impact on the game even from ones where I didn’t really expect the choices to influence the story like this. The main one I’m thinking of is the Clementine choices.

While the choices failed to affect the story in the immediate sense, they did have an overall effect on Clementine’s character, whether or not she would choose to trust people again or keep her guard up because of all the loss and trauma that she went through over the four years. Based on your choices, she can and will leave a boy who she has a crush on with his mentally unstable father to help Kate save a community that had wanted nothing more than her and her group dead, as well as being responsible for taking her only hope left from her. On the other hand, she will help Gabe whether Javier goes with her or not, leaving a teenage girl to fend off walkers by herself while saving the rest of Javier’s family. 

Clementine’s character in this grows, and you can see how she is at the beginning vs how she is in the end. She learns that even though there are people out there that will hurt you, there are also people out there that can help you and you do not have to survive this world alone. Even the protagonist, Javier, made me like the season more mostly for his humorous quips about everything around him and his obvious love for his family, and while some characters put me off and some are either cliche, boring or underdeveloped, this puts A New Frontier as my second choice.

3. This leaves Season Two as my least favourite season. I may have been put off after the masterpiece that is Season One, but all the flaws of Season Two are glaringly obvious even when I look back after a couple of years. The writing doesn’t seem to go anywhere, with Clementine being pushed from the child that we see at the end of the last season to a completely different character with only ten minutes at the beginning dedicated to explaining why she became like this. We never got to see that development from a young girl mourning the loss of her guardian to a preteen who can, and will, defend herself without another thought of the danger that she’s facing.

The spotlight goes to uninteresting, terrible and off-putting characters like Jane, Kenny and even Luke, while other characters that should’ve been given development were shoved to the side before being unceremoniously killed off with very little build up. Sarah is the main culprit of this, and the one character I firmly believe should have made it to the end and be with Clementine into ANF rather than Kenny or Jane. She mirrored what Clementine could have been if Lee never taught her how to defend herself, even worse if he died before she could learn the skills she needed to learn. Carlos may have thought he was doing the best thing for his daughter, but he was just stunting her growth into a survivor that could still go on even when he was gone. 

It’s not just Sarah that suffers from this. Nick, Pete, Sarita, even Carver was turned from a charming villain who made good points to a sociopath that murdered another man just because he didn’t pick berries fast enough, and then destroyed any narrative that the game was trying to set up for Clementine. In this season, it should have been about who Clementine could trust, and how she grew from a little girl thrust into the world without her guardian to protect her anymore to a jaded survivor that could fight off walkers and smear herself in blood without giving it much thought. The problem is, both parties were so bad that I feel like Clementine couldn’t trust any of them. 

The Cabin Group almost shot her, before throwing her in a shed to die of an infection from her dog bite, Kenny emotionally abuses her and alienates everyone from the group before murdering the only other adult there that Clementine had any sort of attachment too, Jane tried to manipulate Clementine into leaving Kenny by lying that AJ had died, as well as spending all her screen time convincing Clementine that it was best for an eleven year old to go at it alone rather than be with a group, while the game made point that the first time Clementine is truly alone, her choices left her worse off with a dog bite. Even then, when Christa and Omid left her alone in the bathroom, she leaves her gun and the situation ends up with Omid dead and Christa and Clementine’s relationship in ruins. 

Even Carver, who told Clementine not to trust people who didn’t trust her, ended up being a tyrant who was also an abusive rapist that murdered his victim’s husband. Not only that, but every time Clementine meets someone who isn’t a jaded survivor or just a complete asshole, they die. Sarita gets bit, Sarah is eaten by walkers no matter what you do to save her, Walter is shot by Carver, Matthew is shot in the neck by Nick. Even when Clementine herself shows compassion, she is immediately punished for it. That’s not a message I agree with in a game, even one about zombies. 

There’s also the choices. None of them really feel like they make an impact, where when you choose there is always gonna be a repercussion to what you just did, just like how Lee’s choices affected how people around him reacted, or who was even there to begin with on his journey. Hell, if Lee is an asshole at the wrong times, he is killed because people won’t tolerate him acting that way just because he’s the main character. The problem with this is Clementine’s an eleven year old girl, and the writers were likely uncomfortable with making any real consequence to her actions. If you choose to reveal to Rebecca that you know that Alvin may not be the baby’s biological father, she reacts in the moment but it doesn’t come back up again, and she doesn’t react negatively to Clementine for basically blackmailing her with the fact that she was raped by Carver and the baby might be his.

If you’re a complete asshole to everyone around you, they don’t bat an eyelash and it’s soon forgotten. One example where this isn’t the case is where Sarah says that she and Clementine are not friends if you behaved horribly with her, but then she gets killed not five minutes later and it doesn’t matter again. Even the one choice where Clementine has real influence on her surroundings, the Jane vs Kenny choice, she is still left off the worst. She could either be with a woman who lied and manipulated her, as well as having abandoned her once before, a man who screamed at her, smacked her in the face and then doesn’t even apologize for it, even going as far as taunting her if she watched him murder the tyrant who basically kidnapped her, or Clementine could face the daunting fact that she is going to grow up in a horrible world alone while caring for a baby.

In the end, no matter what Clementine picked, she always loses.