#i wish the show runners were better at season level pacing

[vashti-lives]

My unpopular and uninteresting mandalorian season 3 opinion is that Bo Katan is fun and I don't hate the thought of a Din/Bo romance. Its not my favorite but I actually prefer it over the show writers clinging so tightly to the status quo, which is what they did for all of season 2 and what it looked like they were going to keep doing for season 3. I suspect it won't happen, but I wouldn't be mad if it did.

My unpopular but potentially more interesting hot take is that I don't think the Children of the Watch's actual behavior shows many signs of actual destructive cult shit and people's reaction to them as if they were a harmful cult is purely based on a) the line of a character who is clearly unreliable and has an axe to grind* and b) all the aesthetics that make them uncomfortable.

*and again I like Bo Katan, but she's not an unbiased source here.

When you look at their actual behavior? The first thing that happens is that Din shows up with a baby Jedi, the Armorer recognizes him as Jedi, and tasks Din with returning him to his people EVEN THOUGH the Jedi have been at odds with the Mandalorians for centuries. They must return him to his people, it is the morally correct thing to do, and they believe this SO MUCH that they straight up sacrifice everything to make it happen. They could just commit a little light cultural genocide and say, oh the Jedi are gone so he's a Mandalorian now. But they don't! Some of them straight up die to help a child OF THEIR ENEMY. I can tell you right now that fundie christians would fucking never. Even Paz Visla, who is constantly clashing with Din, is on board with helping the baby.

And yeah, the whole exile thing once Din removes his helmet sucks, and is definitely the closest they get to really negative cult-y behavior but even that kind of falls apart under a closer look. Like, even after Din is considered apostate he is allowed 1) to keep his ENTIRE SUIT of beskar armor even though it both has SIGNIFICANT religious value AND actual monetary value 2) KEEP THE FUCKING DARKSABER and 3) to take a fucking-- again beskar-- CHAIN MAIL BABY ONESIE for Grogu even though as far as they know Grogu is a Jedi now. Plus the task the armorer gives to Din is so easy its literally accomplished in one episode. I kinda low key think she knew the mines were accessible already and only said they weren't as a test.

Then once he left he was pretty clearly still in contact with them because the covert in season 3 is really obviously not located where Din shows up in BoBF. Like... this is not how being shunned from the group looks in fundie christian circles.

Once Din completes the task and proves it he's back in, no questions asked, no recriminations, no guilt trips. Not only that but Bo Katan is welcomed as well even though we know that previously the armorer knew of her and did not like or respect her. Bo Katan completed the ritual and that alone was enough. And yeah, she's in a vulnerable place right now that might make this sketchy but the invitation is extremely straightforward, includes immediately the fact that she can leave at any time, there's no reason to believe they know about the night owls leaving her, and they absolutely don't know her home has just been blown up.

They are absolutely pretty fanatical and aren't perfect by any means but I think a lot of the really negative impression people in fandom have about them is not actually supported by their actions in the show. This is a group of people that have been deeply traumatized by genocide and are reacting to it in perhaps unhealthy but honestly very logical ways. The DnD alignment chart has its issues but its hard not to see them as really hardcore lawful good here.

Also, although there's less textual evidence for this, I very strongly believe that they are a splinter group from Death Watch that left for moral and religious reasons, probably including rejecting the practice of kidnapping and indoctrinating children. (And I don't know how much of the legends backstory they're going to keep for Bo Katan but uh... yeah not an unbiased source of information about Children of the Watch IMO.)

Also I am aware that there are fundamentalist religious groups that aren't christian but since most of the fandom is western/American that's what I see people pull from the most and Children of the Watch are one million percent more ethical and less hypocritical than even the most mainline of evangelical christians are, let alone the ultra fundie groups.

[pinkcrocss]

Best and Worst Episode of Gen V Poll Results

The results are in! For the best episode of Gen V, according to 57 votes, it's:

A tie between EPISODE 4 - THE WHOLE TRUTH and EPISODE 6 - JUMANJI!!!

My personal vote was for episode 7, because I thought it had the most interesting revelations.

I think the reasons for episode 4 are pretty obvious for us Limoreau shippers, case in point:

But also, it introduced Tek Knight, who was a pretty funny character and we got a pretty cool fight and look into everyone's abilities at the end of the episode.

However, episode 6 was one of the better directed episodes I think. The director did a lot of really cool transitions as we went through Cate's mind, and I think episode 6 probably gave us more understanding of our main characters and their motivations than any other episode:

Now, for the worst (least best) episode of Gen V, according to 57 votes, it's:

No surprise, EPISODE 8 - GUARDIANS OF GODOLKIN!

(Runner up was EPISODE 2 - FIRST DAY)

Full disclosure, this was also my personal vote, but I want to head off some criticism beforehand. I feel like the people that voted for the final episode fall into two camps: people who didn't like the ending, or people who had issues with the actual episode. To be clear, I fall into the latter.

It's no secret that Gen V definitely had a few pacing issues over the course of the series, and they are most evident in the last 3 episodes. However, I was actually fine with the ending. I am familiar with the boys universe, I wasn't expecting a cookie cutter ending where our heroes would win. That's not standard for the boys.

However, on a technical level, I had so many issues with this episode. I am definitely more of a story person. I never notice technical things like lighting, cinematography, camera angles, etc. So if those things start to bother me, there must be some serious issues. I think this was probably the weakest directed episode in the series. There were so many choppy, cuts and shots that really messed with the tension, especially this one:

Like, yeah it was shocking, but the way the scene was shot really telegraphed what was a bout to happen the whole time. Also, as cool as Marie's "Coming into her power" moment was, idk if they were running out of budget atp, cuz I think that was probably the worst of the CGI blood we saw so far, even for a TV budget:

I know it sounds like I'm nitpicking, but I swear I'm not! I love this show and I was totally fine with the writing of this episode. I just maybe wished someone else had directed it... 😬

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ANYWAY! Thank's so much to everyone who took part in the polls. Feel free to share your thoughts on the best and least best of Gen V season 1. Do you agree with the masses? Do you disagree? What are your predictions for season 2?

[porta-decumana]

5.55 spoilers below:

The MSQ was good.  I’ve been pretty critical of the MSQ since 5.0 (it’s pacing has left a bit to be desired imo except for 5.3) and 5.5 did not feel like the hype train it needed to be but 5.55 rectified it somewhat.  I still feel as though most of my hype is from the 6.0 trailers/info from Fanfest, not from how the story is presenting the next expac.  But I still enjoyed it overall and thought it was def above passable.  Just lacking a certain ‘oomph’ aspect I feel would’ve made it better.  Definitely an A- in my book.

The solo instance was by far my favorite part of the MSQ and probably the best thing about 5.5.  I loved getting to swap between the characters and revisit spooky lunar versions of our old primal friends.  I was very excited to see Old Lord of Crowns back again when I got to play as Urianger.  I hope that’s a sign that they’re revising the cards again, at least to give AST something a bit more for DPS rather than Malefic, Gravity, Combust, and Earthly Star.  I really miss old Lord of Crowns.  Critting that felt good.

Poor G’raha was probably traumatized by my awful BLM play.

Aymeric with the “I beg your pardon” line had me actually chuckling irl.  I am glad we’re finally putting to rest the beast tribes as secondary, passive antagonists.  It feels like a plot point overdue in terms of needing to be wrapped up.

Estinien dodging Aymeric just to fail to dodge Aymeric = good shit.  I hope Estinien is also ready to have Nidhogg roar when he’s in my Trusts.  What is that Koji?  He wants to make sure he doesn’t go too hard and hurt us?  He didn’t seem to care during the Carteneau instance.  .__.

Fourchenault was very much what I expected.  I feel like he’s sus though for reasons the characters have stated.

I’m still waiting for Fandaniel and Zenos to do something that feels pertinent other than vague about things as they have for the past 3 patches.  It’s been nice and we did get a tidbit more with the roar from the tower but... I was wanting a bit more.  Just a smidge.  Also there’s no way that roar isn’t Anima.  Having just watched FFX footage, the roar sounds the same but louder in FFXIV.  Runner up thought: the roar is some primal embodiment of Garlemald which terrifies me more because what if that means a primal version of Solus?  Anima seems more likely though.

Venat being the person at Silvertear feels basically confirmed now with Hydaelyn-like dialogue to go along with it.  I question why nothing more is made of that scene.  The WoL at this point is probably seasoned enough to be like “hey guys... there’s some shit going down, I just saw a weird glowing lady over there that sounds like Hydaelyn” but I digress, maybe that’s me projecting a bit.

I’m not done with Bozja yet (gotta do the new instance) but some thoughts after hitting rank 25:

I’m ngl, once I would’ve been all for the Mikoto x Cid stuff but since I have a friend who ships her WoL with Cid, I’m just... hm.  It’s reaffirming the fact that I like having the NPCs having ambiguous love lives instead of having shipping in the actual quests.  I think Yoshi P has made good calls in the past about being as open with stuff like that as possible so people can headcanon whatever they want.  So seeing it up front... has me with mixed feelings.  

Where is Nero, where is my boy.  This entire experience would be improved if 1 Nero tol Scaeva was present.

Gaius getting namedropped was nice considering the entire Zadnor arc feels super ARR-esque.  Gabranth feels like a younger Gaius with less indoctrination and a different end goal.  Gabranth was my favorite character in XII and I’m excited to see more of him.

Oboro and Tsubame being in Zadnor were both pleasant surprises.  As well as the Nagxia lore from the field notes.

Overall, Zadnor being the exact same thing as Bozja is just... I mean, I expected this.  They told us this.  But that doesn’t make it any more palatable.  At least the level grind isn’t too awful (looking at you Eureka).  The first area was abysmally flat and uninteresting but the rest of the zone is okay.  I wish if we were gonna continue to get instances like that, they would be... less bland and flat?  It just makes the slog seem more sloggish imo.

SHEMHAZAI <3

Lilja is growing on me.  I wish her a happy be in more content in the future and a very live through all of it.

I continue to be conflicted about Misija.  I think if I resent her at all, it’s because she kicked my ass one too many times in DR.  I’m... intrigued about what will happen to her, I guess. 

Fran showing up again with the speeder and giving me big XII nostalgia.

Cid coming back for this arc of Bozja ALSO felt really good.  I was sad when he wasn’t around for the last few installments.  I’m glad he’s getting to resolve his feelings about the Bozja Incident.  

[highschoolharrier]

Damon Godfrey is the head boys and girls cross country coach at Holmdel High School in New Jersey.

High School Harrier: Last year your team finished 3rd at the New Jersey Meet of Champions (a school best) and 7th at NXR NE. What were the expectations going into the season and how did the team feel the season finished?

Damon Godfrey:  Last year, we felt we had the potential to be a top 10 team in the state of NJ. We had finished 13th the year before with a very young team and felt like top 10 in 2018 was a realistic goal. The highest finish any Holmdel girl's team had at MOC's prior to last year was 9th place, so we were shooting to place above that. We were extremely pleased with our 3rd place overall finish. The girl's had finished second the previous 2 weeks at both the sectional and Group championship meet to a very strong Metuchen HS team. Many people did not think that they would be able to respond after 2 tough losses back to back but they really responded with their backs against the wall on the biggest stage.

HSH: How big of a motivating factor is NXN in the training and lead up to the season for these girls?

DG: Going into this 2019 season our #1 goal as a team is to try to win the NJ Meet of Champions. We are trying not to focus on NXN and feel like we need to handle things in our own state before we can start thinking about Portland. There are so many great teams in the state of NJ that it is going to take a monumental effort to win Meet of Champions. If we are lucky enough to be in a position at the regional meet to have a chance for 1st or 2nd and make it to nationals then we would be ecstatic, but we are going to try to not focus on that until after MOC's.

HSH: Compared to last year, where do you see your program this fall?

 DG: We are extremely excited for the upcoming season. We have added some very talented girls to the mix of our team to go along with the entire group that competed last year. We had no seniors on the 2018 team. All of the girls back this year were able to get some great experience last fall in some really big races that we hope will benefit and prepare them this year for the challenges ahead. 

HSH: Do you have any athletes you believe are ready to have a breakout season?

DG: We have several girls that I think are ready to have breakout seasons this fall. We are led by seniors Emily Levonas and Claudia Zhang as well as Junior Caitlyn Joyce. All 3 are returning All-State runners and primed for a big season. We have also added 2 very talented and strong runners to the mix that are new to XC. Junior Julianna Brown and junior Margaret Wojie both have played soccer the last 2 years during the fall, but both have done very well for us on the track. Both young ladies are training extremely hard and I believe both will make an immediate impact as top 7 runners for our team this season. 

HSH: Do you have any big regular season meets your team will be participating in this fall?

DG: We have several meets this season that we think will be extremely challenging this fall. In addition to our ultra competitive Shore Conference Championships and NJ State meets we plan on competing in the Bowdoin Invite as well as the Manhattan Invitational. 

HSH: What is your philosophical approach to coaching that shapes how you run your program? 

DG: My philosophical approach to coaching is that I put great emphasis on culture and relationships. With the amount of information available today to coaches everyone is knowledgeable and everyone has the ability to come up with great workouts. I strongly believe that the best coaches have a culture in place where everyone wants to contribute and everyone is vested in the outcome of the season. Finding out what motivates kids on a personal level and trying to push those buttons each day to me is the most important thing for team success.

HSH: What is a sample week of training for your program during the cross country season?

 DG: During the XC season a typical week for us consists of a mixture of strength focused base runs and interval work. We are extremely lucky that we have Holmdel Park, which is the best park in NJ, to train at every day. I try to implement 2 harder efforts a week that involve both hills and speed. The other days of the week we focus on running together as a group at a solid pace and strengthening and lengthening the size of our pack. I am a huge fan and proponent of the motto often talked about by great coaching legend Frank "Gags" Gagliano. Strength + Speed = a champion.  

HSH: How different is your track training versus your cross country training? 

DG: The difference between our track and XC training is based around the type of workouts we do. We spend much more time doing faster interval work on the track during the winter and spring as compared to the fall. We try to keep similar mileage season to season but the winters in NJ can sometimes throw a wrench into that scenario. We try to focus much more on dissecting the different parts of Holmdel Park in the fall as well so that we feel we are comfortable and ready for the championship season there. 

HSH: Do you have a staple workout you like to do with your program?

DG: A staple workout we love to do in the fall is mile repeats on the second mile of the Holmdel Park XC Course. The second mile is where the "bowl" is located.  We will do 3-4 mile repeats at 5k race pace with only 2-3 minutes rest between each. This is a really challenging effort that we do a few times per season. 

HSH: What type of ancillary training does your team do?

DG: Our team has really focused on strength training throughout the summer to prepare for the long grind of the XC season. Many of our girls work multiple times per week with a trainer where they focus on improving core strength and flexibility. We also try to use our weight room at school during the season to try to maintain the strength that we have built up during the summer months.  

HSH: What do you think is the most important aspect of your training program?

DG: I think the most important aspect of my training program like so many others is consistency. I feel confident in myself and my staff's ability to turn kids into better runners as long as each athlete is willing to commit to our program and show up every day. If they are willing to be " all in" and work hard then I think each athlete will see tangible results that they can be proud of no matter their place on the team.

HSH: What was the most influential book or coach that helped you get to where you've brought your program?

DG: I have been very lucky to have been around some great coaches in my life that have had a major impact on me. My high school coach John Gundry, who coached NJ legend Janet Smith, was a major influence on me and helped form my desire to be a coach. My college coach at Lynchburg College, Dr. Jack Toms, also was a great mentor for me. More recently I have been extremely lucky to form great friendships with Jason Vigilante (Head Mens XC Coach at Princeton University) and Brad Hunt (Head Womens XC Coach at Princeton) Both of these incredible coaches have taken me under their wing and have been invaluable resources for me the past several years. I am always looking for their input and opinion on team related matters and feel very fortunate that I can call them friends. 

HSH: What is one habit of your athletes that you wish you could change?

DG: One habit I wish I can change of my athletes is their lack of attention to sleep and rest. I am constantly reminding them how important rest and recovery is for performance but unfortunately I feel like sometimes it falls on deaf ears.

HSH: If you could improve one area of your training program what would it be?

 DG: One area of my program that I wish I could improve is our participation numbers. Holmdel is a small Group 2 school and we are challenged during the fall season getting new athletes to join the team from the middle school level. It is difficult to compete with many of the larger Group 4 schools in NJ when they have upwards of 80 girls on the team and we have 16 or 17. It makes our margin of error very slim and forces us sometimes to be very conservative with our training.

HSH: As an aside from XC, you put on a very competitive 3200 meet in the spring. Can you say a little about that?

DG: The Holmdel Twilight meets that we put on in the spring are something we are very proud of. We try to attract the best runners not only in NJ but from the east coast to take part and we try to put on a high quality and fun meet. We are very lucky to have formed a partnership with Hoka One for our Twilight meets and they add a different level of validity to the events. We also have great partners in the owners of  Runners High Shoe Store in Freehold, NJ, who do a phenomenal job helping us market the events to the local community. 

Photo from the Holmdel XC Twitter

[junker-town]

What it actually looks like when LeBron James has no playmakers on the Lakers

LeBron James and the Lakers have some issues to sort out.

The Lakers are feeling the cost of a lack of playmakers early in Anthony Davis’ tenure.

With just over nine minutes left in the third quarter of the first battle for Los Angeles supremacy, Kawhi Leonard bricked a baseline fadeaway jumper over JaVale McGee’s long outstretched arm. Avery Bradley grabbed the board and handed the ball to LeBron James. As he sprinted down the left wing, Danny Green urged The King to turn on the jets.

To this point, I thought this was an interesting moment in the game. Watch Danny Green urge LeBron to push the ball more to take advantage of Shamet and Patterson being crossmatched. But LBJ's always been a surveyor, and his more deliberate approach allowed LAC to recover pic.twitter.com/9FrH1cHr8o

— Mike Prada (@MikePradaSBN) October 23, 2019

Green had spotted a potential weak spot in the Clippers’ defense. McGee had already dusted Ivica Zubac down the court, so Clippers guard Landry Shamet held his position to prevent any pass to McGee before Zubac could catch up. Meanwhile, Shamet’s own man, Green, ran up the other side of the court, forcing Patrick Patterson to rush away from his man, Anthony Davis, to cover the right wing. For an instant, Shamet was confused. Where was he supposed to go next?

The pieces were in place to give the Lakers a dream scenario. Their two superstars were in the middle of the floor, with only Patrick Beverley there to address them. The chance to overload Beverley with two superstars and force the Clippers to help or give up a dunk was there. All that LeBron needed to do was force the issue, and Green knew it. If he did, all the other dominos would fall.

But LeBron didn’t heed Green’s advice, continuing at his measured pace. In the time it took for James to reach the three-point line to set up a screen and roll with Davis, Patterson was able to direct Shamet into position to aid Beverley. The chance was wasted.

The actual cost of James’ lack of urgency was minimal. The Lakers kept the ball, fed Davis for his 700th post-up of the game, and watched him draw a foul. Still, the sequence provided a brief illustration of the roster’s biggest weakness, one left in place out of misguided hope that James himself could fill its void. As James said himself in a different context 33 months ago, his team needs a fucking playmaker. But this time, his team needs one even more, and the sequence with Green shows why.

When James uttered those famous words, he was annoyed with the minute burden he and fellow Cavaliers star Kyrie Irving had to carry. His wish was modest: an experienced, steady hand that could run an offense for 15 minutes a game to help them rest. The kind of player Rajon Rondo currently is, if you will. At least James had Irving, an incisive dribbling genius that allowed James to play different roles, and, crucially, sped the ball up the court to put immediate pressure on defenses.

This Lakers team, on the other hand, has nothing close to that type of player. That absence creates a number of other issues that will cap the offensive ceiling of a team with James, Davis, and terrific spot-up shooting.

Chief among them: an inability to generate easy buckets in transition. It wasn’t your imagination on Tuesday: the Lakers changed ends very slowly. Their average time of possession off missed shots was 11.71 seconds, the second-slowest mark in the league behind the Chris Paul-led Oklahoma City Thunder. (For comparison’s sake: the slowest team in the league off missed shots over the course of last year clocked in at 11.72 seconds). The Clippers’ transition defense is solid, but the Lakers should be able to strike quicker than that with Davis and McGee sprinting the lane and James theoretically freight-training his way to the basket. But without a lead ball-handler, there’s nobody to actually provide that thrust.

James could be that person, but he tends to conserve energy when he’s also forced to run the half-court offense. Countless break opportunities fizzled out for the very reason Green’s pleas fell on deaf ears: James kept coming back for the ball on rebounds instead of running the wing and trusting someone else to bring the ball up. With nobody else adept at advancing the ball into the frontcourt, James played like he had to control the entire game himself. Maneuvers like this wasted too much time.

The Lakers’ transition stagnation bled into their half-court offense as well. James is a brilliant passer, but he’s also the kind of player that likes to calmly survey the floor and manipulate openings rather than putting constant pressure on the defense with continuous attacks. That’s one hell of a skill when all else fails, but as an offense unto itself, it’s slow as hell. LA’s average offensive possession took up a whopping 15.81 seconds of the shot clock in the season opener, the most in the league.

If everyone else has to wait for James to survey the situation and go, there’s little room for the kind of spontaneity and flow every half-court offense needs. Consider this play a few minutes after the squandered fast break. As James sized up Montrezl Harrell on a pick-and-roll switch, three Lakers shooters — Green, Avery Bradley, and Davis — clustered on the opposite side of the court. James’ plan was simple: drive at Harrell, draw help, and kick to one of the three. He assumed they’d stand still, because that’s the kind of spacing Point LeBron needs.

Instead, Green instinctively darted toward the top of the key to further confuse defenders, expecting the other two to follow his lead and cut into the space he vacated. But they didn’t, so James threw the ball away thinking his shooters would be in position. As the play ended, James looked incredulous that his teammates weren’t in the positions he scripted.

Again: LeBron + stationary shooters is a great change of pace. Whenever Irving sat in Cleveland, the Cavaliers spread the floor with shooting and let LeBron find any opening he pleased. They could afford to stuff their lineups with shooters in those situations because the other team didn’t have their best lineups in either. They hit opponents with Irving’s constant scoring threat on the one hand, then use LeBron + shooting as a changeup. The Lakers, on the other hand, must use James’ deliberate playmaking as their fastball, and it’s a slow fastball at that.

The lack of additional playmakers also exacerbates a more obvious Lakers concern: Davis’ insistence on playing power forward instead of center. So far, the Lakers have largely acquiesced to those wishes, using one of McGee or Dwight Howard alongside Davis. It’s easy to see how this decision handicaps the Lakers’ half-court offense. It’s hard to maximize Davis’ devastating rolls to the rim when McGee or Howard is occupying space near the basket.

The best way around this self-imposed problem is for all five players to constantly move and shift the defense around. If there’s less space there to exploit, you better act quickly to take advantage of the small cracks that do appear. This is how the Spurs managed the league’s sixth-best offense last year despite refusing to join the three-point revolution, and it’s why Green urged James forward on that third-quarter possession. A small crack was appearing, and the Lakers needed to take advantage right away.

But if LeBron is the only reliable perimeter shot creator, the team will not play like that. It’ll instead play more like this, with James holding the ball and running a series of diagnostics to find the right path through while four other players wait to take their cues from him. This is an after-timeout play!

For short stretches — especially in close games late in the fourth quarter — this slow and deliberate approach is incredibly valuable. As a full-time offense, though, it’s too predictable. Not only does it require LeBron to control too much of the game at his advanced state, but it also reduces the talents of the other four players on the court. It’s no accident Green’s three-point barrage in the season opener accelerated when James left the game in the third quarter. That was when Green got himself into a rhythm by moving around, rather than standing and waiting for James to feed him.

There’s no Kyrie-level playmaker joining the Lakers’ roster anytime soon, so coach Jank Kiddogel needs to make lemonade out of unripe lemons to solve their playmaking problem. Step 1 appears to be elevating Rondo, who missed the opener due to a minor injury, into the starting lineup. Rondo’s appeal as an actual point guard that will advance the ball quickly up the court is understandable, and those qualities are in short supply on the roster. But Rondo isn’t very useful once he gets there, so he’ll only further cramp the Lakers’ limited space.

There are other marginal solutions Kiddogel can eventually use. The return of Kyle Kuzma from a foot injury may not solve the ball-handling issue, but it should add some off-ball chaos to the Lakers’ offense. Like Green, Kuzma is an adept cutter and wing runner that can sneak into the small cracks LeBron’s deliberate approach presents. He needs to improve at the rather fundamental skill of actually putting the ball in the basket when open beyond the arc, but at least he can add an element of zip that’ll speed up the Lakers’ half-court offense.

Finally, Kiddogel could limit Davis’ post-up possessions to a more sensible number instead of the seven zillion he called in the season opener. Even with limited spacing, a James-Davis pick-and-roll is LA’s best means for scoring points and triggering the supplementary ball movement that will make LA more dynamic. As the season opener proved, posting Davis up over and over and over and over and over and over again eventually yields diminishing returns.

But none of these solutions can fully hide the larger playmaking issue with the Lakers’ roster. In James’ first summer, the Lakers foolishly signed a bunch of mediocre ball-handlers who couldn’t shoot. Things are better with Davis in town, but otherwise, the Lakers have merely overcorrected last year’s error.

[monkey-network]

Mini Stuff of Good: 2019 2nd Quarter

We’re doing a lightning round of anything up to this point, no holds barred! 3. 2.. 1...

One Punch Man 2

The story certainly made up the utter downgrade of its animation. If anything, I’d seriously stick with the manga if we’re talking good spectacle. (Grade: C+)

Care Bears: Unlock the Magic

I can say this is Turner’s answer to Hasbro’s My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic. The look of it is a plus and the episodes are on the same level of quality as MLP, but I had my doubts that this would get the same level of traction, especially since it’s Boomerang. It’s not bad, just not much to write home about. (Grade: C)

Uglydolls

An upbeat movie that I say didn’t deserve the disdain it received. Like yeah, it’s pretty by the numbers, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t entertaining in the slightest, and surprisingly heavy in its racial undertones if you’d believe me. (Grade: B-)

Avengers Endgame

Was certainly conclusive and fun, but inferior compared to Infinity War, especially when it unfortunately has to undo everything that happened in that movie. Not as many good memes from this as the interchangeable Thanos snap meme. (Grade: B)

Tuca & Bertie

Honestly a fun series that makes its cancellation just depressing to hear. The duo themselves made every episode enjoyable and while I wish certain plot points could’ve been better, the overall story arc with our MC’s friendship was very investing. In the least, the season ended on a good, optimistic note. (Grade: A-)

Mao Mao: Heroes of Pure Heart

Essentially the Adventures of Puss in Boots, anime edition. Not to say that’s a bad thing, because there are plenty of differences, but come on, the similarities between the two leads and the premise are eeriely similar. As such, it gets the same grade (Grade: B+)

Shazam

A DC comic book movie that actually tries to be a comic book movie. Bonus points for the director being one that mostly made horror movies. (Grade: A-)

Scooby Doo and Guess Who?

Scooby Doo and self humor doesn’t sit well with me since the fun came in taking its campy nature straightfaced while having some good sitcom laughs, i.e. Monsters Unleashed, Mystery Incorporated, or Be Cool, Scooby Doo. The celebrity guests are almost always a highlight, but they also admittedly take away from the characters we’re meant to see. (Grade: B-)

Archer 1999

Finally, a season of Archer that has everyone together doing space adventures, and it’s not the final season! (Grade: B+)

Dick Pikachu

Lovely to look at, not so much in remembering it. It has the same grade I gave the game it’s based on. (Grade: C+)

Gokushufudou: The Way of the House Husband

The most perfect yakuza based slice of life comic around. (Grade: S)

Burning Effect

I honestly haven’t seen a webcomic that went this hard before. It’s like Bakugo from My Hero Academia went into every character design and impacting visual, with a story and premise that gradually makes sense the more you carry on and a female lead that is a upcoming warrior in every sense. (Grade: A)

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

There’s a Youtube channel that reviews this show episode by episode and I found them more insightful and entertaining than this series. A shame since I like the original She-Ra and I was hoping for a good series about princesses fighting. But this series was slog to get through and it doesn’t help that my attachment to most of the characters has fizzled out. Season 3 certainly picked things up, but it shouldn’t have took this long to pick things up. (Grade: C+)

The Secret Life of Pets 2

Just as good as the first one, if not better, which I bet many who reviewed this will probably say otherwise. The scene near the end is honestly cemented in my mind, it just worked. (Grade: B-)

SMG4, The Anime Arc

This definitely fun. A middling 1st half, but things definitely pick up in the 2nd half. There are some contrivances and conveniences, but man was that the most engaged I’ve ever been with this Youtube series overall. (Grade: B+)

Aladdin (2019)

Oh wow, another remake that pales in comparison to the original. A takeaway from all this is Disney needs to hire directors that aren’t boring. (Grade: D+)

MIB: International

Oh wow, it’s Jurassic World: Men In Black edition with two great actors that are heavily underutilized in it. Where’s Taika when you need him? (Grade: C-)

Lion King (2019)

Oh wow, a remake that doesn’t understand why the original worked. This here was honestly the final straw for me as I am distancing myself from these remakes because unless one actually looks and feels appealing, my sensible bias towards them will never change. I feel annoyed that I DON’T know what people see in these. (Grade: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!)

DC Super Hero Girls

Honestly what I wanted Nu She-Ra to be, better animated, better characterized, and reminds me of the new Ninja Turtles series with how it is setting things up. As a DC fan, I am more than impressed. (Grade: A)

X-Men, Dark Phoenix

They honestly weren’t trying and this movie resulted in me getting Ligma. (Grade: D+)

Our Cartoon President

We had our laughs a couple years ago, but let’s be real. Trump is a dried up meme and there was no reason for a 2nd season of this. (Grade: F+)

Final Space

Season 2 has its hits and misses but I am very much enjoying this series still. The latest episode deep down made me wish it didn’t try to make things drama heavy for the previous episodes, like it’s trying to recapture the sharp turn that was season one’s episode six. Needless to say, they’re certainly keeping the momentum going for this series and I’m all for it. (Grade: B+)

Aero (Comic series)

Imagine if Nejire from My Hero Academia was a Marvel superhero. The dialogue and writing is generic and simple, but you not only get a nice grasp of our heroine but this is one of the first anime looking Marvel comics that looks incredible. This really stood out at my comic shop and I am very intrigued to see more of this character and this artwork. (Grade: B)

Infinity Train

Very compelling, nicely visualized, and the 10 episode work to a good strength of pacing. Though I will be honest, One-One wasn’t a character that stood out to me, I dunno, I felt distant towards him compared to the other characters. But I enjoyed this no doubt and I’m glad there is more to come. (Grade: ???)

Twelve Forever

This is one of those rare shows where I’ll gladly say it’s good but not entertaining. As much as I enjoy randomness every now and then, I felt bored watching it. The Butt Witch was the saving grace, immediately being my favorite character, but she wasn’t enough to make me keep going. I’ll give it a good grade tho with the effort they put into everything. (Grade: B)

Rocko’s Modern Life, Static Cling

I already reviewed this before, but I honestly considered this a great comeback to a very nostalgic and influential show. (Grade: A)

Meta Runner

A new series with surprisingly good pacing and a empathetically great main character. The dialogue can be give and take, with a villain that’s honestly too evil for his own good, but I can’t help but say that this is an engaging series. And it’s youtube sooo bonus. (Grade: B+)

Amphibia

A series that definitely got better as it went along. I like the episodes that had good ties to the season’s climax, the main four are especially the highlight with their personalities, and the character growth felt natural if on the nose sometimes. I’m stoked for part 2,,, hopefully they schedule it better. (Grade: A-)

Angry Birds 2

It was fun. Probably forgettable to many, but I won’t deny that it’s one of the better popcorn flics of the Summer (Grade: B+)

Toy Story 4

I grown tired of people questioning whether or not this movie was pointless, so I’ll come out the gate to say that this is the best movie of the Summer so far. It was a more solemn movie that was organically thoughtful with itself, there were plenty of laughs, I loved Bo Peep, and the way they handled the antagonist is something that rocked the franchise’s themes to the core sensibly. This film makes for one of the few times a fourth sequel can actually come out great. (Grade: A)

T I M E’S U P ! ! ! ! ! !

Welp, looks like the spring and summer have indeed strengthened itself for the better. Can the latter half of 2019 keep the momentum as we reach the new decade? Stay tuned.