#is it obvious I like uprising and beck a lot. I don’t think so-

[wynandcore]

The Lamb

[radiantlyrey]

Thoughts on Uprising Episode 5, Identity

- Beck continuing the trend of getting into trouble with Wrong Place, Wrong Time stuffs. poor kid…

- love that Tron is in this episode more, being the same Grouch as always.

- the disc theft is……. Interesting. We know from Legacy that there is such thing as a forged disc (Zuse mentions it in the list of things Sam needs to get to the Portal); perhaps stolen discs is where those come from? And stray programs are mentioned in Legacy as well, though not expanded upon. Honestly, TRON is FULL of Unexplained Worldbuilding Things that I would give my right hand to know. UGH

- stray programs are such an interesting concept. Like the disc is the program, apparently?? It’s like…. well actually thinking about it, it makes sense?? Kind of???? The program is made of fairly basic code; the disc holds that code and its log of activities, while the body is just a physical manifestation of the code itself. Unlike Users/humans, whose code is an inherent part of them/us, and thus can’t be memory-wiped by swiping an activity log. It’s interesting as fuck, is what I’m saying. Like the philosophical implications of the program being the disc and not the physical person—so Interesting!!!!!

- also the glitches are scary as Fuck. One moment you know what’s going on and then the next you don’t know anything?? Terrifying. And well portrayed by the episode, too, with the fisheye effect on Beck’s closeups and the general blurriness from his PoV.

- could have sworn Cobol was voiced by Ron Perlman, but it was some person I’ve not heard of instead. Doing one heck of a Perlman impression, tbqh.

- Lux is EXTREMELY INTERESTING TO ME. Siren who’s gotten caught up in the black market?? INTERESTING. Also she’s a whole hell of a lot more principled than Cobol, because when she sees Tron it’s like everything changes for her. Also the shaved head is just badass looking.

- meanwhile, a three scene B plot with Zed and Mara!! That took up like six minutes of episode time. Like okayyyyy. Turns out I didn’t need to be so worried about Zed joining the anti-Renegade taskforce, because it turns out Mara kind of guilted him into doing the right thing!!! Good for him I guess.

- Also someone commented on my last commentary post that Bartik here and Bartik in Legacy are the same character/program, and uh. Wonder how THAT happens, because damn. How does one go from happily helping Clu’s forces to hoping a revolution against Clu can be sparked into existence???? Color me intrigued as fuck.

- love Tron’s comments about Beck being his friend at the end there. Especially the bit about trusting someone as a friend and being betrayed, bc from what I know of later episodes, that could be like three different programs!!!! (Clu, like Beck assumes; Dyson I have heard was a friend turned enemy; and then Cyrus as well!! Again I have not watched the whole series and my last dip in was 10 years ago, but from what Discussion I have seen I am making some Assumptions.) also love the comment that he “made the right choice this time”, because that is just dripping with implications that I imagine pay off in future episodes…..

- other details: Purgos as the name of the black market district is interesting, with the obvious name tie to Xtian (or at least Catholic) Purgatory; wonder what the creators meant for us to take from that… // Galt was an interesting one off character; total sleazeball of course, but interesting nonetheless // ngl when they were surrounded by all of Cobol’s goons, I was kinda cackling because like. It’s Tron. Even scarred all to hell he’s gonna kick most of y’all’s asses.

- I am probably gonna watch this episode again with captions on so I can get helpful juicy deets for my TRON horror story fic idea. I gotta do some brainstorming on stuffs tonight for sure.

- that said the brainstorming might have to wait bc the next episode has Paige Backstory and also QUORRA sooooooooo…….. yeah

[kylandara]

So someone asked a screenwriter (you know someone who is paid to write them) what they thought about the writing of season 8. To all those complaining about how the writing was terrible. Yes he is one screenwriter, but there are most like lots of writers like this who actually understood the story being told. I have my gripes with season 8 (namely Jon and his two lines he entire season)

I love his line “those writers will always know more about GoT that’s any audience will”

————-

I’m a big GoT fan and a working screenwriter, so I always watch the show from both sides of he table - fan and writer.

I envision where I would like the series to go, based on my favorite and least favorite characters. And I see where the story IS going from a storytelling perspective.

With that said, here’s my take.

The scripts for Season 8 were excellent. With a six-episode season, the writers kind of broke this into a six-act structure. In general story structure, there’s usually a false climax in the middle. Or the showcase of outside character desires… the want… and in this case, that outside desire/goal was to defeat the white walkers. But at this point, that battle was set up to be that false climax. Where we AND the characters think the story should end.

So when Episode 3 came, which was the battle with the white walkers, and almost every major characters survived unscathed, many fans were complaining that GoT had lost it’s edge. They pointed to the Red Wedding where the dearest of characters (Rob and his mother) were slaughtered as an example.

As a screenwriter (and fan), I was shaking my head at these complaints.

“You guys don’t realize what’s coming. It’s a false climax. It’s the middle of a six-part act. Shit is about to hit the fan. They’re just building the tension. The characters realize that their outside desire is false. Their inside desire, to win the game of thrones, is now at hand.”

The show was never Game of White Walkers. It was Game of Thrones.

And to skip ahead, the final two episodes were brilliantly written in my eyes. If you didn’t see the fall of Dany coming, you weren’t paying attention to her whole arc throughout the series, as well as her families past.

I knew Dany would go mad. I knew awhile back. The signs were there. I did think that she’d try to kill Jon (or have him killed) onscreen, but it was implied instead. Which works. If you didn’t think Dany was going to do that after watching her eyes when Jon told her the truth and she realized that she was no longer the heir to the throne, then again, you weren’t paying attention.

Update: (inspired by and taken from my reply to Sean Hood’s awesome perspective) Regarding the sudden twist of Dany slaughtering the innocent. I didn’t think it was so out of the blue. Didn’t they show her ruthlessness in prior seasons? Sure, it was often directed to the rich, slave owners, etc. But ruthless nonetheless. I saw madness in her. When she executed the Tarlys for refusing to bend the knee to her. They had already surrendered. To me, I watched her obsessed with power, obsessed with the throne, etc. I saw her slowly become unhinged season by season.

Even when she freed people it was clear that she didn’t know how to rule because keeping the peace was always an issue. And that’s where I wonder if THAT is why she slaughtered the people of King’s Landing. She was never able to keep the peace of the liberated cities.

So if she kills everyone, there’s no one to defy her. There are no numbers to uprise. That’s the LOGICAL part of her choice maybe. And the madness was that coin flip aspect of her family.

Skipping back now, Episode 2 is my favorite GoT episode of all time. When all of these characters we love are preparing for war. The quiet before the storm. A Lady being knighted. Etc. Brilliant. The best character moments of the series by far. The culmination of ALL of the character arcs as they come together.

And the battle with white walkers? To me, the darkness added to the suspense. That’s what it would have been like, no? But for my TV, it wasn’t that bad.

And the final episode? The last moment/visual of the table dealing with the average day-to-day rule of a kingdom… brilliant.

Here’s the thing. No great series ends well for all because nobody wants it to end. Sopranos, Lost, Battlestar Galactica, etc. No one was going to be satisfied and even if the writers did what the majority of fans wanted, they’d be strung up critically for being overly conventional or for taking no real chances by doing the obvious.

GoT and its writers did the series right by doing what THEY envisioned. It’s not writers’ story, not the fans. Love it or hate it or be indifferent. It’s their story to tell. The moment you cater to the crowd (which is impossible because everyone has their own subjective opinion, wants, desires) is the moment you sell out.

And the moment you observe what the fans want and just do the opposite to surprise them or prove their theories wrong (looking at you Rian Johnson and The Last Jedi), despite the mythos you or someone else has created before you, is the moment you are overly self-aware in your writing. It’s almost worse than catering the audiences.

If you didn’t like it, that’s perfectly fine. It’s a subjective medium.

But don’t call for a redo by putting out a petition. Don’t state that the writing was horrible either. Those writers know more about GoT than audiences ever will.

Jon didn’t want the throne. He felt best among the wildlings.

Arya was lost and alone since the day she watched her father die. She became a wanderer of life.

Sansa wanted to rule a kingdom.

The Hound wanted to defeat his brother.

Tyrion wanted to serve the people and do right by his otherwise tainted family name.

Brienne wanted people to see her as the honorable and loyal knight she was, beyond being a woman with a sword.

Jaime Lannister wanted to be with his true love, despite that love being forbidden and a hidden embarrassment.

ALL of these character arcs were served in this final season. Many thanks to the writers that delivered closure in a no-win situation after creating one of the greatest and most celebrated shows of all time.

Note: My single dislike of the last episode was the whole angle of Grey Worm and his Unsullied holding Tyrion and Jon as prisoners.

There should have been a moment between Jon and Grey Worm. An epic sword battle. With either both of them dying by the other’s sword or Grey Worm dying. Or Jon making his case during the fight, showing how Dany had gone mad with power, and then Grey Worm relenting, saying, “I loved her.” Meaning his love that was executed.

And THEN the leaders of the realm meet up and choose a new King.

But that’s just the writer and fan in me. It’s not my story. I’m just an audience member. We can’t expect writers to be at the beck and call of the fan base. It would hinder otherwise great writing.

And the writers of GoT never, never lost the heart and spirit of the show. George Lucas arguably lost what was so special about the original Star Wars trilogy when he made the prequels. The prequels didn’t honor that heart and spirit. Instead, the writing relied on slapstick humor, CG effects, and demystified mystery of the Jedi, etc (midichlorians, superhero abilities, etc.).

GoT NEVER jumped the shark in that respect. If the writers had come into Season 8 with a lot of odd slapstick moments, tone shifts, and overly self-aware writing (The Last Jedi for all three of those as well), then, yeah, there should be an uproar.

But that wasn’t the case here with GoT.

Well done, writers! From one writer (and fan) to another.

[radiantlyrey]

Thoughts on Uprising Ep14 “State of Mind”

- (coming to you LIVE from a hotel room near Cincinnati tonight; going to the zoo with friends and family tomorrow, sooo…. also everyone else is watching Tangled while I watched this episode, so I got the real Duality of Mandy Moore going on here tonight. I feel like if Mara and Rapunzel met Mara would convince Rapunzel to abdicate in favor of a democracy………)

- cold open: okay wtf Mara we literally just had an episode about how you’re all gung-ho for the resistance, what the fuck is going on??? and then we get a flashback and immediately find out what happened: she got dusted by some kind of pathogen and taken to a government hospital and Flynn knows what else…. okay.

- Keller strikes me as interesting immediately. what does she think the applications of this pathogen might be??? liberating? like…. mind control is not liberating, even if you’re using it for good?? what the fuck??? Pavel is here also being a little bitch as usual; and Tesler is not interested in Keller quitting, because he wants/needs her pathogen to control the populace of Argon. So yeah.

- meanwhile, at the garage (and I note that again this episode is entirely A-plot): Mara’s come back and she’s looking at Recognizers with pure…. something in her eyes (maybe lust? definitely desire if nothing else) which weirds both Zed and Beck way the fuck out. Beck tries to wave it off (because of course he’s about to investigate as the Renegade) which Zed (rightly) calls him out on…. Zed does a lot of calling out this episode and he’s more or less completely right about it.

- at the club, which apparently isn’t always overrun with soldiers, Mara’s trying to talk Hopper and Bartik into going to this Cool Ass Party that Tesler’s throwing—Zed tries to get her to stop, and she basically bullies him while Bartik and Hopper watch in amusement. Poor Zed; the kid can’t seem to catch a break…

- we see Tesler’s announcement about his Killer Rave and it is immediately obvious that he intends to release Keller’s pathogen to create a populous of pliable programs. so yeah.

- Beck goes to investigate Mara’s “fender bender” and it turns out it was a full on WRECK. and also Zed is there!!!!! great minds think alike.

- after the break, Beck tries to get Zed to call off his search, but Zed is just… Zed about it. Kid has a kind of abrasive tone sometimes. the “dOn’T pUsH mE” fucking killed me, though….. my god, you’re not good at making friends, are you, Zed?

- together (it’s mostly Zed, but still) they figure out the truck crashed on purpose, and that more trucks are going to crash soon. a motorcycle chase ensues, and it’s pretty good stuff, good action, I like it. Poor Zed and his bikes, though…… Beck and Zed get control of the one truck they saw and dump it into the water, but….. there are tons of other trucks crashing, and Tesler’s Killer Rave is starting soon….

- they track down where the crash victims are sent, so it’s time for a stealth mission!!! Zed is bad at it, but I will say in a general sense that Zed and the Renegade working together is good fun! Zed’s absolute refusal to be awed by the Renegade is hilarious, tho.

- a plan is formulated, things are done with the dirigible, the business with Zed and the wing chute is very funny (it goes about as well as Beck’s first go in the first episode!) and Tesler’s Killer Rave is actually pretty tight, I’ve gotta say (another appearance of PERFECTION IS FREEDOM, always creepy), and I see the use of the little ball for the DJs looking like Clu’s little arena control balls from Legacy… Zed gets Mara away from the rave, at least, but then things don’t go well…….

- Beck + Pavel fight!!! this is a pretty good one, with Pavel fucking just derezzing a guard when he loses his disc and Beck pretty much outclassing him move by move. when it gets tight tho, we see Keller come in and it’s not clear what’s going to happen with her—except she comes in on Beck’s side of things, thank goodness.

- ending stuff: Beck demolishes the control tower just in the nick of time; Mara remembers nothing of her mind control at all, which …. fine, whatever. also I just wanna say, where the fuck were Tron and Able during all this??????? Beck’s Dads are nowhere to be seen!!!!! what the fuck! maybe they took a vacation to a part of the Outlands not totally infested with gridbugs? who knows!!!!

- just coda things: LOVE that Beck gave Zed his bike back. (which is what I thought he should have done in the same episode he stole it in, but whatever). also love Mara just hanging with Bit, changing her hair back to blue… (love to see Bit, btw! Bit is the coolest!!!!)

- and then an actual facts cliffhanger: Keller has defected, and Tesler wants her dead, but she’s got an ace up her sleeve in the form of a fucking full body disguise??? SO!

- other thoughts: the ringed iris effect for those affected by the pathogen was creepy as FUCK. HELL. seriously Keller, WHAT are the positive applications of this thing????? // seriously in love with Zed this episode; it’s nice to see him sort of warming up to the Renegade, but it does suck that Beck just…can’t be there as a friend much anymore. and I think Beck is keenly aware of how much it sucks. like, the last two episodes have involved Beck spending time with his friends one on one…….. as the Renegade. sigh. poor kiddo.