#you can make effective twist villains but they made an extremely poor choice with this

[speedane]

Seeing a handful of people saying "I'd rather have Q than Evil Gaius sorry for shitting on MS1" in various platforms like Q is the only problem in MS1 lol

MS2 though is better than MS1 but the twist needs to be set up better. I would've accepted Gaius being evil if his motive is more aligned to his character although the writers are gonna deal with "then the EU/SD conflict is bullshit now that we know Gaius and Hyde are in cahoots with each other" now... but that's just my two cents

[baconpal]

talkin bout fire force

shit boys it’s been too long time for another unprompted juvenile rant about manga, click keep reading if you’re insane and keep scrolling if you aren’t 

So Fire Force anime starts in just about a week and I decided to just read it all instead of waiting for any anime. It took a while to read all of it and now I just kind of have a lot to say about the manga, the anime, and the author. So here we go. 

I actually have a lot of good things to talk about, but I’ll get the bad shit out of the way first:

THE WRITING

idk his name it doesn’t really matter since he’s made like 2 things he’s just the soul eater guy; his art style has always been charming and the action scenes keep improving but his actual narrative writing is real bad. I’ll talk about the characters themselves since I actually think FF’s characters are a ridiculous improvement from soul eater, and the setting/aesthetic are on point as well but the plot is just as bad if not worse than whatever soul eater was.

The story is riddled with what should obviously be throwaway characters that keep being brought back and doing something evil and unexpected because it’s a shounen manga and if you aren’t being betrayed then the plot isn’t moving forward, or someone introduced as an obviously villainous character just kind of agrees to be friends in a couple chapters. This is used as a constant cycle of introducing both a set of “evil” and “good” characters, then one of the old “good” sets of characters does something evil and the newest “evil” guys turn out to be good. It’s not interesting or shocking to have a character you can’t even remember come back and act like they’re important, especially if it’s repeated over and over.

FF pretends to have some kind of politic overtones where religions and businesses and such act as their own entities and betray each other and prey on the civilians, but you see absolutely none of the impact anybody’s actions have on the world despite ridiculous things constantly happening and world shaking truths being brought to light over and over, nothing happens. Villains will also  have ridiculous unbeatable abilities but then just be ignored, such as making zombie apocalypses or controlling minds and such. This is also likely a concession of being a shounen manga, where you can’t expect readers to read every single chapter, and usually on a week to week basis, so every chapter needs to have its own big shit happening, even if there’s no plans to follow through on anything. 

The worst part about the writing is how much stuff that the reader didn’t know about and has no idea what it is is passed of as some shocking twist when it’s introduced. This mostly happens with powers and with new factions. There’s a ridiculous amount of times where a new group steps in as the bad guy like mentioned earlier. But for the powers, there’s so many things layered on top of an actually acceptable power system that just seem to cause a DBZ type of escalation of power without the fight scenes actually becoming that much crazier at all. On top of the simple 2nd/3rd generation fire fighter powers, the main character is meant to utilize the adolla burst, the adolla link, the preacher’s divine protection, the okay hand emoji that makes you go fast, the breath of life, and superfire fighting. None of that means anything to anyone and are just used as “MC needs to be better at something but only temporarily” over and over. It’s similar to Maka and Soul’s deals with the devil in soul eater except much more common and with absolutely no downsides.

Also not the fault of the writer himself but there is not ANY good translation of this manga out there holy shit. There’s so many incredibly obvious puns and connections and choices of words to be made that are just entirely ignored, the typesetting is always awful, and no name for moves, characters, or even the title are ever agreed upon. It took until the official release titled “Fire Force” before people stopped trying to call the manga “Burning Firefighter Squad of Fire”.

THE ANIME

Just a bit more bad to say before I go into all the shit about this manga i actually like. The anime looks awful. A lot of anime does right now, very little of note has been coming out or seems to be coming in the future, which is usually the case but its not getting better and that sucks! 

But specifically the fire force anime, following up after soul eater, has absolutely none of the visual charm translated from the manga to anime, the voice casting is absolutely abysmal, and there’s nothing to give me hope in it, not enough to even give it an episode most likely. People might try to defend David productions because woah man I love jojo!!! but they’re pretty fucking bad at animating anything. The choice of color is gross and the visual effects are bland, which is a bad place to start for a show that will contain tons of fire and other bombastic effects. Big shame.

OKAY ONTO THAT GOOD SHIT

CHARACTER DESIGN

The visual designs in soul eater were cool if a bit janky, and the actual concepts for characters were far from astounding, usually being able to fully describe characters in single words and not having much development outside of combat abilities. But Fire Force has some of the most tight characters I’ve seen in a while, they’re all simple and focused with strong thematic elements.

Ya’ll know me, hopefully. I really appreciate simple designs and simple characters. Complicated does not equal deep, and simple does not equal shallow. The characters in fire force will usually embody a concept, or a concept and its exact opposite, and be never waver from their design. I’ll talk about em for specific characters when I get to em but even lots of minor characters are very well focused and I appreciate it.

SHINRA

The main character, and while his grocery list of special abilities and “chosen one” kinda shit is annoying, he starts of as a very strong introspective of the weight of your actions vs the impression you give of in the eyes of society. The easiest way to describe it is through the very obvious identity struggle he goes through of wanting to be known as a “Hero” but instead being “The Devil”. All Shinra ever does is selflessly save peoples lives and put himself at extreme risk, he tells everyone and their grandma that they can call on him when they need a hero, and yet his visuals consist of a dark haired punk who constantly smiles a sharp toothy smile, his ability that he uses to fly in and do kamen rider kicks with spews fire from his feet in the shape of pointy wings, and this fire puts a heavy shadow over his face, giving him a monsterous siloutte. It’s not at all subtle that he just looks as evil and menacing as possible, and so his reputation is constantly negative no matter how kind he is. It’s not explored all that deeply but it is still a strong contrast.

ARTHUR

What a fucking idiot. What an absolute buffoon. This stupid fuck functions as a very simple gag character by being nearly too dumb to function and living in a made up reality as a fantasy knight, but is also able to exist as one of the strongest characters in combat. His ridiculous power is handled in a much more engaging way than Shinra’s. As instead of layering multiple chosen one abilities on him, he becomes weaker or stronger depending on his suspension of disbelief. The more in character as a powerful knight he becomes, the stronger he is. It’s a clean way to make a funny delusional characters struggle actually mean something to the people around them, instead of being left to his own devices or constantly told to fuck off. And while I said the plot isn’t very good, the smaller character beats can be very powerful. For example, It was already pretty easy to just accept Arthur as he was, but his family situation is explored late into the manga, and it’s shown that he began to live in fantasy to escape from his families arguments and poor living conditions. His parents take advantage of his disconnect and abandon their home with him in it, leaving all their responsibilities to him with a note saying he’s now the king and has inherited their castle. This pushes him to an even more absurd degree of fantasy in order to just live out his life knowing he was unloved and unwanted. It very understated how you can make a character that’s mostly used for jokes still be very easy to connect to and empathize. 

TAMAKI 

This one is likely to be the hottest take made from me here today, but this is the most interesting character in this series for a variety of reasons. 

Visuals out of the way, the fire fighter outfits everyone wears already look cool as shit and big puffy coats just get me goin, this girl absolutely rocks it on top of having twintails and a cute face. That’s not objective in anyway this is just a character designed to bait specifically me and its fucking working, okay? The writing is the actually interesting part.

So something that’s usually not even worth talking about is fan service. Show of a girls titties cus its what dudes in their teens want to see, its free (You)s for shounen manga, and soul eater was full of it. It was pretty bad in soul eater and could come at jarring and unneeded times for characters that didn’t seem to exist for any sexual reasons. It was a very poor way to include fan service. 

Fire Force also begins in a similar spot, the 3 main girls that are around in the beginning chapters are occasionally seen changing or in a bath or covered in water or whatever, with one particularly bad spread of them with the classic no nipple no vagina bodies all standing together in a shower. Its awkward and stiff and even as a fan of anime tiddie it just wasn’t worth having. 

But then that wildman just does it. He creates one single character to put literally every single ounce of horny energy in to. A character who exists to fall over and get her tits pushed into someones face, but pushed to a cartoonish extreme. It sounds silly to try to pass off fanservice as funny, but it is. It’s so ridiculously intended and impossible and always varied that its actually fun to see her do something stupid and for something to happen. Sometimes its just her ass landing on a dudes face (god i wish that were me) or her body being exposed and drawn in pretty high detail. Sometimes instead they get an entire dude stuck in her shirt after just tripping in a way that is not not being sexual to the reader at all since you see absolutely no skin. She’s simply destined to be put into lewd situations in universe, not in regards to the manga itself. For an example, here she is just standing completely still, and suddenly becoming naked, drawn in a distant, goofy way: 

It’s stupid. It’s definitely still fan service, but it’s just ridiculous. And that’s way more interesting than having every girl in your series randomly get naked at some point. Despite being insane it still works on boys, as Tamaki is the most popular girl in the series by far, ranked as the second most popular character consistently. 

Tamaki also leads to the single best chapter of the manga where a horribly designed throw-away assassin who was beaten by her returns for revenge, but just ends up as a short, self contained, well paced comedic story of love. 

And guess what, she’s still interesting outside of being funny and having fan service. Her cartoonish luck is essentially treated as her actual power, and her fire cat abilities aren’t explored too deeply during most of the series, but this is done for a greater purpose of essentially spitting in the face of high stakes. Tamaki easily witnesses the most deaths in the series, and most of them are cruel and unusual. She witnesses children being killed by a man who inspired her, she sees people she just met be beheaded in some gruesome shots that aren’t anywhere else in the series, and she gets involved in all sorts of life threatening situations. She still just falls over and gets naked. She’ll have fairly serious fights where she tries her hardest or the people around her are completely serious, and without bringing any direct attention to it she still ends up showing skin. There’s a point where every single character is at risk of dying at once to a trap set by the enemy, and Tamaki quietly laments over how she’ll be the only one to survive. She is completely aware of her ridiculous luck and her complete immunity to stakes, which is honestly just great.

Even beyond that, Tamaki is slowly being built up as more and more of an actual character, she has a short backstory section where her own hard work and effort is basically ignored by everyone around her, as if her success in life is only a result of her good luck, which is a feeling that hits very close to home to me (fuck you if you’ve ever discredited someones hard work because they’re “””””talented””””). And in the most recent couple of chapters, shes made an active effort to train alongside Shinra and Arthur, who both value the improvements they can make to themselves through hard work. No other characters in the cast make conscious efforts to improve from their status in the way Tamaki does. She moves up from a joke character to now trying to stand along side the main character as a useful and though out character. It’s a genuinely wonderful character to have been developed and the best thing I’ve gotten from this author.

VISUALS AND COMPOSITION

Okay enough about the characters, the last little thing I wanna touch on is just some of the absolutely bonkers kinds of compositions in this manga. One of the villains has an ability that is explained incredibly poorly. Pretty sure it’s just a time slowing ability that has nothing to do with fire but whatever. The pages where he uses the ability have this absolutely sick warped look to them that plays with the panels in a way that couldn’t be depicted in any other medium. Just look at this shit.

Every panel has a different background and yet still describes a single cut in time. It might not really mean anything, but that’s fucking sick dude.

Another pretty interesting one is this one kid named Nataku, who has an ability forced onto him by a maniac with a motif of stars for eyes, who dies immediately after. This event is shown to have absolutely traumatized him not because its directly said, but because this dead character appears constantly in panels with this kid, sometimes taking up the entire background to yell at him, or being an almost impossible to see spec lingering behind him. Nataku is also drawn in this strange sketchy style where he seems to be melting, and sometimes melds into shapes that resemble this dead character, such Nataku’s mouth becoming the fucking eyeball of the dead guy, star pupil and everything. It’s just such a specific and horrific way to depict that kind of identity trauma and it really stuck out to me.

I’LL SHUT UP NOW

And ye that’s about it. It was a lot of rambling and there are still lots of little things i like about the manga, good designs and cool fights and stuff but i just wanted to talk about the things that were really noteworthy to me. 

It’s been a long time since I’ve spent 4 hours just typing about stuff but if you actually read any of this, on this dead website of all places, you’re cool. Hope you found something interesting too.

[your-friendly-neighborhood-sc00t]

Ben 10 Reboot Review/Rant

aka: Why This Show Sucks

aaka: 333 Follower Milestone Special

Ah, how I have absolutely dreaded the day I have to write this review, or at least start writing it. Your boy Sc00t here, and welcome to my review of the Ben 10 Reboot.

Also, y'all too good to me, can’t believe over 300 people actually follow me and like seeing my trash. Thank you all for following, and I hope you guys continue to enjoy the content on my blog, ^^

I’ve been putting this off for quite some time now, for obvious reasons, but it’s time to finally crack down on this shit.

So, surprisingly, I actually did something I NEVER DO for shows I don’t like,

I actually watched multiple episodes for the sake of this review, DESPITE how painful it was to watch. I didn’t wanna judge it based on one or two episodes, so instead, I saw FOUR.

Yup, almost an hour of this horrendous show, just to write a stupid review.

There’s ALOT to cover here, so I’ll try to do it in an orderly fashion, and try to address all of the various issues this show has. For now, let’s start off with:

1: The Length of the Episodes Ben 10 OS (Original Series), AF (Alien Force), UA (Ultimate Alien), and OV (Omniverse), despite their differences, all had one thing in common:

All the episodes were a good 22 - 25 minutes long. This allowed plots to develop and flow at a steady and reasonable pace, nothing was rushed, and more effort was put into the production of them.

In the Reboot episodes average at 11 minutes, like a Spongebob episode, which results in a shitty premise having to move along quickly just to make with the little time they have. This was also very obviously done to save money, 11-minute episodes with simplistic, shitty plots are significantly easier to produce that 24-minute episodes with proper pacing and decent/good plots. Short running time + incredibly cheap animation = profit and easy mass production of trash.

2: The Pacing

As I’m sure you can tell, the pacing of each individual episode is GARBAGE, it moves along so fast, that if you’re not paying full attention to the show, you actually won’t know what the fuck’s happening at all. And the running time isn’t actually the problem at all. We’ve seen shows convey their plot efficiently with the same exact running time, just watch any episode from the first three seasons of SpongeBob, and you’ll know precisely what I’m talking about.

3: The Animation

The animation in this show is the WORST we’ve seen in the franchise, it’s just so simplistic, flat, uninspired, and just down-right stiff at times. Action sequences just don’t flow well at all, and the designs of each and every character looks like it was slapped together in just a few minutes. I mean, just compare to ANY of the previous series’ animation, compare to other cartoons, and then just see it for what it is, and you’ll find that no matter how you look at it, it’s fucking terrible, and LAZY.

4: Forgettable Villains

The various antagonists that appear throughout the series are bland, poorly designed, and are just so damn forgettable. I can’t even remember one name of any one villain from this show. They never left any sort of impact on me at all, and there isn’t anything even remotely interesting about them. The original series had many memorable and interesting antagonists, that had well fleshed out personalities and goals. Vilgax, Kevin, Hex, Charmcaster, Dr. Animo, Ghostfreak, and all these other foes that Ben faced off against posed a real, genuine threat to him, and here lies another problem. The Reboot’s “antagonists” are not intimidating in the slightest, and actually don’t serve as a true threat to Ben at ALL. They’re pathetic to watch, really.

5: Max is Irrelevant

In the Original Series, Max was an extremely prominent character, and was often just as involved in the plot of the episode as Ben and Gwen were, and the plot twist at the end of Season 1 where it was revealed that Max is a Plumber and that he fought Vilgax in the past was a great plot point and reveal, it added more depth to his character, and made him more interesting. But in the Reboot, he is almost entirely absent in some episodes. Basically he’ll just show up at the beginning of an episode, preach about some moral that Ben completely ignores, and then just is either hardly shown, or not shown at all for the rest of the episode. He’s become irrelevant, and doesn’t affect the narrative of the story at all, He doesn’t play any sort of significant role at ALL.

6: Gwen and Ben’s relationship

One of the shittiest decisions made in the design of the show, was to completely fuck up the well-established dynamic of Ben and Gwen, in the Original Series, they’re two cousins who constantly bicker and sass eachother, but they clearly cared for one another, and had many tender and compassionate moments that effectively fleshed out their love for one another. Gwen was also the more rational-thinking and logical of the two, and never actually supported Ben’s utter stupidity or rash decisions. Reasonably so, in the sequel series’ they’ve matured and have grown out of their constant arguing and sass, but still tease each other from time to time. In the Reboot, however, Gwen, more often-then-not, completely INDULGES Ben in his poor decision-making and stupidity, to the point where I’d say she’s nearly as ignorant and doltish as he is. Gwen is simply far too nice and encouraging to Ben, which utterly destroys the original dynamic portrayed in previous series’

7: The Aliens

With all the painful problems with this god forsaken show, I almost forgot to talk about one of the most important parts. The.

Aliens.

They just look so fucking shitty in the new animation style, and some of the new design choices for them just make absolutely no sense. Like, why is Upgrade PURPLE instead of GREEN? The Omnitrix is black, green, and white, so it, y'know KIND OF JUST MAKES SENSE FOR UPGRADE TO BE THESE COLORS. And why the fuck is Stinkfly some stupid-ass looking bug-themed Superhero? Why doesn’t he ACTUALLY RESEMBLE SOME TYPE OF BUG. It just makes no sense, why these things were changed. And to be perfectly honest, one of my favorite Aliens from the Original Series, Ripjaws, was actually taken out from the roster in exchange for Overflow, or Waterhazard, or whatever the hell that water-themed fuck is named. He’s a bland Alien that should’ve never even been involved in this series to begin with, he wasn’t part of the Original 10. ANOTHER, issue with the Aliens is the voice-acting, alot of them are actually portrayed by voice actors I like, John DiMaggio, Greg Cipes, Josh Keaton, Travis Willingham, etc. But the thing is, their voices, don’t even fit them, at all, so whatever they spout out of their mouths, just sounds awful. In all previous series’ the Aliens’ VAs fit them perfectly, and alot of them had some pretty badass voices. Basically, when you assign a VA to a character, it has to sound as if that voice could ACTUALLY come from that character. If the voice isn’t matching the face, then we have a clear issue. It’s not so much as the voice acting is bad in the Reboot, but it’s just doesn’t fit with the Aliens. But interestingly enough, they were sure to find the worst possible voice actor they could find for my favorite of them all, Heatblast. His voice used to be so fucking badass, and that was because he was voiced by Steve Blum, a veteran VA, the voice fit the character PERFECTLY. In the Reboot however? They got some fucking Disney Channel actor, Daryl Sabara. I didn’t even know of this guy’s EXISTENCE, until I looked at the cast of the Reboot. This guy’s, voice is incredibly obnoxious and irritating, which is the EXACT OPPOSITE OF HEATBLAST’S VOICE IN FOREGOING SERIES’. One more thing I’d like to point out, was them switching Wildmutt out for Wildvine, again, this is another decision that makes no sense. WILDVINE WAS NOT PART OF THE ORIGINAL 10, he doesn’t even show up in way later in the Original, so why is he replacing one that was at the very start of the series? AND FINALLY, we come to our last issue. The transformations are pathetically animated, it genuinely looks as if he is being covered in some large alien suit, IT DOESN’T look as if he’s actually BECOMING that alien, and that’s a big problem when he’s supposed to, y'know be literally morphing into them.

8: Stiffness

One thing to notice throughout various episodes, is that conversations, and the overall voice acting, feel really stiff, and carry absolutely no weight, kind of like a piece of cardboard. There are even extended scenes of pointless dialogue that don’t affect or further the plot of the episode, in any sense of the word.

9: The Intro

Ben 10 (2016) has without a doubt the least amount of effort put into it’s Intro. You see some green asteroid “crash” into Earth, suddenly you see Ben wearing the Watch, he slams it. And we see the 10 Aliens, introduced in a similar, but poorly executed fashion. We hear “BEN 10” being chanted in the background for a solid 11 seconds. Suddenly we see Ben giving Gwen and Max low-fives, and then runs forward.

End of Intro

Now, does it sound like I described alot of shit? Not really, right? That’s because nothing actually happens in this intro, it conveys nothing, and is just lazily slapped together. I remember the Original Series’ intro, it was a catchy theme song that quickly explained the premise of the show in it’s first 18 seconds. The intro goes on and shows actual interesting shit, like Ben transforming into some Aliens, and some nice visuals. The Reboot’s intro shows us the bare minimum of what they could ACTUALLY be showing us, instead of them quickly jumping on screen for a tenth of second, why not illustrate at least one of their abilities with a short clip? The Original’s does this incredibly well in the last 10 seconds, briefly showing us the capabilities of some of the Aliens with incredibly short clips, you could actually be impressed by what you were witnessing. The Reboot’s intro is just so mundane, and devoid of any sort of interesting material, and it’s the only intro in the franchise that’s SLOW-PACED. All of the previous entries’ intros have been fast-paced. And while you may consider Ultimate Alien’s to be slow, it quickly scrolls through a large variety of Aliens while playing epic music, that’s fast enough, and certainly impressive enough for me. The Reboot’s intro is in-fact, so bad, that when my sister watched it, she actually started LAUGHING. And when you’re cackling at an intro that is CLEARLY not trying to be funny, well then, you’ve got a pretty shitty opening.

10: Ben’s Character

Okay, now I know Ben has always done stupid shit in all of his incarnations. However, his character seems ridiculously dumbed down in the Reboot, and he just seems as mindless as ever, in the other series’ we saw how he wasn’t always a goofball kid, he took himself and those around him seriously at times, and we were able to respect him as a character for these moments. Like in Alien Force, in the episode: “The Gauntlet”, there’s a scene where Ben stands up to Cash, not by using force, or the Omnitrix, but with words, he simply calmly and intelligently calls him the fuck out, and walks away. It was a well-written moment, and showed a deeper, more mature side of Ben. And in the episode “Framed”, where Ben doesn’t finish off Kevin even when he has the perfect opportunity to do so, knowing that he isn’t worth it, and showing a more compassionate side, even to a dangerous enemy. Ben doesn’t have any moments like this at all in the Reboot, and it really takes away from his character, he essentially becomes a one-dimensional character, that really doesn’t have any defining characteristics outside of being a goofball kid.

The Verdict:

Ben 10 (2016) is a clear attempt to appeal to a much younger audience, of what Man of Action assumes to be 6 year olds with short attention-spans that don’t give a flying fuck about depth, good animation, and proper storytelling. This show wasn’t made with any genuine thought or care, it was made to sell toys, and make money, while utilizing as little resources and time as possible. Not only does this show fail as a Ben 10 cartoon, it fails AS a cartoon in of itself. It insults every aspect of what makes good animation and a good show, and is just disgusting as a product. And I’m afraid that the only positive thing I am capable of saying about this show is that it isn’t Breadwinners, and that’s about it. So, yeah, don’t watch this show.

End of Review/Final Words Anyway I hope you all enjoyed this review, (if you even read it) and I know I’m late as fuck on reviewing this steaming pile of horse shit, but I promised it months ago, so I wanted to get it out for you guys, plus, I was in the mood to get pissed about something, and believe it or not, I actually enjoy writing these, they’re fun for me, and I hope they’re fun for you to read as well. And if you disagree with every little thing I said, and you ACTUALLY enjoy this show. Then that’s perfectly fine, you’re entitled to your own opinion, and your own interests, but I wanted to get mine out in the open, so I hope you can respect my opinion as I will respect yours. What other reviews can you expect from me in the future? Well, I currently have two game reviews in the works, but it may be quite some time before they are done, considering how incredibly lazy I am. But who knows? I’m sure I’ll find something else I hate, and either review or give my thoughts on it in the future.

Once again, if you actually made it to the end of this review, I heavily appreciate you taking time out of your day just to read me bitch about some stupid cartoon.

And I’ll see ya around, :P

[kingofthewilderwest]

What do you think of Viggo´s supposed death? The noise he made when falling and the complete lack of dramatic element regarding it make me think he is as dead ad Dagur. It would not surprise me to watch Hiccup attending that Maces and Talons match only to find Viggo has already won and greets him with open arms and something in the line of "My dear Hiccup, it is such a pity you couldn´t arrive earlier. I truly was hoping to compete against you"against you"

Hello, hello! Thank you so much - I’m doing well! I’m moving into a new apartment and it’s slowly coming together. :)

[Quick note on the damselstrid (continued from this post) before I chat about Viggo: The way I usually see Damselstrid dialogue occur within the Hiccstrid community is that either the individual doesn’t mind or they are very frustrated with the portrayal (I see much more of the latter on my dashboard). So I understand what you mean, yeah! It’s frustrating for all of us. As you saw in my previous post, I agree that it’s something that should be addressed and corrected in later seasons. I also guess I’m glad I helped illuminate the sexism within RTTE? The sad thing is I could continue elaborating with many more points… but I hope that, at least with pointing out some of the things, people can be aware it’s there. As much as I love the show, and as much as I will continue to love the show, it’s always good to be aware of the areas in which the show could use improvement, especially in areas of representation.]

As far as Viggo is concerned, I personally actually really hope he’s dead. As much as I love the mind games that Viggo has, and as much as I think he is a unique villain within the HTTYD realm, I don’t think that bringing him “back from the dead” would be the best choice of narrative. Even though there is a point to be made that his death feels, in many ways, anticlimactic and lacking in drama, I also feel as though it would be a poor choice in other writing respects to bring him back. Here are my main reasons why:

1. Back-from-the-dead tropes get old fast.2. Viggo might have a disproportionate number of screen time otherwise.3. Still being alive would be unrealistic.4. Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws.5. RTTE S4 wraps up basically everything with the Viggo plot arc.

1. Back-from-the-dead tropes get old fast

Fake deaths are a common narrative device in fiction used to build tension and create audience surprise. When done correctly, it can evoke shock, excitement, or a host of other suddenly-jarred emotions. Correctly done faked deaths can really get the audiences excited. When done incorrectly, though, it can feel like a very worn-out plot device… especially since it is a common trope. 

It’s to note that repeating tropes within a single story - especially tropes with these sorts of high-drama elements - tend to wear out and annoy audiences. It’s not a good plot element to recycle and keep redoing; if ever done, it should be done once for optimal effect. Otherwise, you cheapen both the first faked death and the second, make the plot of the story predictable and repetitive, and rely too heavily on tropish plot devices to carry the narrative “forward.”

RTTE writers have already implemented the back-from-the-dead trope once. It’s what happened with Dagur in S3 to S4. We never saw Dagur’s body at the end of his “death scene” in S3′s Family on the Edge, and indeed, he comes back in the fourth season alive and well. Now, if Viggo came back from the dead, not only would we recycle the same overdramatic plot device… but we’d be pulling the same stunt with two characters in back-to-back seasons. At this point, it would feel much like a worn-out, recycled plot device… rather than giving us some new, more novel twists and turns.

I would MUCH more prefer that Viggo - and Ryker - stay dead for that narrative reason alone.

2. Viggo might have a disproportionate number of screen time otherwise.

I’ve always found it interesting how long a character stays an antagonist in the DreamWorks Dragons shows. The writers tend to have a set time frame in which the villain interacts with Hiccup before we move onto some new enemy. To recapitulate how long villains stayed in conflict with Hiccup:

Mildew: 1 season (ROB; 2 seasons, counting brief appearances in DOB)

Alvin: 2 seasons (ROB and DOB)

Dagur: 3 seasons (DOB, RTTE S1, RTTE S2).

Ryker: 3 seasons (RTTE S2-S4)

Viggo: 3 seasons (RTTE S2-S4)

Now, it is to note that RTTE seasons are half the length of ROB and DOB seasons, and that he only appears visually on screen at the end of RTTE S2… but we still get about the same amount of screen time per villain. At the moment, we have a pretty decent pattern in which the villains come, wreak havoc, but end their plot arcs before their presence gets worn out. We don’t drag out the villain plot arcs in the DreamWorks Dragons franchise.

Now, if we have Viggo return in Seasons 5 and 6, then he would disproportionately dominate much of the narrative throughout the HTTYD franchise. It might feel a little odd that this villain, whose presence has been keenly felt since RTTE S2, would be so prevalent, while the other antagonists would have a disproportionately lesser time being the bad guy.

So purely from a sake of balance, it’d be better for Viggo to be dead, too.

3. Still being alive would be unrealistic.

Race to the Edge is hardly accurate in how it portrays volcanoes. Oh goodness, it is very inaccurate in how it portrays volcanoes. That said, having a character seem to fall down into a volcano still seems like a sure way to perish. We could suggest Viggo grabs onto the side of the cliff or something like that, but regardless, chances of survival are extraordinarily, extraordinarily slim for him. It’s extremely likely he dies here.

Now, people could point out, “We don’t SEE him dead.” Yes, that is true. Nevertheless, would this show actually show a dead character on screen? Would they actually show the character getting impaled or hitting the lava or something else horrendous and graphic like that? Probably not. They’re going to show a character falling down into what should be a sure death without showing their actual death. Sort of like what just happened with Viggo.

Especially given as we see Hiccup watch Viggo fall, and Hiccup’s right there with his eyes glued on the volcano… it makes it a little hard to say that Viggo made it out alive. Look at Hiccup’s horrified expression. It seems he witnessed something directly.

Of course, this doesn’t have to mean that Viggo is dead, but the most they will ever show on screen I believe - for a children’s show like this - is an implied death with the camera focused on the individual (Hiccup) watching it.

4. Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws.

One of the things I have always been curious about was how Hiccup and Viggo’s intelligence match would progress. I suspected that, over time, Hiccup would learn how to outmanipulate the manipulator and beat Viggo at his own game - though in a way that demonstrated kindness and mercy rather than a drive for one’s own profit. I suspected that Hiccup would grow from being extremely frustrated about Viggo, feeling as though there’s no way he can beat the villain, to the person making Viggo unsettled and worried. There would be a turn of tides, with Hiccup eventually gaining the upper hand. That was my prediction.

Nevertheless, the fact that this is not what occurred still doesn’t mean it wasn’t an interesting and fitting way to end Viggo’s role as a villain. In fact, Viggo’s ending is fitting to his flaws in multiple respects - both in terms of Hiccup’s interactions, and in terms of Viggo’s character itself.

First, the fact that Viggo never becomes overwhelmingly bested by Hiccup means that Viggo will forever remain as the character who could outsmart Hiccup. Viggo retains his legacy forever, this way, which is actually sort of fitting. We don’t have an all-powerful protagonist who can magically outdo people at their own strengths. We have a villain who still gets defeated, but retains his legacy of his strengths. Viggo’s identity never unravels.

Hiccup still manages to outdo Viggo by throwing away the Dragon Eye, but it’s not an “outhinking”, so much. It shows Hiccup doesn’t have to become Viggo to best Viggo. Furthermore, it shows Hiccup’s growth from being obsessed about the Dragon Eye to the point he endangers his friends (Dragon Eye of the Beholder Part 2)… to being willing to sacrifice it because of the people he cares about - it’s not Hiccup becoming better than Viggo, but Hiccup becoming better at being Hiccup. Then, this event could help Hiccup grow into who he is by HTTYD 2, someone who doesn’t believe he can do everything (since he never got to outdo Viggo at his own game, in full).

Last, what happens is that Viggo’s core identity - that of a manipulator - is what leads to his own downfall. Viggo leads to Viggo’s own fall. It’s Shakespearian. It’s nice. It’s fitting to have him end in the way where his own strengths becomes his undermining weaknesses.

Viggo’s greatest strengths are his control over the dragon hunters, his manipulative abilities, and his desires for profits (which in turn fuels him to hunt dragons, seek the Dragon Eye, and thus clash with Hiccup so adamantly). These are what make him a villain to be contended with against Hiccup. All these things lead to his downfall in RTTE S4.

Viggo’s gripping control is what makes him a leader. But Viggo’s gripping control is what sours his relationship with his brother and turns Ryker against him (debatably - we’ll never know how much of that incident was staged trickery and how much was genuine rebellion). But more obviously, Viggo’s desire for profit and ability to manipulate is what led to his direct end. Viggo tried to manipulate Hiccup with Astrid. That backfired. It led to a situation where Hiccup had to throw away the Dragon Eye. Viggo wanted to get hold of the Dragon Eye - it was his pursuit from start to end of his role as villain - it’s how he could extend his profits as a dragon hunter. But his own drive for the Dragon Eye, the very reason that he was such a contender and dangerous enemy for Hiccup… is what led to him trying to grab the Dragon Eye… and thus falling to his death. 

Had Viggo not wanted the Dragon Eye, he wouldn’t have been an enemy to contend with. But had Viggo not wanted the Dragon Eye, then he wouldn’t have fallen as he did.

So Viggo’s ending is superbly fitting to his character. The reasons why he butted heads with villain and became a dangerous villain are what became his downfall. Viggo brought about Viggo’s own end there at the end of S4. And that’s very fitting.

Now, it’s true that it might have felt anticlimactic in its execution, and I agree, but the concept is really something I can get behind. REALLY something I can get behind.

5. RTTE S4 wraps up basically everything with the Viggo plot arc.

Viggo’s antagonist story doesn’t need to be continued. It is, in many ways, self-contained between seasons two through four. The main plot of Viggo bothering the youths through the dragon hunters and battling over the Dragon Eye is now done. The Dragon Eye is gone, after all. And even the problem of Hiccup needing to best Viggo to save the dragons is finished. Assuming Viggo and Ryker never come back, the dragon hunters won’t harm the dragons any more. The dragon riders have victory in all the areas that they need for the plot arc. They’re not going to be bothered by those dragon hunters again. Story closed.

So there’s no need to extend the plot arc with Viggo. We’ve gotten a full narrative arc with an ending that concludes just about everything that needs to be concluded.

Rather, I would prefer if we spent the next two seasons exploring the new plot device they’ve opened up with Krogan. If he becomes the main antagonist in the next two seasons, then that would make a lot of sense, have room for development, and make for a good lead-in to HTTYD 2 by the end of S6.

Now, the last thing I want to say is that, just because *I* think that it is better plot-wise on many fronts for Viggo to be dead… doesn’t mean he has to be dead. It doesn’t mean that this is the route the writers will take. My comments are not predictive, they’re just what I think would be best for the story were I writing it myself. It’s totally possible for Viggo to make a reappearance. I wouldn’t be all that astonished if it happened. But for me, personally, I want this to be the wraps on the Viggo story arc, for the reasons I outlined above! XD

[jbuffyangel]

Tether: Arrow 5x16 Review (Checkmate)

I had two wishes for tonight's episode.  First, that Oliver and Snoozan break up because, as you all know, I'm super done with her.  Second, that Prometheus not suck because, as you all know, I've been super unimpressed so far. @fanmommer​ can confirm these wishes.

Alright, so I didn't get wish #1 (just a matter of time kids), but Oliver delivered fantastic Snoozan shade,  so I am satisfied. Wish #2 came true however.  The Big Bad does not suck. He's awesome. 

That and a subtle, but meaningful Olicity scene means I am one happy camper.

Let's dig in...

Prometheus and Oliver Queen

I have made no secret over my concerns with Arrow's Season 5 Big Bad (re: 5x09 review). Prometheus has failed to impress. He felt like a caricature rather than a real menace. I haven't been invested in any of the big bad he's committed against Oliver and crew (Sorry Billy). 

The season long mystery of "Who is Prometheus?" concluded like a deflating balloon (re: 5x15 review). 

We can debate whether Arrow's main focus is romance and Olicity, but the Big Bad is not debatable. The Big Bad is a main focus and, more often than not, is the linchpin. A season can live or die by their villain and Arrow's Season 5 was dying a hard and fast death with Prometheus. We were getting The Initiative when we needed Angelus. I was very worried. Until tonight.

In my 5x15 review I highlighted a potential silver lining with unmasking Prometheus.

“It leaves me to wonder, perhaps the Prometheus reveal isn’t the pay off. Maybe his identity isn’t the big surprise. Perhaps, there’s still another shoe waiting to drop. The pay off may not be in who Prometheus is, but rather in what he does.”

I still maintain 16 episodes is too far into the season to really start cooking on the Big Bad, 

but at this point my elation over Josh Seggara's performance eclipses my annoyance. Prometheus' mask created a wall between him and the audience. I haven't been able to connect to Prometheus the same way I connected to Malcolm, Slade, Ra's Al Ghul and Damien Darhk. Well, the gloves, or rather mask , is off and Josh Seggara brought it tonight.

Adrian Chase be crazy.

But it's not campy crazy, which is an extremely good thing. To take the villain seriously, we need to feel like they are a real threat. Too much camp and they become a joke. 

What's wonderful about Josh's performance is he walks the precarious line between complete control versus utter lunacy. It creates what I like to call "the switch effect." At any moment, Adrian Chase can flip the switch and go full out One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, much like he did towards the end of the episode.

However, the remainder of the time Chase is in complete control. He is every bit the chess champion, coolly and calmly putting Oliver Queen in checkmate. Yet, like any good chess player, Chase revels in the knowledge his opponent is finished 10 moves before Oliver comes to the same conclusion. It creates an edge-of-your-seat feel, which is just... fun. It's nice to feel suspense again on Arrow.

***That's the end of the chess analogies because I don't play chess and Nick isn't home for me to scream questions at so I can make quippy comparisons in my review.

Arrow lowers the boom with a climb up a mountain.  

Ugh... mountains. My heart's scar tissue is still fresh from Oliver's last scamper up to high altitude, so if it's all the same pumpkin let's exit the way you came - on foot, without a sword in your chest. Cool? Cool. 

Oliver is paying a visit to Talia because he wants to know why Prometheus is the new teacher's pet.  In the twist everyone except Oliver saw coming, the two have a great deal in common.

Oliver killed Adrian's father and Talia's.

As burns go that is a pretty savage one. Slay girl slay.

Yeah, Oliver. Talia is Talia Al Ghul. LAST NAMES ARE A THING. It never occured to you to ask the mysterious woman, who seems to know everything about you, her last name? Lord, boy it's amazing you've survived this long. It reminds me of a line from You've Got Mail.

"Joe"? "Just call me Joe"? As if you were one of those stupid 22-year old girls with no last name? "Hi, I'm Kimberly!" "Hi, I'm Janice!" Don't they know you're supposed to have a last name? It's like they're an entire generation of cocktail waitresses." - Kathleen Kelly

Talia is not a cocktail waitress Oliver.  She's a super ninja. Next time, get a last name.

I think I read one too many awesome specs about Talia Al Ghul working with Prometheus, so this "shocker" was more "Sure, makes sense" for me. I am getting serious Dark Knight Rises feels from this particular storyline though.

Prometheus  = Bane

Talia = Talia (Subtle is never Arrow's thing. We know this.)

It's fine, certainly not the first time Arrow has "borrowed" from Batman. Good news is Bane seriously sucked. I couldn’t understand a damn word he said, so there's ample room for improvement too. Have at it Arrow.

Thankfully, Prometheus isn't just the muscle like Bane was. His endgame is more diabolical. The cat and mouse game Adrian and Oliver engage in during "Checkmate" is the most fun I've had in a long time on Arrow because we're in on the game. We know what Adrian and Oliver know. We know he's Prometheus. We know he has Oliver over a barrel. Oliver can't come after Chase as Mayor, because Adrian is the District Attorney. He's a trusted public figure like Oliver is. Oliver needs proof or nobody will believe the DA is the Throwing Star Killer. In a way, Chase has adopted Oliver's game, but he's better at playing it.

Felicity makes a deal with the devil (Helix) and gets Oliver the evidence he needs to expose the Adrian Chase alias (his real name is Simon Morrison). But Chase stabs the police captain before he has a chance to investigate the lead. Once again, Oliver Queen is between a rock and a hard place.

Nor can Oliver come after Prometheus as the Green Arrow. Prometheus has Susan, so the Green Arrow can't kill him. Is Chase dies, then Susan dies. Nobody actually cares Prometheus has Susan, but that's just details. #TeamPrommy

Luckily for me, Adrian is a details man! It's almost like he sensed my indifference to the predicament. I cannot possibly imagine how. I'm so quiet about it. 

So, Prometheus brings the Green Arrow down another way. Adrian makes it look like the Green Arrow went after the District Attorney's wife. Mayor Queen has to issue a "shoot on sight" order in a televised press conference. Wherever Roy Harper is he's gotta be pissed. He didn't give Thea up for this shit.

I love it. 

Don't get me wrong, this is bad... poor Oliver, but from an audience perspective? FUN.  The layers in the scenes between Oliver and Chase are like a triffle. Each one better than the next.

Adrian spends the first half of the episode taunting Oliver and his team. 

A+ shade. Extra points for calling Rene "dog."

However, it's the confrontation in Pike's hospital room where we get into the psychology of Prometheus.

Adrian: Life’s just so fragile, isn’t it? Decades of hopes and dreams, and in one moment, one little mistake, and it all just goes away.

It's another taunt at Oliver. He gave Pike the USB drive with Felicity's evidence. Prometheus is telling Oliver it's his mistake that put Pike in a hospital bed. Once again, Oliver destroys a life.

However, this particular dialogue goes deeper than just a taunt. I believe Adrian is also speaking about his father. Remember, Oliver is the villain of Simon Morrison's story. The Hood killed his father. In Simon's mind, his father made one mistake and paid with his life. Decades of hopes and dreams, his father's and Simon's, gone in an instant. Yet, Oliver Queen has the nerve to stand in front of him and call it justice.

Simon wants Oliver to feel his pain the way Slade needed Oliver to feel pain. Unlike Slade, Simon isn't interested in revenge. This game isn't about killing Oliver, which can make Prometheus even more diabolical than Slade.

In a lot of ways the Green Arrow has been in search of his Joker. The Joker never wants to kill Batman. He just wants the game to go on. 

Adrian has a slightly tighter grasp on his sanity than that, not by much, but his endgame seems somewhat similar to the Joker's. This isn't about death. This is about destruction. This makes Prometheus different than Merlyn, Damien, Ra's Ahl Ghul, and yes, even Slade. Slade wanted to take the person Oliver loved the most, but he had every intention of killing Oliver after his revenge. I think Prometheus' game goes deeper than that.  This is about more than revenge. Prometheus doesn't want to kill Oliver because death would be a release from torment.

The fires of hell never consume. They just go on burning. There is no end to the misery. No end to the pain. Prometheus doesn't want to end Oliver's life. He knows his opponent well. He knows Oliver doesn't fear death. What Prometheus wants is to send Oliver to hell. So what's a hell Oliver can never escape from? 

One of his making.

So, this war instantly becomes more psychological than physical. 

Mom is a low blow Adrian. Chase names off all the names of those Oliver has lost - his mother, Shado, Laurel. Deaths we know Oliver blames himself for. Deaths Oliver believes he caused. 

"Let’s find out how much more loss you can take because I don’t think it’s much.”

Obviously, Snoozan isn't the loss that leads to Oliver's destruction. 

Prometheus, like the Joker, is a showman. Snoozan is just the opening act. She's the tease to get Oliver in the game. She's also the bait, so Prometheus and Talia can kidnap Oliver.  

She's a mere domino among hundreds of dominoes. Nothing more and nothing less. Prometheus is saving that important "one loss" until the final act.

Is this just a redo of the "person you love the most?" Perhaps, but I don't think Prometheus is driving Oliver towards a choice. He's driving Oliver towards a truth. A truth about who he is. About the kind of man he is.

Adrian: Do you have any idea how impotent you sound?

Impotent. It’s an interesting choice of words. It means helpless, powerless and unable to take action.  There’s also a sexual definition -  a man’s inability to achieve an erection. Adrian could have called Oliver helpless or powerless, as many great villains have done in so many stories, and then manically laugh. Instead, Adrian chooses a word with sexual connotations because he's calling Oliver's manhood into question. Who is Oliver Queen? What kind of man is he? To Prometheus, not much of one, but the goal is for Oliver to believe that.

Slade: You are not a hero or a brother or a friend. You are nothing.

In Season 2, Episode 9, Oliver saw three ghosts and one of them was Slade. Slade told him this charade wasn't about atoning for his father's sins. Oliver is atoning for his own sins. Slade was just a hallucination. He was Oliver's darkest fears psychologically manifested in the form of a ghost. Slade was saying what Oliver believed.

Prometheus is the opposite. He's no ghost. He's flesh and blood. He's the physical manifestation of Oliver's darkness the way Slade was a psychological manifestation in 2x09. The creation of these two foes represent the schism in Oliver Queen. Oliver Queen chose Sara, condemning Shado, thereby setting Slade on his path for revenge. 

Prometheus is created from The Hood's killing. The Hood killed Justin Claybourne, thereby setting Prometheus on his path for destruction.

But what is the hood to Oliver? 

The hood is the darkness the five years away from home created. Talia gave Oliver the hood as an outlet for the monster inside. Oliver believes if he can use this darkness as a force of good then it won't consume him.

Although... secretly I wonder if that too is a lie Oliver tells himself. I think Oliver's biggest fear isn't of what the five years away created. I think he's afraid of what those five years away revealed. I think Oliver is afraid this darkness was always inside of him, even before the Island, but that's another point  for another time.

Oliver thought if he could separate himself from the darkness, give it a name, something tangible outside of his every day persona, then he could live with it. Yet, he continues to operate in the schism. As Anatoly, shockingly of all people, rightly points out-  there is no separation from the darkness. If it's in you, then it's in you. Oliver has GOT to deal with that. Every season, he fails to fully grasp the full picture, which is why a villain like Prometheus is so necessary.

Oliver could put on the hood and fight Malcolm, Slade, Ra's and Damien. He could continue to disassociate himself from the darkness inside via this other persona. However, Oliver can't do that with Prometheus because he is a villain created from the hood. There is no dissociation. It's like staring into a mirror every time the Green Arrow faces him.  

We can see this in the way Prometheus and the Green Arrow fight. They are evenly matched. We can barely distinguish one man from the other. It's almost like Oliver is fighting a reflection.

We've seen Oliver fight his reflection before. In Season 3. That time The Arrow fought Oliver Queen. 

Then, we watched Oliver lose himself inside the hood. 

He thought the only way to save the city was to become the mask entirely, and leave the man by the wayside. 

By the end of the season, he left the mask behind and embraced only the man. 

In Season 4, Oliver realized just being Oliver Queen was an incomplete picture as well (with some serious nudging from Felicity). 

Yet, he was unable to balance both sides.

And around and around and around we go.

Oliver begins to question things again we thought he already found the answer to. 

He challenges Diggle on the growth both men have fought for. Oliver fears all the trust, optimism and love he's opened himself up to has left him vulnerable. Instead of building a family, and a life, he's simply set up targets for his enemies to take down one by one. Targets. I remember a time when Oliver used that same word. 

See? This is what happens when you are separated from Felicity for too long Oliver.  We backslide into this nonsense again.

With Susan in danger, Oliver wonders aloud if he gave up the right to be with anyone when he put on the hood. Great. Didn’t we beat this topic to death enough in Season 3?

Diggle very clearly tells Oliver his connections are not targets. They are his humanity. 

We all have darkness inside, so what makes us human? Empathy, compassion, trust, forgiveness and love. These are the tethers that separate the light from the dark. No one can survive alone. At some point, at some time, we all need someone. We all need to love and be loved in return.

The five years Oliver was away he continually lost his tethers. Every time he tried to hold onto someone he lost them. When he lost a tether, Oliver didn't reach for a new one. Oliver cut himself off. Slowly, we are seeing the emergence of The Machine in the flashbacks.

Who would Oliver Queen be without John Diggle? 

Who would Oliver Queen be without Felicity Smoak? 

What separates Prometheus and the Green Arrow? 

The reason Simon Morrison is so angry with The Hood is because The Hood took his tether. Justin Claybourne may have been a bad man, but he was loved by someone. Simon loved his father. Talia Al Ghul loved her father. Just like Oliver Queen loved his.

Prometheus believes he's driving Oliver towards a truth.  This truth will consume Oliver like hell fire. It will never stop burning. It's what Prometheus wants more than anything else... even more than his own wife. When Diggle brings Doris to Adrian, we see the control break. For the first time, we see how deep the crazy crevice goes. We saw it coming. We knew Adrian was going to kill his wife. Yet, it's the act itself, the moment when he drives the dagger into her chest, that you realize this is a man who willingly cuts the tethers from his life, so he's free to be a monster.

I think whatever "truth" Prometheus is driving Oliver towards, is one Oliver has secretly feared for years.  We've seen this fear manifested in different ways and by different villains, but it all comes back to this one singular idea: Oliver fears the mask isn't The Green Arrow or The Arrow or The Hood. He's afraid the mask is Oliver Queen.

Adrian: If you kill me you’ll only really be killing yourself.

Every once and awhile, Arrow delivers an exceptional line. This line has so much meaning and encapsulates the final arc Oliver is evolving along. On the surface, Prometheus is speaking about Susan. If Oliver kills Prometheus, then Susan dies, and Oliver is destroyed. Susan will be one loss too many.

Give me a break. Prometheus knows Oliver Queen. He knows Susan's death isn't the key. Even Oliver can't rank Susan above Diggle, Felicity and William.

 "Checkmate" is an episode filled with double meaning dialogue, so what is Arrow really saying when Prometheus issues Oliver this warning?

If Prometheus is created from killing, then I don't believe the solution is for Oliver to kill Simon Morrison. Prometheus represents Oliver’s darkness. By killing Prometheus, Oliver will only be killing himself and this isn't about eradicating one side. This is about acceptance. The mask doesn’t have to be a manifestation of Oliver’s darkness. The mask can be the manifestation of Oliver’s goodness and light. But that only happens when Oliver stops fearing Oliver Queen. The only way to stop fearing Oliver Queen is to face the darkness. 

Yoda knows wassup.

But Oliver needs the strength to do it. 

The only way balance both sides, Oliver Queen and The Green Arrow, the only way to balance the light and the dark, is the tethers that hold him even and steady to the ground. It's these tethers that bridge the schism. It's these tethers that are Oliver's strength... and that's the difference between a villain and a superhero. A villain cannot even grasp the concept, 

while a superhero becomes the embodiment of it.

Olicity

Some may argue romance isn't part of superhero stories. I argue it's one of the most fundamental aspects of the genre. First, heroism is an act of love. It is unconditional, selfless, inspiring love. Second, a hero's journey requires belief. We have to believe in the hero for the story to have value.  Therefore, we have to understand who this person is. There is no better way to understand who someone is than to witness how they love. It's why in almost any iteration of the hero's journey there is a great love. The heart of the hero is revealed, so we can believe in the hero.

Oliver Queen loves Felicity Smoak. She is Oliver’s great love. Felicity Smoak loves Oliver Queen. He is Felicity’s great love. I believe this is a core tenet of the show. Arrow is always their most truthful, their most authentic, when they are keeping this tenet. These two heroes are their best selves when they are loving each other. They challenge and inspire one another, and in return, challenge and inspire us.

It's difficult to accept any other love interest because it flies in the face of this central tenet. Inevitably, other love interests are meant to reinforce Olicity. Some better than others. I think on some basic level Arrow knows this.  When the Arrow writers aren't invested in a character it's reflected in the writing. When we look at characters like Laurel, Whatshername, Billy and Snoozan, it's clear the writers aren't invested n them. The effort simply isn't there. It's almost impossible to ask your audience to exert more effort and investment in characters than the writers have. So, my level of investment in Snoozan is at the same level as the writers - which is next to nothing. I accept her as filler and rather enjoy snarking away at her any chance I get. Snark is its own form of entertainment.

What is so enjoyable about the Olicity scene in "Checkmate" is the return to a level of authenticity. I certainly appreciate the optimism Oliver had while attempting to find love again after Felicity. It showed growth and that's always a hard fought battle with Oliver Queen. However, these steps Oliver made don't move him any further from the truth, which is he loves Felicity. He loved her before Snoozan, he loved her while dating Snoozan, and he will love her after Snoozan. Yes, Oliver may care for Snoozan, but he will never care about her as much as he does for Felicity. Arrow acknowledges this singular truth in the scene between Oliver and Felicity and, for the first time in weeks, I can recognize Oliver again.

Felicity is MIA during the Snoozan kidnapping because she's getting the tour of Helix. After a dozen emergency texts from Curtis, she arrives in the bunker.

Oliver has said this twice and neither time has led to sex. So, I expect that to be remedied in Season 6.

Felicity is certain Oliver is angry. She is certain Oliver is going to yell, but he doesn't. Instead, Oliver calmly states she doesn't work for him. Oliver doesn't view Felicity as employee. He hasn't for years. 

Felicity his partner.  Oliver needs her. He depends on her. He misses Felicity when she's gone.  The team is less without her, and so is he, but Oliver fully recognizes Felicity is part of Team Arrow by choice. It's her decision to stand by him, but only she can determine what that looks like. It's a small, but gentle moment and a striking contrast to the jealous temper tantrum we saw only few years ago. There's a maturity in Oliver's response and an acknowledgment of Felicity's free will. THY NAME IS CHARACTER GROWTH.

Instead, Oliver tells Felicity he's worried. Oliver hasn't been oblivious to what's been going on with Felicity. Nor is this the first time he's tried to address it. It is, however, the first time he's tried to address it this way.

Felicity immediately assumes he's talking about Snoozan, because... why wouldn't he be? Snoozan is his girlfriend and she's been kidnapped. When Felicity addresses Oliver's worry as Snoozan, he casually brushes said girlfriend aside. Kidnapped girlfriend isn't on his radar, but it's true love!

Of course, Oliver wants to get Snoozan back. Of course, he's concerned about her safety, but the more pressing concern for him in this moment is what's going on with Felicity. Felicity is what he needs to talk about. Snoozan's life may be hanging in the balance, but it's Felicity who can't wait. Not anymore. He's already waited too long as it is.

Oliver gives a slight headshake like it's unfathomable that he could be talking about Susan right now. This is the Oliver I know. This is the real Oliver. This is the man who can only see Felicity. The man who's future is focused on her. The man who puts Felicity first. This is the hero I know. This is the hero I believe in.

Oliver firmly explains he's worried about her and a soft "oh" escapes from Felicity's mouth. 

It is both heartbreaking and overwhelming. It's a crack in the tough facade she's built up since Billy's death... since Havenrock... since her paralysis... since her father... since Oliver's lie...

Diggle tried talking to Felicity. Curtis tried talking to Felicity and yes, Oliver has tried talking to Felicity. Nothing has quite hit the mark like, "I'm worried about you." She's touched Oliver is worried. Felicity is touched Oliver thinks about her... still.

The heartbreaking part is she sounds a little surprised. Felicity is surprised Oliver still thinks about her. She's a little surprised he worries about her because it feels like all evidence to the contrary. They both agreed to move on. While her attempt to move on is six feet under, Oliver's is alive and well. At least for now. There was a time Felicity Smoak knew she was Oliver's first thought and priority, but now she actually believes Susan comes first. As inauthentic as his relationship with Susan is, Felicity buys it. Even though we closed the distance a little we still have a ways to go.

"I'm worried about you."

There's an intimacy to those words. Four words and the distance between them is closed a little more. It's not a casual statement, but it's not a lecture either. It's Oliver reaching out with an open hand, asking Felicity to reach back.

Instead of talking around it by saying she's better than him, instead of quizzical little looks, but no words, Oliver lays it out for Felicity. He knows something is going on with her. He knows she's into something she's not telling him. He knows.

Oliver finally stops dancing around it, but also acknowledges he might be the only one out of the loop. It couldn't have been easy for Oliver to acknowledge he might be the only one Felicity isn't telling. Since, he can recognize the possibility then I believe Oliver can also understand why that may be. The why is something he's earned. Oliver wasn't honest with Felicity.  He broke the trust first. This distance between them is one he created.

It's why his remark about honesty is so pointed. Oliver and Felicity are emotional wreckage from the crash that was William. It was a lie so big it broke them and they couldn't see their way back together (not yet). Oliver understands the cost of lies perhaps better than anyone else. He lost the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. The price for lying to Felicity is too high, which is why Oliver promised to never lie to her again.

Except... Felicity didn't make the same promise to Oliver. She didn't promise to never lie. Felicity may not view Helix as a lie, but rather an omission. Oliver played the game last year with William too. William was a lie of omission. Same difference from my standpoint. A lie is lie.  The point is, the wreckage from a lie, no matter the reason and no matter who does the lying, will always been the same between them. The cost will always be too high.

Granted, the situations are not apples to apples. Oliver and Felicity are not engaged. They aren't even together. 

As Felicity explained to Curtis, she's a grown woman who can live her life how she wants. 

Whether Felicity owes Oliver the truth about Helix the way he owed her the truth about William is debatable. However, their lives are not completely independent. They are still crime fighting partners and this arrangement with Helix impacts the team. So, in that sense, yes Felicity does owe Oliver the truth.

But there's something more basic here that Oliver is driving at with "I'm worried about you." What happens to Felicity impacts him. Whether they are together or not, engaged or not, married or not... Oliver cares about Felicity. He worries about her. HE LOVES HER. Oliver not only wants to know... he needs to know. That's what love is. This tether between them can never be severed. If the distance between them, that makes working together bearable , means he can't know then Oliver wants no part of that. It's enough to push him towards Felicity. It's enough for Oliver to make the attempt to bridge the gap.

Oliver may be reaching for Felicity, but she's not ready to reach back. Not yet... and that's okay. This road Felicity is on is one she has to travel alone for awhile. She needs to spiral deeper. Is Felicity being a hypocrite? I don't think it makes her a hypocrite to withhold trust and truth from Oliver when he refused to give those things to her first.  There's only so many times Felicity can give and not receive. This is what the wreckage of a big lie looks like. Putting the pieces together isn't always clean. Walking in each other's shoes isn't always a gentle path.

But they are walking in each other's shoes. Oliver is feeling what it's like to be shut out,  lied to, and isolated from the person you love most in the world. Felicity isn't ready to tell Oliver the truth, and for the first time, he knows what it feels like not to be completely trusted by her. Whatever her reasons are, refusing to tell Oliver the truth is an issue of trust. Just like William was an issue of trust. Felicity doesn't believe Oliver will understand about Helix. The same way Oliver didn't believe Felicity would understand about William.

As for Felicity, she's able to rationalize this lie the same way Oliver was able to rationalize William. Oliver thought he was serving the greater good - ensuring a relationship with his son and keeping him safe (yeah that reason still makes me want to pull my hair out.) Felicity's deeper spiral into Helix isn't born out of revenge, but compassion. She thinks she's serving the greater good. Felicity agrees to quid pro quo to save her ex fiancé's soon to be ex girlfriend. ACTUAL ANGEL. Felicity's empathy is her real superpower. Her good heart leads her into deeper water with Helix.

And it will lead her in deeper still. Now that Prometheus has Oliver, Felicity will go to the ends of the earth for him. There is no hell she won't walk through to save the man she loves. 

Felicity isn’t being played by Helix. She’s simply not asking the question, because she doesn’t want to know the answer. Felicity will rationalize the ends justify the means, just like Oliver did with William. She is ignoring the potential looming consequences because she believes Helix is necessary. Just like Oliver believed lying about William was necessary, while ignoring the looming consequences. This doesn’t excuse Oliver’s behavior anymore than it does Felicity’s, but rather gives Felicity a bettering understand of Oliver’s choices. Understanding doesn't excuse behavior, but it can lead to empathy, which opens the door to forgiveness.

Something, extraordinatory happens at the end of their conversation. Felicity asks Oliver to trust her... and he says okay. Oliver gives trust when he’s not receiving any back. Oliver is the one who bends. Their roles are so beautifully reversed.

Trust is all she ever asked of him. 

And bit by bit, Oliver is understanding the reality of what that word really means.

When Oliver rescues Susan it's such a stark difference from the times he's rescued Felicity. It’s Chanel versus Walmart in any circumstance when comparing Felicity and Snoozan 

When Oliver rescued Felicity he couldn't leave her side. 

Oliver needed to hold Felicity, 

to feel her breath against his skin, 

and know for certain she was alive. 

That's what love is. It's the need to hold on and never let go. 

After the obligatory, "Are you okay?" Oliver barely glances at Susan. 

Refrigerators have opened their arms to me with warmer greetings than Oliver gave Snoozan in that elevator.  Finally, it felt like an honest reaction to Susan from Oliver. I cackled. Glorious.

There is no reason for Oliver to be so cold and aloof. Susan knows he's the Green Arrow.  Perhaps, Oliver is already shutting down and pushing away those "targets" he'd opened his heart to. That's the thing though...  you can't shut down love. You can't push it away.

You always come back.

The connection is always there 

because you need it.

It's the air you breathe. 

It gives you peace.

It challenges you to be better.

It makes you dream.

It gives you strength.

It helps you hold on in moments of despair.

It’s the light in the dark.

It's what makes you human.  

Oliver can let Snoozan go because he can’t hold on to what was never there. It’s Felicity. She’s the one Oliver can’t let go of. Felicity is the tether Oliver can't cut loose.

Times by Tenth Avenue North

I hear You say, My love is over It's underneath It's inside It's in between The times you doubt Me, when you can't feel The times that you question, Is this for real? The times you're broken The times that you mend The times that you hate Me, and the times that you bend Well, My love is over, it's underneath It's inside, it's in between These times you're healing, and when your heart breaks The times that you feel like you're falling from grace The times you're hurting The times that you heal The times you go hungry, and are tempted to steal The times of confusion, in chaos and pain I'm there in your sorrow, under the weight of your shame I'm there through your heartache I'm there in the storm My love I will keep you, by My pow'r alone I don't care where you fall, where you have been I'll never forsake you, My love never ends It never ends

Stray Thoughts

Nobody told me we were calling her Snoozan. Ya gotta tell me this stuff guys. I could have been snarky about her name for weeks now. 

 “I don’t know what I was thinking dating Susan.” We’ve only been screaming that at you Oliver for 10 episodes, but happy to have you on board.

Anatoly must be protected at all costs.

Seriously. All costs.

Dinah calling Rene "Lassie" wins everything.

Were we supposed to take a shot every time Quentin said, “Son of a bitch”?

“Susan’s fine by the way.” Ha! Even Chase knows Oliver really doesn't give a crap about Snoozan.

Oliver fears he destroys lives, so he destroys stuff. A little subtly wouldn’t kill you Arrow. Let’s try new things! Btw, that looked like a really nice TV Oliver. Calm down bro.

Curtis' T-spheres are more helpful than Mr. Terrific. So, can we just send the T-spheres with Dinah and Curtis can stay in the bunker? Or better yet go back to Palmer Tech?

This is how not chill Arrow is about Olicity’s endgame. The writers can’t stop themselves from inserting Felicity into flashbacks because ENDGAME and CONTINUITY and DESTINY and all those other words that are like crack to a writer. They want Oliver’s flashback journey to be leading to Felicity like his present day journey. (Sorry L*urel. Cue awkwardness). This was the plan with L*urel but then she was awful and Felicity was AMAZING, so TA DA. They’d like us to pretend that Olicity was the Plan A couple all along (L*uriver was just a bad dream) and that’s fine by me! Continue lack of chill.

Oliver is tied up in chains and shirtless next week. This is "Back to Basics" I can support.

I wonder if Prometheus needs someone to throw water on Oliver.