I'm exhausted. This tension, the politics, the intrigue, even to the last second. So much is happening in this episode. So much concealed under such elegant garments.
In one way I look forward to the finale next week, however I'm not sure how they are going to fit what I was anticipating to be in this episode into the last, unless it is a 3hr episode, but I think it won't be such.
The other way I'm looking forward to the finale, is I no longer will need to invest all my emotion and attention in this concentration of spectacle and the craft of each Actor performing to perfection their role, and appreciating each word, glance, and interaction with their counterparts in such a magnificent, stunning location.
I'll be ready for this finale but until then I'll be soaking in what I've watched today. What a pleasure it is to witness what the Arts can deliver if given a proper opportunity.
Thank you to the Creators, Actors, Crew, and Those That have painstakingly brought this masterpiece to us.
The conundrum has set in... I desperately want to see the last episode now, but I don't want it to be the last show. 10/10
I think I was just as scared as James was when Alyssa left the police station to go to Clive's house.
The emotions were so high this season and I'm glad they went this way even though I wouldn't have minded it to have ended with Bonnie shooting them both (it was shocking and unexpected) but this happy ending made me tear up. It was beautiful and a nice message that things can work out in the end, even though of course both of these characters are scarred for life and in need of serious therapy (I love that Alyssa pointed that last one out herself).
I think that anyone who has endured trauma or felt depressed to the point of being numb could relate to Alyssa, the things she thought will hit home. They did for me and it's good, it's good that we see her struggle and in the end survive and able to 'ask' for help (when she says to James that she'll probably need therapy). It's a good message to put out there.
I'm glad they decided to leave it as this, there is no need for more seasons to drag a story out that it perfectly wrapped up now. It could've gone without the second season but I love that they did this season.
46 | Apparently there is another devil fruit user in East Blue. From what we understand probably in Luffy's village devil fruits are a rare thing, but as far as Luffy sailing there will be many devil fruit users. Anyways, the next villain was Buggy who is a very typical pirate in his costume. The funny part was if he did not want to be called a red big nose, why did he wear it? It would be different if that was his actual nose. When Luffy and Zoro fight him, they were pretty dumb, but because of their chemistry which is surprisingly strong with only two episodes since they met, they beat Buggy.
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Rating: 45.38
Plot
P1: 0.9
P2: 0.4
P3: 1.2
P4: 0.4
Director: Junichi Fujise
Favorite Characters
1.3: Shigeru Chiba as Buggy
1.2: Akemi Okamura as Nami
1.1: Kazuya Nakai as Roronoa Zoro
0.9: Mayumi Tanaka as Monkey D. Luffy
0.8: Tetsu Inada, Osamu Ryutani, Naoki Imamura as Tightrope Walking Funan Bros
0.7: Superhuman Domingos
Character Score Meaning
Terrible : 0
Bad : 0.6 - 0.5 - 0.4 - 0.2 - 0.1 - 0
Average : 1.3 - 1.2 - 1.1 - 0.9 - 0.8 - 0.7
Good : 1.4 - 1.5 - 1.6 - 1.8 - 1.9 - 2
Great : 2
So, this turned out to be a live-action which kind of tries to imitate the anime/manga, after all. To be honest, I was skeptical beforehand that this can work out, but I think given that’s where they go for this is a pretty good and fun attempt. It’s kind of dumb fun similar to the anime/manga, although some things definitely work better than the others (I started to actually enjoy it once Nami appeared).
Things in the first half were rather rough, given that Alvida and Koby didn’t impress, and the actor of Luffy was also pretty stiff, but it got definitely better once Nami and Zorro appeared and they could play off of each other. The group dynamic so far definitely works, Luffy and Nami’s antics were a definite highlight. The fights are also well-made, the direction is dynamic and while they do try to capture the vibe of the source they take more liberties in how to execute plot events which makes it kinda fresh and fun. The characters also aren’t exactly the same as the source, either.
I will definitely watch more and see how this goes, but so far, I enjoy this. Good dumb fun, they also have some good gags. First half was kinda eh, but the second half was much better (the final score for the episode is kinda in-between the two).
[7.4/10] A nice little episode. I appreciate the nuance of the lesson here. It would be easy to tell kids, “Hey, don’t get overconfident and push beyond your limits at something when you don’t know the ropes.” And that’s a good lesson in and of itself. But I like the wrinkle that Kai is intuitively talented at flying. So the lesson becomes,even when you’re naturally good at something, it’s that much more important to understand your limits and follow instructions.
The episode sets up the consequences well, with the rest of Kai’s friend getting gobbled up by the space slug when trying to follow him through some cavalier maneuvers. I’ll admit, ti’s a little odd that him doing the dangerous move that got him into trouble in the first place is also what allows him to distract the space slug and get them out, but there’s still a solid takeaway about knowing your limits as a newbie and following the instructions of those with more experience.
The flying adventure is a solid backdrop for all this. The art style still doesn’t wow me, but it’s fun to see the kiddos jetting around like this. And the space slug is a sop to grown-up fans of The Empire Strikes Back which is a nice little treat as well.
Overall, a pleasant episode whose lesson is a little more nuanced than I might have expected from what’s been a pretty straightforward show so far.
[7.0/10] This is the first time I haven't really liked the message of Young Jedi Adventures. In the abstract, lessons like patience and not taking shortcuts are great. But the way this episode dramatizes it left me cold. Kai comes up with a clever way to work smarter not harder -- using the training droids to clean up faster than he and his team ever could. I’d want to encourage that sort of creativity in kids and laud the effort to automate mindless tasks where possible, rather than chasten them for it. So this left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
That said, “character uses science/magic to solve problems and it goes wildly wrong” is an old trope. I’m pretty sure The Jetsons did something very similar, and this is basically the same plot as Mickey’s turn as “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” in Fantasia. There’s a reason shows turn to this idea -- it’s fun watching our heroes wrangle a bunch of unruly droids.
The antics involved are amusing enough. The kids’ solution of luring the out-of-control droids with junk is clever. And this is a good Yoda episode, with the wizened old Jedi master seeming like a badass in his ability to win the “get the droid beacon” game, while also seeming like a caring parental figure in the way he’s forgiving and helpful to the padawans.
Overall, I have my beef with the moral of this one, but the exploits in the episode itself are all solid at worst.
[7.4/10] I actually like this segment much better than "Get Well Nubs". Again, there’s a simple moral to this one – broken things can still be valuable and even beautiful. But it’s a moral that resonates with me, and seeing the kids learn there’s something wonderful to be found even in “junk” is softly wholesome.
Plus, for reasons it’s hard to articulate. I got a big kick out of the titular Junk Giant, later dubbed JG-1. He’s got an Iron Giant quality to him, something built as a weapon (albeit a low-key one for Tabor to cause some mischief and minor mayhem), who ends up being this sweet creature. Seeing him choose not to fight, and instead return the statue of the town founder, is a heartening moment.
I also enjoy the arrival of Marlaa. There’s something full circle about this show including voice actress Cree Summer, who was on Ewoks, one of Star Wars’ earliest kid-friendly forays. And her role as a junk merchant and enthusiast who teaches the kids how wonderful junk can be while adopting JG-1 is a good role for a kids’ show.
Overall, this is still the basics, but Young Jedi Adventures is succeeding at what it sets out to do, and both this and the last segment have fun exploits and good lessons for the real life younglings.
[7.0/10] “Get Well Nubs” is a pretty standard kids story. A friend or loved one being sick, to where their pals need to go on an adventure to retrieve the special MacGuffin that will help them get well, is a familiar trope. (Hello fellow people who remember Once Upon a Forest! And I’m pretty sure the Ewoks cartoon even used the same plotline once.)
But there’s a reason it comes up so much. It’s a good way to sell both stakes and motivation. So seeing Lys and Kai venture out to try to retrieve a special plant to help Nubs works, especially for a younger audience.
As befits a kids show, the segment wears its themes on its sleeve. Lys needs to focus and not get distracted by various Star Wars fauna. (Don’t let her watch Galaxy of Creatures!) Kai needs to stop and observe rather than just impulsively rushing into things. And both need to listen to one another so they can work together. The obstacles they run into to dramatize these lessons are uncomplicated given the target audience – a fork in the river, sneaking past a creature, and retrieving the flower – but it serves the show’s needs and the kiddos learn the appropriate lessons along the way. The little show they get to watch with Nubs at the end is a pleasant enough capper.
[7.3/10] I enjoyed this episode and the next a little better than the first two episodes we got.
The first segment in this one, focused on Nash’s big boat race, was an enjoyable both for its animation and its themes. I ragged a bit on the show in my last write-up for its visuals, so credit where it’s due. The art style still isn’t my thing, but there was some nice direction during the race to help convey the speed and peril, while also evoking a Mario Kart-esque sense of fun. The lesson about competing fairly and not cheating is a good one for younger viewers, and there’s even a bit of deeper insight in how both Nash and her rich kid rival thought the other was cheating which tempted both of them to break the rules. The pair working together to solve their problems and compete against one another fairly is a bit trite, but perfectly acceptable for a pre-school kids’ show. And the ingenuity of Nas using a geyser to reach the finish line makes for a deft finish to the story.
I guess I should talk about the fact that Nash’s parents are an interracial lesbian couple, but by god, I shouldn’t have to. It’s a lovely, small, unobtrusive bit of representation that says nothing beyond, “These sorts of families exist and include loving parents.” But I can already envision the worst people ginning up a controversy over Disney/Lucasfilm daring to include this tiny dash of uncontroversial reality into a show for children. Suffice it to say, if you’re upset about this, you’re the bad guy.
This being the first on-screen appearance of The High Republic era is what made me watch it. Obviously this is a Star Wars show catered to young kids so you can't expect too much when it comes to exposition but I was hoping for at least a slight reveal of what may be yet to come in future shows and movies placed in this era.
One of the few notable things is that Yoda is around and is already a living legend amongst these kids. Considering this takes place hundreds of years before Episode I - The Phantom Menace, let alone Episode IV - A new Hope, where Yoda is 900 years old; I did not expect him to already be ...old. Maybe it's an act, maybe it's an oversight, but it was odd. I was also hoping to at least get a tease of what made him a legend to these kids but again, no such luck.
What this show is though, is a pretty basic but not terrible show about doing the right thing, letting go of ego, and teaching responsibility. Generally an episode will start with a mistake or misjudgement of one of the kids who then over the course of the episode learns why it was bad and why the alternative is the better option. For example: think before you act, listen to your peers, don't get cocky, and don't assume based on limited knowledge. They're good lessons and it's not hammered on like some big "teaching moment". While clearly fabricated for the episode it does flow organically.
The animation style is solid and the textures are pretty well-done for the most part. Though it is all very much contained so we don't get to see a whole lot of this galaxy's era. The music is good as expected and the colors are super vivid.
The cast is diverse with a black boy as the main lead and one of the other co-leads seemingly has two moms. It is not harped upon. It just is. The kids are all voiced by actual kids (save for Nubs, who is voiced by Star Wars veteran Dee Bradley Baker) Character design is solid, well-animated, though some (side) characters still a bit underused and would like to see more of them in future seasons. Likewise also hoping for at least some tangential connection to other Star Wars lore as right now it all seems pretty self-contained. Which is understandable but some teases or links would have been nice.
The more worrying part of this show, and I guess the Jedi Order in general, is how they all seem okay with giving these kids super deadly weapons and sending them out in spaceships (with no adult supervision) where every mishap can kill them or someone else. The Star Wars universe is a crazy one and maybe Dooku was right all along (and subsequently Anakin as well) in saying it was the Jedi that were evil. Considering this High Republic era is supposed to end a bit disastrously in the end in part due to the Jedi playing space cops a bit too zealously I am curious to see where the other shows and movies will take us.
Conclusion: For kids, this is a good show and as an adult you should not worry about them seeing anything "bad". For adults, there's not much here, at least not so far with only a single season.
shane was so fcking disgusting flirting with the girls, they are probably 18-21, and for fcks sake he is in his honeymoon with alexandra freaking daddario, he is sick, she should've left but to the airport!
I usually enjoy mean girls or evil characters, but olivia and paula are so annoying, specially Olivia, but like they are so ugly with everyone, and they are so judgemental but they are as messed up as the next person, I don't get why Paula participates in this.
And it kinda annoyed me how they kept saying "he died from aids cause he had gay sex" and how Mark genuinely believes it, like I know the people behind the show don't stand by that (I guess) but I feel like that prejudice is still out there and people can be ill informed about it, so I didn't love how the handle this topic.
I'm loving Jennifer's performance, it's emotional and raw but never losing its comedy touch, that boat scene was hilarious but also you could feel the emotion and pain.
And I felt bad that the kid lost his gadgets in the sea, but then I remember they are rich and have like multiple macbooks, and ipads and toys and whatever so he's good.
It's probably not necessary to state that this is based on a 1926 H.P. Lovecraft story of the same name, but I guess I just did. I've never read the story. My only reference is a 1971 segment of Rod Serling's Night Gallery, an old anthology TV show.
I'm falling into a bit of a Horror rut and not just because, as I write this, it happens to be Halloween season. It's just that so little of what I watch claims to be scary, but isn't. I've probably just watched too much Horror over the years. This episode has a few jump scares which are uncharacteristically effective (because jump scares are shocking not scary), but doesn't come close to providing any sustained scares. At best, this offers an eerie atmosphere, which isn't always easy to pull off, either.
Ben Barnes, Crispin Glover, and Oriana Leman are good in the lead roles. The ending is extremely dark and I have no idea if it's true to the original Lovecraft story, and I guess it doesn't matter if it is. The look of this episode is stunning. The sets and architecture are beautiful.
Even though this episode was just okay, I am impressed by the production value, emphasis on direction and what I think has been some pretty solid acting throughout this series.
Wednesday is entertaining casual watching, but not something I'm likely to re-watch. Maybe my hopes were too high with all the big names involved. I was expecting an Addams Family show with a lot of Tim Burton influence but we got a CW teenage drama with Addams Family characters and barely any Burton influence. Jenna Ortega is carrying that show because it is mediocre. It would have been better as a movie. It's very much a Netflix generic show, nothing spectacular. There are definitely good parts to it, but cannot be compared to the classics.
As I said, Jenna Ortega is note perfect as Wednesday. She captured the essence of what the character was all about. However, I found her a bit too "the new girl who's not like the other girls in those YA movies/shows", which annoyed me a lot. A school full of 'outcasts' and everyone but Wednesday acts like your regular high schooler she looks down at. And it feels like the writing started to slip on the second half because Wednesday just going around accusing people made her seem kind of dumb.
Catherine Zeta Jones and Luis Guzman have zero chemistry, and I'm sorry but Luis Guzmán just does not have charm as Gomez. The family, minus Wednesday, is miscast to be fair. Pugsley was there as decoration. Morticia is uninteresting. Genuinely shocking how little effort was put in for the supporting characters vs Wednesday, I have to imagine it was the script and direction. The male characters are especially bland, I got so tired of the back and forth with Xavier and Tyler. It felt like almost all the relationships between characters were told to us and not shown to us. Everything had to happen for the plot but it effected character's development.
A lot of the dialogue lands so flat, "Why do u look so pale?", "Wednesday always looks half dead" - like I get what they're trying to do but it's so on the nose, it doesn't seem organic.
All in all, Wednesday was OK for light watching but I wouldn't set up your expectations too high, it definitely gets better as the show goes on which is a good sign but it doesn't feel so much like an 'Addams' show, and it lacks the screwball charm of the originals. The Addams family as an ensemble unapologetically juxtaposed against normal society seems to work better than yet another gothy, supernatural high school drama. I just feel the need to say that for those who may have been looking for something darker in tone.
“I swear on my late scorpions soul, MY hands are clean.”. :laughing:
This instrumental version of Nothing Else Matters coupled with this montage at the end of episode 3 is chef’s kiss.
I know the show is called Wednesday not The Addams Family or something like that but the adults needed more lines. I wasn't sure about the Morticia and Gomez casting and still am because they're barely in it so far. I want to see more of them.
Jenna Ortega is absolutely knocking it out the park as Wednesday.
Dialogue is kind of weird. Some of it is giving me strong boomer writing teenagers vibes.
Show definitely has its flaws and is outside my demographic but the gothic design is fun to watch, so I will be continuing. An easy yet forgettable watch.
Pop culture note: Episode title is a reference to "One" (is the loneliest number) by Harry Nilsson. Filter also did a banging cover on The X-Files Soundtrack.
Wednesday (to Thing): Keep an eye on Rowan. Don't let your fingers out of his sight.
This one hits the ground running. Emma Myers is becoming a delight as the sprite-like foil to Wednesday's cloud of doom. The directing still needs some polishing, but I really like the potential in this dynamic.
If that's Joy Sunday singing "Don't Worry, Be Happy", then her voice is amazing, and I'd definitely listen to the full version of her cover of Bobby McFerrin's classic.
,,Welcome to the Nevermore High Hummers!"
Ummm XD That had to be intentional.
There are a few points in this episode where it seems like Jenna Ortega is letting a little more personality slip through into her performance, and Burton really needs to let her out. The unlikable goth caricature is limiting, and Jenny's trying to give her just a little more life, and she needs to be let out. The supergirl thing is also getting to be too much. We need to see her screw up and swallow her pride more often. This episode has shown areas she needs to grow socially, and the scenes with Thing continue to be the golden core of the show, but she can't just be shooting apples mid air every episode.
Hunter Doohan's Tyler is super likeable, as is her other school romance setup, Xavier. As long as they give Joy Sunday enough material to flesh out Bianca then the show can keep a compelling roster of peers.
The boat race scene is reminiscent of the Wednesday at summer camp in the classic films, along with a little bit of Burton's Catwoman from Batman Returns. Perhaps a cute self-reference, but I like it.
The closing theme is just fantastic.
An alright start. The intro is really dry, so give it at least until the halfway mark, before which, it picks up.
Wow, a pilot episode that is actually a self-contained intro to a series cough Andor cough.
I was in a pretty Wednesday Addams kind of mood when I started this, and I nearly stopped watching after about the first ten minutes. I don't know if it was intentional that they cast Zeta-Jones and Guzman to be off-putting, but I was right there with Wednesday in my disgust watching the two of them. The daylights scenes of this show look considerably worse than the night shots, and the stark white light didn't do the actors any favors.
It's lamentable to hear myself say it, but I very much hope that they keep the Gomez and Morticia roles to a minimum, as I am not feeling the casting choices at all. Both previous castings for Gomez and Morticia, in the classic TV series, but especially Raul Julia and Anjelica Huston, from the initial Burton (whoops, false memory) Sonnenfeld films, were iconic, and there's no way that this pair can touch that. The two weighed down this introduction, along with the first part of the script. Also, they seem to be in their sixties, with children just coming into their teens. The show didn't need star power, it needed compelling main characters.
And thankfully, that seems to be just what it has, in its young cast.
The show starts to pick up almost immediately after Wednesday gets to her new school. The fencing scene was a decent start, but the scene with Wednesday and "Thing" was a perfect introduction for the character(s), and the show's tone. The coffee shop scene with young barista Hughie also got a few good laughs out of me. Whereas the intro was an awkward, bloodless, and decidedly tepid take on the Addams formula, once the sardonic humor tinged with just-edgy-enough social commentary showed up, we really got our taste of Wednesday's personality, outside of her being a morbid edgelord, which was never going to cut it on its own.
The dynamic between Wednesday and her roommate, Enid, is compelling by the end of the episode, and the actresses seem to be able to play off of each other well enough, and, given time and good direction, I can see them becoming a dynamic duo.
This was a shaky start, and I'm worried about powers-creep (telekinesis, supernatural horror creature cliques, and Wednesday's already improbably long list of wunderkind-level proficiencies) but I hope this takes off and learns to play to its strengths.
The ending was later game of thrones stupid.
Daemon running out there like an idiot, and the dozens of archers firing at him miss, again, again, and again, and again, and again, and then oh now finally they hit.
All the while he's fighting against opponent, after opponent, after opponent, against multiple opponents, as the crab feeder sends out dozens of his men.
It's just stupid. And his dragon stayed back because? No reason. Could have been attacking the archers.
And it turns out Daemon didn't do this solely to try and kill the crab feeder, but to try and bait him out so he/his allies can kill him and his army?
But wait. Allies said they had around 700 men. They're in a war. So crab feeder must have hundreds or around that number. Crab feeder wouldn't be stupid enough to send out a big force just for daemon, especially because he was wounded by arrows and on the ground, and still being attacked by them. Plus, we saw him send out what two dozen of his warriors? Against Daemon. For some reason.
Then when allies show and dragon attack, Crab Feeder and his allies don't go back in the caves? Which was their usual tactic each time for literally years during the war.
Even though they're in a losing war, Daemon and his allies win at the end.
None of this makes sense.
Writing quality across the whole episode is lower than the previous two, and we have now reached later game of thrones level of stupidity.
Would Daemon have really done that stupid run? Oh and we also see more of his dishonorable nature by nearly beating a messenger to death, and then betraying the white flag of truth. Even though he at least seemed to have some honorable aspects to him in previous episodes, even though he was brutal. Was this all in the book? The stupid suicide run, the dishonorable actions. And was it in the book when Daemon charged right in the middle of battle on his dragon and got pounded by arrows and almost died? He got lucky because one went into his shoulder. This is stupid. Even on the run he could have been killed by the first volley of arrows. I'd be very surprised if any of this was in the book.
Edit: And we don't get enough info about things regarding the status of armies, and the numbers we do get don't make sense. So Valeryon's forces have 700 men left? Eh? That low? And you're waging a war? Been in a war for years? How many forces does Daemon have? Does he have any left? He had goldcloaks right? For some reason. I guess he had so much of their loyalty is what it said in previous episodes. Yeah i guess they just followed him to Dragonstone and then into war. Where are they? Are they still a part of his army? If not, then it's just him? Why did the Valeryon guy say Daemon is helping them lose the war, he has a dragon. He's consistently helping, especially so if he's contributing his goldcloak forces, and i assume that's all Daemon would have, since we don't know if he's the lord of anywhere and able to conscript people.
So many questions like that. All through the episode about things. When an episode is a mixed bag like this, you start to see and question many other things. I still enjoyed the episode overall though.
Edit 2: Since a lot of people seem to agree with me, i thought i'd go into more detail. The show hasn't completely broken down yet like later Game of Thrones, nor has the logic been twisted too much like middle Game of Thrones. The previous 2 episodes i thought were really good, but this episode you could tell had a different writer, and that's not good, because it makes you less immersed, like sometimes you feel these characters shouldn't be saying what they're saying. Contrast that to Game of Thrones season 1, and i couldn't tell who was writing what episode, as it was good across the board. So early into this season and i'm seeing a mismatch in writing is not a good sign.
I think we have a lot of interesting characters in this show and i'm looking forward to continuing. I'd rate this episode a 6.5/10, but 6 or 7 is valid to me. Most of this episode i thought was pretty good, but there were too many things for me to choose 6. The mismatch in writing, the timeskip, the brattiness of Rhaenyra, the white deer heavy handed symbolism, the end of the episode and the anticlimactic nature of the crabfeeder. The king feeling a bit too lost in his soul, when he's supposed to be king and has been king for a long time, and has a queen and children. I understand the reasoning, i just don't buy it much. But i still like the many conversations, politics and intrigue in the show, and the characters and story.
Gosh, I hate plot armor. It's a motherf*** pyroclastic flow! Yet, all main protagonists escape (more or less) unharmed. Fantasy world or not - I don't feel treated in a serious way. They added the eruption only because it looks good and it was a great cliffhanger last episode. It looks awesome indeed, but it's all show and no substance. They refuse to go through with the inevitable consequences. Cowards! Who says that everyone needs to live? (Bronwyn even saved her infamous Met Gala dress - no blood stains, no burns).
Likewise, I don't like the scene between Elrond and Prince Durin. They try to negotiate an alliance. They talk and talk and talk. But nothing results from all the dialogue and multiple episodes. Instead, another miracle/vision saves the story: leaf and metal tell you what to do. Why should I pay attention to all the dialogue, the characters, the father/son conflict, the character's needs, hopes and attitudes? In the end this part of the story is (pre-) determined by a miracle/vision. The Prince does what the leaf tells him. [They did something very similar back at the islands with Galadrial. All her behavior (and bossy misbehaviour) had no consequences whatsoever. In the end it was a vision (and again leaves) that suddenly forged an alliance between Numinor and Galadriel.] That's not good story telling.
The score is again back to mediocre. It was suitable for last episode. But it's annoying in this episode. Music just won't stop. It doesn't help that this is a boring orchestral score - couldn't they come up with something more unique? The music often subdues everything else. And when they chose to focus on actual noises it's totally over-dramatic (like when the boy draws his sword when the Orcs approach. That's not how a sword sounds like when you draw it out the scabbard). I'm not even sure whether the dialogues between the Prince and King or between Galadriel and the boy are actually any good - I'm just annoyed by the melodramatic music during these scenes.
I still don't understand the whole Halbrand story. How did he end up as Lord/King? He used to be a random guy on a raft, a drunk prisoner, a thief and showed interest in becoming a blacksmith. Galadriel noticed that he can pick up a sword elegantly. That's all? That told her that he's a capable soldier? And now it feels like he's somehow (almost) the most capable soldier in the ranks of a FOREIGN army? [Strange enough that Galadriel - previously hated by almost everyone in Numinor - is suddenly accepted as a peer in battle.] In a very expensive armor tailor-made for him? Even a Lord? A King? And nobody questions this? People asked King Charles III. after his proclamation "who voted for you?", and I ask: what's Halbrand's merit or legitimacy? Is that something we have to accept because it was predicted in yet another vision (I somehow missed this part if there was such an omen)? His legitimacy surely can't be based on the coat of arms he carries around, can it? Anyone could have picked this up.
And I still don't know why nobody is alerting the elves. They deal with the drwarves. They deal with the bad omens they observe (like the dying tree). They send Elrond on away missions. I understand this. But all of this is not yet closely connected to the main story. Why does nobody send a messenger to report that Galadriel is back and she and Arondir fight Orcs and witnessed the "birth of Mordor"? Wouldn't that represent the more pressing issues for the elves? Remember: Arondir wanted to alert the other elves when he was caught in that trench. Has he forgotten what his plan was? Not saying that the metal/forge story might not eventually become handy in a war with Sauron and his Orcs - but shouldn't this story connected with the events in the Southlands aka Mordor? And wouldn't that help to convince the dwarf King to help them? It feels like no message is relayed simply because the writers wanted another episode to tell the father/son conflict. Why all that conflict between the King and his son when we already know that the common external threat represented by Sauron will eventually unite elves and dwarfs? It's all so predictable and artificially dragged out by not sending a messenger.
All what I said before sounds very negative. I still enjoy this episode. It's certainly not spectacular and lacks (like the whole show) complexity, but it's still nice to look at.
Pros
+Giving the Mystery guy the whole Iron Giant brainwashing is wonderful
+I think I've neglected to mention but the Orcs look fantastic and that is a huge accomplishment despite being easy to overlook
+ The Mystery man I am just assuming Olorin coming to the rescue against the Wargs
+I can see people calling the practice sword fight scene cringy but I thought it was pretty fun
+The color palette, set design, costume design, etc. is flawless
+General cinematography is magnificent
+Isildur's story is Tolkien level simple. However, this is the focus of the long term story and where most viewers will look to going on and I think the story is done well and dialogue is somewhat realistic rather than just pure snap
+Celabrimbor is fantastic, I hated that he looked elderly despite being an elf but he makes up for it in acting feats.
+Gotta love Halbrand but also we all want him to bang Galadriel (even though she's supposed to be taken at this point), he's the only thing that can penetrate Galadriel's shields and its more impactful than sex.
Neutral
*The song part was pretty well done but also seemed a bit out of place
*Ar Pharazon's colonialism is perfect and based although inappropriate for Tolkien
*Injection of the Silmarils felt cheap considering how big they are and how no one will understand they are far far more important than the Ring or mithril or anything of the sort (not to mention their lore is completely disconnected)
*Isildur's sister is so gorgeous I would also Kill a boat's worth or motherfuckers who meant nothing to me just to kiss her face
Cons
-Dumb awkward bit where Durin Jr cries about a table and gets acknowledged instead of laughed away
-Gil galad portrayed as a selfish scumbag bothers me
-Galadriel is still supposed to seem normal rather than Radical which is what her position should seem like
-Adar is a bitch and so is the entire Southlands story, can't wait for Halbrand to create Rohan hehehe
I could repeat my comments from last episode, but I won't do this. In a nutshell: it looks awesome, but the story and most characters are mediocre. I still enjoy it but it's certainly not great.
Let me talk about something else instead. Tolkien's work and Jackson's adaptation have always received their fair share of criticism regarding ethnic and racial stereotypes. One example is the problematic Wagner-ish portray of dwarfs. I won't go into this. Enough was said about this. In this show, they added Hobbit "ancestors". Hobbits were never funny and a a big fat Irish stereotype. Now they added this element of "migration". How could you not think that they are inspired by Irish Travellers? The Harfoots have other traits allegedly ascribed to their culture: they too love music, gather around campfires, organize themselves in families and live at the edge of society in relative poverty. It's like costume artists were fans of The Kelly Family. I'm not even saying that only negative stereotypes are reverberated: the Harfoots are too likable to immediately incite prejudice and discrimination against Travellers. But I wonder why they always do that in this franchise? Why do they often use a discriminated ethnic or racial group as a template and why do they choose to portray them in a very stereotypical way? They could have designed this people very differently very easily. Who's next? Gypsies? Pygmy peoples? Sámi? Eurasian nomads aka "horse people"? It doesn't really bother me though. (I'm not a snowflake and I realize that fiction is different from reality). This was mostly an academic remark. But I think, it was worth to be mentioned. Instead, very interestingly though, the show is (totally unfairly) criticized by some for including (as in: inclusion) black actors. Really? It makes you think whether "our" value system is well calibrated.
PS: I knew it. Yolandi Visser is one of these weird, otherworldly, pale elves. These guys are elves, right?
This is a weird one. It's intriguing but as @jecht-sin says, there's a lot of stuff wrong in this opening episode.
Just as weird is that Suzanne Mathis - the biggest flaw of this show, a psychiatrist, is re-assigning her daughter's room just like that, taking away her autonomy and privacy. Something she shouldn't do if she is in any way a competent psychiatrist and no, the fact she wanted to talk to her daughters before meeting Mae while "Ju-Ju-Jules" cut her off isn't changing that decision. A psychiatrist should probably know something about the psyche, triggers, emotions and human behaviour, yet Suzanne is dense af, doesn't even bother with her own daughters, plural, because she is so self-absorbed that she never asks the important questions but rather likes to say the emptiest of words given the chance, coming off as patronizing rather than empathetic or supportive. Just to feed her own obvious narcissism.
Suzanne apparently went through something similar as Mae, our victim, as it was hinted at in this episode so she identifies with her more than she probably should. Obviously Suzanne has some past she wasn't able to overcome yet by becoming a psychiatrist or did become one to help others overcome their traumas. Either way, that is her reasoning to go above and beyond in this story for Mae, to the detriment of her own family. Sucks to be Jules, I guess, excluded in High School by her own sister, ostracized in a sense by her own mother.
I do not find that or the Suzanne character believable at all, nor likable. It's full of clichès and really boring.
Take a traumatized young woman, who was severely tortured, covered in blood, refuses to speak until the threat/pressure of being shipped off is made and put here in a household of a wife and husband with three other daughters. That seems a bit overbearing and dangerous for the family. But then again, that is the actual plot of this show.
Who, in their right mind, would think this is the correct environment to throw that, perhaps mentally unstable, person in? After just a few days barely enough to medically examine her. I guess, trying to force a "normal" environment can be helpful, but that should probably be eased in to avoid any trigger to go off or prevent alienating your own family in this process (Mae taking over Jules' place for example, the already troubled pubescent teen - drama inbound). This whole situation should have been discussed with the daughters beforehand and without Mae being present. Her being there is a "this is the situation, you cannot do anything against it, Jules, you move out of your room, now"-drama-TV-setup. It's manipulative and incredibly toxic coming from a psychiatrist mother.
But the blessing should have been discussed somehow, too. But ignored for making this more mysterious than it needs to be. Meh.
The husband is spineless who should just have said that the buyer pulled out and he couldn't sell the house.
Oh, the mortgage and shame after that little speech/love bombing of his wife, who is a surprisingly shitty listener and uncappable of reading emotional cues, booho. But I guess, it further supports my claim of her being narcisstic, making him the victim of abuse here, so I perhaps shouldn't be too hard on him - yet.
However, this subplot is another unbelievable clichè to make up drama that's going to only serve the plot somehow later on I am sure.
I liked Emily Deschanel in Bones, early-to-mid seasons. Unless there's a twist like her character is somehow the mastermind (not a victim) behind the cult, giving reasons to why she is the way she is Deschanel should have declined to be a part of this.
She's doing okay with what she is given but she is never believable whatsoever.
But again, this episode is somehow intriguing but also somewhat trashy.
A solid introduction to the series, I'm really looking forward to more. Man I loved Kitagawa's character, while on the surface she just looked like a typical popular highschool girl, she's someone whose straightforawrd about how she feels about herself and others, not just taking things like someone shitting on what someone's passionate about lightly, and telling Wakana that he shouldnt just let himself be used by others for their convience and suppres how he feels about the situation. Wakana is a cool character too, I lovve main characters who cleary have a passion for something and work hard to succeed in a goal, with Wakana being passionate about creating and making clothes for Hina-dolls after seeing how beautifl his gramps hina-dolls were. I hope my guy Waka finally becomes skilled enough to make more than just clothes and atually start making the hina dolls. I also really feel bad for Wakana, at a young age someone completelty trashed his dreams of being a hina doll crafter saying its just for girls, and this seems to have made Wakana box away his passion from others because he thinks others with just see it as weird and judge him for it, and this at least partially seems to be why Wakana became a loner with no friends, because he's scared to open up about his passion to others. I'm glad Wakana met someone like Kitagawa, someone who will push Wakana to be more open about his feelings and someone who to Wakana's surprise actually complemented Wakana's passions for hina-dolls, and with Wakana now agreeing to make a cosplay outfit for Kitagawa, it looks like we'll be seeing alot more of the two. Also, the animation is so beautiful, kinda reminds me of Garden of Words with its detail (obviously to a lesser extent), and I really enjoyed the music, especially the jazz. The comedy bits between Kitagawa and Wakana were spot on too, my guy Wakana was just straight roasting Kitagawa's outfit and that was just so funny, love their dynamic so much. And I love Wakana's grampa, he's such a sweetheart, and man this show is horny.
Loved that MacGyver reference! :grin:
Watching this in its full two-hour format might have cheated me a bit on the "Time Spent" metrics here at Trakt, since at present the two parts have 44+41=85 minutes if watched separately but the full-length version on Netflix runs 97 minutes… Worth it, though. That's a big difference in runtime, even accounting for doubling up on the opening/ending credits. A quick comparison, just clicking around on Hulu, showed that the two-part rerun cut out some sizable chunks of footage—probably to make room for more commercials, though at least one scene was later removed because it went against the producers' original intent.*
In its original format, certainly, this is a fairly compelling first episode. I hear there's also a Director's Cut version of this episode floating around, which might be worth watching at some point for comparison purposes. While I do have some questions about little changes, the overall feel of this opener is at least as entertaining as the original film. Don't understand why the solution to Michael Shanks' incorrect pronunciation of Sha'uri's name was a retcon instead of helping him out with a dialogue coach, but whatever.
For episodes with no "uncut" version, I'll have to see if I prefer Netflix or Hulu in the long run. I found the image on Netflix to be better quality overall than Hulu (which had quite a bit of aliasing and pixelization), but NF seems to have set the image brightness very low. Details get completely lost in dark areas—crushed to black—on Netflix, whereas on Hulu I can see (for example) the texture of O'Neill's shirt early in part 2, when he walks into the infirmary and talks to Kawalsky.
* — When Apophis examines Sha're, the original intent was never to show her fully nude. Showtime allegedly requested those shots be added to draw more viewers, which answers my unasked question about how this show could have gotten away with those scenes on broadcast television in 1997. It didn't have to!
Trivias
+One of the excuses Michael gives Pam to use as a reason he can't come to the phone is "I'm trapped in a oil painting". This is something that happens in "The Witches", a book by Roald Dahl who also authored "Charlie And The Chocolate Factory".
+Episode having the ever so popular Steve Carell 'Thank You' GIF that became viral.
+When Michael asks Dwight why he has a diary, Dwight tells him it's "to keep secrets from my computer". This is a callback to the episode "Launch Party", when Jim and Pam pull a prank on Dwight, making him believe the Dunder Mifflin website had achieved sentience through his computer.
+After disposing of his Willy Wonka costume, Michael wears Andy's blazer for the remainder of the day.
Goofs
Miscellaneous
When Pam, Dwight, and David are on the speaker phone in the conference room with the marketing people in New York, Michael rushes in and is irate saying that it was his idea for giving a discount to companies who get a "Golden Ticket", not Dwight's. As Michael announces that it was his idea and yelling at Dwight, David leans in to the phone and says loudly, "We're gonna call you back, guys" to the marketing people. But David, nor anyone else in the room, hangs up the phone.
Trivia
+Michael says that there is no Wikipedia entry for "office robbery statistics." Now, when you look up "office robbery statistics" on Wikipedia, it brings up the Crime Aid episode of the office.
+The call from Michael to Pam at the beginning is a shout out to the Ricola commercial, famous at the time of release.
+While speaking privately to Phyllis, Dwight mentions Angela's affinity for Sheetz. Sheetz is an actual set of convenience stores located throughout the Pennsylvania area and headquartered in Altoona, PA.
+At one point during the auction, there is an extra that makes a bid and raises his hand. This is the same guy that had Michael steal food from his plate at Benihanas. He also comes out of the elevator outside of the office in another episode.
Goofs
Continuity
+Darryl auctions off a drink with the warehouse crew, which Jim wins and they all walk off together, leaving the warehouse. When they auction off the next item, Jim can be seen sitting in his chair behind Creed.
+When Holly locks the camera crew out of the building, the "lock" she operates was not there when the door was open.
+When Jim is driving to New York to see Pam, you can see the dashboard clearly lit up but the hand of speedometer doesn't move as he accelerates and decelerates.
Soundtrack Credits
The Heart of Rock & Roll
Written by Johnny Colla and Huey Lewis
Performed by Huey Lewis & The News
Consider Yourself
written by Lionel Bart
Performed by Ed Helms
Trivia
+Near the end, Stanley delivers a soliloquy about losing seven pounds and then bows his head and raises his right fist. This scene is a homage to two black American sprinters, Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who won gold and bronze medals in the 1968 Olympics. They generated controversy by raising their fists while on the medal stand as the national anthem was being played.
+We find out Pam's weight in this episode. According to the scale calculations, the entire team weighed 2,336 lbs when Pam was on the scale and 2,210 lbs when she got off. So Pam weighs 126 lbs.
+When Jim visits Pam at her Residential Advisor room, Jim misdirects the cameraman away and closes the door. This is the only time where you hear the "documentary" camera crew, namely a sigh.
+Holly's real first name is Hollis.
+When Holly is shown at her desk, right before she finds Kelly making her juice, you can see her name plate revealing her real first name to be Hollis.
+There is a point where Jim is talking about having to spend his lunch with different people while Pam is away, during this time Michael is shown without a goatee, which he has had the entire episode because Ryan has one. Michael is shown afterwards leading a meeting with his goatee still there.
+It is revealed via Holly's whiteboard that the remaining Dunder Mifflin branches in operation are: 1) Scranton, PA; 2) Nashua, NH; 3) Camden, NJ; 4) Utica, NY; 5) Buffalo, NY; 6) Albany, NY; 7) Yonkers, NY; 8) New York City Corporate Center.
+As Pam is running over to Jim at the gas station, she comments that "Montclair would have been closer" (as in, to meet halfway). Montclair is a real city in northern New Jersey popular for its arts centers and restaurants.
Goofs
Continuity
+Michael's goatee disappears in a lunchroom scene and returns for a weigh in. He later shaves it off.
+Pam comments to Jim at the gas station that: "Montclair would have been closer, so you have to buy lunch". This is untrue. Montclair, NJ, is 1 hour/ 50 minutes away from Scranton, PA (Jim) - but only 55 minutes from midtown Manhattan (Pam). That is not at all halfway between the two locations. Newton, NJ, would have been a better compromise.
Spoilers
Jenna Fischer actually kept the engagement ring that her future husband, Jim, gave to her in this episode. She has been seen wearing it sometimes in public and in interviews.
Some Quotes:
“Who were you talking to? Yourself? Me? The people who like to read and watch programs about people like you?
“Yes, you felt empowered... invincible even... but you're under arrest… Maybe you did possess your victims. But you couldn't keep them, and now they're gone, and you're alone.”
“A woman, I forget who.. once asked a male friend... why men felt threatened by women.
He replied that they were afraid that women might laugh at them.
When she asked a group of women why women felt threatened by men... they said... "We're afraid they might kill us."
The episode is completely out of touch with the source material, but nevertheless quite engrossing. The only thing it had in common with the book was Jaskier being kidnapped and tortured by Rience, and then saved by Yennefer (though she was using magic in the novel), everything else is made up, but the scenes with Ciri's vision when she travels into her memory with Triss were impressive, the woman with the baby shown in the vision is some mixture of Lara Dorren and Ithlinne, since she speaks the prophecy about the Elder Blood?
Triss confronts Vesemir about his plans to restore witchers using Ciri's blood, though later Ciri herself insists on doing that and even a sample of her blood is collected for the elixir, but Geralt interrputs the procedure at the last moment. It seems though, that using Ciri's blood to create more witchers would probably be the least stupid way of making use of it.
Geralt has to cooperate with Istredd to learn more about the megaliths and it is nice to watch them learn to work together for the common purpose and overcome their differences. The story of the Conjunction of Spheres is elaborated here in comparison to the novels, when it was on the background and never explained in more details other than it brought all the races as well as monsters together to the Continent. Here we get a more scholarly turn on it, and Istredd is getting a more interesting character as a researcher and academic. And Geralt finally learns from Istred that Yennefer survived the battle of Sodden.
Yennefer, however, is in trouble as she had been captured and is about to be executed, she turns to the mysterious woman from her dream/vision earlier on and it turns out it was Ciri all along, who offers her a way to regain her magic.
Fringilla and Francesca are now ruling Cintra together, in some sort of a partnership, and it is rather nice to see some women in power cooperating with each other. Cahir soon joins them as his ship comes finally to Cintra. I wonder how his story would turn out and whether he would change into the person from the novels. Same about Fringilla, who did come from Nilfgard but was not particularly loyal to Emhyr and his cause, and she was rather a shy and reserved person, and not an antagonist since Geralt has a brief affair with her in one of the later volumes of the saga. The Fringilla from the show is totally different and I guess it is nigh to impossible to change what happened to her in the show so that it would fit her book image more.
Another change from the books is Lydia, Vilgefortz's assistant, she is shown to free Rience possibly on Vilgefortz's orders, so she is complicit in what he is planning, but in the books she was depicted rather as an innocent victim of his machinations, besotted with the mage.
Much improved in comparison to earlier episode this season, many elements from the novels are introduced, and Triss's visit to Kaer Morhen looks almost like in the books, of course except the investigation about the leshen. Triss looks much better this season and resembles the book Triss much more, she is also the person to give the witchers the dressing down they deserve for teasing and humiliating Ciri. I wonder why she never tells Geralt that Yennefer is in fact alive, maybe because she is not sure how long this is going to be the case after Yennefer's escape? There is an emotional scene between Triss and Geralt when they talk about their shared grief and Triss confronts him about his ability to feel real emotions. It is quite enjoyable to watch Triss, Geralt and Ciri work together in the lab to unravel the mystery of Ciri's power. Later on, Ciri's Elder Blood is introduced, something that would be very important in the later volumes, though Vesemir's reaction is really disappointing, as he now sees Ciri as his stepping stone to creating more witchers, thus turning into yet another person that wants to just use Ciri for their own purposes, as if there weren't enough of them. Poor Ciri...
There is Dijkstra and Phillipa Eihard in her owl form - though this is not obvious for those not familiar with the books. He looks totally different from the games, but is rather a convincing character, though I guess I would like to see more of him to really judge.
Finally Jaskier reappears! It seems he had matured a bit since we last saw them, he is more thoughtful and empathetic even towards Yennefer and has another emotional conversation with her after guessing she had lost her magic, saying he really fears losing his poetic talent - he seems to understand Yennefer very well, as his identity is build on his being a poet just like hers was built on being a mage.
The situation Yennefer and Cahir meet Jaskier is totally different from the books, as they are on the run and get in touch with the elven underground in order to get to Cintra. There is some kind of Lord of the Rings callback as they meet some sort of watcher in the water when they are travelling in the sewers. Then they meet Jaskier though who turns out to be some sort of a smuggler helping the elves escape to Cintra, which is now elven city. In the novels, Jaskier got into trouble when he sang the ballad about Gerald, Yennefer and Ciri, and almost got killed before Yennefer saved him from Rience's bandits, but I wonder how it would turn out in the show, since now she has no magical powers and would not be able to rescue him in this way. The ending of the episode suggests Jaskier might be in trouble indeed, I wonder how he would get out of it now. The episodes are getting more and more interesting anyway :)
So now we have massive changes from the source material.
Although well written otherwise, I am not a fan. There are few examples where the complcations resulting out of strong deviations were for the positive. Most of the times the solutions for getting back on track are absurd.
I get that they needed additional material for Yennefer, since she is needed more in later seasons and contracts with a lot of hours in the first year, few in the second and a lot in later years don't really work well (although Anya Chalotra is fairly unknown, so she probably could have been persuaded) - but why not prepare for what you already know comes later on?
Great job showing Cirillas training in Morhen though. They actually kept the part where she fails and gets up again - showing that she is actually a strong character (a very fast learner, but not a Mary Sue who can just do stuff without training).
Freya Allan is actually doing a good job portraying Ciri and I hope she does more roles like this after Witcher ends (seeing how she is 20, she certainly has quite a few good years left).
Generally it is interesting how whenever Cavill is in a shot all the characters are way closer to the source material.
