Some interesting pieces coming together. No tree house... Mrs Dudley asking what room the game room was. So many little details we took for granted coz the kids experiences were actually unreliable narration by the sounds of things.
Another strong monologue too, this time from Theo. This show is superb.
When you think it can't get any more insane... introducing: killer hypnosis. I must say, I like seeing Evelyn again. I don't really know why but I always thought she was the only good thing that came from this Farm storyline and I was a little bit sad to see her go. But seriously though... Tangerine? So IF Jughead is really dead (which is a big IF... the writers would be crazy to let the most beloved main character go) it's because Betty is under hypnosis on a killing spree to kill her dark self. Can we just let dark Betty go already? It never worked.
Good seeing Mama Blossom again. We could have seen that one coming. I'm glad Cheryl didn't kill her. Penelope has always been one of my favorite characters. Glad they finally got rid of creepy Jason... I can't believe this entire storyline though. Toni is all up in that crazy, seemingly okay with it. This ruined the sweet romance between Cheryl and Toni for me. How would she be okay with her girlfriend keeping the body of her deceased twin! Glad it's over.
Veronica does not learn. She continues to blab all of her plans to Daddy dearest and ends up being surprised by his comebacks. Girl, just stop talking. At least this episode didn't feature the words 'Daddykins' or 'Archiekins'... cringe
Speaking of Archie... I hope the writers give him something else to do now. All this beating up people is getting old. I love the moment he had with his mom though and I'm interested in seeing who his uncle is.
5.3/10. I'm excited to watch this, because of how much fandom buzz there is for it, but I can tell it's going to be tough sledding for me (no pun intended) until I get acclimated to the series. The anime art style has never really clicked with me, and it results in a lot elements in the episode leaving me cold. For instance, there's a stop-and-start quality to the animation that makes things like Aang and Katara's penguin sledding sequence feel like a particularly fleshed-out animatic rather than full-fledged and fluid scene. In addition, the exaggerated expressions from the characters at various emotional moments--what I would call mugging from live action actors--strikes me as cheesy and makes it harder for me to connect with these characters as real people. Still, director Dave Filoni had similar growing pains and bumps in the road with The Clone Wars and Rebels in the Star Wars franchise, so I'm willing to give him some time here to get everything right and to get used to the show's style of presentation.
There is, as you expect from a pilot, a lot of exposition, which comes off as pretty clunky but is also a necessary evil in establishing a setting like this. I have to admit, I like the idea of the world more than the way it's presented here. The concept of four "nations" of peoples across the world, with different types of magic-wielders is a neat idea, and the notion of a hundred-years long war that has left the magic-wielders scattered and possibly extinct in the face of an evil force creates an interesting sense of a generational, historical context to everything we see now. (It retrospect, with that premise, it makes total sense that Dave Filoni was tapped to work in the Star Wars Universe after working on this show.)
I also like the interesting theme that there is, in effect, a missing generation here. Everyone we meet in "The Boy in the Iceberg" is very young or very old. There's the sense that this war has decimated the people who should be leading the world right now. Instead, you have a bunch of kids who are too young to have the maturity or wisdom to know how to handle the difficulties of life trying to hold things together, and a bunch of older people with the wisdom, but not the vigor, to keep their descendants safe and well trying to guide them. Aang being over a century old, but mentally only twelve, works as an interesting way to put a character on both sides of this notion.
That said, the actual setup of the characters and immediate conflict didn't really grab me. Aang, Sokka, and Katara are all pretty basic archetypes, with semi-annoying qualities grafted onto them for good measure. The impish chosen one, the doubtful and pesky big brother, and the preternaturally sharp normal person thrust into this situation leaves a lot to be desired as a main trio coming out of the gate. Plus the Fire Prince kind of feels like a G.I. Joe villain with his evil evilness and single-minded plan. (Though I do like his sort of world-weary, somewhat impish great uncle.) Still, there's time to develop all three of them (and those same criticisms basically apply to the main Harry Potter trio and their antagonist in the franchise's early outings) so I'm trying not to put too much stock in the failings on this front just yet.
Overall, the premise of the show is great, and I like how quickly the intrigue of the mythology locks into place (not to mention the pretty adorable flying fluffy bison), but I'm still not quite on board with the characters who are populating the world just yet.
This ending was just terrible. Subtle references to religion and mythology throughout the series suddenly spiral down into some cheap therapy session designed to make otaku boys with daddy issues love themselves? Bah.
Oh man, what a mess. A good mess though. We're finally getting a sense of what happened to Jughead and now I'm thinking that he and Betty came up with a ridiculous plan, throwing everyone of their game.
I'm interested in Donna now. I wonder if we'll get some backstory of her but also Bret. I wouldn't mind exploring those characters because they are the best addition to the cast since... well since always.
What the fuck kind of bullshit was that
That Ekko vs Jinx scene is quite something.
Oh Damn.
Oh Damn.
Oh Damn.
I smiled when Gina popped up. Then she reminded us how annoying she is. Who actually missed her?
General Amaya's Sign language during the grave scene:
Hello Sister.
You were my heroine.
Perfect, strong, unwavering.
Kind and true.
I'm sorry, big sister.
I have failed.
I had your boys safely with me, but let them slip away.
When leaving Gren:
I trust you.
You were my voice.
Be my will and save the boys.
Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/TheDragonPrince/comments/9fo4ba/-/e5z71u4/
[9.5/10] If there's one thing I really appreciate about Avatar, it's the way it manages to balance world-building and character. One the one hand, this is such an important episode about understanding the world of the Four Nations and the hundred-year war. We learn what the world was like before the war started, we see the motivations behind its beginning, and we learn why Ozai's grandfather was so intent on neutralizing the avatar to make his waging of that war possible.
But it's also a character story, about two friends and de facto brothers whose lives took them on different paths. The reveal that Avatar Roku and Fire Lord Sozin were best friends is a pretty shocking revalation, but one that has power in the way the whole series up to this point has been founded on the way that these things are all connected, that the people and personalities of these conflicts are as important as the world-shaking consequences of them.
It also creates a sense of tragedy and betrayal to that living history. Roku died at the hands of his best friend, in the same of aspiration and ambition. They cared for one another, grew up together, and built friendships that exceed lifetimes, but in the end, after a long life lived, that fell apart. That is heart-rending, and yet it also gives us so much more complicated insight into the lives of an avatar and a fire lord.
But it doesn't stop there -- with the lessons extending to our heroes in the modern day. I love that Aang takes it as a sign that there can be powerful friendships that matter to an Avatar, and that there is good and bad regardless of affiliation. It underscores the importance of Team Avatar and is another step in the evolution of the series to where not every person in red is bad and not every person in green is good.
By the same token, I love the revelation that Zuko is descended from both Fire Lord Sozin and Avatar Roku, and that this generational intertia helps explain the conflict between good and bad within him. It's nicely and subtly represented by Roku riding the red dragon and Sozin riding the blue dragon, the same ones that appeared to Zuko in his fever dream. The fact that he receives the head-piece that belonged to both of these great grandfathers signifies the way he may unify these impulses, and realizes who he is as an heir to the throne.
The episode just does so much in such a short time, it's hard not to be impressed both at the multitude and variety of its accomplishments.
Now we're cooking. Cliffhanger aside, I loved seeing all the scenes from Marcy's life. Simon going away was heartbreaking. Her little girl companion was adorable and sweet. Plus, there was some superbly animated action with Marcy's fights with the fool and the wolverine vampire. I also enjoyed the music, especially little Marceline's song with her mom. That scene had a strange, almost Miyazaki quality to it in terms of animation.
If there's one thing this show does well, it's telling epic, time-spanning stories that pack in bits of heart without forgetting to be fun, and this fit that to a tee. The band of vampires Marceline has slain playing in a band together is an interesting twist, and I'm curious to know where they'll go with it. Plus, Marceline really losing her vampireness is an interesting twist as well. Excited to see where they're going with it.
I'll NEVER forgive Zuko for making Iroh cry
I can't believe we actually have an episode where Cam and Mitchell are not fighting and hiding things. They immediately made up after their small fight and were lovey-dovey and agreeable the whole time. It was so nice to see and just felt so much better than the usual story line.
honestly tickle porn is the least weird thing going on in riverdale
Man, I love the continuity effort on this show.
Dr Yee is back!
Mitch is super funny while dancing around at karaoke bar. :-D
That fight sequence between Katara and the Waterbending master was EXCELLENT.
This episode pisses me so much. Everybody is so annoying with Ross.
Bill Hader does kinda look like a block. This show is showing some promise and a good dilemma for Barry.
Joe Lo Truglio did so damn good at that interrogation scene, I couldn’t stop laughing.
Wait and why didn’t Jake and Amy asked for Jake’s mom’s help?? Also I feel like Amy would never go looking like that to a presentation, she would have like two emergency pantsuits in her locker and she could’ve put her hair in a bun, that was so NOT Amy.
This might of been the worst episode of the whole series.
Zuko is by a long mile the best written character of this show so far. Great episode, this season has been having a very good start, hope it keeps up!
The whole outing plot was fucked up on so many levels.
The Spirit World finally explored and begggining to be understood. For Aang, this episode, I think, was a spiritual enlightenment of the first level. I love the fact that these Spirits chose to incarnate themselves as simple coyfish, forever living in a binary in one pool at the top of the world- it seems so much more simple and appropriate to have spirits incarnate as, not allpowerful gods like we are used to in the west, but instead into nature.
Aangs meditation in the grove found it's focus on the two fish swimming- and in their binary he saw the Yin Yang symbol. When in the spirit world, Aang talked to Ko, the face stealer- who proportedly steals faces from those who cannot keep their calm in his presence. Upon entering the spirit world, Avatar Roku warns Aang to "show no fear, show no emotion" in front of Ko.
Ko is extremely interesting and I dont know enough about eastern culture to sieght any ancient texts that might indicate the characters creation, however I am aware enough about the basics of meditation-living to be able to point out some valuable attributes of Ko.
Ko steals faces, but he is only able to steal a face that shows emotion. The face is the center of identity for people- so Ko is not only a face stealer but an identity stealer. Emotion is a conduit from the ego, identity, and want for survival- which is why it is so easy for Ko to steal a fearful face. Ko is a ransacker and collector of egoes.
Having an ego comes along with a sense of morality, and so it is interesting that they are discussing the powers of Push and Pull.
"Twi and La, your moon and ocean have always circled eachother in an eternal dance; push and pull, life and death, good and evil, Yin and Yang."
In meditation you are supposed to let go of the ego and become like the air. This is why Aang was so adept at dealing with Ko, because he was raised by monks who taught him to detach himself from the material world by not investing emotion and finding humility- furthermmore Aang was primed for his encounter with the face-stealer by his meditation in the grove. It is important that he saw the fish as yin and yang rather than good and evil. The realization that there is no clear colored good and evil is the enlightenment that will enable you to detach yourself emotionally and be like the wind.
asks him about the spirits in the pool
Surrounded by fire navy ships and warriors,
Oh Jessi, your creating a new drama.
Poor Andrew, he's a mess.
Also poor Nick, he has a really hard crush on Gina.
Funny episode! Very bracing to see the three together. Everyone who still hates Zenitsu: sorry you‘re lame. He is perhaps exhausting but funny and a good boy too!
Enjoying the show so far:)
5.7/10. This one was a little better than the pilot (though the pacing makes me think the two episodes were meant to be viewed as a whole.) The boost mostly comes from seeing Aang use his powers a bit, which allows the show to succeed visually while it still feels a bit rudimentary in terms of its characters. There's still a lot of that herky-jerky quality to the animation which throws me off, but the scenes where Aang uses his wind powers to disarm his captors "with [his] arms tied behind [his] back" had a fluidity and creativity that helped make up for less flattering bits like silly side effects and characters nigh-instantly having changes of heart.
Again, I find myself liking the idea of the story told in these two episodes than the execution. The notion of a "chosen one" who didn't want to be the chosen one has a lot of potential (this series, once again, makes me think of Harry Potter), and while it's been done, I also appreciate that while Aang's air powers come naturally to him, his Avatar powers play by Last Unicorn rules, where he can't quite control them or choose when they happen, and they take a lot of him to boot. The childishness that makes the character interesting -- someone with untold power and yet the mind and perspective of a typically hyperactive twelve-year-old--can also make him kind of annoying from moment-to-moment.
To that end, the voice acting on the show isn't great. Again, the sporadic stiltedness of the animation doesn't help, but there's an overexaggerated quality to many of the line readings that makes me feel, once more, like I'm watching an old G.I. Joe cartoon rather than something made in the new millennium. Katara is a major offender here, and while I like the idea of her taking a stand, the whole village turning against her and Aang so quickly, and then changing their tune just as fast when they learn he's the Avatar, is all very rushed and thus emotionally unsatisfying, something that the middling-at-best voice acting can't really save. I do appreciate that Sokka's characterization is a little less stock here, even if he gets a bog-standard "coming around to the good guys" arc here.
Overall, a slight improvement on the show's first installment, but a lot of shaggier elements that make me hope the show is still just finding its voice.
(Oh, and a blind guess, but Since Aang is an airbender, Katara is a waterbender, and the evil prince is a firebender, the law of conservation of characters suggests to me that at some point, Sokka becomes an earthbender.)
